The Devil is the Villainess

Chapter II: Medea Falaguerra

As Lycoris fluttered her eyes open, she found herself greeted by the brilliance of an unfamiliar sky stretching endlessly above her. A wave of unfamiliar sensation washed over her, the sharp sting of pain coursing through her body like a tempest. It was a sensation utterly foreign to her, one she had never experienced before in her timeless existence.

Confusion knitted her brow as she grappled with the jarring reality of physical discomfort. This was a realm of existence she had never traversed, a realm where mortality reigned supreme.

Amidst the disorienting haze, voices drifted to her ears like echoes from a distant realm. "Let's leave the corpse there, no one would find out after all," one voice murmured, tinged with a chilling nonchalance.

"Are you sure? But..." another voice hesitated, trailing off in uncertainty.

"Hush," came the curt response, dripping with a sinister resolve. "We just followed our lord's orders. Now, let's leave before anyone could see us."

Lycoris's gaze sharpened as she processed the conversation unfolding around her, her senses attuned to the subtle shifts in the atmosphere. With a determined effort, she pushed past the veil of pain shrouding her senses, her focus honing in on the figures lingering nearby.

With growing clarity, Lycoris observed the figures retreating, their forms fading into the embrace of shadows cast by the surrounding foliage. With a silent resolve, she turned her gaze upon them, her expression betraying a steely determination that belied her ethereal beauty.

Summoning her strength, she rose unsteadily to her feet, every movement punctuated by the searing agony that engulfed her form. Ignoring the protests of her newly awakened senses, she fixed her glowing red eyes upon the retreating figures, her voice a chilling echo in the stillness of the air.

"Taking your leave already?" she intoned, her voice carrying an otherworldly weight that sent shivers down their spines.

The two individuals froze in place, their bodies tensing instinctively at the sound of her voice. As they turned to face her, their eyes widened in disbelief and terror. In place of familiarity, they were met with an unsettling pair of crimson eyes, glowing with an intensity that seemed to pierce the very fabric of reality.

An aura of darkness radiated from the enigmatic woman before them, suffusing the air with an ominous energy that left them trembling in its wake.

"H-How... you are supposed to be dead!" the man stammered, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and disbelief. In a misguided attempt to assert control, he lunged forward, his intentions clear.

But in a single, effortless motion, Lycoris met his gaze with an unwavering stare. With a mere glance, the man crumpled to the ground, his body succumbing to forces beyond comprehension.

In the wake of his collapse, an eerie silence descended upon the scene, punctuated only by the ragged breaths of those who bore witness to the unfolding spectacle. With each passing moment, the enigma of Lycoris deepened her presence a harbinger of unfathomable power and untold mysteries.

The cry of anguish pierced the stillness of the forest as the remaining individual, consumed by grief and rage, hurled accusations at Lycoris. "Medea, you wench!" he spat, his voice tinged with venom as he lunged forward, brandishing his sword with reckless abandon. A furrow creased Lycoris's brow at the unexpected invocation of the name 'Medea,' a name that seemed to echo with a haunting familiarity that eluded her grasp.

With a slow, deliberate motion, Lycoris raised her bloodied hands, the remnants of her recent ordeal staining her pale skin. Activating the depths of her unearthly powers, she met the assailant's gaze with an icy resolve. "You fool, that wasn't my name," she declared, her voice carrying the weight of ancient shadows. With a sharp click, the assailant crumpled to the forest floor, his life extinguished by forces beyond mortal comprehension.