God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"What is that?!" The man blurted out, drawing the attention of all the crew members on board, including Rollo.

Rollo let his gaze follow the direction the man pointed out. Raising an eyebrow in surprise at the scene that played out before his very eyes, he couldn't help but blurt out a curse word.

Right before their eyes, an ice road was being created on top of the ocean from nothing...

"Maybe it's a mutant beast?! Let's get away from here!" One of Rollo's followers said loudly.

All of a sudden, the ice road stopped increasing length. The pause was so abrupt, one would think that whatever mutant creature was creating the structure had come to a stop because of them.

"Oh no!"

"We have to get away!"

"It must have somehow sensed us!"

Without even a moment of hesitation to think of the potential dangers ahead, Rollo gave the order to move closer to the ice bridge, completely ignoring the pleas of his men.

Acting with lightning speed, Rollo gave out an order to one of the strongest of his men who despite not having a system, was able to acquire a few skills from the Blood god.

"Ralph, go check it out."

The man in question, Ralph, had a 60% affinity with the blood element, hence, he was able to gain a skill, {Blood Pulse} from the Blood god. This skill allowed him to sense the existence of all living creatures in a certain radius, and was hence, a very good scouting skill.

However, this also meant he was required to go ahead of everyone to meet the incoming danger...

"B-but!" He tried to protest shakily but was completely shut up by a cold glare from Rollo.

The fear of Rollo was greater than the fear of whatever was out there, as he had seen the brutal way Rollo had killed someone that had defied an order.

Once the speedboat was close enough, the man placed his hands on a ledge and pushed with all his might. In the blink of an eye, he landed on the ice bridge.

Without wasting a second, a magic circle appeared on his head and spread out in the form of a dome. Turning to Rollo who had landed beside him, he shook his head with a frown.

"There's no sea life in a 50-mile radius. This place is freaking empty." Ralph said with a scared expression.

'Damn it! This is not what I signed up for!' The poor underling could only lament in his mind as he didn't dare say anything to Rollo who sported a rather scary expression.

"What do you think, Francis?" The other speedboats had come to a stop, and many more of Rollo's men had arrived near the Ice bridge. A man who had a soft, yet menacing face that although wasn't ugly in any sense of the word, was able to incite day terrors in a person's mind should one look too deeply at him.

He wore a red cape that had a few animal bones jutting out from the shoulder areas. He also had two {Long Bloody Katanas} hanging at the sides of his waist. He sported a smile on his face as he jumped down from his speedboat.

"This is clearly man-made, Rollo. No idiot beast will be able to produce magic this refined. You would know that if you pay more attention to magic theory rather than fighting like a brute all day."

Francis was a member of Rollo's team who had a history with both Guy and Rollo. He was a part of their original underworld organization and had more than a few kills under his belt despite not being a No trigger.

"Watch it..." Rollo said coldly. It was very obvious the two didn't get along well.

Turning back to the Ice bridge, Rollo spoke clearly and slowly,

"If this is man-made, then where are the men who made it? We didn't see any humans when the road was expanding. What created it could possibly be underwater." Rollo said with a grunt as he stared at Francis with disdain.

"Hahaha!" Letting out a crisp laugh, a few red magic circles appeared within Francis's eyes as he turned toward the direction Dan ran in.

"Magic is mysterious and mana can do what we thought was impossible. Flames can be created from thin air and eldritch creatures that exist only in nightmares now dwell amongst us. Don't you think this flimsy thing can be created by a human when all these are possible?" Francis said, an insane look in his eyes.

Rollo fell silent for a while, starting at the Ice road he stood on...

After a few minutes of silence, he tore his eyes away and jumped back onto the bridge.

"Let's go. Follow the Ice road..." Rollo said to his followers who looked more than happy to get going."

Meanwhile, Francis let out a soft chuckle that felt like a thousand inky black tendrils of evil clasping onto a mortal's neck.

"You guys can head on... I feel like walking for some reason?"

His eyes glowed a deep red color as he continued to stare in the other direction, his back facing the empty sea.

"Is that so? Suit yourself then. However, if you start killing people without my approval, I'll shave the skin off your head." Rollo said coldly before zooming off right beside the ice road.

***

All of a sudden, Dan came to a halt as he dropped Old Man Ling onto the ice bridge, and created two Ice daggers from concentrated ice. Sweat immediately began to ooze out of his pores despite the extreme cold...

'W-what was that?!' Dan thought to himself. He felt as though a terrifying demon had locked onto him, and he was unable to lose it despite the distance between them.

"What's wrong, Dan? Is there something in the water?!" Old Man Limg asked anxiously.

"I don't know... But something has locked onto me." Dan said with a hard expression as he gripped his ice daggers tighter.

"Locked onto you?!" The Old man looked confused.

"Keep heading back. Whatever it is, I'll keep it occupied until you get some help. Hurry! I have a feeling it isn't too far behind!" Dan said to the old man without looking at him.

"Leave you behind?! What are you?!-" The old man wasn't able to complete the sentence before Dan snapped around and kicked him heavily, sending him a few meters away. Immediately after, he threw a few HP and MP potions at him.

