God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 399: Returning through the Rift (13).

Cain was a little tense. Feeling the pressure from the five pairs of eyes staring down at him, he couldn't help but cough awkwardly,

"So that is the plan. Not bad, right?"

He planned to use the gigantic body of the Astra Avatar to cart everyone through the rift. However, although the Golden Devil Wrym was big, it couldn't seat hundreds of individuals.

However, magic was the definition of convenience. By using chains of mana to hold the beastmen from below, he could use his magic to carry them away, as well as offset the load the Astral Avatar would have to carry.

"You're insane. That's the only word that can describe you..." Ignis said with a shrug as she sat down on the scaly back of the Astra Avatar.

Hunter couldn't help but shake his head in amazement,

"Just... what kind of skill is this? You said it can be classified under illusory skills, but there is nothing illusory about this thing!"

Although he was making sense, Hunter failed to account that dealing with magic meant that most things weren't going to make sense the higher they climbed up the power hierarchy.

Evangeline turned to Cain, "What's the catch?"

Cain frowned, "Focus. Maintaining this skill requires absolute focus. Meaning I won't be able to fight at all. I hope you understand what that means."

Evangeline nodded. Then she turned to the rest and said grimly,

"We are going to be the ones doing the fighting."

"Fine by me," Jenny said, patting the stock of her rifle.

Susan frowned, "What about the beastmen?"

Csin waved his hand, "You all will have to protect them. Galip and Floki are still down there, right? They can still fight even with the chains."

'At least I think so...'

Susan nodded, then summoned her staff. They were currently in the air, circling the rift. Now that everybody was on board, it was time to leave.

The remaining five apart from Cain would be in charge of fighting off any {Abyssal Realm Walker} that decided to confront the group.

'Even after the battle, I will be completely incapacitated.'

The Astral Avatar made use of this Ki and Devil Essence to manifest into reality. This meant that Cain's mana, Ki, and Devil Essence would be completely exhausted upon reaching Urbus. However, there were enemies waiting for them on Urbus.

Cain still wasn't sure about the rate of time dilation between Urbus and the Fragmented Lands. However, he knew that the problem of the insane beastwomen wouldn't go away just because they had been gone for a long time.

'And then, there's those three rascals...'

Remembering Steve, Li, and Stan, Cain couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for them...

"Cain... Leave it to us this time. We'll protect you." Susan said, looking at the rift in the distance.

Cain let out a laugh, "I know you will."

Then, he quickly focused on the task at hand. The chains of mana he created could last a long time. However, that was assuming that was the only skill he had activated. {Wind Weaver} was going to be consuming a crazy amount of mana as well.

{Wind Weaver} consumed roughly 500MP every minute. The mana required to maintain the chains of gold wasn't small either.

Controlling the movement of the Astral Avatar required his utmost attention, so he quietly closed his eyes. Watching him from the back of the giant flying serpentine creature, the others couldn't help but feel the change around him.

It was as though his soul had left his body despite still being alive...

With his eyes still closed, Cain felt his consciousness move. To be able to control the Golden Devil Wyrm perfectly, he needed to make sure his concentration was at its peak.

Upon willing it, the massive serpentine creature ascended into the sky, pulling along hundreds of beastmen.

Thanks to how close the rift was, he would be able to reach it without expending too much mana.

"Remember, we will be unable to activate spells and skills once we enter the rift. Do whatever needs to be done now."

As they approached the rift, Evangeline began to inform them about the peculiarities of the rift. Although they had had this conversation before, it didn't hurt anyone to repeat it. The others also had no reason to complain...

Seeing that there was no need to echo what she had said before, the white-haired beauty nodded and got busy. A layer of shadows suddenly wrapped around her body. She was activating a skill.

The others also did the same. Although they wouldn't be able to use mana inside the rift, skills and spells that had been activated beforehand could still be maintained. Since the beastmen didn't use mana, they had nothing to worry about.

Walking towards Cain who was seated with crossed legs, Susan whispered into his ears,

"Let's go."

With that, Cain increased his momentum and plunged straight into the tear in space and time...

