God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

To put it simply, they had been getting by with just scavenging and searching the City for food and whatever was edible.

The water supply system within the City had long since been damaged, or perhaps even completely destroyed. As such, those here were forced to do what they could to survive.

The problem of water could be managed with magic items that could produce water. However, the items were unable to produce enough for so many people. Plus, their God despised magic.

The worst issue was hunger. Apart from their stash of canned foods, which was already running low, there was nothing else to be eaten within the City.

The Mutant Creatures that had once populated the City were mostly all killed by the Devils.

There were no forests nearby, meaning they couldn't even eat plants.

Instead, all that was around them was sand, and the suffocating feeling of death.

'No wonder he is called the God of the Sands and Death. This place is a goddamned death trap!'

Cain had no idea how they had managed to survive all this time.

From within the dome, they could attack, but Devils and Mutant Creatures outside could not attack. This also includes humans.

A downside of this, is that the people are separated from the rest of the world unless they leave the place with their own legs.

However, the only thing waiting for them outside was death.

Not unless there was something to keep them safe...

Arltzwalt stared at Cain silently for a few moments before he sighed. The smile on his face melted away into an indifferent stare. Snapping his fingers, a few soldiers stepped into the room.

Cain's eyes narrowed when he saw the person standing before these soldiers.

"Do you really want to go down the route?" Cain said, his voice cold, calm, yet menacing.

Arltzwalt frowned, "The lives of many people rest on my shoulders. I'll do whatever needs to be done."

Cain clenched his fists. Standing before him, bound by what he could tell were magic suppressing chains, was Hunter. He was badly bruised and battered, bleeding from many places. He was also unconscious. It was obvious that he had gone through a nasty beating to end up this way.

Arltzwalt stood up, "Do not worry. He's not dead. We just roughed him up a bit because he was being stubborn."

Cain forced himself to remain calm,

"Where are they?"

Arltzwalt stared at him calmly,

"They are being kept somewhere. Trust me when I say that they are safe. However, if you continue being difficult, they aren't the only ones that'll get roughed up."

With a wave of his hand, many soldiers poured into the room. The nozzle of their guns were immediately pointed at him.

Cain let out a sigh. He turned to look at Lucia, who was staring at the scene unfolding before her with wide eyes.

'Looks like she's also surprised.'

"General! This is..."

General Arltzwalt raised a hand, "Now isn't the time, Lucy... Go back, you are dismissed. I'll take it from here."

Lucia opened her mouth, as though she wanted to say something.

In the end, she stayed silent and bowed her head before leaving the tent.

"What do you plan on doing with the boy and his friends, General?" One of the old man gave Cain a strange stare.

The General frowned, "The entire City and itself environments have been plagued with devilish corruption. There's nothing to eat for miles on end. So we need to turn our gazes elsewhere. The sea... By getting that ship, we will be able to solve a vast majority of our problems. Isn't that right, Cain?"

Cain chuckled, "You all certainly aren't wise for old men."

Arltzwalt smiled, "That isn't up for you to question, young man."

Cain raised a brow, "Are you sure about that? You think torturing and threatening will make me give you the ship? Even if you get your hands on it, you can't use it."

"All that can be handled in due time. For now, just know that I hold all your lives in the palm of my hand. What I said earlier? I'll give you some time to think about it." Arltzwalt said.

The soldiers dragged Hunter away before they escorted him out of the tent.

Walking out of the military compound, Con was already thinking of the numerous ways to kill his way out and find the others.

In the end, he decided to stay his hand temporarily...

For one, most of his abilities in this place were being dampened. Two, he had no idea where the held the others.

If he acted rashly, he could get someone killed. It wouldn't be worth it at all.

'These old men are fools.'

Sitting behind a shell for days upon days, quietly waiting for death. And yet, they jumped at the first sign of fresh meat like hungry sharks without hesitation.

He should have known. Humans were known to be selfish. Their choices and decisions came from their point of view. They did what they believed to be right, and performed acts they believed would benefit them the most.

'As for their stupid plan, it can never work. Food is essential, but going about it this way will just lead to more deaths. To get to the ship, they have to get through the City first. They'll be beaten to death by the Devils before they even make it out.'

Cain's frown deepened, 'Unless this isn't that bastard's plan in the first place.'

Cain could tell that General Arltzwalt was a shrewd person. Meaning the things he says, and the things he does could very well be opposites.

'But if this isn't the plan, then what could it be? Providing food and water for so many people, the source has to be constant. From what I've seen so far, there are at least close to thirty thousand people in this place. Feeding them all is going to take a lot. It's no wonder they are becoming desperate.'

Although Cain couldn't excuse this slight just because they were desperate, he definitely could understand where they were coming from.

In the end, it all came down to him. It was his fault they were in this mess, meaning it was his responsibility to get them out of it.

'Besides, I fully intend on taking the City back.'

Staring at the dark sky, and the moon that adorned it like a brilliant piece of art of a plain wall, Cain's thoughts swam like fish in an endless river.

He was escorted back to the room he had started at. It was still very simple. Seated on the bed, Cain closed his eyes.

One fatal error General Arltzwalt had failed to prevent, was placing Cain and Hunter in the same room. Because of the dampening of abilities within the dome, Hunter's mental connection skill was unable to work properly.

For it to work, the wolf had to be summoned, but in his situation, it would be difficult to even move a finger. At least, that was what Cain had thought.

This was why he was surprised to hear Hunter's voice in his head.

'So they are all safe for now. However, the are all being kept relatively separate, with the dangerous ones being kept in complete isolation.'

Cain let out a sigh.

'There's nothing I can do now but wait for more information.'

Jumping the gun now could have very bad consequences he wasn't willing to handle, so passiveness was the modus operandi for now.

A sudden knock on the door called him from the land of his thoughts.

The door opened to reveal Lucia with a strange expression on her face.

Cain's face was cold,

"The hell do you want?!"

Lucia remained silent for a few seconds before stepping into the room,

"The... The General isn't usually like this. Something must have come up to make him this desperate."

Cain sneered, "You must be blind to think that dude has all his screws on tight."

Lucia shook her head,

"You have to believe me. There must be a reason for this."

Cain raised a brow, "A reason?"

Lucia nodded, "The General usually just beats up anyone who doesn't do what he wants. If he's going through all this, then it means things are getting bad, and he's becoming desperate."

She sighed, "I thought he was becoming a coward, but from what I can see, he's planning something big."

Cain shook his head, "What do you want from me? What do you mean by saying all this? Why are you here?"

Lucia sighed, "I feel like before you make any decisions, I should fill you in on what exactly is going on here "

Cain snorted, then fell down to the bed,

"I don't care. That's your business. I'm going to bed."

Lucia's eyes widened,

"W-what do you mean?! The lives of people are on the line and you want to go to bed?!"

Cain shrugged with his eyes closed,

"That's their business, isn't it? I have my hands full as it is. Why take in more burdens. I think this is a prime opportunity for me to get some rest."

Lucia gritted her teeth, her gaze became dangerous,

"Get your ass up, or I'll make you!"

Cain snorted, "No."

Lucia finally snapped...

And lunged straight for Cain's unprotected back.