God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

A dark green fog washed over the human army.

This fog consisted of a vile poison and a treacherous dose of Devil Essence. A sinister combination that could rot the flesh right off living bones.

It was even dangerous to most Devils.

To maintain control over it, Greotes needed the influence of several {Miasma Devils}.

The bile green fog washed over the humans, constantly weakening them. Combined with the influence of the crimson moon, some outright died from their exhaustion and were devoured by the wicked poison mist.

The humans put up a good fight, but unfortunately there was little they could do against odds as terrible as these.

However, Greotes' mood was not good.

He could sense that the humans were about to retreat. His original plan had been to make use of Inixth to create a blockade.

"That idiot!" His eyes burned with fury.

He had tried multiple times now to reach the {Chaos Reaper Imp} but to no avail.

'If he isn't dead already, I'll kill that bastard myself!'

His eyes narrowed as he overlooked the battlefield. They had suffered losses as well, but nothing abad as the humans, even with their initial casualties.

This was because their possess could be recouped with the corpses that would be gathered here after the battle.

However, ever human dead was a human less to fight the next day.

He grinned viciously,

"I guess we can let them retreat for today."

"Are you sure? Why not press the advantage we have now?" A Tier 1 {Miasma Devil} beside him said, its voice slimy and disgusting to the ears.

Greotes snorted,

"Today is a showing. A single day in what will be an onslaught that will last days. I hate to admit it, but these humans are different from what I have learned. It will take more than a day to thoroughly break them."

Sure enough, just like he had suspected, a few minutes later, the humans began inching away back to the land bridge.

The artillery-carrying and Mage Devils began launching attacks at the humans, but the Devils fighting at close range began to retreat.

Watching this happen, Greotes was tempted to give chase but eventually decided against it.

'There will be many chances in the future, after all.' He thought to himself.

The Devil's hand churned with a deep black energy.

A strange black gourd that resembled a twisted horn appeared in his hand.

Mumbling a deep, chant, the green poisonous cloud was sucked into the gourd.

"Fall back." Greotes coldly declared.

The Devils had decided not to press the advantage.

Wearing a tired expression on his face, Steve limped over to a boulder and fell against it.

With a pained groan, he pulled a black feathered arrow out of his midsection.

During the battle, a terrible bombardment had caused their shields to falter for a moment.

Plenty mages had, unfortunately passed because of this.

His face, he glanced over at a corpse lying on the ground, her body a pincushion for dozens of arrows.

He grit his teeth and cursed,

"Shit!" He smashed his hand against the boulder, causing cracks to appear on its tough exterior. He waved his hand and the corpse disappeared. He couldn't leave it out here.

Seeing the Devils retreat, he was filled with conflicting emotions.

On one end, he was relieved to finally have some respite.

On the other hand, a black malice bloomed within him, urging him to turn this world into a burnt, magical wasteland filled skyhigh with Devil corpses.

Reason won in the end and he slowly stood up and joined the hasty retreat.

The humans marched across the land bridge. The retreat was hasty, with many dragging behind them the bodies of the injured, or the dead they couldn't bear to part with.

The humans had suffered a handy defeat.

Although the Devils suffered more casualties, with close to twenty thousand Devils dead and over thirty thousand Zombies killed, almost ten thousand humans died.

In less than a day...

It was a tragedy.

A horrible one.

The Devil and Zombie numbers would be restored after a few weeks or less.

But the humans...

They were dead forever.

It was a considerable blow to their forces.

To make matters worse, the humans and Beastkin that had died today might attack them tomorrow as Zombies.

The future was suddenly so uncertain.

Steve felt like a man trying to crack a boulder with eggs.

He sighed. His mind drowned out the frantic footsteps and yells that surrounded him.

Suddenly, his eyes caught something.

A body, lying right at the center of the land bridge.

The body looked rather familiar.

He groaned and stumbled over.

Falling to his knees beside the body, he turned it around.

Sure enough, it was who he thought it was.

He let out a tired sigh and touched the body.

His brows shot up,

"He isn't dead this time? How strange."

He lightly tapped his face,

"Hey, wake up."

"Hey..."

Seeing him unresponsive, Steve steeled his mind.

His fingers glowed with silver arcs of lightning.

Cain felt a bolt of electricity zap through his body.

His eyes snapped open.

He let out a groan.

His blurry vision steadied a moment later and he was greeted with Steve's pale but concerned face hovering above him.

He tried to speak, but found out he couldn't.

He tried moving his body next, but he let completely unresponsive.

Steve sighed,

"They really did a number on you this time. This is..." Steve chuckled wryly.

He pursed his lips,

"You don't need to say anything. As for the outcome of the battle, I'd like to call it a draw. Then again, things aren't really looking good for us right now so..."

Steve turned. Cain's eyes were closed again.

Steve grimaced,

"Oi... I don't want to have to carry you."

'Maybe I can keep him in my inventory? But then, I'll have to kill him first.'

He paused and glanced at Cain for a moment.

'He's already mostly dead anyway so...'

Luckily for Steve, he didn't need to go to such lengthy.

Heavy gallops beat against the ground.

He turned and saw an enormous furry creature headed their way.

In the sky above it, an enormous twisting serpent followed.

Steve heaved a sigh of relief.

Arriving beside Cain, Ruby whimpered, using her nose to nudge Cain's unconscious body.

"He'll be alright. Still, he is seriously wounded." Steve said as he rose up from the ground.

He looked around.

Thankfully, the land bridge had managed to hold out. In fact, it was barely damaged.

Sure, there were deep craters and scary looking cracks running through it, but it was fine for the most part.

He clicked his tongue, wondering how the days coming were going to play out.

'We'll think about that later. For now...'

He turned back around.

The Mutant Bear had managed to pull Cain into her back.

Steve pursed his lips,

"Can I get a ride too?"

Ruby glanced down at him, her eyes glowing red.

Steve took a step back and chuckled nervously,

"Just kidding. Just kidding."

Ruby huffed, the wind from her nostrils forcing him back.

Then she trotted away.

Watching them leave him behind, Steve quickly found himself alone.

He sighed for the hundredth time that day,

"How cruel can a beast be?"

He looked to the sky.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, tinted a light pink hue by the light of the red moon.

A chilly wind blew around him.

This was just the first day.

The first day of many...

He began walking.

***

Lukas grunted heavily as he hacked down with his blade over and over and over again.

A terrible smelling blood combined with a disgusting mucus splattered all over his body.

Finally, he cut through the head of an evolved Zombie that had been rather annoying to deal with.

Breathing heavily, he dropped his sword to the ground.

His eyes widened as he emptied the contents of his stomach.

All around him was a broken world filled with despair and pain.

The tide of the Devil army had receeded for the moment, finally giving them some breathing room.

The last clash had been against a rather terrible horde that consisted of new breeds of evolved Zombies.

Nightmare-inducing creatures that had no business existing...

Some could breathe fire,n some could spit out poisonous mucus, just like the one he had just split open.

Wiping his mouth, he spat out and cursed,

"That was the last of them, Lukas." Zue said, his clothes drenched in blood and his face as white as a sheet.

His eyes were also bloodshot as though he had not slept in days.

Lukas sighed and rose to his feet.

"Tell everyone to get some rest. Remember to keep eyes on the sky this time."

Zue nodded and walked away.

They were gathered around a pile of ruined, dilapidated buildings that had acted as their stronghold against the series of attacks so far.

However, the ruins had been even more destroyed after the latest attacks.

More humans had died, and even worse, the Devil army seemed to be preparing for something big.

Lukas turned to the side, a bitter look on his face,

"This is a disaster, isn't it?"