God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The battles raged on like an endless bonfire.

Blood was spilt, flesh was rend asunder, and bones were turned to dust.

Still, no matter how badly the Lightslayers were torn apart, in just a few seconds, they managed to rise back to their feet, their body slowly mending together, and their eyes shining with deep seated insanity and piety.

They gladly shed their blood, gladly reached the threshold of death over and over again, just to rise back up like a horde of undying zombies.

Solely because of this, they were able to keep the Mutant Horde at bay, relentlessly pushing them back.

Still, although they couldn't die, this didn't mean they felt no pain. Despite 5he many attempts to dull the pain, losing oneself to pain, something that was a fundamental part of the human physiology was all to easy.

The minds of humans was weak. And the continued pushing of this line could lead to irreparable consequences.

But all that worry was for another day, as 5hey currently didn't have a choice, no matter how much they wished they could run away.

Because they were compelled...

Compelled to fight until Evey single enemy had been killed.

They were the perfect murder machine, Untiring and unkillable.

But machines are machines, and humans are humans. Even sorcery has its limitations, and magic was simply a means to an end, especially magic of the Divine.

***

Ten minutes earlier...

"Magic is incredibly, but it is still not of this world... This reality..."

Standing in the sky high above, Azazel watched the play the mortals engaged in. Surprisingly, he was quite invested. There were many unique characters on this tiny, insignificant world, it would seem...

Floating in the sky beside him was a titanic creature that crawled out of a nightmare. The being was more like the personification of an idea, a negative emotion perhaps... That an actual living, breathing organism.

Staring at it, one would be inclined to lose his mind, falling into the depths of madness, witnessing flesh being flayed and eyes being gored out.

Truly, no mortal being could withstand its presence, but Azazel seemed to be holding out just fine.

The eldritch nightmare didn't move, simply staring at him with its single pupiless eyeball.

"Beings that call themselves gods, deities, Celestial Beings... And yet, there are still limited by the confines, the rules..." Azazel had a subtle smile on his face.

The otherworldly abomination suddenly took this moment to speak,

"What do you want? Talk now, or I'll turn this planet into a wasteland filled with rotten corpses and maggots."

The being didn6seem angry or annoyed. In fact, its voice didn't contain a shred of emotion. It spoke as though it was only stating a fact.

Azazel rubbed his nose, "Calm down, your Excellency. There's no need to take things so far. As you know, I have a poetic soul. I just couldn't help myself~"

The being continued to gaze at Azazel. Eventually, Azazel sighed,

"The Golden Emperor might make a move soon."

The being spoke casually, "What does that have to do with me?"

Azazel frowned, "The Hell realms might be in a seperate place, but you should be aware that dista6is not a barrier to madmen."

The terror creature spoke again, "Tian might be an all powerful being, but he is not invincible. If he comes, Hell will welcome him with open arms. As for you, the only reason you remain untouched is because of past sentiments. It would do you good to know your place."

'Past sentiments, huh...' Azazel smiled bitterly.

Then he directed his gaze to the malevolent being,

"What if I told you he isn't completely gone?"

For the first time since the start of the conversation, the being showed a hint of emotion. Of course, because it didn't have a face, or a body, for that matter, yet it still did, creating quite an interesting paradox, Azazel couldn't see the changes.

"Do you take me for a fool, Demon?"

Azazel shrugged, "Why jump to conclusions? That was a what if..."

The being kept its gazeless stare, "We are both too old to play any games. I can see the depths of your heart. Are you so deluded to believe that evil creature still exists? He was destroyed, every trace of him... There is no redemption... no salvation from that.*

Hearing Ashur being refered to as an evil creature put a strange smile on Azazel's face,

"Was he really that evil? It didn't seem like that to me..."

The being spoke, its voice heavy with... something,

"You have no idea."

Azazel let out a laugh,

"Well, your Excellency... The main reason I invited you over here is to take your mind off the stress of managing an entire species of... whatever in the nine hundred and ninety-nine layers of Hell you are."

