God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Hunter stared at Cain who looked like he had just been to hell and back A layer of dried blood covered him from head to toe, and there was a pool of sweat and blood beneath his exhausted-looking body.

"What's the news?" Cain could tell from Hunter's posture that he had found information worthy of sharing.

Hunter stared at Cain for a while longer before he spoke up,

"I saw something. There are people on the other Islands..."

Cain instantly sat up, his eyes shining with curiosity...

"What do you think? Will they be friendlies?" Cain asked Hunter.

"That might be hard to discern for now, as we haven't made contact yet. But judging from the situation of things, I doubt they will show any hostility, at least until we get to know them more. As long as they are willing to cooperate with us or not cause us any trouble, then we won't be hostile either..." Hunter explained.

"The main issue now is how do we even make contact. The distance between the Islands is too great for us to cross even with how great our stats are." Cain placed his hand on a bloody chin.

Ignoring the fact that Cain was still covered in blood, Hunter gave his opinion,

"We can't cross the distance normally, but there are many ways to do so, especially with the added power. The first thing we could try doing is creating boats. Or we could have someone with a unique skill that can allow everyone to cross through such a large body of water."

"We can't take such risks... Crossing the water right now with little information won't be smart. For all we know, the creatures beneath the surface of the water will be just as or even more frightening than the devils we just faced." Cain explained with a sharp look in his eyes.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Hunter said, his eyes still gazing from Cain's battered body to the even more torn-up environment.

"We wait... Do not spread this information yet. There are still a lot of things that need to be done here. We can't have everyone getting too excited to leave..." Cain said with a cold smile.

Hunter fell silent for a while before speaking in his stoic, never changing tone,

"You seem more powerful than before..." His claws that he had purposefully kept hidden suddenly shot out, slightly reflecting the dim illumination of their surroundings.

"You as well..." Cain was also shocked at what he saw in Hunter, but he refused to let his shock show on his face.

Cain understood the basics of the magic nature and mana, and together with his {Spirit Sense} and {Eye of Clairvoyance} skills, he was able to accurately determine just how much of a monster Hunter was...

In nature, mana usually took on the form of the major elements. Fire, water, earth, wind, nature, light, darkness, space, and time. However, these were just the forms mana or magic took on naturally, and not its base form.

The base form of mana was an attributeless energy source that could cause various effects on the physical world by controlling it in the spiritual plane.

Skills like his {Mana Heart} and {Mana Blade} made use of pure mana to cause changes in the physical world by manipulating the spiritual through the use of the natural human anchor, the Soul.

The same could be said about the other firms of mana. They were also influenced and changed by the Soul, and from there, different paraelementals would be created.

For instance, a paraelemental of the earth element was the metal element Cain used. Although it was a paraelemental, it could be counted as an element completely separate from its origin element. Same with the blood paraelemental.

Due to this complex magical theory, Cain could possess a 100% affinity for the metal element, and have 0% affinity for the earth element.

For Hunter, it was far more complicated...

When Cain used both his {Eye of Clairvoyance} and {Spirit Sense} on him, he was able to discover something odd about Hunter. The space around him was constantly linked through the spiritual plane into an alternate world.

Cain had thought it was just an aspect of summoning he was familiar with until he remembered stumbling upon a page in the [Records of Akasha] that spoke of a phenomenon similar to this.

Such a phenomenon could only be created by a being exuding the aura or power of a celestial entity. It was most likely that Hunter had come across a fortunate encounter that had granted him the power of a celestial being.

And the most surprising part was that the link between the two worlds created through the spiritual world was constantly leaking out a strange vital energy that constantly poured into Hunter's body. Taking a closer look at it, Cain was able to infer that it was Ki. But a Ki that was different from his...

Cain reasoned that it was this Ki that was responsible for his beastly transformations and incredible power, making Cain register him in his mind as a very strong ally...

Hunter noticed Cain's intense focus on him but wasn't too bothered about it as he also focused intensely on Cain as well. Combining his {Death Marker} devil eyes with {Spirit Sense}, he could also get a glimpse at the monstrous strength Cain hid under his human skin.

Cain's main power lay in his tremendous physical strength and his even more frightening magic potential that created an aura of power and magic so dense, it blurred the barrier between the physical and spiritual realms around him.

