God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The fight raged on for a long time. Still, at the end of the day, they were human, and their stamina wasn't limitless...

David fought to steady his breath. Their opponents were tough, not easy to beat down at all. Rollo's control over gravity was very fearsome, and had progressed even more when he advanced to Tier 1. And yet, despite the huge disparity between them, he had a feeling Rollo was holding back.

He just had to get across to him. There was no way he wouldn't see reason. Rather than shedding blood, there should always be a way to solve problems with dialogue.

At least, that was what he believed...

"Come on. This doesn't have to be this way. We don't need to do all this." David tried to reason with Rollo as he made use of the side of his shield to bash Rollo's weapon away.

There was clear hesitation on Rollo's face. However, he couldn't allow Guy to see that. And so, he continued the attack pressing on.

Guy looked around with dull eyes, "This has gotten stale, Rollo. Put an end to this quickly..."

The moment he said that, his laid-back attitude changed and he set his eyes on Ignis,

"I'll start with the girl. Don't kill her, Idris. She doesn't look human. She must be some exotic species from some other world or something. You can take care of heronec I'm done." The lecherous look in his eyes made him all the more sinister as he approached.

As she was locked down tightly by Idris, Ignis could do nothing but defend passively as she waited for the leader of the wastrels to close in. She already had a plan in mind. The moment he made a move, she would launch an explosive counter, dealing severe damage to both men at once.

Just as she was about to do that, she noticed the mocking grin on Guy's face. Suddenly, it all dawned on her. Blood drained from her face. It was as though she was no longer in control of her body.

All this time, she had been dancing on someone else's stage. The fight had been decided since the beginning.

There was nothing she could do. It was hopeless...

"Get away from her!"

An explosion rocked the world as David forcibly pushed past Rollo, sending his own body rocketing towards Guy like a missile. Although Rollo was a Tier 1 being, David's specialty was playing the long game. Overcoming his defenses was not going to be easy at all. Even a Cain below Tier 1 would have great difficulty piercing through his defenses.

Especially when he got angry. He could tell Guy had less than savory plans for Ignis. And he simply couldn't stand for it. He wasn't going to try to be a hero, but he would never stand by and allow a wretched being like the monster in front of him have his way. Evil couldn't go on when he could stop it...

As such, he pulled power from the depths of his being and slammed into Guy.

His opponent grinned, not even moving an inch,

"You have balls, old man. Unfortunately, they can only get you so far..."

The axe at his side suddenly rose into the sky and came crashing down like a meteor. All this time, Pudding had been assisting them on their efforts to push the invaders back. The beast was powerful. Although not alfs powerful as its predecessor, it could still pack a decent punch.

The moment the {Amethyst Silkworm} saw the chance, it exploded forth with power and charged towards Guy. Although the beast wasn't very geared towards combat, it was still a Tier 1 being. After having consumed very nutritious metals and gems, it had become exponentially more powerful than when Cain found it.

Trying to stop its charge would be as futile as trying to hold a wave down.

But..

Guy was no ordinary Tier 1 human. He was something far more scary...

Nobody saw any of the movement he made. All that was left behind was a fading afterimage, and the thick scent of blood.

Pudding let out a squeal of pain. Blood dyed the air as the thick flesh of the creature was torn clean open.

The beast quickly burrowed into the earth to hide away, keen on protecting itself from further harm. Meanwhile, David collapsed weakly to his knees. His shield had been sheared cleanly in two.

"No..." Ignis had a look of disbelief on her face. Just what was this human?!

Just staring at him sent chill down her spine. This couldn't be a human. This has to be a Demon. A Demon from the depths of the Hell Planes..

Guy stretched his hand out and turned to David who struggled to get back to his feet, blood splurting out of the fine cut on his chest. The axe rested calmly into the grooves of his palm,

"Is this all you have to offer? You dare gather here with this measly amount of strength? You deserve to be put to death by me. The world has begun to change, and in this new world, a world dyed crimson, only I can be King!" Guy declared with a savage grin on his face.

Madness spewed forth from him like he was a broken dam barely containing the floodgates. His eyes sparkled with ambition as he closed in on David,

"Consider yourself lucky. Your skills aren't half bad. If it had been on any other occasion, I would have loved to recruit you. Unfortunately, I have to leave a message behind for your arrogant leader."

David grit his bloodied teeth as he quickly glanced at Ignis. A gentle, reassuring smile made its way onto his face,

"Go. I'll hold them off. Hold on until Cain comes back!"

Ignis shook her head in defiance, "No. We'll fight them together! You better not be thinking of dying right now!"

Guy frowned, "Cain? So that's the bastard's name?"

David nodded, "I'm warning you. If you kill me, this won6end well for you, or your people. Wait until he gets back so you can have a civilized conversa-."

Guy sneered, "The time for talking has passed. If your leader wants to cry, then he can come see me to collect reparations. For now, I will be sending you on your way."

Guy put his axe down and turned to Rollo, "Finish it. Don't hesitate this time."

Seeing the cold expression on Guy's face, Rollo could only sigh silently in his heart. When he faced David, all previous hesitation was wiped away.

"Go now! We don't have a lot of time!" David managed to yell one more time, before gripping whatever was left of his shield and standing his ground.

'Ha... In the end, I couldn't do anything meaningful with this life. Cain... I'll leave the rest to you. You are capable of things your teacher could never even dream of achieving.'

David had already steeled his nerves. A faint smile hung on his lips. If this was how he would go out, he would do it standing, with no regrets at all. That would be a miserable way to go out...

"I'm leaving the rest you young ones..."

With his back straight, and his shield Infront of him. To the very end, he would try to protect whatever he could...

Power gathered at the edge of Rollo's blade, ripping everything before him apart. David summoned a wall of defensive energy to try withstanding this power. However, it fell apart without being able to mount a struggle...

His shield was cleaved in two...

His body was cut down...

His life dissipated like a morning breeze...

Ignis watched this happen, her face contorted into an ugly expression. Those bad memories were beginning to resurface like floating corpses in her sea of consciousness. Again, there was nothing she could do. Yet another soul had been lost in an effort to protect her.

'Damn it! Damn it all!'

Rollo's blade fell to the ground, leaving a crater behind, and churning up a vast cloud of dust.

When the dust settled, Ignis was no where to be seen. She had disappeared like smoke from a fire. Even Guy had noticed no traces of her escape.

"What?! How could she get away?!" Idris exclaimed loudly. Just a moment ago, he had been engaged with her. Now, she had simply vanished into thin air.

Guy lifted his head to stare at the sky for a moment before shaking his head. Something seemed to be weighing on his mind,

"Let's go. Gather the others... There's nothing to do here anymore."

With that, he turned to leave. However, it was obvious that Idris wasn't satisfied,

"But, boss!"

Guy turned slightly to stare at him with slightly narrowed eyes, his gaze sending chills through Idris' body,

"Fun time is over. This is just to leave a message to the boy. If he knows what's good for him, he'll stay out of what is to come."

Whatever words Idris wanted to speak died down as quickly as they came up...

Instead, he stared hatefully at the crumpled ruins that the Central Island had become.