God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain looked around at the destruction they had caused and immediately put it at the back of his mind as they neared the castle gates.

He had been used...

There was no pretty way to say it.

'i should have seen it from the start. There's no way anybody would have such pure intentions.'

But then, what were the true intentions of the old men. Did they want to bring the Kingdom of Duskmore down from the inside out, or was this a revenge thing.

He didn't think so...

Even though he had been decieved, he didn't think the old man was a bad person. Instead, he convinced himself that there had to be a reason the old man would go through all this.

And this meant he was also confident in his chances, which was not a good thing...

"So your friends are currently trying to destroy the summoning altars?" The Black Guard said as they rushed into the castle. The castle was magnificent structure. However, its beautiful asthetics were currently marred by broken corpses and blood.

The old men weren't holding back at all!

Cain nodded, "If they can destroy the Altars, we won't need to worry about any powerful creatures coming from some higher plane of existence to wipe us all out.

Gabriel, Lord Crimson sighed, "That might not be the case... If anything, these beings might have already arrived."

Cain nearly tripped, "What?!"

Gabriel sighed again, "Why do you think there have been no rebellions since the establishment of the Kingdom? Aside from all the Silver Kings possessing the bloodline of a Celestial Being, the High Priests also have the ability to communicate with the Celestials. Which means the moment something beyond their ability shows up, they simply request for help from their masters.

This in turn, keeps us on a very tight leash."

Cain mused, 'It seems this Kingdom isn't as united as it seems.'

Steve chimed in, "So what do you think their goal is? Taking over whilst bringing down the tyranny of the Temples, or they simply want everyone to follow them to the afterlife?"

Blaze snorted, "How can it be so simple? If there is anything I've learnt in my life, it is to never underestimate how deep the plans of these old bags run... Trust me. I've been burned way too many times to learn that lesson."

Manny sighed, "You can say that again..."

Cain threw them a strange glance...

Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by Lord Crimson,

"They must be in the thrown room. I believe I can take all three of them at once, but something tells me they are prepared for my interference."

Cain sighed at how ironic the situation had become. Just a few minutes ago, they had all been trying to kill one another. Now, they had ganged up to make sure the Kingdom of Duskmore was not destroyed on two fronts.

'Can things get any more interesting than this?'

As they approached the throne room, the sound of fighting reached their ears. All ten of them quickly increased their paces, practically flying down the hallways.

"Manny, clear a path for us!"

Manny was no doubt the fastest in the group, of the Blue Guard was not include. It was hard to determine who was faster.

"Skye..." Lord Crimson, now Gabriel, seemed less domineering without his armor. However, the authority he had over the Old Guard was absolute. These were men he had broke bread with for many years. They had shed blood, theirs and others, together. As such, their bonds were thicker than chains and blood...

The Blue Guard, Skye, said nothing, but with a boost of speed, he was running neck and neck with Manny. Both seemed to be competing for who would be the fastest as they drew their weapons.

The fighters the old men had brought were incredibly capable. Capable enough to go up against two guards on their own and come out victorious.

But...

Against literal demons like Manny and Skye, they could only lose their heads, figuratively and literally...

The others paid them no mind, instead rushing forward like that until they arrived at the doors to the throne room.

With a kick, the doors flew open. Inside the throne room, the floor was litered with numerous corpses.

Aububle gasps rang out as the members of the Old Guard rushed into the throne room, their weapons drawn, killing intent radiating off of the like waves.

Standing at the center of the room, was something no one expected to see. It was a Devil. However, it was not your typical Devil. This one was huge, and had blueish grey skin. Three horns protruded from its head like that of a rhinoceros, and it had four arms, the lower two smaller, more human sized than the upper ones.

Although its facial features looked human, one looknwas enough to see that whatever this monster was, was the farthest thing from human in the known universe.

Cain didn't know what to say, or feel...

Inwardly, he had one prevalent thought...

'This trial... what is its true purpose of this trial?'

At first, he had believed that they were just supposed to survive. Then, he though it had been to chose between helping the old man or not. Now, he wasn't sure.

'Is iteant to assess the choices we make and how we handle different scenari? Why go through all this, then?'

Cain didn't know what to think. But when he saw the Devil, he forced himself to calm down. If there was one thing he was sure of now, it would be that the goal of the trial was not to survive, or was it to engage in battles...

