God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 508: Azure Water Calamity (2).

Standing on the Eastern island, a man dressed in crimson leather armor turned to look into the distance.

Despair was evident on his face as he watched what could only be described as mountains rise up in the distance.

These mountains were a dirty white color, a color similar to that of bones. They were numerous, rising all at once from the surface of the water from all directions, arranged in multiple rows.

While most wouldn't have been able to tell what this ungodly sight was, he could tell. The blessing he had received made him very sensitive to the presence of Mutant Creatures. While this blessing wasn't very good in actual combat, it was a very useful skill that had helped him avoid death for a long time.

As a coward, he had made good use of this blessing, using it as the means he needed to work his way into the forward team of the Crimson Warriors. He was the perfect guide, acting as a warning bell for the rest. With him, they had managed to avoid many ambushes and sneak attacks.

However, it seemed his luck had finally run out, just like the very same road he had been desperately running on, led him to his inevitable fate.

He crashed to his knees...

The other Crimson Warriors stared at him, silent horror frozen in the depths of their eyes as they also stared into the distance.

By now, they didn't need to be told what this was.

After dealing with the mutating abominations for so long, they knew what thins thing was.

"T-that Guy... This is all his fault! He led us straight to our deaths!" One of the men cursed and spat on Guy, who was already dead and hone by now.

Still... Even if Guy was here, there would be nothing he could do. After all, this was no more beast they were dealing with.

Rather than calling it a Mutant Beast, it would be more proper to call it a Calamity.

***

"Step on it!" Cain roared the moment Gwendolyn hit the water again.

'Fuck. We were to slow... Damn it.'

"Shit! This damned monster plans of swallowing the entire island!" Steve couldn't help but curse.

Indeed, they had been wrong about something...

First, the creature was far bigger than anything they had imagined. The Eastern Island was large. Very much so...

However, just the Abyssal maw of this creature managed to fully envelope the entire width and breadth of the island, and then some...

It was a scary thing, looking at the sharp teeth rising from the sea into the sky.

Cain grit his teeth as he tried getting some information about the creature now that it had revealed itself.

***

{Azurewater Manta}: Level 212 (Elite, Tier 2)

Strength: 200,000.

Agility: 150,000.

Defense: 40,000.

Magic: 500,000.

HP: 21,000,000/21,000,000.

MP: 7,500,000/7,500,000.

Skills: ???, ???, ???.

***

Cain felt despair creep onto his soul. Things had just gotten worse than he had thought. He didn't even know what to say.

Just when he had thought they had succeeded, they had to encounter a disaster like thing.

He wanted to scream to the skies, wanted to curse his terrible luck. He looked around. Everyone had varying expressions. Evangeline had her usual cold, yet beautiful look. However, he could tell that her skin tone had gotten several shades paler than before.

Jenny tried putting on a brave face, but it was hard for her to hide the horror on her face.

Hunter's face was frigid, but the hands gripping his daggers were shaking. Steve was frowning, staring at the mountain of sharp teeth, while Vincent looked as though he had completely given up on getting out of this alive.

Even Manny's face was a bit solemn.

They all realized that it was entirely possible-... No. They realized they were going to lose their lives of something didn't change.

And fast...

Unfortunately for them, Gwendolyn hadn't managed to make it very far from the island before the beast rose to the surface.

Right now, the island was breaking apart, sending whatever was still on it into the inky black depths, were a further, more nightmarish hell awaited them. Furthermore, a slow current was gradually picking up, gradually driving the ship away from its intended path.

Cain didn't even want to think about it. All he could worry about right now was getting out of this whole debacle alive.

"What do we do now, Cain. There's almost no way we escape this today." Steve said solemnly.

Cain thought hard. Right now, he had to assess all the cards he had to play; all his assets were yo be made use of right now if they wanted to make it out alive.

Closing his eyes, he died deep into his thoughts for a moment.

Then his eyes snapped open.

