God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"Those are all the details. Any questions?" Steve said, a pleasant smile that hid his eyes on his face.

Lukas raised a hand, his face sporting a rather rugby expression,

"So in other words, since we have nothing better to do right now, we might as well go do some clean up and gain some levels on the side. Is that right?"

Zue adjusted his glasses then glanced at Cain who stood causally to the side,

"Quite frankly, I don't see the need to act with such haste, Cain."

Cain stared at him, then chuckled,

"If you didn't agree, I doubt you would be here."

Zue's words were stuck in his throat,na dhis face became a bit red.

Vincent sighed and gave him a shoulder pat,

"Alright, enough words."

He turned to Cain,

"I've brought the heads you wanted. What now?"

Ignis walked up to stand beside Cain. Her face was mostly expressionless, but there was a hint of a concealed pride about her person,

"A hit like this would have been too dangerous and would have forced me to refuse any other day. However..."

Steve chimed in,

"Indeed. The lot of you don't have to worry. The effects of the {Bloodflame Panacea} lasts for at least five hours, more than enough for us to clear the entire place out."

Susan grimaced, gripping her magic staff with both her hands,

"This... I don't see why I have to be here as well."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

She frowned, "I have better things to do here. I don't have time for..."

Vincent leaned in and whispered,

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor here. Think about it. I didn't invite the other two, see..." He said, giving Cain a side glance.

Susan's face gradually turned a light shade of red, making her seem even more beautiful under the moon's silver glow,

"When did I ask for your help for anything?!" She said through gritted teeth.

Giving Cain a short glance, she looked away and walked towards Sue, Li and Stan, who had also agreed to come.

Cain raised a brow, 'What the hell was that?'

He glanced at Vincent who was grinning from ear to ear.

He sighed...

Watching it all unfold, Ignis' expression remained unchanging, although her gaze turned a bit heated. She cleared her throat,

"In any case, as usual, we need to declare our roles..."

Cain looked around. Besides himself, there were none others that had agreed to accompany him on this mission.

The rest were either too busy, or had decided to take a break from the bloodshed for some time.

He had been surprised when he heard from Vincent that Rollo had refused, stating that he wanted to take some time off the battlefield.

For some reason, Evangeline was nowhere to be seen, and Jenny had also refused for seemingly personal reasons. However, Li, Sue and Stan had agreed.

The Beastmen girls which included Leah, Roselle, Kai, LinLin, and Sisi were already on a similar raid themselves, although not as dangerous. Surprisingly, Floki had agreed to accompany them, although he hadn't given any reasons for his cooperation.

Hunter had important tasks to take care of, so he had refused as well.

Despite that, their team was still incredibly powerful.

If he counted himself out, Cain had no doubts that there were very few things that would be able to stop this group on these shores if they wished it.

They had magic support from the rear lines, artillery in the form of Vincent, and even a formidable healer who could hold her own in a fierce battle.

Their frontlines were also solid with Li, Stan, and Lukas, with a behemoth of a human in the form of Floki serving as their shield.

All in all, most beasts they encountered would fall into a tempest of magic and steel.

Howevee, the mysteriousness of the world gave just enough room for doubt. Just as he believed they could roam these shores without the threat of death, they could very well all lose their lives the moment they stepped into the cove.

Because regardless of how power they were, none of them were truly omniscient. They also weren't delusional enough to believe they were the strongest beings in the continent.

If measured solely based on landmass and distance, Cain believed they had not even seen up to a single percent of whatever unknown horrors were still on the continent.

And as time progressed further, these horrors would continue to grow in malevolence and might.

But, in the end, it didn't matter. They had defeated beings greater than they were in the past multiple times.

Hell, he had even fought against a literal Primordial Devil, and most recently, a fallen Celestial. What would there be to fear inside a small cove?

'No, don't curse it...'

Arrogance, a fool's breakfast indeed...

