God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain stared at the expanse of white sand before him.

Under the moonlight the world was dreary and stark, almost colourless, even.

Still, there was a hidden layer of austere beauty hidden beneath the veil of moonlight.

On this Evernight day, something extraordinary was about to begin.

These white sands were about to be dyed crimson from the amount of blood they would soak up.

The song was subtle at first, faint, but reaching all ears.

This signified the beginning.

He sucked in a deep breath,

"How are the preparations going?"

Steve gently tapped his long staff on the ground,

"Smoothly. Everyone for whatever may come."

Steve's lips parted into a grin,

"Honestly, I don't think it is a bad idea. Changing the landscape in our favor might go a long way."

Cain shrugged, "I don't doubt that. However, I fear it might not be enough."

As the sound of the sinister song crept into their ears, the ground began to tremble. It was a testament to what was about to come.

Cain let out a heavy sigh,

"Sand, huh."

The General's crazy plan involved changing the terrain around them to make it easier to defend against the tide of Aether Beasts that would come pouring out of the Sea of Sands any moment from now.

By shifting the sand in such a way that it would create a huge gorge, not only would they have the altitude advantage, it would also prevent any creatures that could move through the sand from just plunging straight through their defensive lines.

Frankly, Cain didn't think it was a bad idea. But it wasn't something that would change the direction of the battle.

"We also have to worry about what comes next. We haven't even seen the size of the horde coming. If it has any abominations like the {Stone-Blood Hydra Collosus}, it might be even more difficult to resist."

Steve shrugged, "Whatever it is that happens, our only choice is to defeat it, no?"

He turned to Cain, a smile playing on his lips,

"Or we'd just die. That's an available choice as well."

Cain snorted and looked away,

"I won't die."

Steve chuckled and patted Cain on the shoulder,

"Don't fret. Besides..."

A sinister grin appeared in his face,

"I have a plan to make things a bit easier for us."

Cain raised a brow and turned around. Steve raised a finger,

"Do you still have those your special explosives?"

Cain's eyes widened, and he immediately understood. He sighed tiredly,

"Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

Steve shrugged, "Well, that's what I'm here for, to assist you in any way I can, as your number one lackey of course."

Cain couldn't help but chuckle. Despite the approaching danger, Steve didn't seem bothered at all. It was as though he could keep a calm front under any circumstance.

Cain nodded, "I know what to do."

"I'll pass the message in to the others and the General's people."

As he left, the shadows beneath Cain's feet came alive, and an Evangeline decked out completely in battle wear stepped forward.

She glanced at him for only a moment, the turned to look into the distance where a wall of dust was already in rising into the air.

She sighed, "So have you made up your mind?"

Cain shifted uncomfortably,

"What do you mean?"

A frown settled in her features,

"Cain... I can tell yous till haven't made up your mind on what needs to be done."

She placed her hands on his shoulders and pulled him in, staring deep into his eyes.

More than a bit uncomfortable, Cain tried to look away, but her hands found their way to his face and she gripped it in place, forcing him to look into her deep crimson eyes.

Hidden in her gem-like eyes were a smoldering darkness.

Up close, she looked a bit frightening, like an enchanted porcelain doll staring into his soul.

"If you second guess any of your actions, you'll create a mountain of dead bodies. Commit to the kill, Cain. Don't hesitate, don't waver. You are strong. Far stronger than you, or any of these people know."

Cain pursed his lips. He didn't know what to say.

Eventually, he sighed,

"If I do that, I don't think I can remain human."

Evangeline shook her head,

"You aren't human anymore, Cain. None of us are. Nor do we have the liberty to be."

She averted her eyes for a moment,

"You truly underestimate the greed and power of the Celestials, don't you."

Cain frowned, "Of course not–"

Evangeline pushed him away roughly,

"If so, then you should know what to do. Human, beast, monster, Devil, all that is inconsequential."

Her eyes were cold and the color of blood as her words filled with venom passed through her thin lips,

"If they are an enemy, you kill them. Without hesitation."

She pulled out a pair of daggers,

"At least, that's what I'd do."

Cain wanted to say something, but a loud bang caught his attention.

He turned away.

His eyes widened as he stared at the wave of Aether Beasts dashing towards them.

With the time they had to spare before the horde could gather, the entire Military camp had not been sitting idly.

They had created ramparts and fortifications all over. As they made the final preparations, the ground beneath them started to change.

