God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"What? Did you think we wouldn't know?"

Steve's grim expression vanished, "Know? Know what?"

Leah rolled her eyes, "You are still playing dumb? Not that it matters..."

Shaking her head, she turned back to the other girls.

"Lin Lin... You and Kai should get the other ready. We should be expecting guests soon."

The dark-haired beauty flashed a grin, "No problem..."

The feline Beastwoman turned to Roselle. There was a small smile on her face, while Roselle's remained indifferent.

"Roselle... You'll escort the prisoners to the Rift. We will meet you there later. Sisi, come with me."

With that, their leader had given them orders. The Beastwomen carried them out dutifully.

Steve let out a sigh as he was dragged away. Li who was suffering the same fate whispered to him under his breath,

"What the hell are we gonna do now?!"

Steve tried to shrug, but the chains attached to his hands made it impossible,

"What can we do? We'll just hope that the others can deal with them."

Li growled menacingly, "My little sister is..."

Steve cut him off, "I know how you feel. But now is not the time for sentiments. We are all in danger right now. There's also that thing..." Steve muttered vaguely.

Eventually, he just shook his head, "Doesn't matter. If it comes down to just numbers, we have the advantage. However, our magic is heavily restricted on this island, so we are still at a disadvantage."

Stan wanted to speak, but a violent tug that tore the skin on his wrists caused him to glare at Roselle instead.

Steve and Li also suffered the same fate, so they kept their mouths shut...

Clicking her tongue, Roselle continued to drag them until they were in front of the Rift. All three were on their knees, facing the Rift like they were waiting for the executioner's blade to come falling down.

"If it were up to me, I'd through you all to your doom without hesitation."

Steve glanced back, "Then why don't you just do it?"

Roselle seemed to be taken aback, as she fell silent. Eventually, she turned to ask them a question,

"You... Why do you seem so eager to give up your life?"

Steve was silent for a few seconds before answering,

"I might be plenty things, but a traitor is not one of them. Plus, if my crazy boss comes back and finds out I've defected, I'm sure he will make sure I'm dead."

Roselle snorted, "You fear a dead man more than this blade?" She said, pointing at the rapier hanging from her waist.

Li suddenly laughed, "That bastard is even scarier..."

Roselle's eyes turned cold, "He's dead. Even If he by some miracle managed to come back, which is highly unlikely, I'll make sure he dies."

Then she turned away, signaling the end of the conversation...

Steve let out a sigh...

In reality, he was very worried. Li and Stan also... They were now aware that a trap was being made for Sue and the others. However, they didn't know what this trap was, nor could they help out in any way.

'We'll just have to wait and see...' Steve thought to himself as he licked his dry lips.

Eventually, more people began arriving before the Rift. Eventually, a total of ten stunning Beastwomen were standing in front of the Rift, looming down on Steve, Li, and Stan.

All the members from the meeting earlier were present, including five new individuals.

Steve couldn't help but frown, 'Numbers advantage my ass...'

Now they were at a complete disadvantage...

Still unaware of their plans, Steve didn't know what was going to happen next. That didn't mean he couldn't guess.

Standing around the Rift in a semi-circle, the Beastwomen didn't let their guard down one bit as their weapons were drawn. Feeling an ice-cold blade pressed against their necks, the three bound men didn't dare make a move.

Leah stared at the tall buildings surrounding the Rift with narrowed eyes. She was sure the inevitable attacks would come from there.

And this, the trap was set,

"Sisi, make a barrier."

The pink-haired girl nodded despondently, then muttered a chant while forming numerous hand seals.

A magic circle manifested before her, and an invincible shield suddenly spread out to cover them.

It was then...

A grin revealing her sharp canines spread across Leah's face as she stared at a building in the distance. The building in question had multiple floors and was one of the tallest buildings on the island.

Standing on the apex of the building was a ragtag group dressed in rags. There was even a gigantic mutant beast standing behind them, glaring down on the Beastwomen ominously.

"Oho... They finally decided to show up..." Leah said with a snicker.

Roselle frowned, "Is this all of them?"

Leah shook her head, "We can never be too sure."

Lil Lin frowned, "Then wouldn't it be a bad idea to stay in one place? On the island, we have the advantage. We can take them out one by one..."

