Deus Didymus: Rend

Pt2Ch24: Chae/won

Minho flung a fireball at Chaewon. Before it could connect, Kafu's tether wrapped around it, extinguishing the flames. The assassin blinked behind Minho, severing his Achilles' tendons. He clicked his tongue as a green light illuminated Minho's injuries.

"Stall your boyfriend!!" Kafu shouted.

While Kafu tore through Ara's army, Chaewon searched Minho's eyes for any remnants of his old self. Instead, she found a man detached from her. Minho stared as if Chaewon were a stranger he had never seen before.

"Minho ya..."

Chaewon's hands trembled. Her breathing quickened, and the markings along her body condensed into a red rhomboid on her right palm. Though time slowed for the radish, she herself found herself caught in it too. Her mind wandered as despair began to settle in her heart.

Riwon rushed next to Chaewon, pulling her away from a blast of fire. "Pull yourself together!! Y/n oppa told me that every allele has its own weakness; we can break through hers!"

"You think this is an allele?" Ara taunted. "This comes straight from the goddess of love herself! The only way you can free him is by killing him!!"

"No," Chaewon sighed. "I'll just beat her with my own love."

Ara paused. She tilted her head in thought before pinching her nose. "That was so cheesy it hurt..."

A red tinge of embarrassment colored Chaewon's cheeks as she rushed Minho, charging through his flames.

Even with my resistance his fire still burns!!

As she stepped in front of Minho, a column of fire enveloped her body. She swiped through the flames, creating just enough space to make eye contact with her boyfriend.

It's good you can heal. After I break you out of this, I'll kill you for looking at another woman.

Chaewon broke Minho's rising flames with her own fire. Behind the dispersing sparks, Minho thrusted his hand forward, firing a condensed blast of fire toward the radish.

"If there's one thing I have over you... It's that I know fire better than you do!!" Chaewon clashed with her own prismatic flames, locking the two in a contest of firepower.

Slowly, Chaewon overpowered Minho, pushing his beam further and further back. Minho's detached glare shot daggers through her heart. For a moment, she questioned if it was worth the fight. She questioned if she could break Minho out of Ara's spell; if her own feelings could withstand this battle.

The flames she contested Minho with were refined with his help. She moved past Y/n's disappearance and the rift in her batch because he was there to comfort her. Now that he stood against her, what was left to hold her up? What awaited Chaewon on the other side of this beam clash? What could she say to Minho? How would she break him out of the spell? Did she even love him enough to contest the goddess of love herself? Only in death did Ara say she and Minho would part, but what would Minho say? If he were to stand in front of Chaewon at the altar, what would he say?

Chaewon's gaze hardened. "I do."

Her markings spread through her hands once more, bolstering her flames. With a fiery passion burning in her eyes, she broke through Minho's beam.

I feel stronger--faster too!!

Chaewon pinned Minho to the ground with her body. She pressed her lips against Minho's, holding his head straight with her hands. A warm glow illuminated the ground around the couple as Chaewon immersed herself in the kiss. For just a moment, she felt their wellsprings connect. Beneath Ara's enthrallment, she felt the real Minho reach out for her hand. He looked surprised as if he didn't know he was stuck in a trance. For just a second, Chaewon felt their connection reignite. Until...