Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Anna was cursing under her breath. The forest they were conducting the ceremony at had been silently sucking out her energy because of the heavy atmosphere. She was walking along the path towards the fort. The materials needed for the ritual were already with Anyal; he had opened a portal to take the bag from her. She caught a glimpse of the money lover who ignored her gaze.

Anyal then told her to go back to the fort and make sure that Jina is sent to the World of the Dead once he opens the portal at midnight. She must guard the other hostages and keep the detective away from there at all costs. The spell she put on Jason was very powerful and it should keep a hold on him for a long time.

But the forest had weakened her powers drastically and Anna was a little skeptical of whether Jason could be controlled for long.

We'll have to finish off the ritual fast, she decided. The fort stood in front of her like a giant monster waiting to devour her. Muttering under her breath, she carefully made her way to it. There was no one in sight.

Maybe the detective and the shamans don't know where we are, she thought. Good. Even if they find out, it would take them hours to reach there and they would be too late anyway.

Anna entered the large hall and saw that it was completely empty.

"Jason?" she called out but there was no response. Is he with the prisoners? She wondered. 

Mina and Kanji were kept a few meters away from the fort in a more secluded area. With the peach leaves tightening with every movement and the salt circle, it would be impossible for them to escape the trap. 

Just then, Jason came hurling into the fort.

"Ma'am!" he exclaimed. "T-The prisoners! They have escaped!"

"WHAT?" Anna yelled. "HOW?"

"That girl, Mina!" Jason said. "She somehow broke the salt circle and let the other guy out! And now they're missing!"

Anna let out a string of curses and followed Jason outside. He led her to the spot where Kanji and Mina were kept. Once they reached there, Anna strode forward to see the empty space. They really were gone!

"FUCK!" she screamed. "FIND THEM!"

She was furious at the outcome. If those two escape, then they might inform Hwang Junho and they would come here!

Jason was standing a good distance away from her, watching the woman go mad with fury.

"I'll have to use my powers to locate them," she whispered. Closing her eyes in concentration, Anna muttered a spell to locate Kanji's presence. But the energy from hell was interfering with her senses and the spell was of no use. No matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to locate them.

"UGH!" she shrieked. "Go and find them!" 

She was ordering Jason but to her slight surprise, he stood at his spot with a cold look on his face.

"You killed my son…" he whispered.

"What?" Anna snapped. "How-"

She froze. Jason was no longer looking lost and enchanted. In fact, he seemed to be in his senses…

"NOW!" he yelled.

Instantly, a circle of fire erupted around Anna, making her scream. She stood in the middle of the circle while the flames danced around the border, making it impossible for her to escape. 

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" she begged in fear. The flames were merrily dancing at her, tormenting her as she tried to escape but could not do so. Fire was the weakness of witches who sold their souls to the Devil and they had to be careful when using it. Even the slightest touch could kill her.

Sparks were flying towards her but she yelped and moved to the side but it was becoming more difficult to avoid them.

"I was just stabbing in the dark but it seems like we really did find your weakness."

Anna spun around and growled. Gayoon was standing on the other side, staring at her coldly with anger and disgust. The moment she entered the fort, she noticed the burnt walls which meant that Anyal's lover was burned alive in that place. Moreover, according to the books they had been reading, witches were almost always burnt on the altar which meant that maybe fire was their weakness. It was a theory but she decided to apply it anyway.

"Let me go!" Anna begged. "I don't wanna die!"

"Should have thought of that when you killed our friend and took my family hostage!" Gayoon barked at her. Kanji and Mina stood next to her while Junho and Shinjin surrounded the circle, prepared to catch Anna if she tried to escape.

"I just want to live!" Anna claimed. "I had to follow Anyal! Only he can bring my soul back from the Devil-"

"Anyal has no intention of doing anything like that!" Shinjin told her. "The servant who managed to help him open the gates last time, died after Anyal pushed her through a portal and made a train run over her. He can't just make portals in the dead world but in this world too. He's a demon after all! You can't trust them!"

"Lies!" Anna shrieked.

"Who cares?" Shinjin sneered. "You can die now, or you can die later. Either way, that fire is gonna kill ya!"

Anna looked fearfully around her. They had trapped her with her weakness and there was no way out. She stared at their hateful gazes, wondering how to get out of the mess but her powers were already weakened in that forest. 

"Where's my daughter?" Gayoon demanded. "And how can we get her out of that dimensional spell?"

"You can't!" Anna revealed. "There's only one way in but no way to get out of there. Jina has to create a portal to the World of the Dead and then another portal to the living world so that she can escape that place! That's the only way. But as soon as she enters the dead world, Anyal will trap and sacrifice her to hell before bringing out his lover."

"Gayoon, I think she's telling the truth," Shinjin said. "Even if she knew how to break the spell, her powers are still too weak. It won't be enough to bring Jina back directly to this dimension."

Gayoon checked her watch. It was 9:45 PM which meant they had less time in their hands.

"Take me into that dimension," she ordered Anna. "If you try anything funny, we'll burn you down without any hesitation!"

Anna was panting hard. The smoke was filling up her lungs and the fire got warmed by the second. If she did not agree, she would die and that was the last thing she wanted.

"Okay!" she exclaimed. "I'll take you there!"