Chapter 20: Bradden for Heroes, Geisteel for Monsters, Titanite for All.
Viola Region's Southern Frontier, The Fallen Tower.
...
"My, my~! If it isn't the last Heroine of Lescatie, Sasha Fullmoon." Druella spoke maliciously with praise through the Projecting Mirror while Sasha kneeled towards the Lilim's image. "It's been weeks since you left the nation and look! You've become a monster~! Now Rejoice, Sasha, you're more beautiful than your old self~! Which can make a man who couldn't resist your new body~!"
"Ahn~! Thank you, your highness~!" Sasha appreciates her gratitude with a smile.
"Once all of this ruckus within the Fallen Tower will end... I shall reward you handsomely upon your return to the kingdom with your newly obtained husband." Druella grinned while raising her fist in pride. "Thus you will receive your position as the Seventh Princess of Lescatie while your friends here have earned such titles and doing well to maintain the new Demon Realm."
"Oh yes, I will!" Dark Priest Sasha beamed in joy with a giggle. "I am sure Ash won't resist my temptations! He is my beloved Knight, afterall~!"
"So Sasha... I have a few words to ask about that Knight you fell in love with." Druella then asked while cupping up her chin in interest. "His name is Ash Cyrus, am I correct?"
Sasha nodded in response, and Druella continued to ask while Wilmarina, Merse, and Francisca came beside Druella's throne and they were happy to see their Veteran Heroine was safe and sound.
"So what does he look like, and how much do you know more about his origins? Also, what made his reputation as the Silver-Blue Knight of Lescatie?"
"Well~ Ash is incredibly handsome like he has a face of a Noble Prince!" Sasha replied in a dreamlike tone as the deep pink shade of blush reddened her cheeks. "He is a wandering Knight who hailed from a faraway land called Astora... But... there is something about him..."
Druella slowly raised her left eyebrow in suspicion once she saw Sasha's smile faltered into sadness as if her heart suddenly fell in foreboding dread and distress.
"Ash... differs from other humans. When people spoke about his reputation, they weren't wrong. He does not fight like a hero and doesn't hesitate to slay his foes. Even if it was a monster girl as his opponent, he overcame their odds despite their intent to find a husband or helping some poor villagers to free from their suffering." Sasha explained while looking down in grief with teary eyes. "No matter what reason they were trying to give him... he never trusted their intentions to give the poor people a good pleasurable way of life. He is in fact, an experienced Monster Slayer and fought other monsters from his homeland. When I saw them... they were far more horrendous than I expected."
At this moment, Druella knew only about his simple background because of the previous information she received earlier from Olivier and opted to hear more information while the rest of the monsterized heroines who stood beside the Lilim raised their eyes in concern. The Dark Hero Wilmarina then stepped in and asked the Dark Priest through the mirror.
"Wait... what type of monsters did he face before coming to Lescatie?"
"Those monsters aren't any typical mamono. They are creatures varied in shapes and sizes," Sasha replied with a hint of worry in her tone. "These beings are real monsters, and I've fought them several times. I was mostly careless and didn't realise they fought back with such tenacity and bloodlust."
"So, what did you do while spending time with him?" Mimil asked curiously.
"Umm... I... I just remember that I went with him on our journeys to explore dungeons, fight otherworldly monsters, and discover amazing items!" Sasha explained while going through her old memories of her human self. Then her cheeks flushed red. "It felt like an adventure in a love novel~! And-... Oh! Also, I and my... f-future husband discovered a stone coming from a black monument which can cure monsterization!"
Thus, Druella's eyes dilated in sheer incredulity. Did she hear that right? A stone that cures monsterization? Francisca, Merse, and Wilmarina expressed their faces of horror, surprise, and sheer doubt to think there was a magic stone that can cure monsterization. Yet her words never lie and it was hinted that such stones could only be found from a dangerous place such as the rumoured Dungeons. The existence of such an item will mean more trouble for the plans of the Demon Lord and her goal of creating a paradise. Then the voice of Mimil speaks out through the projecting mirror.
"If that were true, then we must stop him at all costs!"
"So this means the Silver-Blue Knight himself must have known more secrets than I expected," Druella said while cupping her chin in a serious tone before gazing back at Sasha through the mirror. "Sasha Fullmoon... You must defeat him as soon as possible and show him the love of monsters is greater than the tyranny of his blind violence! Show him!"
"Yes~! As you wish, your highness," Sasha acknowledged as she bowed down until her lips forms a wicked smile. "I won't let you down... and I will make him mine."
...
Fallen Tower, Ground Floor.
...
"GRAAH!"
Elaine looks up and blocked a massive spike club with her Greataxe and came face to face with a High Orc. The High Orc glared into the Orc's eyes with anger and rage after seeing her minions were slaughtered under the hands of the Knight of Sunlight.
"I can't believe I'm facing a lowly orc who killed my sisters!" The High Orc growled in fury. "You damn cowardly weakling! You shall pay for this!"
"Oh, really?" Elaine flashed a smirk until she kicked the High Orc into her groin, causing her to kneel to the ground in pain. "Sorry ma'am, but who says I'm weak?"
The High Orc looks up to Elaine in fear before the Orc herself plunged her Greataxe down and cleaved High Orc's head apart. Elaine looks up and saw a lizardman sprint forth while brandishing her weapon. The Orc hastily grabbed her talisman and infused her lightning miracle into her weapon and raised her weapon up in the air.
"Take THIS!"
Elaine smashed her Lightning Greataxe into the ground, causing an electric explosion and a spark of lightning caught the Lizardman off-guard. Thus trashing the unfortunate mamono against the wall and fell into her death just as her corpse fell to the ground. Junayd weaved his Pyromancy Flames and engulfed the surface of his Carthus Greatsword in flames. He glimpsed a couple of Dark Braves dashing towards him with their rapiers pointed forth. Junayd strafed to the right to avoid the first blow and a Dark Brave leapt up into the air and does an aerial somersault, but Junayd strafed forth and thus cleaving the corrupted Heroine apart in flames just before she could land her feet.
The second Dark Brave witnessed her friend die without batting an eye from the Carthus Swordsman and dashed at him once more to avenge her fallen comrade, but her overconfidence took her toll and only to be slaughtered by his blade in an instant once Junayd deflected her rapier in a parry to the side and tore her body apart into two pieces of lump meat. Reginald and Elen dashed in a zig-zag formation to avoid the bullets from the Dark Musketeers until the Dhampir pulls out her three throwing knives before throwing them into one of her targets.
It struck two Dark Musketeers dead into their throats while the third caught a knife jabbed into her knee. The Succubus tried to pull out the knife, but Reginald dashed past her and the Musketeer felt her senses go numb. Her head fell to the ground until her neck spurts out blood like a fountain.
