281. Cleansing

Centina wasn’t sure whether to believe it.

According to the [Will O’ Wisp] and [Krokodis], Salvos had successfully brought Galt out of the Bloodied Gulf. It didn’t seem possible. And yet, when Centina inspected the rainbow-colored piece of armor, she couldn’t help but feel convinced by the facts.

Its enchantments made the wearer nigh-invincible. The [Evolved Centinel] struck it with an acid strike, only for it to be completely negated. The [Krokodis] grinned, unharmed as she wore the armor.

“See? Me strong.”

“Interesting. So, this is the power of a Mythical Grade artifact.”

It baffled Centina, yet she could tell that the armor had a limit too. And it was getting close to reaching its limits.

“But, just as any other enchanted tool, it can be worn down after too much use. And it seems Salvos has been overusing it. It is no wonder she is still alive.”

“Overuse?”

The [Will O’ Wisp] flitted up to Centina. She nodded.

“This Breastplate of Alexander is in dire need of recharging. While it naturally regenerates mana, especially here where the mana density is high, it is still being actively used, and will lose more than it regains.”

“So, me not strong?”

The [Krokodis] deflated.

“Maybe for a while. But I do not believe this Breastplate of Alexander has enough power left in it to survive five minutes against an… [Ancient Centinel], for example.”

Centina shook her head. It was still quite significant, but if it were fully-powered, she genuinely believed it would allow even Salvos to take on an [Ancient Centinel] one-on-one and win.

“However, in regards to evacuating others, this should be more than enough.”

She faced the rest of the haven— the other curious, inspecting monsters. One of the [Storm Crustaceans]— the giant crabs, as Salvos called them— approached Centina.

“Safe leave?”

The [Evolved Centinel] understood his words thanks to her own [Advanced Language Comprehension]. She hesitated.

“It is not entirely safe. But I believe it may be…”

She thought of Salvos. And she hoped she could trust the Demon.

“I believe it may be enough.”

She turned around as the monsters in the haven gathered in their own separate groups, discussing this detail. They couldn’t all communicate with each other, of course. Only Centina herself, the [Will O’ Wisp], and the [Krokodis] could communicate cross-Species. They were the ones who disseminated information.

And all of them said the same thing: they could trust Salvos.

It was optimistic. Hopefully. But Centina thought that maybe, just maybe, things would finally change…

As the thought crossed her mind, the ceiling… shook.

I watched in horror as tens of thousands of Centinels gathered around an intersection between crevices, digging into the earth en masse, sending debris into the air as they rapidly sank down. There were so many of them. I had only ever seen such a large mass of them Centinels once, when the [Ancient Centinel] chased after me. Although, that had been an eclectic mix of Centinels.

This mass was composed mostly of [Younger Centinels] and [Junior Centinels]. They weren’t the highest-leveled ones, but they all obeyed a command without much thought. The Sage Centinel’s command.

“Sal, why would you do this?”

I gritted my teeth. It was infuriating— upsetting. He wanted to punish me for breaking the rules he had arbitrarily set? Whether I left or stayed in the Bloodied Gulf made no difference if I returned soon after. It made no sense.

When I asked for his help, I did it because I thought he was going to teach me how to learn a Grand Skill, not because he was going to teach me his principles or morality. I didn’t care for that. I cared about what I wanted and if I knew the Devil was going to pull this trick on me, I never would’ve approached him for help.

I jolted as a screech drew my attention. Another group of four [Senior Centinels] joined the mass of Centinels. I had to do something about this. I didn’t have the Breastplate of Alexander, but I had to stop it.

“I made a promise. And I will keep my word.”

I closed my eyes, being wrapped in ribbons of gold flames. The brilliant flakes wisped off and formed figures that looked just like me. Clones that smiled and fought like me. [Salvo of Vanity].

I nodded at all three of my clones as I created a set of Nebular Armor for myself.

“We have to slow them down— kill them all before they reach the haven.”

My clones smirked confidently and leapt off the cliff, charging straight into battle. I watched as in an instant, an entire wave of reinforcing Centinels were incinerated. The job of my clones was to slow the main bulk of forces as they were lower-leveled. Meanwhile, I assigned myself with a different task— take out the stronger Centinels before they could arrive.

I cast my gaze to where the [Senior Centinels] had been. They were rapidly encroaching on the main group. I leapt over to them, cutting them off before they could arrive.

[Senior Centinel - Lvl. 103]

[Senior Centinel - Lvl. 101]

…

[Senior Centinel - Lvl. 116]

“Hey. Could you please turn around?”

I asked nicely, but they responded with an incoherent shriek.

“Alright, I guess not.”

The leader and highest-leveled member of the pack lashed out at me, but I slid under the attack, slashing for its underbelly with my Nebular Scythe. It recoiled in pained while I went for the others. [Barrage of Cinders] drove me forwarding, letting me rip apart these [Senior Centinels] leg by leg.

They were more durable than a Skeleton in the Plaguelands, even if they were about the same level, but I was far higher-leveled than then, now. I dealt with them with ease.

The last and highest-leveled [Senior Centinel] let out a blood curdling screech and still came for me despite its injuries. I easily hopped around it, grabbing it by its tail. I flew up into the air, spinning it around and scorching a symbol into its side. Finally letting go, I threw it straight for the masse of Centinels.

“Watch out!”

