God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

At the same time, a shout that nearly broke his brain reverberated through his skull,

'Ahh! Master! You left me again! I hate youuuu!'

'Ah...' Cain's expression changed as he finally got a clearer view of the creature approaching him. Although he felt bad, now was not the time for tears. They could catch up later...

And so, he spoke seriously,

'Ruby... It's great to see you again. However, I need your help right now.'

Although Ruby was a mutant beast that evolved from nothing more than a mindless creature, she was very smart. As such, she understood exactly what Cain was trying to convey.

They were in the midst of a serious battle... They couldn't afford to be complacent...

'What do you need, Master?' Ruby responded immediately.

Cain grinned with satisfaction, 'Run straight for me.'

Although she was confused, the intelligent mutant beast ran on all fours towards Cain.

'She'll be here in a few seconds.'

Cain turned to Jenny who was standing beside him, staring at the huge Abyssal creature that had emerged from the Rift.

"Jenny. I need you to listen closely." Cain called for her attention.

Although she was still dumbfounded, she stared at him with sparkling eyes.

"Right now, Blade, David, and Manny are approaching us. I need you to lead them to attack that thing from its right flank."

Jenny's eyes shot up, "Right flank?"

Cain nodded, "Help me draw its attention as much as you can. Although it might be a bit dangerous. You should be able to hold out with David and that fatty's support."

Although Cain thought she would have some worries concerning the situation, her response took him by surprise,

"Alright..."

"..."

Cain stared at her a bit baffled...

Wasn't it in human nature to struggle for survival?

Fighting such a powerful creature came with the risk of death. Yet, she was throwing herself into such an awful situation without protest.

Cain let out a small laugh, "I guess I'm not the only crazy person here."

Although she didn't fully understand what Cainw was saying, she didn't have to.

In just a few seconds, the sound of the earth quaking reached her ears. Her grip on her weapons tightened until her knuckles turned white.

However, what was approaching wasn't an enemy...

Like a mirage, Ruby appeared before Cain. Without even wasting a single second, Cain jumped onto Ruby's back and declared in a very loud voice,

"Go!"

With a snarl, the large creature turned into a black and crimson afterimage.

"Woah! You've gotten big!" Cain couldn't help but exclaim as Ruby blizzed across the crumbling island filled with deep gorges, holes, and fallen buildings.

Before he left, he could tell she was about as big as a normal car. That in and of itself is a lot, but now she was as big as a truck!

'Hehe... I've been eating a lot of fish lately.'

Cain could tell she was very pleased with her answer. A slight chuckle escaped from his lips as they dashed forward.

'This isn't bad at all.' Getting used to the comfortable feeling of riding on Ruby, Cain scanned the battlefield.

It was an absolute mess...

Bodies had already littered the ground, and the stench of blood had already become more heavy.

Six out of the ten female Beastmen he had seen corner Steve, Li, and Stan were now rushing after {Abyssal Realm Walkers} that wanted to take advantage of the confusion to slip into the island and cause more havoc.

The remaining four were charging straight for the creature floating in the air.

Although they didn't leave a good impression on him, Cain could deny that they were brave.

Because the creature that forced its way into their world was something that could only be confronted by the strongest of hearts.

He was even more certain when he pulled up the creature's details;

***

{Abyssal Millionth Beast}: Level 99 (Celestial).

Strength: 4,000.

Agility: 4,000.

Defense: 4,000.

Magic: 1,500.

HP: 1,000,000.

MP: 100,000/100,000.

Skills: Void Dweller, Aura of Madness, Ironfall, Millionth Rain of Darksteel, Regeneration lvl.6, Bodily Toxins.

***

'As I thought. It isn't Tier 1 yet.'

Creatures, be they Aether, Mutant, or Abyssal, were segregated into numerous ranks based loosely on their power, and more on their potential at their respective Tiers.

For example, the {Abyssal Millionth Beast} was a powerful celestial-grade creature at Tier 0. However, that didn't mean it's potential was stagnant. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

More likely than not, once the creature ascended to the next Tier, its potential grading could drastically reduce. This is because of one thing...

Regardless of how low a creature's level is, as long as its grading is higher than the half-god grade, it would be able to ascend to new heights. However, that grading would be subjected to either a positive or negative change upon ascension.

The only creatures that can managed to climb Tiers without their grades changing, are Celestial beings. Creatures born as immortals the moment they enter the world.

To Cain, comparing a celestial to this creature that continued folding in on itself in the sky was like comparing shit to gold. While this creature was powerful, it would probably not move higher than the fourth Tier, its potential dying out like hot coals left to cool off...

