Chapter Text
Everyone was standing there holding their breath in the hope that no noise would be made so as not to attract attention, but it was in vain, they were already surrounded. Agatha heard the sounds of leaves being stepped on and turned around, only to find one of the seven transforming from snake to "human", she heard a noise in the opposite direction, turning around she saw another one coming out of its fox form and approaching.
"Shit" - Agatha hissed softly, looking in all directions, her brain working fast trying to find an escape from the situation, she looked at Dahlia, the witch was still pulsing dark magic around her and Agatha felt the hatred again for being so vulnerable and without her magic at the moment.
Dalia felt the gaze and turned to face them, in Agatha's eyes she saw that she was scared, taking a quick look at the others she saw how desperate they were. Dalia cursed herself for caring, she swore to herself that helping them now would only be to get out of this path, and not because she was enjoying being part of the coven, of course not. Taking her eyes off Agatha, Dahlia turned to see the seven approaching, she quickly lowered herself, placing her hands on the ground.
"I invoke te ignis praesidium, circumdederunt nos nunc et custodite malum a nobis" - Dahlia sang in Latin and as soon as she finished, black fire emerged from the ground, a tall blaze that surrounded the coven.
"Do any of you have any brilliant plans? Because this spell will only buy us time" - Dahlia asked exasperated, for someone who was surrounded by murderous witches they were wasting a lot of time admiring the fire, Dahlia would feel proud if she wasn't trying not to get killed.
"We should have run! Agatha and I are powerless, Alice and Lilia are in denial or whatever, and the boy is a mystery" - Jennifer practically screamed, she could be even more annoying when she was desperate. Dahlia ignored her, there was no time for discussion, her eyes landed on Alice, could the protection witch hold the fire shield for them? Would she have that strength? She'll have to do it - Dahlia thought to herself, she took three quick steps towards the young witch and grabbed her shoulders, receiving a wide-eyed look from her.
"Alice! I need you! You're going to do exactly what I say and you're going to keep the fire shield while I cause some distraction for the seven of them." - Dahlia says to Alice, leaving no room for discussion, but even so Alice doesn't accept the idea so quickly.
"No! No, no, no, I can't, I'll kill us all, I don't cast magic, I'm not like you, I..." - Alice's distressing rambling was interrupted by terrifying screams and Dahlia closed her eyes for a moment, reinforcing the fire barrier that was almost being overcome by the seven. She looked at Alice, and at that moment she saw a frightened child, Alice lost her mother in a fire, they were surrounded by fire now, she couldn't save her mother, and at that moment Dahlia could see her despair at losing these people who had already become important.
Dahlia would need to be a little more incisive if she wanted this to work, she took a quick look and saw that everyone was just watching, too scared to say anything, she turned her gaze to Alice and allowed herself to care, she swore to herself that it would only be at that moment, even though she knew it was a vain promise, Dahlia then hugged Alice tightly, who returned the hug at the same time, with the same intensity. Dahlia got close to Alice's ear.
"I know you're scared, but I can say for sure that your mother would want you to at least try, Ali." Dahlia says the nickname for the first time and lets go of Alice to look into her eyes. She can see that she's willing to try, so she continues.
"Repeat after me, clypeus igneus mihi hoc accipio, ad auxilium soror mea." Dahlia murmured, without taking her eyes off Alice.
"clypeus igneus mihi hoc accipio, ad auxilium soror mea." Alice repeated, light orange sparks were surrounding her hands, and at the same moment they both let out a sigh of relief. It had worked. Alice could feel the weight of the spell, and Dahlia could feel the relief of no longer holding the barrier. Dahlia had to do something about the seven of them fast. She shifted her gaze to the rest of the group.
"Lilia, I know where you stand on your magic at the moment, but hold hands with Alice, and right now just align your intention with hers to protect us, it will be enough to help her maintain the shield" - Dalia paused for a moment watching Lilia hold hands with Alice without question, then she turned her gaze to the others, the young man was looking at her with a kind of... admiration? Dalia didn't have time to notice that now, Jen looked nervous and scared as always, and Agatha kept her mask of indifference but her eyes betrayed her completely, showing her fear.
"You guys, the same thing, clear your minds, your intention is already enough to send strength to Alice at this moment, you only have one job, keep that shield firm!!!" - Dalia said to everyone, her voice low but extremely firm and determined. She turned around walking towards the fire when she heard a scream from the boy.
"WAIT! What are you going to do? I'm going with you, there are seven witches, you won't make it" - The young man shouts, his voice oscillating between despair and fear. Dalia put a hand on her heart, pretending to be offended, it was incredible how she managed to joke in the middle of a near-death situation, but it was her way of dealing with the anticipation of it.