Because it he had to fight this thing, he would rather stand still and wait for death...

He could feel it clearly. Whatever this Devil was, even if all of them came together with an army ten thousand strong, filled with people just as powerful as they were, they would still lose...

He had felt this tyep of Devilish power before. The Primordial Devil that had been in the Chaos Mountains, back in the fragmented world. No, not quite. Although it's essence seemed more voluptuous, it had far lower quality.

But it was still eniyh to make Cain, and everyotehr person feel breathless...

"Just when I thought all this was almost over with..." Vincent lamented.

Despite the obvious danger of the situation, the Old Guard advanced fearlessly. This was because the monstrous Devil currently had his hands wrapped around the neck of a girl with long platinum blond hair.

Cain had never seen someone as beautiful. Even Evangeline and Susan's beauty paled in comparison to her.

"Get away from Her Majesty!" Gabriel yelled, pointing the slightly Shakey tip of his weapon at the Devil. Despite his bravado, even the courageous and powerful Lord Crimson felt fear.

The Devil simply ingnored them,

"So this is where those fools came to hide the daughter of the Unholy Celestial Silver Wolf. This is absolutely wonderful!"

Cain's eyes narrowed. Right now, his eyes were affixed on the three old men standing reverently behind the giant Devil.

Feeling Cain's stare, Ian, the old man that had decieved him sighed,

"Cain... Sometimes, things are not as simple as they seem. This is something that needs to be done."

The Devil snorted, "This will do, old man. The master greatly appreciates your efforts. From now on, this world will be under demonic and human rule. Those stuck up Celestials can shove their grumpy hands up their hands now!"

Cain was even more surprised. What was this, a negotiation with the ruler of the Kingdom as the object of exchange?...

Lord Crimson's gaze was as dark as midnight as the two blades in his hands roared to life with power. His broadsword had been destroyed by Cain, so all that he was left to fight wut,h were his short swords.

"Let. Her. Go." Each word was spoken definitively. It was obvious Gabriel was seething with rage.

"Boss, don't you think it would be a good time to get the hell out of here?" Vincent lwabed towards Cain and said calmly.

Cain nodded. However, he hesitated. Seeing this, a small smile appeared on Steve's face.

"We can't leave yet. Let's just wait to see how things unfold."

Cain was being patient because of three things. One, he truly wanted to see how things would unfold. Two, he didn't want to leave Lord Crimson and the other Old Guard to their deaths. Although they had been enemies not too long ago, he respected them and their strength. They fought for their home and honor. Seeing them die without doing something didn't sit right with him.

And finally...

The girl...

They was just something about her that was eeriely familiar. He was a thousand percent sure he had never met or seen her before. However, he couldn't shake that nagging familiarity.

The girl seemed unconscious, and the Devil already had his hands around the prize, so he was about to leave.

Immediately, the Old Guard burst into action, each one of them unleashing the full potential of their power in an instant.

However, the Dveil merely took a step on their direction, and all that energy dissipated like a false alarm. Cain was baffled as a shockwave came from the Devil, ramming into everything before it.

"Hmph! Not even a single blow and they are all at death's door. You humans truly are the weakest race..." The Devil said absentmindedly.

Cain's back slammed into a wall, but with his stronger constitution, he only felt a bit of pain. The others were not as lucky.

'Crap! What do I do?!'

The Old Guard was out of commission, and his own teammates were either groaning in pain or already unconscious. He was truly the only one left.

"Oh? An insect could withstand that?" The Devil turned its attention to Cain but froze immediately upon seeing him.

Cain and the Devil stared each other down for what felt like an eternity before the Devil finally opened its mouth and spoke, albeit with difficulty,

"You... I can sense the power of an ancestor within you. How is that possible?!"

Cain took a huge breath in. He steadied his expression as much as he could and straightened his back so as not to give anything away,

"You there.... Release that girl at once!"

The Devil seemed shocked, "What did you say?!"

Cain squirmed internally, 'Fuck me!'

However, he couldn't afford to back down now. He was going to bullshit till tomorrow so he could buy himself some more time to execute what he was preparing to do.

He glared arrogantly at the Devil,

"I said, Let her go! Or is it the New Generation do not fear the Primordial Devils of Death and Madness... Hmm that seems to be the case, doesn't it?"