God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The gates of the temple looked worn.

Not in a way that was due to the passage of time.

Rather, it was more like it had lost its divine lustre after lacking the presence of its god for so long.

A temple without a deity is like a glorified storage space. A place for moulding painting, decaying scriptures, and the bones of the faithful to rest and erode until they are discovered by future civilizations as relics of the past.

Once upon a time, Cain had been left in awe at the grandeur of this wonder that had magically appeared in their world.

It had been built by the hands of a death wielding Celestial, a being he had clashed with and lived to tell the tale.

Feeling a sense of pride wash over him, Cain shook his head.

The pride quickly vanished.

He had to remind himself that the version of Balangol he had battled didn't even possess a single percent of his true power. And even then, he had won by a hair's breath.

For the most part he had been tossed and toyed with like a rag doll.

He took a step forward.

Then his form vanished...

Arriving behind a set of normal looking doors.

Abigail jumped, clearly surprised by his sudden appearance.

Cain grinned,

"Just thought I'd see myself in since we are already familiar with ourselves, no need for the formalities, right?"

Abigail grimaced. In the end, she let out a defeated sign,

"Whatever. Do what you want."

Meanwhile, Gilead didn't seem surprised.

"Since you are here, already, it saves me the time of searching for you."

Cain raised a brow as he jumped into the seat opposite Gilead.

Gilead shrugged then turned to Abigail.

Abigail pursed her lips, a suspicious frown on her face,

"This... It came as a surprise, but it was just as you expected. A few minutes ago, someone from the other human settlements arrived, demanding audience with however is in charge here."

Cain nodded with understanding,

"We've reached a crucial moment in that case. There's no time to waste."

Abigail raised a hand,

"What is the haste? I have him in waiting for the time being. There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Cain shook his head,

"Like I told you before, the more people we have on our side, the better. Our goal isn't just to preserve our lives. It is to take the City back."

Gilead spoke up,

"Abigail, send the summons. Tell them to bring him here."

Abigail nodded and gave a curt bow. Her form shimmered away as a soft dog enveloped her.

Then she vanished.

"Now then, I believe you have information for me. That's why you are here, no?"

Cain sank into the chair, marveling at how comfortable the materials used in its make were.

Pulling a stack of papers out of his inventory, Cain threw them across the table.

"Two new Devil variants. One is a roach, the other is a worm." Cain said casually.

Quickly scanning through the documents.

Cain watched as Gilead's expression slowly turned from confused to sour, then to grim.

Gilead's expression was dark as placed the papers down,

"Shit."

Cain nodded, completely understanding the sentiment.

"Calling these things roaches and worms is quite the understatement, don't you think?"

A wry smile spread in his face as he chuckled and said,

"Well, what else can I call them?"

Gilead frowned,

"More variables like these means a greater chance of things going wrong for us. How do we deal with this crap now?"

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm having my men handle it as we speak." Cain said calmly.

Gilead raised a brow,

"You know how to deal with them already?"

Cain smiled mysteriously,

"I do. But if you want to find out, it's gonna cost you."

Gilead's expression turned serious,

"Name your price."

Cain scratched the back of his head,

"Relax, that was a joke."

Gilead brows creased,

"Now is not the time for—"

The doors to the room swung open.

Abigail walked in, a strange, terrified expression on her face.

Behind her was a small framed man with a patchy beard and bloodshot eyes.

Cain frowned. The armor he wore was made of duskkin leather, but its make was different from that of those worn by the those in Valestorm.

"Is this him?" Gilead said, his voice calm and deep.

Abigail nodded,

"Yes. And it seems he had rather important information to give us."

The man stepped forward,

"Forgive me for being impulsive, but there is no time for me to waste. A lot of lives are currently at stake, and I would like to ask— beg, for your help."

He fell to his knees.

Cain was shocked.

He turned to Gilead who seemed equally surprised.

"What lives are at stake? Where did you come from?" Gilead finally said after composing himself.

"My name is Julio, and I serve under the goddess of fire and the Forge, Mljorra."

'The third dome... So that's the Celestial responsible. System, what do you know of this Celestial?'

