God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 1080: Cleanup and Reconciliation (1).

The greatest advantage of the black chitin, was its ability to reconstruct itself once the structure had already been created once.

In a way, it was a rather nifty convenience. It was also the reason Anathe had not been hesitant to bring the battle to the surface.

Even with the destruction, it would all be rebuilt so long as enough mana was provided.

However, that was just a single part of a much larger thing. And it was barely anything worthwhile.

Because even though the destroyed structures could be fixed, unfortunately, the lives lost in the rubble could not be recovered.

Most of them were just beasts...

Creatures that had developed a modicum of individuality after being subjected to the divinity of some cruel goddess.

In reality, their lives weren’t worth much. The rate of reproduction of most of the beasts within the Colony was rather high, so in just a few months, the losses would not be felt any more.

Still...

Standing on a platform of black chitin overlooking the smoldering pile of ruins that was slowly being reconstructed by glowing films and threads of purple, Anathe had a strange look in her eyes.

Long streams of beasts. Large and little. Powerful and weak, were pouring back into the Colony from the outskirts. The atmosphere surrounding them was anything but pleasant though. Even though she was not down there, she could tell.

The sense of kinship that had once existed, or at least the one she had deluded herself into believing was prominent seemed to have disappeared completely and was no longer there.

Instead, what took its place was a strong sense of distrust, fear, fury and tension unlike any other she had felt before.

And most of the hatred was directed to the {Redscale Ants} below.

Since she was connected to her kin, she could feel these feelings of hatred and fear very closely.

She had, in the end, intentionally caused the deaths of so many.

Anathe’s lips trembled as she let out a shaky sigh as she slowly crouched down and his her face between her hands.

"This is a disaster."

"My Queen. Please do not be too hard on yourself. This is all my fault for not being able to help you better."

Anathe slightly raised her gaze. Traxillion had his head bowed behind here.

The expression on the... face of the {Redscale General} was rather terrifying. But in a sad way.

Anathe sighed and shook her head,

"No. You couldn’t do anything. It’s not your fault."

Traxillion was silent for a moment. Then he spoke carefully,

"My Queen. That Cain..."

Anathe pursed her lips and glanced down.

She was simply too embarrassed to see him.

Now only had she let her selfish thoughts get the better of her, she had also created such a mess.

’If I hadn’t been too stubborn in the first place...’

She shook her head.

Seeing this, Traxillion let out an understanding,

"I understand."

"See that the rebuilding goes well. I have recalled those that have been sent out. Hand out adequate relief to those that have suffered losses today. I plan on accounting for my misdeeds to the best of my ability."

Traxillion nodded again,

"As you wish, my Queen."

*** 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Evangeline was propped against the broken pillar, her severed arm already reattached to her body. There was scarring where it was cut off and it would probably take some time for the arm to be fully healed.

"You look like shit," Cain said, crouching beside her.

Evangeline chuckled then stared right into his eyes,

"I put up a good fight, didn’t I?"

Cain smiled bitterly,

"You sure did. I don’t think I would have fared any better even in my prime."

And he was not exaggerating to make her feel bad.

What he had seen...

Anathe’s transformation at the end was something he absolutely could not unsee. It was terrifying. Although he had assumed his Demon form, he had only been able to establish his presence enough to pull her back to her senses. He was nowhere near competent enough to face her at all.

’The different in power between grades is much larger at the higher Tiers.’

He had defeated a Tier 3 creature just the other day. And yet, here was another Tier 3 being that would absolutely send him right back to the Othershore.

It was nothing short of ironic...

Cain let out a butter sigh.

Seeing this, Evangeline suddenly spoke,

"It’s not that serious, you know. I should be fine in a few days." Her eyes narrowed, "Blaming yourself will only make me feel worse."

"Still. I should have jumped in sooner."

Evangeline shook her head,

"No. It was perfect this way. I know understand my limits much better. It was truly eye-opening. I’ll definitely get her next time for sure."

Cain couldn’t help but chuckle at her absurd statements. Then he went silent.

Evangeline shifted, wincing. "We knew this could go badly. But I think we got off fairly okay. This is a win in my books."

"So don’t think about it too much. I told you before, didn’t I? You aren’t a hero. We all have our parts to play here."

Cain remained silent.

A smile. Slightly frustrated, slightly endearing, appeared on her face. However, it vanished quickly after.

"Get some rest, Cain. You look worse than I do."

Upon saying that, Evangeline closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep.

Cain blinked in surprise.

’She’s... a heavy sleeper.’

He poked at her cheek for a few seconds then sighed. He stood slowly, then walked away from the makeshift medical area.

The wind kicked up black dust from the destroyed sections of the Colony. A large part of it had been destroyed luckily, most of the rebuilding was already underway.

In a month or two, everything would be back to normal.

He walked a bit more then sat on a jagged piece of a broken wall..

’What do I do?’

He was beyond confused at this point. He let out a groan and buried his face between his hands.