God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 839: Fist and Blade.

Their eyes were locked together.

The passion was fierce and fiery.

The heat between them was stimulating.

The sounds were enough to send shivers down the spine of even the most stoic of men.

Cain took a step forward, thrusting his blade forward. Behind him, another blade materialized out of thin air.

As he mercilessly jabbed forward with one hand, the other blade spun around, aimed at the nape of Ignis' neck.

Calmly, Ignis brought a hand up.

Her gauntlet gripped the blade that had been thrust forward hard, bending and snapping it in half.

The other blade was swift and deadly, but her instincts were too sharp to miss it.

Snapping her arm around, she swatted the blade out of the air like a fly.

Cain's brows twitched.

He had always known that Ignis was an incredible fighter, but some things had to be reasonable.

Then he thought about it again.

There is absolutely no way reason exists in a world of magic!

Cain pulled back, quickly moving with {Hell Step} as Ignis threw out jabs and punches.

He had to be careful when dodging as well because not only was Ignis' physique a bit better than his, her strength stat was also higher.

Each blow had enough force to shatter his bones completely.

Cain grimaced, 'Isn't this just supposed to be a spar?'

Granted, he wasn't holding anything back either.

Another set of blades materialized in his hands. Ducking under another potential life-taking jab, Cain stepped in quickly.

Not giving Ignis any time to recover, he swung his blade at her neck.

Their eyes met.

The blade cut through the air with a crisp ringing sound, stopping just before it cut into her skin.

Cain frowned.

Ignis snorted, "Lucky. I would have had you."

Cain looked down.

Her other hand had stopped just right in front of his chest, directly above his heart.

A full-blown punch from her would burst through his chest and obliterate his heart, killing him in an instant.

Although he was well on his path to demonhood, he couldn't survive without a heart.

In other words, this bout had ended with a tie.

Cain jumped back, and Ignis did the same.

They circled the deck, both glaring at their each other, their eyes never leaving.

Ignis had suggested a sparring session to get rid of the sluggishness after stuffing their mouths and stomachs to the brim.

She has asked to spar, but it felt like they were trying to kill each other.

Of course, they had agreed not to use any spells or skills that would cause too much damage to the ship.

He chose to rely mostly on his metal elemental powers.

He was trying to test his martial skills against hers.

And the results were... surprising.

Although his agility stat was greater than hers, for some reason, her reaction speed was more than enough to block all his attacks.

And even with the {Beholder's Eye} active, there were some attacks that just seemed too fast for him to completely avoid.

His arms tingled...

They exchanged blows, one with fist, the other with blade.

Although his reach was longer, Ignis was the epitome of offense is defense.

He continuously pressed him, making sure the distance between them never got too much. To make matters worse, since they were in a somewhat enclosed area, the space he could take advantage of was limited.

That being said, he wasn't just taking a beating.

After engaging in hundreds of battles and felling countless existences, the martial skills he had honed were rather impressive.

Spinning in his heel, he blocked a punch from Ignis with the flat of his blade. The blade shattered into pieces and the momentum threw him back.

Using {Hell Step}, he changed the direction of his momentum, becoming sky bound in

a split second.

Creating another metal blade, he coated it in another layer of metal elemental mana and lashed out.

A beam of golden energy shot out. Sharp enough to rip through the world like it was linen.

'This is exciting.'

A beam of concentrated metal elemental mana was far too sharp and deadly to block or parry. Ignis tucked her body in and spun, dodging the beam narrowly.

Cain's eyes gleamed.

That was exactly what he wanted.

A stream of incantations had already been muttered.

He activated {Nexus Tether}.

{Nexus Tether} was a rather unique skill that allowed him to imprint spatial coordinates on magic phenomenon he created, usually constructs of metal he created.

However, with his advancement to Tier 2, and his increased understanding of magic, mana and the elements, these constructs didn't need to be completely physical for the skill to work.

