God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"To end a life, one must first acknowledge its value."

Perhaps it was an old saying he had once heard, he couldn't quite remember.

But he interpreted it to mean that the weight of a life determined the worthiness of its end. Of course, such a thing was arbitrary and ultimately left up to the killer.

And so, it could be rephrased:

Who determines whether a life is worth ending?

Most would agree that in an organized state, such a decision would fall to the law and its enforcers.

But in the absence of such institutions, it truly was left to the one who held the blade.

And as the one holding the blade, Cain felt its weight grow heavier.

He glanced down at it. The edge of the sword was already wetted with human blood, which slowly rolled down and dripped to the ground.

The boy had been young, but a single look into his eyes told Cain he was not the first person the boy had tried to kill. Only this time, he was unsuccessful.

It was a tragedy.

If none of this had ever happened, perhaps the young lad would have grown up to be a functioning member of society.

Alas, his fate had already been determined.

At such a young age, the boy was a seasoned killer. Regardless of his youth, the order of the world had changed.

It was live and die by the sword. The lives of men were no longer worth much.

He felt it.

With his eyes, it was hard to miss:

The fear in their eyes.

Their trembling hands.

They all stood there, stunned by how quickly he had felled one of them.

Still, there was one who didn't seem all that bothered.

Carrion slowly walked forward, the tips of his swords angled downward.

Eventually, he stood right before Cain.

"Perhaps I misjudged you a little," Carrion said, his smile dark and calloused.

Cain said nothing. Instead, he raised his blade and pointed it at Carrion.

The two stared at each other for a moment.

Then they rushed forward.

Carrion stood well over six feet tall. His frame was large, but not excessively so.

He wore a strange set of silver plate armor that clung to him tightly, much like Cain's. It allowed him to move with shocking agility.

Cain had observed immediately—without strength, there was no way Carrion could have gathered so many powerful fighters under his banner.

Among them all, he was certainly the strongest.

Cain blocked a chop with his sword, but Carrion's second blade had already slipped through his guard, aimed directly at his throat.

He calmly shifted his weight, tilting his head just enough for the blade to glance harmlessly off his armor.

Tossing his sword to his other hand, he prepared a backhand swing, but was forced to retreat.

Although they had been caught off guard by his earlier show of terrifying strength, the others had reacted quickly.

Cain's eyes narrowed behind the visor as Suze twirled the daggers in her hands.

He looked down at his chest.

She had nearly stabbed him through a small slit in his armor. Had he not moved, he would have been injured.

Her cold eyes never left him as her form suddenly shimmered—and vanished.

Cain frowned. A stealth spell?

Unfortunately for her, those didn't work on him. With his eyes, he could still see her, even if the spell's strength were ten times greater.

Carrion strode forward and began laying down heavy attacks.

Each sword swing carried terrifying force. Suze attacked in tandem, slipping in and out of view, looking for openings to strike his vitals.

And that wasn't all.

Arde and Lily didn't stay idle.

Though Carrion was the strongest among them, the one Cain found most threatening was Arde, the Summoner.

No... calling him a summoner isn't quite right.

As they battled, Cain observed. Nothing escaped his eyes.

Carrion employed body-enhancing magic, boosting his durability and stats.

Not only that, but he possessed skills and spells that drastically increased his attack power and speed depending on the situation.

In other words, he was a bonafide killing machine. His attacks were consistent and heavy, like those of a true warrior. Even Cain felt pressure under his onslaught.

Suze was more subtle. After watching Micah fall to a single swing, she had become nearly untouchable—ensuring she couldn't be targeted before she went in for the kill.

Though her cautious approach was irritating, it was effective. Together, they managed to keep Cain suppressed.

He also had to contend with long-range fire from Lily and Arde. Lily's bullets came in the form of searing-hot plasma, capable of tearing through any shield he dared to raise—so he dodged, constantly alert.

The barrage from the flaming bird was nearly unending, and the {Sand Wraith} blasted soul-scorching beams of violet light at him without pause.

The eyeball creature responded to the stream of chants pouring from Arde's mouth. Spells flew constantly—either aiding the assault or casting buffs and heals on the others.

