Gun of Ashes

Lorenzo could only see the steel beast bearing down on him, his thoughts quickly racing, thinking of a way to counter it.

But actually, there was nothing notable to think about; the Black Angel’s only advantage lay in its powerful performance as a First Generation Armor. Due to the proportion of demon flesh in its composition, its structure was much more stable than the Sword Dancer, and its flexibility was absurdly strong. In order to pursue the strength of the First Generation Armor, the Sword Dancer was outfitted with too many external armors and weapons. Considering its inherently degraded model, it couldn’t match the mobility and limb flexibility of the Black Angel.

This was Lorenzo’s gamble; the Sword Dancer was like a scrawny child, covered in sturdy armor all over its body, trying its utmost to compensate for those gaps, even carrying a propulsion system.

The Sword Dancer arrived in an instant, bringing with it a blaze of fire, while the Black Angel was so weak that it would take just one more blow for the Sword Dancer to possibly severely injure the Black Angel head-on. But it was at this moment the Black Angel moved.

The restraint device on its body seemed a bit cumbersome, but this wasn’t the problem. Newly grown Iron Feathers sprouted along the gaps of flesh, not as external weapons but originating from demon power. It rushed to meet the Sword Dancer head-on, accelerating to reduce the distance between them.

Its steps were initially somewhat staggered, appearing as if Lorenzo wasn’t quite accustomed to this mode of operation. But soon, the Black Angel’s steps became swift; after clumsiness came proficiency, and just as the Sword Dancer was about to swing its sword, the Black Angel accelerated again, directly closing in on it.

Everything happened so swiftly, in the blink of an eye. This was the advantage of the Black Angel; its control over the armor was far more sensitive than the Sword Dancer. Just as the Sword Dancer raised its sword blade, the Black Angel was already right before it, with no room to swing its sword. In the next second, the two were about to collide fiercely, but that phantom figure flickered instantly.

Leveraging the slight advantage of being smaller than the Sword Dancer, just before they crashed into each other, the Black Angel sidestepped to skew its body aside. Yet immediately, metal collided, sounding a piercing crash.

After all, this was the first time operating the Armor of Original Sin, and Lorenzo was still a bit slow. He hadn’t yet begun the next operation before he was met head-on by the unstoppable Sword Dancer. Had the driver been Lancelot, the result might have been entirely different. Lorenzo remembered that azure phantom, without any propulsion system, yet the armor was as light as a Swift.

Thoughts shattered by violent tremors, the Sword Dancer pushed the Black Angel forward. Yet at that moment, the Black Angel grasped onto it tightly. Due to the difference in models, the Black Angel could perform motions the Sword Dancer couldn’t, arms bending exaggeratedly, wedging into the gaps of its plate armor. Using this as a pivot, the Black Angel flipped over the Sword Dancer’s body.

The fatal sword missed, and at this moment, the Black Angel began its counterattack with ultra-mobility. Sharp wings scattered into thousands of blades, directly piercing into the Sword Dancer’s back, destroying the rough propulsion system and fuel tanks. Here, due to the size issue of the thruster, there was no protection at all.

A dazzling explosion erupted, the Sword Dancer staggered by the blast from its back. Fortunately, the heavy external armor steadied its figure as a pillar of fire ignited on the other side. The arm-mounted small thruster activated, and it swung its sword towards the back at a speed far exceeding what its body could achieve.

But obviously, these thrusters were just creations stemming from the Perpetual Motion Pump. The capacity of these small fuel tanks positioned elsewhere was not large, only able to support one or two uses. As long as the Black Angel survives this deadly assault, after the Sword Dancer exhausts all fuel tanks, its mobility lost, its threat would decrease significantly.

Lorenzo clearly wasn’t a hunter seeking stability; his desire to attack was strong. Iron Feathers formed an angle, exerting demon flesh’s strength. Although unable to fully intercept the sword strike, the Black Angel still deflected that offensive, followed by slashing again, aiming not at the Sword Dancer but at those external fuel tanks.

