Chapter 63: Hydra

Amaryllis sat in the Witch Queen's chamber, her small, trembling hands folded in her lap as the ruler of the Witches Forest towered over her. The Queen's presence was suffocating, her piercing gaze a constant reminder of the expectations placed upon her subjects. Amaryllis had always felt small under that gaze, but today, it was worse than ever.

"Your poison magic," the Witch Queen began, her voice smooth yet cutting, "is unlike anything I've ever seen. You should feel proud."

Pride was the last thing Amaryllis felt. Her poison magic had always been an anomaly among the witches. While others used their magic for destruction, control, or manipulation, hers carried an unintended paradox: her toxins could destroy, yes—but under certain conditions, they could also heal.

When she first discovered this, she had been filled with hope. She remembered curing a dying bird, its small body trembling as her poisonous mist infused it with life. But when word reached the Witch Queen, hope had turned to dread.

"The world outside the forest grows unstable," the Queen continued, her fingers tracing the edge of her throne. "Our enemies multiply, and our strength must be absolute. Your magic, Amaryllis, could be the key to securing the Witches Forest's future."

Amaryllis's stomach churned. "I—I don't understand," she stammered.

The Queen's smile was cold. "Your healing poison could purge curses, illnesses, even death itself. With it, I could control not just this forest but the entire Clover Kingdom. Imagine: a force so unstoppable that even the strongest Magic Knights would fall to their knees, begging for my favor."

Amaryllis's breath hitched. She didn't want that power. She didn't want to be a tool for conquest. "But… my magic doesn't always work," she said weakly. "It's unpredictable. Sometimes it heals, sometimes it kills. I can't control it."

"You will learn," the Queen said sharply, her tone leaving no room for argument.

That night, Amaryllis sat alone in her small quarters, her thoughts swirling. The Witch Queen's words echoed in her mind, but so did the cries of the people she had tried to save in the past—the ones her magic had failed. A child whose sickness she had tried to purge, only to watch their body collapse under the weight of her poison. A friend who had begged for healing, only to writhe in agony as her magic twisted inside them.

Her magic was a curse as much as it was a gift. How could the Witch Queen not see that? Or perhaps she did and simply didn't care.

Tears slid down Amaryllis's cheeks as she clutched her grimoire. She had always known she was different, but now she felt like an outcast even among witches. They whispered about her behind her back, calling her unstable, dangerous. The Queen's demand only deepened her despair.

She couldn't stay.

The decision to escape came weeks later, after the Queen's demands grew more relentless. Amaryllis had been dragged into rituals, forced to test her magic on captured beasts and even condemned prisoners. Each failure chipped away at her sanity.

One night, after another failed experiment, Amaryllis wandered into the forest's edge. The air was heavy with the scent of moss and magic, the trees whispering secrets she couldn't decipher. She dropped to her knees, clutching her head as despair consumed her.

"I can't do this anymore," she whispered to herself. "I can't…"

The sound of rustling leaves startled her. She turned to see a small fox limping toward her, its leg twisted and bloody. It looked up at her with wide, pleading eyes.

Her heart ached. Slowly, she extended her hand, summoning a thin mist of poison from her grimoire. The fox recoiled at first, but as the mist enveloped it, its breathing steadied. The wound began to close, its fur regaining its luster.

Amaryllis stared at her hands in disbelief. For once, her magic had worked exactly as she intended.

But the moment was short-lived. The Queen's voice rang in her mind, cold and commanding: "With your magic, I could control everything."

The fox, now healed, nuzzled her hand before darting back into the woods. Amaryllis watched it go, a faint spark of determination igniting in her chest.

She couldn't let the Queen use her magic to hurt people. If she stayed, she would become nothing more than a weapon. But if she left, if she escaped this cursed forest… maybe she could find a way to control her magic. Maybe she could use it to help, not harm.

The night she fled was a blur of fear and adrenaline. The Witch Queen's minions—familiars, enchanted beasts, and loyal witches—pursued her relentlessly. She dodged traps, wove through trees, and unleashed poison spells to cover her tracks.

By the time she reached the forest's edge, her body was trembling, her mana nearly depleted. But as she crossed the boundary into the outside world, a strange sense of calm washed over her.

She was free.

But freedom came with a price. Amaryllis knew the Queen would never stop hunting her. She knew the world beyond the forest would fear her magic as much as the witches did.

