"Move! Move! Move!" Ashton's voice boomed over the radio, and like a flock of vultures, everyone descended upon the crash site.
With their mothership incapacitated, the Xyrans were thrown into disarray. Their focus shifted from the numerous battlefronts, causing them to lose ground.
Protecting their mothership and commander was the top priority for the Xyrans, and they rushed toward the crash site. However, their retreat was met with intensified attacks from Ashton's forces, and their numbers dropped exponentially.
Meanwhile, the Xyran soldiers on board the mothership were already disembarking as Ashton arrived at the site. Orion and mercenary vessels encircled them, forcing the remaining Xyran ships to stand down.
Furthermore, the risk of their bullets inadvertently damaging the mothership drove the Xyrans to halt their fire, both from land and air. But even then, the Xyrans weren't ready to give up.
"I thought you had fought Precursors before?" Ashton taunted the Xyrans as he hovered above the ground.
"..." The confident, feminine voice was nowhere to be heard.
Ashton stared at the Xyrans below. Most of them were strong enough to destroy a small planet alone. From the simulations he ran with his masters, Ashton knew they were not to be messed with.
But that was the case in past. Now, he could efficiently deal with them, but that would place others in harm's way, and Ashton didn't want that to happen.
Just then, a female winged Xyran walked out of the ship, wearing a blue battlesuit. It didn't take long for Ashton to realise she was the one who had challenged him earlier.
As Ashton stared into her eyes, he saw a hint of nervousness. The mothership was the Xyran's hail mary with enough technology to stop a Precursor.
But since Ashton had nearly destroyed the ship, there wasn't much the Xyrans could have done against Ashton. Yet the lady from before was standing before him with weapons in hand, ready to fight to the death if necessary.
It wasn't a reckless decision, as others might have thought, but more of a last resort. There was no way the lady could defeat Ashton, and the more she thought about it, the more desperation took over her.
The Xyrans had thought they would easily overpower a Precursor who didn't know the full extent of his power. However, they hadn't taken his allies into account and paid a massive price for it.
The Xyran looked at the crashed ship and then the ones flying above. She knew no one was coming for their aide anymore.
"What's this nonsense," the Xyran scoffed, shaking her head. "To think we'll be stranded on a planet that we swore to never step foot on... pathetic!"
Ashton quietly watched on, reverting to his humanoid form. His aura had been restored, so there was no point in keeping his Zompirewolf form anymore.
"Why are you here?" Ashton calmly asked Xyran, who sighed heavily before responding.
"We're searching for a lost member-"
Before the lady could finish, Ashton interrupted her. "If you're looking for Beelzebub, he's right there. Though, you won't recognise him anymore."
As Ashton mentioned his name, Guilt walked right behind him. His ugly form was certainly unrecognisable, but the identification ship in his body confirmed his identity.
The Xyran woman let out a shocked gasp but swiftly regained control over her emotions. Beelzebub had been her husband for years, and although it was a marriage of convenience and she had never truly cared for him, he was still her spouse. Witnessing him in such a dire condition momentarily disrupted her composure.
"What have you done to my husband!?" the lady asked, and Ashton raised an eyebrow.
"Your husband?" Ashton asked, wanting to confirm the lady's identity, and when she reiterated the fact, he couldn't help but laugh at the situation.
Ashton might seem like a maniac to them, but from how he saw things, the situation was absolutely ridiculous. Astaroth's ex-fiancee was standing in front of him!
However, the Xyrans perceived the situation as a mockery and lashed out, launching attacks on those nearby. If there was anything they cherished above their lives, it was their pride.
Ashton's actions had wounded their pride to such an extent that they were willing to forsake their lives and assault anyone in their path.
Countless abilities and bullets were shot everywhere, once again bringing chaos to the battlefield. Bodies keep falling one after another, but Ashton stood idle, mimicking Ibis, Seraph's daughter.
"I've heard a lot about you, Ibis," Ashton smiled. "Honestly, I would rather not put my hands on a friend's love. So how about we stop all this drama and talk things over?"
"How do you know that name?" Obis retorted.
"Is the noise too much?" Ashton rolled his eyes. "I just called you my friend's lover. Didn't it ring a bell?"
"Beelzebub is not my lover-"
"I wasn't talking about him," Ashton cut her off again.
"...It can't be," Ibis mumbled as she came to terms with what Ashton hinted.
Beelzebub and Astaroth were the only men in her life. If Beelzebub didn't tell him about her, it had to be Astaroth... but how was it possible? He had died over a century ago!
"Things are often not how they seem to be," Ashton said with a knowing smile. "We both have things we need to talk about. So let's-"
While he was talking, a Xyran charged towards Ashton. Ibis tried stopping the guy, but it was too late. By the time the word left her mouth, the Xyran was at Ashton's feet... cut in two pieces.
"How dare you!"
Seeing a comrade slived in half before her, Ibis no longer intended to chat with Ashton and attacked him.
"Oi, I'm about to hit your ex. Hope you don't mind," Ashton said, but there was no reply from Astaroth as usual.
Ashton had two objectives when he told Ibis about Astaroth. The first was to get her to agree on a ceasefire, which failed miserably. The second was to get Astaroth to react, but he failed there as well.
"I guess I'll have to take harder measures after all..."