God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

His level of coordination with his team was absolutely superb. He could effortlessly hand out orders. It was as though every person he commanded was an extension of his body.

Upon stepping outside the huge dome, leaving the last line of broken buildings covered with its ethereal light, they had lost their protection.

As such, stealth and cautious were the modus operandi. Making careless mistakes at this point could cost one, or all their lives.

To prevent this from happening, Boulder possessed a skill similar to his {Eye of Clairvoyance} that gave him the ability to possess a bird's eyes view and vantage point.

With this, not only could he coordinate better, he could also beware of ambushes and sneak attacks.

Of course, Cain had no way of knowing how powerful his skill was compared to Boilder's, not that it mattered anyways.

However, he had no intentions of telling anyone anything. It was best to keep his trump cards in reserve.

As they moved, the made sure to take maximum advantage of any and all coverage.

{Sentinel Drones}, hideous nightmarish creatures with a single eye and long, thin tendrils that left a trail of Devils Essence behind. With the sheer numbers of these creatures floating around, it would be very difficult to avoid detection of one went about it the normal way.

Boulder listened to the report from one of their more stealthy companions before nodding,

"Have Jasper lead five of his own down the street. Tell them to stick to the shadows. Whatever you do, try to make as little noise as possible."

The man nodded, "Rodger that!"

Boulder turned to Cain, who was pressed against a wall,

"Cain, try your best to.be as silent as possible. From here on our, we enter dangerous territory. A single mistake will spell doom for us all."

Cain nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

Right now, himself, and Boulder were nestled within the remains of a building, alongside eight others. Since they couldn't move as too large o a group, they had to split off. Lucia and Khan went a separate way alongside a few other people, whole he and Boulder were following this path.

Although, calling it a path felt like an over exaggeration. For one, with the sate of the city, there was nothing like a path to stick to.

In fact, most of the roads were in terrible shape.

To make matters even worse, moving through buildings was going to get far more difficult, as there was going to be more and more space between individual buildings until they had no choice but to walk through areas without any hiding spots.

Boulder nodded at him. Then he turned to a woman crowching nearby. Her face was serious as she placed her ear on the ground.

Boulder spoke gently, "What did you find?"

The woman, Gloria, shook her head,

"Nothing unusual. We might see a few Sentinels, but as long as we take them out quickly, there won't be anything to worry."

Boulder nodded, "Alright, everyone. Time to move out again. Damaris... Try not to run this time."

A chuckle spread through the small crowd. A man with a tired, almost stressed face seated at the back sighed,

"I'm better than that, Boulder."

Boulder shrugged, "Sure, sure."

Cain smiled softly, 'So he's not as uptight as I thought.'

Upon stepping out of the room, they all stuck to the walls like their lives depending, because it did.

It was a very novel thing. To experience the dangers of a single error wasn't something a human should do after all, even the years of a human was top short to deal with things lile that.

Getting into trouble would be less scarce than before too. By spending his time moving from one place to another cautiously, he was able to thoroughly grow his patience.

Sometimes, fighting wasn't the best option. Most times, it would be best to either run away, or not get involved at all. Both of those plans were smart, but realistically, difficult to execute.

Simply diving headfirst into it was a more straightforward option. This would, more times than not, end in brutal death.

In the end, exercising caution was why they were able to reach out so far.

However, from here on out, what they had to rely on, was their luck, and ability to analyze when and when not to engage.

Like now for example...

The skies above were undoubtedly ruled by the Devils thanks to the {Sky Devils} and {Sentinel Drones}.

"Pst! Stay still!" Boulder raised his hand and whispered.

They all came to a halt. Gloria stepped forward a bit with a frown,

"Five Sentinels with a {Sky Devils}. What do we do?"

Boulder hesitated for a moment,

"Are you sure that's all?"

Gloria shook her head, "No. There's probably more nearby, but the range of my skill doesn't extend that far."

Boulder nodded, "Then we'll avoid them."

Boulder turned to Cain. He waved his hand,

"Don't worry. I can take care of myself. You can go."

Boulder nodded,

"Alright, you know the drill."

Each and everyone of them, out of necessity, had developed their own stealth skills that they relied in to get through the City.

The {Sentinel Drones} were capable of looking through buildings, but what they were weak against was darkness and shadows as it threw their perception off. That was why it was easier to hide in the shadows and stay still to avoid their detection.

With their various stealth skills, as long as they managed not to draw the attention of the {Sentinel Drones}, they would be relatively safe.

Boulder was worried Cain would be unable to use a stealth skill, and would get them discovered as a result.

'Was it really a good idea for him to come with us? According to Lucia, he's supposed to be very strong. However, strength isn't everything.'

Boulder turned his head slightly, catching a glance of Cain before turning away.

Cain on the other hand already knew how he was going to get through this situation.

The goal was to pass by the Deviliwh scout team without getting spotted.

Normally, that would be difficult to do, but that only applied to normal people. Most of his skills and spells were upgraded or evolved versions of a particular skill he had.

The spell, {Summon: Soul Deity of Darkness} was one that has evolved from a simple spell, {Dark Cloak}.

It could hide his presence very well. He was still capable of using this spell, only with far greater proficiency.

As the others activated their stealth skills and carefully made their way forward, Cain activated his spell.

His body gradually faded out of existence until there was no difference between him and a nearby shadow.

'Interesting. It's been a while since I used an old rendition of a spell or skill.'

A subtle grin spread on Cain's face. However, it was impossible for anyone to see as he had basically turned into a shadow.

The others, unwittingly didn't pay him any more attention, focused on their own thing.

Dashing through the gaps between buildings, through open doors and broken windows, they carefully made their way.

Cain on the other hand, leisurely walked along the side of the road. He was careful enough to stick to the shadows, but that was all. He was certain he wouldn't be caught.

Just then, something strange happened. The {Sky Devil} flying up above suddenly plunged down.

Cain's heart skipped a bit as he watched the Devil land beside him.

'Crap. Have I been spotted?!'

Just when he was considering killing the Devil as fast as possible, he noticed that the Devil's attention was not on him.

It was merely searching the nearby houses and buildings for signs of previous occupation.

Cain stayed still, waiting for it to finish and fly away before he moved an inch.

He let out a relieved sigh as he moved on. Eventually,the was unable to hold his curiosity back,

'System... Why are the Sentinels unable to see through shadows?'

{Replying to Host: The current {Sentinel Drones} have quite undeveloped scanning and observatory organs that have a hard time adjusting to the topography of the City. This defect doesn't allow them to see through shadows. As such, they are usually accompanied by a different type of Devil.

If that Devil notices movement through a shadow, the {Sentinel Drones} will used more advanced techniques to search}.

Cain stroked his chin,

'That was very good to know. So if wee stay in the shadows, we have the advantage.'

Speaking of shadows, Cain was reminded of a certain somebody. His face turned a bit dark, but he pushed the thoughts out of his head.

Walking a bit more, he was finally reunited with Boulder and the rest.

Boulder seemed a bit startled when he materialized from nothing.

"This... How did you–?"

Gloria stared at him with stars in her eyes,

"Incredible! What an incredible stealth skill!"

The others also seemed curious. Despite him being with them, none had actually made an effort to.make conversation with him. Cain preferred it to be that way, but now, they seemed to curious to hold back their questions.

Boulder cleared his throat, drawing all their attention. He turned to Cain,

"Brace yourself. We are entering {Zombie} territory."