The boys stood in front of the glass, Paolo examining the transparent materials. "Octavius break it."
Octavius nodded, summoning his hammer. He hit the glass with the heavy metal, leaving a gaping hole where the glass used to be. The three stepped in, avoiding the shattered glass on the floor. More glass covered the side of the walls as they stepped through the hole, moving deeper until they encountered a group of men with pickaxes.
One of them wearing only a pair of black and white trousers frowned at them, his dark skin dripping with sweat. "Who are you guys?"
"We're looking for your boss," Paolo said.
"That's not what I asked you," he said, flexing his left bicep where his adventure logo was located.
"You guys go, I'll handle the situation," Octavius said. "If you keep moving forward, you'll eventually find him."
Paolo nodded, the two boys moving forward. The man's huge sword crashed down to hit Paolo and Shinzo, but Octavius stopped the blade with his arm, allowing the two boys to move past him.
"Don't touch them, your opponent is me."
The man growled, the young boy testing his patience. "You little brat."
As the two confronted each other, Paolo and Shinzo moved deeper into the cave. A bullet fizzled in the air, the two boys jumping away. The bullet slammed into the glass behind them, the material exploding into little pieces.
"Exploding bullets," Shinzo mumbled, dodging another one that headed in his direction. His eyes glowed yellow, his body propelling behind a pillar and his fists colliding into the stomach of a girl who stood behind it.
She rolled on the ground, her long skirt getting caught on a nearby rock. She glared at Shinzo, her hands latched to the weapon holster on her thigh.
"It's the girl that attacked this morning," Paolo pointed out.
"It's Oloha," she seethed. "I'm going to pay you guys a thousand fold for this morning."
Shinzo turned to Paolo. "Go, I'll handle her."
Paolo nodded, trudging forward. As Oloha tried to stop him with a bullet, a stone about the same size hit it, changing its course. She glared at Shinzo who played with tiny stones in his hand, Paolo moving past her.
He smirked. "If you want to play, I'll play with you, but I won't go easy on you because you're a girl."
She gritted her teeth. "Bring it on."
Their voices faded as Paolo moved forward. He stopped in front of a wooden door at the end of the tunnel, his hand twirling the door knob and pulling it open.
Ini's claps sounded through the small room, Paolo staring at the adventurer with narrowed eyes. "Be happy to know you are the first person to actually get this far into the volcano. Too bad you're going to die." He smiled. "The names Ini by the way, knowing your murderers name is an honor."
Paolo frowned. "I would have ignored you and whatever you have planned in this volcano since I'm not the hero type, but you tried to kill me crew which is simply unacceptable."
Ini lit his tobacco, staring at him through his lashes. "You and your crew would have gotten in my way if I let you pass." He blew a puff of smoke. "Have you heard of the three powerful cores of the world?"
Paolo nodded. "Yes I have, the only existing magical orbs that have enough power to destroy a country."
"Well on this putrid island, one of the cores is in this volcano and I have spent four years trying to find it. I've finally found it after all these years and I'm going to use it to create a weapon that can destroy all the seven Earthian Fortresses."
.....
A large ball of wind blasted in Luna's direction, the witch using her own wind to cancel it out. A laughed sounded in the distance, Aesha walking towards Luna in front of the cave.
"You guys are pretty bold confronting my captain."
"It's you," Luna said, eyes narrowed. "The witch we met on our ship."
"No shit." She summoned her wand, wind surrounding her. "Since you guys found out our secret, we'll have to kill you. You don't have to guard here either; your friends won't make it out alive."
Luna summoned her own wand, tilting her head. "Don't underestimate my crew, they're stronger than you think."
Aesha laughed, her body fizzling away. "We'll see about that."
A huge gust of wind spiraled around Luna, Luna biting her lip and checking her surroundings,
Aesha suddenly appeared in front of her, kicking her hard in the stomach. Her body crashed into the cave, grazing her skin on the rough floor. She coughed, staggering to her feet,
She flicked her wand,
A cloud started forming in the air, the formation slow. Aesha laughed at the failure of a cloud, her index finger pressed on her bottom lip. "This little thing won't do anything."
Aesha lifted her wand up, a huge tornado circling Luna. She screamed, the wind slicing at her skin. Aesha laughed, Luna's tortured screams music to her ears.
The tornado died down, Luna dropping to the ground. She spat out blood, her body decorated with deep gashes and her blue bra top and skirt riddled with rips. She forced herself up, frowning at her broken alcohol bottle on the ground. "That was my last one."
Aesha frowned, not expecting her opponent to be able to withstand her magic. "How are you still standing?"
Luna put her wand horizontally, glaring at her. "Unlike you, I have a reason to keep standing to fight. I won't let you get in my captains way."
Aesha clicked her tongue. "Don't act like you're better than me. I also have a reason not to let you get in my masters way. The wish of my master will come true no matter what."
"Wish?"
"We'll get the core and destroy not only the Earthians, but the Russ Clan. We've been mistreated too long. You shouldn't go against it and should be willing to help. I'm sure you've also endured their discrimination."
"If we kill them, how are we better than them? The cycle of discrimination won't end. People would still view us as evil witches who destroyed a whole clan." She pointed her wand at her. "My mother fought so I could live my dream, walking any other path would be a dishonor to her."
Aesha glared at her, pointing her wand forward. "I shouldn't have expected anything from a stupid girl like you. This time, I'll make sure you stay down."
A much bigger tornado than the last one engulfed Luna, her whole body suffering excruciating pain as the wind blades pierced through her skin. Luna forced her hands up, slamming her palms together,
The cloud Luna had created previously, filled almost the whole cave without Aesha noticing. Her eyes widened, a huge strike of lightning falling from the sky and hammering Aesha's body directly.
The shock burst through Aesha's body, burning it till she her tan skin turned coal black. The tornado died down, dropping a breathless Luna to the ground. Aesha's body twitched nearby before her consciousness faded away.
Luna stared at the ceiling of the cave, her vision clouding. She forced herself to stay conscious, blood spitting out of her gaping wounds. She tilted her head to the side, looking deeper into the cave, .
.....
"Will they be okay?" Iverem asked, watching Ameh sprinkle water on the cattle on the altar in front of the volcano.
"They'll be fine, but I'm more worried about the citizens that are still here," Aline said then pouted. "I wanted to be part of an epic battle too."
The ground suddenly shook then stopped abruptly, people around staring up at the volcano.
Aline frowned,