God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Evangeline blinked as she pointed at her nose,

"Me? I should duel you?"

Anathe smiled and nodded.

Cain took a step forward,

"What? She has nothing to do wuth—"

Anathe suddenly cut him off.

"Of course she does."

Her dark eyes took on a strange, violet hue,

"You are blackmailing me right now. It’s only fair I get the chance to make an unreasonable demand or two. Or could it be being unreasonable only extends to you? Humans truly are contradictory creatures."

Cain let out an internal groan of frustration.

Then he turned to Evangeline. Glancing at her face, he attempted to read what could possibly be going on in her mind.

Instead, all he saw, was a slight smile that revealed nothing, but frustrated him to no end.

He turned back to Anathe,

"Why not fight me?"

Anathe shrugged, "Because I know what you are capable of. I might be able to defeat you, but there is an even chance you might turn the tides around."

The glow in her eyes intensified.

The spire behind her also began to glow with the same violet light,

"What do you say? This will be a battle to determine the nature of our relationship going forward. If I win, you shall listen to my demands. The reverse shall also be the case."

Her eyes narrowed,

"Or is it that you do not Dare take me up on my offer?"

Cain’s brows knotted together.

Then he sighed,

"That’s not something I can—"

"Sure. I don’t see why not."

Cain’s eyes widened and he turned to the side,

"This... What are you saying?!"

Evangeline stretched her arms, eyes fixed on Anathe as she spoke with a slight smile on her face,

"I’ve been quite eager to see how I will fare against a Tier 3 creature myself."

Cain pursed his lips, "This is no ordinary Tier 3 beast, Eva."

Evangeline turned to him then shrugged,

"Of course it isn’t. She is a Deadly Grade Tier 3 Mutant Creature. Certainly no easy opponent to face."

Cain sighed, "In that case—"

"I can tell something’s going on with you."

Cain froze.

Evangeline smiled,

"The way you currently are, forget what she just said, you have absolutely no chance of defeating her. Which means you taking my place is out of the question."

Turning away from him, she raised her hands slightly.

Shadows swirled between her fingers as two daggers accentuated with crimson patterns appeared in both her grips,

"Besides, didn’t I tell you before? You don’t need to fight alone. If it comes down to it, I’m sure I can squash a big or two by myself."

Cain pursed his lips.

He wanted to refute her words, but what really could he say?

She was right. He currently wasn’t in his top form.

Yes, he had defeated a powerful Tier 3 beast. However, that grade of that beast had beenuch lower than Anathe’s.

And while grading didn’t usually determine the power of a beast, they did play a huge role in the creature’s potential, which could indirectly translate to power.

In Anathe’s case however, this factor was rather clear to see.

Almost as clear as day, if not for the fact that the days were grey and dark recently...

Staring at Anathe, Cain’s brows furrowed even harder.

She had, by far, the largest Ki reading he had ever seen or noticed in a living creature. Even more robust than that of the godly beasts he had encountered in the third trial.

He was also sure her mana readings were through the roof as well.

’If I had access to my mana... No. Even then, I don’t think I’d be able to defeat her. She’s not as scary as Abaloth had been, but she’s far stronger than the Devil was. This...’

Still, he had a feeling the current situation was beyond his control for some reason.

Like he had no say in it.

And it frustrated him to no end.

He let out a tired sigh and nodded at Anathe,

"Fine. I agree to your demands."

Anathe smiled, "Is that so..."

Then she turned to Evangeline who had proceeded to take a few steps forward,

"Do you know why I want to battle you?"

Evangeline shrugged.

The clothes on her body vanished and was immediately replaced with her black leather battle armor.

"You jealous or something?"

The face of the Ant Quee didn’t change at all. However, her eyes became colder.

"No. I was just a bit curious, is all."

"Curious? About what?" Evangeline said calmly.

"Curious to see what another like me is capable of."

Evangeline expression remained the same. However, a certain quality about her vanished.

Gone was the slightly laid-back and cool demeanor that seemed to hang about her.

Instead, she seemed to become frigid. Her crimson eyes glowed even brighter in the darkness.

Seeing this, Anathe’s expression seemed rather pleased,

"Looks like I’ve finally gotten a rise out of you. How satisfying."

Evangeline clicked her tongue,

"Unfortunately, I have to say that you are right. But that won’t change much once I have you squashed under my boot."

Anathe chuckled as she raised her hand. The magic in the air began to bubble furiously,

"Don’t you think that is quite the rude thing to say to a Queen in her own palace?"

Evangeline was silent for a moment.

The shadows surrounding her exploded,

"Queen my ass."

Anathe’s eyes twitched,

"Well, then. I won’t be gracious any more."

She beckoned with her finger,

"Come."

Evangeline’s lips curved into a sneer as she twirled her blades and turned into a literal shadow.

The darkness in the underground chambers swelled and grew like bursting tumors, blossoming into existence all around.

The world around him rumbling, Cain decided to retreat back a few meters.

Because he currently couldn’t sense mana, he had no way of knowing just how much in disarray the surrounding mana flow patterns had come to be.

However, what he could easily tell, was that these two ladies were pissed for some reason.

And he had absolutely no idea why.