Meanwhile, Arcturus raised his shield and swung it to the left, which successfully parried an attack from a Dark Warrior and then plunged his sword against her abdomen, killing her off. Then his ears picked up nearby sounds of footsteps from behind and spun around, seeing a Heavy Dark Knight charging right at him with her enchanted Polearm until a giant Greatsword cleaved her apart, the poor succubus who had that chance to take him down was interrupted by Sif in a sudden and sends the remains of her bloody corpse crashing against the wall until blood and guts spurt out as the armoured parts fling out.
Ash charged into a group of Dark Knights who were attacking him as well. The Silver-Blue Knight blocked a Realmsilver sword from a first Dark Knight with his Crest Shield and thrust his Astora Straight Sword through her unarmoured abdomen and drew the blade up, cleaving her upper body apart. Then a second one barged in. The second Dark Knight raised her sword and plunged her blade down, but Ash parried her attack and bashed his shield against her face before cutting off her neck, sending her head high in the air with one swing of his sword.
More Succubus Knights landed in front of the battle and Ash caught a group of werewolves rushing up to him. Ash raised his Pyromancy Flame and clenched his fists. The werewolves noticed a spiral of flames in front of them and an explosion occurred as the blast sends a burning heat. Unlike the heat of the lava, it was the heat of the sun itself. The Profaned Flames caught several Dark Knights and Werewolves screaming in agonizing cries as they were burned into ashes within seconds. The rest of Dark Ice Flower Knights reeled back in horror before some reluctant Demon Realm soldiers charged forth to take him out, yet Ash swiftly brought up his talisman and a Lightning Stake formed in the palms of his hand. Once the Monster Girls comes close, he smashed the Lightning Bolt into the marble floor, immediately killing them within the lethal radius while some were sent flying.
The Dark Knight Captain felt her knees tremble while seeing her knights are getting slaughtered and torn apart. Her gaze shifts to the peculiar Silver-Blue Knight and felt her heart freeze. Her senses have been overtaken and fear gripped her very own soul. The Demon Realm Captain swore that she saw a pair of dim, dreadful glowing red eyes behind his dark helmet visor as if that man is controlled by a true monster, a dark beast in human clothing.
Then she noticed some of her comrades threw their magic spells against the Silver-Blue Knight, but his armour and crest shield absorbed their magic and even deflected their spells back into the walls as if there were throwing pebbles against a walking tank. Then one Heavy Dark Knight charged forth with her Halberd and channelled her magic into her weapon, then raising her poleaxe into the air in her hopes to take him out, but the Ashen One strafed to the right and her halberd struck against the ground which leaves in another explosion but missed her target.
The Dark Knight Captain shielded her eyes away from the flying dust. Once it died down, she slowly looks up to see the Heavy Dark Knight dropped her weapon and saw the Silver-Blue Knight had already jammed his blade through the right side of her unarmoured throat. Then he pulled his blade out as he sliced it off and the corpse dropped her knees to the ground.
"N-No... No way! This can't be real! I-I-I thought our numbers and our experiences to take out Heroes have a chance! But this man... is not an ordinary human at all!" The Dark Knight Captain trembled as she stepped back. Then she waved her sword, signalling an order. "R-Re-Retreat! To the second floor! Regroup!"
The Mamonos heard her orders and fell back in haste while leaving some behind to fight Ash and his group. They ran past the entrance of a passage with a stairway leading up to the next floor. Amid the chaos, Ash saw the massive door coming down from above the next entrance. The Knight knows that standing and watching it moving down will waste time. He moved his feet and ran to it. Racing down to the next entrance until he rolled under and slid through the ground in a nick of time before the massive doors closed behind him.
"Ash!? Are you okay in there!?" Ash heard Arcturus calling out from the other side.
"I'm fine. You guys... think of another way to get to the other side!" Ash replied while raising his voice until he spun his gaze around and caught several Succubus Knights were pointing their weapons at him. "And also, I have some company!"
"Give up, Silver-Blue Knight!" Ash stopped and turn around to a peculiar Dark Knight, who came forth while still raising her Realmsilver Sword in caution. "And drop your weapon! There's nothing here to save you."
Ash didn't say a word and remained silent. Then he stepped forth. Once the Dark Knight came near, Ash grabbed the tip of her blade, to her surprise. Then he immediately turns the blade towards her face, and the succubus widened her eyes before he impaled her weapon through the neck, killing her.
'If the Demonrealm Silver can't kill someone with simple slashes.' His mind speaks stoically as Ash dropped the dead succubus to the ground. 'Then an impalement should do the trick.'
"Seize that man!" Ash saw the Dark Knight Captain barking out the orders to her subordinates. "Get him!"
The rest of Dark Knights didn't make any single moves as they stumbled back while raising their weapons in fear after witnessing such a display of his brutality and the Captain was in dismay to see how demoralised the monsterized knights had become.
"W-Wh-What are you guys doing!? He's just only one man this time! Raise your weapons and-"
*SLASH!*
Within an instant, the captain felt no pain and saw herself falling down forwards while the Ashen One walked past her. Her head... was chopped off from her body without warning. The Astoran wasted no time and then leapt forth as he raised his shield and plunged his broadsword into his next target.
...
Fallen Tower, 1st Floor.
...
His armour was caked in blood, and the Knight walked upstairs to the next floor until he reached the end of the stairways. Upon his arrival, he saw a gathering of mamonos with their weapons drawn. Some of them reeled back in disgust and horror once they caught the scent of blood and death washed over them. Ash sheathed his Astora Straight Sword back in the scabbard and then pulled out a Claymore with two hands from his back while entering into the area.
The soldiers of the Demon Realm Army of Lescatie and some knights of the Dark Ice Flower cautiously observed the Human Knight until one of them lunged in. A Dark Brave lashed out her magic with a rapier.
"Take this!" The Hero Succubus cried out a spell. "Dark Wave!"
She released her dark magic in a form of a large crescent towards the Knight at high speed until Ash rolled down to avoid her attack and hit against the wall behind him. The Dark Brave then takes a second offensive as she thrusts her rapier forth, yet Ash deflected her blade to the left with his Claymore and then split her head off in a swift motion. Other succubus heroes reeled back in shock and then unleashed their magic in retaliation to put him down.
The Ashen One strafed and rolled to dodge their attacks before he pulled out a golden Duel Charm and threw it over. The charm touched the ground and exploded into a glittering golden mist and spread it all across the area.
Once it took effect, the succubus knights were dismayed, as if something disrupted their magic before the Silver-Blue Knight charged in. The Dark Knights and Warriors took notice and leapt forth with their weapons raised. Then Ash thrust the first Mamono in front through her abdomen, a Dark Warrior, and pushed her corpse through the charging mamono before throwing her dead body against a Dark Warrior to the ground. Ash quickly spun around and saw another Heavy Dark Knight coming through with her armour fully charged with magic.
The Heavy Armor aimed her spear at his chest and thrust forth. Ash strafed aside and grabbed her weapon, pulling her towards him and jamming his blade through the unarmoured section of her neck and the heavy armour let out a dying scream. The Knight heard more succubi coming right from behind. Three of them. He spun around and heaved up the dead body of the Heavy Dark Knight with his Claymore and smashed unto his attackers to the ground and were reduced into bloody bits due to the sheer weight of her armour.
