God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The difference between taking a life from a distance and with a blade were to starkly different feelings.

With an arrow or a gun, one didn't need to feel the life drain away, the coppery smell pf blood, and the anguish and terror the dying would feel were also gone. That way, one wouldn't have to feel the guilt of having being the cause for the end of a life, of a story.

This way, it felt more surreal, like a sport...

'Why do I think of these things at times like this?' Cain thought to himself as he let another arrow go.

The battle hadn't even gone on for ten whole minutes, and yet the sand was already oversaturated with blood.

Steve pointed his staff forward and a magic circle appeared on the gem embedded on it.

A ball of smoldering flames shot out like a projectile from a catapult, hitting an Aether creature in the chest and felling it in a single blow.

"The first of them will be entering the gorge in a few minutes. Are the explosives ready, Cain?"

Cain nodded, "The chain reaction will be powerful. Probably more than expected. Hopefully, it doesn't get all the way here."

Thanks to the General, the gorge separating the Sea of Sands from the Military encampment was quite large, spanning at least a kilometer in width. Its length encircled the entire camp, making a hemispherical shape with the walls of the Dome as its boundaries.

It created a very good defense circle.

The gorge has not been this large in the beginning, but thanks to the marvelous power General Arltzwalt had employed, it had stretched over the course of ten minutes.

In doing so, most, if not all of the creatures of the Aether Beast horde were currently in the gorge.

Now was the prime time to detonate the explosives, Cain thought.

Without giving it any more thought, he reached out with his mind.

The explosion came just a split second later.

The dark night filled only with the soft radiance of moonlight was suddenly illuminated with a fierce and fiery radiance that reached the ashen blankets of god Ash.

Flames rose to the sky, and the cries of burning souls reached the ears of all.

The stream of information that reached his ears made Cain a bit startled. The system's announcements came pouring in over and over again, so much so, he was forced to mute it.

The amount of exp he received was so much, he shot up several levels at once.

His stores of free attribute points also shot up as well, meaning he had more points to improve his stats even more.

Steve let out a loud laugh,

"Amazing! That definitely did a number on them!"

And indeed it did. When the smoke cleared, the amount of Mutant Creatures left in the gorge had lowered considerably.

The once still alive were also injured to varying degrees. Some where just one breath away from death.

Steve grinned. A dark smile appeared on Cain's face.

The {Lonely Dragon} Warblade on his back seemed to hum with excitement,

"Now it's our turn."

General Arltzwalt picked his rifle up. Boulder, Khan, and Lucia were behind him, alongside side more than a thousand more humans dressed in battle gear and armed with weapons of varying lethality in long and close combat.

Without saying a word, they stepped away from the defensive ramparts and blockades and slid down the slope into the gorge.

From the other side, Cain was the first to jump down. Ruby, who had been seated beside him, waiting for the moment jumped into the air as well. He landed on her furry back, and the two of them barreled down the slope like a boulder. The rest followed behind him without hesitation.

Blaze charged in, his spear leaving a trail of lingering flames behind. It was almost like he had morphed into a dragon of flames.

He was by far the most flashy of them all as the rest slid down, weapons drawn.

The moment Ruby's legs hit the sand, Cain felt gravity do its work, pulling them down. His breath escaped from his lungs, but that only seemed to get his heart fired up, as it began pumping blood even faster.

The Aether Beasts had already begun to recover, and most of they were already resuming their charge. With that tenebrous song still playing in the distance, they would never snap out of this state until they had killed all their prey, or they died themselves.

It was sad, but Cain felt no mercy for them.

He recalled Evangeline's words.

Mercy was a privilege offered by the strong and mighty to the weak.

These beasts, despite being injured where definitely not weak at all. In fact, despite being charred and injured, they were undoubtedly just as frightening, if not more frightening than normal Aether Creatures.

The blade on his back seemed to hum in distress. It cried, begging to be released.

Cain heard its cries and pulled it out of its sheath. The heavy blade did nothing to slow him down.

As gravity continued to pull them down, Ruby's speed continued to climb. She galloped, the wind pulling back on her. However,but did little to slow her down.

Cain felt his blood boil as he activated {Blood Dragon}.

The {Lonely Dragon} Warblade immediately underwent certain changes.

It's unremarkable sheen immediately turned a deep crimson, and the eyes of the dragon its hilt were filled with bloody malevolence.

