God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Fighting with Mutant Creatures was unlike fighting with humans or Devils. It was always bloody, and one could very easily lose themselves in the unending tide of bloodshed and death.

With a swing of his sword, a Mutant Beast was felled. Luke looked around him, hsi eyes bloodshot. He had no idea for how long he had been fighting, nor could he recognize his surroundings.

He was on the shore, close to the water, surrounded by Mutant Beasts and Lightslayers altogether.

He had been beside Winifred and Reginald at the beginning, but he had lost sight of them amidst the sea of bodies.

A huge {King Lobster} snapped its claws at his shoulders. If its serated claws clamped shut, his arms would be seperated from the joint, and he would turn into fish food.

With deft footwork, Luke dodged out of the way and struck out with his {Black Obsidian} blade. It was as though no resistance existed as the blade bit through the hard exoskeleton and into the succulent beast flesh, ending its life in one stroke.

The system announced his triumph, but his mind was not focused on that at all.

Instead, he quickly got his bearings and looked around.

"Push them back!" Luke yelled at the top of his lungs as he waved his sword. His heart pumped blood feverously as he slashed forward multiple times in a single second. Tens of Mutant Beast corpses appeared on the ground, their bodily fluids dying the sand and sea.

Since his men didn't have the advantage of immortality like the Lightslayers, he had ordered them not to push to deep. Instead, they would hide behind the Lightslayers and push back periodically.

He heard a loud roar from behind as Reginald jumped high and brought his war hammer crashing down.

A Mutant Beast with a hard carapace was turned into ground shell and mush.

"Lukas and his people have pushed in deep." Appearing behind Reginald, Winifred spoke, his tone very strange.

Luke nodded, "Form up around me. Make sure nobody leaves this place!"

Reginald smiled as he wiped the blood off his face,

"What are you planning to do?"

"We'll make sure they all go down at once." Luke's eyes were frigid cold as he spoke.

Winifred sighed, "This is incredibly reckless, you know..."

Luke shook his head, "It is. But if we don't do something, these lunatics will continue their madness unchecked. It's best we put them down now."

Surrounded by his men, Luke felt his confidence soar. Lukas, Guy... They were string, but so was he. However, he had intentionally held back, not revealing his hand, so he could pull the rug from beneath them both when the time was right.

"What about those Mutant freaks from the Central Island? Their leader Cain..."

Luke frowned, "We'll deal with him later. Are the spells ready?"

Winifred nodded solemnly.

Luke grinned, "In that case we just have to be patient. The moment Guy and his lackeys show their ugly faces, kill them all!"

Arranged in a spear formation, with Luke taking chargez they quickly cut through the horde of Sea beasts making their way onto the shore.

"Winifred!"

"On it..."

Chanting under his breath, Winifred began casting a spell. Mana gathered in waves around him, affecting his physical surroundings.

Just before the spell was complete, he took a gem emitting large amounts of frost energy out of his inventory.

"Elemental Substitution: Crested Glacial Loop!"

Ice began covering a portion of the surface of the inky black, obstructing the Mutant Beasts that were trying to make their way to the surface.

"Charge!"

***

"Boss, Lukas and his men have stepped outside the Island. They are engaging a rather frightening Tier 1 Beast." Idris said as he approached the area where the boats were docked.

Guy nodded, "Idris, Rollo, Francis... All Tier 1, with me. The rest of you, Slaughter any bastard you see!"

Under the influence of the {Blood Fog}, their abilities, as well as their confidence had soared tremendously. The entire Crimson Army charged forward. From this side of the island, the Lightslayers would never see them coming!

Guy turned to the small group under his command,

"Let's go say hi."

***

"Intruders! Intruders are on the island!"

Suki turned around, her eye widened in surprise. She turned to the person who had just given her the information.

"Already?! Where are they coming from?"

"The docking pier at the leeward side of the island." The man said in a panic

Suki on the other hand, was not shaken in the slightest.

"Marq, can you here me?" Suki used a communication spell to reach out to her immediately.

On the battlefield, Marq was weaving dexterously between a storm of rabid claws and jaws.

"What is it? I'm a bit busy right now..." She said, a bit annoyed.

