Gun of Ashes

Eve never truly desired glory and power. In this desperate situation, the thing she started to yearn for was the life of escape. When Lorenzo kicked open the door, at the moment sunlight shone on her face, it was then Selyu truly came alive in Selyu's view.

Selyu rushed through the complex courtyard into the tall castle, where at the highest point within the castle, one could overlook every corner of the estate.

Her pace began to falter with a stagger, a scar appeared on her ankle, looking like a wound inflicted during her struggle with the demon, which Selyu hadn't noticed at the time, but the pain was surfacing now.

Selyu suddenly realized she might not be able to leave the estate and didn't think she would die; she wouldn't give up that easily. She climbed the stairs, believing that the labyrinth-like rooms in the castle might delay those demons for a while.

She panted heavily as panic and injuries drained her stamina, and at that moment, the demon emerged slowly from the end of the corridor.

Like a duel, at the ends of the corridor stood Selyu and the demon, with several decorative knight armors standing on either side of the corridor, guarding this narrow dueling ground. Selyu forced herself to calm down her breathing, then reached for the knight armor beside her, retrieving the decorative sword.

The sword was still too heavy and large for Selyu to manage, dragging it with effort; although strenuous, it was better than the candle holder. The demon in front of her was unharmed, evidently not the same type she encountered earlier.

Her fingers lightly brushed against the blade. Unfortunately, this decorative sword wasn't sharpened. Given Selyu's strength, a normal slash wouldn't damage the demon, leaving thrusting as the only effective attack.

But this sword was so heavy, Selyu clearly couldn't wield it freely, so she only had one chance, one deadly chance to severely harm the demon, otherwise, she would become food for this demon.

Both sides began to move tacitly, charging towards each other. The demon's twisted body resembled a humanoid figure with beast-like features, using its long, sharp claws to scratch the ground fiercely for greater speed.

Selyu was much slower in comparison, laboriously lifting the sword blade and seizing the moment to thrust.

All attacks were completed in an instant. As she approached the demon, Selyu suddenly surged with the sword blade in hand, using momentary momentum to slide forward while angling the sword upwards, leaning her entire body backward, closely against the ground.

This was the only tactic she could think of at the moment. If the demon lunged at her, it would inevitably be pierced by the angled sword blade, while her own backward lean would minimize damage.

Everything happened just as she imagined; the demon leaped high, but as it pounced, sharp hooks cut into the wall. This demon managed to execute a bizarre rotation mid-air, landing behind Selyu like a hunting cheetah, gracefully.

The moment of death had arrived. At this moment, Selyu could already envision the scene where the sharp claw pierced through her. Yet, she felt no fear of death. In the face of mortal danger, she felt nothing; she just turned her head forcefully to witness the falling claws.

The claws descended, resulting in the sound of metal friction, the noise vibrated intensely, and that's when the knight that stood silently on the corridor sides moved. The antique armor brought forth whistling winds, and the heavy decorative sword swung down in a half-moon shape, as if executing, cutting down from behind the demon in tandem with its attack.

"Attack its heart!"

A shout came from under the armor.

Selyu had never expected a person was hidden inside that decorative armor. The next moment, her thoughts were interrupted by actions.

The sword blade fell ferociously on the demon's neck but, due to the unsharpened blade, couldn't cut fully into the flesh, only slicing into it slightly with its motion-reaching force like a steel plate.

Yet it was this strike that gifted Selyu the crucial opportunity to escape. Due to the painful shift of the descending claw, Selyu took her chance to kneel up forcefully on the ground while thrusting the sword's tip into the demon's chest, at the heart's location.

"Continue!"

Selyu roared with abandon, prompting the knight to raise the heavy sword blade and let it drop again, pounding the demon's neck as if striking a stake. Under such impacts, the demon's body inevitably sank down further, allowing the sword tip to pierce through its chest.

Below, Selyu grasped the Sword Guard tightly, exerting full force to lift the sword blade upwards, while the knight above continued slashing. Despite its dullness, in the knight's view, several strikes would eventually sever it.

Through their cooperation, the demon struggled weakly for a while until the sword blade fell for an undetermined number of times, finally severing the head.

This might be the most oppressive death for a demon. The entire neck was beaten into pulp, and who knows how many segments the bones broke into. The corpse lay powerlessly atop the sword blade. Selyu arduously crawled out from under the body.

After completing all this, the knight collapsed to the side as well. They exchanged glances in silence for a moment before giving each other a thumbs up.

"Follow me, we can't stay here long."

After a short rest, the knight stood up, with the armor brushing against each other, producing a clanging sound.

"What's this thing?"

Selyu nodded, dragging her injured foot as she stood up with difficulty.

"Demons... you probably can't understand—just treat them as mythical creatures. Only by severing the head and destroying the heart can they be killed."

The knight explained, gripping the sword, from the way it was used, it was like a mace.

Before they could converse further, the sound of more footsteps approached from all directions. The knight removed the sweltering helmet, letting a head of flaming red hair fall down, then grasped the sword more tightly, casting a glance at a somewhat surprised Selyu.

"What? Surprised?"

The girl looked around vigilantly. Although the sword she held wasn't sharp, holding it gave a sense of inexplicable security.

"Nothing."

Selyu propped herself up by the sword blade, with her back against the girl observing behind. Countless shadows moved in the darkness, appearing to be demons.

"Actually, you do leave quite an impression on me, Selyu."

Faint wailing sounds could be heard, but the girl wasn't afraid. Instead, she started chatting idly with Selyu.

"You know me?"

Selyu didn't expect this person to know her.

"Yes, the future Duchess of the Stuart family. They say you are a lucky one, going from beggar to the top overnight. I thought you were a timid little princess, but to my surprise, you could fight pretty fiercely too."

It was uncertain whether she was complimenting or mocking. Selyu coolly asked.

"And who are you?"

"Eve Phoenix. Once my overly protective father steps down, I'll be a Duchess too."

Eve replied bluntly, although just thinking about Duke Phoenix's robust physique, he appeared capable of enduring for many more years, which was somewhat disappointing.

"They seem numerous, any thoughts?"

With a chilling aura, demons crept slowly from the shadows, but this time, there was more than just one.

"These pesky things are afraid of fire."

Eve recalled what Lorenzo had told her before, then looked towards both sides of the corridor. Due to the castle's antiquated age, many places hadn't been equipped with electric lighting. Perhaps for the sake of the old solemn feeling, candle flames flickered on the candelabras.

Selyu whispered.

"This is Duke Salicardo's favorite estate."

"Would he still want to live here after so many die here?"

Upon hearing Eve's words, the two girls turned their heads to gaze at each other. Though nothing was said, it seemed like an unspoken dialogue had been completed in their minds, they revealed the same smile.

It was like meeting a rare kindred spirit; people who really know what's going on aren't so easy to come by.

The demons started approaching, and just at that moment, the two girls simultaneously swung their swords towards the nearby candelabras, flames directly igniting the precious carpets and drapes. Due to the rarity of the materials, the fire blazed even more intensely.

But this was not the end; both girls resembled arsonists, grabbing the remaining candelabras and igniting all the combustibles.

This resembled a chaotic escape, the demons hesitated to advance through the sea of flames, and during their hesitation, the two swords broke through the fire and struck the demons. Although it couldn't kill them, the demons were knocked down by the attack, and the girls leaped out from the flames, spreading fire throughout every corner of the castle with their movements.

The fire spread, illuminating the entire ancient castle.