***

Steve let out a tired sigh...

Li let out a sigh...

Stan let out a sniffle...

All three were lined side by side in a very dark room, bound by thick Dark Steel chains. These chains had been purchased from the system and had the special effect of restricting the flow of energy. They were also very strong and couldn't be broken with brute strength.

The room was dark, cold, and damp. It also had a very strange odor that couldn't be pinpointed for some reason. The rattling of chains was the only sound that mingled with the silence.

"You know... It's been more than a week now." Li started saying, his voice completely devoid of energy.

Steve shrugged and spoke in a raspy voice,

"Twelve days and seventeen hours to be exact..."

"I see... Why has no one come to save us?" Li said, sounding very calm.

Steve shrugged again, "I sent a message to Sue, telling her to make sure no one comes to this place."

Li did his best to strain his neck. Staring at Steve with bloodshed eyes, he asked,

"Why did you do that?"

Steve also had bloodshot eyes as he stared back at Li,

"Because they'll be captured as well if they come here."

Li fell silent for a while before turning back to his original position,

"I see..."

Steve let out a sigh again...

Letting his head drop, the dark strands of have covered his narrowed eyes.

'They've been done for over a week now. Could something have gone wrong?'

After the thirty-minute duration of his protective spell had come to an end, Steve had chosen to surrender. Since Li and Stan were still unconscious at the time, they had no say in the matter.

Once captured, they hadn't been treated too poorly by the beastwomen. Instead, they had just been bound and kept captive here. For twelve days, they had not moved an inch from where they currently were. It was as though they had been forgotten here.

Suddenly, Stan spoke up through his constant sniffling,

"Hey, guys..."

Li spoke calmly, "What's up?"

"I don't want to die here."

Steve would have burst out laughing had he not been in the same situation. He let out a sigh...

'He's completely lost it!'

With nothing to do all this time, Stan and Li's mental health had degraded greatly. Had it not been for his incredible soul strength, Steve had no doubts that he would have been in the same boat.

'These crazy mutts... Why not kill us as be done with it?!' He couldn't stop the anger and frustration from building up though.

Suddenly, a clicking sound was heard by the three men from the heavy mahogany door that had been locked for the past week.

Then the door swung open...

Steve's eyes immediately took on a sharp glint as he observed the figures at the door.

A grim smile appeared on his lips,

"Look who finally decided to show up. How long has it been? I was starting to miss you guys..."

A tall, beautiful woman with an athletic build holding a pristine white bone spear, as well as a beautiful lady with two rapiers attached to her waist walked into the room.

They both seemed very young, but the lower coming from them showed that they were not to be underestimated.

The tall, athletic beast-woman sneered at Steve,

"Why don't I bash your head in so you won't speak anymore?" Kai said.

The lady with the rapiers stared at Steve with cold eyes,

"Ignore them, Kai. They won't be alive much longer anyway."

A cold sinking feeling appeared in Steve's chest.

"What do you mean by that?" He said coldly.

He was completely ignored by the two girls. They didn't pay him any attention after that brief exchange. Instead, they simply walked over and grabbed the ends of the ends of the chains that bound them.

Completely disregarding their well-being, they began pulling them across the floor. Gritting his teeth, Steve decided to bite his tongue.

'If nobody is coming, I have to think of a way out of this mess...'

On the central island, there were numerous buildings surrounding the island's center. The island was shaped like a crescent, with the inner curve of it encircling the rift.

The beast-women had made one of the buildings their headquarters. Passing by numerous beast-women, Steve frowned,

'They are still as soulless as ever, huh... Just what kind of sorcery is this?!'

Apart from the beast-women who had access to the system, there were a little more than a hundred regular beast-women. When they had arrived on the central island, Steve had made a chilling observation...

The souls of these beast-women were being manipulated by a dark, sinister energy. They didn't even seem to register their presence as they walked by their two captors.

'I thought it had come from that evil creature. However, I'm not so certain.'

Li and Stan seemed to have given up, as they had become extremely quiet, making Steve very worried.

He let out a sigh once again...

'This is too scary... Simply too freaking scary!'