In the midst of chaos, he heard another sound of footsteps. This time it was a rattling sound of armour and the individual spoke in a male voice. "Take this, you Murderer!"
Ash immediately stepped back before a hammer of his new opponent could barely touch him by several centimetres. He looks up and saw another knight in full-plate armour, and on his chest plate bears the crest of the Demon Realm of Lescatie.
"Ha! Ladies, step aside! I'll get rid of this man!" The Incubus Knight grinned as he laughed in arrogant confidence. "This armour of mine is enhanced with the blessings of the Gods! Then your puny weapon won't affect me!"
Such words didn't amuse Ash one bit and held both of his hands unto the Claymore's blade before the Lescatian Hero Knight lashed forth. But unfortunately, he missed his target when Ash took a side step and slammed the claymore's crossguards against the Fallen Hero's helmet, causing a hard concussion through the head by a Mordhau strike, making the incubus fall back to the ground. Then Ash plunged his blade through his opponent's unarmoured neck section and the man gurgled with blood coming out from his mouth in an attempt to scream, but it was too late. Death took his life that ends him rightly.
'I don't care if your armour is enhanced with magic.' Ash then spun his gaze back to another succubus knight coming from behind. He drew his dagger with a reversed grip and dodged her blade. Then retaliated by impaling his weapon through her forehead. 'You're still full of holes.'
Ash then rolled away from the incoming strikes from two Dark Warriors and both lunged their attacks once more. The Knight shielded himself behind his greatsword from the combination of their powerful strike and sends him back several feet away, but he still stood while his feet slid through the polished floors. The Dark Knights lunged at their attacks one more time until Ash countered back to their surprise. He ducked under the first one to avoid the blow from a massive axe of the Dark Warrior and drew his claymore, thus ripping the first warrior's head apart before another one came in. He saw her taking a spin attack, but Ash rolled forth underneath her blows and disabled her by slicing off her knees.
The Dark Warrior fell and cried out an agonizing scream just before Ash stepped on her face and, in one hard stomp, it blew her head into pieces.
While the rest of the Dark Soldiers of Lescatie charged in to avenge their fallen. Ash countered with speed, precision, and brutal efficiency. Hacking, cleaving, and tearing them apart into shreds with swift motion until no one left is there to attack him. Then he caught a sound and turns around, seeing a wounded Dark Warrior with a missing leg limping her way to an entrance before collapsing to the floor in front of a controller and then hastily calling down the magic elevator.
The Dark Warrior weeps in despair until she felt an amount of immense pressure when she heard the clanking sounds of his armour coming nearer. The monsterized soldier of Lescatie slowly turns her gaze around and came face to face with the Silver-Blue Knight. She gulped as her mind speaks out in panic.
'I... I REGRET JOINING THIS MISSION!' Her thoughts yelled. 'All I wanted is a husband, not this!'
Ash slowly raised his hand and grabbed her by the face, then knocked her out of consciousness by slamming her head against the wall until the magic elevator descended. Although he didn't outright kill her and drop her down to the ground. Once the door of the entrance has opened, he stepped in before the lift ascended to the next floor.
...
*BOOM!*
Sif shatters the massive stone walls of the door with his massive greatsword before the group walked through the entrance. Elen then looks down and saw several corpses of dead Dark Knights lying on the ground and saw their blood splattered all across the floor and the walls as well.
"Damn, he tore his way through..." Reginald said while kneeling to a corpse and turning his gaze to the nearest stairway. "Look, bloody footsteps. Guess we have to follow his trail."
Arcturus then nodded in acknowledgement. "Right, we have to catch up with him."
...
Fallen Tower, 2nd Floor.
...
Ash entered the next floor and walked down the path, leading to another place filled with lescatian demon soldiers patrolling the area along with some interesting individuals. Much to his surprise, he caught a single glimpse of a Dark Valkyrie was among those patrols.
'I guess crossing this area might take a while.' Ash's thoughts summarised the situation before a Dark Esquire, an Alp, walked out from around the corner and stood back in shock once he spotted a Silver-Blue Knight hiding behind cover.
"H-Hey! Who are you!?"
'... Or not.'
Ash silenced the sentry as he immediately threw his throwing knife and jammed through the Alp's forehead, thus falling to the ground. Unbeknownst to Ash, the mysterious entity of death swiftly grabbed her life to prevent the succubi's revival from Hel's intervention. He quickly opened his bottomless box and pulls up a Court Staff and a Slumbering Ring before he casts a Hidden Body Spell to avoid detection. He walked to the nearest corner and walked past another group of monster girls who were accompanied by a Dark Valkyrie.
"Hey, Iva... to think of it... the first floor seems to be quiet."
"Yeah, but there was no response from the vanguard group."
"But why haven't they returned yet?"
"I heard from the Priests that the Silver-Blue Knight used some sort of Anti-Magic Device to disrupt our communications."
"An Anti-Magic Device!? No way!"
"Girls, keep your mouths quiet." The two succubuses halted their tracks and looks up to the Dark Valkyrie. "This just came in and someone has breached the first floor. The Silver-Blue Knight will be coming to the second floor at any moment."
Upon hearing her words, the soldiers gulped in fear until the Dark Valkyrie caught something in her view behind her two subordinates as a distorted image of a knight appeared from the hidden mirage.
'Crap, the Hidden Body is wearing thin.' Ash then grabs the handle of his broadsword. 'Better take them out quick.'
Without warning, Ash drew his weapon and slashed their heads apart before tackling his right shoulder to push back the Valkyrie against the wall, completely catching her off-guard. The Dark Adherent of the Fallen God summoned her sword and lunged towards the Knight, but Ash disabled her by making a riposte and cutting off her unarmoured arm. The Dark Valkyrie staggered back in pain until Ash quickly ends her life by thrusting his sword through her neck before she can cause an alarm for the other troupes.
Then he hid her body and made his way to the next lift.
...
"Weird, the intruders haven't arrived yet." One of the Dark Valkyrie raised her eyebrow in question. "The last time I sensed was the magical elevator coming up, but I detect no one."
"Yeah, it does sound fishy to me." The other Valkyrie stated. "So Nina, why don't we check it out?"
"Nay, we have a duty to guard the elevator," Nina responded while shaking her head. "We must make sure that no one should be entering."
"Alright, as you say so," The Dark Valkyrie sighed with a shrug on her shoulders and then gaze her attention to the stair entrance. Yet to the lack of her awareness, a flash of blood drew while the Dark Valkyrie stood unnoticed over what was happening behind her until she felt warm liquid on her back. "Nina?... What the-!?"
Then, in a blink of an eye, the Dark Valkyrie felt a sharp object enter her skull once she spun around and came face to face with a Silver-Blue Knight. Blood trailed out from her forehead and the Valkyrie fell to the ground with a hard thud. Ash whipped the blood out from his bandit knife and call down the Elevator moments later. He looks back to make sure no one is following him until the entrance of the elevator opened. He stepped in and lifted to the third floor.
