The Ark Of 'Minwoo' Vs Ashley

Ashley smirked as his gun erupted in golden light, blinding both sides of the fight. Minwoo was forced to disengage from the clash and leaped backward. Ashley was surprised to see himself holding onto a new gun as the light died down.

Ashley's original rifle was a standard wooden gun. Now, he was holding onto a golden metal gun. Designs of Valokian's emblems were all around the weapon, and the buttstock remained wooden with golden carvings of the Barren Pillars symbol.

The Marksman looked at the gun in awe before aiming it at the waiting opponent.

"A new gun teeming with golden light won't scare me. You are disrespectful for not fighting fair against me," argued Minwoo, swinging his sword in anger.

"Oh... I'm so scared that trembling in my boots. To think my brother would freak out because I'm borrowing my friend's powers to aid me in battle... It sounds like you are scared of losing to me, dear elder brother," Ashley said, taunting his opponent.

"There are no rules when it comes to fights like these. Since we've stepped into the ring, there's nothing fair. You and I are supposed to be dead and gone. My boss killed you, and another Mage killed me. Nothing is reasonable anymore, so quit whining and put it up like a man."

"Get ready to die from the same power that ended you. What matters is who will win in the overall battle!" said Ashley as he lifted his foot and slammed it into the ground, causing a massive shockwave.

Minwoo jumped up in time to land an overhead strike on his opponent but was stopped by Ashley's new rifle.

"This is what I was saying about being inexperienced... You rely on cheap tricks to throw me off, just like you mentally broke the previous opponent. Well, guess what?! I'm not going to fall for your cunning words! So let's allow our weapons to decide the winner!" yelled Minwoo.

The White Rat withdrew his blade slightly and slashed at the gun, forcing Ashley to fly back. The Marksman flew backward but landed safely on a wall's surface and aimed for Minwoo again, who lunged at him. The ex-Mafia Head didn't want to admit it, but this version of Minwoo was stronger.

Ashley cursed himself for thinking this person had the same skill level as his brother. However, after a few clashes with this version of Minwoo, the Marksman figured he shouldn't use his last memories of his brother to try to defeat this new opponent.

"What do you think a battle between two dead people would be? One of fairness or one of justification? Don't make me laugh, deceased White Rat. This is a war between the Rogue Mages and the Arks. There's no other reason for me to blow you brains out other than to fulfill my order."

"From the very beginning, we were set to fight. And in these kinds of battles, I will use anything and everything to my advantage. If I can mentally break you, then you'll die via your own hands like Tristan. If I can't, my bullets will rain down on you," Ashley said as he fired more bullets.

"So you are fighting me because it's fun to destroy people mentally? To bring shame to people while they are at their lowest?! Like how you stripped the Knight's honor before this battle?"

"I make no apologies with what I used to kill off my opponents. It's not for anyone to decide and certainly not from the likes of you. I wield my gun to kill those who oppose the Arks, and that's final. I will use whatever tactic and methodology I like because it's my battle!"

"Then that makes you no different from the Knight you insulted earlier! You are nothing but a mindless doll just answering orders from a shadow!" shouted Minwoo, deflecting all fired shots.

The Marksman halted his advance and stared at the opponent with widened eyes. Ashley then erupted into vast bouts of laughter, causing the Valkyrie and the White Rat to scratch their heads in confusion. Mavislin contemplated if her spell had backfired while Minwoo had nothing in his mind.

"Forgive me for suddenly laughing like that, but how can you blame me for doing so after hearing such nonsensical words from a dead man?! What makes you think that I'm fighting you because it's fun? Why bother raising your weapon if you don't have a reason to fight?"

"I may be younger than you, but you are too sheltered from the real world. If you still have the memories that belonged to my brother, then you should know how much I suffered throughout the years. I fought tooth and nail to survive while you had three meals provided to you within a snap."