God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"What happened?"

He could feel several presences approaching, but he couldn\'t pay any attention to them.

"Steve! What the hell happened?!" A voice seemed to yell out. However, it quickly faded away as his consciousness seemed to slip away.

\'This is bad...\'

At first, he felt overwhelming pain, then nothing.

Cain sighed, \'Thank goodness I learned that stuff. I\'d be dead right now if I didn\'t.\'

Using the Magic Square to practice his control over his ki had been incredibly helpful, not just to boost the purity of his energy, but to also help improve his control over it.

Although he hadn\'t figured it out completely, he now had basic control over Ki, such that he could use it to envelop parts of his body, reducing damage over the covered area.

Despite that, the power of the armor-wearing bastard had been too much.

A cold feeling crept all over him until he entered the embrace of darkness completely.

***

"Damn it! He\'s out cold!" Blaze placed two fingers on Cain\'s neck, feeling his pulse.

"Yo, what the hell happened?!" Vincent stared at Steve with wide eyes. It was common knowledge to them that Cain was one of the strongest among them when it came to physical ability. For him to the put out of order so quickly was nothing short of scary.

Steve wiped the layer of sweat on his forehead away,

"I... I don\'t think beating this trial will be easy."

Sisi had her hands over Cain\'s chest, her brows furrowed,

"He\'s been badly injured. Too injured for my healing spells to do much. There\'s also some mysterious energy preventing healing."

They were currently within the old abandoned manor that had turned into their hideout.

Cain had teleported them to the basement of the manor, as it was the only place he could think of in the heat of the moment. Currently, the only ones there were the unconscious Cain, Steve, Vincent, Blaze, Manny, and Sisi. The rest had yet to arrive.

Footsteps rapidly approached from the stairs leading down into the basement.

Several figures poured into the basement, making it seem a bit overcrowded.

Hunter, Leah, Kai, Lin Lin, Jenny, Roselle, Sue, Li, Dan, Stan, and Floki...

Hunter, Kai, Lin Lin, and Floki had completed their mission. It had been very successful thanks to Cain and Steve\'s distraction. The others had been hiding away from the eyes of the enemies, but Steve\'s public service announcement had given them the push they needed to crawl out of the mud.

If they had made a move any other time, they might have been spotted by the guards, leading to their capture.

"Cain!" Jenny\'s eyes went wide when she saw Cain sprawled down on the ground looking half-dead.

She and the others quickly rushed over.

Li couldn\'t help the frown on his face, "Oi, what the hell is going on here? What happened to him?"

Steve ruffled his hair roughly, "Ahh! Can you guys stop asking that already?!"

Roselle frowned, "Has this place been compromised?"

Blaze shook his head, "Not yet. Calm down. It isn\'t what you think."

Hunter sighed, "Right now, we should be treating the injured. How\'s it looking?" He said, looking over to Sisi, who was still hunched over Cain.

The semi-mutant human sighed, "He isn\'t in any immediate danger. He should be awake in a few hours."

Everyone seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief when they heard that. For a while, Cain had been considered the de facto leader. Although he didn\'t know, he was somewhat of a natural leader. Plus, he had the strength to assume that role.

Without saying a word, Hunter moved towards Cain. Assuming his more beastly form, he heaved him over his shoulder and spoke in a gruff voice,

"Let\'s go."

The rest followed him. The manor was big despite being abandoned. Some of the rooms were in terrible condition, while some were better. They settled Cain in one of the still liveable rooms.

Gathered around the bed, everyone had dark looks on their faces. Jenny\'s eyes were calm as she looked over to Steve. Despite her calm exterior, Steve seemed to see something equally dark rising behind her serene eyes.

A cold sweat broke out across his back.

He began explaining...

Once he was done, everyone seemed to understand.

Hunter sighed, "We must move with caution from now on. Perhaps it would be best if no one left in the meantime."

No one seemed adverse to the idea.

After a moment of silence, Sue spoke up with a bit of hesitation,

"Just how strong is that Lord Crimson guy, able to put down scarce in a few blows."