Once Ash vacated the previous floor, Sif and the companionship entered the second floor, and several groups of mamono met them in a moment they caught their sights on the Greatwolf.
Reginald cursed his words as he unsheathed his greatsword. "Ah, shit. Here we go again."
...
Fallen Tower, 3rd Floor.
...
Eva Mystiv was sweating in fear once she saw the Silver-Blue Knight through the magic mirror and observed his actions where he fought through the first and the second floor. On the First Floor, he killed the most experienced warriors of Lescatie who are well-renown, and after the monsterisation of an entire nation, they were still the deadliest fighters under the new Demon Realm of Lescatie. Yet seeing them fighting against the infamous Silver-Blue Knight, which demonstrates their reputation as monsterised heroes and knights, doesn't faze the foreign mercenary one bit and slaughtered his way through. Then on the second floor, he sneaked his way through with invisibility magic after killing an Alp, Dark Knights, and even Dark Valkyries.
The Dark Strategist couldn't help but slacked her jaws in disbelief.
"I... how... what!?"
Eva knew Dark Valkyries were no slouches in fighting to find their desired future husbands. They were the most respected high-ranking adherents to the monster deity such as the Fallen God, and they were very sensitive to detect mana, even if a Hero would use invisibility spells could still emit an essence of their mana. Yet they didn't seem to detect the Silver-Blue Knight, nor aware of their surroundings when he was near.
Despite their status as the Adherents of the Monster Deity, the Knight didn't bat an eye and didn't even fear them when he saw a divine adherent. They're nothing more but a target on his termination list.
Never in her life as an Alp and a Dark Strategist could witness the unexpected impossibility coming true and all of her strategies that she had prepared for the Silver-Blue Knight's arrival were all for naught. Monsters, Fallen Heroes, and Divine Adherents were all but nothing for the human warrior.
"This is impossible. How can that be!?" Eva uttered while staring through the projecting mirrors in disbelief. "What kind of monster are we facing?... Does that mean this rumour of his reputation to be true?"
"How's the situation?" Eva heard a voice and spun around to see Vermut coming from around the corner of their security room. "Did they catch the Silver-Blue Knight?"
"N-... No, but he breached two floors in one go." Eva shudders her head in much to Vermut's disbelief.
"H-Hold on a second! You're telling me he's already on his way to the third floor?!" Vermut furrowed her eyes while shaking the poor Alp by her shoulders. "That's impossible! The best Warriors of the Dark Ice Flower guarded those floors, and yet they couldn't even stop him?!"
"Th-That's not the point!" Eva yelled out loud while being shaken until Vermut stopped. "That man is way beyond human!"
"So you're telling me we're dealing Sasha's Knight, who turns out to be a Hero in disguise!?" Vermut asked while in a state of panic.
"But that's not all. My magic doesn't seem to detect his mana," Eva answered hastily until Vermut caught her attention once she sees the Knight exiting the elevator. "Now he's on the 3rd Floor."
"Oh, look at that... he's going into a place filled with machines." Vermut comments, and then she grinned wickedly in confidence. "I bet he can't handle those Automatons and the Gremlin Turrets made from the Blueprints of the Ancient Ruins."
Eva looks up at the magic mirror and saw the Silver-Blue Knight confronted by a group comprising several Automatons with their weapons aiming towards the Knight, including the Cannons of the Gremlin Turrets. It was like a standoff for a moment until they witnessed the Silver-Blue Knight raise his strange object and summoned a Lightning Spear. He hurled it afterwards into one of the turrets and flames burst out sporadically.
The Automatons fired their machine guns, but the Knight raised his blue shield and their magic projectiles bounced off like pellets until jumped into the nearest cover and the other Gremlin Turret takes its shot and blew off half of his cover. But it missed their target.
Then they witness the Knight pulling out his talisman and rolling away from cover. He unleashed the Lightning Arrows, taking potshots at the Automatons, and taking them down. Then the Silver-Blue Knight turned his attention to the turret while reloading its cannon and then taking a shot. He rolled away from the incoming blast. Then he pulls out a Lightning Urn and threw it over to the Gremlin Turret. The substance of the golden resin spreads and effectively disabled the machine with electricity. The resin fried the interiors of the mana cages and exploded into a fiery scrap.
The two succubi watched the knight heading for the next floor. Eva felt sweat trail down from her forehead as she was terrified, while Vermut dropped her jaws in disbelief.
"You said he has no mana! But he used magic!" Vermut yelled out while pointing accusingly towards Eva.
"As I said before! He's extraordinary!" Eva cried back in a state of panic while waving both of her hands. "We need more reinforcements to double up the defences!"
While the two succubi argued with each other, they paid little to no attention to the magic mirror as it shows Ash called down the elevator and lifts to the next floor just before Sif and the others entered the new area where the Knight has left off.
...
"Damn, this place is a wreck," Arcturus said in mild surprise while kneeling in front of a broken frame of an automaton. "Ash must have left this place behind with a lot of scraps."
Reginald spun around until getting his attention to one of the Gremlin Turrets that still stood in flames before sparks of electricity crackled and blew up, sending steel parts around the places while the group shielded themselves from the flying hazardous projectiles.
"Shit... I can't believe this is his handiwork alone," Elaine stated nervously, thinking about the true strength of Ash Cyrus. "He's really not some guy to mess with."
"Agreed," Elen nodded in agreement. "What do ya' expect from a guy who killed a ton of freakin' monsters from his homeland?"
"Everyone... let us not stand here and talk." Junayd interfered while waving his hand in a dismissing manner. "We need to catch up with Ash Cyrus before something worse might happen."
"Indeed, his scent is still fresh," Sif said while turning his gaze to the next entrance. "He went up using the lifting machinations."
...
Fallen Tower, 4th Floor.
...
Ash stepped into the next area and sticks himself against the wall and peeks out from around the corner. From there, he spots three individual groups comprising minotaurs, demons and Incubi Knights wearing in their full-plate armour whilst they were waiting for the intruder in the middle of an arena. But judging by their looks; their faces expressed their relaxation, hinting that these people appear to lack discipline. However, Ash noticed that the group he'll be facing were hard hitters. He took a deep breath and gripped his weapon while stepping into the arena.
One of the Incubus Knights heard a slight noise of clanking armour. Realising that someone stepped in and turn his gaze around to see the Silver-Blue Knight come around the corner, both wielding a Blue Crest Shield on his left arm and a Claymore leaned on his shoulders.
"Guys, he's here!" He called out while pulling out his sword. "It's the Silver-Blue Knight!"
"Damn, I can't believe the bastard himself could reach it up here." The other Incubi growled in spite while his eyes scanned for possible enemies. "By the way, where are his companions?"
