God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The distant murmur of men filled the streets of Valestorm.

Sitting in a corner in front of a bar quietly nursing a drink from a wooden cup, Allen let out a sigh.

"What's with the long face, Allen? Lost your dick in the last hunt?"

Loud laughs burst out from around the sitting area.

This place was a popular place for Hunters and even Pilgrims to unwind after a day of hunting in the former Sandsea.

Allen wasa regular Hunter who faced death day in and out.

He had been a normal man. One fortunate, or unfortunate enough to have survived the initial apocalypse and every other chaotic event after it.

At Level 120, he had attained Tier 1 a while back, but found it difficult to gain levels after that, as the beasts and monsters only got stronger from here on our.

"Well, can you blame the dude? Plenty teams get wiped out day in, day out. Can't expect him not to be on edge, can you?" Barrte, a bearded man sitting down at the next table said with a grunt.

Winstrom let out a boisterous laugh and clapped his hand onto Allen's shoulder,

"Is that what's got you down in the dumps, eh?"

Allen sighed and shook his head.

Staring at the amber liquid swirling in his cup, he spoke in a low voice,

"No. It's not that. I was just thinking about Venice, my wife... And Alex and Cleo."

Silence...

All the men and women gathered had fallen silent.

Allen clenched his cup tight, his body trembling and his eyes widened,

"Sometimes, I wonder if I am living within a nightmare. How many days ago was it? How many days ago was I sitting at the dinner table with a warm meal in front of me, and my family seated around."

He gritted his teeth,

"They had claws and blades driven through their backs, bursting through their hearts and their chests. I had to watch them slaughtered before me. Sometimes, I can't get rid of the scenes, no matter how much I drown myself in the bloodshed, or how many cups I drink, or how many I lay with. It does nothing to numb the pain."

Winstrom let out a sigh, his mood dampening,

"Way to kill the mood, Allen."

Allen smiled wryly,

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Winstrom chuckled,

"But I feel you. My old man and lady were both cut to pieces right before my eyes after all. That type of thing does something to a man. I should have been dead as well. But somehow, the system saved me."

He glanced at Allen,

"We've all fought through a storm of blood and bones to get here. At times like this, all one can do is fight the tears back and down another cup. Amen I right?!"

Barrte snorted,

"That's a load of bull."

He slammed the butt of his cup against the table, his brows furrowed furiously,

"The only way to get the images out of your head, is by killing the damned bastards responsible for creating this hell we are living in!"

"You're damn right. Those Devils took our lives away from us. Frankly, I don't my war axe has gotten its fill of their blood. I don't think it ever will." A woman who's face was covered in runes spat out resentfully.

Murmurs rose to the sky, each one filled with their dissent and hatred for the Devils that had ruined their world.

Winstrom suddenly chuckled,

"Worry not, my brethren. Very soon, you all shall have your full of Devilish blood."

Barrte looked towards the distant. Gathered at the very thin edge of the distant dome, was a scattering of darkness.

It surrounded the curvature of the dome like an ever present curse, clinging desperately into it.

A hint of fear and doubt appeared on his eyes. He turned to Winstrom,

"You have connections with a few top guns. When do you think it will begin?"

Winstrom frowned,

"I have no idea. A few months from now, perhaps sooner."

The already solemn air surrounding the gathering of humans turned even darker.

A moment ago, they had been eager to spill Devil blood.

A moment later, the fear of the inevitable confrontation with the beings of destruction and despair filled their hearts with doubt, their spirits wavering.

Allen tilted his head back, downing the contents of his cup in a single go,

"To hell with it! What will be, will be! So what if it's a few Devils. We have slain Devils before. And we will do it again! We will take back our city! This is our world, not theirs!"

Winstrom let out a loud laugh as he smashed his own cup against Allen's,

"Now that's the spirit! So what if they are Devils? We will become Devil slayers! In this new world, they will sing praises of our deeds, and our names will go down in history!"

The men and women gathered raised their cups and cheered, their moods and spirits lifted back.

