God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Hunter rushed over to Dan's location and was met with quite the sight

Dozens of ice sculptures littered the broken streets like broken ornaments.

Dan was seated on the side of the road, a blank look in his eyes, almost las though he was observing something.

"This guy..." Hunter groaned to himself. He had hurried here, expecting Dan to be cornered by some terrifying Mutant Beast, or some equally terrifying human, but everywhere he looked, there were just ice sculptures.

He quickly approached him;

"I don't see any scary beasts, so I'm guessing you called me here for...?" Hunter asked inquisitively.

Dan stayed silent for a few seconds then turned to Hunter.

"This... I don't know how to say this."

Hunter was getting a bit annoyed, "Just spill it already. I have important fish to fry. Literally."

He had planned on taking out some of the larger {Sea Drakes} before he had reached out to Dan. However, that plan was going to be delayed.

Dan shook his head, "No. This is more important. You know the quakes we've been experiencing?"

Hunter frowned, trying to recall something,

"Yeah. It is subtle, but it still is definitely there."

The island would momentarily quake every once in a while. They had no idea why it was happening, so they had just put it at the back of their minds.

Dan smiled ruefully, "Well, something is causing it. Something really really big."

Hunter's eyes turned wide, "How big?"

Dan's face was a bit pale, "Bigger than you think. I don't even know how big it is yet."

Hunter shot his a look, "How do you know this?"

A small smile appeared on Dan's lips, "Evolution of {White Eye}. I can extend my sight even further now."

'So that was what he was doing earlier...'

{White Eye}... an observation skill Dan had created when he had fought Francis for the first time within a Blood Fog. That hindered his sight. It had the magical property of allowing him to see through illusions and over an extremely wide range, something he had just found out not too long ago.

"If my guesses are right, whatever it is that is trying to sink the island, it is also exerting a subtle influence on all the Sea Mutants in the area. The boss, if thats what you'd like to call it."

Hunter started walking, "I knew something was up."

A creature strong enough to make an entire island shake like this...

It had to be at least in the higher echelons of Tier 1. It could even be a Tier 2 creature. That was not good news in the slightest.

"What do we do now?"

Hunter's eyes turned cold, "I can't reach Cain right now. He must be too far away."

Dan chuckled, "I guess we'll have to handle this ourselves. How exciting..."

Hunter chuckled, "You don't sound very excited."

Dan shurgged.

Hunter quickly used the white wolf to spread his senses. A third eye opener up on the beast's forehead, radiating a soft glow.

"Dan, how many of us are on the island?"

Dan's eyes became blank for a moment,

"Well, there's Leah and her group... Seems like Steve and Ignis alongside the others are now fighting on the island. And..."

His eyes turned frigid, "He's here as well."

"Hm?" Sensing a change come over Dan, Hunter looked back at his. Seeing the murderous intent leaking from him, he shook his head.

"You can do whatever you want, but don't forget theission comes first."

Dan nodded, and said nothing more.

Hunter hummed, "If we are counting us, that makes our total number... Twelve. There's twelve of us. Hmm..."

Dan was a bit curious by now, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Hunter gave him a strange look, "What else? Have everyone get the hell off this place."

Dan was surprised, "You actually care about these people?"

Hunter shook his head, "I might be heartless, but that doesn't mean I want innocent humans to die. Besides, Cain's words were, 'Limit the casualties', or something like that..."

Dan stiffled a laugh, "Since when did you start taking orders?"

Hunter smiled. There were some things that didn't need to be said. Understanding his silence, Dan stopped laughing and coughed,

"Anyway... How are we going to do that?"

Hunter looked Dan in the eye,

"We'll gather as many Lightslayers as well can and wake them up. I'll contact the ship to make a move towards the island. The Beastmen fighting will clean up the way for them."

The Beastmen that had accompanied Cain off Gwendolyn were still fighting hard. Thanks to their hardy constitutions, and the weapons and equipment Cain had given them, they had managed to last until now. Their casualties were also very low.

If they cleared thepath for Gwendolyn, it would be able to swiftly make a beeline for the island, Carey the people stuck on it, and get them out fast.

A slight rumble shook the ground again. This time, it was far more powerful than before, causing dust, small pebbles, and rocks to vibrate as well.

"Not good..." Dan couldn't help but say.

