God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 199: Man or Beast?

"I hate the ocean. Too cold, all you can see is water and dumb fish."

Causally riding the wind, a green aura whirled around Manny as he stared at the water surrounding them. Every once in a while, his feet would tap against the ice bridge, giving him the leverage needed to continue riding the wind like a leaf.

On the other hand, Vincent had a displeased expression as he tried to drown Manny's voice out.

"We should be arriving on land in a few minutes. Prepare for anything." A cloud of white appeared to reveal Dan who spoke with a serious tone.

"Finally!" Vincent exclaimed with a heavy sigh.

"Hehehe... I wonder what monstrosities could be waiting for us over there."

"Remember, our priorities are resources and people. Every other thing is secondary. It would be best to avoid getting into any fights." Hunter said.

"People?" Vincent said with a raised brow.

"En... More accurately, survivors." Hunter explained.

"What do we need more people for? Aren't the ones back there enough?" Vincent said with a frown.

"In times like these, humans are resources. Regardless of whether they are strong or not. They are still resources." Hunter said.

Glancing back at Vincent with cold, eyes, he asked, "Do you know why that is?"

Vincent took a moment to think about it. Snapping his fingers a second later, he started at Hunter with wide eyes, "Although they might be useless now, there is no guarantee they will stay that way. Just like those Followers of the Blood God or something. While they are weak, they are still stronger than regular humans, and those that are with us that just formed a pact with a God Remnant."

"With the power of these strange God Remnants, we might be able to build our army in the future. Muahaha!" Vincent rubbed his hands together while letting out an evil chuckle...

Rolling his eyes, Dan quickly brought the fatty back to reality, "No one's creating an army of anything. We just need people who would be capable of supporting themselves while we fight comfortably. They also have the potential to give us support while we protect them." Dan said slowly.

"I see... In order words, you plan to exploit them in exchange for offering protection. That's even better! Hahaha!"

'This bastard!' Dan's eyebrows twitched in frustration as he glared at Vincent.

"Or am I wrong?" Vincent said, his voice lowering dangerously, and his eyes turning into slits.

"No, you aren't. Keeping stupid delusions in these times is a privilege granted only to children. It's give and take... If you want to live, offer something in return." Hunter said casually. Despite the weight of the words, he spoke with the same casualty he would use when talking about the weather.

"Ho?" An amused light streaked across Vincent's eyes as he stared at Hunter.

"That reminds me... I've wanted to ask you this for a while." Dan said suddenly to Hunter.

"What is it?" Hunter said as he ran like a bolt of lightning.

In an almost whisper, Dan said while pointing behind them, "Where did you get the tail?"

Hunter fell silent as his face underwent a drastic change, causing Vincent to burst out laughing.

Ignoring the obnoxious fatty, Hunter turned around and grabbed his tail, "In this universe, there are numerous planes superimposed upon one another. The mortal and spiritual planes are the major planes. However, there is another plane that isn't quite as known as it is very difficult to form a link to it. Only those with special traits can."

"Are you saying you have a special trait?" Vincent asked with a smile.

Hunter's expression fell into a frown, "No... It will be more accurate to call it a curse."

Clenching his fists, he continued, "The Aether realm is a realm that contains a strange form of energy, or Ki. Ki is an energy source different from mana in the sense that it affects the mortal plane directly as opposed to mana which needs to influence the spiritual plane first."

"The Aether plane?" Manny said, his expression turning a bit weird.

"Do you know about it?" Hunter asked with a raised brow.

"Well, I was told by the system that while it is possible to form a link there, it is too dangerous, and more often than not, the risks far outshine the benefits..."

"Why is that? What could possibly be so risky about it?" Dan asked curiously.

"Well, the system mentioned something about the summon or Aether creatures. Judging from Hunter's words, I'm guessing that is where you call your summons from, right?" Manny said confidently.

Dan and Vincent sent hot glares at Hunter, who nearly missed his step due to the intensity of their glares...

"Well, you aren't wrong. However, you really don't understand the full danger." Hunter said in a deep voice.

"Like I said, what is so dangerous about it? The summon creatures? I've seen your summons before, and they don't seem very strong." Vincent said. He had no idea why Hunter seemed so apprehensive.

'If it is so dangerous, then-'

"The Ki of the Aether is different from other forms of Ki. It is a corrupting energy that steals the very essence of those that come in contact with it. In exchange for access to the Aether creatures as summons, your very humanity is exchanged. Although you gain a lot of power, eventually, you'll turn into a beast yourself." Hunter said.

"What?! Hey, Hunter, I know things have changed, but this is taking it too far!" Dan stared at Hunter with wide eyes.

"Give and take... That's the nature of this world, Dan. Forgetting it means foolishness." Hunter said coldly.

"Hunter, you..." Dan wanted to say what he had on his mind, but his throat clenched and he was unable to get the words out.