"Heh! He must have gone way ahead of them~" The Incubus turns his gaze to a Minotaur. She stepped forth while raising her battleaxe and grins in overconfidence to challenge the human knight. "He's now alone, and it is a feat for him to reach this place! A Worthy Opponent!"
"Ufufufu~! That's right~ At this point, he's no match for us~!" On her left side, a demon slurred in a mocking tone while raising her left hand. "Behold, Silver-Blue Knight! Taste the might of the Demon's Power!"
The Demon summoned a large black orb emitting a malicious hue of purple, thus the Mamono hurled it over to the Knight until Ash raised his shield. Her spell exploded upon contact and the caster smiled arrogantly to think that no warrior would be able to withstand her magic, even a magic shield blessed by the Order of the Gods wouldn't stand a chance. But her senses caught something else, and she stood wrong. As the smoke clears out, the Elite Knight stood with no scratches or any damage present on his shield.
"Tsk! A reinforced magic shield? How cheap! I'll beat him in one swoop!" The Demon clenched her fists and flashed across his field of vision in a blur. "Try to catch me, Silver-Blue Knight!"
Within a second, the Demon re-appeared behind the Ash and raised her claws. Unfortunately, the Knight sensed the attack came from behind and she expected to claim that victory for hers alone. But he took a quick step to the left before her claws would even touch him. When the adrenalin pumped in his veins, Ash saw the world move slowly and spun his eyes slightly to the rear to see her cocky smile in confidence.
Thus, within an instant, he bashed her face right into the nose with the pommel of his claymore and swiftly cleaved her into two separate parts. The Incubi and Monsters reeled back in horror at the gruesome display of combat which followed the demon's death within a blink of an eye. The minotaur clenched her teeth and charge in along with the other knights and warriors to avenge her death.
"Get him!"
The Minotaurs raised their axes, yet the Human Knight was nimble and Ash held his claymore in a two-handed stance. In a swift motion, he disabled them by slicing off their unarmoured arms and wrists, then cleaving their bodies apart from limbs to elbows with his blade reinforced with Titanite. Then the Incubi Knights were now getting off the worse. Despite their full-plate armour enhanced with magic, it didn't save them from his blade as it punctured and sliced them apart through the exposed gaps, then combined it with his techniques using mordhau concussions.
It was unlike any kind of swordsmanship they have ever seen and the Silver-Blue Knight wields his greatsword like a combat staff, which makes it an effective killing tool rather than what they have trained for conventionally of slicing, thrusting and hacking.
The Demons stepped back in hesitation and fear once the last Incubus Knight fell to his death after his head got decapitated by his claymore. They didn't expect the human was willing to end their lives. Even attempts to avenge their fallen were proven fruitless, which didn't mean to happen to other married monster couples. They always believed that fate is in their favour that would change the cold-hearted humans, but this is in another league.
"This is impossible... I... I can't read this guy!" One demon stepped in horror. "His feelings are all void! No love or any desire!"
"Even worse... I can't sense his dick getting erected." The other one exclaimed in shock. "He could've become an Alp if he isn't interested in women... but he has no desire to become a woman or falling in love with a man!"
Ash wasn't impressed while hearing their statements. 'These harlots... they think nothing but their attempts to corrupt.'
As they keep trying to witness deep within his heart, mind, and soul. They cannot feel anything from him as if he was void of emotions and desire, but they can feel the aura of anger coming from their surroundings, which pointed towards them. The demons saw this as their inevitable defeat and death until they chanted their spells in their attempts to bring him down.
Ash hastily grabbed his Crystal Chime and chanted the Great Magic Barrier before their spells struck him. After the barrier coated his body and protected him from their magic spells as it bounced them off. He sprints his feet towards some demons and they leapt forth in retaliation while raising their claws. Ash swiftly cleaved them apart in quick sessions until two demons teleported to his flanks. He rolled forwards to avoid their blows and noticed another one coming in front of him. He thrusts his weapon forth and impaled his blade through her abdomen and he notice the other two coming from the rear.
He heaved up his greatsword and swung around, catching the demons with his weapon until their bodies splattered with blood and guts.
Now he turns around and saw the last member of the group. A demon, unscathed from battle. She trembled in fear as her eyes dilate when she finally sees the mystery that hid within the deepest part within his core. All she saw was nothing more but pure darkness, and that darkness inside him was hungry. It was wild as a beast, willing to feast on her soul as if she is some mere prey.
She knew her own kind was one of the monster races standing on top of the food chain and perceived the humans as mere prey for their husband-hunting seasons... yet this man; she knows he was different. But this anomaly alone who stood right in front of her eyes can bring the rules in an upside-down fashion.
"I... I need to get out!" The last demon then turns around while fleeing before she felt a sharp object jabbed into her right side. "GAHK!"
The mamono fell to the ground after Ash threw his Claymore like a javelin that had struck the Demon. The Monster Girl crawled to escape from the murderous Knight. Only then she was caught up by Ash. He retrieves his Claymore by stepping his boots on her back and pulls the weapon out. The Mamono just lay on the ground while blood leaked out from her body, and slowly lost consciousness before Reaper of Death then claimed her soul and sends her into the silent darkness of oblivion.
"How many floors does this tower have?" Ash wondered himself while he pressed the orb before the lift descended from the upper floors. "I'm not sure how many, but more enemies are waiting for me... only to be slaughtered while on my way up."
...
Realm of the Fallen God, Pandemonium.
...
"... This man... does he have any shame for what he has done!?"
In the Temple of the Fallen God; Dark Valkyries, Dark Angels, and the lower-ranked adherents of the Fallen God, the Dark Priests, witnessed the entire situation within the Fallen Tower with horrifying and dreadful looks. They saw the Silver-Blue Knight slew his opponents without a single hint of guilt and regret, and not even the Dark Valkyries who were sent there could stop him. All they saw was death to all who are overconfident and arrogant enough to underestimate the Knight's ambition to save his Maiden.
The monsters in the vision had already set up their traps and barriers to prevent his one-man butcher. But it didn't take long as he tore through the barriers using conventional weapons, which aren't forged by mortal means and easily recognise traps in his way. Few instances in which he caught an Arachne spider trap and burned it down with his flame magic and one of the most mind-boggling of all is that he flawlessly chooses safer passages to avoid entering into illusionary traps made by the Dark Priests and the Demonic Knights of Lescatie.
"He knows which ones are actual traps!?" Daria felt her jaw drop. "This guy has too much insight!"
The Fallen God did not expect this outcome and his actions granted their allies and her beloved adherents their imminent deaths. She needs Hel to intervene, but the Goddess of Life and Death knew that her fate is inevitable and her predictions didn't help her to remove this prophecy. No matter what actions she takes to overcome her fated death, the deity can feel that death looms around and glared at it. Never in her life that her existence would be humiliated by a mere mortal.
Flames, Blue Streams of Magic, and Lightning filled the screen following the screams and painful groans of their sisters-in-arms, dying under the hands of the Silver-Blue Knight, an Astoran named Ash Cyrus. Alina watched in horror as her eyes grew in rage and clenched her fists, while Daria hid behind her back in fear.