Explosions continued, the Night Owl’s combat awareness keen. Realizing that his mobility wasn’t enough to escape the Black Angel’s close-range entanglement, he simply abandoned protecting the fuel tanks, raising the armor musket again, this time pointing at the ground.

A sea of burning flames surged instantly as he pulled the trigger, the scorching blaze obscuring everyone’s view. Even from the lift platform, only the fiery ocean engulfing the two armors could be seen.

Terrifying great sword slicing a semicircle, cutting through the fire sea in an instant. This large-scale slashing entirely struck the visually impaired Black Angel, knocking it back, followed by the Sword Dancer charging out of the fire sea. Heavy footsteps were evident, its speed drastically slowing after losing propulsion.

The Night Owl clearly understood the disparity between the Sword Dancer and the Black Angel. Under that terrifying mobility, once captured closely by the Black Angel, the Sword Dancer couldn’t catch up with its movements. If propulsion still existed, the Sword Dancer could seize the opportunity for a one-hit kill. But now Lorenzo realized the chance of victory. Restricted by the armors’ different performances, the Sword Dancer would only continue sinking under disadvantage.

It needed to maintain a safe distance, absolutely not allowing the Black Angel to get too close. Utilizing the armor musket to obscure vision, and the blade’s wide-range attack also seemed useless; the Black Angel would surely become wary of this move thereafter.

Like duelists in the arena, the Sword Dancer gently moved, searching for the Black Angel’s weak points, while the Black Angel stood motionless on the other side of the workshop.

After several collisions, the Black Angel also displayed obvious decline, bearing injuries, yet the more wounded it became, the more terrifyingly strong its power grew.

”How similar... just like a demon.”

Merlin stood on the high lift platform, looking down upon the deathmatch like those dignitaries, gazing at that evil anomaly.

Iron Feathers snapped, sturdy plate armor was also filled with cracks, the Black Angel hung its head low, seemingly devoid of fighting spirit.

Indeed, the Black Angel destroyed the Sword Dancer’s propulsion system, but in accomplishing all this, it too endured multiple heavy blows. For the Black Angel, already lightweight, this was fatal.

Yet now, the steam engine slowly roared to life, the flesh-bound plate armor filled with cracks, revealing the scarlet beneath heaving with breaths. They slowly grew, reinforcing the Black Angel’s joints, wrapping around shattered armor, forcibly piecing them back together.

The features of a living organism now appeared upon it. Perhaps due to previous sword strikes and damage, blood dripped through gaps in the machinery and armor, slowly dripping, and then burned away by escalating temperatures.

Scarlet mist enveloped the Black Angel.

”The Black Angel’s Geiger index is rising!”

Someone shouted towards Merlin, but Merlin shook his head, saying indifferently.

”Continue.”

He knew well the First Generation Armor and Third Generation Armor were two extremes, one heading towards flesh, the other towards steel. He also understood only when the Black Angel stepped into a degree of demonization, fully activating the demon flesh’s vitality, could the Black Angel be considered officially activated.

After all, this armor was alive, and now it had come alive.

Peculiar pain emanated from all directions, and then Lorenzo couldn’t see, or rather everything seemed very clear to him.

Flesh covered his eyes, extended nerves connected him to the demon flesh. Then, a thin slit pressed upon the face armor, with scarlet eyes peering out at the world.

This scenario continued happening, along Lorenzo’s spine, burgeoning flesh completely linked together, all commands originating from the brain transferred, no longer instructed to that human body, but directly acting upon the Armor of Original Sin.

The next moment, it arched its body like a beast, then that scarlet steam dispersed, splattered blood being pulled wide, everyone could only hear the powerful steps on the iron walls, followed by sharp steel feathers slicing downwards, striking the Sword Dancer’s chest.

Strong muscles replaced mechanical aids, heart beating fiercely, pumping blood throughout the body via blood vessels. It opened its mouth, exhaling warm mist, then hand pressed against the Sword Dancer’s face armor, lightly exerting force causing deformation.

The Night Owl’s breath almost ceased; he could see through the face armor slit, he could see those scarlet eyes, and beneath them, the twisted creation of steel and flesh.

Just like how people initially described the First Generation Armor, this was a demon dressed in armor.