The explosion was loud, earth-shattering and terrifying. The once open cavern was now a heap of crumbled earth, the creature and two gods buried underneath it. It was an absolute disaster and all for nought, the amulet was nowhere to be seen.
Everything had been out of control, one minute Leodocus was as close to being decapitated as he had ever been by an enraged Empusa and the next his body was engulfed in a cacoon of pure unadulterated energy.
He opened one eye at a time, his lids feeling heavy not only from exhaustion but also from the debris that lay on top of his body. A wheezing cough escaped from his throat and he attempted to sit up but there was a giant block of earth sitting on his chest like dead weight.
His head finally cleared up and he lifted the boulder off of himself and stumbled to stand up. Leodocus was angry, more frustrated about how difficult things seemed to have gotten since trekking down here. He would never for a second believe it would be as easy as just taking the amulet but he had hoped for better results in record time. It was one thing to retrieve the item but he also wanted to prove himself competent to his uncle.
"Show me to the amulet." He spoke as he shuffled over to Empusa breathing heavily, Leo's sword buried in her leg. He grabbed her by the back of her neck and began dragging her along.
"Burn in Tartarus! You spoiled---" she cut off with a scream as Leo produced an electric spark in his palm directly onto her skin.
"I shall rip you limb from limb but if you co-operate your death will be swift!" he glared right in her eyes with shaking rage and impatience.
"It will take more than a tantrum from you to make me hand it over to you little prince." He kissed his teeth at her impotence but smirked as a plan formulated in his head. "Is that so?"
With determination Leodocus punched her in the face knocking her out and with his foot on her neck he raised his arms and the earth around Pythia hovered in the air and he pushed it out the way. His plan was simple, he was going to use the goddess' curse to get the amulet. Killing Empusa would do nothing but waste time in this endless cavern searching for it. Since was it's guardian she knows exactly where it is and he was going to have her lead them to it.
Pythia grumbled as she shook the dust off of her body, her one leg still broken and perhaps even a dislocated shoulder. But she pushed through and made her way to the steaming prince.
"Give me the honour." Pythia was fuming, the creature had almost ripped away the very essence that made her who she was and she had been bent on killing the creature slowly.
"After she hands over the amulet." He applied pressure to Empusa's neck. "Where is it?" he bared down on her and as expected she taunted him with a sinister cackle but he had had enough of her theatrics. Leodocus gave Pythia a knowing glance and together they got to work subduing the monster who was screaming like a banshee the way they should have when they first arrived here. Leo had her in a hold and would shock her whenever she would struggle. Pythia was almost salivating at the thought of revenge, she didn't want her soul per se, she just relished in the thought of leaving her empty and shallow before she dies.
Pythia instructed Leodocus to tilt her head up and in turn, he closed his as a precaution to not get accidentally affected. He could feel it in the bone-chilling atmosphere of the cavern that Pythia was doing her job.
"You will show us to the amulet."
"I will not—"
"YOU WILL!" Leodocus broke one of her wrists to emphasise his point. "NOW! STOP WASTING MY TIME!" he was reaching a new level of frustration where slicing her head off seemed like a very reasonable option.
"Can you persuade her or not?" he asked angrily at Pythia who despite her weakened stage on the count of the rock avalanche was still focused on her task. She brushed off his brashness and dug her thumbs into Empusas' temples more to get her to focus.
Not only could Pythia reach into ones' body and steal their very essence but her powers also allow her to delve deep into the inner crevices of the mind. Her eyes came in effect as a way to completely not only immobilize ones' body but internally destroy any defences the mind might have. Leo could have attempted to do it himself had he finished his tutelage under his uncle. Should he have been the one to do this and failed, it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
"Simpleton." Pythia scoffed as she fully broke through Empusas' mental wall which proved to be incredibly easy because creatures like her, whos' only purpose were to kill, destroy and feed did not possess the proper mental fortitude to protect themselves against telepathic attacks. In a moment Leodocus felt the best go slightly slack in his arms, it was working but not fast enough for him. All he kept thinking about as he averted his gaze from the bright blood-red glow of Pythias' eyes were how his brothers were handling the extraction of the girl. From the way he had felt her aura through the link, he could guess that even though she is inexperienced, she might be a handful. But he had faith in them and he knew they would pull through with their end of the plan. Now if only he could complete his.
"What is taking so long?" he gritted, able to see a thin sheen of sweat across the goddess' forehead.
"I am trying to locate--- well well, look what we have here." The goddess felt her upper lip twitch in delight at her findings.