"Th-This is too much... I can't believe that human is going too far!" Alina uttered as she seethes. "Our Goddess should have heeded her warnings!"
"A-Alina!" Daria squeaked as she steps back. "Don't say such things! Our Unholy Goddess might hear us!"
Alina grit her teeth while turning her gaze to the Fallen God, who sat on her throne as her eyes watched the scenes of battles with an unimpressionable look on her face. The Dark Valkyrie couldn't believe that her Deity would underestimate her prophecy of abducting the Silver-Blue Knights Maiden would cause her death. While they had the advantage in numbers and magic, the odds did not stack in the monsters' favour, much to her dismay. At first, she scoffs at such possibility that no mortal man should ever go up against the Gods and step their feet into the Pandemonium.
But she has a gut feeling that it might involve a foreign power in the Prophecy, but how can that be? How can one entity know its way to its Fallen Paradise? She couldn't help but dread herself from such ideas and turned away from the screens, walking away while Daria followed the Dark Valkyrie and exited the buildings through the hallways.
...
Fallen Tower, 45th Floor.
...
Ash drew his handgun and shot the Automaton through the chest with a lightning-infused titanate bullet while the mechanised mamono fell to the floor and her software program within her core went haywire until sparks of electricity sprung out, completely shutting down the machine to its death. Ash unloaded the last empty cartridge from his handgun and noticed he was out of bullets.
The Knight cursed bitterly. "Damnation, I'm out of bullets."
As the arena seems it is clear of enemies, he went for the next entrance which leads him up to the next floor until a red blur passed by and saw a red-black sword coming straight to his face and sending him flying and skids through the polished floors. He grunts as soon as he stood back up on his feet.
"Well... looks like I've missed a spot." Ash patted his armour from dust before looking up to see a Cursed Sword glaring at him. "Great, another cursed sword."
"I'll cut you..." Kirsche growled in rage as she took a fighting stance before lashing out. "I'LL CUT YOU DOWN TO PIECES!"
Ash stood for a moment and then immediately stepped aside, allowing Kirsche to miss her target once she trusted her cursed sword. Then the Knight swung his Crest Shield against her face and sends her crashing into the wall before dropping unconscious to the ground. Ash looked down at her for a brief moment before leaving for the next floor and saw a long spiral of staircases that heads upwards. It will take a while before reaching the next area.
Ash groaned with a deep sigh. "By the Lords..."
...
Fallen Tower, 47th Floor. An hour later...
...
"Huff... Hugh! By the Flames, this is a long way up!" Arcturus complained. "Can't that guy wait for us!?"
The young knight of sunlight panted heavily while stepping up through the long spiral staircases, which reached up to the next area within another few meters, and Elaine grabbed her flask of water for a drink. But as soon as she drinks it, she spits off the liquid out to her disgust.
"Yuck! Since when did my water taste like piss!?" Elaine yelled a complaint, which vented out her frustration. "This was fresh from the river stream and boiled it when we left the camp!"
"Hah~ The more you stay long in the Demon Realm, the more untasteful your food becomes," Junayd said while catching his breath. "Even if your lunch didn't appear to be spoiled, the Demonic Energy will change its taste. Only to be even more tasteful for monsters and humans... but, uh... not for specific humans and mamono in general."
"Huh, no wonder why my lunch biscuits taste rotten." Elen grunts in dissatisfaction while munching a small piece of biscuits before pouring out her entire pocket lunch to the floor. Then she looks back to Junayd. "Well, there goes my paid lunch."
"Well, I should have given you some Greatleaves earlier," Junayd said with an apologetic look before giving Elen a small pack of bread wrapped within a large green leaf. "These leaves have magic attributes which have excellent protection for your lunch from the invasive Demonic Mana."
"Whoa~! It smells fresh!" Elen beamed up with a drool on her lips and her stomach churned for hunger. The dhampir blushed in embarrassment while stepping back with an apology. "S-Sorry! I'm really that hungry! So... this Greatleaf, from where did you get them?"
"This came from an Archtree. My tribe currently owns one," Junayd explained with pride. "You can't find them around here on the continent, but they can only find it within the Carthus Tribe. Even the Mirrah Order has their own Archtree in Albion."
"Man, we should buy them," Elaine stated while rubbing her chin with interest. "So what're the prices for that one leaf exactly?"
"They're very expensive while it takes a few months until new Greatleafs could be harvested from the Archtree and a single leaf will cost worth of one hundred gold. That's three times the price of copper value." Junayd answered, much to Elaine's dismay, to hear such a ridiculous price. "But not only that. Such Arcthrees were hard to find outside of Carthus and Mirrah. The people across the deserts would buy such leaves to protect their food from the spoiling taste of Demonic Energy, and we also treated them as a wonderful source of filter to get rid of Monster Mana, which contaminated the waters."
"Wow! I never heard of that and it sounds amazing," Elen said in awe. "One day, I and Reginald would visit these places one day."
"Speaking of visiting such places. I wish this part of the tower had an elevator." Reginald said while grunting, feeling his feet were getting sore. "Damn, now my feet are fucking aching."
As they took several steps further up, they heard a noise and they looked to the right. They saw a Hellhound screaming bloody murder as she was dropped through the spiral staircase. Sif sensed death followed and then looks down to see the mamono disappear into the darkness until he heard a quiet distant bang, now recognised the fallen victim was clearly dead and the Greatwolf sighed in pity.
"Neither of these lasses was strong and they've should heed their warnings to who they are up against... pitiful indeed."
...
Fallen Tower, 50th Floor.
...
The Silver-Blue Knight felt his feet were getting heavy and taking deep breathing while walking up the long spiral staircase of the Tower of the Fallen God is like ascending through the Archdragon's Peak. He knew how cold it felt despite being an Undead in his past life to explore the ruins on top of the mountain while it was teeming with more dangerous monsters such as Serpent Men and the accursed Rock Lizard before facing Havel the Rock and the Nameless King.
He shakes off those terrible memories and continued his way up to the top whilst dragging up his Astora Greatsword. Fighting his way through the Fallen Tower was quite a good warm-up as the peak itself. While almost reaching the 50th floor, Ash brought up a radiant life gem and crushed the item with his own hand. He felt the divine life force start to seep into him with a very warm sensation while bruises all across his body slowly heal up.
"Quite refreshing." He said to himself relieved until he saw a transcendent ghastly figure with a familiar face which he did not expect to see her in all out of places. "Sasha?"
The ghastly figure of Sasha was staring at Ash while expressing her profound sadness. "Ash... please, hurry..."
Ash heard her words whispered through the air before disappearing from his sight. He shook off from his thoughts and continued his way up.
"Either it's real or a hallucination. I must keep going." He said, as his eyes steeled with determination. "Just don't fret, Sasha... I'm almost there."