It's no wonder they passed the second trial. A team like this wouldn't struggle.

Had it been anyone else—man, beast, or even Devil—in his place, they might have fallen.

But he was no ordinary man, beast, or Devil.

Carrion slammed his swords down once more, his frustration bubbling to the surface.

They had been constantly attacking Cain for some time now. Despite his armor covered his cracks, they had yet to land a single good hit on him.

"You're still standing, huh..." Carrion growled, backing away two steps, his chest rising and falling with effort.

Cain didn't respond.

Carrion turned to Arde and barked,

"Cast the spells on me."

A hesitant look appeared in Arde's eyes, but he complied.

Mumbling spells under his breath, another gust of blood burst from the eye of the {Arcane Eye Dragon}. The creature let out a shrill shriek as the tempo of the spells rose.

Carrion was suddenly enveloped by a storm of flashing lights.

With a roar, the flaming bird circled back and unleashed another torrent of fire. Cain ducked, rolled forward, and narrowly avoided a searing wall of flame that melted part of the stone floor behind him.

From the side, Suze reappeared mid-strike, her daggers flashing. Cain parried one, dodged the other, and brought the hilt of his sword crashing into her ribs. She let out a sharp gasp and vanished again before he could finish her.

Lily fired another burst of plasma.

He jumped.

The blast cut a searing line where he had just been standing. The ground hissed and bubbled with heat, but the onslaught was not over.

Just then, a sense of danger came from behind him.

He violently whipped his sword back.

The ground of the courtyard exploded, turning into dust and debris that flew everywhere, some smashing into tej barrier Arde had created.

Sparks flew as their blades clashed.

Carrion grinned viciously as he pushed down even harder,

"It seems you truly are a Demon! How wonderful it would be to slay a Demon with my own two hands!"

BANG!

Cain slid back under the force of the attack.

Spinning his blade he blocked another plasma bullet then took a stance once again.

He was not given another moment of rest as the next moment a barrage of spells rained down from the sky. Another soul attack came from the {Soul Wraith} followed by an enormous fireball.

Cain ran, dodging the balls of flames after his life whilst engaging both Carrion and Suze in melee combat.

He sensed that a change had come over Carrion. The light around him had been subdued at first. However, the more they fought, the stronger it got.

And with that, the strength and speed behind his blows increased as well.

'A skill or spell?'

Twisting his body mid air, he activated {Hell Step} and in a shocking display of agility, he began running across the barrier horizontally.

Bullets, spells, swords and daggers came chasing after him, but he blocked or evaded them. The ones that he couldn't avoid were tanked by his armor.

"Where are you running to?"

Suddenly, Carrion appeared on before him.

The two blades twisted like deadly serpents, their edges like fangs aimed at his neck.

This time, they were far faster than they had been before. Cain instinctively stopped.

That proved to be a fatal mistake.

Instantly, he realized that he was in line with a whole bombardment.

To make matters worse, not only would Carrion's sword realign in a moment, Suze was behind him and her daggers would plunge into his back simultaneously.

Arde looked up at the sight.

Then he sighed. The white hairs in his beard and on his head became more apparent.

Of course, Cain's current predicament had been orchestrated my him.

He had been a valued hand of the Ravenwood, and that meant always having to handle all sorts of business for them.

As such, manipulating people and circumstances was nothing to him.

'Such a simpleminded fellow.' Arde thought to himself.

That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it could make one too predictable in a battle.

'There was no chance you could get out of this one alive. Even if I couldn't outsmart you, surviving the young Lord would be impossible. Still it is good this ends here. At least, you won't have to suffer much.'

He let out another sigh and turned to the side.

Suddenly, his eyes widened dramatically.

"No... How could this be?" He muttered, his voice trembling.

A terrible realization gripped his heart.

He glanced up and yelled.

Despite the imminent death, that Demon didn't seem bothered. His posture was relaxed. Like a god of death overlooking a corpse filled battlefield in satisfaction.

Arde roared out, spittle flying from his mouth,

"Get away from him!"

'Too late.'

An explosion rocked the world, shattering the barrier, and producing a shockwave that completely flattened everything around.