Hunter agreed with him. He immediately reached out with his mental connection. The first group he contacted was Leah's.

Clearing their way through the Central Island, they mowed down Mutant Creatures left and right. Because most of the Lightslayers were fighting near the shone and where Dan and Hunter currently were, they rarely encountered them.

Their most frequent opponents were frighteningly harrowing Mutant Beasts that had crawled from the depths of the ocean, as well as those that had hidden themselves within the island and we're making use of the pandemonium to come out of their crevices and burrows.

Leah heard a voice worm its way into her mind.

'Leah...'

She didn't stop what she was doing though, exerting her muscles and forcibly ripping off the head of an eel-like Sea Mutant. The creature spasmed with electricity, but they simply coiled around her bloodied arms and hands.

Eventually, the creature slumped dead...

Covered in slimy blood, Leah felt uncomfortable.

'What is it?' She said, slightly irritated.

Not wanting to waste any time himself, Hunter quickly relayed the state of things.

Leah frowned, then looked around her. Similarly desecrated corpses lay around her, and more were being added to the pile as Roselle and the rest butchered through a group of Mutant Beasts that were currently attacking them.

'This... That's going to be a bit hard. We aren't far away from there, but getting through these Mutant Beasts will be dangerous. I can't put the lives of my people at risk.'

Hunter had conveyed to her his plan. He knew for a fact that there were people hiding in the buildings within the giant earthen wall.

Like sitting ducks, they had no idea what their fate would soon come to be.

Hunter thought about it for a second, 'There is no one else around there. If you can't get there, then wake a few Lightslayers up and have them go there instead. At least this way, we will be able to warn them before something bad happens.'

If they couldn't save them personally, then it was better for them to just warn them and put their fates in their own hands.

They didn't act like they were aware of what was going to happen soon, so Hunter knew they weren't aware of their potential fate.

Something had to be done...

Leah thought about it for a while,

'Fine. We'll go. But if things get dangerous, we will retreat immediately.'

Hunter nodded, 'Alright.'

"Leah... What's the matter?" Kai suddenly called out.

Leah sighed, "Looks like we are going to push through after all."

Kai was stunned, while Lin Lin frowned, "What do you mean push through?"

Leah explained, "Turns out the island might sink very soon. There a really huge Mutant Beast trying to take us all out in one go."

Sisi's face turned a bit pale,

"Then... All these people."

Leah nodded grimly, "Are in mortal peril."

Lin Lin snorted, "It's still better that having ourselves killed. We can only handle so many Mutant Creatures at once, now can we?"

Leah frowned, "I know that. Still... We can't leave them all to die."

Lin Lin's face was cold, "And why not?"

Everyone fell silent. They perfectly understood what she was trying to say.

Roselle who had been silent all this time spoke up,

"If you want to leave, then that's fine. I'm going."

Lin Lin turned to her with wide eyes,

"What?!"

Roselle remained calm, "'The most important thing in all this is to keep the casualties low. Try not to die...' That's what he said. I plan on following through."

Lin Lin's gaze grew cold, "Rose... You weren't like this before. What's gotten into you? Could it be that you've actually fallen so helplessly in love?"

A faint blush crept up Roselle's face, but she maintained a stoic expression,

"I don't know what you are talking about. But... I do know that Cain got us this far. I wou6 rather not betray his trust. Plus, Leah doesn't seem to be against this."

Lin Lin snorted, "Don't give me that bullshit. Going so far for a man that hasn't even glanced at you more than twice. How far have you fallen?!"

The temperature plummeted as Roselle's eyss narrowed,

"Lin... You might want to be careful with your next words "

Sensing the dangerous change, Lin Lin didn't even flinch,

"Or what?"

"Alright, that's enough. Calm down, both of you." Leah said with a sigh.

Then she turned to Lin Lin,

"We can't abandon them. That's the decision I'm making."

Lin Lin still seemed a bit reluctant. Roselle however had already started walking forward.

Kai just sighed, then scratched her head, "So much happening in such little time. Give me some time to catch up, will you?"

Sisi shook her head as well, "Tell me about it. Honestly..."

Leah sighed for what felt like the hundredth time,

"Enough of that. Let's go. Lin... I won't let anything go wrong. I promise you."

Lin Lin's eyes trailed after Roselle, a hint of darkness and affection in her gaze,

"I'll hold you on your word then."