Gun of Ashes

The Demon’s flesh and blood have linked steam and machinery, allowing the Armored Knight to gallop down the flame path created by dragon fire. Thousands of Demons tightly follow them outside the sea of fire, their screeches piercing like a pack of wolves chasing their prey.

Bola’s vision has begun to blur; his willpower is much weaker than he imagined. Mechanically, he retrieves the Armor Firearm, then carves a Dragon Breath Path across the demon-infested land. The high temperature scorches the sturdy armor, the metal already glowing red, even slightly melting.

The scalding iron liquid has melded the complex mechanical structure together, making Bola feel as if his feet are frozen in place, movement becoming increasingly difficult.

Perhaps those madmen, when designing this armor initially, never expected Bola to traverse the sea of fire for so long. If not for the Demon’s highly resilient flesh and blood filling and linking the machinery, Bola would have likely already fallen in the fire.

Now is not the time to stop; his arm reaches again to the weapon rack at his back, but finds nothing. The firearm is depleted, yet in Bola’s blurred vision, he is still at a distance from the head of the Radiant.

It’s a tough distance; Demons are ever-watchful of the two, starving and ready for the most ferocious attack. In his condition, Bola isn’t sure if he can hold on.

”Blue Jade...”

The voice is weak, but soon Blue Jade’s face appears in the narrow view of the face armor. She crouches on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his helmet as if embracing him.

”I know what you’re going to say: rush forward, don’t stop.”

Blue Jade remains calm. Her cloak ignites from the rising flames, leaving her only in fitted leather and armor, like a dark elf.

There’s no strength left to speak, even thinking is difficult. Bola falls silent again but musters all his strength, then charges out of the fire.

In that instant, countless Demons leap at them like a tide, their twisted arms clawing at the scarred plate armor. Some even attempt to climb up using the armor’s protrusions, but are mercilessly shot down by Blue Jade, the burning aluminum-thermite bombs leaving charred holes in their heads, falling from the armor and immediately consumed by the surging black tide.

Almost there.

Bola mechanically swings the sword, mowing down the Demons blocking the way. This armor is so heavy, he charges like a rhino, trampling the Demons underfoot.

The head of the Radiant is in sight, but that’s when Bola realizes the problem. To counter the Demon’s assault, the entire carriage was fortified. According to the initial design, after an emergency stop, the door locks from inside, ensuring the safety of those inside. Because of this design, the soldiers entrapped in dreams are still safely sleeping inside the carriage.

But this protective layer has become the final barrier.

How to open the carriage door under the Demon’s assault? Whether Bola or Blue Jade, as soon as they stop moving, they’ll be swarmed and killed by Demons.

This thought process didn’t last long. Bola didn’t hesitate and grabbed Blue Jade from his shoulder. Initially, she panicked but quickly understood Bola’s intention. She wanted to stop him, but Bola didn’t give her the chance. He braked hard, leaving deep tracks on the ground, then forcefully hurled Blue Jade upward.

All that could be seen was a graceful arc. Blue Jade’s silhouette swayed in the air, then landed steadily on the carriage. Meanwhile, Bola wielded the great sword with force, twisting his body to swing a massive arc. With the power of the Armor of Original Sin, he forcibly cleared a path.

Like a dam between life and death, Bola stood firm before the Demons, buying time for Blue Jade to open the carriage door, with no dialogue throughout the process.

Every second at this moment felt so precious. Bola fought and retreated while Demons flooded in from all sides. His movements began to slow. Sharp claws cut into the armor cracks, the Demons greedily biting and tearing off chunks of plate armor, leaving the complex machinery exposed without protection.

It’s like a war from centuries ago, where an armored knight held absolute triumph on the battlefield. Swords could only spark when hitting the solid armor, unable to injure the knight at all. So people tried to trap the knight, then stab short blades into the armor’s gaps.

The Demons were as numerous as an army of ants, their flesh and blood bodies jamming Bola’s joints. His joints were stuck, nullifying his ability to raise the sword. They piled on top of him until finally, Bola could no longer hold on and fell to his knees, his vision fully engulfed by Demons.

All that was left in his ears was endless wailing, ceaseless. Countless hands tore at his armor, scraping the metal with sharp sounds. The armor was being stripped away bit by bit, Bola could no longer wield his sword. He was like a dying man, and his armor became his grave.

He was truly at the end of his tether. Raising his gaze slightly, through the gaps in his face armor, he could see the Demons’ grotesque faces. Blood mixed with slime dripped through the gaps with a nauseating stench.

Bola was about to die; he could finally rest. But just as his weary eyes were about to close, he saw through that gap, Blue Jade struggling to open the carriage door. She had managed to open a small crack, but behind her, countless Demons were closing in.