266 Battle of Flames
"So you need a Psychic tamed beast?"
Threya asked, tilting her head to one side.
"Then I suggest you take a look at the Government Office first. There should be tamer-less beasts and monsters there."
The Government Office... Right! How could I completely forget about that?
The Government Office isn't a place where you can get a monster to tame. However, when a tamer dies, the tamed monsters that got left behind would be taken care of under the Government Office for a short duration. While they are there, other tamers can attempt to contract them. That was basically the same as how I got Fang before, although she wasn't kept at the Government Office, but at the Stadium's holding cell.
However, it's a game of probability if there is one there who is a Psychic type, as it is a slightly rare element. Not as rare as Void or Time elements, but not as common as shadow and fire elements either.
"Still, better than searching for one blindly. Thanks for the info!"
I quickly expressed my appreciation for her suggestion.
After all, if she didn't remind me of the Government Office, then I'd probably be wandering the city in search of a beast that matches my requirements.
As we continued partaking in the tea and sandwich, time passed like it was nobody's business. When lunchtime came, I also took out food that I had inside my [Spatial Storage] and shared it with Threya in return for the food and tea.
The girls took turns having lunch, eating monstrous quantities as usual, before returning to their divided battlefield. Around the middle of the afternoon, the waves started becoming stronger, with the minimum level upping to the 7th stage.
Ember and Fang started struggling, but with Igni's support, they were still able to manage. Threya's pug, Peabody, was unable to hold back and hide his power any longer. Before our eyes, it started transforming, becoming larger and larger until it was as tall as the wall was, reaching five meters.
Its four short legs were wrapped with blazing red flames, while its plain light-brown body changed, with black tribal markings appearing all over its body. A fiery ribbon was wrapped around its neck, undulating as if it had a life of its own.
Its face, still as flat as it was before, turned to look a lot fiercer. A black outline covered the sides of its eyes as if it hadn't slept for weeks, while the pupils were covered by bluish-white flames.
"Your pug was also a fire element?"
I was surprised, as it was not really obvious from just looking at it. Rather, just from the flame element it released, it was even more powerful than Igni!
"Peabody is a pure fire elemental after all."
"An Elemental?!"
Fina reacted exaggeratedly as she heard what the pug's true identity was. I'm not sure what an Elemental was, but since it was already introduced anyway, I just turned to appraise Peabody as is. However, the information I received was outside of my expectations.
Peabody's title was the Duke of Godly Flames. It was extremely rare to have the term "god" used as a modifier, and most of the time, the one possessing such a modifier ended up reaching the God tier without much trouble. But that wasn't the only thing that surprised me.
As I appraised him, the information about an Elemental appeared in my head, clearing up my lack of knowledge. Apparently, an Elemental is a type of semi-spiritual being that can wield the true power of its element. As Peabody possesses the fire element, it means it can control temperature at its will.
If another fire element was matched against him, then it would be a hundred percent impossible for the other party to touch him, much less clinch a victory.
As the pug finished its transformation, it leaped up and landed on the forest floor. From the four points of contact it had with the ground, flames started spreading uncontrollably, raising a large conflagration that was seemingly gaining momentum as time passed.
Demons weren't intimidated by his display, however, and still tried to fight against him. They dove into the burning forest, attempting to approach, but as soon as the flames licked their bodies, the flames enveloped them, burning them to ashes in moments.
"Kuh!"
Igni, seeing the power of the Flame Elemental Pug, gritted her teeth. From the link with her, I could feel a wave of envy and a burning fighting spirit. It's good that her heart didn't break from seeing the strength of his flames, but I wouldn't allow her to fight against this pug, ever.
Peabody was just standing proudly in the middle of the burning ground, the area of ashes slowly expanding, as if he had erected his own little domain. Igni, as if competing, let her [Flame Clad] exude flames as far as possible. The leaves, grass, trees, and even rock started melting, morphing the area around her into an inviolable zone where not even Ember or Fang could enter.
However, unlike Peabody, who was safe in the middle of his domain, and unable to be approached by the demons around him, Igni was still forced to fight bitter battles against 8th-stage demons. Her flames weren't as potent as his, making her face warp in anger, not toward the pug but at herself.
"Too weak... I need more firepower!"
As she muttered as if in a trance, the flames surrounding her suddenly turned from a reddish-orange hue into a green one. As soon as that happened, a wave of heat washed over the entire battlefield, even reaching us, who were a kilometer away, resting on top of the wall.
"Igni, no!"
That girl—is she using her ace-in-the-hole again? Borrowing power from her future self?! However, it wasn't as I thought. Igni was using all her knowledge and was simply refining her skill, and out of luck, or maybe divine providence, she managed to "create" a completely different one, a skill that can be called her own.
"[Ignis Fatuus: Soul Eating Flames]!"
The notification echoed in my mind, letting me hear the cool-sounding name. Did Igni name it like that? Or is that really a skill that existed beforehand? Either way, now that her flames got a boost, even the 8th-stage demons weren't able to stay in her flames anymore.
As soon as the green-and-white flames touched any living thing, not only would their bodies burn grandly, but their souls would even ignite themselves, slowly disintegrating until they completely vanished.
It was a powerful skill; however, it's not for use on a cramped battlefield like this. Fang and Ember, who were close to Igni, were near the edge of her range. The flame's tongue was able to reach them!
"Ember, Fang! Don't touch the flames!"
I quickly warned, but before I even did so, they had already finished moving out of the way, far from the reach of the green flames.
Two flames, one green and one red, started eating up the entire forest. The orange flame disintegrates the demon's body instantly, leaving nothing but ashes, while the green flames burn the soul, leaving unmoving corpses to be slowly turned into charcoal.
The other two were completely sidelined. They were unable to even approach the battlefield anymore, as the two flame specialists were basically dominating the entire battlefield.
Soon, their flames met in the middle. The two colors intertwined, fighting for dominance, but were unable to push each other back. Pug and Igni stared at each other, seeing that they were "equal" in terms of dominating the field.
A smile appeared on their faces as if coming to an understanding, before they turned to face forward, running closer to where the rest of the demons were, now afraid of approaching the raging flames.
The two, as if they were the only ones existing on the battlefield other than the enemies, were racing against each other. They were probably looking at who would be able to kill more in the end.
The other two returned to our side, as they were unable to participate in the battle anymore. After all, entering the flames would only harm them, with no benefits at all.
With Ember and Fang added to the mix, the little picnic became much livelier as the women started chatting about random things. I, as the only man, might feel proud of being surrounded by beauties, but I was completely lost listening to them speak.
I could only focus on eating snacks and drinking tea, listening to them idly.
Soon, the end of our shift came. Igni and Peabody finally appeared once more, coming from over the horizon and to the wall in moments. Igni was panting heavily, but the pug just transformed back into its previous, tiny appearance. It wasn't showing any tiredness in its expression at all, and it even looked at Igni with a sneer.
"Ugh…! You are powerful, I admit, but my flames aren't weaker than yours!"
Igni roared before she fell down, completely losing steam. Soon after, a series of peaceful sleeping sounds came from her, making us feel relief.
"Well, I guess this is it for today. See you tomorrow!"
Threya waved her hand, moving ahead of us after cleaning up her picnic set. I, on the other hand, was forced to carry Igni on my back as we teleported back to the town.
Since we were already familiar with the cityscape, after leaving Igni in our room, the rest came together to the Government Office. It's finally time to see if our next companion is here, waiting for us!
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