God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 861: Running.

"Enoch..." The {Golden Steel Herald} seemed to stop for a moment.

Cain nodded,

"Yes. Enoch. Neat, right?"

The Metal Elemental tilted its head,

"I have... a name now?"

Cain nodded enthusiastically,

"What do you even need a soul for? It's much a hassle, I'm telling you. Names on the other hand are much more convenient."

The Steel Herald fell silent.

Although it didn't have a face, Cain could clearly see it was hesitant.

Which was exactly what he wanted...

Suddenly, his expression changed,

"Not good!"

He glanced at Enoch,

"We can continue fighting later. Right now, an entire horde will be closing in on us from all directions. I suppose you know what that means."

His eyes narrowed,

"We even you will not be able to withstand so many Devils tearing into you, right?"

Silence...

'Come on, you tin bucket!'

"Very well." The Steel Herald finally said.

The golden beams surrounding its form died in intensity and the great sword in its hand turned into motes of light.

Cain breathed a sigh of relief,

"Then we don't have time to waste."

'I just hope that idiot has gone a bit far.'

He let out a sigh.

The spar was good, but now he had to worry about getting out of this dilemma.

He beckoned to the Metal Elemental,

"Quick. Come closer."

Suddenly black clouds covered the skies, dampening the crimson moonlight.

The sound of wings flapping was the first to grace his ears.

Then the ominous sound of a thousand groans and gutteral roars. Like some obscene chant to an evil god...

This was the sound of thousands of {Zombies} marching towards them.

There had been millions of humans in City Z. The numbers that were still living compared to those that had died and turned into {Zombies} was like comparing a drop of water to an entire river.

In the sky above, hundreds of {Sky Devils} swarmed...

With them a thick cloud of Devil Essence capable of blotting the moon out appeared.

Cain staggered, blood dripping from his nose.

Being the target of that much bloodlust could drive a normal person insane.

Luckily, he wasn't normal in the slightest.

Th darkness encroached quickly.

'Not yet...' Cain wiped the blood away, keeping his eyes focused.

The intensity of the sounds rose rapidly, like a raging storm.

Then—

"Not!"

The world seemed to stretch open, becoming pliable in his hands.

Then it cracked open, creating a tear.

Grabbing the Steel Herald, Cain slipped through the crack just before the Devils arrived, leaving nothing but emptiness behind.

***

A strong gale blew dust and rubble up.

Obegrin calmly landed on the ground alongside his hosts of {Sky Devils}.

One of them, a steamy looking Devil with bat-like wings and claws at the end of each wing.

"Obegrin, the humans have vanished!" It spoke, its voice a sharp hiss.

Obegrin frowned, "I can clearly see that."

He turned around, "Spread out and find them. Tear what's left of this crap hole to the ground if you must."

'Just now... That was spatial magic. Could it be that one human?'

He shook his head,

'That one was killed by Inixth. Maybe another?'

Obegrin felt a premonition,

'It is suspicious for humans to be so close to the spire.'

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

The darkness in his depths stirred,

'Divinity of fire... So they came from that place...'

Obegrin turned to the {Sky Devil},

"Head East. Tell Arnach he might have a few pests headed his way."

The {Sky Devil} nodded, then took the skies with a flap of its wings.

Rivers of black surged forth, flowing through the broken streets, searching for the humans that had made a timely escape.

***

Stumbling to the ground, Cain let out a curse.

The Steel Herald on the other hand stumbled down face first.

Dodging a mana suffused bullet, Cain quickly yelled out,

"Wait! It's me!"

The space in front of him distorted to reveal a surprised Julio,

"C-Cain? How..."

Cain shook his head then quickly dismissed his armor and weapon, leaving him drrssed lightly.

A golden thread appeared in his hand and he quickly tied his long black hair into a bun.

He turned to Julio,

"Now's not th time to ask questions."

Julio still looked confused,

"B-but..."

Cain roared,

"What are you waiting for?! Run!"

Without waiting for the other two, he picked a direction and started running.

Julio tried to call out after him, but realized it as hopeless.

He sighed then turned to the terrifying creature behind him.