Despite most of the space within the Dome of Sands was covered in sand, the ground beneath it still existed.

General Arltzwalt stared at the approaching horde, with a grin on his face.

He turned to a group of men standing behind him and nodded.

Beneath them was a strange looking formation.

Each of the men held scepters in one hand, and a mana core in the other.

They stabbed the scepters into nodes in the formation and placed the mana cores into the scepters.

Almost immediately, the change began.

The vast stretched of sandy dunes between the Military camp and the Sea of Sands began to shift towards both sides, creating a large gulf that stretched on and on until the ground beneath the Sands could be seen.

General Arltzwalt chuckled,

"Even if they come at us for an entire month, this way, we'll have the advantage."

His trump card wasn't anything too advanced. It was a mana formation meant to control sand over a large area.

However, because of its simplicity, it was so effective.

General Arltzwalt sighed, and a radiant glow of light enveloped his body.

He donned on a battle uniform quite different from what the others wore.

It was black, the color of midnight, with streaks of golden sand running through lines and nodes. A large, black and featureless saber was also strapped to his waist. His head was protected by a helmet, and he had his sniper rifle standing beside him.

Despite looking like an old man, his body was the body of a warrior. His muscles looked toned and defined even through the armor.

He instructed the men behind him,

"Have all the archer and gunslinger squads move into position. The first wave is coming."

Meanwhile, Cain and the others had also made their preparations.

The melee fighters would have to stay back, as engaging in a melee death battle with a horde of Aether Creatures was an idea at the zenith of all bad ideas.

Vincent gently loaded a bullet into his rifle.

Staring out into the distance, he could make out a large six legged creature kicking up a storm of sand as it practically swam towards them.

Its eyes were a milky white, and foamy saliva frothed out of its mouth. It looked rabid and insane.

The exact image of a beast being controlled by harrowing, otherworldly powers.

With not a shred of pity in his heart, Vincent pulled the trigger.

The enchanted bullet slid out of the barrel of the gun. The air in front of the bullet twisted, due to the bullet's rotation and its shape, creating a funnel of air that did nothing to slow down the bullet, only speed it up.

In less than a fraction of a second, the bullet tore through the creature's head, turning it into mush, killing it in an instant. The dead body tumbled to the ground like a sack of potatoes, but it was trampled by the rest of the approaching horde until there was nothing left to see.

As Vincent reloaded to fire another bullet, the air was filled with the sound of guns firing as a rain off bullets whizzed through the air, with almost all of them finding and downing their targets.

'At this range, only sniper rifles will have an effect. When they get in closer, that is when the real battle begins.' Cain thought to himself.

As bullet after bullet was fired, more and more bodies were trampled.

The white sand being stained with blood.

Despite almost all the snipers downing their targets with each bullet, it did nothing to thin out the horde.

It was like taking a cup of water out of an entire ocean. There were literally thousands of them. Cain was sure he had never seen a horde so large before, even after all the madness he had been through.

Worst of all, Aether Creatures could be classified as a bigger threat compared to regular Mutant Beasts.

Firing his last sniper round, Vincent threw his rifle into his inventory and pulled his handguns out.

He yelled out,

"They are approaching five hundred meters guys. Get ready to show them hell!"

The rest of the snipers also ditched their rifles and pulled out guns with higher firing rates but lower accuracy outside the five hundred meters range.

More gunslingers and archers drew their weapons, ready to fire.

Cain could foresee the chaos that was about to come.

A breath of foggy air escaped from his lips as he pulled a weapon out of his inventory.

'The guns have a higher fire rated but they aren't as effective as {Maelstrom}. They are best at the hundred meter mark, but outside of that, their effectiveness, accuracy, and damage fall severely.'

As these thoughts passed through his head, Cain was already pulling the bowstring of {Maelstrom} back. Mana pulsed along the length of the weapon, and a torrent of water elemental energy condensed between the bowstring and the nock point.

He took in a deep breath. This was not his first time shooting an arrow, neither would it be the last.

The moment the first of the Beasts crossed the five hundred meters mark, he let the arrow fly.

A spark of light traveled through the night sky like a shooting star. The arrow of highly concentrated cosmic water shot through the chest of a two-headed Aether Beast, blasting all its organs out and turning its entire midsection into bloody mush.

If that had failed to kill it, the stampede of the other Aether Beasts as it fell into the sand would have sealed the deal.

This was the first drop out of an entire ocean of blood he would spill on this Evernight day.

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