"There's trouble on the other side of the island."

An eerie grin appeared on her face, "So the cowards have finally decided to show up?"

Suki affirmed her suspicion, "Yes. There's a lot of them. However, with the island's protection, they shouldn't be a problem. The teams we have on standby are going to intercept them. I need you to join them just in case something happens."

Marq shrugged, "Alright. Besides, fighting monsters all the time can get a bit boring. Humans are much more fun."

With that, she quickly killed off the Mutant Beasts surrounding her, retreating back to the rear lines.

"Let's see... How should I go about this..." She muttered to herself as she disappeared from sight.

One of Suki's spells allowed her to observe most of what was happening on the island in real time, so all these details didn't escape her. As long as a Lightslayer was in the area, she would be able to identify their condition, as well as the condition of their environment and enemy.

While the ability wasn't very suited for direct combat, her potential made her shine at the rear lines, which made Lukas treasure her greatly.

She was determined to never let him down!

"Stone, Anthony, you guys can handle over there by yourselves, right?"

Stone's gruff voice responded, "Don't worry. Everything is under control here. Luke has managed to break through their ranks here." He said as he smashed a fist into the hardy scales of a {Sea Drake}. The monster keeled over, blue colored blood flowing through its orifices. Although it hadn't killed it, he had managed to Dela a lot of damage in a single blow.

Suki nodded. Everything was going according to plan. They had accounted for everything. There was nothing that should, could go wrong...

The entire island had turned into a battlefield. Despite that, the Lightslayers were unstoppable. Pile upon pile of broken corpses littered teg shoreline. The greenish blue blood of the Mutant Beasts steadily flowed into the Black ocean, giving it an unnatural tint.

Every single person was engaged in their own battle...

***

The boat travelled fast, quickly blitzing past the shoreline that encircled the island.

Very soon, the sight of absolute carnage greeted Guy's eyes.

"Wonderful..." The thick scent of blood was heavy in the air.

Since they were approaching from the rear, they found themselves somehwat behind the Mutant Beast rear lines.

Guy scanned the area and quickly found where Lukas and his men were engaging a rather giant version of a {Sea Drake}. The beast looked like a true dragon, rising above the waves, its roars shaking the waters.

This was the beast that had crashed into the island earlier.

Summoning his weapon, Guy pointed it forward,

"Charge!"

His body quickly emitted a loud bang as he leapt off the boat and into the air. Remaining airborne, he quickly spotted his target.

Floating above the waves with the wind billowing around his robe, Lukas held a beautiful bastard sword etched with Divine runes and radiant gems. He had been focused on battling the {Baleful Sea Drake Monarch} when he felt a wave of killing intent wash over him.

"So you've finally come, huh..." Lukas muttered to himself.

Their eyes met...

Young men destined to be rivals, solely because they sought after the same thing...

With a heavy snarl, Guy threw his bloody battle axe straight at Lukas.

It was as though the sky was torn open and the heavens were crashing down. Staring at the overwhelming power that came crashing down on his, Lukas had no panic in his heart.

Standing beside him, Zue wore a heavy frown,

"So this is the power of the champion of a Blood God..."

He could sense the power emanating from the axe, comparable to that of a ballistic missile.

He was incredibly apprehensive of that power, but he felt no fear.

After all...

Stepping upon the surface of the water, Lukas let out a breath of air, slowly and softly. The axe came bearing down, emitting so much energy, bolts of lightning crackled around it, and a portion of the black ocean sunk in. Numerous Mutant Beasts in the area were immediately crushed into bloody pulp.

The greenish blue blood flowed like streams of water towards the increasingly accelerating axe until it turned into a whirlwind of power.

It came crashing down on Lukas...

As soft as a butterfly, with what appeared to be a light tap with the flat of his blade, Lukas cleanly deflected the axe.

The weapon struck the surface of the water after travelling a distance away, exploding with violent energy.

"Not bad at all..." Guy said with a wild grin.

Lukas smirked, "I could say the same about you. Still, were you trying to him me, or were you just playing around?"

As he fell towards the water, Rollo, Idris, Francis and the other Tier 1 quickly departed from the boat and charged at Lukas and his men.