God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 162: Battlemage of Death, Luke the Spectre...

There was silence in a clearing as a man broke through the line of trees separating the space and the dense foliage appeared, facing a total of fifteen men.

He had a {Black Obsidian} sword hanging from his hilt, and a head full of curly black black hairs. His body was lean, but packed with power, and his stance showed he had a perfect grasp over his body and center of gravity.

He strutted into the center of the men who all looked powerful in their rights. These men had serious expressions on their faces and dangerous auras, but they all held onto magical staffs. The only person in their midst that wielded a weapon was Luke.

"What did they want this time, Luke?" A man with glasses and a physique smaller than the other men in the group said to Luke in a small effeminate voice.

"They wanted to eat some roasted mutant beast meat, so they called me to make the fire..." Luke said with a cold look on his face.

"Those bastards!" One of the men with a huge frame and a large staff sitting on a boulder beside him yelled out in rage as he smashed his fist onto the boulder, turning it into powder in the process.

"Calm yourself, Reginald... Getting angry now is the least of our worries." The man with the small frame said as he gazed at Luke who had a very dark expression on his face. He held onto the icy blue staff in his hands until his knuckles turned white as he struggled to calm down.

"Luke, you must remain calm no matter what. You know the stakes at hand and the losses involved aren't within the realms of things we can handle." Winifred, the one with the glasses and a lanky body said with a frown as he adjusted his glasses.

"I know that... I know that... That's why I went myself and didn't send anyone else. A full-on fight is something I'll like to avoid." Although there was rage in Luke's eyes, it was kept incredibly confined.

"Why do we even need to be so cautious?! We have tremendously more magic power than those bastards after we made that deal with the Flame god, Aztharot! We could easily crush them to dust!" The man who had slammed his hand down on the boulder said while fuming.

"Yeah! Those bastards have bullied us way too long!"

"They've kept all the women imprisoned for so long! How will we rescue them if we keep cowering!"

"I want to spill blood!"

"Enough!" Winifred said in a loud yet hushed voice, causing the agitated men to calm down. It was obvious that despite his small frame, he was still reputable in the group of men.

"They also have a contract with the Blood War god, Imhotep. Trying to fight them will lead to immense casualties. We also don't know the full extent of... that one's power. Although Luke is strong, fighting him is like trying to court death..."

"Even though... We can't anymore. My sister is in there. What if... What if they are doing unspeakable things to them right now?!" Reginald said with bloodshot eyes and clenched fists. A drop of blood fell onto the ground from his balled-up fists, showing just how much anger boiled within him.

There was a brief moment of silence in the group as they all thought of all the possibly unspeakable things the females that had survived the initial stages of the apocalypse on their side of the school might be suffering.

During the initial stages of the apocalyptic events, primarily the first week, the various parts of the school had still been connected. However, after the planet had absorbed a large amount of mana, terraforming had begun to take place, causing the Island to separate into four separate Islands.

On each of those Islands, different scenarios had played out during the initial stages of hell...

On the Island where Luke and his men were, things had progressed a bit differently from how they had with Cain and the others...

On this Island, there were two main powers, one led by Luke, and the other led by The Boss, leader of the other faction. The broodmother had been defeated by The Boss, whose name hadn't been revealed to Luke and his men.

Luke's team was unique in the sense that apart from Luke himself, all the others were strictly magic users. Apart from Luke, Winifred, and Reginald, the others didn't have access to the system, but Like had discovered a remnant of a fallen god. This led to the creation of a contract between the god and Like's group in exchange for a portion of their divinity...

However, while this god was powerful, its main strength was in its ability to provide them with mana and access to magic, nothing more. In other words, they were all still physically weak, but they had a decent amount of magic power and a magical skill or spell that complimented it, making them a relatively powerful group.

However, the opposing team had found remnants of an even more powerful god that excelled in battle. Basically, they stood no chance against the other team without the help of Luke, Winifred, and Reginald.

The Blood War god had been a powerful god of terror and fear when it had still been alive, often characterized by its skin covered with runes that boosted his physical power to the point where space and time warped wherever he stood.

The Boss had also found remnants related to Imhotep and had given them to his followers in exchange for their loyalty.

However, unlike what happened with Cain, the remnants of these two gods were found just three and four days into the apocalypse, with Luke finding him just a day later. The Boss had used that single day to consolidate his power by separating those for and against him into two groups, as well as keeping all the females of those who didn't conform to his ideas captive.

Because they didn't have the power to stand against the boss and his men, they had to put down their pride and honor for the sake of keeping their people safe.

They had gotten access to power later, but there was no way to get their females back without making some sacrifices, which none of them were willing to do.

However, there was a limit to how much a man could endure...

After facing constant bullying from the opposing side, these men had had enough. They had been taunted but had to hold it in because they didn't want to compromise the safety of those that had been captured.

