It was only a few days after Anastasia received the ring from Shoya that she realised that the ring was not normal.
In her dreams, she continuously heard voices. Voices that she had never heard before. Those strange voices gave her words of wisdom; advice.
Advice on how to utilise the ring to its fullest potential.
If Shoya had known about this, he would have been sulking silently in his bed.
"Sacred Armoury: Azrael..."
The ring spread from her finger to the rest of her body. The black ring became black armour that she wore. It was outlined with white lines and symbols. A helmet formed and wings sprouted from her back. White blades protruded from her gauntlets.
"Woah..."
"She looks like a robotic angel."
"She hid this?"
"It was worth waiting for. I guess you're an angel of darkness."
Without replying, the sable angel attacked.
There was no sound. Anastasia already stood behind Zeta. A line of blood formed on Zeta's face. She touched her wound and turned.
"I barely blocked that one."
She said.
"I was aiming for your throat."
Anastasia replied.
"Blood Arts: Piercing Arrows!"
Drops of blood floated into the air, turning into sharp arrows, flying toward the angel. Every single projectile bounced off of her armour.
Not a single scratch was formed.
"Guess not."
"I'm a queen, remember? Attacks like that could only harm a pawn."
"Don't get cocky!"
From the ground, multiple pillars of bloodshot upwards. They transfigured into blood dragons, attacking Anastasia.
Flapping her wings, she flew away and the blood dragons chased her through the forest.
"!"
"She's so fast..."
Taking this moment in, Yoko set up her sniper. Although her scope was broken, from a short distance, she was guaranteed to hit her target. She set herself up and...
BANG!
She fired.
The bullet never reached Zeta. A bloody hand absorbed the bullet. Zeta glared at the group.
"Stay there and do not interrupt this match. It's a match against the king and the queen."
Anastasia zipped through the forest and rushed back toward Zeta. As she flew past her, she landed behind her, near her team. The dragons followed her, coiling around Zeta.
"Tch. It was worth a shot. It usually works."
The blade in her right gauntlet converted into a small shield. Despite its size, it was able to divert the blood dragons but did not nullify it completely.
"Ugh. So annoying."
Imbuing mana into her wings, with a single flap, the blood dragons dissipated.
Anastasia was not used to using the ring yet. In fact, this was her first time transforming using the Sacred Armoury. She had one more form she could use, which was far more powerful than Azrael, but she would only be able to use it for 10 seconds before her body would tear itself apart. Azrael had a time limit of 5 minutes. A minute had already passed.
"I ask thee to release my inhibitions."
The Arcana muttered.
"Shit! She's doing something!"
Qin was the first to react. He aimed his pistols at Zeta and fired aimlessly, hoping that a single bullet would reach her.
A wall of blood emerged from the ground, blocking the bullets.
"Blood Priest, I swear on the Blutschwur to kill my opponent. Grant me your blessing and grand wisdom."
Noticing something was wrong, Anastasia dashed toward the woman. However, she was a second too late.
"In exchange, take my soul for all eternity, as that is all I have left to give you."
A crest of blood appeared on her forehead. Her muscles tensed as her frame became slightly larger. Her eyes turned vermilion and her body was cloaked with an armour of blood. She proudly showed her fangs, countering Anastasia with a punch to the gut.
The sable angel spun around, kicking her in the head. They exchanged several blows of equal strength. The blade in Anastasia's gauntlet punctured Zeta's waist. A blade formed on Zeta's heel and she stabbed her thigh.
Anastasia's gauntlet grew large—a jet booster extended out from her elbow. Zeta's entire arm transfigured into a shield. She held it above her head as Anastasia dropped the bomb.
"Azrael: Sonic Booster!"
"Plasma Pavise!"
The two connected, holding each other back. Anastasia had put everything into offense while Zeta did her all to defend. Alas, Zeta was the first to crumble.
"What?!"
Her shield broke and converted back into an arm. Sonic Booster smacked Zeta and shot her into the ground.
As the angel was ready for another strike, she regained consciousness and retreated almost instantly.
"Tch."
Anastasia clicked her tongue.
Two more minutes had passed. Two minutes left.
Anastasia was not eager to drag the battle out for any longer.
"I'll end this in the next one."
She announced, putting a knee on the ground like starting in a race.
"Is that so, then I'll humour you! Let's get to checkmate!"
Zeta raised her arm. In that instant, it grew incredibly, forming the shape of a double-bladed axe. The axe was brimming with mana. The Arcana grinned insidiously.
"Boost."
Her snow-white wings flapped and a new pair grew from under them. They were ebony wings, larger than her angelic pair. A pair of boosters also protruded from her back, ready to go.
"Set."
The boosters revved themselves and her wings fluttered. Some of her jet-black armour plating fell off to lessen the weight on her.
"Take this! Stormbreaker!"
She swung down the axe. Despite the size, the axe dropped down faster than a bullet. By the time Anastasia had noticed, it was less than 5m away from impact.
By that time, it was too late.
BOOM!
Leaving a trail of white and black feathers, in less than a second, the angel kicked the bloody knight in the gut. The entire armour shattered and her foot pierced through her.
The girl forcefully snatched her foot away from Zeta's body.
It was only 10 seconds ago when Anastasia released her technique.
Sonic Boom is what Anastasia called it. She did all she could to make herself faster, even by adding wings, boosters and lessening her weight. It was all to add more force to her attack when it would land. It worked perfectly, killing her enemy in a single strike.
Though, there was something gruesome about the way that Zeta died that bothered Anastasia.
She covered her mouth as the Azrael armour disappeared.
"Ugh, why is she smiling?"