"There's a bad guy sleeping under the tree over there. Can I destroy him?" Blaze pointed into the darkness of a shadow.
"If he's sleeping, there's no point." Shiv whispered back easily.
The two of them moved past the sleeping man and silently through the woods, approaching the greenhouse. "Why are we stopping by here, anyway?"
"I need a boost in levels before I go face-to-face with our pal Wells."
Blaze seemed satisfied with the answer, so they continued till they reached it. It was dark inside, and empty of all human life.
It was filled to the brim with plant life, however.
They slowly opened the creaky door and slipped into the glass house unnoticed. Shiv made a beeline for the rarest plants that he'd located the first time he'd been there, and got to picking. The rushes of power he got from each plant wasn't comparable to the rushes he'd gotten in previous experiences, but he still gained two levels from his efforts.
"Let's go!" Blaze said. She was standing at the door, keeping watch.
"Is someone coming?" Shiv immediately made his way toward her.
"No, but I have a feeling. And it's bad." Blaze replied, never taking her eyes off the road.
Shiv stopped and headed toward the last batch of plants. "Don't worry. I'll be done in half a minute." He made it to the plants and started harvesting. He'd saved the worst for last, just in case someone interrupted them too soon.
He should have listened to Blaze.
She whistled, letting him know someone was coming, and dove under the nearby table. Shiv also crouched under a table, but he was a second too late.
"Wh-who's there?" The voice of the greenhouse keeper echoed through the room, preceded by the opening of the creaky door.
Neither Blaze nor Shiv answered, remaining hidden in their spots. "I-I asked a question!"
Shiv was in turmoil. He knew he was going to have to destroy the world, and that included everyone on it… but he wasn't ready. Not yet. Not with people who'd treated him well.
With a sigh, he stood up. "It's me. Don't worry-" before he could finish, a small javelin made completely of metal was shot whistling past his ear. He reacted by instinct, throwing himself to the ground and manipulating the ground underneath the young man into a spike.
Shink!
The spike pierced him, killing him instantly.
There was a moment of shocked silence, followed by Shiv growling in frustration and yanking the rest of the plants out of their beds. "C'mon, Blaze." He growled again, and the two of them left the greenhouse.
"What's wrong?" Blaze had to run to keep up with Shiv, as he was walking very quickly.
"Nothing." Shiv lied. He knew he was being unreasonable, and that the poor young man was going to die anyway, but he hadn't wanted to do it personally. This was different from killing the guards. This didn't feel like the elimination of opponents.
It felt like murder.
***
Shiv threw caution out the window. He was on a rampage. He threw the double doors that led to the main foyer open, and immediately stomped on the ground. From his foot radiated a wave of molten lava that covered the ground for thirty paces in front of him. He caught three guards and a servant in his attack, burning their feet off. They fell into the molten lava, and perished in the fire.
He stomped again, and the lava was covered in cool ground. He stalked forward with a wide-eyed Blaze in tow, and was immediately assaulted by a slew of ice javelins.
In truth, he would probably have been skewered if not for Blaze, who sent a crescent-shaped line of fire at the javelins, melting them midair.
Shiv threw himself into the fire, taking advantage of Blaze's save, and ran toward the stairs that curled up and around to the balcony that the javelins had originated from. He took the wide stairs two at a time, saved once again by Blaze. She shot a continuous stream of fire above his head, preventing any of the ice attacks sent his way from even coming close to him.
He rounded the top of the stairs and charged the… "Aha! Shifty-eyed butler!" And slammed his shoulder into the man. They collided with the hardwood banister and Shiv was launched backward by a sharp spike of ice that exploded out of the butler's chest. Thankfully, Shiv had set himself on fire, melting the sharp tip and turning it into a blunt weapon.
Unfortunately, the attack nearly caved his chest in. He groaned and rolled to his knees, trying to push himself to his feet.
Before he could do so, a hammer of ice was descending rapidly toward his head.
Shiv didn't see the hammer so much as feel the impending doom it brought with it. So he threw himself to the side, rolling several times with one long broken groan, and threw himself to his feet. He unconsciously put his hands up in a boxing position, as the butler readjusted his grip on his hammer.
They stood there facing each other, one of them breathing heavily and both of them hiding anger and sadness in their eyes.
When Shiv had made contact with his opponent, he'd activated his skill to learn as much as he could about him. The information he'd gained was more than he had hoped for, but before he was able to use it, A blast of fire suddenly engulfed the butler, and it was so hot that his life was ended almost instantly.
Shiv stared at the cinders that had once been a shifty-eyed butler for what felt to him like an eternity. Then Blaze was there, tugging him along. "We have to find Wells!"
Shiv shook his head to gain his bearings and took the lead. "You're right. Let's go… where do you get your fireproof clothes?" There was a gaping hole in his shirt where he'd set his chest on fire.
"I make them." She said in a 'no duh' tone of voice.
***
They had several more encounters in the corridors of the mansion as they searched for the noble, but none of them were quite so dramatic as the prior two.
They bulldozed through the guards as if they weren't even there, and reached their final destination only slightly out of breath and hungry.
Shiv was about to suggest that they consume some tomato soup, but was cut off by the abrupt opening of the elegant door in front of him.
Wells exited, looking perfectly content with life… until he noticed Shiv standing with a holy shirt and a flaming whip.
Before either of them could speak, everything was on fire.
Both Blaze and Wells simultaneously began shooting fire in every direction. Shiv hid behind a half-circle of earth with an annoyed grunt. 'I sure hope he's got fireproof clothes as well.' Out loud, he said, "Blaze! Guard the hallway. Now."
Over the sound of roaring fire, Shiv heard an affirmative grunt followed by the sound of tiny feet retreating.
That being satisfactory, he propelled himself into the air with a column made of the floor, and cracked his fiery whip at his opponent… only to miss completely.
Wells had taken off after Blaze.
Shiv threw himself after them as soon as his feet touched the ground, and summoned a wall in front of the noble.
Wells didn't even hesitate. He just burned through it as if it wasn't there.
'His flames are hotter than Blaze's.' Shiv grimaced and adjusted to the new development. He wanted to shoot projectiles at his opponent, but was afraid of hitting Blaze, who was running as fast as she could down the many hallways.
"Stop chasing Blaze, you coward!" Shiv yelled.
"I'm not! I'm trying to escape!" Came the reply, yelled over his shoulder.
Shiv cursed and picked up the pace. Soon, he was right on Wells, who glanced behind his shoulder to find that this was true. He stuck his hand back, shooting fire, and Shiv took it full on, trusting his own fire skill to keep him safe. His shirt was another matter.
Shiv lunged forward and tackled the man to the ground, and they slid across the very smooth floor for several seconds, biting and scratching.
There was another explosion of fire, and Shiv was thrown back. They both got to their feet, facing each other. One had a wary look, and the other was in pain from the many bruises he had collected over the past half hour.
No words were exchanged. Only looks. Till a whip was sent cracking toward a skull protected by a wall of fire… except the wall of fire was intangible, and so the whip passed through it with only the slightest of hesitations.
It was then that Shiv realized the wall was only a distraction, and jumped through it with a curse. Wells was already turning down a side corridor, so he booked it after him. He turned the corner after his opponent, and threw himself to the ground, barely avoiding the flaming sword swinging at the spot his head had been.
Shiv snapped.