God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain took a stance. His heart trembled with excitement...

He had always wondered how he would fare without having to lean on his skills and spells. Perhaps this was the perfect chance for him. Fighting with Ignis had always resulted in him having his back on the ground.

Even though it was not a death battle, they were still going to be using their weapons. But...

A grin stretched across Cain's face. He suddenly wasn't in the mood to use any weapon.

Blaze stared at Cain, who hadn't drawn his weapon yet with a frown. What was he thinking? Was he planning to fight them barehanded.

Looking at Cain's crazy grin, he let out a sigh...

'This bastard!'

Manny was the first to attack. Swinging his swords horizontally from both directions, he expected Cain to dodge. However, Cain calmly stepped forward. Manny frowned. At this rate, his blades might cut Cain's head off his neck.

Just before steel could bite into flesh, Cain grabbed his swords with his bare hands.

"Eh?" Manny's eyes widened in shock.

Dragged forward, Manny stumbled. Before he could catch his balance, Cain hooked one of his legs and pulled him forward again. His elbow came crashing into Manny's chest a second later.

BANG!

A stream of blood flowed out of Manny's mouth as he was launched backwards. Blood flowed down Cain arms from where he caught the swords, but he wasn't bothered by that. In fact, he barely felt any pain at all.

Blaze almost couldn't believe his eyes. Was he planning mutual destruction? His fingers could have been cut off easily by Manny's blades, and yet, he still chose to do something so reckless.

"What are you moping around for? Come." Cain said, his aura exploding out. The wounds on his hands had already healed up. Manny slowly stood to his feet, rubbing his chest.

"Damn it! Be gentle next time!"

Cain shrugged.

"Idiot! Don't rush out like a fool. I'll cover you." Vincent glared at Manny before firing a barrage of bullets.

Cain began dodging, but Blaze and Manny took this opportunity to close in rapidly. Blaze feet danced across the ground. Spinning gracefully in the air, his spear dragged a trail and slammed towards Cain.

Cain ducked to dodge, but Blaze's spear twisted mid motion, aimed at his throat. Cain frowned. Although he was fast, Blaze's spear arts made his attacks deceptive.

He tried dodging again, but a bullet suddenly dug into his side.

'Fuck.'

Manny appeared at his side, swinging his blades with precision. Cain's legs spread out, dodging the attacks. Dropping his hands to the ground, his back rolled on the ground. Pushing power through his hands, his feet towards Manny and Blaze. Both blocked easily then pushed for an attack again.

Vincent watched this go on, a smirk on his lips. A special bullet was locked in the chamber, ready to leave another wound on Cain. The bullets had a special bleed enchantment. If they remained in the wound, the wound would continue to bleed.

Cain could fight as fiercely as he wanted, but if his bullets continued meeting him, he would eventually bleed out and the fight would end.

Vincent smiled to himself. This plan was a good one, one that would allow them make the most of their numbers advantage.

'A battle is won not solely by strength, but by understanding the enemies weaknesses and strengths.'

Since Manny and Blaze were holding Cain down, Vincent knew he was safe...

At least he thought so...

Manny swung his blades, their edges already wet with blood. Cain deftly continued to dodge, but he was truly under a lot of pressure. Vincent constantly reminded him he was in the fight by finding the most opportune moment to fire bullets at him.

Blaze was even more troublesome, as Cain found it difficult to avoid his continuous attacks.

Cain took a deep breath, 'I have to disarm them some how. That fatty also has to go.'

His mind spun. If he wanted to win the fight on his own terms, he would need get rid of their weapons and Vincent. If not, the fight was going to get more and more difficult for him.

Dodging Blaze's spearhead, Cain flipped backward. Manny arrived behind him and swung at him, but he dodged again with a swift roll. Getting back to his feet immediately, he hit the back of Manny's hand with the back of his hand, followed by delivering three blows to his chest consecutively.

Manny blocked with the underside of his sword. However, Cain repeatedly striking on the same spot caused the blade to crack.

Manny frowned. Swinging his blade, he managed to force Cain back.

"Trying to break my weapon?" For once, Manny seemed uncharacteristically gloomy.

Cain said nothing as he was forced to fend off Blaze once again. Seeing that Cain was ignoring him, a subtle age filled Manny.

'Don't ignore me, damnit!'

He took a stance. His normally vibrant eyes darkened a bit. Terrifying killing intent poured off him.

His speed suddenly spiked. There were no skills or spells being used. Rather, this was a result of intense focus, bringing out the true fruits of his superhuman stats.

Cain felt the approaching danger a split second before it came.

