Exi stood above on the metal platform. He was unbreakable, undefeatable, atleast as long as he was in his Word of Power. He didn't fear even Pende, who was officially above him, when in this form.
Yet, yet, yet...
He had been burned, he had been injured. He gingerly touched the burned right half of his face. That wound wouldn't heal, he would carry that scar of being burned forever.
And all because of that wretched woman.
Sure it was officially Midir who had burned him, but that blasted dragon magik user wouldn't have been able to touch him if it weren't for the sand woman.
Zoe..
She was the most dangerous among them. Exi decided that he would have to eliminate her first. He was targetting Midir, simply because fire was the most effective against his particular brand of magik. But he would have to change his targets.
The sand woman couldn't be allowed to live.
A sudden commotion from below distracted him.
What now?
Exi peeked over the edge. And he gasped.
Below he saw the General from Temuril staggering up, swinging his axe haphazardly towards Zoe. The sand woman wasn't attacking him but just dodging his blows while trying to talk to him about something.
Still alive eh General?
True, he remembered that the General and Zoe both had mentioned multiple times that they were not allies, but if course he hadn't believed them. But now it truly seemed like they were not lying. After all why would the General waste his energy when he was already grievously injured to chase down his ally?
Exi smiled. This was his opportunity.
Useful for something atleast eh General Fridt?
.XX.
Zoe waited. And waited. She was patient, she had to be for the plan to succeed.
Still she felt a pang of anticipation as she watched Exi stand up and the metal platform start to descend. The General must have noticed that on her face for his strikes also grew less haphazard and he almost looked back.
But the General had impressive self-control. He realized his mistake at the last moment and then continued his haphazard swing towards Zoe, who easily dodged the attack.
Just as planned
Come a little closer, a little closer.....
Now!!
Exi was at the ground level now. He was smiling proudly as he jumped down from the platform and started advancing towards where Zoe and the General were having their fight.
As soon as he came close enough Zoe nodded towards the General and ducked down. That was their signal.
Even with a hole through his stomach, the General was fast. Years of training as a soldier, first in the Capital and then in Temuril had made his endurance sky high. He whipped around and stabbed his axe towards Exi.
Exi was caught off guard at first but he defended the strike easily enough with his right arm. There was hardly a dent where the axe struck his steel arm.
"Won't give up on killing me eh General?" Exi said, almost disappointedly before striking forward once more with his left steel arm, this time piercing straight through the General's chest and lungs.
The General gasped, gurgling blood once more. Blood rushed out through his chest as well now, and he could feel the tightness of breath indicating that his lungs had been punctured. He knew death couldn't be delayed any longer.
He smiled.
Exi looked at him agape.
"Why are you smiling old man?" He asked.
"Because I won't be the only one who dies today." The General sputtered out.
Then he concentrated. His magik reserves were already running low, and now with life slipping away he decided to use all of it. He concentrated the entirety of his magic on a single point - the edge of his axe. It began to glow but Exi realized too late.
As he tried scrambling away, the light burst out from the edge of his axe. It had the effect of a flashbang detonated near one's face. Even the metallic covering over his eyes couldn't protect it. The brilliance and brightness of the light completely blinded Exi as he staggered around and shook his head to try and clear his retinas.
This was the moment Zoe was waiting for. Like a predator, she got up and started running towards the now blinded Exi. Her Inito was already active and she willed the sand pillars to surround him.
"Sandstorm." Zoe didn't know how she knew this Incantation. It certainly wasn't one Famina had taught her. But she knew, the magik inside her told her that this would work.
And it did.
The four sand pillars merged with each other, twisting and turning around Exi. The blinded Exi didn't even realize what was happening as he stumbled around trying to find some spot, something to hold onto.
As soon as the pillars completely surrounded Exi, forming a sort of funnel around him, Midir rose up. For the final time that day he opened his mouth.
And a pillar of flame shot out.
The flame engulfed the funnel of sand, rising and mixing along with it until every particle of sand was on fire. This had the effect of turning the funnel around Exi into a furnace.
