God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The battlefield pulsed with chaos.

The {Black-mouth Crawlers} that slammed their twisted limbs against the golden cage that Cain had summoned let out spine chilling cries and shrieks, Their tar-black exoskeletons grinding against and sullying the radiant bars.

Each impact sent a shockwave of dark energy rippling through the air, but the runic enchantments held firm, trapping them like vermin awaiting execution.

Their shrieks rose in discordant harmony, their many-eyed faces twisting in rage. Their mission was to make sure the brood was not killed off here. As long as even a single one of them managed to escape, a new hive of {Black-mouth Crawlers} would appear.

High above, the {Argent Amphithere} circled the building like a serpent of the sky. The moonlight gleamed across its silver scales, and its platinum eyes burned with a ferocious hunger.

Hunter and Roselle had already carved their way into the thick of battle.

Hunter was a force of pure carnage, his transformed body surging forward with monstrous strength. All his stats were heightened in this state, meaning the usually calm Hunter would have to enter a state of heightened bloodlust.

However, he was not complaining.

His elongated claws glistened in the dim light of the Evernight moon, each slash carving through exoskeletons as if they were paper. He moved with unnatural speed, his fangs bared as he tore open the throat of a {Black-mouth Crawler} before spinning and embedding his claws into another's chest. Black ichor splattered across his arms as he pulled down, tearing into its abdomen.

The abomination shrieked, its organs falling out of its broken body, but there was nothing it could do with its organs dripping to the floor.

Hunter's crimson eyes glowed brighter as he sank his blade into its heart, dealing it the lethal blow.

Then he moved on to the next without slowing, without hesitation.

Roselle, in contrast, fought like a phantom of the night.

She danced through the battlefield, her twin rapiers flashing like streaks of silver lightning. Every strike was precise, targeting joints, weak spots, and exposed flesh with ruthless efficiency. A {Black-mouth Crawler} lunged at her from behind, but she pivoted without effort, driving her blade into its skull in a single motion.

Her kills were even more brutal that Hunter's because she was more powerful than he was now, after ascending to the second Tier.

Her blows, although swift and precise, were powerful enough to punch clean holes through the otherwise tenacious bodies of the {Black-mouth Crawlers}.

Some tried to run away from her, but she cut them down ruthlessly regardless.

'None of you uglies will run from me!' She yelled in her mind as she stopped her rapiers into the black maw of a {Black-mouth Crawler}. An explosion of silver Ki shot out from the tip of her blade and into the creature's body, ravaging and tearing it to shreds from the inside out.

In mere moments, she had reduced it to a fleshy sack of minced meat and crushed bones.

Cain observed it all from atop Ruby's back, a smirk tugging at his lips.

His team was a thing of deadly beauty.

"Ruby," he murmured.

"Yes, Master?" Her voice burrowing through his mind, brimming with anticipation.

"Let's have fun ourselves, shall we?"

A delighted roar escaped from Ruby's lips as she galloped even faster, crushing the skulls of {Black-mouth Crawlers} beneath her paws, the wind screaming around them.

Cain stood effortlessly atop her back, his warblade pulsing with a black, viscous energy.

His eyes widened and a terrifying grin spread across his face.

The target of his terrible bloodlust sensed his approach immediately.

The universal language that all hunter's and their prey spoke, was bloodlust.

No matter how hard a hunter tried, there was no way it could completely hide its thirst for blood.

This time, Cain made no attempts to hide his.

He put it on full display, hoping the mad beasts would understand their predicament.

The screeches turned into frenzied howls.

Cain leapt off of Ruby's back and soared through the air.

He swung his warblade in a wide arc.

A crescent of black energy laced with crimson streaks erupted from the blade, expanding as it carved through the horde below.

The dark slash cleaved through everything in its path.

{Black-mouth Crawlers} split apart left and right, their bisected forms cut into smaller cuts immediately after. Black ichor seemed into the hard floor, mixing with the dirt to form a black sludge

Cain landed hard within this pool of black mire, his warblade slamming into the cracked earth. A shockwave burst outward, sending debris and corpses flying. Dust and black ichor mixed in the air like a storm of destruction.

From above, the {Argent Amphithere} let out a piercing hiss as it belched down a torrent of blue flames, killing off an entire drove of the {Black-mouth Crawlers} trying to breach the golden bars.

Its serpentine eyes scanned the ground below, looking for another profane gathering to wipe out.

Cain straightened, tilting his head slightly,

"How does it feel to be on the receiving end?"

The creatures chittered, their bodies trembling. Even in their corrupted minds, they understood one thing.

They were prey.

And because they were the prey, their instincts kicked in.

Fight or flight.

The {Black-mouth Crawlers} were powerful Aether creatures. It was because of this they were able to carve out a portion of the Sandsea and call it their own; their hunting grounds.

They collectively let out a cacophony of ungodly noises that pierced through the soul.

Theyr surged forward like a black tide.

Cain grinned.