"Enough... We won't need to endure this much longer." There was a dark look in Luke's eyes as he turned to address the crowd of angry men.

"What do you mean?!" Winifred asked with slightly widened eyes.

"I have a feeling something major is about to happen. Those idiots are getting brazen, so I think that bastard is about to make a move against me. Luckily, I will be able to keep up with him thanks to this..." Luke said as he stretched his hand forward.

"Devil Claw: Evil Fangs of The Renderer..."

A change occurred in Luke's right hand as a deep dark and purple aura enveloped it, causing it to change greatly.

"That is!" Winifred had a look of shock on his face as he watched Luke's hand change. The other men in the group also had looks of shock and bewilderment in their eyes as well. Reginald rose from the ground very quickly and walled briskly towards Luke with his eyes wide like a saucepan.

"Winifred, let's launch an attack on them. I was once called Luke the Spectre... There has been no human soul capable of blocking a strike from my blade since I first picked it up. All you need to do is create a foolproof plan that will allow us to save everyone and defeat those animalistic bastards. Don't worry about Rollo and The Boss.

I'll handle them together with Reginald." Luke said with a sharp gaze filling his eyes and a deep confidence in his words.

He grabbed the {Black Obsidian} sword at his waist and slashed down with his glowing hand. The blade didn't make a single sound and it created a thin black line as it moved through the air. That line was so frightening because it was a direct tear in space...

Winifred had a look of deep admiration and excitement on his face as he started at Lule who still had a dark look on his face.

"Alright! Let's make a plan... We'll crush them!" Winifred said as he pumped a fist up in excitement.

"Luke! I'll fight to the death even if I have to!" Reginald said as he raised his huge staff from the ground towards Luke.

"I'll fight to the death as well!"

"Me too!"

"Let's kill those bastards!"

"Ha..." Luke let out a deep sigh as a few thoughts ran through his mind.

'I'd like for this to be resolved without any bloodshed, but I doubt that bastard would be reasonable. What the hell are you up to, Guy!'

***

In a building that stood alone, surrounded by forest and destroyed buildings, two men stood outside. Their clothing was ragged, but they had ferocious expressions on their faces making them look like thugs. They held onto basic weapons that had poor stats but were sharp enough to cut through flesh and bone If need be.

The building was what was left of the dormitory in that region of the school. It had a total of five floors, but a series of events had reduced the number of floors to two and a half...

"I can't wait to have a go as well! I have been waiting for my turn for three days! Ptue!" One of the men had an obscene expression on his face as he spat out a glob of phlegm.

"Hahaha! Those ladies are really enjoyable! All they could do was cry while this daddy let out his frustrations on their bodies!" The other man had a proud look on his dirty face as he licked his lips relishing in the sensations he had experienced earlier in the day.

The fate of the weak in a world that had begun to accommodate only the strong wasn't a good or desirable one, especially for women.

Most of the women that had been captured suffered the same fate. To become the playthings of those stronger than them...

They had been turned into objects of release for these barbaric men as soon as they had fallen into their hands. Due to the circumstances, most of these men, especially those that had been given power by the Blood War god had long since lost their moral compasses.

The Blood War god was violent and lustful, so it was only natural such a nature was reflected in his followers...

Suddenly, there was movement in the forest, causing the men to instantly become alert. They placed their hands in the hits of their blades but relaxed their postures once they saw Rollo and his group of men break through the line of trees carrying a bunch of dead mutant animals.

Without saying a word, Rollo ignored the two men at the door and swiftly entered the building with his men who had hard expressions on their faces.

"You are free to go and do as you please..." When the men heard what Rollo said, perverted expressions appeared on some of their faces, while the others had weird looks that could tell they were uncomfortable with the idea.

Seeing this, Rollo nodded his head,

"You can go hunt mutant animals or search the forest for treasures, or whatever. Relax if you want, I don't care. Just make sure you are ready to move once I call." He said before walking up the flight of stairs to the next floor.

Since there was a whole section of the building missing overhead, dim sunlight poured into a portion of the second floor, lighting only half of the floor's interior and leaving the other half in perpetual darkness.

Rollo walked through the half-bright, half-dark corridor before he climbed another flight of stairs leading to what was left of the third floor.

He stood before a door that had an intricate design on it and was about to knock when he heard a few sounds coming from behind the door that caused him to let out a sigh and pause his hand.

Grunting, crying, and even an occasional moan as well as the sounds of flesh striking flesh could be heard as Rollo stood in a suffocating silence for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, there was a brief moment of silence before the door was opened and two women holding onto their torn clothes rushed out of the room with tears streaking down their faces.

Rollo let out a sigh as he was completely ignored by the ladies who were just in a hurry to make their way away from the room and hadn't noticed him in the process.

Rollo was about to turn around and leave when he was stopped by a voice that cane from behind the door...

"Come in, Rollo..."