[Teminé] Is that you?

“So, you were in that room then, right?”
Silence.
Coi stared at Anhydre.
It’s the red light spot reminded her. That memory should have been deleted according to the contract. However, apparently, from the rhetorical questions Anhydre shot to Behekine, he knew the memory was returned to her. At that time, he thought it’s only the fire-casting part but now, he realized, Anhydre got her memory fully back. It was a completed version.
“Tell me when you’re done fighting, and I’ll join the fray. We have people to help for now. And, boy; I noticed.”
Help yourself. Behekine!
Coi skewed at him. To seize every possible chance of frame-up, Behekine set a “leash” landmine before taking his leave. Insult. See me as a dog, huh?! Clearly, the intention behind this “leash” was a trap, a trap for his dispel power. It’s not an attack or a snare to him at all under an easy snap and he knew Behekine knew that too. Anyway, he wasn’t so foolish to be cheated by this dirty trick.

“Answer me! Yes or no! Otherwise…”

Anhydre hinted him to look down at the blue lighted “leash”. Her feet were right beside it.
Do you know what are you doing? Hurt your comrade? Help that beast?
“Yes. I was there but-”
A step was enough for him. Anhydre. toed and left him behind.
The landmine activated immediately. A compressed air uppercut. A solid fist came on his right cheek. Unable to do any protection to such sudden attack, Coi was hit down to the ground. Feeling a full mouth of blood, mushy flesh and punchy mind, Coi snickered…
Were it not for Anhydre’s interruption, this concentrated air punch should be launched on Behekine’s abdomen. Were it not for the masked man’s memory return, she might still in his control. Were it not for her ill-judged thought to Behekine, she wouldn’t do that to him.
Anyway, why he was there was to bring Anhydre to the masked man, not to hurt her.  it's actually a rescue. Whereas, what did she do to him? Not listening to his explanation and gave a hand to Behekine.

And I am the biggest fool in this play.

Blood.
He grabbed the red light spot and held it tight in the fist. Rolling up his sleeves, he attached it to the middle of sigil. Burning sigil suddenly, turned black once the spot was dissolved. He touched…
*Off contract!*
*What? Do you know out of the sigil, those words you said would be heard in public?*
*Off contract. No sign on the card, words from your mouth. Put me on the edge of sword only for your pride. Promise me to secrete the room but tell her as bait. In that chimney, I hid. Blasted fire, I reset. Fire in the stove, I snapped. And you just took it as your hero mark.*
*Enough*
*For your secretive identity, I backed up. End up two enemies in front. Remember, I am not you servant, nor slave. Too many things I bore for you. I don’t need your damned HELP, Anhydre, anymore.  Not Anymore.*

He stroked the sigil on his arm. It disappeared like not having existing before. The contract was written inside that light spot, which had record function. Once something violated the context, by putting it into sigil, everything would back to nothing. Just like now.
Tired. Rest.
But still, killing that beast was his final goal.
Plan.

“Sand-girl? Is that you?”
The voice track flied back from nowhere, echoing in the air. Nothing back but this… no illusion, no thundering sky, no fire wall but these five words…

Coi didn’t answer her, only showing his bewilderment or to say surprise. She had less patience for him to think whether he was there or not. The more time he spent, the more possible the bad intention could be.

If he wasn’t there, why he cannot just say it out. Is there any secret behind?
If he was there…
Gosh, she dared not to think someone had stalked her for such a long time, simply for controlling her.

“Tell me when you’re done fighting, and I’ll join the fray. We have people to help for now. And boy; I noticed.”
Now did she notice how disastrous scene around her. The explosion broke the whole city into debris. People were all suffering, howled, screamed, cried…
Behekine was going to go to aid for those victim. Isn’t he afraid they would give a back attack and he would be one of them? But her question was solved in next moment. Seeing the blue right lightened under Coi’s feet, which worked as landmine.
She got an idea.

Threat!

Moving forward a bit, Anhydre found Coi paid little attention on that ring. He probably thought nothing would be happened if he didn’t move. He had full time to come up with a solution or to wait another explosion to save him, or his snap! And “She” must out of his plan.
“Answer Me! Yes or No! Otherwise…”
Even though there were two opposite answers, one thing was sure, a step. To alert him it was the urgent moment so don’t waste her time, she stomped her foot right beside the landmine. If he said yes, a step. If he said no, also a step but the sand power would be his additional gift.
 