The world slowed down.

Just when it seemed like she was clear of the danger, Ignis felt danger appear beside her.

'Crap!'

She brought her fists up the moment she felt it, blocking against the first strike. The second sword strike managed to sneak through her defenses, leaving a bloody gash on her cheek.

Ignis jumped back, her heart racing.

She glared at the smug looking Cain,

"You switched places with the attack?"

Cain grinned, "Neat, huh?"

The plethora of skills and spells he had allowed for a wide area of creativity in combat.

Being straightforward and predictable when facing enemies could have its consequences. After all, Devils were known as to be insidious creatures despite their incredible physical prowess.

All this time fighting beasts had forced his fighting style to be more linear.

Luckily, change was not something he was particularly scared of.

Ignis sneered then shrugged,

"It's impressive."

Then she took a stance,

"If you pull of crazy moves like that, you can't blame me, right?"

Cain frowned. A bad feeling suddenly overwhelmed him.

"Hey, wait a mome—"

"Prepare yourself, Cain!" Ignis growled.

Wisps of fire seeped out of the markings that covered her body, making her look like a divine creature.

The flames seemed into her white {Alabaster Gauntlets}, turning them a vicious crimson.

Cain let out a sigh and readied himself.

Putting a scorching feet into the wooden floorboards, Ignis shot forward.

Ignis' weapons, the {Alabaster Gauntlets}, had three attached skills; Leviathan's Might, Bladed Fist, and Manifestation.

The first two skills increased her overall damage output when using the weapons. However, the last skill was different.

The {Alabaster Leviathan}, the creature the weapons had been gotten from, was a creature without elemental affinity.

The skill, {Manifestation} allowed the user to infuse the soul of the leviathan within the gauntlets with elemental mana to produce certain unique effects.

And these unique effects were solely dependent on the user.

Ignis rushed in, fists flying.

Cain blocked and weaved through them skillfully, launching counterattacks when he could.

Ignis was ferocious, but careful and meticulous.

So, he wat he'd and waited carefully, slowly waiting.

Blocking another swing, his blade was shattered once again.

Ignis' eyes widened as she suddenly increased her speed, immediately closing the distance. Her clawed fingers stretched forward, reaching for his face. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Cain grinned,

'Just where I want you.'

Faster than before, two blade materialized in his hands.

He swung them at her neck.

His reach with his swords was longer.

Regardless of how fast Ignis was, there was no way for her to reach him before cold metal kissed her shin and the edge of his swords bit into her flesh, taking her head off her shoulders.

'I win.'

A shiver ran down his spine.

All this time, he had kept his eyes on Ignis, watching her every move to guard against any surprises.

That was why he was able to notice the slightest of grins stretching across her face.

Their current state was as clear as day.

Even someone with basic skills would be able to see who had the upper hand, so there was no way she couldn't.

Despite that, she wore a confident grin.

Cain immediately smelt foul play.

However, at this point, he was already all in. There was no way he could pull out or back off.

So he decided to fully commit.

He activated {Golden Halos} that revolved around his body like a dome of shields.

A moment later, just as he had suspected, something incredible happened.

An enormous flaming palm appeared out of thin air completely covering him.

In a split second, he found himself smashed into the wooden floorboards, Ignis sitting on top of him with a victorious smile on her face.

Cain chuckled wryly,

"I guess we are even then..."

Ignis folded her arms and smiled, "You have improved tremendously since the last time we sparred."

Cain shrugged as he pushed himself up,

"But it looks like I still have a long way to go. I am ever reliant on my skills and spells, it seems."

Ignis shook her head,

"Skills and spells are also a part of your strength. Taking them out of the equation would not be fair."

Cain chuckled, "I guess you are right. Alright, I think we can stop for today."

Ignis nodded as they both rose to their feet.

Cain looked around at the deck. The ship was already repairing the damage being done to it by their battle with magic.

"Let's go back."