I called to my clones. They spotted the flying Centinel— they saw the glowing mark on its body. Then they leapt out of the way. The [Senior Centinel] crashed into the center of the gathered horde. Its body shone—

And thousands of Centinels were engulfed with a crimson blast.

[Demon’s Mark]. It took out a massive chunk of the Centinel army. Even the ones not caught in the blast burned up from the heat of the explosion. Mostly the lower-leveled ones, but that worked since they were all mostly lower-leveled Centinels.

My mind was barraged by notifications from all the kills my clones and I had quickly accumulated . I looked at my Status, but no levels gained.

Defeated [Senior Centinel – Lvl. 115]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

...

Defeated [Younger Centinel – Lvl. 13]!

Little-to-no experience is awarded for defeating an enemy at least 50 levels below you!

I needed to level up twice to get what I wanted— I needed [Salvo of Vanity] to reach Level 15 to summon another clone. Lest I wouldn’t be able to handle this mass of Centinels before they reached the haven. Already, they were hundreds of feet deep in a massive hole that was a at least a hundred feet wide.

What was more, they kept coming. The weight of the Centinels would…

I shook my head, focusing on what I could do now.

“We need to keep them back!”

I activated [Mass Particulate Modification] and [Scattering Displacement], filling the hole back with dirt and rocks as the Centinels continued to amass. While I kept those Skills active in the back of my head, I swooped down low, sending a massive breath of flames at those that still remained in the hole.

As I did that, my clones circled around the crater, using their own flames to keep the oncoming Centinels from drawing too close. I continued my onslaught of fiery breath as the numbers thinned, unable to replenish thanks to my clones.

But before I could finish off the last of those gathered in the hole, a flicker caught my eye. A dark figure sped its way towards me, jumping past my clones and striking me from the side. I crashed into the crater, blinking as I took in the figure.

[Evolved Centinel - Lvl. 143]

“You?!”

I stared at him. It was the Sage Centinel— the one who I was supposed to defeat. The one who I fought in the Centinels Cornucopia. His upper torso was just like that of Humans as he previously had been, but his lower half was different. He was less Centinel-like now, with far fewer legs and segmented parts.

“Die… die… die… suffer… you!”

He spoke no language, just as before, but his screeching had meaning. I struggled to push him off as a vicious grin spread across his face. I blinked, and suddenly everything vanished.

He let go of me as I was caught in a bubble of darkness. One that I could not see through. I frowned, readying myself for an attack. Just as I anticipated, the Sage Centinel dove straight at me— an invisible force that went for my neck.

I repelled the attack just in time, noticing it with the help of [A Hunter’s Sense]. [Planar Navigation] didn’t work. Not in this ball of darkness. It was a Skill the Sage Centinel had stolen.

I waited for the next prickling feeling and blocked the Sage Centinel’s second attack. Then I repelled the third and the fourth, readying a counter for the fifth. I would time it so that I could catch the Sage Centinel before he fled past me, but the attack never came.

And I sensed something else. My clones were in trouble. One of them had been attacked by… the Sage Centinel.

It had left this ball of shadows, going after my clones while they were busy keeping off the swarm of Centinels. I gritted my teeth and began wading my way out of this inky zone. It was difficult to move in, just like the last time I’d been trapped within it. But thanks to my clones, I knew exactly where to go.

I burst out of the ball of darkness, diving straight for the Sage Centinel. He gripped one of my clones by the neck as she squirmed and swung for his face. Then she glowed— she’d taken too much damage at this point, and the best course of action was… well, exploding.

The Sage Centinel smirked and tossed her to me as she shone even brighter. My eyes widened as he moved for my other clones.

“N—”

And a golden blast lit up the Bloodied Gulf. I stared down at the explosion— at the bits of golden flakes left behind in the air— having just barely teleported out of there in time.

Another strong Skill, wasted. I took in the scene, seeing how only one of my clones was left holding off the horde of Centinels, which was unfortunately not going well. The hole started to fill up once more as above them, my other clone was locked in battle with the Sage Centinel.

She was, unfortunately, losing to him, as he had grown a lot stronger since I last fought him. And while I wanted to help, the more important thing now was to prevent the Centinels from getting any closer to the Land of the Lost. In fact, it was probably better that my clone was distracting the [Evolved Centinel]. He would only get in the way.

I flew back, doing the only thing I could at this point. I had to draw the attention of the Centinels to elsewhere.

“Come here, you idiots!”

I unleashed a salvo of flaming projectiles at them, but they never stopped heading for their goal. I clenched a fist.

“Fine, if you won’t listen, then—”

[Recall Skill: Zealous Call].

And next…

I let out a high-pitched shriek, drawing the attention of every Centinel that was close by. They turned their ire to me as I grinned, ushering them away from the hole in the ground. But just as I started back, a head snapped towards me.

The Sage Centinel faced me, under the effects of [Zealous Call].

“Uh oh.”

His eyes blazed red as he shrugged my clone off. Raising a hand, he pointed at me, whispering. Only my clone heard it.

“[Against All Odds, I’ve lived—”

“That’s…”

I stared at the Sage Centinel, ignoring the snarling and snapping Centinels below.

“[Through Bloodshed, I’ve Survived—”

A Grand Skill.

“[To Cleanse the World of All that is Vile].”

He unleashed it upon me, and all I saw was red.