God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

{Eidwyrm}: (Mystical, Tier 2).

Description: A portion of moonlight, a piece of the earth, a measure of blood, and the soul of magic. On a lonesome day, surrounded by darkness, yet illuminated by light, an unknown smith forged a blade with the heart of a dragon.

A drop of fire, a rumble and a flash in the darkness, molded under the crimson light of Divinity, the heart of the blade ascends.

{Lonely Dragon}: (Mystical, Tier 2)

Attack Power: 1,400.

Attack Speed: 3.0.

Durability: 15,000/15,000.

Skills: Blood Lightning, Wrym Dance, Rampage.

{Blood Lightning}: In the Blood Lightning state, the blade absorbs the blood of fallen foes and charges with volatile current. With each kill, movement speed and strike tempo increase, guided by surging arcs of contained lightning.

{Wyrm Dance}: In the Wyrm Dance state, the blade guides its wielder into a defensive rhythm. Blocking, parrying, evasion, and impact absorption are all significantly improved.

{Rampage}: In the Rampage state, the blade fully weaponizes the wielder's spirit. Attacks gain overwhelming force, frequency, and range. Control is drastically reduced, energy cost is extreme, and efficiency is abandoned in favor of pure destruction.

***

The blade hummed softly, glowing with an ethereal light.

"It's perfect."

Cain picked {Eidwyrm}. He rose to his feet and gave it a swing.

The large great sword hummed with hidden might.

The edge of the blade was sharper than before.

Although it was the same shape and size, Cain could feel a substantial increase in its weight, so much so, that it was rather difficult to lift with a single hand.

The most he could muster was a swing.

Taking a stance, his muscles bulged as he swung forward.

A thin line was cut.

The air around the blade folded in. A heavy gust of wind exploded forth, crushing a boulder a few meters away into dust that spewed into the chasm.

"Damn." Sue exclaimed with a whistle.

Cain looked down at the sword once again and gave a satisfied nod.

'Perfect.'

It really was. The weight, the feeling of the grip in his hand.

And if course, its wicked edge. He didn't think he had ever seen a sword as sharp and nasty as this one.

Even the runic patterns on the surface of the weapon had changed a bit. The disjointed image of a dragon formed from the runes looked a bit more complex and complete.

It radiated a feeling of danger, fitting for such a weapon.

"Alright, guys. Play times over."

Steve's voice came from overhead.

Cain glanced up. At the very edge of the overarching stone pillar, Steve stood, a confident expression on his face.

He activated {Spatial Jump} and appeared right beside him.

"The view is better from here." Steve said with a grin as he turned to him.

From there, they could see the entirety of the chasm.

'Its really big. How terrifying.'

Like the gapjng maw of the abyss itself, Cain thought to himself.

He sucked in a deep breath.

Steve raised a brow,

"What, are you nervous?"

"It's only normal to feel nervous at a time like this." Hunter said, suddenly appearing just like Cain.

Steve huffed, "No. That isn't a good look for our leader."

Cain chuckled. Then he turned his gaze over again.

The long line of darkness stretching at the other end was thicker now.

He could see them all. The stench of death and evil was prevalent even from so far away.

Suddenly, a glint of something caught his eye.

His eyes widened and he hurriedly moved his head to the side.

A second later, something whizzed past his ears with a shrill buzz.

Steve frowned and raised a brow,

"That was a warning shot. They have snipers now too?"

Cain's eyes took on a devilish glow.

"That wasn't an ordinary bullet. And not from an ordinary Devil too. These ones are new, it seems."

Steve huffed, "A {Sniper Devil}, huh..."

Cain clicked his tongue,

"An {Aberrant Fiend}, apparently. These might be troublesome."

With a quick scan, he could already count more than a dozen of them.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. There was another strange Devil type he noticed. One much larger than the regular Devils, but smaller than the elemental Devil-archetype.

He quickly made use of the {Eye of General Observation};

***

{Slugmarrow Devil}

***

He grimaced.

'Another one.'

He could see about a hundred of them from where he was perched.

"They plan on bombarding us with artillery from here." He muttered.

Steve frowned,

"What disgusting tactics."

Then he grinned,

"Luckily, we have guns of our own."

Cain frowned,

"Does that mean we scrape the other plan?"