Once he steps up to the last floor, he came across a pair of large stone doors. Ash stepped in and pushed the massive doors aside with his bare hands. The loud creaks of the massive entrance would alarm anyone inside. But Ash did not care. He knew they were waiting for him and came in all prepared to face the pitiful odds. Once entering the new area, he came across another staircase leading up to an arena.
The Ashen One grumbled. "Great... more stairs."
When he reached the arena, his eyes steeled once he saw a sizeable group of Dark Braves and Incubus Heroes with all of their weapons drawn to face the knight. Then he noticed a couple of Dark Knights in front of them. One is a blonde succubus with a bob-cut hairstyle, while the other has a beautiful flow of pale silver.
Luciana and Vermut drew their swords when they saw Ash Cyrus step up. But both of them were slightly shaken after seeing his battles through his way up to the Tower, and as a result, he was barely fatigued from fighting against the strongest monsters from the previous floors.
"Ash Cyrus! This is your last chance!" Luciana declared while pointing her sword towards him and the Fallen Heroes behind them cast their magic. "One more move and we'll eradicate you!"
Ash glared behind his helmet. He opted to ignore her warnings when he stepped forwards. The Dark Heroes cast their magic and threw all of their magic spells all at once until he raised his Crystal Chime. The light glittered out of nowhere and contorts the very fabric of reality as it deflected all of their spells in different directions while some were sent back to their users and got hit by their own.
'A splendid thing to use Twisted Light.' Ash's thoughts said amused before kneeling. 'Now I need to finish this fight quick, Vow of Silence!'
His thoughts silently chant a spell and a flash of purple glows out. His miracle took effect within a large radius that covered the entire arena. This spell also caught the Heroes off-guard once their Magic and Spell Buffs were disrupted. The Succubi and the Incubus staggered back in disarray to witness their own blessings aren't working.
"M-My Magic is gone!" Luciana grew in a state of panic while flickering her fingers, but not a single spark of her blessing has twinkled to life. "What did you do!?"
"I disable your magic," Ash replied, which made Luciana and Vermut falter back in shock. "It will be a waste of time while fighting against all of you."
"YOU BASTARD!"
Luciana then saw a Dark Brave lashing out in inhuman speed, but the reaction of the Silver-Blue Knight was quick and cleaved the succubus in half with his Ultra Greatsword within a flash. The rest of the fallen heroes took the initiative to avenge her, despite the warnings given out by Luciana and Vermut.
"W-Wait! Don't attack!"
"You fools! You're all signing up for your deaths!"
Ash held his Ultra Greatsword at the ready and caught another target. He tore an Incubus apart before his wife went to his left flank and thrusts her sword to avenge her husband. Unfortunately, the Elite Knight swings his sword in a quick uppercut and sent her crashing against the walls and blood splashed out. The Ashen One caught another Incubus Knight with a halberd and evaded his thrust by moving his head to the right. The Astoran stepped in close while pulling out a bandit knife and jammed the blade through the visor. The Incubus screamed out in pain until his life ended when the blade of the greatsword cleaved his head apart from the body.
The Ashen One sensed another blade coming from behind and spun around as he held up a defence and blocked it with his Ultra Greatsword, it was another Dark Barve.
"You murderer! You will pay-!"
*SLASH!*
He did not pay heed to her words as he cleaved a Dark Hero apart. More Incubi Heroes charged in with their spears, and Ash prepared his Astoran Greatsword and once they were about to thrust their polearms, he cut off their spearheads before ducking underneath their staffs and then swung around to cleave their knees apart.
All of them fell screaming in agony until another hero succubus came from the right flank and appears to wield a mace. Her strong blow sends Ash after barely blocking it while skidding back within a few feet away from her dangerous assault. The Dark Brave lunged in once more while raising her mace overhead, but unfortunately, the Elite Knight swung the Greatsword and the length of his blade sliced off her arms apart before smashing her head in a pulp.
Luciana and Vermut trembled in horror to witness the Silver-Blue Knight fight with his sheer skill, strength and tenacity, which hacked his way through a group of fallen heroes. No matter the blows he received from their corrupted weapons, he stood back up without a scratch and killed more members of the Dark Ice Flower. The two Succubuses knew their blessings from Druella were supposed to be stronger than an average human and even towards a human hero, yet they did not expect the human warrior has an unknown power to disable their God's Blessings despite the lack of his essence. Vermut couldn't bear to witness this bloodshed and then stepping back once their numbers dwindled quickly.
'Just why the Hel would Druella send us to face this madman!?' Vermut grit her teeth and despite she held her sword tight, her own hands were shaking. 'Damn you! You've cursed our lives to wage war on this... Thing!'
"V-Vermut! We have to get out of here!" Luciana cried out until the last couple of Heroes fell by his sword. "This man is a monster!"
At this moment, the two Dark Knights of Lescatie fell back and retreated behind the massive doors leading to the last area before closing. Ash dismissed his Astora Greatsword back into his bottomless box and brought up his trusty 'ol Claymore to sling behind his back before heading to another area. He walked up the short staircase and opened the doors to follow the Succubuses until he was met by the howling winds brushing against his armour.
The entrance led Ash to an open stairway and he could clearly see the sun on the blue clear skies above the dense clouds that covered the small Demon Realm from below. He marched his way up while shielding himself from the violent winds. Within a couple of minutes later, he reached the top of the tower and saw a temple made of pure marble that was placed in the middle section on the Tower's last floor. Unbeknownst to him, Luciana and Vermut hid behind the pillars and witnessed the Knight walk into the building.
"I-I'm still scared to fight him!" Luciana said in a shaken tone.
"M-Me too," Vermut replied admittedly in tears. "Druella and Wilmarina will not like this if we're going to fail!"
Ash stood in front of the temple entrance and slowly opened the massive steel doors. It produced eerie creaks upon entering the area and then went inside until the door behind him was shut before several torches were lit across the hallway, leading up all the way through the staircases. The Elite Knight took a deep breath and then stepped up through the stairs until he reached a place where he saw a giant altar depicting a statue of a naked goddess and there he noticed a figure kneeling in front of it, praying for it.
It is a woman with a long green flowing hair, a familiar blue kirtle and the white cloak he brought for her, and the braid was unmistakenly hers. But something was amiss. He knew Sasha would pray for an altar depicting a golden cross that represents her faith in the Chief God, not the statue of a Depraved God, unless...
"Sasha...?" Ash speaks out and his voice echoing through the temple.
The woman stopped her prayers and lifted her head. She stood up and slowly turned around. It was indeed her, but the air turned cold and his senses immediately kicked in once he saw her smiling with those drowsy eyes. Ash knew that smile he should not trust.
"Oh~! Ash, at last, you have come for me~!" Sasha spoke out in joy while wiping off her tears. "I can't believe you fought your way here~! You are truly my beloved Knight of my desires~!"
Her voice, words and acts are too cheerful, and it was fishy. It is easy to notice that only a Jester could do it better. Ash drew his astora straight sword and points his weapon towards her.
"Who are you and where is Sasha?" Ash demanded until he saw her smile widen. He gripped his shield and sword tight.
