The Duke's Passion

"Wow…" Samael's jaw literally dropped as it rained black fluid with chopped-up body parts. He didn't bother dodging, as most of the body parts turned into ash even before they landed. Some parts managed to land, though, but they had already shrunk to a tiny little piece. "She won," against the demon and against Samael. Tilly undoubtedly won. Samael had a hard time fighting that demon. The latter's punches had caused damage way beyond Samael's imagination, almost killing him. It was ridiculous how that demon popped like a balloon when Samael knew for a fact how powerful its punches were. "I don't know if I feel pathetic or in awe of her skills," came out a mumble, watching Tilly slowly descend on the ground. "Hey, Tilly. What the hell? Where did you get those nunchucks?" As Tilly marched in his direction, the chains of the pair of nunchucks in her possession were reduced to normal size. "From my body," she answered, stopping several steps from him. "Our clan doesn't carry weapons for a reason."

The red mist surrounding Samael thinned out while all the wounds on his body healed. "What reason?" Asked Samael, standing up to his feet without any struggle. He stretched his neck from one side to another, flexing his shoulders to feel his muscles. "Damn. That felt good. All the soreness in my body just disappeared."

Tilly blinked, making his brow raise. "Ignore the latter part. Just answer the first one," he remarked, guessing she was pondering which one she should respond to. Tilly gazed down at the pair of red nunchucks in her grip. She flung them slightly, holding the dangling stick on the end. "Our clan doesn't carry weapons because we are already one," she answered quietly, lifting her eyes to him. "Samael, I think this is about time you learn how to wield yours."

"Mine?" Deep lines appeared between his brows. "How the hell would I do that when I don't even know how? Not that you will teach me."

"I can." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"Really?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "If so, then tell me what should I do to take out whatever weapon is inside my blood?"

"…"

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

There was a moment of silence between them. Samael sighed. He figured. Tilly's problem wasn't just about her attitude to stop speaking mid-sentence or her lack of motivation to do things. Another big problem she had was that she didn't know how to teach others some things. After all, Tilly just knew how to do things but didn't know the step-by-step. She would get lost. "See? This is what I'm saying." Samael shook his head, not surprised at her sudden quietness. "Anyway, congrats on taking down that demon. He was a pain in the arse."

"I haven't won yet."

"Huh?"

"The battle is far from over."

Samael furrowed his brows as he looked around him. The dark fluid on the ground was moving in one direction. His breath hitched after a second, sensing the demon's presence. 'Right…' he thought, realizing something. 'Even when she chopped him off, its presence didn't disappear.'

But before Samael could blame himself or Tilly for distracting him, she heard her voice from behind him. "But before that, we should leave." His eyes nearly left their sockets as he felt her hand clasping the back of his collar. "This underground will collapse."

"Wait, wait —" Samael gasped when Tilly suddenly flew up like a bolt of lightning. 'Damn it!' He mentally grumbled, looking down at the collapsing underground palace. 'Catharsis.'

While she was using her other hand to repel or break any concrete falling into them with her other hand holding him, Samael had an aghast expression. Not that he was afraid of flying; he could jump so high he would feel like flying. However, she caught him off guard. Samael wasn't prepared!

'Damn it!' He mentally grumbled, looking down at the collapsing underground palace. 'Catharsis.'

His body slowly adapted to the speed she was moving, allowing her to drag him by the back of his collar. His eyes were fixed below him, carrying a bit of sadness in his heart. The underground collapsed faster the more they flew up, as if it was trying to catch up to them. Still, his mind drifted to his broken sword. Quite shallow for some, but Samael was a swordsman. His sword was akin to an extension of his body. He fought many battles with his sword, Catharsis. Therefore, even if that sword's blade turned blunt, it had sentimental value. 'I'm sorry for failing you as a holder.' His frown grew deeper, planning to recover the pieces of his sword once this was all over. Holding a funeral for his sword was the least he could do. "Samael." His thoughts halted when Tilly spoke once again. When he looked back, all he saw was Tilly breaking another boulder that was falling onto them. "I'm going to throw you out," was what she said quietly. Her voice nearly didn't reach the receiver. "Wait. What are you planning now —" his heart suddenly pounded, looking down with wide eyes. There, down below them, was a strange chilling power. That demon truly came back to life and was now chasing them. He couldn't see the demon, but his instinct had never failed him. "Get out of here. I'll follow right behind you," she muttered and, after a second, pulled the back of his collar to throw him up. This time, despite the short notice, Samael was prepared. At least, she gave him a heads-up this time. "Clear the path!" She yelled, shouting as she launched him in the air as if she simply threw a ball.

"No need to tell me!" Samael yelled back, using the head start she gave him to go past her. He faced the falling concrete fiercely.

"This task… is quite easier than blocking what's chasing us." The corner of his lips stretched, flexing his fingers until his nails turned into sharp claws. Using his claws, Samael sliced through everything in their path while Tilly stopped in midair. Tilly turned around, not bothering to see if something would fall on her. She trusted Samael enough to focus on just one task: to stop the incoming attack from below them. Tilly swirled her pair of red nunchucks, putting her hand together in front of her like a pinwheel while keeping her weapon spinning. Her eyes were fixed on the darkness below and in a blink of an eye, she clenched her teeth as something powerful suddenly clashed with her spinning nunchucks. "Hehe. Sloth…" Unlike the huge demon previously, the enemy across the weapons had the size of a normal man. He was grinding his razor teeth as he mocked, "You will regret angering me."

As soon as those remarks slipped past his gritted teeth, the demon sent her flying.