God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 799: Talons of Black and Bloom (2).

Staring at the two pieces of Ried being tore to shreds by the surrounding {Black-mouth Crawlers}, Joy felt all her hope finally disappear.

She let out a tired groan as she fell to the ground.

They had tried fighting back, but in the end, it had been useless.

Although they had managed to take a few {Black-mouth Crawlers} down, ultimately, their frontline had finally been overwhelmed.

Seeing Ried being torn apart, his blood being licked clean from the ground and his bones being crushed to dust, Joy finally couldn't hold back the tears.

Behind her, Alicia's breathing has slowed down to almost a halt.

Very soon, she would breathe her last...

With a bloody mouth, one of the creatures broke away from theireal and walked towards her.

The dread crept up as it walked closer, its intentions very clear.

Suddenly, something caught her attention.

Her head snapped to the side.

In the distant sky, there was a brief sparkle.

It was faint and easy to miss, but there was no doubt she had seen it.

'A star...'

A fraction of a second later, something fell from the sky, impaling the {Black-mouth Crawler} approaching her through its back and into the ground.

It let out an earsplitting shriek.

Joy looked up in slack jawed amazement.

What had just happened?!

Her attention was drawn to what had impaled the abominable creature.

'A golden sword.'

It was a giant golden sword with obscure runes etched into it.

Immediately after ramming into the {Black-mouth Crawler}, the golden sword disappeared into a more of golden dust.

The beast fell to the ground, its eyes wide open, horror etched within them for eternity.

The other {Black-mouth Crawlers} let out frightened shrieks as their eyes darted in all directions, searching for their attacker.

"Are you alright?"

Joy heard a voice she didn't recognize com from behind her.

Her eyes widened as she snapped around, her staff raised, and ready to attack.

A strong, form hand gripped hers, forcing her to stop in her tracks.

The deep, magnetic, almost beastly voice rang in her ears again,

"Be calm. We are here to help."

She looked up.

The... thing staring down at her looked human, but but exactly.

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These days, there were a lot like them in Valestorm. The 'Beastkin'. Humans that had been forcibly mutated thanks to some external factors.

Joy felt her heart freeze in her throat.

However, her body did relax.

Then her eyes widened as she pleaded,

"Please! My friend is—"

Hunter reassured her,

"Your friend will be fine." He said, pointing at Susan who was bent over at her side, golden streaks of light seeping from her fingers into the pale-faced girl.

The hot tears streaking down her face intensified as she let out a sigh of relief,

"Thank goodness!"

Then her knees went weak.

Catching the girl before she fell to the ground, Hunter let out an annoyed sigh, then turned to Susan,

"How's it going?"

Susan's brows were knotted together,

"We arrived any later, she would be dead. Thankfully, the element of rot is pervasive, but it can still be eliminated. I'll need a few minutes to get her out of dangerous waters."

She turned to Roselle who stood beside her,

"Take care of them, would you?"

Roselle wore a dark look on her face,

"With pleasure..." She said as she drew her blades and charged at the rest of the {Black-mouth Crawlers}.

Three out of the ten had been killed before they arrived but even if their numbers were multiplied by ten, they still wouldn't be a match for her.

Hunter frowned.

Since they arrived, they had cleared out multiple dens of {Black-mouth Crawlers}.

Culling their numbers had proven to be a rather easy task. The abominable things were strong, and had it been any other group of humans, they certainly wouldn't have had a good time.

However, this group of humans has three that had risen to the second Tier.

In other words, ordinary Tier 1 creatures were of no consequence to them.

They could shear them down by the dozen without breaking a sweat.

Hunter got to witness this firsthand.

It made him itch as well.

He also wanted to wield such tremendous power.

"Um..."

He raised a brow and tilted his head down, staring at the girl he held in his arms.

Her face was flushed red, and her eyes were watery.

Hunter's brows furrowed,

"Where you also infected by the rot? Where is the wound?"

Joy rapidly shook her head,

"No, nothing like that!"

Her head dropped,

"How did you know we were here? Did you see the {Magic Signal Flare}?"

Hunter shook his head,

"We saw this small group of {Black-mouth Crawlers} converging on this location. Upon closer inspection, we realized there were a few humans joled up in here. Good thing we arrived on time."

Joy nodded,

"Thank you. You saved us."

Joy felt her heart thumping in her chest.

Although this man didn't look completely human any more, he was still very handsome, so much so, she had forgotten all her previous fears and worries the moment she laid eyes on him.

'Could it be I have found my soulmate?!' She squealed internally.