Steve shook his head, "I don\'t know. They were too fast for me to see."

Just the idea seemed too scary.

\'Cain...\' Jenny looked down at Cain, a complicated look dancing in her eyes. On one hand, it seemed unlikely for Cain to lose so easily. However, she knew very well just how human he was beneath everything.

He was human just like the rest of them. Putting so many expectations on his shoulders was bound to end in disappointment.

Her eyes became steely...

***

Cain\'s eyes fluttered open. He looked around, taking in the state of the room he was in. The room was in decent shape, and the bed was cozy, much more comfortable than what he had become used to over the last few months.

He sat up but winced in pain when he tried clenching his right hand. His memories came flooding back. He had used it to block a blow from the Crimson knight that had attacked him the night before.

It had healed substantially, but it wasn\'t fully healed by any stretch of the imagination.

Cain sighed. The memory of the previous night was still fresh in his head. The reason he had been beaten was quite simple,

He was slower than his opponent...

The difference was so great, he couldn\'t track him with his senses. He had to rely on the newly acquired abilities of his {Eye of Uncertainty} skill.

\'That guy is a different beast.\'

And there was the insidious ability to nullify healing. It was indeed very dangerous, making any blow a potentially crippling blow.

Luckily for him, Cain\'s regenerative and restorative abilities far surpassed the limits of normalcy. He suspected that before long, his wounds would be fully healed.

Till then, he would have to keep a low profile...

"You\'re awake?" A voice called out from the door.

Cain turned his attention to see Jenny leaning against the doorframe. A smile crept up his face,

"What? You thought I was dead? I\'m not that easy to get rid of, you know..."

Jenny didn\'t seem to share his humor, as a frown still tugged at the edges of her lips. Over time, the relationship between Cain and Jenny gradually grew from people trying to kill each other, to temporary allies, to teammates.

They had bonded over many shared moments. They had gradually come to understand one another a little as well.

"You had the others worried." Jenny eventually said with a sigh.

Cain\'s smile washed away, "You don\'t have to worry. These wounds won\'t hold me down."

Jenny shook her head, "It\'s more than that. Someone who can take you down so easily isn\'t a foe we can deal with easily."

Cain fell silent.

Jenny continued, "We have to be more strategic. We can\'t afford to make such careless gambles again!" She said, getting more and more heated with every word.

Cain wanted to retaliate but seeing the genuine look of anguish in her eyes, he was left speechless.

"You need to consider what happens to the rest of us if you somehow fall. I don\'t think we can do this without you. The most important thing is remaining safe."

Cain was stunned. He could read the hidden meaning behind Jenny\'s words. However, something in him, the logical side of him, seemed to reject that conclusion.

He turned away, "Desperate times. Don\'t worry. I won\'t be so careless again."

Jenny sighed. The worry on her melted away a bit.

"What do you plan to do? I\'ve been gotten up to speed by the others..."

Cain shook his head, "I plan to meet up with the old man again. He has a lot of explaining to do."

"I\'ll come with."

Cain didn\'t protest. With a mental command, he put on the {Heart of Scourge}. The pitch-black armor covered his entire body, leaving only his head uncovered.

With his stats, his injuries would only serve to impede him a bit, not an excuse to take it easy, especially with how little time they had on their hands...

He shifted over to the side of the bed and began grabbing his weapons leaning against a broken wooden cabinet by the side.

His guns were not damaged. Shockingly, {Platinum Genesis} was okay as well...

Placing his weapons back onto his body, he was filled with a sense of completion. Heaving a sigh, he stood up...

He turned to look at Jenny, complicated emotions dancing in his head. Perhaps she could sense his thoughts, as she also stared back into his eyes.

\'Now\'s really not the time...\'

He would deal with those things when the time was right. For now, he would pretend not to notice them.

***

A/N: Sorry for not being able to update regularly this month. This big brother is disappointed in himself. Thankfully, the exams have died down in intensity, so now, I can start posting regularly, which I plan to do until the month is over. Thanks to everyone for their patience...

–Demon_&_I