The evil being snorted, "And watch stupid mortals play around?"

Azazel nodded sincerely, "A wise man once said. Knowing your enemies would give you the edge in a hundred battles. Getting to understand how the Celestials use their subordinates could provide useful information and insight."

The evil being didn't argue, merely looking down,

"Celestials? More like parasites..."

Azazel didn't argue, for he somewhat argeed with the statement.

"That island is covered with numerous soul-locking magic circles that come together to form a soul-locking magic wheel. Yagani might be a minor Light God, but he is definitely well-versed in the arcane arts." Azazel provided commentary.

"It is futile... A waste of resources. What is the point of having an undying Army if they are nothing more than mindless wraiths, swarming towards fresh blood?" The Evil Creature said.

Azazel smiled, "Indeed, it isn't the best of ideas. Still, it is quite effective."

"It would have been effective if this was a battle solely between mortals. Unfortunately, Divine hands pull the strings, albeit quite withered ones."

Indeed... Both the Minor Light God and the Blood God of War were subtly influencing the battles from the grave. When a Celestial meets their end, their physical body disintegrates and becomes god ash, a powerful magic pollutant that is absolutely impossible to get rid of. This is only true for their body and a portion of their soul.

The rest of them is condensed into countless legacies that is dispersed across multiple worlds. These legacies contain a bit of their will, a remnant of a once powerful being, now forgotten in time.

Still, every Celestial stood a chance to be reborn into their former glory, as long as they could gather enough Divinity.

Since living intelligent being like humans were quite scarce, their devotion, and the source of their Divinity was a coveted resource.

These Celestials would do everything possible to gather as much Divinity as they could so they could be reborn. Living Celestials were even moreso inclined to do this, as Divinity was a precious resource that could be used to create godly weapons and tools, increase their power, and transcend them to greater heights. Most of 8t was used in the constant battle against the Devil race though.

"Pride is a trait borne from confidence. If these fools were stupid enough to come to this wretched place, then they certainly have a plan to deal with the immortality problem."

Azazel grinned, "Seems like the affairs of mortals have managed to pique your interest..."

The Evil Creature spoke indifferently, "No. I'm just curious as to how these dead god's plan on battling one another using their pawns. Maybe you are right. It is possible to learn their ways through observation."

Azazel chuckled internally, 'This guy...'

"Well, seems like we've gotten our answer."

They looked down at the battle below them. On a certain part of the island, human blood was flowing like rivers...

***

Marq finally arrived, only to be greeted with an incredulous sight.

The blood of both Lightslayers and Blood Warriors mingled in the ground. Corpses belonging to both parties lay on the ground, unmoving.

"W-what is this..." Marq felt an indescribable fear creep up her spine.

This couldn't be happening, could it? This was impossible, right?!

It had to be...

The Lightslayers were supposed to be invincible on this island, so how could their corpses be on the ground as well.

Suddenly, a subtle noise entered her ears. Without thinking about it, a giant reaper's sickle appeared in her hand. She swung with reckless abandoned, cutting down the walls around her like they were made of play dough.

Three fountains of blood sprayed into the sky, followed by three heads dropping to the ground.

"Sneaking around like vermin... Is that all you are good for?" Marq snarled.

Inwardly, her heart was enveloped with darkness. What was going on?

She quickly reached out to Suki, relaying what she had just learnt.

"I see..." Contrary to her expectations, Suki didn't seem the least panicked. Instead, her voice was incomparably cold.

"What do we do?"

"What else? We kill them all. We couldn't avoid bloodshed even if we wanted to today. Looks like they've scattered all across the island. I'm sending in the rest of the reserves. Hunt them down.

If they attack us from behind, it could have severe consequences."

Marq relayed her understanding. They absolutely couldn't allow the Blood Warriors run rampant on the island. If some irreparable damage was done, they would be killed off immediately.

'Don't work, Lukey~~~ I'll settle this quickly and come back to you...' Marq thought to herself as she began her hunt.