277. Centina

When I returned to the haven, I found myself in a little bit of trouble. Apparently, Centina wasn't’ very happy to find out that I’d not only recklessly endanger everyone here by challenging the Titan Centinel instead of fleeing, but I also recklessly endangered the lives of everyone here by incurring the wrath of the [Ancient Centinel].

“Look, I thought the haven should be safe since it was far enough away deep underground!

I protested. Even still, she was upset.

“Do you realize that us Centinels can dig through the earth? The only reason why our haven has yet to be discovered is because I can misdirect them. Keep them away from this place.”

She shook her head.

“But my efforts are meaningless if you are chased down here by an army of my kin.”

“I’m sorry…”

I trailed off. I felt a little bad. I did let my pride get the better of me— which, well, made sense since I was an Archdemon of Pride.

But even if I was prideful, I wasn’t incapable of self-reflection. Willy and Kron had helped me, and Galt was nice and friendly. Centina kind of reminded me of the Headmaster of Mavos Academy or the professors— strict but kind. Someone who was tasked with taking care of others.

The fact that I endangered their lives wasn’t lost on me. I liked these monsters, even if I’d just met them. Especially Willy… even if I was better than him.

“If we are found out by an [Evolved Centinel], I truly will not know what to do. This haven will fall.”

Centina spoke in a low voice as she began to skitter away back to the tunnel she came from. Where her secret room was located. I glanced over at the ‘crowd’ watching me. By that, I meant Willy, Kron, and Galt. The other monsters here were pretty dumb or couldn’t care less; they just wanted to live and this was where they could survive in peace.

“Wait—”

I called out to Centina before she could take her leave. She turned to me, tilting her upper body.

“Why do you do this, anyway?”

“What do you mean?”

She gave me a puzzled look.

“All this— protect this haven? Save monsters you’ve never even met? Why do you do that? Why do you oppose your own kin?”

“Do I need a reason?”

“I mean, it’d be weird if you didn’t have one and you were just doing it for the fun of it. I guess I can see how it may be more appealing than just killing everything mindlessly, but still, it’s a pretty dangerous hobby.”

I shrugged, hearing a giggle from the side. Willy laughed as Kron cocked her head.

“Me don’t get it.”

Galt hushed them both, and I continued.

“I’m just curious. I’m not going to judge you for it, Centina.”

Sighing, the [Evolved Centinel] scratched her head.

“After such a long time spent protecting this haven, the first one to question my intentions just so happens to be a Demon.”

I blinked and turned to Galts.

“Wait, have you never asked Centina why she’s doing all this?”

“Unfortunately, the topic never came up.”

“And you, Willy?”

The Spirit’s flames grew red— he was slightly embarrassed.

“No.”

I looked at Kron. She just stared back at me, confused. I didn’t even bother to ask her the question.

“If you’re that intrigued, then come with me.”

I glanced over at the others as Centina headed down the passageway she’d come from, but they weren’t interested in learning more. They just headed off to [Rest] on their own. Centina’s voice echoed as I followed her.

“It is complicated. But if you must know, I was not always like this.”

She clenched her fist as she spoke, recalling a time long ago. I tapped a finger on my chin.

“What do you mean?”

“I had been just like my kin. I had only known bloodshed and death. To slaughter those who ventured to our world and threatened our lives. I was fueled by rage. By an instinct that brought me to destroy everything except my own kind.”

“But don’t Centinels kill each other all the time?”

I gave her a puzzled look. She smiled.

“Perhaps. But something about me was different. I know not why, but I’d always been confused by the erratic actions of my kin. When they slaughter themselves without any reason. I was special, and I only discovered why when I became an [Evolved Centinel]. That was when I truly understood that I was not like the others.”

I raised a brow, growing more curious as she continued her speech. The way she spoke about things was familiar. It reminded me of someone…

“So, I tried to do something different. I tried to rally all the other Centinels to exact revenge against the world. To organize some kind of army.”

Centina laughed— a garbled noise that sounded bitter above all else.

“The lesser Centinels obeyed me, of course. They were too foolish to think for themselves. But the stronger ones? Other [Evolved Centinels] like me? They were far harder to convince. And I had to prove my strength to them to win them over to my side.”

“Huh. Then what happened?”

