God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

His frame wasn\'t as huge as Rollo\'s, but he had a body full of tough muscles that were filled with intricate runes of all sorts. Cain had only one agility-type array, but Guy had arrays littered all over his body. His facial features were extremely handsome and manly, despite being in the same age group as Cain.

"We have to talk about the Specter... My guess is that he wants to start something soon."

"You mean Luke? He\'s harmless for now. I still need him to help us with a few things on the Island, so we won\'t do anything about him for now. If he does try something, I\'ll just kill a few people and threaten him back into submission." Guy ran his hand through his dense black air as his deep crimson eyes glowed with a red light.

Rollo was silent for a while before he pulled the broad sword that was on his back down and placed it in his inventory.

"He had always had a history of being the ruthless type despite holding onto his morals. He might snap if we bend him too far..." Rollo said with deep concern.

"You don\'t need to worry too much. If he snaps, that means he had outlived his usefulness."

Guy\'s hand glowed with a deep crimson hue as he chanted a few words under his breath. His clothes and the axe beside the table flew through the air as though they were suddenly pulled by an invincible hand, and magically appeared within his grasp.

Putting on his clothes, Guy continued,

"He doesn\'t understand where my sights are set. We shouldn\'t be worried about what happens on this small Island, but the rest of the world? That is where our focus should be." Guy said with a chuckle as he rested his axe on his shoulder and proceeded to sit back down on his chair.

He started unto empty space for his eyes flashed and he pulled something out of his inventory. It was a deep red pearl that glowed with a sinister and evil glow. There were strange and complex runic markings on the pearl, but Guy wasn\'t concerned with any of that as he threw it straight into his mouth and crushed it into powder with his teeth.

"Looking too far into the future can\'t be any better than trying to subjugate the Island first, right? I suggest we find a way to permanently control Luke by any means so we can assimilate his forces to bolster our own... Even if that means giving into some of his conditions." Rollo said with a complicated look in his eyes.

"Hahaha!" Guy let out a loud laugh that sent vibrations into the space around him, making the entire building quake.

"Enough with the jokes... Since I defeated the {Broodmother}, I\'ve been able to realize a few things." Although there was still a playful smile playing at the corner of Guy\'s lips, it was obvious he had now gotten serious, as the look in his eyes was as dark as an abyss.

"The entire school was separated into four. Apart from the central region, which is still attached to the mainland due to the Stem bridge, there were a total of four Islands created. This means, there are three more places to conquer before we move into the city..."

The level of seriousness Guy spoke with made Rollo feel a chill crawl up his spine and a cold sweat begin to form on his brows,

"But we don\'t know what to expect in those other Islands. With the number of underworld members that were present in the school even before the Apocalypse, there are bound to be more than a few survivors on each of these Islands. Besides, how on earth are we supposed to reach the other Islands?" Rollo asked, bewilderment evident in his tone.

"Getting to the other Islands won\'t be a problem. All I need is someone to lead an expedition into each Island, including the central one. That means a total of three expedition teams. You will lead one, Idris will lead the other, and I will go convince Luke to lead the last one." The smile on Guy\'s face had widened to form a full grin as he stared at Rollo with his deep red eyes.

Rollo could feel the air in front of him begin to congeal as Guy continued to stare at him with a heavy gaze.

"Members of the underworld aren\'t so easily dealt with. You told me yourself just a few days ago. We need to be careful of the way we deal with our opponents." Rollo said, his voice filled with hesitation.

Guy had a pause for a brief second before he narrowed his eyes,

"It isn\'t like you to be filled with such hesitation, Rollo. What is wrong?" Guy said in a serious, yet suspicious tone.

A bad feeling gripped Rollo\'s heart, but he calmed himself down...

"I have just been thinking... What if the methods we have been using are too much? We have been murderers and killers even before all this crap began, but we haven\'t fallen so far as to begin raping the defenseless!" Rollo finally said what had been eating at him for weeks.

Guy had a look of realization on his face, which was replaced by a creepy smile,

"So that is what all this is about?! Hahaha! You do need to get laid, Rollo!" Guy said as he laughed out loud.

Rollo remained silent for a while, unable to look Guy in the eye as the other man settled down from his laughing fit.