"Hm? You okay?"

Ignis' inhuman, yet charmingly beautiful face filled his vision. Her face was placid, but her eyes showed a hint of concern.

He smiled, "I'm fine. Just a bit apprehensive is all..."

Ignis shrugged, "That's a good thing, then. It would be odd if you didn't feel some type of way."

She sighed, "It means you still have your emotions, it means you can still feel. Make no mistake, heart is a very precious thing in this world, Cain."

Cain was silent for a moment.

Steve's throat clear broke the silence. Then he passed a vial filled with an almost translucent liquid with a very slight, almost unnoticeable crimson hue.

Sue's expression was ugly,

"Still can't get it out of my mind."

She glared at Cain, "I should drink his blood? Not in a million years!"

Steve shrugged, "The panacea is made from his blood, but it isn't blood. However, if you don't want to take it, you are free to go in like that, although your survival might be called into question."

Sue's face paled. She snorted, then muttered in a low voice,

"I was only joking."

Li guffawed, "Sure, you were..."

He causally popped the top of the vial off and tilted it back, drinking the entirety of its contents in a single gulp.

With a grimace, Sue did the same.

The rest of them downed their own portions as well.

The change was immediate.

Li was the first to feel it. He grimaced, and the empty vial in his hand fell to the ground and shattered on the black stone.

"Shit!" He exclaimed.

The rest began to show physical reactions as well.

Cain frowned and turned to Steve who had an ugly smile on his face as he fought the burning pain back himself,

"What is going on?"

Steve grinned, tears running down his face,

Your journey continues at empire

"Well, what better way to fight poison, than with poison?"

He coughed, then frantically gulped in several mouthfuls of air,

"Your blood is poison, Cain. A poison that is far more dangerous than the toxin of the {Blood Skyrays}. However, it won't kill us, and these side effects will only last for a some time! Ah!"

Just as he said the words, Li's wails of pain and anguish began to die down. Wiping the tears off his face, he turned to Steve and roared,

"You bastard! Why didn't you say something earlier?!"

The cold sweats on Steve's forehead had already begun to dry up, and he had recovered enough to rise to his feet as well.

He shrugged, "Why would I need to tell you?"

Before Li could reply, Cain cut in,

"If my blood is poisonous, then how will it help you all counteract the {Blood Skyray} toxin?"

Steve grinned, "It is simple and difficult to understand at the same time. On a base level, the poison within your blood and some other factors I cannot understand give you immense resistance to other poisons and toxins. Normally, this would be of no consequence, as the toxin of the {Blood Skyrays} is more of a blood elemental poison hybrid type. However, you are a while Pandora's box of mysteries, so I am not surprised."

"Because of this, by using your blood, we can develop temporary antibodies that would help stave off the effects of the {Blood Skyray} toxin for some time. There is more nuance behind the idea, but you should get the idea." Steve said, lightly wiping the remaining sweat off his temples

The rest of them has also recovered enough to rise to their feet.

Ignis clenched her fists and frowned,

"Incredible. It's like there is fire flowing through my veins."

She turned to stare at Cain, a rather strange, feral, and for some reason, frightening look on her eyes.

Cain paled and he took a step back,

"W-what?"

He felt two other heated gazes directed at him. Susan was breathing heavily, her eyes glazed over with beads of sweat rolling down her silky skin. Even in the dim lighting provided by the distant moon, he could see all these details clearly. Sue seemed to be in an even worse state, her legs trembling with tears building up in the corners of her eyes.

They both stared at him heatedly as well...

He swallowed hard.

Steve guffawed loudly,

"There are also a few more side effects that I would rather not mention, but they will fade quickly..."

He gave him a strange look.

Cain gritted his teeth. How wouldn't he understand what was going on?!

'This bastard!'

A few minutes later, and the side effects had cleared away.

Enduring the blaming glances and glares from the three ladies, he led them towards the entrance of the cove...