Tears began to fall from his eyes as he froze up,

"Please don't kill me. I have a wife, seven kids and an eighty year old—"

Without saying a word, the Steel Herald grabbed onto his shirt and threw him over its shoulder,

Julio panicked as he flailed about,

"Let go of me!"

But the grip of the Steel Herald was too strong.

The Steel Herald immediately began running as well in the direction Cain had taken off in.

Julio wailed, "What the hell is going on?!"

The Steel Herald was fast, quickly catching up with Cain.

Cain turned to the side and called out to Julio,

"Are we headed in the right direction?"

Julio nodded frantically, the wind nearly knocking the air out of his lungs as he yelled at the top of his voice,

"Fortunately, we are. But there was a few obstacles this way."

Cain raised a brow, "Obstacles?"

Julio nodded,

"Earth elemental aether beasts turned the path forward into their breeding grounds. Although most of them have been hunted by the Devils, the stone forest remained."

Cain frowned,

"Then I suppose it's a good thing. Let's head in there. We can try losing them in there."

Leaping over a broken wall, he increased his pace even more.

Although it was still a bit far away, he could sense the tide of darkness encroaching.

If they continued at this speed, they would never catch up to them.

Granted, that was only under normal circumstances.

Cain grimaced as he sensed something overhead.

Sure enough, there was a strange looking creature following above them. It was fast, but Cain could clearly see what it was.

Pulling his magic guns out of the Armament Armory, he began firing at the strange {Sentinel Drone}.

The thing managed to dodge the first few, but it was eventually shot down, leaving a bloody mist behind as it careened to the ground.

Although he gained a few drops of exp, Cain was not happy,

"Damn it. They now know where we are headed."

He turned to stare at the Steel Herald.

An idea appeared in his mind.

'Maybe this guy can be useful...'

Suddenly, his eyes widened,

"This..."

He turned to Julio,

"Do you feel something strange?"

Trying desperately to retain the contents of his stomach Julio grimaced,

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Cain shook his head,

"My mana and vitality aren't beating drained anymore."

Julio's eyes widened,

"Mine a well!"

Suddenly, they both glanced at the Steel Herald.

Then they glanced at each other.

"Could it be..."

"It definitely is..."

Cain let out a gleeful chuckle.

Julio shivered.

Cain glanced at the Steel Herald who seemed completely oblivious.

Cain chuckled again as he licked his lips.

He had just acquired his golden joker card.

The Steel Herald was a child of the will of the world. It possessed a portion of its spirit.

Because of this, it also had the property of repelling divine influence.

Cain's mind spun as different ideas began popping off like fireworks in his head.

He managed to suppress them quickly enough. He would worry about that after surviving the ordeal.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, he saw the Stone Forest Julio had mentioned.

And calling it a forest was no understatement.

Tall uneven rocky pillars that stretched into the sky as well as several smaller overhanging arches and hedges, all of them stretching far and wide into the distance.

Cain couldn't help but come to a halt.

Still, there was no time to be amazed. He quickly called forth the Soul Deity of Darkness, enveloping all three of them.

"Are there any more of those aether beasts in here?" Cain asked after a moment of hesitation.

Julio paused, then nodded,

"I suspect so. Those things aren't easy to kill. The Devils tried using this route to invade the Dome of Fire, but were unsuccessful. Although they killed off a lot of them, the aether beasts managed to keep this place intact too, so I guess they might still be a few left."

He paused for a moment, then added,

"They are called {Land-Turtle Golems}

He sucked in a deep breath then nodded,

"Then that's good. Let's get going."

Julio chuckled nervously,

"Could you tell your new friend to lt go of me?"

Cain raised a brow then sighed.

He walked over then talked the Steel Herald on the shoulder,

"Let him go, would you?"

The Steel Herald shook its head,

"No."

Cain frowned, "Why?"

"I will give him back in exchange for your soul."

Cain's lips trembled,

"Fine. Keep him then. I'm going."

He turned around and began making his way into the Stone Forest.

"Wait! Don't abandon me!" Julio cried out.

Gripping him harder, The Steel Herald followed right behind Cain.