Guy\'s face slowly returned to a dark and menacing but smiling expression,

"The times have changed, Rollo... Back then, we kept it professional for business\' sake. Now, we have the power to be free and finally let go of all our inhibitions. There is no one above us but the grey skies, and we will eventually become powerful enough to rival gods!"

The look of insanity in Guy\'s eyes seemed contagious, but he quickly called down as he spoke to Rollo in a more composed manner,

"We have been strong for a long time, but due to the command not to influence the normal world too much, our desires were left to fester. All these men have devolved into beast-like idiots because of this same reason. However, as the strong, only we reserve the right to dictate what is right and moral... Don\'t let it eat at your consciousness anymore, Rollo.

Go and find a fine woman to keep you company for the night, and you will see what I am talking about! Hahaha!"

Although Guy\'s words seemed to contain an element of joke, Rollo could tell from its contents that the conversation had come to an end.

"Very well... I will go patrol the forest to see if I can study Luke\'s group even more and find some clues." Rollo said as he took a bow and began to make his leave.

However, before he could make his way to the door, he was stopped by Guy\'s call,

"Rollo..."

He paused in his tracks as he waited for Guy to speak,

"How loyal are you to me?"

"With my life! There are no doubts about that..." Rollo said without even a moment of hesitation. The conviction with which he said those words spoke volumes to how much loyalty he had for Guy.

There was a brief moment of silence in the room before Guy grunted out, "Good... Get some rest. You are going to be needing it soon."

"...Yes..."

Rollo walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. He had a dark look on his face as he walked down the stairs. The air was cold, but his heart was even colder.

Summoning his blade from his inventory, he removed the sheath and stared at his reflection in its pristine body. His eyes were filled with deep self-hate and powerlessness that threatened to consume him completely.

\'Damn it!\' He gritted his teeth hard as he sped up his steps...

\'Damn it all!\'

***

There was silence in the room as Guy stared at the door in silence...

The only window in the room was kept shut, causing the room to be a bit stuffy and dark, the major sources of illumination being the light streaming in from the window and Guy\'s deep crimson eyes.

The silence in the room was heavy, but it was quickly broken when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in..."

A thin scrawny man with a bandana tied on his forehead and a pair of degenerate and snake-like green eyes broke through the darkness.

"What do you want, Idris?" Guy said in a low voice.

"That freaking Rollo has been spoiling all the fun recently! Are you sure you don\'t want him dead? I\'ll make his death as painless as possible." Idris said as a pair of daggers appeared in his hands and began spinning around his fingers. A dangerous sadistic light flashed through his eyes, making him look like a reptile with his snake-like eyes.

"That won\'t be necessary, Idris. Rollo is my most loyal man and is incredibly strong, so he will be a great asset to our future plans. He might be hesitant, but he\'ll come around eventually."

"If you say so..." Idris shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the sofa.

"So... I heard from Rollo that you plan to begin conquest. Hehehe... We have a whole lion in our backyard! Why the hell should we go play around elsewhere?!" Idris asked curiously.

Guy was silent for a while before letting out a chuckle...

"Tell me something... What have you been able to gather so far about all the madness that has been happening recently?" Guy said as he stood up from his chair and walked over to the shut window.

"Hm? Well, it depends on what exactly you are referring to. If you are referring to how we are expected to live within these conditions, or how-"

"No... I am referring to the power dynamics in the world. How do you think they will change?"

Idris had a look of realization as his eyes narrowed down into slits,

"Ho? You are already thinking so far ahead?! Hehehe..." Idris let out a strange chuckle as he kept his gaze locked onto the back of Guy.

Silence enveloped the office for the umpteenth time before Idris broke it,

"It is no doubt that things have already begun to change. With the way things are right now, I wouldn\'t be too surprised if those who have power and those who don\'t begin to fight for their survival together if my assumptions are correct. Those devils are a real plague after all..."

"Those who have power will also try to consolidate as much military strength as possible while they still can. He with the biggest hands holds the biggest sword after all..." Idris said with a malevolent smile.

Idris had a cunning expression on his face as he continued,

"And if my assumptions are still correct, you plan to do the same. Gather as much strength as you can early on and wait until those on the mainland have killed each other off before swooping in to stake your claims, no?"

Guy let out a chuckle before sliding the windows open and inhaling a very deep breath of fresh air, and appreciating the thick grey clouds...