273. Willy

“Aw, come on!”

I protested as Willy flitted between the rock walls of the ravine. A [Junior Centinel] leapt out of an alcove— a crack in the wall— and snapped for the [Will O’ Wisp]. He simply zipped out of the way.

The [Junior Centinel] landed with a thud. It got back to its feet, only for an iridescent flame to hover right behind it. Then Willy’s color changed. His wisps morphed into a dark crimson as he grew in size— larger than the [Junior Centinel]. In that single instant, he engulfed it entirely.

I crossed my arms as the [Junior Centinel] was reduced to ashes.

“Well?”

“No.”

Willy repeated his answer. I threw my hands in the air.

“Why not?”

I really wanted him to teach me how he was doing all these different flames. Especially since they were multi-colored. And they had different effects too! Most of my flames just burned stuff. I could make weapons as well, but even then the weapons usually included burning stuff.

Meanwhile, Willy’s flames did more than just that. His red flames incinerated everything it touched. His blue flames froze most things it touched. His green flames seemed to heal anything it touched. His yellow flames— well…

An [Older Centinel] burrowed out of the ground, screeching as it sprayed acid at the [Will O’ Wisp]. Some of the acid rained around me, but a simple wave of flames protected me from it. Willy, however, didn’t care about the acid. It evaporated before it even reached him.

He countered the attack with his own yellow flames. And, well, the yellow fire seemed more liquid-y than fire…y. It splashed across the carapace of the [Older Centinel]’s shell, melting the red away as smoke sizzled up into the air. Fire could sometimes melt things— like ice or metal— but this wasn’t something that should’ve been melting. Yet, the carapace still melted.

The [Older Centinel] collapsed as the yellow flame ate away at its body. Its segmented body fell apart as Willy hurled another globule of yellow flame at it.

“Huh. Your fire can do anything!”

“Yes.”

Somehow, I could hear the pride in his voice. The [Will O’ Wisp] changed colors again, this time sending out several balls of purple flame. These purple flames turned into wisp-like forms of their own, moving around with purpose as they floated to the corpses of the Centinels.

They seemed to possess the bodies, sinking deep within the carapace as an ethereal glow filled the room. Finally, the corpses flew into the air, hovering back in the direction we came.

“Woah.”

I stared at the floating bodies as they flew a dozen feet back into the other ravine. Right as they passed through the intersection where the ravine we were standing in cut across the smaller ravine we came from, they vanished. Like they’d been dropped into the ocean and vanished— ripples ran across the water, but the water remained clear, unblotted by what had been dropped onto its surface.

“Good haul! Good haul!”

I heard Kron’s voice echoing down to us. So, that was how they gathered Centinels to feed the haven. It was good teamwork. Especially with Willy’s abilities. Speaking of—

“Why won’t you teach me how to do that with your fire?”

I turned to him, pouting. He flew in a circle around me before pausing.

“Stranger.”

“Stranger? Oh, right, we did just meet, didn’t we?”

I tapped a finger on my chin.

“Then why did you try to save me earlier if I’m a stranger?”

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Master.”

Willy spoke in clipped sentences, but I got the gist of it. His master must’ve had a typical adventurer’s creed to save anyone who was in danger, and he had thought I was in danger.

“But I can handle myself. I wasn’t actually in too much danger. I’d have gotten out of that situation somehow!”

I waved a claw off, but for whatever reason, I felt like Willy was dubious of me.

“You’ve got to believe me!”

“Ok.”

He flew off, continuing his search for more Centinels. There weren’t too many Centinels here, populating this area of the Bloodied Gulf. If I had to guess, it was because of how this area was used as a hunting ground for the haven.

I followed Willy as he ventured further and further out, taking out Centinel after Centinel. He didn’t even bother to send the lower-leveled ones back to Kron. I continued after him, arms crossed and protesting.

“It’s not even like you’re that much higher-leveled than me! And you’re handling yourself just fine, see? Plus, I’m a Demon!”

He turned to face me as a Centinel leapt at him from behind. It combusted and died. He stared at me.

“Spirit.”

“..right.”

I forgot about that.

“Even still, I’m not any ordinary Demon. I’m a special Demon.”

This actually seemed to pique Willy’s interest. The ground rumbled as a low Level 100 [Senior Centinel] barreled its way down the ravine towards us, but the [Will O’ Wisp] still spoke to me.

“Special?”

“Hey, guys? Me thinks you loud. Should soft—”

Kron called out to us from afar, but I continued as I raised a hand.

“Yep. Watch this.”

I sent a rolling of blue flames at the [Senior Centinel]. A roiling wave that washed the rocky surface of the ravine clean of the lower-leveled Centinels around the area. It didn’t instantly kill the [Senior Centinel], but the fire raged on, turning into a pure white, finally clearing the red stain off the Bloodied Gulf.

The notifications for the kills resounded in my head as I grinned.

Defeated [Junior Centinel – Lvl. 37]!

Little-to-no experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

…

Defeated [Senior Centinel – Lvl. 104]!

Less experience is awarded for defeating an enemy at least 10 levels below you!

“Didn’t even break a sweat.”

“Weak.”