He turned to Hunter, "I'll sail the ship closer. The moment we get close to a teeth, I want you to lead the Beastmen who know how to. Attack as hard as you can, as fast as you can."

A look of realization appeared in their eyes. However, there was clearly doubt behind it.

"You... want to break through its teeth?"Luke couldn't help but chime in.

As Tier 1's themselves, they knew the massive difference between tiers. It was like the difference between the sky and the sea.

Cain nodded with a wry smile, "Why not give the bastard a toothache before we leave, right?"

No one else seemed in the mood to joke though.

"Do you think we can break through?" Hunter asked with a frown.

Cain shook his head, "No. But we have to try. If we don't, then our only other option is to be eaten and pray that it shits us out the other end, or it has a gate to another world trapped in its stomach."

Recallingba series of traumatic incidents, Cain immediately shivered...

'Yep... Option two is out of bounds. Nope. Not doing that again.'

He quickly scrapped the other plan. Even if others wanted to take their chances, he would rather die trying.

Hunter sighed, "We can try then. I'll go get everyone ready."

Cain nodded as Hunter left and turned to everyone else.

Each one of them was a powerhouse in their own right, male and female. Right now, he was incredibly exhausted. It was at moments like this he realized how important it was to have a team to share the burden with, even if it didn't seem like that all the time.

Cain sighed, "A single tooth. Just a single one. If we bring it down, we'll survive."

Sue spoke up softly, "But... It's so huge. It's... It's impossible. We can't do it."

Cain smiled, something he didn't get to do often,

"That's okay. As long as we try. Even if we fail, I wouldn't mind going down with all of you."

Sue stared at him, her face a bit flushed. Right now, Cain exuded the bearings of a fearless leader. Even though things seemed bleak, he didn't give into the despair. Rather, he decided he would try, despite the ill odds.

'So cool!'

Blaze sighed, a bit peeved, "Don't jinx us before we even start, would you?"

Cain chuckled, "Sorry. My bad. Then..."

His face turned serious, "I want you guys to hit it with all you've got. As hard as possible."

"Leave it to me."

"You've got it!"

"Breaking off a tooth? I break monster necks as my morning warm up."

"We'll do this."

Different responses, from different people, with diverse and varying individualities.

However, if there was one thing they did possess, it was a strange hope.

Hope to see things come through in the face of impossiblity.

Cain sighed, once again feeling the weight on his shoulders.

He turned around, 'Full speed ahead, Gwendolyn.'

The evil ghoul floating above his neck whispered,

'As you wish...'

The ship sailed fast towards one of the teeth that was a bit longer than the rest, but far less thick at its base. This was what Cain wanted, this way, breaking through the tooth would be far less daunting.

As the ship approached the tooth, Cain breathed heavily to calm down.

'I didn't want to use this, but my hand has been forced.'

Activating {Asura} could lead to iim losing control, and possibly his life, but he was currently without options.

He needed something that would deal an insane amount of damage as fast as possible. The {Elemental Vault} was empty, apart from that white crystal, but he couldn't afford to make any gambles right now.

So that somewhat forbidden skill was what he had to rely on.

'Fuck. Everytime I use that skill, it feels like I lose a part of me and becomw something else. Something dark and sinister, yet noble and exalted. Just what is this skill?!'

Cain had been previously understanding the impression thatost of his skills were achieved by his proficiency and intellect. However, he now knew that was not the case.

'Could it just be a terrible side effect of mixing two skills like {Golden Body} and {Draconic Transfiguration} together?'

He sighed...

He forced himself not to think of much, emptying his mind. Then he took several steps forward.

On the final step, standing on the bow of the ship, a strange, ancient rune appeared on his forehead. Staring at this rune, be it in any runic language, one would be able to recognize this character as the one for a universally understood and experienced phenomena;

'Fate...'

With his body beginning the transformation, the others began launching their own attacks.

Spells, bullets, bombs, arrows, and every other item of projectile projection possible flew through the air and made impact with the tooth.

They were going to cause the world's largest toothache ever!