I was hooked now. If this was who Centina usd to be, what could have possibly changed that made her who she was today?

“I fought and won, again and again. I grew stronger. Until I decided to approach an [Ancient Centinel].”

“Hmm, yeah I can show that’s a bad idea.”

“I didn’t even challenge him to a fight. The moment I approached his Lair, he wreaked destruction— more than I have ever seen before. He killed more of my kin than I had seen slain by the visitors from above. Why? What was the reason for it? I didn’t know. I still don’t know. All I know is that he injured me. He nearly killed me. I escaped only because he didn't differentiate any of us from each other. I walked away, bleeding. Dying. And I would have died. Until I met him.”

Centina reached the end of the tunnel, and I saw the boulder hiding the secret room where she tested me. She rolled it to the side, entering, and I took a step after her.

“Who is this ‘him’?”

“He is the one who saved me. Who nursed me back to life. A Human man who’d watched the battle from afar. Observed it. And chose to heal me when he had no reason to do so.”

I took in the room— the books that were stacked against the walls. The sleeping bag that had been placed off to the side, right next to the decrepit wooden desk. There were markings, too. Scribblings against the rock. When I saw it initially, I knew it definitely didn’t look like a place set up by Centinel like Centina.

“And this was where this Human man brought you?”

“Yes.”

Her voice was low as she stared nostalgically at the table. She ran her hand over it, taking in a deep breath.

“Of course, he kept me restrained. He was doing… some kind of research here. To study us. To learn our purpose. And most of all, to destroy us. Our entire kind. Exterminated.”

My eyes flickered. Now, that was interesting. A Human man who wanted to kill all the Centinels? Where did I hear something like that before? I remembered the diary I’d found in the manor by the cliffside.

Could it be the same guy?

“He saved me because he didn’t understand why the [Ancient Centinel] had turned on me.In fact, he had been monitoring me. He had seen me raising my army. He needed an answer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give him one.”

Centina closed her eyes.

“He wanted to kill me there and then out of anger because he thought I was lying. But I convinced him to let me live. That I could help him further his understanding of us Centinels. He relented. Truth be told, I had no intention to help him. I simply wanted a chance to kill him and escape by myself. But I never found the opportunity.”

I walked around the edge of the room, picking up and dusting off the books that had belonged to this Human man. A few of them had emblems— sigils were reminiscent of nimbus cloud with the letter ‘s’ in the center.

Yep. It’s the same one.

The [Evolved Centinel] continued as I stored a few of the books with [Dimensional Pocket].

“Every day, he’d return and question me. Interrogate me about things he saw, and ask me why they happened. I never had many answers for him beyond the simple fact that it was normal. Why do Centinels kill each other? It was normal. Why do Centinels kill their young? It was normal. Why do Centinels have no sense for survival? It was normal.”

I nodded in agreement. If someone tried to ask me why everything in the Netherworld was so chaotic, I'd probably give a similar answer.

“He’d explain how things worked where he came from, hoping to get better answers from me. But it didn’t help. Why? Because everything that happened down here was just normal. There was no explanation for it. And he grew frustrated by my non-answers, but I couldn’t give him any other. I was afraid he’d kill me eventually— before I could escape. But for whatever reason, that didn’t happen. Instead, we grew… closer.”

I blinked as Centina chuckled.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Something blossomed between us, Demon. I know not what it was. Maybe it was because he just wanted someone to talk to. But eventually, he stopped gazing at me with eyes full of hate. It became that of pity— then that of more. Of love.”

“Um, what?”

I just stared at her.

“Love. Love between a Centinel and a Human. Such an odd thing to say, yet it was true. I didn’t know what I was feeling at first. I only understood it after reading through some of the books he had given me. I loved him. And he loved me. My name is proof of it.”

I wanted to make a face of disgust, but it’d be too obvious. I just kept my own personal thoughts to myself. And, well, I thought it was absolutely idiotic.

That it was dumb.

The more I heard about love, the stupider I thought it was.

“So, he didn’t kill you because he loved you?”

“Yes. And eventually, he freed me. And I’d visit him regularly. When he embraced me those times I came without warning, I knew our love was true.”

A smile spread across the Centinel’s face, only to vanish.