The creature was... strange to say the least. It was absolutely enormous. As big as the {Amethyst Silkworm}in its prime. However, its size was the least strange thing about it.

Its many legs kicked against the air as it continued coiling its body around. If Cain bothered to count them, he would realize that the legs numbered a total of one million.

That's right... The Abyssal Creature was a giant millipede. And that still wasn't the worst part...

The absolute worst part of it all, at least form his eyes, were the thousands upon thousands of sharp spikes growing out from the creature's body like hair.

If Cain had learned anything at all since the beginning of the apocalypse, it would be the fact that most creatures usually wore their abilities.

A certain physical trait of theirs, if put together with the information the system provided about their skills, would give one an insight to what methods of attack these creatures possessed.

The moment Cain saw a skill called {Ironfall}, he already knew this was bad news...

A single one of the sharp hairs was a meter long, and while it wasn't thick, that was only compared to the creature itself. Each one was as wide as an index finger.

'If it gets a chance to release that skill, we are all done for.'

He had to make sure the creature didn't get that chance. Cain's eyes spun around as he searched for a certain individual in the midst of the heated battle. A Realm Walker launched itself at him, but Ruby skillfully caught the creature between her jaws and crunched down.

Blood and ground muscles flowed down her snout, but the mutant beast ignored it and moved forward.

"Hunter!" Cain yelled the moment he found who he was looking for. Hunter who was busy fighting ten Realm Walkers off like his life depended on it looked up in shock,

The moment their eyes met, mutual understanding could be seen. Spreading his legs wide, Hunter applied force to the soles of his feet and was airborne the next second.

His hands formed a hand seal, and a magic circle appeared in the ground behind the line of Realm Walkers that were attacking him.

Turning back to Cain, he nodded;

'Who are you trying to reach?' Hunter's voice suddenly rang in his ear.

Cain held onto Ruby's fur coat as she galloped towards the {Abyssal Millionth Beast}.

'Connect me to Steve. There's something I'd like to ask him.'

'Done.'

There was silence for a while before a familiar voice greeted him...

'Oyaya... Boss, so nice of you to call. How are the wife and kids?'

Cain wanted to smack the person on the other end, but held back,

'Cut the bullshit. Have you found out anything about the enchantment placed on these girls?'

Steve answered seriously this time, 'Yes. To be honest, I have no idea what that thing is. But I do know where it is located. We can break the enchantment so long as we know what created it in the most place.'

Cain nodded in satisfaction, 'In that case, that's what I'd like you to do...'

'Pardon?'

Cain raised a brow, 'What? You can't do it?'

Steve hummed through the mental connection,

'It will indeed be kind of difficult.'

Cain frowned, 'Why?'

He could almost paint the mental picture of Steve scratching his head,

'That's because the enchantment is no longer a thing. Rather it is a person, or in a person... Yeah. That's about right.'

Cain exclaimed, 'What?'

'I know right? At first, I doubted my eyes as well. However, I'm sure of it.' Steve's serious voice came through.

'If we want to break the enchantment, we have to do one of two things. One, kill her. Two separate it from her body before killing it. I suggest option one...'

Although Steve seemed eager to commit murder, Cain didn't share the same sentiments...

'How troublesome...'

'Tell me about it.'

Cain sighed, 'Which one of them is it?'

Cain demanded all the information Steve had before ending the mental link.

'So its like that, huh...' Now that he understood more about it, Cain couldn't help but feel some type of way. At the same time, he could feel the hatred and resentment he felt for Stingè grow.

'One day, bastard... One day.'

Eventually, he raised his eyes to the sky,

'Seems like it is finally done with its preparations.'

From the mana fluctuations going off round the creature, Cain could tell that it was on the verge of releasing an incredibly powerful skill or spell.

He had told Jenny and the others to hold off until he gave a signal. Now, he just had to get the timing absolutely right.

Seeing the four girls dashing straight for the creature, he couldn't help but shake his head,

'Are they stupid?' He had no idea exactly how strong they were. However, blinding rushing in when the creature was obviously on the verge of releasing a strong attack was the epitome of stupidity...

What Cain failed to account for, was that he was not like most people. Except one had a very high affinity to mana, sensing minute things like mana flow patterns, or mana fluctuations was very difficult if one didn't concentrate.

It happened so suddenly...

The creature suddenly uncurled its body...

Cain's eyes widened as he concentrated to his limits. The Magic eye, {Eye of Uncertainty} activated on its own.

The {Abyssal Millionth Beast} activated {Ironfall}...

And Cain activated {Intermediate Seal} simultaneously...