What was at the end of the hallway in front of them was no door, that much she could tell. It looked like an oil-like substance was covering vertically the door. At the light of the torches and the wizards' wands, the black thing was moving and undulating, making the whistles which had been heard previously. But the detail which made the scene horrible was that the surface was agitated by slight moves, and even with the lack of light Alexandra and the rest of the army present could only watch with a morbid fascination the faces of hundreds of the missing goblins contracting in pain and agony behind this undulating veil.
"STAND TO BATLLE FORMATION! STAND TO BATTLE FORMATION!" The voice of Warfist thundered loud and clear, and thousands of warriors positioned themselves in front of the former vault 13, their spears lowered for battle and their shields locked with their counterparts, presenting a formidable wall of steel and death to anything having the temerity of sallying out the vault.
The great hallway they were currently regrouped in was not enough for the thousands of goblins to position themselves, but goblin archers and the human curse-breakers had already taken the higher ground. At Warfist signal, the first spells and arrows struck the black gate, whereas the rest of the army stood in defensive position.
It had no effect whatsoever on the black substance. Like a black maw, the liquid absorbed everything. The curse-breakers rained down an impressive array of hexes, incantations, jinxes and counter-enchantments, in vain. The arrow were swallowed without difficulty. The only visible effect was the progressive disappearance of the missing goblins face in the depths of whatever vault 13 had become.
"CEASE FIRE!" Shouted Warfist. "STOP SHOOTING! YOU AREN'T DOING...!"
The voice of the general stopped in the middle of the order. Every archer present was unable to shoot his arrows. The wizards' next spells never came.
The black surface which had been so resistant had turned transparent, unveiling what was lying behind it. At first, the wave of warmth and fire was so stunning, nobody managed to see on the other side.
Then a gigantic paw got through the liquid barrier and Alexandra perceived the true face of the enemy. The thing was big, fifteen feet high, maybe higher. It was looking like a salamander she had seen once in a documentary at the Dursleys, but here stopped the similarity. It was formed from flames and shadows. And it was coming straight at them.
The second paw of the salamander entity got through the gate, as did its head making the liquid collapse in a small black wave.
The thing then growled in triumph, opening its maw and showing large fangs which would have made a T-Rex envious and jealous. The temperature rose by several degrees and flames emerged from the interior of the salamander's mouth.
A Balrog. Alexandra thought. It's exactly like a Balrog. May the Valar...
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Screamed Warfist. "KILL IT!"
The moment of shock was over, and the goblins charged at the huge salamander with their halberds and their spears, while the wizards unleashed their most powerful spells with devastating accuracy. For a moment, Alexandra believed the entity of fire and shadows was doomed. Surely nothing could survive this combination of weapons and magic!
Apparently, her estimation was deadly wrong. After the first spear and axes strikes, the salamander skin toughened at an amazing speed, becoming so resistant the goblin steel broke against it. The same thing happened to the curses and offensive magic which was sent: each incantation striking was doing little damage, the entity was bleeding some flames and shadow and then the wound cauterised like the mutant Wolverine in Dudley's comics.
After thirty seconds, the salamander, no doubt bored to death by the ridiculous attempts to harm it, finally extracted itself completely from what had been once upon a time a Gringotts vault and counter-attacked.
A hurricane of flames came out the entity's mouth, engulfing the first ranks of the expeditionary force with a fire of near-lava consistence. The first goblins on the path of this devastation died without realising they were doomed. The others tried to evade the torrent of flames, but in a formation so compact, it was impossible. In an instant, the ten first ranks of the goblin army disappeared forever, carbonised.
The salamander growled in amusement, and then impossibly absorbed the magical fire by its mouth and every part of its skin. Of the hundred goblins which had been there previously, not even the bones and ashes remained.
Alexandra froze. She had faced death several times at Hogwarts this past year, but this... this was nothing her mind or magic could beat in a straight-up fight. Watching the salamander growl in defiance, she understood they were all going to die there. This fantastic beast did not seem to make a difference between human and goblins. No weapon they had could work against this thing.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
The goblins roared to answer the salamander's challenge. In a growl which had nothing human in it, Warfist shouted "CHARGE!".
"TO WAR!" Bellowed the thousands of goblins. And the bloodthirsty warriors raced towards the abomination of flames and shadows without any fear, only rage and bloodlust in their hearts.
That was enough for Alexandra. If the goblins wanted to die, then it was their problem, not hers. As the salamander used its enflamed tail to smash a dozen of unfortunate goblins against a wall, she ran in one of the nearby corridors as fast as her tired legs allowed.
It was not the way her and the other humans had used to come to this infernal vault, but right now she didn't care. The only thing which mattered in her mind was putting the maximum of distance between her and that monstrous infernal salamander.
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