God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The entire City of Zoan had devolved into a twisted mess of black and red.

The earth has drunk so much blood, the crimson stains would probably never be washed away for thousands of years to come.

Devil and Man, both died in equal fashion, their corpses strewn across the broken streets of a once magnificent hub of human civilization.

Simultaneously, battles played out everywhere within the city.

However, the most important one of them all was currently being held in the skies about the City of Zoan.

And this was for good reason.

The Third Tier of Existence was a sort of transition point between mortality and the edges of godhood.

A creature that has ascended into the Third Tier could no longer be seen as a regular being. With a casual spell, they could flatten mountains and dry up seas.

Reeling back whilst brandishing her halberd, Aurora Bryne, the Red Slaughter, the Blood Matriarch of the Blood Moon Sect, shot through the sky faster than a shooting star, leaving a crimson trail behind.

Within her body was a seed of a Celestial. A drop of divinity, if you could call it that.

By all means, she now possessed the powers of a Tier 3 being.

The godly physical prowess, the deep, immeasurable mana reserves too.

But, there was something missing.

A vital piece of the puzzle.

The road to Ascension was a long-winded one.

The divide between tiers was even moreso because it could not be bridged by raw power. In reality, power and energy reserves were probably the smallest difference indicators between tiers.

The most prevalent differentiator, was a more qualitative one.

Knowledge.

Specifically, the knowledge of runes, mana and magic in general for those that utilized mana as a form of energy. The same was true for Ki, Aether, and even Devil Essence.

As she darted across the sky in an erratic manner, Abaloth, the leader of the Devils within the City of Zoan, floated calmly, the dark pools of nothingness within his eyesockets as still as water.

Unlike the Blood Matriarch, Abaloth was a true Tier 3 creature.

Tha meant his understanding of both mana and Devil Essence had ascended beyond the second Tier.

In theory, Aurora should have been able to match up with him.

With the blessing of the Celestial she served, the difference in their mana reserves was close to nothing, perhaps the Blood Matriarch even had a bit more.

When it came to physical might, normally, although the Blood Matriarch was powerful, she couldn't compete with the physical might of a Devil. But with the Celestial Blessing, she could wrestle a mountain into the ground if she wished.

But there was no way she could close the distance between herself and the Devil before her.

When she had tried to close the distance earlier, she had seen her life flash before her eyes. The battle had nearly been over in an instant.

Abaloth was a rather unique Devil, a {Void Tyrant Devil}, to be exact. A creature with the power to bend space to its will. But that was not all. It was also a {Soul Devil}, with the abilities of a {Phantasm Devil}, capable of launching psychic attacks across space like they were nothing.

The pools of darkness in its skull swirling, they locked onto the darting crimson streak.

An incredibly, magnificently strange, three dimensional magic circle, unfurled behind the Devil.

Unlike regular magic circles, this one was an odd combination of two regular magic circles imposed upon one another and a nexus that combined the two, creating a rather enigmatic scene.

"Lock." The Devil muttered under its breath.

Its movements were slow and measured, almost to the point of being archaic.

Aurora's face immediately turned pale as she felt the terrifying feeling of impending death lock onto her.

With a roar, she expended a deluge of mana.

The crimson moon above resonated with the blood red mana surging off her body.

A massive magic circle was birthed behind her as well, forming a massive aegis.

There was a flash of darkness, and a moment later, the crimson shield shattered into a billion pieces, launching her back like a cannon bolt.

Although she had managed to block it, the shockwaves had messed up her innards.

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, she grit her teeth as she kept up, even increasing her speed.

Because the moment she stopped moving, she was as good as dead.

'Damn it!'

She had known battling a Tier 3 Devil was not going to be easy.

It was common knowledge that Devils progressed at an exponential rate.

She had experienced what a Tier 3 Human's power was supposed to be. And she was certain this Devil's power was far beyond that as well. In other words, it didn't matter of she had attained the Third Tier or not.

'No. Maybe it would have made a difference.' She though, glancing at the enormous, strange looking magic circle behind the Devil.

No, calling it a magic circle wasn't right.

It was a Magic Wheel.

An outstanding feat of magical engineering.

A magic circle superimposed upon another magic circle.

An array of magic circles combined into a single, esoteric, three dimensional construction of pure magic.

It was something beyond just the elements.

The world trembled and waves passed through the fabrics of reality as the Magic Wheel turned a step.

"Cleave of North." A rune lit up on the surface of the Magic Wheel.

Sensing the impending danger, Aurora twisted her body and swung her halberd coated in layers of condensed mana skyward.

There was a thunderous bang that shook the world.

Her hands trembling, Aurora could only think to herself,

'What in the hell is this?!'

Perhaps she had been disillusioned before, but now all her doubts were cleared.

This was what a true creature at the edge of Transcendence looked like.

The Devil above has a lofty look on its Devilishly Divine face.

Undulating runes floated around the Magic Wheel as it spun by a step again.

"You contend against me with such barbaric means? You believe the grace of a false god is enough to save you? How naive."

Its words reverberated through the air, bouncing on every molecule as it struck against her ears.

Wincing, Aurora felt her will to battle fading away re rapidly as her arms weakened,

'A soul attack!' She gritted her teeth, trying her hardest to resist it. At this point, she was rendered completely still, incapable of moving even an inch.

However, Abaloth was already in the middle of chanting another spell.

The clouds darkened even more and the wind roared furiously.

The scourge of the crimson moonlight waxed cold under the unholy terror of the darkness.

The pools of darkness within the eyes of Abaloth, the Sightless Dark swirled like whirlpools.

The Devil stretched its clawed fingers out...