God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 417: Training? (1).

Cain sighed tiredly, "Just get rid of it properly."

Steve grinned as he closed his fist once again,

"Will do, Boss!"

Cain smiled at him, "Also, get some rest. You're going to need it."

Steve raised a brow, "What are we going to fight again? Please tell me I'm wrong."

"You are very much correct." Blaze chimed in.

"Damn it!"

Vincent threw Cain a suspicious look, "More fighting?!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Crazy... He's crazy, I tell you."

Seeing all of them having different responses, Cain couldn't help but laugh a little,

"Don't worry. It isn't going to be anything crazy. We are just going to be interacting with our neighbors. Chances are we might even resolve all this without having to clash swords once."

Vincent snorted, "I'll take your word for it. Besides, I don't mind getting my hands dirty. However, it has to be for a reasonable cause."

Steve's face was dark, but he also seemed to agree...

"In any case, looks like we will be staying here for some time," Cain said as he finally got down from Ruby. Stretching his body, he was pleased to realize he had become mostly healed and rejuvenated.

Then turning to the boys, he grinned,

"Also, you all should get to Level 99 as soon as possible."

"The Level cap?" Calio said with a frown.

Cain nodded, "Yeah."

"Do you mean..." Steve's eyes widened.

Cain simply smiled. Tapping on Rubybto wake her up, he walked away whilst waving his hand.

When he was out of sight, Vincent finally released a breath he seemed to have been holding.

"He's changed..." Blaze said after a few seconds had passed.

Steve grinned, "You're damn right he has. Who wouldn't?"

Manny shrugged, "His bloodlust was on another level if you ask me. That wasn't any normal change."

Vincent let out a hollow chuckle, "If you ask me, he had gone absolutely crazy!"

Steve sneered as he turned to face the chubby man,

"You're one to talk."

Vincent's face froze, "What's that supposed to mean?"

The sneer on his face became even thicker,

"Ha! You know exactly what I mean. Just because society has collapsed, that doesn't mean your past... misdemeanors went along with it."

A look of disinterest appeared on Vincent's face,

"That's just your opinion, no?"

Steve cackled like a madman, "My opinion? Sure, if that's what you want to call it."

Vincent's face fell, "Look at who's talking... How many bodies have you got on you?"

Steve laughed, "Was that supposed to be a comeback? Just so you know, I never had a hedonistic phase."

"I'll put a bullet through you if that's what you want," Vincent said with a nasty grin.

Blaze glared coldly at the both of them,

"Stop acting like kids."

Vincent suddenly stopped frowning. His face became the very definition of unbothered,

"Sure thing."

Steve stared at Vincent for a while longer before sighing,

"Knowing you, you definitely don't have good plans. Just what are your intentions?"

A slight grin appeared on Vincent's face. However, it disappeared just as soon as it appeared,

"What do you mean? Aren't we comrades bound together by a single purpose? Surviving this hellscape we call a world, right?"

Steve fell silent with a grim look on his face. Vincent simply snorted, then stood up to move a few feet away from them.

Steve on the other hand flashed a grin at Manny and Calip before walking away.

Meanwhile, Manny and Calio stared back and forth between the two. Then they simultaneously stared at Blaze.

Feeling the intensity of their stares, Blaze gritted his teeth internally,

'Can't you fools just ask the people involved?!'

Eventually, he sighed. The two eager idiots took this as a much-needed opportunity to ask their questions.

"I'm not sure, but I could sense a few undertones in that exchange. What exactly is going on between those two?" Manny asked, his eyes sparkling with intuition.

Blaze leaned back against the piece of rubble he was resting on,

"It's nothing too complicated, really... They are part of gangs. Or at least, they were part of gangs."

"Gangs?!" Calio stared at Blaze like he was talking about something from a fairytale.

Blaze shook his head, "So you are one of the normal people around here? Good. Manny, you did a good job not killing this guy!"

Manny raised a thumb, "I know, right!"