The melting point of steel is around 1500 degree Celsius. The intensity of the fire and the closed nature of the sand funnel caused the temperature to go that high within five minutes.
And that's when Exi realized what was happening. He screamed, a bloodcurdling bonechilling scream, as his body itself started melting. He thrashed around wildly trying to find the borders of the sand furnace he had been trapped in. If he could just touch the walls, turn it to steel, he would have a chance.
But Zoe could see his movements. She deftly manuevered the burning sand particles to shift the wall away from him whenever he came close. Multiple times she almost let him go, feeling horror and sympathy at his cries. But then she remembered that if she did that, he would surely kill her as well as Midir and Famina.
It's kill or be killed
Simple survival
She was horrified at this change in her, when she could calmly sentence a man, even a man such as Exi, to such a horrible death. But she also knew she had no choice, her priority was to find her son and husband. And if she didn't harden herself now, if she didn't take every step she could to ensure her survival, then she would never be able to do that.
So she hardened her face and watched expressionlessly as Exi was melted alive inside the sand furnace she had created.
.XX.
It was atleast ten minutes after Exi had stopped screaming that Zoe felt safe enough to slowly unwind the sand furnace.
As the sand slowly merged with the ground, Midir's fire slowly turned off as well. Finally all that was remaining was smoke.
Zoe gingerly stepped forward. She had to see. She had decided to take another life today, this one in a much more brutal fashion, and she wanted to see the consequences of her actions.
As the smoke slowly cleared, she saw that there was no sign of Exi at all. At first she got scared, thinking Exi had found some way to escape the furnace. But as she got closer she realized the more horrible truth.
At the center of where the furnace was, there was a puddle of metal.
All that was left of the Chianti Hunter.
There was so sign at all that that puddle used to be a human. There was no blood, no internal organs, nothing at all. Everything had been vaporized, leaving behind only metal goo of the person that used to be Exi.
"It was necessary." Zoe repeated once more quietly to herself, before turning away to see what had happened to the others.
General Fridt was dead. He was dead much before Exi had been vaporized. His body lay not far from the puddle, still on his knees. Zoe stepped forward and gently closed his still open eyes. Even if he had been their bitter enemy till the end, even if he had wanted to arrest her, Zoe couldn't help but feel respect for the General who had kept fighting till his last breath and without whom they wouldn't be able to win today.
"I'll keep my promise." She whispered to the fallen General.
Midir was on his knees as well, but he was not yet dead. He had deactivated his Inito as well and it was clear that he didn't have any energy left. He was breathing heavily and looked up wearily as Zoe approached.
"Is he dead?" He asked simply to which Zoe nodded.
"Good, good." He said before collapsing on the ground.
Famina was lying a small distance away. She was completely prone. Zoe made her way to her and slowly cradled her head. Famina fluttered open her eyes.
"Is it over?" She asked weakly.
"Yes, it is." Zoe nodded encouragingly.
"She needs a doctor. As soon as possible." Midir had gotten up and stood behind them.
"Yes let's go back to the city immed-"
"NO!"
The force in Famina's voice startled them, and Famina immediately began coughing afterwards.
"Don't put so much stress on your voice Famina. Besides we don't have any other choice. We will return to the Caves tomorrow."
However again Famina vigorously shook her head.
"No, no we can't delay it much longer."
"Famina we don't have-"
"Listen to me Zoe." The intensity of her voice stopped Zoe in her tracks.
"I will go back to the city. Midir will carry me out, he knows the doctors in there. But not you. The Goddess has chosen you, Zoe. You have to go inside. You have to find the treasure alone. For the sake of the Goddess." Famina was almost pleading at the end.
Zoe looked once at Famina and then at Midir, who nodded reassuringly.
"I'll come back once I have gotten both of checked up at the doctor to take you back to the city." The guide said.
"Please Zoe. You are our only hope." Famina pleaded.
Zoe sighed and then nodded. "Then I will do as you say. But how will I know which is the treasure of the Goddess?"
Famina smiled, for the first time in a long while Zoe thought.
"You will know."