God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain had a strange look in his eyes. A smile hung from his lips,

"How did you know they would try tracking us?"

Steve stopped laughing. Clearing his throat, he spoke with confidence,

"That's obvious. If we look at things from the enemy's eyes, there can only be two ways things play out..."

"One, they would allow us to leave there without attacking just for us to lead them back to the main nest. Two, they simply nab us there and then. Obviously, the second plan would be stupid because we have you. So, they opted for the first one."

Cain was silent. In his mind, he appreciated Steve's caution. If not for him, they would have fallen for the well-scripted trap.

"They probably figured out {Spatial Jump} has a long cooldown time. If I used it to get us out of there, I wouldn't be able to use it again, effectively trapping us down." Cain sighed.

Steve nodded, "Indeed. Sometimes, we just need to change our point of view. Understanding the enemy is half the battle won."

Cain let out a laugh. Although he had known Steve for some time now, he still wasn't used to his manner of speech,

"Alright, enough talking they are coming for us. You should probably get going now."

That was the plan. By diverting attention from the others, Cain planned to use this opportunity to see just how strong their opponents were. He was testing the waters...

Steve shook his head, "No can do, Boss. If you go down, I go down with you!"

Cain's brows twitched, "Who the hell is going down, you idiot?!"

"Whatever. I'm not going nowhere. Besides, I have more than a few spells to try out tonight. Ohoho..." Steve said with a chuckle.

Cain shrugged. After a quick check, he made sure he had all he needed. The {Heart of Scourge} already covered his body beneath his clothes, so there was nothing to worry about.

He learned his lesson the hard way because he didn't have his armor equipped when they first entered the trial, he had been shot down and captured. Although it would take some time to get used to, he realized that having his armor on him most of the time would probably be a good idea.

Besides, the {Heart of Scourge} was special. It wasn't normal armor. Equipping it was as easy as making a thought. Literally...

He had {Maelstrom} on his back, alongside the {Scale of the Abyssal Flame}. {Platinum Genesis} was attacked to his waist, as well as his two firearms. Needless to say, he was, by definition, strapped...

Steve looked over to Cain. It was like the calm before the storm. In just a few minutes, probably less, they would be forced to engage with whole platoons of very strong guards. They could even lose their lives in the process. However, they seemed unbothered. Calm even...

"Can I ask you something?" Steve said, all of a sudden.

Cain threw him a side glance, "Sure."

"What kind of life did you lead before all this?"

It was a rather simple question. However, most of them if not all chose to keep the past in the past for various reasons. As the old world died, so did their past identities.

As for Cain, he hadn't thought about his old life in forever. Images of the two people he had ever known as a family quickly swam to the surface of his mind. However, there was nothing fond about those images...

Instead, he felt nothing. However, there was one memory that stuck with him...

"It was nothing much or crazy, really. Grew up in a foster home, dad was the typical crazy drunk, brother was following in his footsteps. However, u can't hold it against them. Lack of purpose does some nasty things to the human mind, I guess..."

"I see..." Steve said, a strange look on his face,

"You and I might have more in common than I thought."

Cain chuckled, "Oh, really?"

Steve shrugged, "Yeah. But I can sense that isn't the full story, Cain. Be honest. Where did you learn how to fight?"

Cain was a bit surprised by this question. Martial arts was nothing new, as it was considered the most famous sporting activity to engage in. Different schools of martial arts have flourished for hundreds of years.

Asking someone where they learned how to fight was like asking them what their favorite television show growing up was.

But somehow, Cain knew that wasn't what Steve was asking...

Before their conversation could continue, they were interrupted by a loud bang. The building directly in front of them shattered like glass, and a titan of a man came barreling towards them. Although he was covered in mostly armor, Cain was still able to recognize him.

'They've come.'

Whipping out the two {Hand of Midas} on his waist, he fired a stream of bullets at the hulking metal man. However, they harmlessly bounced off. It was obvious the armor was made from very high-grade material.

From the hole T'jane had made, a steady stream of guards poured in, making to surround them.

Vivane walked in calmly, her black hair and snow-white robe flowing with the night wind. An angry expression hung on her face. Vulture who walked in from behind her didn't dare say a word.

"Surround them. Make sure to leave no cracks open. We cannot have them escaping again."

Vivane prided herself on being one of the most intelligent people in the kingdom. However, intelligence was not always a measure of cunning. Even the most intelligent of individuals could be put off by a subtle trick.

Looking around, Vivane realized she had been tricked. And that pissed her off. A lot...

Without wasting time, all three Commanders jumped into the fray. If they couldn't capture these Heretics, it was best to just kill them.

Cain sensed their bloodlust as clearly as one could spot the sun at midday. He could also vaguely sense the assassin lurking in the shadows.

Thanks to the darkness affinity granted to him by his involvement with the {Dark Soul}, he could sense the assassin, albeit faintly, as he was using some sort of shadow ability to hide himself.

Cain and Steve exchanged a glance. They reached a moment of understanding. Immediately, Steve began chanting. A transparent bubble enveloped both of them. However, Cain stepped out a second later.

Staring at the approaching sea of armored bodies, a seed of fear blossomed in his heart. He had faced off against hordes of mindless beasts before. This would be his first time fighting off an organized army.

'Relax. They aren't real.' He still had some reservations about killing other humans. After all, he was human as well. A human wouldn't necessarily be burdened by morality when killing animals or beings they deem as lesser.

Killing another human was a whole other ball game. Cain was no exception. That was why he had to convince himself. It was him or them. His eyes closed for only a second.

From the other side, it would seem like he was placing them beneath him. In the heat of conflict, closing your eyes was akin to overestimating yourself and underestimating your opponents.

T'jane's eyes shone with a violent light as he raised the gigantic cleaver he held in his hands overhead, bringing it down with all the might and fury contained within his titanic body.

The night wind became turbulent as two wind dragons appeared as a result of the air around the blade being violently displaced.

T'jane was one of the mightiest warriors in the realm. Very few could take a forward strike of his and come out alive.

Cain's eyes suddenly snapped open. The left one was as white as bleached bones, and the right one had two irises covered in magical runes rotating within the sclera.

A sort of primal fear suddenly gripped T'jane's heart. This was not the eyes of a human. No... It couldn't be.

'God's grant me strength!' Faced with such malevolent promise, the Guard Commander called for strength from his gods. Priests chanting at the back lines had just finished their incantations. Countless buffs fell on his body, causing his power to swell tremendously.

As the blade fell, Cain called upon his own powers as well. A ghostly azure flame enveloped his body all of a sudden. His speed suddenly shot up as he tilted his body slightly a mere moment before the blade cleaved him in half.

However, he wasn't done. Moving in close to the giant armored man, he raised his guns and fired an entire magazine's worth of bullets point-blank into his chest.

One of the best things about Cain's guns was the fact that he could adjust the power of his shots by controlling the amount of mana he poured into them. This meant that rapid shots lost power, but a well-aimed, full-powered shot could very well tear a hole straight through a tank.

This would remain true if and only if the individual in question was normal. Can't was far from normal. Not only were his magic and spirit stats abnormal for a being of lower than Tier 1, but his control over energy was also incredible.

T'jane stumbled backwards, his chest plate filled with dents. The bullets had failed to penetrate the armor, but they had clearly done some damage. A small stream of blood appeared at the corner of his lips, but he quickly wiped it away.

A grin hung on Cain's lips as the nervousness he felt melted away to subtle excitement and battle lust. Twirling the guns between his fingers, he dove straight into the crowd.