God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 196: Prometheus (4).

Within the shade of a few rocks, an odd dark shadow filted through...

To the side of the rocks, a group of three {Lythoran Wyrms} stood, scanning the surrounding rocks with keen eyes. Their snouts were raised towards the skies, then back to the dirt as though they were searching hard for a very delicious prey that had somehow slipped out of their net.

'These guys don't quit, do they...' Cain could only let out a sigh of exasperation as he clutched onto his sides that were still bleeding profusely. Applying pressure to the wound, his mind drifted down memory lane as he recalled the incident that had driven him into hiding within the rocks of this mountain range without having the guts to retaliate against the {Lythoran Wyrms} that pursued him.

Just as he was about to enter the mountains, he was attacked by a slightly bigger {Lythoran Wyrm}. In his bid to escape, he had just attacked the creature casually. And that had cost him dearly...

Applying more pressure on his wound, he moved deeper into the shadows around him, using his Ki to conceal his presence. He had come to know that Ki had a lot of wonderful applications he had yet to figure out. By circulating it a certain way, he was able to reduce the amount of life signals he gave off, concealing most of his presence to the outside world.

Since he couldn't use {Dark Cloak}, this was the second best thing...

The air around him was musty with dust, and the tension of death was around every corner. The {Lythoran Wyrms} had called for backup, and a large number of them, ranging in the hundreds, had swarmed the mountain range.

With the heavy injury he had sustained, he knew it would be best to avoid direct confrontation, especially if he was faced with the one that had given him the injury he was currently dealing with.

A large gash on his side that nearly reached his organs. The attack had come suddenly, yet swiftly. He had been unable to dodge properly.

Because he had no access to healing, he could do nothing but endure the wound and find a way out of his predicament.

The mountain range was different from the mountains in his own world. Probably due to different geographic conditions, the mountains here took on various strange shapes during their formation process. There were numerous hanging mountains, overhead arches, spires, and so many more, all jumbled together to create a messy stone forest.

Sweat rolled down his face as he directed his gaze at a corner. A group of {Lythoran Wyrms} rounded the corner almost immediately, causing Cain to draw back.

His heart rate speed up as he considered the danger of getting caught. He also considered the danger of staying in one place for too long.

'This place is crawling with these creatures. Trying to leave is like asking for death...'

With the amount of creatures patrolling, except he had at least three or four stealth skills activated at once, there was no way he would escape without being caught.

Since he didn't have those, even moving was going to prove to be a difficult task. However, he couldn't sit where he was as not only did it increase the likelihood of him being caught, he also needed to get his wounds treated.

Although his immune system had become better with every level up, his wound still ran the risk of being infected if he didn't get it treated fast. He had always had access to HP regen potions since the start of the apocalypse, but now that he could do nothing with them, he was forced to think of something else, or else he really was going to die.

After all, he was only human...

And as a human, despite being slightly stronger, he was still going to die if he had a heavily infected wound.

'Going 'round that corner is a no go. The entrance is sure to be blocked. Basically, I'm trapped here.' Cain thought to himself as he tore a piece of his trousers off and wrapped it around his wound.

Although it wasn't sanitary, at least it would reduce the rate at which he lost blood...

Dropping onto the ground, Cain gripped at his hair in frustration. His hands were covered in his own blood, and he was stuck in the smoldering heat of a volcano, hiding from a group of terrifying beasts to preserve his life.

He couldn't access his mana, so the difficulty was on hell mode. While Ki and devil essense were also energy sources, his proficiency with them didn't make it out of the battlefield.

'Think! Trying to take them down is not going to be a smart move. Regardless of how good I am with a bow, this is their own turf. Here, they are the hunters and I'm just a sitting duck!' Fully aware of his circumstances, Cain had his mind go in circles as he thought of all the different ways he could survive his current predicament.

He couldn't kite them as the space between the rocks were to small. He couldn't try to use the terrain to his advantage as they were probably more familiar with it than he was. Then there was that huge creature that had given him the annoying injury that was currently making life hell for him.