Still, as she stood beneath the open sky for the first time, she felt a flicker of hope.

Her despair hadn't vanished, but it had transformed. It wasn't just sorrow anymore; it was determination. She would learn to control her magic. She would prove that her poison could heal, that she could be more than a weapon.

And one day, she would face the Witch Queen again—not as a fugitive, but as someone strong enough to stand on her own.

…

The icy mist swirled around the edge of the forest, the frigid winds biting through the air as Theresa and Amaryllis stood their ground. Sibyl's towering ice spires cast sharp shadows in the faint light of the crescent moon, their jagged forms glistening ominously. The fugitives had scattered, but this assassin stayed behind, her frost-covered grimoire radiating deadly intent.

"I must admit," Sibyl said, her voice smooth and cutting as the cold, "you're more troublesome than I expected. But all that effort will be for nothing. You're still just two children playing at being knights."

Theresa's emerald eyes narrowed, her grimoire glowing faintly beside her. "Keep talking, ice queen. It'll make it all the more satisfying when we take you down." She planted her feet firmly, her hands glowing with green mana. "Plant Magic: Omni Vine Barrage!" A torrent of thorny vines shot from the ground, twisting and coiling toward Sibyl like striking snakes.

"Predictable," Sibyl muttered, raising her hand. Her grimoire flipped open, the pages glowing faintly. "Ice Magic: Glacial Spires!" A line of jagged ice erupted from the ground, colliding with the vines in a deafening crash. The frozen shards shattered and scattered, mixing with the thorns in a chaotic spray.

Amaryllis darted forward, using the opening to her advantage. Her grimoire hovered beside her, its deep purple glow intensifying. "Poison Magic: Venom Threads!" Thin, glowing strands of venom wove through the air, snaking toward Sibyl with deadly precision.

Sibyl flicked her wrist, summoning a protective shield of crystalline ice. The threads hissed and sizzled as they touched the barrier, melting tiny holes through it. Sibyl's cold eyes narrowed as she stepped back, her frustration beginning to show.

"She's starting to crack," Amaryllis said, her voice steady but her gaze sharp. "Theresa, keep her on the defensive."

"On it," Theresa replied. "Plant Magic: Venus Maw!" A massive, glowing venus fly trap burst from the ground, its jaws snapping toward Sibyl.

The assassin gritted her teeth, raising her arms. "Ice Magic: Frost Fang!" A jagged blade of ice materialized in her hand, which she used to slash through the plant's jaws before it could reach her. The glowing vines snapped apart and withered, but Theresa was already preparing her next move.

Amaryllis took advantage of the chaos, her grimoire flipping rapidly. "Poison Magic: Miasma Veil!" A thick cloud of toxic gas billowed forth, spreading across the battlefield and obscuring Sibyl's vision.

Sibyl waved her hand, summoning a gust of icy wind to clear the poison. "Enough of these games!" she snapped. Her grimoire glowed brighter as she channeled her magic. "Ice Magic: Frost Dominion!" The air grew even colder, frost creeping across the ground as an oppressive wave of mana surged outward.

The ice began to spread, freezing everything in its path, including Theresa's vines. The young knight frowned, her grimoire glowing with green light. "If you're going all out, so will I. Plant Magic: Omni Bloom!" Vines and flowers burst from the ground in a radiant explosion of mana, their glowing petals resisting the encroaching frost.

Amaryllis darted to Theresa's side, raising her hand. "Poison Magic: Aconite Serpent's Embrace!" A massive serpent of toxic purple energy coiled through the air, baring its fangs as it lunged toward Sibyl.

Sibyl raised her arms, summoning a towering wall of ice. The serpent collided with the barrier, venom sizzling as it melted through the frozen shield. Steam hissed and billowed into the night, obscuring Sibyl's form.

"Did we get her?" Theresa asked, her voice tense.

A low, cold laugh echoed from behind the steam. "Not even close." Sibyl stepped forward, unscathed, her icy blue eyes gleaming with malice. Her grimoire flipped to another page as she extended her hands. "Ice Magic: Eternal Winter's Embrace!"

A powerful blizzard erupted from her, the sheer force of the storm shaking the ground. Snow and ice whipped through the air, creating an impenetrable vortex that surrounded Theresa and Amaryllis. The wind howled, making it nearly impossible to see or hear anything.