"What, what is it? Where is she hiding it in here?" he gestured to the cavern with his eyes still shut. He heard a snigger then felt the dead weight of Empusa go completely slack as she dropped to the ground before him. Pythia had subdued her.
After a few moments, there were movements, the rustling of cloth and calm footsteps walking in their direction. He wondered if for a second Empusa kept any company in here but was fairly surprised to hear his uncle's voice instead.
"Dawn has arrived nephew, are you about finished up here?" the older god folded his hands behind his back with a blank expression.
"Just about, but I'm you will be witnessing the best part, my lord." Pythia intercepted.
"I take it you have found the amulet then, good proceed." The god nodded and leaned himself against the wall not sparing a glance at the creature he imprisoned laying limp on the floor.
"Proceed with that exactly?" Leodocus asked looking between the two gods.
"Proceed to kill her of course dear prince. Now considering this is your mission I would give you the honour of putting this animal down but seeing as she tried to end me in the vilest way…well I simply must insist on killing it myself." The goddess was practically shimmering with glee as she stalked over but Leo stood tall in front of her to block her way. Pythia had once again covered her detrimental eyes for all of their safety.
"After she shows us to the amulet, not a moment before." He spoke sternly to make his authority know and Hades watching from the sidelines was silently impressed his nephew.
"Oh calm down boy, you will get your precious amulet after I gauge out her eyes and crush her skull like a walnut." Pythia rolled up her sleeves to prepare for the mess she sure was about to create.
"I said first the—"
"Leodocus the amulet lays within her body. The spine more specifically. Retrieve it after the lady has made her kill. Do you not think she deserves as much for bringing you this far?" Hades spoke and Leodocus could swear when he opened his mouth Zeus' voice came out. Shaking his head clear of the man he looked to Pythia for confirmation.
"Did you find it?"
"Yes, now step back and you might want to avert your eyes, I know how you royals can get about a gory mess even if you have shed more blood than all of us combined." She sneered glancing at the two Olympians. Hades was completely unbothered while Leodocus was rethinking his entire decision for asking for her help. But he had gotten to his point with her reluctantly albeit sarcastic assistance so why not let the goddess indulge a bit. Besides, he had no immediate and elaborate plans to kill the beast so it seemed fitting to let Pythia deliver the final blow. With a shrug, he stepped away from Empusas' unconscious form and sheathed his blade back at his side and stood by his uncles' side to despite her warning, watch goddess work.
As sadistic as Pythia felt in this moment she would not allow Empusa to just wither away quietly and painlessly in her sleep. Now she wanted her to feel every bit of torture just like she felt the fraction of it when Empusa almost killed her. She started by waking her up, them blocking off all her receptors from her brain to her muscles but not the nerves because she needed her to feel the full pain of having her body broken limb to limb.
She reached her hand out to Leodocus to hand over his sharp blade and once he did she swiftly and precisely removed Empusas' two arms from her body then got work on her untraditional legs. The bronzed one she would take back home as a trophy.
Leodocus and Hades watched the goddess go mad with bloodlust as she kept stabbing every part of Empusas' body until she was a bloody heap of screams and tears. Then as a final farewell, the goddess straddled the bloody creature and proceeded to laugh maniacally as she pressed her fingering into Empusas' eyes and true to her word squeeze her skull and all the brain matter like a ripened fruit.
By the end, Pythia stood up from the body, Empusas' bronzed leg in one hand and her entire spinal collum in the other. The body looked like nothing but a misshapen wax sculpture completed by a toddler and Leodocus could not find one-ounce care as he took the spine and handed it over to his uncle.
"Well! That was thoroughly satisfying, I hope you gentlemen are impressed with my handy work." Pythia mused rhetorically as she wiped the sweat off her face still drenched with Empusas' blood.
When Hades had entrusted this item that had been entrusted to him, he formed a protective spell around it. To look at it, it was nothing more than a bloody spine with some muscle still limply attached to it. But once Hades waved his hand over it reciting an encantation it transformed into the amulet. It was magnificent with its emerald jewels accenting the stunning gold of the frame. The large jewel dangling at the bottom was what Leo's attention was drawn to the most because it gave him hope. Not only could this piece of powerful finery eliminate the threat of the descendant but it could give her back her normal life when all this was said and done.
"It is past dawn, there is so much left to do and I need to get back to my brothers," Leo said with finality looking at his two companions as he carefully locked the amulet in its designated case and confidently strode out of the cavern with them in two.
Now he was just one step closer.