God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Duke parried the sharp end of the sword aimed at his stomach with the base of his scepter then stumbled back, narrowly avoiding death in the hands of the dagger wielding maiden dressed in black.

Lukas took a step forward, which immediately turned into a hypersonic dash. With his speed, he wouldn't have any issues punching his sword through a twenty inch thick wall of reinforced magic steel.

He was a fighter focused purely on the speed of his attacks and how lethal he could make them.

However...

A frown seemed to have been painted onto his face as he seemed unable to get rid of it at all.

He exchanged a glance with Evangeline, and she also seemed a bit confused.

After all, since they had begun fighting this man, none of their attacks, no matter how fast, had landed.

Still, the man had not managed to counterattack at all. Instead, he simply either parried or dodged them. He didn't even bother blocking.

It was almost as though he had perfect timing, in a way. It was both impressive and off-putting at the same time, especially when they had no face to put behind the strange man.

'Something is definitely wrong here. He isn't moving all that fast either. It's almost as though he knows what we are going to do before we do it.'

Suddenly, Evangeline stopped attacking.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she faced the Lord of the Head Priests with a subtle smile,

"So you are Duke Blackwater? And I assume your son is Kaelin, the Champion chosen by the Celestial of the Sands..."

The Lord paused for a moment, then bowed,

"It is indeed. To think you'd still be alive as well, Miss Evangeline."

Lukas was shocked,

"Now this is definitely something to be surprised about..."

He turned to face Duke Blackwater, a hint of ridicule in his tone,

"The Blackwater family; one of the most prestigious families in what used to be this City. To think you'd try making a comeback even after everything went to shit. If anything, I applaud your determination."

Duke Blackwater turned,

"Hmm... I think I might know you. You belong to one of the minor family's below the Crimson Matriarch, a mere nobody, it would seem."

Lukas' face turned dark. But before he could say anything, Evangeline cut him off,

"Having a discussion of the past right now would be very futile."

Duke Blackwater chuckled,

"Indeed. Instead, why don't we talk about something else?"

His voice turned a bit cold,

"Your Matriarch has been a thorn in my side for a while now. Did she send you here?"

Evangeline's raised a brow, as though wondering how he could be asking such a meaningless question. Experience the journey on m-vlem,pyr

She sighed,

"I believe it is very obvious who I am fighting for."

Duke Blackwater shook his head,

"Then this wouldn't make any sense. You are fighting for the Golden Dragon's remnant? Do you think your goddess would approve? Although she might hate Balangol, they still have their place in the ranks of the Heavenly army. The Golden Dragon, on the other hand, is the enemy of all."

His voice turned menacing,

"If anything, you should be joining hands with us to destroy him..."

Then he sighed, "Although I think he is of little consequence now. He's like a seed that has barely sprouted a single leaf. Kaelin will make short work of him."

Evangeline was silent for a moment, her Ruby eyes slightly clouded with thoughts.

After a few seconds of silence, her lips parted,

"You indeed know a lot. However, that is yo be expected. But you misunderstand a few things, Blackwater. I serve no one. I am not bound to any Celestial."

She sighed then muttered to herself,

"From what you've said, I can infer that the Matriarch has acquired the legacy of the Celestial of the Blood Moon. This won't be easy, will it..."

Duke Blackwater chuckled, "I see. That is indeed quite a relief."

"Then I can stop holding back, it seems. I wanted to avoid entering a direct confrontation with that whore, so if you two are unrelated, I can only smile at this grace."

He dismissed his scepters, and much to Lukas' shock, summoned a pair of golden guns. The sleek design, as well as the unique looking glyphs and sigils on them made it obvious that it had been created by a master craftsman.

"Unfortunately for you both, the last thing you shall see, is not my smiling face, but the barrel of thwse guns."

Lukas sneered, "You think your bullets can–"

With wud eyes, Lukas stared down at his chest. An inch wide hole was already there, leaking blood. The coppery sweet taste of blood filled his mouth as well. He fell to one knee.

His looked up to stare at the masked devil standing just a few meters away,

"How did you–?!"

'Even this close I should have seen it! I should have been able to dodge it! How?!'

He tried to recall what had happened.