Barrte snorted as he gulped down the contents of his own cup,

"Just don't forget to take your equipment and weapons to Gortè to get them patched up for the next hunt."

A series of laughs rose up to the dark heavens, their voices laced with hollow joy and alcohol.

Such was the life of the mundane man.

With a sigh, Calio pulled down the hood of his shirt and slipped into the dark streets.

He looked around.

In every corner of Valestorm, there was something different.

From people indulging in their carnal desires, to those who had become destitute, begging for alms on the roadside.

To merchants selling their wares at every intersection, to thieves and hooligans commiting atrocities in the darker shades.

In reality, humans hadn't changed that much.

The world around them had changed, and their capabilities had mutated to some extent.

But at the heart of it all, the human spirit had not changed much.

It was still as bright and hope filled, and as dark and perverse as ever before.

A beautifully hideous thing.

He made his way through the crowded streets, savouring every thing he could.

'Damn. When did I become so sentimental?' he thought to himself.

A stream of foggy air left his lips as he let out a sigh.

He moved quickly, and in a few minutes, he had arrived at his destination.

It was rather detached from the main hustle and bustle of Valestorm and didn't see a lot of foot traffic.

It was in places like this he was most at home.

Staring at the magic lantern hanging from the front door, he considered going through there.

After thinking about it, he decided against it.

Near transparent threads began to materialize around him.

They carefully wrapped around his body.

The next moment, he disappeared.

Reappearing a moment later on the top floor of the building.

The building was several stories tall, so reaching the highest one so quickly was definitely a superhuman feat.

Before he could feel a bit proud of himself, Calio felt the menacing caress of cold metal against his skin.

He immediately froze.

A groan came in from the darkness and a flame was suddenly lit.

Staring at the contorted face of Blaze, Calio chuckled nervously, slowly shifting his neck away from the tip of the spear aimed at it.

"Come on, this isn't any way to greet a friend, is it?"

Blaze's eyes narrowed, "You and I are not friends."

Calio rolled his eyes, "Sure, whatever you say."

Blaze sighed and put his spear away,

"Can't you ever come in through the front like a normal person?"

Calio raised a brow and tilted his head,

"Normal? What's that?" He asked innocently.

Blaze grimaced then clicked his tongue. Dropping back into his bed, he let the flame floating above his open palm float into the air, providing sufficient illumination in the room"

He frowned and stared at Calio,

"So? What brings you here at this time?"

Calio opened his mouth, then he paused.

Blaze frowned,

"What is it? Are the Devils attacking already?"

Calio sighed, "No, not yet. But I do have some information to pass on. It is from the shadow queen herself."

Blaze raised a brow,

"Evangeline? She wanted to you give me something? Why not just bring it herself?"

Calio pursed his lips,

"Well, according to her, she's quite busy, so she doesn't have the time to make the journey all the way over here."

Blaze snorted, "A lousy excuse, but I will allow it. Not like I have a choice either way..." He said, muttering the last part out in a low voice.

Calio cleared his throat. A flash of light appeared in his hands, and a bubble of paper filled with words and drawn images appeared in them.

His expression turned serious,

"She said to find Cain and give this to him."

Blaze frowned, "Why can't she give them to him herself?"

Calio smiled wryly, "She wouldn't tell. But I took the liberty of flipping through these myself, and all I can say is... it's bad. Real bad."

"Just what exactly are these?" Blaze said as he snatched the papers away from Calio.

Calio ran a hand through his hair,

"Information of what's coming for us. There's a bunch of new uglies, and that's just the tip of the iceberg apparently."

Blaze's expression turned uglier and uglier the longer his eyes scanned through the contents o f the papers.

At the end, he spat out a curse,

"Fuck! This is bad!"

Calio nodded, his expression dark,

"We have to be extra cautious. Do you know where Cain is?"

Blaze let out a heavy sigh,

"On Redscale. Let's go."

Calio raised a brow,

"Now?!"

Blaze shot him a glare,

"Of course now! There's no time to waste! We have to hurry! After all..."

He looked towards the distant.

At the storm of darkness bubbling and brewing over,

"The Devil invasion has already begun..."