God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Spells that could immobilize powerful targets are not only rare, but they can be of incredible strategic importance.

For example, in the higher planes, most of the time, wars and battles are decided my the outcome of the battles between the greater existences. There was little a mere general could to to change the course of a battle, much less a foot soldier.

In such battles, a split second was more than enough to be the deciding factor.

Life or death.

Both are separated by a thin, flexible line wavering in the winds of fate and destiny.

Spells that could bind a target, or render them incapable of making use of weapons, spells, skills or abilities were a death sentence.

Arde had realized this early.

His Devil eyes, the {Eyes of The Thousand}, were a special tool that let him process magical instances a thousand times faster than what a regular human could.

The Thousand, or Thokk Szasz was a Devil that occupied the bodies of a thousand Devils at once. Making use of their eyes and minds, it could process magical instances and arcane calculations so fast and accurately, it could spells that could turn worlds inside out.

Of course, the actual Devil itself was blind, its grey eyes unable to see anything.

In exchange for using his Devil eyes, Arde gave up his sight. However, that didn't matter.

Because he was a summoner.

He could simply use the eyes of his summoned beasts to see.

With the {Eyes of the Thousand}, he could see through the eyes of all the beasts he summoned.

Of course, there were limits. Although it was called the {Eyes of the Thousand}, he couldn't quite make use of its full potential.

Still, what he could use was still more than enough to make him a powerful Tier 2 existence. If he managed to ascend higher in the future, the power of his eyes would continue to grow until they became as powerful as the Thokk Szasz.

At the moment, he currently had three sets of eyes and minds to use.

The {Sand Wraith}, the {Arcane Eye Dragon} and the {Flame Bard-Falcon}.

These eyes let him watch, with utmost clarity, the battle between Carrion and Cain.

Suze and Micah, the two poor children, lay dead on the ground. Suze's fate had been better, and she was killed rather quickly.

Micah had to suffer a brutal death twice, his hardheadedness making sure he struggled to the bitter end the second time.

His body lay, absolutely mutilated on the ground, every inch of him unrecognizable.

'Looks like Carrion has used that...'

The terrible golden lights that surrounded Carrion turned him into a god of war, bringing destruction and chaos with ever swing.

Cain on the other hand, was a Demon of death, his sword swings carrying malevolence and evil that cut the world apart every time.

It was utter madness.

Arde bore witness.

He watched the world around him crumble and fall apart.

"A-Arde... I'm scared. Are we really going to die?" A quiet murmur came from beside him.

Arde smiled gently and answered her,

"Of course we aren't. Lord Carrion is going to win, after all." He lied.

He quickly activated a defensive spell then turned back to watch.

His eyes trembled as he considered his options,

"He will defeat the vile demon. You just have to wait."

He couldn't bare to look at the girl's face. Out of them all, Lily was the most innocent. Although she was gifted and battle with them, her heart was pure, like a little child's.

Granted, she was just twelve years old. It as rare to see children her age because most of them had been unable to survive the first days of the apocalypse.

But that didn't matter.

Because she was going to die soon.

The entire neighborhood had been torn apart already.

Cain and Carrion's battle had gradually increased in intensity until it swallowed an entire portion of Valestorm.

There was no stopping it now.

Arde suddenly heard something. The sound of feet gently landing on the broken ground.

He turned to the side.

'Those are...'

The four girls that accompanied Cain.

They were also observing the battle above with narrowed eyes and heavy expressions.

Arde's eyes widened,

'I know! I will convince them to tell him to stop while it's not too late.'

Just as his lips parted, the one with the light hair turned towards them, a frown marring her beautiful features,

"You are still alive."

Arde smiled grimly,

"Have you come here to finish the job?"

The one with black hair sighed, then shook her head,

"That... is not up to us to decide."

Then she turned to him,

"Me manage to evacuate all the innocents out of here before things got intense."

Arde gave her a nod,

"Thank you all. I am deeply grateful."

"Save your gratitude. It's not needed."

He glanced at the one who spoke.

He knew at first glance that she wasn't a Beastkin. She wasn't human at all.

He frowned,

"That..."

"You do realize all this shit is happening because of you hardheaded idiots, don't you?"

Arde fell silent.

Ignis growled as she continued,

"Whatever happens today will serve as a catalyst for the fate of your world."

Arde frowned, "What do you mean?"

Ignis sneered, "Idiot. You can't tell, can you? Well, I guess you can't. Or is it you don't want to see it? Your mind doesn't believe it?"

Arde shook his head,

"I'm old, but even I become confused when I hear things that don't make any sense. Still, I implore you. Stop him before this gets out of hand."

Susan glared at Arde,

"You are making demands even now?"

Arde shook his head and spoke gravely,

"No, not a demand, but a request. Still, I have some grounds for this. Right now it is obvious Carrion and Cain are at a stalemate. At the moment, either one of them can come out victorious. Wouldn't it be more reasonable for this to end now that to have further casualties?"

Roselle grimaced and glared down at him,

"Stalemate? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Heh... It's that delusion I was talking about, old man." Ignis sneered with a grim chuckle.

Arde clenched his trembling fists.

'That's right. I... already know the outcome of this battle.'

High in the sky, Carrion stared ahead, his eyes blank and his chest heaving heavily.

On his path to becoming the ruler of this world, he had acquired three special weapons that were bound to grant his success.

The {Blood Tyrant's Ki Plundering Technique}, one he had acquired after defeating a terrible beast almost at the cost of his life.

