God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Suddenly, a man dressed in red just like the others, who had been standing beside Rollo let out a chuckle as he walked forward and began to speak, drawing Cain and Jenny's attention, "It seems you all still have the wrong idea about all this, so before anything else, I think you at least deserve to understand your fate.."

"As you all know, the old world order, at least from the little we know, has fallen. During the initial stages of the apocalypse and the onslaught of the devils, The Boss, our leader, was offered power by the Blood god of War, Azimuth.

In exchange for worshiping him and assisting with gathering more followers under his banner to build an army that would wait for him so he can continue his conquest once he is reborn, we are granted immense powers."

"With this power, we have destroyed all the devils and mutant beasts on the east side of the campus. Hence, under the orders of The Boss, we have been instructed to go in search of food and new followers to add to our forces. Luckily for you all, you just happened to run into us. Had it been another team, you all would be dead by now." The man said arrogantly.

"To sum it up, the only way for you all to live past today, is by joining us. If you refuse, death. If you resist, death. No negotiations, no treaties... Submit or perish. To us, the difference between your life and death isn't a lot.

Although it is good that we bolster our numbers, killing all of you would also serve to increase our power." Once the man was done speaking, he moved a pace backward, leaving only Rollo ahead of the entire group.

"Do you understand it now?" Rollo said, his deep voice echoing loudly, reaching every single ear around.

"Hahahahaha!"

Unable to keep it in, Cain who originally had steely eyes began to laugh. Nearly doubling over, he held onto his stomach and let out a hearty laugh, as if he had just heard the funniest thing in his life.

"Kill? Me? Hahaha!"

"Pfft! Hahaha!" Vincent who stood behind the group also began to laugh loudly. The next to follow was Manny who nearly began rolling on the ground as he clutched his stomach.

Sue placed a hand over her mouth as she giggled, while David had a weird smile on his face...

"Listen good, bud. The only people going to the othershore if we do end up fighting are you and your goons. Be very careful with your next words." Blaze said as he stood gallantly, his spear pointed straight at Rollo.

"It would seem that words are no longer necessary. In that case, I apologize for this. I hope you make better decisions in your next life." Rollo said as he stretched his hand backward and drew his blade from its scabbard.

"Men, you know what to do. Gather their corpses. They are to be brought back." Rollo said but kept his gaze locked onto Cain who had a sneer warping his features.

"You heard him, men..." The man who had acted as Rollo's spokesperson said with a cruel smile on his face.

The men all let out sinister smiles as they placed their weapons on their bodies and slashed, drawing blood.

At the same time, they thunderously yelled out a phrase so loudly, it shook the very space around them.

"Blood Sacrifice!"

The runes on their bodies glowed bright red as vaporized blood began to flow out from cracks that appeared on their bodies.

Despite now being covered in blood and wounds, they all had excited gleams in their eyes that immediately put a frown on Cain's face.

'So this is the power of a celestial being...' Cain thought as he noticed that the power the lackeys were emitting had multiplied by three. Due to his understanding of blood elemental magic combined with {Eye of Clairvoyance} and {Spirit Sense}, he was able to discern the nature of the skill.

The group of crazed lackeys charged at Cain and the others with drawn blades. Their crimson runes made them look like demons charging at their prey.

"Sigh... We'll take these bastards on!" Manny said as he dashed at the group of lackeys with his blades drawn.

Blaze said nothing but spun his spear. He kicked against the ice road and propelled himself forward with extreme speed.

"I'm in! Stan, let's go!" Li said, fumes rushing out from his flared nostrils as he ran at top speed toward the group of people. It was apparent he was dying to release steam as he was still angry over the fact that Jenny had been attacked.

"I'm too hungry to engage these morons. Besides, I think four of us is overkill..." Vincent said dismissively as he pulled an already roasted chunk of fish from his inventory and began to eat as he stared at them with a tired gaze.

"Make sure not to kill any of them..." David said with a frown...

"Followers of the blood god, huh... This is so interesting. First a Sea god, and now a Blood god? I wonder how many types of gods are out there. Is there another Blood god out there, or is this the supreme Blood god?" Steve had stars floating in his eyes as he stared at the group of people with his {Devil Eye} activated.

'Blood attribute mana is used to accelerate blood flow and provides extra energy, boosting all physical capabilities. However, such an ability must be terrible because of the violent nature of blood mana. Their organs must be going through hell right now.' Cain mused as he watched the group of 80 get into position.

'However, the power of a celestial is mysterious in its ways.' Fascination created sparkles in Cain's eyes as he analyzed further.

'Not only are they able to use the same blood mana that wreaks havoc in them to boost their power, but they are also using it to heal, similar to how I use {Blood Regeneration}. Incredible...' Cain couldn't help but praise the complexity of the skill in his mind.

"You seem to be occupied. Aren't you afraid I might take your head if you don't pay attention?" Rollo said to Cain, although he didn't attack him. It was obvious he had reservations about the idea of facing Cain.