"Oh... so you noticed. My goodness, you are very smart for a knight~" Sasha then spoke in malevolence until black smoke billowed up from her feet. "I have been denying myself to express my feelings for you~... So I've been waiting..."
Ash furrowed his eyebrows to witness the former priestess saunter towards him and her appearance changed. Her blue kirtle and cloak dyed behind the black mist and transformed into a depraved jet-black priestess garment before a pair of horns grew out from the back of her skull. Black feathery wings and a chained tail grew out from her rear as well. Then her clear blue eyes turned red as wine.
"Waiting for you~!" Sasha sang, followed by a malicious giggle. "So Ash... how do you like my new appearance~?"
Sasha ambled over to Ash. Her blood-red eyes pierced into his gaze through the shadows behind his visor and saw his deep-blue eyes which stood in steel. Her tongue darts over her lips with her wicked lustful smile. The Dark Priest wanted him badly and her emotions felt confidence surging through her veins.
Her blood is in heat, and rapture overcame her mind. Ready to unleash her carnal desires for her beloved knight.
"Ufufu~! Poor you, looks like you're too late to save your beloved Maiden~!" Ash heard another voice and looked up to the left and saw four dark priests standing on the balcony, then Janeline called out. "Sasha! Now's your chance!"
Sasha heard the signal and raised her hand. Black vines shot out and completely held the Knight down with his wrists and knees without warning. Ash struggled with his arms to break through the vines while Sasha gazed down at him, amused by his pitiful attempts to resist her powers.
"Fufufu~! I can see that you're struggling~! But I know how strong you are~" Sasha lauded with a giggle. "The Fallen God has told me this once... that you are indeed a befitting Knight to be my husband. She isn't wrong, but you have to give up. There is no way you can beat a veteran hero~"
Ash was silent, and he glared at her. But there is one thing in his mind is that... he has some tricks in his sleeves. Yet not at the right moment.
"No words huh...? Try to resist and you can't break them." Sasha continued to mock while another blush appeared on her cheeks. "Despite you having the strength of a hero... you're just a human. Then lay down your arms and accept me~"
Ash felt that Sasha will pounce on him and rip off his armour at any moment. She is sure that her body was made for a man that he will like without any problems and the Dark Priest is sure her mana shall make him feel her love. As the new Adherent of the Fallen Faith, her objective is to stop Ash Cyrus from inciting the pain and death upon the mamono.
When she succeeded, Hel will bring back the dead he had slain.
Ash did not reply and remained silent. Sasha remained confident and expected him to get heated up as she did some explicit moves like moving her chest and expressing her child-like smile, but there is no reaction and, worse of all. She cannot feel his heightened desires or his meaty rod getting erected behind his pants.
Only she felt was coldness and void resonating from him. The only thing that made her reel back in surprise was that his eyes remained unflinching.
'His eyes... are cold?' Sasha stepped back in much to her disbelief. 'Why? Why are you staring at me like that?'
"Ash... what is wrong?" The Dark Priest meekly asks, as if her voice is desperate to reach him. "It's me, Sasha! The beloved maiden you've sworn to protect..."
Her knight stood for another few moments in silence while his gaze remained unchanged.
"No." That word defied her existence.
But his answer made her smile. The Dark Priest knew that resistance is futile. "Fu~...fufufu~!... I'm going to make you feel me, so don't try to resist, Ash Cyrus."
Ash then struggles with his left arm and tries to reach for the Purging Stone in his pouch until he pulls it out. But the Dark Priest noticed the stone he had prepared for. She immediately raised her hand until another black vine shot out and snapped the stone away from his hand, then smashed it to the ground into pieces.
"Nah-ah-ah~! You dare to use that stone to turn me back?" Sasha said amusingly while waving her index finger. "After all... I'd prefer to live myself as a monster~ Who would have thought living my life as a human would be so dull~?"
Ash grits his teeth as his fists clench. He felt his very own soul rage in flames while the invasive mana that has been intruding on his very own core had snapped. The Black Vines unexpectedly tore apart and his arms broke free, which caught the Dark Priest by surprise.
"Oh, this is not what I expected," Sasha said in a deadpanned expression until her eyes darkened under her shadow. "But regardless, I will-"
"Ash... help me, please..." The Dark Priest then stopped and Ash widened his eyes. "Free me... from my prison."
"Is that my voice?" Dark Priest Sasha uttered out loud in disbelief. "How can that be!?"
Ash stood for a moment before he speaks out. "... Sasha, can you hear me?"
"... Yes, a warm flame has allowed me to speak for you, so hear me out before it dies out." Her distant voice replied. "Defeat my dark spirit, the manifestation of my desires that has taken control over my vessel and make your way to Pandemonium... from there, I will wait for you."
"Do not worry." Dark Priest Sasha then staggered back in fear once she laid her eyes towards Ash, who made his cold declaration while drawing his sword and shield at ready. "I'll get you back... safe and sound."
The Dark Priest couldn't believe it. It was all perfectly played according to the plan to end his terror and now, her own voice is giving him hope to return to her original form. The newly formed monster thought she has changed from her old self is all thanks to the Fallen God who had awakened her, but what was this? She never expects to hear her own voice out of nowhere.
"I feel something isn't right." The voice of the Fallen God echoed into her head. "Something is preventing us from reaching our goals and my foresight... It's none!"
'But from where?!' Dark Priest Sasha grits her teeth as sweat flow down her face. 'Why didn't you warn me about this?!'
"Focus, Sasha. You must defeat him as soon as possible!" The Fallen God demanded. "Then I shall see what lies within this freak of nature."
"Th-This isn't possible... It's impossible! I'm the real Sasha here!" The Dark Priest yelled out desperately to persuade him, which caused confusion amongst the other four Dark Priests on the balcony, unaware of the situation nor heard her "own" voice. "I'm here in the flesh and I'm the same person, can't you see!?"
"No, you are not." Once again, his answer defied her and the Dark Priest saw her world fall apart. Sasha reeled back in fright when the Silver-Blue Knight glared coldly at her behind his helmet. "You might be "Sasha" while parading in her own skin, but you are someone else. Even if I don't know the way to the Pandemonium, then I'll find myself a way to get in."
"I-... I can't believe this!" The Dark Priest cried out in frustration and desperately summons her sword out of thin air before pointing towards him, giving him a disdainful look. "I will make you love me, and you leave me no other choice!"
Ash didn't respond another word before the Dark Priest lunged out and clashed her sword against his shield. The battle between the Dark Priest and a former Undead had just begun.
...
-To Be Continued-
Chapter 20: Ends
Author's Note (2020): If you were wondering about Dark Braves and Dark Knight, including Heavy Dark Knights came from the MGE Side 2: Fallen Knights of Lescatie. You can see them on MGERedux Website.
The title and the ending of the chapters have a reference to the Witcher and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. While writing this chapter, I was listening to Fire Emblem and Witcher Ost to keep up some motivation.