Steve shook his head,

"No. You are good to go. We just need to make sure you and Sue make it to the land bridge in one piece."

With a flash of light, {Eidwyrm} was placed back into the {Armament Armory}.

He mad rude of spatial jump again, reaching beneath the spire in a split second.

Seeing Sue seated, arguing with Li and Stan, he walked over and grabbed her hand,

"Let's go."

Sue's face turned red,

"Hey! Wait a min—"

"I'll go as well." Stan declared with a grin.

Li snorted, "I'm going too. Let's get this over with."

"We will be right behind you, Cain." Luke said as he walked up, his sword resting on his shoulder.

Cain raised a brow in surprise.

Although it was clear things were going to be rather dangerous going forward, everyone seemed eager to put their lives on the line.

Sue freed herself from his grasp and cleared her throat,

"Don't go dragging random women like that. Especially when you have someone like Sister Jenny..." She said, mumbling the latter part of her sentence so much, Cain couldn't quite pick up on her words.

She placed her hands on her waist,

"You don't need to worry. None of us are running anywhere. If we live, or we die. It gets decided today."

"I've always wanted to know how tough those bastards can really get. It's about to get exciting, isn't it?"

"I don't think exciting is the word you are looking for." Dan muttered as he appeared from emptiness, the air around him crystalized and shattering.

"Creepy!" Luke muttered.

Dan grimaced,

"I heard that."

Then he turned to Cain.

His gaze was strange,

"I'll admit. I have never been your biggest fan. But right now, my opinion couldn't matter less."

He paused for a moment, then stared Cain right in his eyes.

Then he turned around. The air around him crystalized again, then he was gone.

"He's a strange one, isn't he." Winifred said, adjusting his glasses.

Luke sighed then turned to Cain.

Cain was silent.

The world was breaking apart.

The trees had long since turned into ash.

The creatures of the depths had come to the surface in monstrous forms.

The monsters of the land has become even more terrifying.

The humans had bled, cried and died.

But they still had some fight in them.

He smiled.

The battle was not his alone.

The air around him shimmered and space broke open.

Slowly, an enormous furry head and snout shrugged through the rip in reality.

Red eyes glowing like embers, teeth sharp enough to puncture enchanted steel.

A being of primal slaughter and ruin.

Ruby let out a spine chilling roar.

'Hunter, I and Sue will head down first. The moment you see an explosion, that's the signal.'

Stooping over the edge of the arching spire, Hunter raised a brow,

'An explosion? How big?'

Cain grinned,

'The biggest you have ever seen.'

***

The land and wind were arid.

The world was dyed red.

There was a subtle scent of blood lingering. It was faint, but fresh.

It excited him.

Standing over the world, Inixth glanced down at the large Devil army behind him.

Each one was a powerful fiend, capable of causing untold ruin to worlds. Like the cells of a wicked cancerous growth.

They would pillage, rot and destroy.

They were ruin incarnate.

However, even amongst such a devilish breed, there were those that stood above the rest.

Even with ancient souls, there was bound to be hierarchy.

Those with powerful blood running through their veins, giving them power and might to grant nightmares of boundless horror unseen by the living.

He sucked in a deep breath.

He had been born to this world a {Blade Devil}, memories of his past lives dim and fading.

However, he had quickly distinguished himself as an unordinary Devil, quickly climbing the ranks of terror.

And now, he had become a {Chaos Reaper Imp}.

The path of evolution of Devils was bountiful and nearly infinite. A single Devil species could have countless paths of evolution to the zenith, all with the purpose of achieving the greatest darkness;

The Devil Messiah.

The prophesized one who would lead the conquest and envelope all of reality in his mad terror and darkness.

Inixth groaned as he rose to his feet, stretching his limbs.

His evolution had taken him further. His limbs had changed to facilitate more propulsion and acceleration. They could now bend in all directions.

He had grown an extra pair of hands too, so he could use more weapons.

His exoskeletal armor was much harder and more durable. Even sharp swords would bounce off without leaving a scratch.

To put it simply, he had become a killing machine.

He turned the other way.

At the other side of this greate divide, was a human army.

"They cause a lot of trouble this time around. Perhaps this is what Obegrin fears so much." He muttered.

Then he chuckled darkly,

"Luckily, I am not Obegrin."

"I am Inixth, the one true slaughterer of the Human swine. Tremble in my presence!"