"If we do that, some of them will escape like last time. I want to thoroughly crush them this time." Leah said coldly.

"That doesn't change the fact that staying out in the open like sitting ducks is a bad idea." Roselle reiterated with a frown.

Leah smiled, "They won't attack."

Lin Lin seemed to have realized something as she looked down at Steve, Li, and Stan.

A dark look passed through her eyes as she turned back to Leah,

"I see... If that's the case, then I believe we have nothing to worry about."

Roselle also seemed to have grasped it,

"You were baiting them out to face us in the open? However, they won't attack because of these three idiots."

Leah shrugged without answering, but that in itself was an answer...

The other Beastwomen threw her gazes of admiration, while Sisi, who had constructed the barrier let out a sigh.

"We'll wait for them to come to us, when they come, get ready to attack. This battle should be short and one-sided." Leah said calmly. It was obvious from her words that she was very confident in her plan.

Although it was simple and straightforward, sometimes, that was what worked best...

Standing on top of the tall building, Sue gritted her teeth heavily. Blaze who stood beside her was also frowning,

"They want to use them as meat shields, basically..."

Sue snorted, "That much is obvious."

"That doesn't mean we don't have a chance." Vincent suddenly said whilst glaring at the semi-translucent barrier.

Sue frowned, "What do you mean?"

Vincent grinned, "From the looks of it, they really want to put us all in the ground. The moment we get within a few meters of them, we will be trapped, unable to escape. Then, they will bombard us to death, while we will be unable to fight back properly thanks to those three idiots. At least, that's what I think..."

Sue raised a brow, "So you are suggesting we..."

Vincent nodded, "Attack from afar. It is a far smarter option."

Then he shook his head, "But that barrier will be a bit problematic to deal with."

Blaze shook his head, "If we can think of that, that means that also crossed their minds. They might have contingencies in the event we decide to bombard them with ranged attacks."

Vincent snorted, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

In a cold, calm voice, Blaze spoke, "We watch and wait for a bit..."

Vincent raised a brow, while Sue glared at him,

"Every second we waste puts their lives in danger even more. What do you mean by wait?!" Sue said, a dark flame burning in her eyes.

Blaze felt a cool run down his spine, but he calmly explained,

"If they wanted to kill them, they would be long dead. What they are trying to do is bait us into attacking. The moment we do that, we have fallen into their hands."

Vincent chuckled all of a sudden,

"You... You've changed quite a bit haven't you."

Blaze snorted, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Vincent let out a pig-like laugh before turning to face the Beastwomen that surrounded the Rift,

"I don't think it's a bad idea. Let's wait and see what they have planned for us."

Sue almost yelled out again, but a large hand patted her head. David smiled down at the agitated girl,

"Calm down. Your brother will be fine."

"Huh?! I don't care about that guy!" Sue yelled with flushed cheeks. However, she wasn't fooling anybody.

"Dan, you think you can go over there without being spotted?" Vincent suddenly asked.

Dan, who had been seated behind Ruby, who was transfixed to the spot, glaring at the Rift, shrugged,

"I'll try."

With that, the air shimmered and he phased out of reality...

Manny on the other hand was busy trying to convince the terrified Calio to fight with him again. Vincent sighed and called out,

"Cut it out, you buffoons. We might be engaging any moment from now. Get ready..."

Manny immediately stopped bugging Calio and moved over to Vincent in the blink of an eye,

"You mean fight, right? We are going to fight soon, right? Right?!"

Vincent pushed the battle-crazed individual away with a disgusted look,

"Sure. Whatever... Don't come too close..."

Sue took a deep breath to calm herself.

"I don't see Jenny or Cain anywhere."

Everyone fell silent.

David sighed, "I'm sure they are alright as well."

Vincent shrugged, "We'll ask those idiots once we save their asses."

Sue nodded. All this time, her eyes remained transfixed in a certain individual who kept staring back at her with an infuriating grin on her face. Although she didn't know who that was, she was consumed with the urge to wipe the grin off her face.

With that, a stalemate had been established, with neither side wanting to attack first.

Suddenly the ground shook...

The stalemate that had just been created, was quickly broken with the introduction of a single variable...