"Honestly, young man, do you really think so little of me? Weren't you the one who called me a warrior or something?" - Dalia says to him sarcastically, but seeing that the boy still had the same frightened expression, she continues. "Kid, stay, you won't get through the barrier, and if I don't make it, I'll give you a signal, and you'll lower the barrier and run as fast as you can! That's an order, do you understand?" - Dalia asked, her voice hard as rock and her heart clenched when she saw the boy nodding but his eyes shining with unshed tears. She wanted to take a step and say she would be back, but Dalia couldn't give that assurance, so she just turned around and walked through the fire.
"That's impossible, we need to help her!!!" - The young man shouted as soon as Dahlia left them
"And go out there playing hero? If she's going to sacrifice herself, at least don't waste it, young man" - Agatha replied, her voice serious, fearing that in a moment of bravery the boy would try to get through the fire
"You don't care about anyone, so don't tell me what to do" - He replied, and all the witches could see that the boy was crying at the moment, he really did get people out quickly.
"Hey!! Unite intentions, remember? I need you, let's just focus on not dying and trust that she'll make it" - Alice says looking at everyone, and lets out a sigh of relief when they nod in agreement, but the moment of peace is interrupted by a horrifying scream coming from outside the barrier.
"That doesn't sound like it came from Dahlia" - The boy says to the others, who silently agree with him
--
As soon as Dalia crossed the barrier she was pushed, she hissed when she felt her back hit the ground, adjusting her vision she saw the horrifying witch above her, one of her hands was firmly holding one of the witch's arms while she felt her nails dig into her leg, she knew she was drawing blood but didn't think about it at the moment, with her free hand Dalia reached for the dagger attached to her waist and muttered a quick spell "Ut vulnera insanabilis" This spell would make the wounds caused by the dagger practically incurable. Holding on tightly Dalia stuck the dagger between the witch's ribs and felt her other hand being quickly released.
Dalia knew that a stab wouldn't stop her so she acted quickly and as soon as she was released she reversed her position getting on top of the witch, she stuck the dagger again, this time in the belly of the cursed witch, but before she could continue she felt herself being pulled by one of the other witches, luckily she had time to raise her hand summoning roots and enchanting them to keep the stabbed witch trapped.
She felt the blow of a spell and flew a few meters, spitting out some blood, she raised her head to see two of the seven walking towards her, one still stuck in the ground and the others busy trying to cross the barrier. Dalia liked manual labor, she liked seeing the damage she could cause with her own hands, without many spells. It had been years since Dalia had to fight for her life, and that made her anxious, she wanted more, she wanted to kill one by one of these witches, she was feeling her magic taking control of her mind, Dalia couldn't allow it, she knew it would be difficult to come to her senses, but she was so close, she could finally satisfy this desire for revenge that had never gone away.
Suddenly, in the midst of her many thoughts, Dalia remembered, shared mind! They are a coven with a shared mind. Dalia didn't need to kill them all, just one. Focusing on the witches coming, Dahlia gained momentum and ran towards them, she concentrated her power in her right hand and released three layers of energy that solidified like a ladder, she climbed the three and passed over the two witches, as soon as she landed on her feet on the other side she grabbed her other dagger that was stuck in her leg and stuck it in the back of one of them, at the same time she cast a spell to teleport herself. Hovering now a few meters away from the other witches, Dahlia saw the confused look behind that horrible mask of the witch who was left behind, all the others seemed to feel their sister's call for help, as they turned at the same time going quickly towards Dahlia.
Without hesitation, Dalia took the dagger from her back and made a quick, deep cut into the throat of the witch she was holding. At the same time, Dalia heard the horrible screams of the other witches. They had stopped and were trying some spell. Dalia knew she had succeeded, but it was not enough. She could no longer hold herself back. She needed to feel more than that. So she let go of the witch and quickly advanced towards the others. The one in front of her tried to attack, but Dalia was faster and stuck the dagger in her heart. She lowered the knife, causing the witch's blood to gush everywhere, especially on herself. She advanced towards the others. Dahlia massacred each one in a different way, taking care that the death was slow, so that she could attack each of the seven. She threw herself on top of the last witch, making her fall to the ground. With the knife above her heart, she made a deep cut, feeling nothing more than satisfaction as she saw the blood gush from the cut. She could feel at a glance the barrier of fire that surrounded the others being dismantled, but she paid no attention. At that moment, Dahlia's killer instinct prevailed. She continued the cut and stuck her hand inside the witch's skin, seeing the life finally leave her eyes.
With the heart in her hand and the dagger in another, Dahlia finally looked up and saw the terrified looks of the witches. The only one who seemed calmer but still scared was Agatha.
Dahlia stood up and threw the heart at the feet of the coven. She was covered in blood. The scene around them was devastating. There were pieces of the seven everywhere.
Dahlia gave a wide smile, which didn't match the moment at all. Then she said happily, "You're welcome. Now we can continue."
Dahlia walked over to one of the dead witches on the floor and pulled out her other dagger, putting it back on her belt, not caring about the blood.
She took a step toward the group and stopped when she saw them taking a step back. The young man found his words and asked her very nervously, "Dahlia, why are your eyes still like that?"