Blaze's spear was aimed at his head as well, so he was forced to make a choice. Which attack was he going to face and which one would he avoid.

Cain chose a thrid option...

He placed his palm in the path of the approaching spearhead. It's dug into his flesh and damn near obliterated his hand. Still, he managed to get a hold of it.

His muscles bulged as he pulled Blaze into Manny's path. The rage driven Manny couldn't care less as his blade came crashing down.

CLANG!

Sword and spear met. The sword on Manny's hand splintered like rotten wood, while Blaze's spear sported a chip.

Cain's eyes were as cold as clear ice. With his better hand, he threw a blow at Blaze. With how choice, Blaze surrendered his weapon to Cain and brought his hands in front of his chest to guard.

The blow came like the wrath of a demi-god. Blaze was launched back like a cannonball with a crack. One of his arms had been broken.

Cain breathed heavily. He winched in pain as he pulled Blaze's spear out of his hand and thrust it into the ground. With his strength, it would take Blaze quite some effort if he chose to retrieve it.

The wound was quite severe. His entire left hand was completely mangled. And even with his natural healing, it would take some time before he could fully heal up.

And yet, a smile hung on his lips.

Manny came forward again, a dark look in his eyes. His blades flashed with blinding light. Cain could tell that he had long since thrown caution to the wind. He wanted to kill him.

Burning with fighting spirit, Cain moved forward to intercept him. Using one blade now, Manny was just as dangerous as with his dual wielding. Dodging the first attack, Cain threw a punch forward. The punch seemed unassuming, but it carried several tons of raw power.

Manny coldly put the edge of his blade in the path of the punch. If Cain decided to continue, his fist would be slashed in two.

Cain had no other choice that to retreat. However, Manny followed closely on his heels.

"Argh!" Manny let out a yell as he swung again, but Cain dodged again.

However, Manny became faster again, leaving him no chance to dodge. As such, he could only face him head on. Lacing the surface of his hands with Ki, he met every swing with a blow of his own.

The air was saturated with the sound of repeated clashes. Blow after blow, cut after cut, they repeatedly traded blows.

When they seperated, both were covered in blood. Manny was in a worse state. Although more of his attacks had reached Cain, Cain's attacks were far more powerful. Not only that, but his natural healing factor was not as powerful as Cain.

Still, both were severely wounded.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Cain turned to Blaze who was already getting up. The side of his face was begi6to swell, and blood leaked down the side of his mouth continuously.

Vincent chose this moment to fire a bullet. Cain was unable to dodge in time. The bullet pierced through his calf, causing blood to erupt violently.

The glared at the fatty who was busy ducking under cover. Blaze rushed forward weaponless. His fists camw flying towards Cain. Cain blocked the first one, but the second came crashing down onto the side of his face. His own fist met Blaze's face as well.

Manny took this moment to stab him in the side with the full length of his blade.

Feeling the metal tip bite into his flesh and stab at his organs, Cain was filled with rage. Power surged through his body as he forcibly shook both men off. He had lost a lot of blood, but his perception was heightened in this state of battle.

He spun on his heel and planted the flat of his foot into Manny's chest, tossing him back like a ragdoll. Blaze smashed his fists at the back of his head, throwing him to the ground.

He let out a groan as saliva mixed with blood mixed into the sand and grit.

'Fuck.'

He rolled away to dodge in the incoming attack. Almost at the same time, a bullet struck where he had been laying.

Getting back to his feet, Cain could clearly see Blaze and Manny rushing at him, as well as the muzzle of Vincent's rifle.

He rushed forward again. His fist met Blaze's, while he dodged a slash from Manny. As they continued, the speed of their attacks suddenly picked up until the spectators couldn't see them clearly anymore.

Suddenly, an attack launched Cain back, towards Blaze's spear which was stuck in the ground. Vincent's eyes widened,

"Now!"

His bullet accurately pierced Cain's chest. This was another special bullte that would increase bleeding. It was aimed straight for Cain's heart.

While he was sure it wasn't going to kill Cain, he was sure it would end the fight. The moment the bullet struck Cain's chest, he pulled Blaze's spear out of the ground.

With one fluid movement, he spun around and flung the spear like a javelin. With thousands of strength points behind its acceleration, the spear's speed easily surpassed that of the local speed of sound, tearing through the sound barrier and creating multiple sonic booms in a split second.

A thought materialized in Vincent's mind,

'Shit!'

He was completely unable to dodge. The spear dug into his chest and still possessed enough power to lift him off the ground and embed him into a nearby wall.

Cain wiped the blood off the side of his mouth as he cast Vincent a disdainful glare,

"Fuck off."