"I'm giving you an order, Lord Caliber! Back the fuck off!" Maria demanded as she became the 'Holy Mother.'

  Sadly, her constituents didn’t listen, “I challenge you, ‘Sentinel.’ Whoever loses goes straight to hell.”

  This challenge amuses Alpha Crucis, "Please... look around you. We're already in hell-- you don't see it yet; war, destruction, poverty, and debauchery that you have caused and contributed yourself!" She yelled as Lord Caliber chuckled hysterically. "You can try to confess your sins, but what is the reason? Your so-called pets did it for you. Some of them will receive the death penalty, and anyone else who works for you and that incredibly vile place because they refused to speak out of loyalty. So when you do go to hell, make sure you save them a seat.”

  Lord Caliber smiles as Alpha Crucis looks on without saying a word.

  He scoffs and cracks his knuckles, "Always the fighter, but not the lover, huh, Alpha? I have no intention of losing to a pagan like you. I hope there are some muscles in that scrawny body of yours." Magically summoning a modified Glock 17 in each hand.

  Alpha Crucis shakes her head, "You don't have to worry about me, Lord Caliber. At least I am the type of woman who is unafraid to fight back!"

  Lord Caliber is considered a gun mage who obliviously uses guns as a weapon of choice but can summon magic with them. The downside is that he would experience pain and suffering to achieve such spells. Indeed, he had suffered greatly while achieving such power.

  Gun mages vary from user to user. Lord Caliber does not need any physical ammunition since his aethereal sensitivity takes care of him. He can summon or use any gun while using his output. However, his sensitivity is rather limited, and if he uses all of it, he will immediately pull from his life force and eventually shorten his lifespan and die.

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  That is the only reason The Holy Mother didn’t want Lord Caliber to fight anyone from the Empyrean, especially the worst nightmare scenario: A deeply motivated Alpha Crucis.

  The two lunged at each other, while Lord Caliber did a fake out and shot at the sentinel several times while she deflected the shots with her Sabre Rapière without missing a beat. Alpha Crucis did a forward lunge at him. Maybe the adrenaline or the drugs helped Lord Caliber dodge the attack, but the sonic boom pushed him back to the ground.

  Alpha Crucis would drag her Sabre Rapière to the ground and do an upward slash, causing another series of slicing gale-force winds. Lord Caliber rolled out of the way while watching another car being sliced in half. On the ground, he would shoot at the sentinel with his aethereal bullets. She was fast because the wind made her fast. It wasn't like she had super speed.

  Knowing this, Lord Caliber aimed at a streetlight and shot it, causing a flash-bang effect.

  Blinded for only a second, Lord Caliber aimed at Alpha Crucis' head and fired. She blocked it with her sword on instinct, making her stagger backward.

  Alpha Crucis started to emit a wind tunnel surrounding her. It acted as a shield for Lord Caliber's shots. In desperation, he continued to shoot as the wind tunnel edged closer.

  The moment it dissipated, Alpha Crucis performed a roundhouse-savate kick to his chest. Knocking the wind out of his body, sending him flying to a bolted-down newspaper stand. The impact caused him to bounce off it since the newspaper stand was too sturdy and unforgiving.

  Lord Caliber regained consciousness and rose to his feet but didn’t have time to recover as Alpha Crucis ran towards him and started swinging her Sabre Rapière at him.

  Gracefully using both of her martial arts disciplines—the Sabre Rapière and savate— Lord Caliber hesitantly dodges every unforgiving technique from Alpha Crucis, destroying any that made it harder for Lord Caliber to dodge and move. It was so bad that he couldn't even get a shot in. Every time he tried to extend his arms to shoot, Alpha Crucis aimed his arms, legs and shoulders, cutting and stabbing him. He would bleed and lose balance trying to fight through the pain, expending more of his energy.

  With all this happening, Maria was a spectator who surprisingly didn't aid Lord Caliber in this fight. She couldn't help but feel a bit choked up watching the little girl evolve into the strong and powerful woman she is today. It only fortified her resolve and motivated her even more to do what she needed to do with the Third Revelation.

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