Although he wanted nothing more than to gut the creature open and tear it limb from limb, if he were to face it now, it would probably tear him apart with little to no problems.

The more he looked at it, the less he saw himself getting out of his situation alive. The odds were simply stacked against him. Ever since arriving on this strange world, he had been met with hardship every step of the way.

Worst of all, his {Scales of Antiquity} had only increased by one. It seemed that with every one he earned, earning another one became harder and harder.

His black eyes reflected no light within the darkness, representing his dreary state of mind. However, his eyes were still filled with hope. Hope that he would make it out of his situation alive...

Suddenly, a chilling shriek rang out close-by.

A bad feeling instantly ran through his body...

'I've been caught!' Like it was an instinct, Cain immediately knew his location had been compromised. Dashing out of the shadows with his bow drawn, he fired an arrow straight into the eye of an approaching {Lythoran Wyrm}.

Firing more than a dozen more in a split second, the life of the creature came to an end in one fell swoop. Jumping onto his feet, Cain winced in pain as he began dashing through the maze of stones. Behind him, a rabid group of {Lythoran Wyrms} rushed at him with drawn claws and angry snarls...

Sweat and blood mixed together as he dashed with all his might...

***

"Ha... Ha... Ha..."

Heavy panting echoed out within the dark shadows...

Plat...

Plat...

Plat...

The sound of blood droplets hitting stone could be heard. Cain had his head hanging lifelessly. Blood pooled down beneath him in large quantities. A muffled groan escaped from his lips as he shakily stood to his feet and continued moving forward. Behind him, a pile of {Lythoran Wyrm} corpses could be seen.

Most of their eyes remained opened in death as disbelief morphed their features. Those that didn't have eyes left could only open their maws in a silent cry of rage to the heavens at their plight.

'D-damn it...' Cain's vision was blurry as he walked down a stone path. For hours on end, he had been chased endlessly by the {Lythoran Wyrms}. He had been attacked, and had attacked, resulting in multiple life threatening wounds all over his body.

He had bleed no less than five liters of blood, but he was still standing. His body felt numb, and the sandman kept calling him into the world of dreams, to forget all the pain and worry he was experiencing.

Yet he held steadfast onto his consciousness. For he knew that once his eyes were closed, he would lose his life.

He had encountered the stone path he was on by accident when he had fallen into a gorge alongside group of rabid {Lythoran Wyrms}. He had suffered grave injuries during the fall, but the {Lythoran Wyrms} had also suffered similarly as well. With that, he was able to barely clinch the victory, albeit at the cost of a few more terrible wounds...

Walking down the stone path, Cain let out a sigh of relief. Even if it was for a moment, he could finally breathe...

For what seemed like days now, he had barely haalf a moment to rest. The senses of the {Lythoran Wyrms} were just to keen. The only r Eason he had managed to survive up till now was because due to the constant killing of the {Lythoran Wyrms}, he had managed to gain a few levels. With each level up, his stamina would be refilled, and his passive regeneration would also increase.

That way, he was able to survive. But this cycle of killing and resuscitation had taken a toll on his mind. To say he was at his breaking point wouldn't be an understatement...

'I think I can rest just for a few-'

Just as his eyelids began to drop, he snapped his eyes back open. With a glare, he continued forward. He had made it this far and he sure as hell wasn't about to quit now...

Every step forward felt like hell, but he took every single one of them...

Just as he was about to round the corner, Cain noticed something from the corner of his vision.

A cave entrance...

He had seen a lot of small caves and caverns within the mountain range, but this one looked a bit different. For one, the entrance to the cave was covered in all sorts of runes and sigils that couldn't possibly have formed naturally.

Cain ignored his current path and shambled over to the entrance of the cave. He stood before the dark abyss-like entrance with an air of doubt around him.

'Only fate knows that I'll meet inside this place...'

With those words, it was clear what his intentions were. With an unsteady gait, he stepped into the entrance of the abyss...