God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Riding in Ruby’s back, Cain slowly got to recover this spent energy.

The good about the battle was that it allowed him to have an idea of his current limitations.

’Even without my magic, I can still face a Tier 3 creature, even if it is just a Deadly Grade one.’

He frowned, ’Still, an encounter with a Tier 3 being means there are most likely more of them now. The world is changing again.’

With the appearance of more Tier 3 beings, that meant Tier 2 and 1 creatures were going to be even more common than before, shifting the general status quo.

Humanity had to keep up or else, they would eventually be overwhelmed.

’If this is the case for Mutant Creatures, I can only imagine what horrid Devils are out there.’

He sighed and shook his head.

Feeling the suppleness on his back momentarily broke him away from the depressing train of thought.

However, he ass not able to bask in it long as he suddenly felt a torrent of killing intent wash over him.

"We are being followed." Evangeline said all of a sudden.

Cain nodded and tried to pinpoint from where.

Suddenly, his expression changed.

Evangeline hummed as she slowly raised her head, a strange smile on her face,

"It’s too late. We are already surrounded."

Cain grimaced, "There is a clearing up ahead. She couldn’t wait anymore for the welcome it seems."

Evangeline sighed and shook her head,

"You might be too popular with the ladies, Cain."

Cain snorted, "How is that my fault?"

Evangeline pursed her lips and tapped his shoulder,

"Enough talking. Let’s see what this is about."

Cain urged Ruby forward until they got to a large, spacious clearing a few meters ahead.

Disembarking from the Mutant Bear’s back, Cain raised a brow,

"Suddenly, this doesn’t feel like a normal welcome any more."

Evangeline got off of Ruby and sighed.

The ground was completely covered with hundreds, perhaps even thousands of troops of all manner and sizes, most of them geared up to the teeth with enchanted armor.

The sky was also filled with hundreds of flying creatures as well, some with riders and others without.

And that was just the ones in front of them.

Evangeline lazily turned to the side,

"I can sense even more behind us."

Cain frowned, "Why didn’t we notice this sooner?"

Evangeline smiled,

"Our enemy has the ability to bring a Tier 3 creature to heel. A little bit of camouflage that evades even out gaze doesn’t seem too hard to pull off."

Feeling a headache coming on, Cain let out a sigh.

Right now, they were dangerously close to the location of the Redscale Colony he remembered. In fact, he could see one of the obsidian-colored spires of chitin from here.

The ground beneath his feet rumbled and quaked subtly, as though trying to warn him that the dangers extended to a even places his eyes could not see.

’Shit.’

The sound of hundreds of droning wings flapping in the sky was drowned out by an even louder buzz.

Looking up, Cain found himself blessed with the misfortune of gazing upon a nightmarish being.

Silver, near translucent wings created a near-enchanting hum that fluttered through the night sky eeriely, tuning out every other sound.

Large compound eyes that reflected his visage a billion times, even larger mandibles that grated against one another, producing sparks, and of course, a large glowing backside that was like a beacon in the darkest Hells, lighting up the dark forest.

Despite the bright light coming from the beast, Cain could very clearly see the two being pert he’d upon its crown.

His eyes narrowed.

Seated upon the giant eldritch insectoid, Anathe’s lips parted,

"I’ve been waiting for you, Cain."

Cain’s hard expression softened a bit,

"You have? Seems like you missed me quite a bit then."

Anathe chuckled. Then her eyes shifted a bit,

"I see that you brought a different friend this time."

Her eyes seemed to linger on Evangeline a split second longer before she turned right back to Cain. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Cain scratched his head and sighed,

"I don’t think I’ve done anything bad to deserve this sort of greeting."

Anathe shook her head,

"You haven’t. Please, feel free to ignore everyone but me. However, I do feel a bit guilty holding this conversation out in the cold, so you will have to.come with me."

Cain’s eyes narrowed, ’So that’s what this is about.’

This terrifying army was her way of encouraging him not to do anything stupid like attempting to run. Now that she had an idea of what he was currently capable of, she had decided to bring out all her guns.

Cain’s eyes scanned the area.

Without his spatial abilities, he was completely incapable of escaping the encirclement.

If he tried to run away, he realized he would be instantly buried by the pile of bodies. Plus, he could already count three Tier 3 creatures excluding Anathe herself within the advance.

Cain turned to Evangeline who had a small smile on her face.

He frowned, "Looks like you are enjoying this too much."

She waved dismissively, "Don’t mind me. I’m just tagging along here."

’Although she might save my ass in a pinch, I don’t think I can rely on Eva right now.’

If anything, her existence here was more than enough to put him at ease. Despite the show of force from Anathe, he was not in any current danger.

At least for the meantime.

So with that in mind...

"Sure. I don’t mind going along with you. We have a lot to talk about, after all."

Anaghe’s eys brightened, "That’s good. Then..."

The Ant Queen snapped her fingers and a giant flying creature that looked like an abhorrent mutation of a wasp flew down towards them.

Bending its abdomen toward the ground, it hovered right in front of the two humans.

Exchanging a look with Evangeline, Cain dismissed Ruby who had looked rather unnerved all this time.

"After you..." He said, extending his hand to Evangeline.

Evangeline rolled her eyes,

"Looks who’s enjoying this now."

Cain chuckled as he boarded the giant mutant wasp as well.