{Replying to Host: The Goddess of Fire and the Forge, Mljorra, is not a Celestial Deity, but rather, a Heavenly Beast belonging to the greater Crystal-Horned Flame Salamander clan}.

Cain was even more intrigued,

'That's... Interesting.'

{Replying to Host: Mljorra was slain during the thousand millennium war and there have been no incarnations manifested into the physical realm since, according to my records at least}.

Julio stared right into Gilead's eyes,

"We might serve different gods, but we are all humans at the end of the day. Please, I beg of you to—"

"Hey, hold on with that for a moment." Cain blurted out, forcing Julio to stop.

Gilead turned to Cain with raised brows.

Cain gave the stalwart Guardian a sly grin before turning to face Julio,

"You seem shady. Before getting to all that, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Julio grimaced, but nodded,

"I expected this. Please, ask me any questions you would like."

Cain's eyes narrowed,

"When I first arrived at the City, I noticed that while the Moon goddess's territory is rather far from here, the dome of Fire is even further. How in hell did you make the journey all the way over here without losing your life?"

Cain was rather curious. From what he could see, this man didn't possess any outlandish combat skills or power.

His mana levels seemed just above average, and his Ki was that of a normal person, lower than that of a Beastman.

Although he wasn't scrawny, he also wasn't the most physically gifted as well.

His eyes seemed lackluster, almost devoid of hope, and his demeanor was that of one that had been battered and bruised by hell.

Julio didn't say anything.

Instead, he raised his hands and formed a seal. Then he uttered a string of words under his breath.

To his utter shock, Cain watched as the body and presence of the man in front of him faded away until it was as though he never existed.

Cain frowned, then activated the {Beholder's Eye}.

His shock was multiplied.

'I still can't see him.'

A moment later, Julio appeared,

"It is an ancient spell that allows me to completely destroy all traces of my existence for an extended period."

Cain frowned. The light in the man's eyes had died a bit,

"What is the downside?" Cain asked grimly.

Julio smiled wryly,

"If I am not careful, It becomes hard to keep my awareness of self. If the worst happens, then my body will be consumed by the creatures of the other side, and my soul will transform into one of them."

Cain was even more confused, "Creatures of the other side?"

Julio explained, "It's nothing impressive or mystical, really. To use the set of spells I can, I have to make deals with certain... strange creatures that exist in the realm of spirits, if that makes any sense."

Cain wanted to say something, but then he remembered his first journey through the {Gate of Stars} and the evil eldritch abomination he had encountered that nearly destroyed him.

He shivered,

"Yeah, I get what you are saying..."

Julio let out a sigh of relief,

"Then, you believe me, right?"

Cain scratched his head then turned to Gilead,

"What do you think?"

Gilead sat in contemplation for a moment.

Then he shifted his gaze onto Julio,

"If is not a matter of whether I believe you or not, is it? You are yet to answer my question? What lives are in need of saving?"

Julio's expression fell and his head dropped.

His voice turned shaky as he said,

"Everyone. All our lives are in danger."

He turned to Gilead, tears streaming down his face,

"Those Devils are nightmares born into our world as a punishment from the gods for abandoning them for so long. A cruel, bitter punishment!"

His expression shifted from erratic to mad to furious to sorrowful in a matter of seconds,

"They are going to destroy us all. They'll tear us down. They'll take our women and incubate them. They'll poison the ground and the air. And there is nothing we can do to stop them."

He fell to the ground completely, sobbing like a child.

Cain's face was dark.

Just what had this man seen that had broken him like this.

He turned to Abigail who had a similar expression on her face,

Sensing Cain's gaze, she faced him,

"From what I know, apparently, the dome of Fire is already under siege. They have already been pushed to the corner."

Cain sighed,

"I see. They are seeking asylum."

Abigail nodded,

"That's why they sent him." She said, pointing to Julio who was still weeping despite being unconscious.

They all fell silent. Only the sound of tears hitting the ground and incoherent mumblings could be heard.

After some time had passed, Cain turned to Gilead.

Gilead already knew what Cain had to say. He sighed,

"It's madness."

Cain threw his head back and let out a vicious laugh,

"You call it madness, I choose to call it a Crusade. Let us agree to disagree."