"You dare to utter that title…” Vulkan said, as he clenched his fists, the flames on his body flared a bright red. “To judge with no authority of the divine, your words mean nothing more than dirt!”

Glowing carvings slowly etched to the centre of his chest, as it glows brightly in crackles of red. A symbol of a burst of hellfire could be seen, almost blinding to the eyes of many and blurred upon sight.

“That's a Divine Insignia. You hit the nail on his pride for him to use that,” 101 commented and whistled.

“A Divine Insignia? Is it like the drawing on my shield?” Lace asked under his breath.

“They’re both insignias. The difference is that his insignia has reached its full potential and is stronger than yours.”

Lace parted his lips to reply, but no words slipped through. His sight was suddenly tilted and hazy. His spectral spear and shield dropped from his bloody hands. The manifestation of the god who stood before him seemed twisted and bent as if he was drunk with alcohol.

“Mon chou? Are you listening?”

(*Mon chou is a French term of endearment for 'honey', 'darling' or 'my cabbage')

The sweat and tears he shed fell slowly into his vision. When everything else seemed slow, only then did he realize— he was falling.

His body fell apart from the excess blood loss, evident from his paling skin and countless bleeds. The lack of adrenaline had amplified the pain of his charred, deep wounds. His poor blood flow to his brain had unravelled the grim surrounding to his eyes.

Ashes descended like snow, the polluted air shrouded the city he called home. The streets he grew up with, fashioned with a mess of debris and bodies beyond recognition. Streams of lava smothered the tar of the roads and the ground of the great park he used to visit with his family.

Burned, the image of his home in his mind has reduced to crisp. The god had stolen his friend’s body and forced him to take arms. The thought of murder haunted his morals, more so involved his friend caused him to hesitate. But, it is the only way to free his fellow companion’s soul, as said by 101.

The fear grew onto Lace, as his consciousness slipped away bit by bit. Destruction would be inevitable if he were to fall here. The desire to move grew stronger, as desperate as Lace became. But to no avail, limitations are human’s bane.

“—Keep it together, mon chou!” 101 loudly cried.

Lace heard a part of her words. Despite knowing her only for a short time, it was enough to give him hints of her personality. The usual teasing and smooth voice yet tough showed distress in her tone. It came to his realization, someone was concerned about him.

“I know you, Lace. Don’t you want to visit your father again!?” 101 added.

Yes, I do. From the bottom of my heart, I do. I want to see him again, the person who gave me happiness in this world, even if it is for one last time. He thought.

To yearn for a miracle dwells deep in his heart. The rivers of blood from his lips was the proof of his unrelenting spirit to reach for a speck of hope. But, yet again, the reality is dim.

“Fall into the depths of despair, Slayer!” Vulkan roared and chanted.

He rushed forth with power and zipped through the air at blinding speed. The god’s right hand was covered in burning magma and grew in matters of milliseconds, leaving traces of flames behind with light brighter than the sun.

The hope that Lace held dear diminished before the approaching living sun. His pupils dilated, as he lay on the ground with his eyelids threatening to close.

The bright light came close, Vulkan’s fist flashed before his eyes as it closed by fear.

A large explosion followed afterwards. A burst of white and crimson red cut through every bit of the surroundings.

“Salaud.” A familiar voice said, followed by a sonic boom.

(*Salaud means bastard in French)

A shadow loomed over Lace instead of death. He peered from the small gaps of his exhausted eyelids. There he saw a familiar figure that stood within a small crater, clad in a black and grey suit surrounded by ashes and dust— 101.

Her azure hair endlessly swayed against the fierce hot gale as she took hold of Vulkan's fist with her mechanical left palm. Her eyes were narrowed with dilated pupils, and her expression was cold as winter.

“I've known mon chou (Lace) for years, I observed his life from the stars while the skies separated us, but now, fate has brought us together. So if anything were to disturb that fate… no mercy shall be shown.” 101 said, poison leaked from her tone.

“A machina? Impossible! Your race went extinct in the age of gods and fell from grace!” Vulkan shouted.

“I fall only when I will it.”

101's left sleeves were shredded by the sheer force behind Vulkan's arm strength. But her mechanical left arm remained unmoving, as she tightened her grip further.

Vulkan's face twisted in distress, his burning fist bleeding and bones cracking within the machina's palm.

“I call upon thee, Ignis!” Vulkan said, as his war hammer levitated and rushed towards its owner. “You should have stayed as dust left by history for betraying the divine orders!”

The weapon slid into his other hand firmly as he swung it with the strength of many men. More than he can handle and use against Lace.

“The orders of le cul, you gods and lots are all the same,” 101 replied.

(*Le cul means ass in French)

101 waved her other forearm and parried the warhammer with a loud bang. It would have been devastating, but fortunately, her opponent only had a portion of his power.

“Gods destroyed my home,” 101 said coldly, with bits of underlying rage. “So I'll take their life in return.”

A small violet portal formed behind her head, oozing ominously. Whispers could be heard from it, filling the silence between each moment. The voices came from the deepest recesses of her mind, neverending.

101 tilted her head as a barrel of a long rifle protruded from the portal. Followed by a loud bang, a bullet pierced the air with ease and made its way to the god. One which could withstand the flames without melting.

Vulkan dodged the shot by a hair's length and took a step back after prying his hand away, “I need not care for a pitiful being such as yourself. Who are you to threaten a god?”

101 snickered as her lips curled into an icy smile, “101.”

Upon revelation, Vulkan increased the distances between them, “You're the—!”

More small portals with rifles formed under the blink of an eye and fired instantly. Several holes appeared on the god's vessel. Despite this, 101 mercilessly riddled Vulkan with more bullets until his body fell to the ground.

“You may be a god, but your body is still human,” 101 walked over to Vulkan. “Even if you were to restore your full power, it will all end the same.”

Eyes moving and constantly blinking with subtle movements could be seen from the body, were enough hints to tell 101 that the Vulkan was still alive.

She looked upon the location of the body's heart and plunged her hand into the chest, causing the god to open his mouth wide to scream and spasmed but no sounds escaped. She pulled out a golden crimson sphere instead of the expected organ, unfazed by the golden blood stained her hands— a divine core.

“Inventory,” 101 muttered, as the same portal like others opened at her side and stored the core.

She returned to Lace's side and stared at his unconscious body as her cold expression faded away. She picked him up like a bride and glanced at the surroundings. The skies of fire slowly turned grey, Vulkan's flames flickered into nothingness, leaving only ruins behind and the survivors ran from her in fear.

Yet, none of those was her concern. She gazed warmly at Lace as the rain fell upon them. She pulled off her coat and wore it on Lace's pale body, preventing him from shaking in the cold any further.

Tears dropped as she closed her eyes, the first time after a long time. She held him dearly, not knowing when to let go. The fear of losing again haunted her, for so she embraced him closer.

“Finally, we're together again after aeons of years, mon chou.”