The weapon seemed to scream with joy as they both descended, hungry for blood.

The first of the Aether Beasts quickly noticed him. It was a large beast, its body similar to that of a crustacean. It had two large crusher claws attached to its abdomen, and instead of feet, it had several sharp limbs that dug into the ground, propelling it forward fatser than what regular feet were capable of.

It's upper body was vastly different to its lower body. It had the body of a man, yet its head looked like that of an alligator. Its maw was long and had several sharp terrifying teeth.

The moment it noticed him, the creature rushed forward, its mouth stretched to the limits.

It was so large, it would swallow him whole without a doubt.

Despite being faced with such a terrifying abomination, Cain felt absolutely no fear in his heart.

Instead, his waved his hand.

And swung his blade...

Surprisingly, he felt absolutely no resistance as he cut through the abhorrent beast.

He raised a brow, 'A hidden feature of {Blood Dragon}?'

Although he was surprised, it was not unwelcomed. Despite the creature's tough defenses, his sword cut through like a hot knife through butter.

The cut was clean and precise, taking of the top half of the creature's head.

Not a single drop of blood was slipped however, as it was all consumed by {Blood Dragon}.

The crimson hue on the sword increased in intensity.

The more blood the {Blood Dragon} drank, the more precise and powerful it woild become.

From there, it became an endless dance of blood and slaughter.

Blaze dive into the thick of the horde, the flames trailing behind him consuming them by the droves.

His spear became a blur as it pierced through head and heart, claiming lives by the dozen.

Lukas was like a beam of light, severed limbs and lifeless bodies left behind wherever he went.

The rest of the melee fighters continued to dive in, immersed in the bloodshed.

"Tch! So messy."

Meanwhile, a grin spread across Steve's face as he chucked spell after spell into the horde.

As they were sliced by blades of wind, burned to blackened bones by balls of flames, or suffocated to death by the sand turning into quagmire beneath their feet and consuming them, they remained none the wiser.

Steve on the other hand was having the time of his life experimenting with all the possible spell combinations he could throw out.

They hacked through the horde, unrelenting like the sharpest of blades through flesh.

Cain cut through the horde, specifically targeting the strongest and less injured of the bunch.

Despite carrying him, Ruby was also a cyclone of death, her claws and teeth sinking into the flesh of the many Aether Beasts, claiming whatever lives Cain couldn't take.

Eventually, Cain ran into the first real threat to his life within the horde.

It came like a flash of lightning. A stunning sense of danger.

Ruby reacted quickly, throwing herself to the side, dodging a large shadow.

Upon steadying herself, she growled at the shadow that had revealed itself to be a reptilian creature that looked more like a smaller, wingless dragon.

It's eyes were filled with malice, and as a terrible smelling acid dropped from its mouth, it coldly gazed at both Ruby and Cain.

Cain quickly got its information out.

'Tier 1, a {Flame-Venom Komodo}.'

Cain frowned, 'I have a high resistance to poisons. Still...'

He didn't want to take the chance. Also, his resistance didn't extent to Ruby.

However, the creature had already set its eyes on him.

He clicked his tongue,..'Guess there's no choice.

They would have to take it on like that.

Almost as though she could hear his thoughts, a change came over Ruby.

Her soft, fluffy outer coat was suddenly replaced by a layer of rock-like scales.

Even fer face was covered, making her look even more terrifying than normal.

'Don't worry about me, master! I'll tear it to shreds!'

Without even waiting for Cain to say anything Ruby let out a roar and lunged at the {Flame-Venom Komodo}.

Cain's face paled,

'So fast!'

He had seen Ruby in action before. But that was far in the past. Now, he had the opportunity to see how far she had come.

At her top speed, he realized she was far faster than he was.

Turning into a furious ball of crimson death, she crashed into the Aether Beast.

They both began tearing at one another, their claws clashing and their maws snapping and clamping down on flesh, trying to bite a vulnerable spot.

Stuck on her back, Cain was forced to witness, much to his awe, as Ruby tirelessly tore through the beast.

It didn't even seem like a fight. She growled and roared, her sharp claws completely disregarding its scales and defenses, tearing it to pieces.

In a few minutes, she was covered into blood, a few scrapes, scratches and holes on her outer coating. However, the {Flame-Venom Komodo} was dead, its head already crushed between Ruby's teeth.