Theresa planted her feet firmly, her hands glowing brighter. "I can't block all of this!" she yelled over the roar of the storm.

"Then don't try!" Amaryllis shouted back. Her grimoire glowed with an intense purple light as she raised her hand. "Poison Magic: Corrosive Dome!" A sphere of toxic energy expanded outward, pushing back the worst of the blizzard and creating a small haven of calm around them.

Sibyl smirked, her voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "You think that will save you? You're just prolonging the inevitable." She raised her hand, ice forming into sharp, deadly shards around her. "Let's see how long you can keep up."

The ice shards shot forward, slicing through the air like missiles. Amaryllis and Theresa moved in perfect sync, dodging and countering with their respective magics. The poison dome absorbed some of the shards, while Theresa's vines intercepted others.

"You're running out of tricks," Amaryllis said, her voice defiant. "And you're running out of time."

Sibyl's smirk faltered for a moment before she snarled, her magic flaring once more. "We'll see about that." The ground beneath them began to freeze, cracks of frost spreading outward as the temperature dropped further.

Theresa and Amaryllis exchanged a determined glance. "I have an idea," Amaryllis whispered.

"I can hear you whispering," Sibyl said, clearly unimpressed. "Why did they send two kids to deal with me, one of the greatest assassins of all time? Make it make sense!"

Amaryllis's breath hitched as the freezing winds howled around them, her senses overwhelmed by the blizzard. Despite the suffocating cold, she gritted her teeth and tightened her focus. The toxic dome she had created was still holding, but the strain was evident, and Sibyl's relentless onslaught of razor-sharp ice shards showed no signs of stopping.

"You think you're some kind of hero?" Sibyl's voice came through the roar of the storm, cold and cutting, her presence almost tangible. "I'm not afraid of some little girl playing with poison. You think you can stand against the greatest assassin to ever walk the earth?"

Amaryllis didn't respond immediately. Her thoughts raced. She remembered the isolated years in the Witch's Forest, the rules she had been forced to live by—the unspoken law of the witches. Trust no one. Form no bonds. Not because she wanted to, but because if she ever did, the Queen would come for her. The fear of being taken away, just like her sisters before her, had driven her to bury herself in her magic and her loneliness. The Coral Peacocks had been a fleeting dream—a fantasy where she could be a part of something bigger.

But that was before she had fought beside Theresa.

And now, standing in the eye of this storm, Amaryllis realized how much that bond had changed her. The doubts, the hesitations, the fear of letting someone close—they were all fading. She was no longer alone in this fight.

The storm raged on, but Theresa's green vines twisted around Amaryllis's own poison cloud, creating a layered defense between them. The synchronization between their powers had become second nature. They moved as one—Theresa's strength supporting Amaryllis's precision.

"I'm not a child," Amaryllis said, her voice steady despite the chaos. "And neither is Theresa. We've grown stronger by working together. You're right, I can't do this alone, and I don't have to."

Sibyl's eyes narrowed, her grin curling with disdain. "What are you two doing, exactly? Are you trying to make some pathetic little team-up work? How cute."

Amaryllis's fingers trembled slightly as she adjusted her grip on her grimoire. The weight of her poison magic felt heavier now, not because it was difficult to control—but because it felt like it was now tied to something more. To Theresa. To the Coral Peacocks. She had tried so hard to keep everyone at arm's length, to protect herself from the fear of losing everything again. But this? This wasn't a burden. It was a strength.

Sibyl's voice cut through the air once more. "You think you're something special just because you've learned how to work together? You're not the first to team up. You're just the latest failure."

Amaryllis's chest tightened, but it wasn't from fear. It was from something far more unsettling: a painful recognition of her own hesitation. She had been so used to fighting alone, to burying the very idea of connecting with others, that now it felt almost foreign to rely on someone else's power—someone else's trust.

The ice shards began to rain down again, sharper than before. Amaryllis and Theresa barely had time to react. One of the larger shards sliced through the air, heading straight for Theresa's midsection.

"No!" Amaryllis shouted, instinctively reaching out to shield her. Her grimoire glowed with intense purple light as she summoned the next spell, her voice louder, clearer. "Poison Magic: Aconite Serpent's Embrace!"

A massive serpent of dark purple energy materialized before them, its fangs aimed directly at the ice shard. With a swift, calculated strike, it shattered the shard before it could harm Theresa.