"Hehe... If you had moved a single step, you'd be dead by now..." Cain said dismissively.

Rollo felt a strong chill run down his spine as he stared at Cain with a frown.

'It isn't a mistake. His aura is quite similar to that of Guy. However, he seems a bit weaker. Do I have what it takes to handle him? I'll need to stall until Francis gets here. We should be able to take him on together.'

"Cain..." Suddenly, Hunter, who had been behind the group spoke up drawing Cain and Rollo's attention.

"You!" Rollo's eyes widened in surprise when he saw Hunter.

"What's wrong? Do you two know each other?" Cain asked with raised brows although he wouldn't be too surprised if that was so as they all attended the same school, so knowing someone in the same school wouldn't be too far stretched.

"Sort of..." Hunter said, his eyes focused on Rollo.

"Yes, we do know each other. We know each other very well..." Rollo said with venom in his voice.

"Oh..." Cain had a mysterious expression in his eyes.

Turning to Hunter, he had a small smile as he whispered, "You want to take him on?"

Hunter also had a smile as he nodded, "Ehn..."

"In that case, go ahead..." The smile on Cain's face spread as he tapped Hunter on the shoulder and stepped back.

"Rollo, how have you been doing?" Hunter said, the smile on his face turning more sinister and sinister by the second.

"There is no need for words. Let's continue from where we stopped, dog..." Rollo said as he swung his blade. A bright crimson sheen appeared on his blade that split the nearby air, tainting it with the same crimson hue.

Hunter said no more, quickly transforming into an 8 feet tall humanoid with the features of a mutant beast.

"Heh... Truly a dog." Rollo said with a sneer as he took a step forward and swung his sword. However, his eyes suddenly widened as he saw two more Hunters at his sides swinging incredibly sharp blades at him.

With a grunt, Rollo swung his blades so fast, he created two afterinages that blocked both clones and pushed them far away. With how wide the ice bridge was, a total of ten people could stand comfortably from end to end. Hence there was enough free space for them to battle.

However, before these monstrously powerful beings, an ice bridge created with such mana wouldn't be able to support them if they didn't exert their maximum control over their strength.

"You underestimate me..." Rollo said as he swung his blade again, crushing the two clones into pieces.

Cain stood to the side as he watched Hunter and Rollo duke it out.

On the other hand, despite their power, the Followers of the Blood god were unable to even stand a chance against the team of Blaze, Manny, Li, and Hunter.

They didn't even activate any of their skills. They just used their base stats, kicks, and punches to beat the daylight out of the Followers of the Blood god.

"While you might be stronger than Normal-grade mutant beasts, you all are still nothing but mobs," Li said with a sneer as he performed a roundhouse kick, sending three people flying at once. Jumping toward them as they flew backward, Li clenched his fists and slammed three punches forward so quickly, he left an afterimage behind with every blow.

These punches were enough to put holes through a normal human but were just enough to knock the three men out.

Manny on the other hand had a wide grin as he evaded between the web of blades directed toward him while laughing at the top of his voice. He kicked the shin of a blood god follower who charged at him with mad eyes.

Stepping onto his head, he used his heel as a pivot, tapping the heads of the others approaching him, with the sheath of his blades. He didn't deal out any lethal blows, but his opponents had to suffer wave after wave of torturous smacks on the head.

Blaze who was busy knocking people out with each swing of his spear with an agility that blew all those surrounding him away, suddenly spun his spear around and stabbed backward.

CLANG!

A crisp metallic sound rang out, causing small cracks to appear on the ice bridge. Blaze glared at a feminine figure that appeared behind him with fire in his eyes. She held onto two blood-red daggers, trapping the tip of Blaze's spear between them.

"Who are you?" Blaze said with a snarl.

Without responding, the lady shifted her balance and slid a dagger through the gaps in Blaze's defenses. In response, Blaze spread his legs and retracted his spear as fast as possible, turning his back, then slamming the spear back even faster than he turned. The air around the bladed tip ignited due to the immense friction that was produced with the thrust.

Jumping back to dodge, the lady flung a blade made from the blood before bursting into a mist of sanguine blood particles...

"Careful... Not all of them are useless..." Blaze said as he summoned a circle of flames that burst into rings cycling around him that didn't fade away even after he had stopped channeling mana.

"Eh? They all seem so weak though." Manny said with a confused look.

"No... The stringer ones are hidden, mixed with the trash." Li said as he drew back, his eyes narrowing as he started at a man who had a major of blood chakrams floating beside him. He wore a slightly droopy smile as he rose a finger up, throwing the chakrams toward the duo of Li and Blaze.

In response, Blaze sent the rings of fire around him flying, knocking the chakrams away from them...

The group of four suddenly realized that winning the fight wasn't going to be as easy as they thought, especially if they fought without intending to kill. They had their backs against one another as they started at the army of red that gathered before them, unaware of the dangers lurking within.

However, they all wore unbothered expressions as they faced their foes with increasing fighting spirits that soared toward the grey skies like pillars of flames...