Without hesitation, he answered:
“Yes, I was there but-”
Not waiting his answer finished, Anhydre moved a step and activated the system of landmark. She didn’t want to listen to his excuse. Everything had a “but”. Everything had a great excuse behind and that excuse motivated him to do that. That’s FACT. She just learned it from this memorable killing experience, thanks to Behekine.
No time would be better than now to attack him. However, she was fatigue. More to her was seeing such disaster reminded her, that night, she bombed the room like this and the panther-man told her: You could not show this side of responsibility sides of yours if I cleaned everything with a spell!
What the hell! What am I THINKING? Stop soaking in the past. He was not panther-man, no more.
However, she really wanted to be a “furious bull” striking a bin again. Once again. Maybe, not the same but similar, she pulled her hands out on two sides, then started running to remove the rock, woods or bricks away. To flatten the road, she poured out tons of sand. And then, by sliding, she evened the road and the foundation of houses.

Suddenly, a sound from the air-
*…….promise me to secrete the room but tell her as bait. In that chimney, I hid. Blasted fire, I reset. Fire in the stove, I snapped….*
Obviously, it’s Coi’s thought of voice.
He hid in the chimney and drew her attention by giving out the red light spot. The fire should have been put out by the blast didn’t vanish because of his art-magic but suddenly, his snap blacked the whole room.
*For your secretive identity, I backed up………*
So why he stayed in the room was also a control by the masked man? Or a deal? Is it for his own identity, for killing Behekine? Thanks to Behekine’s fire, she wasn’t trapped by him but was kidnapped on the street by the masked man. Now, she got the big picture of how it went on.
Damn…
I got to clarify who the masked man was!
 
Returning to her work while thinking which step she should take… Behekine, Coi, Masked man… Who was her real enemy!
 
Just as she stared at the farthest side of Crour, a sound echoing in the sky:
“Sand-girl? Is that you?”
It’s the panther-man’s voice. And she heard the wire sound-
So at that time, it’s not her illusion. The panther-man did really say these words but… cut by Coi! If she had heard his question at that moment, everything wouldn’t happen, at least not like that; maybe, they could have a talk, instead of a fight. However, Coi clearly knew it would all ruin out, if she… found it was HIM, the panther-man.
Controller! 
 
She said in a sad tone with determined look.
“Not anymore!”

Behekine kept digging, with caution to avoid breaking the ruins even more, and risk killing those he tried to save. The man was still looking at him, puzzled to see a nightmarish beast helping to save his wife and baby. The Demon was surprised too, that the man was letting him help.
Once he removed all the debris he could with his paws and jaws, he backed up a few steps and used mist to clear the rest, now that he could see what he was doing in the ruins. Soon enough, he removed from her tomb of dust and wood an inconscious woman, that still held tight a newborn against her chest.
The baby was crying, unharmed except for the dust that covered him, and the woman was alive. The man ran to the rescapees, taking them in his arms from the mist that brought them back from the ruins.
Just when the man turned to look at him, Behekine said, half a growl in his voice :

- Do not thank me. Just bring your family to a healer fast, they're not safe yet.

With that, he turned around and jumped into the street. He didn't want gratitude. Not after blowing up the town.
Behekine felt the landmine going off, which surprised him. Did the boy move instead of using his powers to disarm it ? The mist told him that the boy had not moved, and that the sand-girl was now moving fast in the streets, away from him...
That was weird...

He ran to another ruin, and used the same process to extract inconscious bodies from under the rubbles, doing his best to stay hidden from the increasing number of people that were roaming the ruined shantytown, trying to do the same as him. With his appearance, he was certain to cause a panic if seen. He didn't want that either.
His mind was still using the mist to follow the position of his aggressors. So far, the boy had not moved an inch since he left him, and the sand-girl was moving at high speed in the streets.
So it looked like the sand-girl decided to help after all. Good point for her.
The boy was still immobile. Bad point for him.

The Demon knew it was a small and frail truce. Their fight needed a closure, else they'll start again, in the middle of the ruins even, amidst already hurt citizens...
Anger was still gnawing at him, refusing to let go, and Behekine knew that he would not hesitate to attack them back if the fight resumed. Unable to forgive them, or to control his temper, the best idea he found was a compromise of sort.
He had helped enough people, and the crowd was growing closer. So he ran to the edge of the ruined district, jumped on an intact roof like a grotesque oveersized alleycat, and spoke to the mist, sending his voice in echoes to the boy and the sand-girl :

- Childrens... hear my voice. The citizens of Cruor have suffered too much from our fight. If you really want me dead, come find me outside the city. I'll put a beacon for you, and I'll wait twenty-four hours. Be warned ; there will be no mercy for you if you persist. Not anymore.

The message was clear.
He jumped in the mist and disappeared within. After a few seconds, the immense cloud left the city, pushed away without any wind. It went north-east...

Spoiler:

Sequel: " Not Anymore "