His warblade, still alight with demonic power, became an extension of his will. He moved like a storm, his blade cleaving through the Crawlers in devastating, effortless swings. Every slash left a trail of burning afterimages as he activated {Hell Step}, every move shattered the ground beneath him.

To his left, a Crawler lunged, its serrated fangs aiming for his throat. Cain caught it midair, his free hand wrapping around its grotesque head. With a single squeeze, the exoskeleton cracked. With a flick, he tossed the corpse aside like garbage.

A shadow loomed. Three Crawlers attacked from above, leaping from the surrounding ruins.

Cain didn't stop moving. He met them midair, his huge Warblade turning into a blur.

Skillfully twisting his wrist, he cleaved through the body of one, drove the same blade through the midsection of another, and stabbed the last one right through the forehead with a manifested {Falling Star of Orion}.

Their bisected remains rained down.

Nearby, Hunter let out a savage snarl as he tore through another batch of enemies, his blades and claws dripping with fresh ichor,

"How terrifying," he muttered, the din of battle hiding his words.

Cain heard them regardless. He smirked,

"Look who's talking."

They continued cutting down the {Black-mouth Crawlers} in droves, forcing them to retreat closer and closer towards their hive.

Then, the earth trembled.

Cain raised a brow as he glanced at the building,

"Oh?"

A deep, guttural growl rumbled through the ruins, sending vibrations up Cain's legs.

The golden cage rattled. The {Black-mouth Crawlers} pressing themselves against the bars, that had yet to be killed by the {Argent Amphithere} shivered as if cowering and their attempts became more desperate.

"A Tier 2?" Although he was a bit surprised, seeing as he had searched through just moments before, that was all he was.

Surprised.

Hunter turned to him, his face scrunched up,

"Cain..."

Cain gave him a reassuring look,

"Relax. It isn't something we can't handle. Right?" He said with a grin as he turned towards Roselle and Susan.

Susan rolled her eyes and frowned,

"Just be careful. A Tier 2 is a Tier 2 regardless."

The building rumbled once more.

Then, the entire front of the three bottom floors turning into a cloud of dust and rubble.

A monstrous figure emerged from the darkness within, its towering form illuminated by the faint glow of Cain's magic cage and the Evernight moon overhead.

It was a horrendous thing to look at.

Its presence brought about the scent of decay and death.

Cain's eyes narrowed. He used the {Eye of General Observation}.

***

{Black-mouth Tyrant}.

***

It was larger than any of its kin, standing upright like a twisted abomination between man and beast. Unlike the smaller {Black-mouth Crawlers}, it possessed six arms.

It also possessed a layer of blackened chitin pulsing with with veins of sickly green and amber energy, thick armor-like plating covering its entire body.

Ten glowing eyes stared at Cain, filled not with mindless hunger—but with something far more dangerous and menacing.

Hatred.

Cain grinned. "Now this… this is interesting."

The {Black-mouth Tyrant} let out a low, resonating hiss. It raised one clawed hand, twice the size of Cain's entire body, and flexed its jagged fingers.

Then it moved.

Not with sluggish brute force.

But with speed.

One moment it was standing at the entrance it has created. The next, it was inches from Cain, its claw slashing downward in a blur.

The air around it ballooned and exploded due to the amount of drag the leader abomination exerted.

A thunderous boom broke through the world.

Cain didn't flinch.

He calmly stepped aside, pivoting smoothly as the colossal claw crashed into the ground, shattering it, sending dust and boulder-size debris flying everywhere.

Without missing a beat, Cain swung upward.

The dark energy that surrounded his Warblade ballooned, becoming many times his size. However, he swung it with ease.

The blade met the beast's armored forearm...

And carved through it like butter.

The {Black-mouth Tyrant} recoiled, ichor spraying from the deep gash along its limb. It screeched, eyes widening in shock.

Cain exhaled, shaking the black ichor off his blade,

"Disappointing."

Indeed it was.

This creature was a Normal grade Tier 2 beast. An extremely powerful entity.

However, if it could do something against him, them the trials he had faced might as well have been in vain.

The Tyrant lunged again, its remaining claw slashing horizontally.

Cain ducked.

In a single motion, he twisted, driving his blade straight into the monster's gut. The demonic energy within the weapon erupted, sending crimson cracks spreading across the beast's chitin.

The Tyrant howled in agony.

Cain didn't let up. He wrenched the blade free, spun, and delivered a brutal rising slash straight up the creature's chest.

The force sent the {Black-mouth Tyrant} stumbling backward.

Susan, still atop Ruby calmly raised her staff. A torrent of golden light crackling at its tip.

A magic circle appeared above her.

A massive spear of divine light descended from it, impaling the Tyrant's shoulder and pinning it to the earth. The beast thrashed violently, its screeches echoing through the ruins.

Cain rolled his shoulders. "Stay down."

He raised his warblade.

Golden Sunfire erupted around the black demonic energy.

A hint of emotion flashed through the eyes of the {Black-mouth Tyrant}.

A question appeared in its eyes.

"How?"

The Warblade fell...