"For the power we seek, we'll have to give something up in exchange," Hunter said softly, a small smile forming on his face.

With the dark clouds and the slight illumination from the moon that could break through the layers of pearly blankets as the background, the world around Hunter seemed to be filled with deep melancholy and sadness.

'Ha... This bastard.' With a heavy heart, Dan tore his gaze away from his friend who seemed hellbent on sacrificing it all for his goals.

"Hmm... So what benefits does connecting to the Aether grant you?" Manny asked curiously.

"Well, apart from being able to summon the creatures that live there, you will have access to Aether Ki. By using a special Ki Plundering Technique, you can absorb all sorts of Aether Ki, although doing so will lead to you taking on some beastly physical attributes. As for whether that is a pro or con, that depends on the individual in question." Hunter answered.

"Beastly attributes, huh..." Vincent said with a chuckle.

"What Ki Plundering Technique do you use, Hunter?" Due to his curiosity and simple nature, Manny wasn't concerned about asking questions that most normal people would know not to ask.

"Although it really isn't something I should say, I guess it makes no difference if you know or not..." Hunter said with a small laugh.

Clenching his fist, he stared at the dark skies, his eyes filled with complicated expressions.

"The Beast of Ragnarok Ki Plundering Technique. Offered to me by one of the 69 Ancient God Spirits of the Aether, Skoll."

"Skoll? Why does that name sound so familiar?"Manny asked with a frown.

"Oh? If it's what I think it is, then this has become way more interesting than I thought." Vincent yelled out in surprise.

"It is exactly as you think. Honestly, I found it hard to believe at first. Even now, it still baffles me how something like this is possible. The stories of old truly never die, huh..." Hunter said in a low voice.

"Stories of Old?" Suddenly, it came to Manny in a flash.

"Seems like you've finally caught on," Vincent said with a grin.

"En... An Ancient God, huh..." Manny said with a grin. Excitement bubbled within his veins as he stared at Hunter with eyes filled with wonder.

"An Ancient God of The Old World!"

***

"We're here..." Dan said all of a sudden, breaking the air of mysticism that had formed between the three.

"Finally! Time for some action!" Manny exclaimed loudly.

The Oce bridge was connected to the shore of the central region, so getting there wasn't going to be difficult at all.

"Do we move in groups, or go our separate ways?" Vincent asked as they all stepped onto solid ground.

"For now, let's observe the Island closely. We don't know what to expect yet-"

Suddenly, Hunter's pupils dilated and his eyes widened dramatically. Turning his head around, he took a deep long sniff of the air around him.

"What's wrong?" Dan asked with a frown.

"The air..." Hunter said, a strange expression forming on his face.

"The air? What's wrong with the air?" Vincent asked, covering his nose with his free hand.

"The air... is completely saturated with Aether!" Hunter said, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Aether? Are you for real?' Manny said, a look of excitement appearing in his eyes.

"I cannot be mistaken. But how is this possible?! Aether isn't like mana that can leak into the physical plane just like that. It must have a conduit, a fleshy body that creates a link between both planes! Something like this should only be possible if-"

Before Hunter could finish his words, a glint caught his attention from the corner of his peripheral vision.

With a single fluid movement, he dodged an arrow that whizzed out of the darkness.

'We are being attacked?' His scrambled emotions immediately simmered down, and he regained his usual calm.

"Enemy attack!" Manny yelled out with joy. His eyes were instantly stained with a green tint as a torrent of wind gushed out of his body. His shadow was the first to disappear, then his body phased out of existence.

'Crap! The!' In his hiding place, Calio quickly nocked another arrow into his bow before turning around to find another hiding spot. His specialty was delivering decisive blows from a distance, so it was better if the enemy didn't know where he was hiding.

However, before he could take another step, his ears twitched violently. His heartbeat slowed down, and all the hairs on his body stood on end, warning him of the incoming danger...

"Silent Shadow Phaser!" Calio yelled at the top of his lungs. In the blink of an eye, he turned into an ethereal shadow just in the nick of time.

Less than half a second later, A green ray of light zipped past the shadowy figure.

All the trees, grass, and bushes in the surrounding area turned into confetti.

"Eh? I thought I had you with that one..." In a slightly dreary voice, Manny turned around and stared deep into Calio's frightened eyes with a large grin on his face.

His glowing green eyes were like will-o-wisps drifting within the fog across the sea. Like the lanterns that drew the souls of desperate sailors into sea, and ensnared them forever.

Never in his life had Calio felt so much fear before...

'This... This isn't human!'

Pointing his pristine blades at Calio, Manny stared at him with a little bit of frustration and surprise, "Assuming you hadn't dodged, you'd have been without an arm, leg, or head right now. Rejoice!"

'This is a Demon!'

With all his previous bravado melting into thin air, Calio did what any normal person would do in his current situation...

"Please, Please Spare my Life!!!"