“But one day. One foolish day. I didn’t realize, but I was being followed. One of my kin— an [Evolved Centinel] who I rallied in the past me and also survived the [Ancient Centinel]’s wrath followed me down here. She didn’t understand why I’d given up my desires to destroy all of Humankind. And when she saw him— the Human who I loved— she attacked. And perhaps it was because I’d grown weak, but I couldn’t stop her from killing him.”

Some weird green liquid dripped down from Centina’s face. She wiped them away, and I realized they were tears.

“Because of me, he died. Because I was too weak. Because I was foolish.”

“I… see.”

She sobbed as I watched from behind. The [Evolved Centinel] cried like a Human maiden with a broken heart, wiping the tears away only for more to pour out.

I placed a hand on her shoulder.

“And that’s why you’re here?”

I titled my head.

“Because you know this is what he would’ve wanted? To save those who were trapped down here?”

Centina blinked away her tears and straightened. She turned to face me, and I lowered my hand.

“No.”

Her reply surprised me.

“No?”

“What I want is to leave this place. To show the world above that not all of us Centinels are mindless monsters. That some of us can co-exist with them. And… maybe find love again.”

“Um, then why are you doing this? Why can’t you just do that?”

I crossed my arms, more confused than anything.

“I only save those stranded in the Bloodied Gulf because I, too, am trapped here. Because each time I try to escape, she’d stop me.”

“She? You mean the one who killed the man you loved?”

“Yes.”

Centina’s eyes now burned with hate— with anger. She clenched her claw-like hands, and I could hear the sound of scraping as her nails scratched her carapace on her palms.

“She’s stronger than me. And, somehow, she knows whenever I try to leave this place. She leaves me here, shunned, a pariah of our Species.”

I frowned, and she sighed.

“I know not why she has not returned here. Just that whenever I resurface, she stops me. She beats me to the brink of death and throws me back to the tunnel I came from. A prisoner.”

“Huh.”

With a deep breath, the [Evolved Centinel] turned around and faced me, walking up to me slowly.

“You ask why I do this, Demon, and the reason is simple. It’s because I wish to survive. But I also wish not to be alone. So, I protect this place. It is a haven. But only because she has not returned since.”

Centina finally finished. Crossing her arms, she looked at me with a prodding gaze.

“Does that answer your question?”

“Interesting. I think it does. Although…”

I trailed off, furrowing my brows.

“I do have another question.”

She harrumphed, sounding slightly annoyed. I waved a hand off.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to make you recount your life story and relive whatever tragedy you’ve experienced again. I just wanted to know one thing.”

“Well, what is it?”

She stared at me impatiently, and I gestured at the books around us.

“This man you loved… what was his name?”

“His name?”

“Yep.”

For a moment, Centina said nothing. Then she began to chuckle.

“After such a long story, that is all you ask of me? You are quite odd, Salvos.”

“And you’re finally calling me by my name.”

I snorted. She smirked.

“If you must know, the man I loved called himself Erhard.”

“Erhard?”

Centina nodded.

“Yes. Erhard Skyshredder.”

My eyes narrowed, and I placed a hand on my chin. Skyshredder? Like Clayton Skyshredder?

“I see.”

“Now, Salvos, if that is all, you may take your leave.”

The [Evolved Centinel] ushered me out of the room, but I raised a hand.

“Wait.”

“What is it this time?”

I just stood there, thinking. Other than the whole love part, the things Centina talked about felt familiar. Her dream was to be accepted. Also, to find love, but that wasn’t important to me.

I thought about myself. I thought about Belzu— about what the Demons were doing. They were wreaking great havoc throughout the Human lands. Because of that, I was reviled. The one thing I wanted more than anything else was to be accepted for being a Demon. Centina wanted the same thing: to be accepted as a Centinel.

And that made me sympathetic to her.

“Now I can see why you were annoyed by me when I said I could leave anytime I wanted.”

Centina gave me a confused look as I turned around.

“What are you talking about?”

I held her gaze, grinning.

“I've decided.”

She frowned, but before she could ask the obvious question, I spoke over her.

“I will help you get out of here.”

Her eyes grew wide— wider than how wide I thought a Centinel’s eyes could grow.

“What…?”

I simply repeated myself.

“I will help you and every other monster in this Land of the Lost escape from the Bloodied Gulf. Is that clear enough for you?”

And this time, Centina was the one to barrage me with questions.