A piece of a god's heart he had gotten from the first trial.

And finally, his omnipotent ability to reduce the effectiveness of magic spells and skills against himself by almost a hundred percent.

Of these three weapons, the first gave him the body and strength of a god as well as a skill that made this power continuously spike the longer he engaged in combat.

The piece of the god's heart gave him a near unlimited energy pool that quickly replenished so he never ran out of Ki or stamina.

And finally, although he could use mana , he was not particularly good at it. To counter this flaw, he had created a special skill for himself that made spells and skills that made use of mana nearly worthless on him.

It was a culmination of his successes. The ultimate defensive spell.

And if these three still weren't enough, he had a fourth trump card. A spell Arde possessed that could amplify the effects of the previous three in return for his energy draining five times faster than normal.

All this should have been enough to defeat any opponent.

This was indeed the case.

No matter how powerful the beast or human was, he would still kill them.

He held such might in his hands.

But in front of this demon... no, this monstrous nightmare. His strength just seemed barely sufficient, his speed just enough to evade, and the power of the godheart in him pumping just enough energy to keep him fighting.

He was starting to feel exhausted already, which almost never happened in battle.

And yet.

This thing before him didn't seem bothered at all. In fact, if he wasn't certain there was a human under the armor, he would have thought he was facing a tireless wraith.

Carrion gritted his teeth,

'I have to overpower him soon.'

He smashed his fist into his chest, his eyes widened.

He needed more fuel in his body.

He was not the slave of any god. I steady, he had made the power of a god his own.

He was his own god.

He would become glorious and all powerful.

The heart rumbled like an engine.

The power flooded his body.

The sweet taste of blood filled his mouth, but that was a small price to pay for victory.

His golden hair seemed to grow even longer, giving him an aura of divinity.

The godheart within his body spreading the power to every inch of his flesh.

When he opened his eyes, they were filled with blinding power,

Carrion dove down again swinging his blades.

There was enough power in them to tear Valestorm in half, killing almost every person within.

Cain stood still.

Carrion sported a wide grin as he smqshed his blade into the armor.

The chest piece— no, the entire torso portion of the armor was turned into dust.

A fountain of blood spritzed out of his hands, but his swords managed to stay intact because he had protected them with multiple layers of energy.

He could feel his body trembling in satisfaction.

In less than a month, his blades would bite into Cain's chest and puncture his heart. But it won't stop there. All his other organs would be ground to mush as well.

There would be no surviving that.

His joy, however, was shortlived.

CLANG!

The sound of metal clashing against metal.

Carrion's eyes widened,

'Another armor?! No...'

He looked closely.

His blades had been stopped by scales.

Scales on the body of Cain.

He looked closely.

The man in front of him was no longer a man.

Now, he truly did resemble a demon in appearance.

Cain remained silent.

"You..."

Then it came to him.

All this time, he had been dancing in the palm of someone else.

The madness finally hit him.

"You bastard! You could have ended this at anytime! Why?!"

Cain's lips stretched, as a sadistic, mad smile appeared in his face. His tone was low, almost a whisper.

But Carrion heard everything.

"Because I wanted to see that look. That look of despair as you faced your certain death. Just dying wouldn't be enough for you. I want you to feel it all."

Cain's arm stretched like a viper, grasping his neck before he could do anything.

Carrion's eyes widened as he frantically smashed his blades into Cain's chest.

Sparks flew, but not even a single scale was chipped.

Cain frowned,

"What a nuisance."

Carrion's eyes widened.

'Eh? Aren't those...'

His arms had been torn off his body before he realized they were gone.

He tried to scream, but he suddenly felt completely drained of all his energy.

He couldn't muster a single piece of strength.

Cain glared into his eyes,

"You and him... Kaelin. You both were much alike. But he was just a brat. You should have known better."

"Stop... D-don't kill me." Carrion stuttered, tears and snot flowing down his face.

Cain sighed.

A light suddenly appeared in Carrion's eyes.

He roared to the empty heavens,

"Arde! Arde cast a healing spell on me! Do it quickly! Arde! Arde! Do it now!"

On the ground below, Arde yelled,

"Stop him!"

Then he raised his hands. The eye of the {Arcane Eye Dragon} opened wide as he prepared to cast the healing spell.

BANG!

Pulling out her bloodied fist from the creature, Ignis threw its corpse to the ground then glared at Arde,

"Don't even think about it. Just watch."

"Arde! Arde you bastard! Are you betraying me?! Arde!"

"Don't embarrass yourself, Carrion." Cain said coldly.

Carrion stopped, "Ehn?"

Cain sighed, "At least face your death with dignity."

Carrion fell silent. Then a mirthful chuckle escaped from his lips as his head fell,

"Ah, I see. So that's how it feels."

He lifted his head up, his green eyes filled with scorching rage,

"You fucking bastard! I'll—"

Cain pulled, dragging Carrion's windpipe out of his neck and crushing his throat.

Blood running down his elbows, he moved his hand to Carrion's chest.

Fear, terror, panic, regret, pain, suffering.

Carrion shook, gurgling sounds coming from his mouth, but he was unable to say anything.

His eyes were different.

They had turned into the eyes of a scared little boy.

Cain sighed,

'Aren't we all just that? Scared little boys in a broken playground...'

"P-pl-eas-e."

He jammed his hand into Carrion's chest, then ripped his heart out right in front of him.

He went still.

Cain let out a deep sigh into the Evernight sky as he relaxed his hands.