Willy somehow made a snorting noise as he flew up. He sent a pillar of fire up into the air, drawing the attention of more Centinels from the nearby crevices. They came. Hundreds of Centinels. A dozen [Older Centinels].

A single [Senior Centinel].

It was nearly Level 120. Close to Willy’s level. Above me in level. But the [Will O’ Wisp] didn’t budge. In fact, he continued to send the red inferno up above the crevice— until it was no longer red, but yellow.

The yellow flames rained down on the approaching Centinels, leaving scathing marks on the earth as they melted the flesh of the lower-leveled Centinels. They had come like a tidal wave of red— an avalanche of blood and death. Now, they were reduced to mere writhing forms. Shattered. Like a broken iceberg.

Still, it wasn’t as effective against the [Senior Centinel]. It was slightly hurt by the raining yellow flames— its carapace sizzled as the fire tried to melt its way to its flesh. The [Senior Centinel] reeled and dug beneath the earth, escaping the attack.

I rolled my eyes.

“You let it get away.”

“No.”

Willy was insistent. His body shone with the color of the rainbow as the falling yellow flames turned blue. It pattered the floor of the Bloodied Gulf, turning it into a frozen wasteland and stopping the remaining [Older Centinel] in their tracks. They tried to break free, but a hail of red flames finished them off for good.

As for the [Senior Centinel], it exploded out of the ground only to find its legs clicking against a slippery floor. It couldn’t get a proper grip and tumbled over, crashing against the side of the ravine’s wall.

The [Will O’ Wisp] flew over it as I watched, curious as to what he’d do. I expected him to barrage it with red or yellow flames— maybe even a different color I hadn’t seen yet. What I didn’t expect was for Willy to dive straight at the [Senior Centinel].

“Um, what?”

I stared at him as his body shifted. He grew slowly and slowly, becoming larger and larger, until he eventually became as large as the [Senior Centinel]’s head. He engulfed its face with his body. The [Senior Centinel] thrashed on the ground, trying to pick itself back up, but found itself slipping on the ice and falling over and over again.

Willy moved further down the [Senior Centinel] as it tried clawing him off it. His flames were physical— the sharp legs of the [Senior Centinel] somehow seemed to scratch the [Will O’ Wisp]. And that was why he moved, burning each of the segmented bodies of the [Senior Centinel] with a greater intensity than even his red flames.

The [Senior Centinel] struggled. It really did. But eventually, it stopped its thrashing as Willy drew back. He left the scorched corpse of the giant Centinel behind and flew my way.

“See?”

I gave him a flat stare.

“Not impressed.”

“Lie.”

“Nope! Not lying! I’m just better!”

I stuck my tongue out at Willy, and he returned with a meaningless buzzing sound. A voice interrupted our bickering. It was the amplified words of Kron.

“Noisy! Loud! Both you!”

Both Willy and I turned our heads— well, in Willy’s case, he turned his body— to where we came from. I scowled.

“I just think I’m better than Willy here.”

“Wrong!”

“I can do just that— no, wait. I can do even better.”

“Liar!”

Willy fluttered around me, making his buzzing noise as I rolled my eyes.

“Unlike you, I’m not actually trapped in this dumb place. I can leave the Bloodied Gulf anytime I want.”

I raised my chin, beaming. Willy paused. He stayed silent for a moment before he spoke in a softer, less excited voice than earlier.

“Same.”

I blinked.

“Wait, wha—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Kron’s panicked voice repeated, this time much louder than before.

“Attention! Attract! Run!”

The earth shook and I nearly lost my balance .I steadied myself against the rock wall as bits of debris fell from the cliff face. My brows snapped together and I spread my wings wide. I flew up above this small ravine followed by WIlly to find the source of the shaking.

It wasn’t a single source, I realized. It came from all around us. A tidal wave of Centinels were attracted to our location. But why? They weren’t that close by. In fact, they were coming from some of the large gorges where the main section of the Bloodied Gulf was located.

Something was calling them here. A screech. A call. One that rallied a small army of Centinels.

A shadow crossed the distance between the ravines. A large, looming shadow. It came with a terrible crash— one that reverberated loudly, causing a small tremor. I narrowed my eyes as I stared at the familiar figure. The one that had discovered my hiding spot.

It was a Centinel with a single rotund body— no segmented parts, except for a head— carried by just under a hundred legs. By its side was two massive claws, each of which could crush even an [Older Centinel] with ease.

Its face twisted as its elongated head tilted, eyes flickering in recognition at me. I recognized it, too.

[Evolved Centinel - Lvl. 131]

A Titan Centinel. And somehow, it once again called the aid of every Centinel in the near area. Willy’s iridescent flames morphed into a pale white as he saw it. Kron’s terrified voice was all I could hear aside from the horrid calls of the giant monster.

“Run! Run! We need run!”

But I didn't budge. Even as the Titan Centinel continued its lumbering approach with its army of Centinels.

Instead, I looked over my Status, and… smiled.

“Hey, Willy, remember when I said I was fine earlier— that I didn’t need you to save me?”

I turned to face him as he halted. He had been about to flee, now he waited for what I had to say next. I bared my teeth in delight as my blue flames wreathed around me, anticipating the battle to come.

“Want me to prove it?”