But Sibyl was relentless. The ice storm intensified, her grimoire flipping to a new page. "Enough of your games!" The ground cracked beneath their feet, a deep, resonating chill spreading outward as she prepared another massive attack. "Ice Magic: Fimbulwinter's Grasp!"

The air grew colder, and ice spread like wildfire, forming claws that seemed to reach for Amaryllis and Theresa from all directions. In an instant, the ground was transformed into a deadly labyrinth of frozen spikes.

"Amaryllis…" Theresa's voice was strained as she blocked another shard with her vines, the two of them trapped in the narrowing space.

Amaryllis felt the heat in her chest grow stronger, the weight of her hesitation turning into something more tangible. She was scared—scared of losing Theresa, scared of losing her chance to be part of something bigger than herself. Her magic trembled in response to her emotions, the poisonous energy swirling more erratically as her inner turmoil boiled over.

"Amaryllis, focus!" Theresa called out, her voice cutting through the storm.

Amaryllis blinked, refocusing on her friend, and something clicked within her. She wasn't fighting alone anymore. She never had to.

"We're not alone," Amaryllis said, her voice firm now. She took a deep breath and allowed the bond with Theresa to sharpen her focus, channeling her magic with precision.

With a surge of power, she whispered.

"Poison Magic: Convergence of the Serpent's Reign"

The dark serpent's form expanded into a massive, coiling vortex of poison, slithering around them like a protective wall. The ice claws of Sibyl's storm clashed against the serpent's form, and the poison began to erode the icy grip. The attack was no longer just a defense. It was a declaration.

"Theresa," Amaryllis said, her voice steady now, "let's finish this."

Theresa nodded, her vines wrapping tighter around Amaryllis's serpentine magic. Together, they pushed back against the cold, working in perfect harmony. Every vine that Theresa sent out seemed to guide the serpent's movements, every pulse of poison was timed perfectly with the strength of the plants. They were a single entity now, the two of them connected in a way that Amaryllis had never thought possible.

Sibyl's eyes widened for the briefest moment, her smirk faltering. "You… You actually think you can…?"

Amaryllis's grin was icy and unrelenting. "We're not failures. And we're not afraid to fight for each other."

Amaryllis's heart pounded, but for the first time, it wasn't from fear. She was no longer running from the connection she had with Theresa, with the Coral Peacocks. She was fighting for it.

And she would never let that connection go.

The battlefield crackled with tension as the swirling snowstorm conjured by Sibyl's Eternal Winter's Embrace threatened to engulf everything. Jagged ice spikes shot from the ground, and the air was thick with frost, each breath painful and heavy. Despite the chaos, Amaryllis and Theresa stood firm, their grimoires glowing as their magics intertwined to keep the assassin at bay.

Sibyl's icy blue eyes burned with malice as she pushed her magic to the limit. This is what I was made for, she told herself, her thoughts echoing like a mantra. Yet, amidst her fury, fragments of memories clawed their way into her mind, unbidden and unwanted.

The Witch Queen's throne room was shrouded in shadows, the oppressive silence broken only by the sound of Sibyl's footsteps. She knelt before the throne, her head bowed as the Witch Queen regarded her with a cold, calculating gaze.

"You'll hunt them down," the Witch Queen said, her voice sharp as a blade. "Traitors, rivals… anyone who dares to defy my will. You're good at this, Sibyl. Ruthless. Efficient. It's what makes you useful."

Sibyl said nothing, her heart numb. She had no choice but to obey. This was her life: an endless string of targets, blood, and death. Mercy was weakness, and weakness had no place in the Witch's Forest.

She had fled that forest years later, not out of courage but out of desperation. Yet even as she escaped, she knew she'd never outrun the person she had become.

Sibyl's hands clenched, and her grimoire flipped to another page as she summoned another spell. "Ice Magic: Shards of Polaris!" she screamed. A barrage of glowing, star-shaped ice missiles launched from her fingertips, streaking toward Amaryllis and Theresa with deadly precision.

Amaryllis raised her hand, her grimoire glowing. "Poison Magic: Toxic Bloom Barrier!" A swirling wall of noxious flowers erupted, absorbing the ice shards and sending a wave of acidic mist back toward Sibyl.

Theresa followed up, her grimoire flipping rapidly. "Plant Magic: Omni Vine!" Thick vines shot forward, slamming into the ground near Sibyl and cracking the frozen earth.