Calio raged, "Shut the fuck up, bastard! You almost killed me more than once!"

Blaze cleared his throat when he saw they were getting off-topic,

"As I was saying... They are part of gangs. Groups of underground criminal organizations backed completely by the government to do their dirty work for them."

Calio frowned, "What that sort of thing exists? I thought it was impossible with that thing... what was it called again? I thought it got rid of all forms of crime."

"Do you really believe that? There is no way to truly get rid of man's evil nature." Blaze said sternly.

"But I've..." Calio tried to say something, but was firmly shut down,

"Think about it. Although hundreds of years of technological advancements have made preventing crime an almost hundred percent endeavor, that is only true for the crimes the public can perceive."

"Crimes the public can perceive?"

Blaze nodded, "Theft, murder... Those sorts of things."

"That's..."

"But organized crime... That thing has been a plague in society for hundreds of years now. A cancer..."

Manny and Calio could tell Blaze had no good feelings towards the underground society. In fact, he seemed to detest them a lot.

"City Z is controlled by multiple gangs from the shadows. The people who control these gangs are those in positions of power. They also act as hitmen, carrying out association attempts in the cover of darkness, selling hallucinogens and narcotics, the human and sex trade... They do it all."

Calio's mouth hung wide open in shock,

"H-how is that even possible? Are you telling me you expect me to believe all this?"

Blaze shook his head calmly, "Of course not. I can't tell you what to believe. However, I have no reason to lie to you."

Many turned to Calio, "He's definitely not lying."

Calio sighed, "So how does this relate to those two?"

"As I was saying... There are special criminals even within these organizations. They are called 'No Triggers'."

Manny and Calio's eyes shone, "No triggers?"

Blaze nodded, "People known for their extreme brutality and lack of hesitation when it comes to pulling the trigger or delivering the blade's edge. In short, they are psychopaths that could be serial killers if there are no leaches to restrain them."

"Then are you saying..."

Blaze turned to stare at Vincent who was staring into empty space,

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Although their identities are extremely protected, I am a member of the Armstrong family. Such information isn't difficult for me to obtain."

Manny scratched his head, "Then why are they at each other's throats?"

Blaze scratched his arm slightly as he turned to gaze at Steve who was about to disappear into the concrete forest,

"Let's just say they are about to begin fighting for a certain spot. Hierarchy is about to be determined after all."

"I feel like I understand what you're saying. At the same time, I don't!" Calio grabbed his head and groaned.

"Why are you telling us?" Manny asked Blaze with narrowed eyes.

Blaze's eyelids twitched, 'Aren't you the ones that wanted to know?!'

He wanted to yell out, but eventually just sighed,

"What's the point in hiding it? It's not like it is anything important. The most likely thing to happen when we reach City Z proper will be to find nothing but rubble. The old structure has fallen. So relax. There won't be any trouble...

Even if there is, all we need to do is fight, no?"

***

Cain walked for some time before finally coming to a stop.

'What should I do now..."

Now that he was well rested, there were two things he could do. One was to begin crafting more weapons and items. Another was to train...

He had noticed for some time now that his blade skills were lacking severely. Not only that, he also needed to tie loose strings up in many places. He felt his growth would be incomplete without doing so.

'Let's see...'

Opening his status window, he mentally scrolled over to his skills tab before selecting a certain skill,

***

{Eye of Uncertainty}lvl1 (active): Everything under the influence of magic follows certain laws. Laws that cannot be shaken or broken. Breaking those laws is difficult, but not impossible. By splitting the mind in two, the host has gained the ability to observe two worlds simultaneously.

***

Cain clicked his tongue, 'Just what the hell is this description?'

The description of the skill was nothing kike he expected.

'Observing two worlds? What does that mean?'

Eventually, he just sighed, 'I'll worry about that later.'

Now that his curiosity had been sated, it was time to work. Here, there was enough space for him to work without worrying about being a disturbance or being disturbed.

'First, I'll raise my Ki...'