CHAPTER 117: INTERLUDE: WITCH’S COVEN {LOVE POTION}

At first sight, it looked just like a large lab with experimental bottles lined up on the tables. The only thing different was the eerie atmosphere and the grotesque contents of the bottles.

Where there should have been liquids, there were small, wiggling things trapped inside, struggling to break free. Eyeballs and what seemed to be dismembered parts of human bodies floated in red solutions that bore an unsettling resemblance to blood.

The sight was revolting, yet the woman overseeing the lab on the right seemed entirely desensitized as she carefully placed a bottle on a burner. She muttered under her breath, counting down softly, only to watch as the bottle shattered in a violent explosion.

The blast was deafening, yet it had barely occurred when a shimmering bubble appeared to contain it. The woman standing in front of the detonation didn’t even flinch, staring at the scene with a frown etched deeply on her face.

She reached up, yanked the glasses off her face, and scribbled a note on the piece of paper resting on the table.

Project 10,034! Failed!

Her hand dropped the pen, reaching for another bottle. This one contained nothing but writhing, bulbous eyes that squirmed together in a slimy, nauseating mass. As she adjusted the bottle on the burner, she suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Tash! Another failure?" The voice carried a tone that suggested it was a rhetorical question; the evidence was glaringly obvious. The speaker moved closer as she continued to talk.

"Project 10,032! The one I did five minutes ago wasn’t any different!"

Tash ignored the commentary, focusing entirely on the bottle. She muttered under her breath again, counting down. Barely two seconds later, the bottle detonated, another bubble appearing instantly to contain the chaos at her gesture. With a weary sigh, she pulled off her glasses, placed them on the table, and grabbed her pen to update the paper.

Project 10,035! Failed!

Only after she set the pen down did she finally turn to face the woman who stood beside her. Panic flashed in her eyes as she leaned in, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Favi! We’re screwed, aren’t we?" she gasped. "Lady June is going to cut us to pieces and feed our bones to her dogs at this rate!" Her voice trembled with palpable fear.

Her frantic gaze darted around the lab as she threw her arms in the air in exasperation. "How the hell are we supposed to make a love potion in a week?" she exclaimed, her hands tangling in her hair as though she might rip it out in frustration.

"It’s impossible!" she continued, almost wailing. Meanwhile, Favi, who leaned casually against the table with her arms folded, sighed heavily.

"Is it? Is it really?" Favi responded, her tone maddeningly calm.

Tash snapped, unable to contain her anger anymore. "Do you honestly think we can create something that even magic itself can’t produce? If I had known this was how I’d die, I wouldn’t have worked so hard to become a high-ranking witch!" Her voice cracked as she slid to the floor, burying her face in her hands.

The composure she usually maintained as a high-ranking witch was entirely gone. Squatting on the ground, she looked utterly defeated as she stared at the cold, hard floor. "We only have a day left, and we both know what happened to the witches before us! Lady June killed them!"

"We have no choice, Tash!" Favi said firmly, her voice still measured but with an edge of urgency. "We need to keep working. If we stop, we’ll die. If we continue and fail, we’ll also die. Lady June practically owns the coven."

Tash glared up at her, frustration boiling over. "Oh, don’t you dare act all high and mighty right now!" she snapped. Even so, her voice wavered, and she avoided making direct eye contact with Favi.

"This is bad! Very bad for both of us!" Tash declared, gesturing wildly at the lab.

"Yes, it is," Favi replied, her tone cold and pragmatic. "But you’re acting like there’s an alternative. There’s not. We have to finish the potion. If we succeed, we die. If we fail, we die." She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling as though resigned to her fate.

Tash’s eyes suddenly lit up with a spark of desperation. Scrambling to her feet, she blurted out, "But there is! We’re the only ones here! We can escape!" Her gaze darted to the door, her voice rising in pitch.

"If we start now, we can figure out how to break through that door and run!" she said, trembling with a mix of hope and fear.

"...And what about our families?" Favi interrupted, her tone colder than ever. "You think Lady June won’t go after them? You think she won’t destroy everything we’ve ever cared about?"

Tash ignored her, pacing frantically toward the door. "I’m a high-ranking witch! I refuse to die for a lunatic with a lost cause!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the lab.

She had just taken a few steps when the temperature in the room dropped. A bone-chilling cold seeped into her skin, and her breath fogged in the air. Tash froze mid-step, panic flooding her face as she turned around. Her entire body trembled violently as she realized something was very, very wrong.

"You... you’re not Favi," she stammered, extending her hand instinctively. She began to chant under her breath, her voice shaky but desperate as flames sparked to life in her palm. She tried to conjure fire to defend herself, but the flames fizzled out as quickly as they had appeared, extinguished by the snap of the other woman’s fingers.

"Yeah, I’m not," the figure said nonchalantly. Her face began to shift, melting away to reveal a new visage—one that was hauntingly beautiful but radiated malice. "I wanted to check on your progress, so I tested Favi first. But, as you can imagine, she failed."

Tash’s knees buckled, and she crumpled to the floor. Her mind raced as she tried to comprehend the sheer power required to kill Favi without her even noticing. Lady June. The name echoed like a death knell in her mind.

"I built this lab," Lady June said casually, stepping forward with an air of unassailable authority. Her youthful face belied the ancient, dangerous power in her blazing purple eyes.

Tash knew it was over. Her voice broke as she groveled, tears streaming down her face. "Please, Lady June! I can finish the project! I won’t run! Just give me one more day! I beg you!"

Lady June smiled, a soft, chilling expression that sent shivers down Tash’s spine. "Don’t worry," she said sweetly, her tone almost affectionate. "I won’t kill you."

Relief started to wash over Tash until Lady June added with a gentle laugh, "...I’ll just feed your bones to my dogs."