Hunter frowned, then shook his head,

"You will have to thank our leader. He's the one that dropped the giant sword."

Joy snapped out of it for a moment and looked around,

"Where is he?"

Hunter shrugged,

"He's moved on to the next den already."

Joy frowned. She wanted to thank all her saviors, but it wasn't going to be possible.

She took in a deep breath,

"Is there any way we can repay you? Is it mana shards? Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of those right now."

Roselle flicked the black blood off her blades before returning them to their sheaths.

The {Black-mouth Crawlers} had been taken care of rather swiftly.

She glanced at Joy, then at Hunter.

Then she raised a brow,

"How long are you two going to remain like that?"

They were still locked in their unintentional embrace from earlier. Joy let out a yelp as she jumped back and scurried even further, her face turning a deeper shade of red.

"We should get moving. There's still a few more out there before we call it a day." Hunter said.

He turned to Joy,

"Once we leave you, take the straight path out of here. We cleared most of the beasts along this path,no returning should be safe for both of you. Also..."

Hunter's demeanor turned dark as he glanced at the pile of {Black-mouth Crawler} corpses. Buried underneath it was the corpse of one of her companions.

Had they been fast enough, or had they noticed them quicker, maybe they would have been able to save him as well.

It was unfortunate.

Joy's face fell. Then she sighed,

"We've lost another. I don't think we will be able to keep up with this Hunter business."

She smiled bitterly as she stared down at Alicia. Her complexion had improved and all the black veins were gone.

It was clear she wouldn't die today.

Roselle's raised a brow,

"Then maybe you should join us?"

Joy turned to her,

"Join you?"

Roselle glanced at Hunter, who seemed confused as well.

She smiled,

"What I mean is you should join the Golden Asura."

"The Golden Asura... Don't tell me..."

Roselle nodded, "A mage and a gunman can't survive in the wild alone. Looking for a new squad might be difficult, so why not just join us?"

Joy pursed her lips,

"This... Is that possible? I haven't heard of anyone joining you before."

The Golden Asura; a group who had come from the Sea, entered the City, fought their way through hordes of Devils to reach the dome, and finally made a name for themselves by first killing Balangol's champion, thereby forcing the tides to become unstable within Valestorm.

Most people feared them. After all, there were rumors that their leader, Cain, was a Devil, although she didn't know how true that was exactly.

Hunter shrugged, "Our doors have always been open. We do not reject talent. However, you have to be ready to pull your own weight."

His eyes narrowed,

'Especially with what is to come...'

"I'll have to discuss it with Aly once she wakes up."

Roselle nodded then gestured to Susan.

Susan rose to her feet and nodded,

"She's all good. We can go now."

Roselle nodded then smiled at Joy,

"I hope you get out of here safely."

Joy gave her an appreciative nod then walked towards Alicia,

"Aly... Are you awake?"

Alicia's eyes trembled as they fluttered open.

She was silent for a moment then she spoke,

"I'm not dead? No... Joy, did you die too?!"

Joy laughed, tears forming at the corners of her eyes,

"Don't worry. We aren't dead yet. Although..."

Alicia groaned as she sat up,

"Reid is gone, isn't he..."

Joy's face fell,

"I couldn't keep him alive. It should have been me instead..."

Alicia let out a sigh then shook her head,

"When the time comes, we will all die. That idiot's time has come. Although it is indeed a shame and I am beyond sad, I can accept it. Don't blame yourself, Joy."

Joy nodded, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

Alicia chuckled then looked up at Susan,

"Thank you for saving me."

Susan nodded and gave her a small smile,

"Recover well."

Then she turned around and began walking away.

Hunter and Roselle followed after.

Joy stood to her feet and called out,

"Wait! You haven't told me your names!"

Susan paused, then turned around,

"I'm Susan. These two are Hunter and Roselle. It's been a pleasure meeting you."

Joy bowed and yelled,

"My name is Joy! She is Alicia! It has been a pleasure meeting you too!"

Susan turned to Roselle who wore a wide smile on her face.

She sighed, chuckled then waved her hand at the two girls before they proceeded to meet Cain.

Joy let out a sigh once they were gone.

"Join them, huh..."

Alicia called out to her with a chuckle,

"Whatever it is you are thinking about, I agree."

Joy raised her brows,

"What? I—"

Alicia's smile deepened,

"Joy... Could this be fate?"

The Evernight wind blew her hair back.

For once it wasn't as cold and dark as it usually was.

If they joined these Golden Asura, not only would she be able to get closer to Hunter, but perhaps she would be able to find where she belonged.

Her ears turned red,

"Yeah, maybe it is..."