"Go back, Now! Tell Hunter that whatever's coming is the real deal." Dan said before turning back to face the other direction.

He stomped his feet into the ice, creating a special mana-powered slide that continued to carry the already moving Old Man Ling even further, increasing his acceleration the further he moved away.

Dan summoned an MP potion from his inventory, as he stared deeply into the distance. There was a slight fog that drifted above the water which made it difficult for him to see too far into the distance. However, it didn't obstruct his view completely.

He was able to see the faint outline of a human figure that walked at a pace that was neither fast nor slow, yet was able to travel long distances very quickly.

'A human?' Dan thought to himself. He calmed down a bit subconsciously when he realized that whatever had locked onto him was human. This was because he knew that whoever was approaching could easily mean him no harm, or be after his life.

He didn't need to wait much longer, as in a few minutes, the ghastly figure of Francis was revealed before Dan...

Both men stared at one another for a few seconds before they got into battle positions. There was no talking, no words exchanged, nothing of that sort...

The only things existing between them were air and an unspeakable tension...

Dan's eyes had taken on a dark look. He had an indifferent expression as the temperature of the air around him fell by several degrees in a few seconds.

Meanwhile, Francis began to emit a thick red smoke. He had a grin that stretched from ear to ear on his face as he took step after step toward Dan.

The anxiousness and fear that had been on Dan's face were long gone as he spoke coldly,

"Take one more step, and you will lose a limb..."

Francis stopped right in his tracks, but still sported the same terrifying grin on his face...

"Is this any way to treat an old acquaintance?" Francis said.

"The only acquaintances you have are the souls of your victims, Francis..." Dan spat coldly.

"You speak as though you do not have blood on your hands, Dan..." Francis said with a chuckle.

"At least I still have a soul, you bastard!" Dan said through gritted teeth.

"A soul?! Hahaha haha!" Francis burst into a fit of laughter as he touched his sides. His loud laughter traveled far due to the emptiness surrounding them.

"Who needs a soul in our line of business? Even after all these years, you still can't help but be naive."

A thick bloodlust began to leak out of Dan as he tightened his grip around his weapons. He stared at Francis like he wanted nothing more than to stab him through the heart.

"Even after all these years, you speak as though you truly believe good and evil exist..."

The blood fog surrounding Francis's body began to spread above the water's surface, causing Dan to become incredibly cautious.

"There is no way to define what is truly good or evil. However, actions and consequences do exist. If you plant a seed, you get a tree and a fruit. That is the way of the world."

"Do you just want to keep rambling like a madman?" Dan said coldly...

"Sorry... I just got excited upon seeing an old friend." Francis said with a teasing smile.

'What I'd give to wipe that shit-eating smile off this bastard's face...' Dan thought to himself.

"What do you want? How did you get here? Did you come alongside those people on the speedboats?" Dan asked.

Francis went silent for a while, "Are you the one who built this ice road?" Francis asked with narrowed eyes.

Sensing something fishy, Dan chose not to answer. Instead, he just stared carefully at Francis, watching his every move.

"Kekeke... I can't sense any other human close by, so I'll only assume it was you. However, all that is inconsequential. Right now, you have only three options before you." Francis said to Dan.

"Three options? What the hell are you on?" Dan said with narrowed eyes. For the first time in a while, he could feel goosebumps appear on his skin as a bad feeling took over his heart.

"Your first option is to commit suicide," Francis said with a smile that couldn't be more menacing than it already was, causing Dan to freeze up.

Dan had known Francis since before the apocalypse and was even more aware of the acts he had committed. While Dan and Hunter had been freelancers, Francis belonged to an underworld group that took on all sorts of jobs as well, which meant they had come across one another more than once and not as acquaintances...

In all those encounters, Francis had always managed to leave Dan with something to think about, be it a nasty injury, or mourning over a dead comrade. His methods were gruesome, and his heart was as corrupted as a decaying corpse.

"Your second option is to let yourself be killed by me quietly, but I doubt this will be possible, as you have always had a knack for moving around like a cockroach..." Francis said, sounding a bit exasperated...

"What is the final option..." Dan said, his knuckles turning white from holding onto his ice daggers for too long.

The smile on Francis's face turned even wider,

"Your final option is to join us..."

Dan was a bit confused by this, "Us? Who is ''us''?" Dan asked with a raised brow...

"Hehehe... We are the Followers of the Blood god of War, Azimuth. Those who follow him will be granted pardon for their sins and access to unlimited power. Power beyond their wildest imaginations. The power that will make one discard all thoughts of good and evil!"

The excited and crazy expression on Francis's face made Dan feel a deep feeling of unease.

"So what do you say? Despite being naive, I can sense that you are indeed strong. You will serve a greater purpose by my side than at the bottom of the ocean."

Francis's words were filled with venom as he stretched a callous hand toward Dan...

"Not in a million years. Hell would have to freeze over before I even consider working with you, demon!" Dan said coldly.

"Is that so?" Francis said, his grin fading away just a little...

"Option two it is then..."