The moment the words had come out of his mouth, he believed that was when Duke Blackwater had attacked. However, he had not sensed anything until it was almost a second too late.

In that split second, his body had reacted subconsciously and he had moved every so slightly, enough, so that the bullet had not puncture ld through his heart or any other vital organ.

The wound was therefore, not enough to claim his life.

'It still hurts like hell though!'

It had already begun healing.

Evangeline meanwhile, only observed all this happen silently. She spared him a glance,

"Hey, you alright?"

He took a deep breath and stood up, clenching his hand over his chest. The wound had already stopped bleeding.

"I'll live."

She nodded,

"In that case, let's take care of this old man quickly then go help Cain."

Lukas frowned, but nodded.

'Even now, she's still thinking of that bastard?'

The Lord of the Head Priests chuckled derisively,

"Interesting. You kids don't know what you have stepped into, and yet you still think of providing aid? You truly underestimate me a lot, don't you, Evangeline."

Evangeline shook her head,

"I never underestimate an opponent."

She twirled her daggers between her fingers, then held them in a reverse grip. A slight smile tugged at her lips,

"Your power might be strange, but it is not inexplicable. I think I've gotten an understanding of it, at least."

Duke Blackwater paused for a moment, before leveling the barrel of the gun with her head,

"Oh? Would you like to test that out."

Evangeline said nothing. She maintained her stance, her body slightly leaned forward, and her muscles tensed, as though ready to spring into action at any moment.

At the same time, Lukas wiped the blood off his lips and readied his sword as well. He chanted under his breath, and a layer of luminous radiance enveloped him. The hole in his chest fully closed under the mercy of the healing radiance, and a bit of color returned to his face.

This time, he stared at the man, Duke Blackwater, with extreme caution. A momentary distraction had been all it took to nearly kill him.

Hiss eyes glowed with chilling light as he carefully observed Duke Blackwater. If he even as much as twitched, he would be able to react accordingly.

The wind rose for a moment, carrying dust, sand, the dying throes of both man and beast, and the thick scent of blood with it.

All three burst into action once the dust settled.

'There!' Lukas' body moved before his mind could process it. In this state of pure concentration, he was unable to see it. However, he could finally understand what had happened.

The bulletw traveled extremely fast, but that wasn't enough to beat him. Instead, it was the power of the Lord of the Head Priests that made it almost impossible to see it coming.

Duke Blackwater calmly spoke,

"Dust of Chaos."

CLANG!

Lukas nearly dropped his sword. The impact was stronger than he had expected.

Although he had blocked the bullet, he didn't seem happy at all. Infact, his face seemed even more ugly than before.

Evangeline frowned, 'Seems I was right.'

Duke Blackwater sneered behind the mask,

"Even if you have it figured out, it will do you no good. There is nothing you can do about it."

Evangeline said nothing, dashing up close. She turned into a shadow, her speed climbing as she stabbed and hacked with her daggers.

Of course, Duke Blackwater merely weaved and bobbed through them all. Not even a hair on his head was harmed.

Lukas closed in swiftly from behind. The thrust his glowing blade forward, but it only managed to his empty air as the Lord of the Head Priests was there no more.

Instead, he had already leveled his guns at them again.

This time, a barrage was sent forth.

Evangeline turned her body into a shadow, slipping through the bullets headed her way.

Lukas was not so lucky. He managed to parry a few, but one struck him in the leg, and another in his shoulder.

The bullets punctured straight through his leaving gaping holes on both sides.

Duke Blackwater clicked his tongue. His gaze seemed to move over to Evangeline,

"You are more of a threat. However, I'll kill the boy first, then we can face each other."

Lukas grit his teeth in anger. Light enveloped his body as he slowly stood up. The holes slowly closed up, leaving only a streak of blood and ruined armor.

He looked consumed with rage, as though he was barely holding back from exploding as he pointed his blade at Duke Blackwater,

"You have a lot of words to say for an old man..."

Evangeline spared him a glance,

"Don't rush him. You should have noticed by now if you are not an idiot."

Lukas sneered,

"How wouldn't I have noticed?"

He gritted his teeth,

"This bastard can move through time!"