God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain had previously been under the impression that those who had been left within the hall of the main building had all become devil food because they were negligent of their surroundings, and had been caught unawares by the devil. But now, he figured there was more to it than meets the eye.

He had been told by the system that they had been turned into zombies by the {Miasma Devil}, but he didn't ask how it happened.

'System, how did they all turn into zombies?' When Cain asked, the system automatically knew who and what incident Cain was referring to.

{Replying to host: Those who stayed within the hall were all infected by the {Miasma Devil's} skill, {Infection}, which is a skill the zombies it created also have. Since this skill is a passive skill, the devil can use it anytime it wants, even during battle.

However, the nature of that skill is such that it cannot affect creatures that do not have a connection with mana. In other words, humans that do not have access to the system}.

'So what this means, is that there are humans out there that might not have access to the system, and correspondingly, the ability to defend themselves? Cain asked.

{Replying to host: Affirmative...}

'Hai... This situation just became more fucked up than it already was...' Cain lamented.

Here he was, thinking that they had just gotten a direct 60% increase in combat, only for him to realize that that was just 60% of pure unbridled burdens.

Staring at Jenny and the others who although had put their weapons away, still looked at him with wary eyes, he decided to ask straight up even though he already knew the answer to his question,

"Do you plan on abandoning them any time soon?"

Without even blinking, Jenny responded, "No!", causing Cain to let out a tired sigh...

"Although I understand the sentiment, escaping with so many people right now isn't going to be possible," Cain said with a funny look on his face.

"Who said so? While we might not have the power currently, it's only been a few days since we got our powers. A few more days, and we definitely will have the power to leave this place." Jenny said with a confident expression.

'Seems like they don't know, or it hasn't hit them yet...'

"And what is to say the mutants and devils aren't getting stronger as well?" Cain asked.

"Even if they are getting stronger as well, as long as we keep killing them, their numbers will reduce, and we will acquire more power." The way Jenny answered confidently told Cain that she must have had this exact thought at one point in time.

However, she didn't have all the necessary information before she made such a conclusion...

Cain suddenly thought of something, "Have you been outside today?"

Jenny frowned, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Cain let out a chuckle before he turned back and waved his hand at her.

"It's best you all come see for yourselves..."

"We aren't going anywhere with you!" Sue who wasn't hiding behind Jenny anymore said at the sassiest time possible.

Cain blinked, then looked at the two for a while before pointing at Sue, "This your kid?"

"Pffff!" Although he tried to hold it in, Stan couldn't help but chuckle when he heard what Cain said. After some time, although their weapons weren't out of sight, the tense atmosphere had faded a bit.

"Huh?! Do you want to die or something?!" Veins popped out of Sue's temple as she nearly reached for her weapon, but was stopped by Jenny.

"She's like a sister to me. I ask that you show her some respect." Jenny said as she peered straight at Cain.

'This girl...' Cain had a confused expression on his face as he wondered why Jenny was acting the way she was.

"Alright then, I'm sorry little lady," Cain said in a singsong tone. To him, standing at a height of over six feet, Sue, who was barely 5 feet tall did look like a kid in his eyes.

"Who are you calling little, Scarface?!" Sue said angrily.

Hearing what she called him made his eyelids twitch a bit.

'This little...'

"Sue!" Jenny yelled.

"Hmph! He started it!" Sue said with a pout.

Hunter and Dan who watched the sigh couldn't help but slam their hands to their faces in confusion.

They both thought the same thing, 'What the heck is going on here?!'

Hunter suddenly spoke up in a harsh tone, "You kids might not know this, but we are running out of time. Cain! Are you done with your preparations?" he said with a hard expression on his face.

"Cool your balls, Hunter. All preparations necessary have been made." Cain said an excited fire lit within his eyes.

"In that case, I suggest we leave these confused individuals to their own devices and leave them be. They are determined to protect those burdens." Hunter and the rest were all listening in on Cain and Jenny's conversation, so they all had a general idea of what was going on.