His physical strength and Ki also gave him a passive dangerous aura that intimidated the Ki in Hunter a bit, causing him to automatically feel pressure when he got close to Cain...

"Is that so..." The light of magic within Hunter's eyes cleared away as he turned around. A magic circle appeared beneath his feet as he prepared to leave.

"I'll meet you by the cliff in a few hours," Cain said before a burst of flames erupted from the magic circle and Hunter was replaced with a large flaming wolf. The flaming wolf stared at Cain curiously for a few seconds before scurrying into the bushes nearby...

Cain heaved a sigh as he collapsed onto the ground. He activated his {Metal Creation} skill, causing a small igloo to suddenly appear from the ground and encapsulate his tired body. He applied more mana, and the igloo sank a few feet into the ground, leaving no traces behind.

In the dark embrace of his mana, Cain let his weariness take over as the exhaustion he tried to fight had finally caught up with him. In a few seconds, he let his mind be embraced by warmth as he passed out into a deep slumber.

***

Meanwhile, On the Eastern Island...

A group of men covered head to toe in runes that were so numerous, they were visible on their bodies, carried the corpse of a huge mutant rabbit over to a raging fire, and placed the headless corpse over it. They had sinister expressions on their faces as they watched the meat get cooked over the powerful flames slowly.

A man with a scar over his left eye stood beside the fire, feeding the flame with mana with a cold, but hungry look on his face.

"In the end, this is all you magic schmagic guys are good for! Jiejeijei!"

The expression on the face of the man feeding the flame grew incredibly dark, but he was silenced by the threatening glare of a man who stood behind the group of thugs with a stoic expression and a seemingly immovable physique.

The rune tattoed men continued roasting the rabbit over the fire for a few more minutes before an irresistible aroma wafted from the cooled meat. The meat was cooked so quickly due to the power of the flames that could easily borrow through the thick muscles and fat of the animal, breaking it down and cooking it in the process.

The men around the fire had fierce looks in their eyes as they took the meat off the fire and began to devour it in a frenzy.

"Freaking Pigs!" The man that had been fueling the fire had a look of disgust squeeze his facial features as he spat out a glob of spit watching the men behave like rabid animals.

"Insult my men again, and I will gut your bowels out, Luke..." The stoic man standing behind the group warned in a soft voice that had all the threats Luke, the man with the fire attribute magic skill, needed to show signs of fear on his face.

"Tch!" Luke, who had a {Black Obsidian} blade hanging from his waist, rested his hand on the hilt of the menacing blade.

"Want a fight?!" A sinister light flashed within the eyes of the bulky man who was also covered in runes. He had a huge Broadsword attached to a sheath on his back as well, as a redhead that had been dyed red by the blood of a mutant beast.

Luke had a cold look on his face as a few sparks flew around his body. However, his anger faded quickly and was replaced with indifference,

"Not today, Rollo... Enjoy your meal and do call me if you ever need a fucking stove or microwave again. I'll be sure to heat you and your men alongside your meals." Saying these words, Luke walked away from the group of jeering and taunting thugs as Rollo watched him leave with a menacing stare.

A while after Luke was gone, the originally rowdy crowd of men suddenly had a change in their mannerisms, turning from thugs to cold-faced killers in a split second.

One of them stood up from the ground and walked to Rollo who still stood staring at the path Luke used to leave,

"Rollo, he is dangerous, but does he deserve this level of caution?"

Rollo was silent for a while before turning to the man who came up to him. His hands flashed with a terrifying red glow and morphed into a devilish claw.

"Devil Claw: Grasping Devil..."

He cracked his knuckles and spoke in a cold voice to the man who was now scared shitless.

"He is a 'No trigger', someone known for being a ruthless killer even before this apocalypse. To take him lightly is courting death. Regardless of how tamed he is because of The Boss, lose your guard and you'll meet your maker without a head." The devilish claws

glowed with a sinister purple light that cast a dark shadow on Rollo's face.

He slashed the space to his side, and all of a sudden, a tree that was a few meters away on the other side of the clearing they were in was blown into uncountable splinters...

"However, he is still a pure magic user. With The Boss around and him recently defeating the {Broodmother}, he has no way of ever being meaningful. The only reason The Boss has kept him alive is because he hasn't outlived his usefulness... Yet..."