Sibyl leaped back with inhuman agility, her movements fluid and precise. She retaliated immediately. "Ice Magic: Mirror of Frost!" A crystalline barrier formed in front of her, reflecting the incoming vines and poison mist away.

Her cold laughter echoed across the battlefield. "You call this teamwork? I've seen toddlers put up a better fight."

Amaryllis gritted her teeth, her expression steely. "Don't listen to her," she said to Theresa. "We've got this."

Sibyl's escape from the Witch's Forest had not been an act of redemption. She hadn't sought freedom to change—she sought freedom to thrive. In the shadows of the underground, she had found Yrul and his gang of fugitives, a perfect place for her talents to flourish.

"An Ice Mage, huh?" Yrul had said with a wicked grin when she first demonstrated her magic. "Cold and deadly. I like it. You'll fit right in."

It wasn't long before Sibyl's name struck fear far beyond the Witch's Forest. She became Yrul's most trusted lieutenant, her blade cutting through enemies with terrifying precision. "The Snow Demon," they called her. To Sibyl, it was just another title. Another way to make herself untouchable.

"You've already lost," Sibyl sneered, breaking free from her thoughts as she launched another attack. "You just don't know it yet." She raised both hands, and the frost beneath her feet spread outward in a massive circle. "Ice Magic: Frozen Labyrinth!" The frost surged upward, forming towering walls of ice that divided the battlefield into a maze.

Amaryllis and Theresa were separated instantly, each trapped within the freezing corridors. Sibyl stalked through the maze, her every step deliberate. Her voice echoed eerily through the walls. "You should've stayed home, little girls. You're out of your league."

Theresa's breath came in short bursts, the frigid air biting at her lungs. But she refused to panic. Her grimoire glowed as she summoned another spell. "Plant Magic: Omni Vine Sense!" The ground trembled as her vines extended in all directions, feeling for Sibyl's location.

Amaryllis, meanwhile, leaned against an icy wall, her grimoire glowing faintly. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to stay calm. Focus. Think. Theresa's counting on you. She tightened her grip on her magic. "Poison Magic: Miasma Blast!" she called out, sending a ripple of toxic energy through the maze.

The combined magics disrupted the labyrinth, vines cracking through the walls while poison seeped into every crevice. Sibyl cursed under her breath as her maze began to collapse.

Theresa and Amaryllis regrouped, their eyes meeting with a shared determination. "We need to end this," Amaryllis said, her voice steady. "Together."

Theresa nodded. "Let's do it."

Their grimoires flipped simultaneously, magic surging between them. Poison and vines intertwined, forming something entirely new.

"Compound Magic: Venomous Thorn Hydra!" they shouted in unison.

The ground erupted as a massive hydra with six serpentine heads—each one a blend of toxic magic and thorn-covered vines—rose from the earth. The creature roared, its heads snapping toward Sibyl with deadly intent.

Sibyl's eyes widened in disbelief. "No! I am the greatest assassin! This can't—" Her words were cut off as the hydra struck, tearing through her defenses with unstoppable force. Her ice spells shattered like glass, and the hydra slammed her into the frozen ground.

Bloodied and battered, Sibyl refused to yield. She staggered to her feet, clutching her side. "You think this is over?" she spat, her voice venomous. "You'll never defeat me. I'll end you both!"

Amaryllis lowered her guard for a moment, exhaustion evident on her face. That was all Sibyl needed. With her last reserves of magic, she summoned a jagged ice dagger and lunged at Amaryllis with murderous intent.

"Amaryllis, look out!" Theresa shouted.

In an instant, a thick vine shot through the air, slamming into Sibyl's neck with brutal precision. The assassin crumpled to the ground, clutching her throat as blood pooled around her.

Sibyl's vision blurred as she lay on the frozen ground, her body trembling. She laughed weakly, the sound hollow and bitter. "I… don't regret… any of it," she rasped. "Killing… was all I ever knew. All I… ever was."

Amaryllis stared down at her, a mix of anger and pity in her eyes. Theresa placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back. "She made her choice," Theresa said quietly. "Let's go."

As the two Magic Knights turned and walked away, Sibyl's vision faded, the cold finally claiming her. For the first time in her life, she felt something akin to fear—not of death, but of the nothingness that followed.

A/N: this chapter was... kind of mid for my standards

I hope you'll find it gets better

I still love Amaryllis tho