"Call us what you want. We will protect these people who need our help!" Stan said heroically but was completely ignored by Hunter.

"You are all fools who think you can bear the world on your shoulders. Reality isn't so kind to wannabe heroes." Saying that Hunter turned around and left.

Unlike Cain who was considering things, Hunter had already made up his mind.

"Hunter..." Dan said, a complicated expression on his face as he followed behind him.

Turning back to Jenny and the rest, Cain let out an awkward laugh, "He might be harsh, but what he said is true. There is no way to survive in these conditions if you plan to lug around sixteen bags of rice."

"We had no intentions of joining you guys in the first place. Hmph!" Sue glared at Cain with disdain and hatred.

'What did I do to this shorty?' Cain couldn't help but wonder.

Ignoring Sue and turning to Jenny, he spoke in a serious voice, "Would you mind waiting here for a bit?"

Jenny rolled her eyes at Cain before saying in a surly tone, "Do we even have a choice?!"

Although Cain was confused a bit by her response, he just nodded and chased after Hunter.

***

The entire gymnasium was built like a standard gymnasium, but about three to four times bigger. The was a huge decorated building that consisted of different sections separated by demarcations and indicators.

There were various rooms surroundings the main area of the gymnasium, and within one of these rooms, was the secluded door that led to the safe room.

The safe room door appeared to be attached to the walls of the room, so it was barely noticeable to one who had no idea of its existence. Behind the door, was a flight of stairs that let down a few feet because the safe room was located a few feets underground.

Cain stopped Hunter and Dan in the hallway connecting the main area and the room the entrance to the safe room was located.

"We still need to think it through. They will be a good addition to the team." Cain said to Hunter.

"But the cons vastly outweigh the pros. You know what we have to face out there. If you know you aren't sensible enough to make the right decisions, then I advise you to give up leading the group through the forest, or Dan and I will leave."

There was no hatred between Hunter and Cain, just rivalry. Hunter had acknowledged that he might not have the capabilities to get the group through the forest due to the current conditions, but Cain certainly did.

As a result, he had done the most sensible thing he could have done at that time, which was to give up all intentions of competition, as their lives were way more important than that.

However, he had made up his mind to work alone with Dan, should Cain make any decisions that could endanger their lives without necessity.

"Let's not make any hasty decisions yet. For all we know, they might have no intentions of joining up with us." Dan, who had a worried look on his face chimed in.

"If they've made up their minds, trying to change it now will be futile. Once they see what's out there with their own eyes, they will fall into despair." Hunter said ruthlessly.

'Damn! This guy is way too intense.' Cain couldn't help but shiver a bit when he heard this.

"Don't mind this dude. I think we should hear them out first. We don't know anything about them. Why don't we go figure something out with them?" Dan said.

"That seems like a good idea." Cain clapped his hands together.

From the other end of the hallway, Susan approached them, with a serious expression on her face.

"Susan? Where have you been?" Cain asked, a bit surprised.

"I went to the roof to scout the area..." Susan said, a disturbed expression on her face, which Cain noticed instantly.

"What's wrong?" Cain said with a frown.

"There's something you need to see. Where are David and Blaze? I think you all need to see this." Susan said, her face filled with all sorts of complex expressions.

"David and Blaze are over there watching our... prisoners," Dan said as he gazed back and forth between Cain and Hunter.

"Prisoners?! What do you mean?" Susan said confusion added to all the complex expressions on her face.

"It's best if you come to see for yourself..." This time, it was Cain's turn to wear a complex expression.

Cain and the Hunters walked back to the room where Hunter, David, Jenny, and the others were.

Just as Cain opened the door to the room, all his danger signals went off in an instant. His senses screamed and all the hairs on his body stood on their ends. Staring right back at him as he opened the door was the muzzle of a rifle he had just become all too familiar with.

Before he had time to even process what was going on, he heard a resounding sound.

BANG!

An explosive shot capable of taking his life...

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