God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 576: Boulder.

Staring at the ordinary looking man standing before him, Cain was forced to narrow his eyes.

This man...

Was anything but ordinary.

During the time he had been here, and from what he had seen so far, Cain was able to come to several conclusions.

The first being that the people here, both the soldiers and the Hunters, didn't have a very high capacity for mana.

The God of Sands and Death that created this dome was a Celestial being that once pulled over a desert planet filled with otherworldly beings.

These beings possessed great bodies, but they were forbidden from practicing magic, because their God detested it. It was forbidden, and those who practiced it were shunned away from his presence.

As such, they had to find ways to put the mana within their spirits to use.

This began a period of magic-tech evolution...

The man had a plain face with a bland expression. However, he was completely decked out in strange gear.

Since coming here, Cain had seen many people holding guns. These guns were products of magic engineering, not in any way inferior to the goods he could make, or those provided by the system.

The man's clothes were made from a, brown treated leather material, with pieces of metal and some ither strange materials.

What made it stand out, though, was that there were no runes on the surface of the material.

Normally, to boost its properties and give it even extra magical attributes, most defensive wear usually had some form of enchantments on them.

However, this armor didn't have any. Instead, it was made from plain hide. However, that hide was saturated in so much mana, it was almost like a second later.

This coating of mana didn't disperse. Instead, it clung onto every individual fiber of the material, boosting its properties.

'This thing isn't just defensive. It can boost his instant acceleration and normal speed as well. The vital areas are protected by extra metal layers, and its degree of freedom is even better than most enchanted defensive wear.'

Cain was impressed...

This type of armor was what the soldiers used, but since their mana wasn't very impressive, it didn't stand out to him.

However, this man's mana was...

"My name is Boulder. Nice to meet you, Cain."

Seeing the outstretched hand, Cain took it without hesitation.

'He's definitely dangerous.'

Unlike the others, he didn't have a gun. Instead, he had a bow made from some unknown materials behind him. And.it was no ordinary bow.

It was a compound bow, complete with several attachments. This entire getup made him look like a comic book character.

It was quite strange...

"The pleasure's all mine."

He then turned to Lucia, "Why did you bring this-... Mister Boulder here?"

Lucia closed the door behind her,

"He has a few things to ask you."

Since there was only a bed and wardrobe in the room, there was no place to sit besides the bed. Cwin wasn't interested in sharing a bed with another man, and so, he stood as well.

"What do you want to discuss about?"

Boulder cleared his throat,

"Lucia told me about your discussion with the General. I want to make a few things quite clear."

Cain raised a brow, "I'm listening."

Boulder nodded, "First of all, you have to understand a few things. You might not know this, but the General isn't the only person with power here."

Cain frowned, "Explain."

Boulder sighed,

"Right now, we all are currently in the military camp of the base. The people you see are either part of the military and Hunter Force, or have no other place to go, and are surviving in whatever scraps they can get from us."

Cain nodded, prompting Boulder to continue,

"The rest of us stay a bit away from here. The dome is big, but the buildings that used to exist in this place had been dispersed. On the other side of the dome is another collection of buildings mashed together to form another settlement, much like this one."

Biulder's brows furrowed,

"The problem with this, is that place is where the God of the Sands decided to build his temple."

Cain sighed, "A temple? As in a place of worship?"

Boulder nodded, then hesitated for a second before shaking his head,

"It's... a bit more complicated than that, I'm afraid. Those temples are not only used to worship the god, the people there also offer up their Divinity to him. In exchange, he provides us with many benefits."

The Celestial race is a strange one.

In theory, they are immortal.

However, when one of them does die, they leave behind bits and pieces of them and their legacy.

With these bits and pieces, they can be revived by gathering a firm of universal energy called Divinity. Already living Celestials depend on this to increase their power and to extend the reaches of their domain.

This way, a Celestial never truly dies.

Celestials accumulate Divinity naturally, but there are other ways to acquire it faster. One way of doing this, is to goad and coax other creatures into offering theirs. All creatures possess Divinity, but the only races capable of making use of this Divinity, are the Celestial and Devil races.

Cain nodded, gradually understanding the situation,

"Then... What kind of benefits are we talking?"

"Food, water, equipment, and weapons. The very weapons you see with us."

'I see. No Wonder their quality is higher than what the system usually offers. Plus, there is a common theme with all the armor. A bit of uniformity.'

Not that one mystery had been solved, it was time to address another,

"So how is this a problem?"

Frankly, he couldn't see how any of this wa a problem. Even if there wasn't enough space for all the humans to live around the temple, weren't they surviving here? If that was the case, then he couldn't see what the issue was.

Boilder's impassive face remained impassive, although his aura seemed to shift a little,

"Well, like I said. The temple is located all the way over there. To get access to the resources provided by the temple, we have to go there. Although the General was the one who found the god remnant, he wasn't chosen by him to be his champion. Before we receive anything, we need to get the champion and his priest's approval."

It finally clicked.

"I see. To cut the bullshit, your General is just a dog."

BANG!

The dull pain from having the back of his head slammed against something hard vibrated through his body. However, Cain remained calm as he stared Lucia in the eye.

With angry eyes burning with fury, Lucia managed to spit out,

"Don't you ever talk about him like that, you bastard!"

Cain remained silent, his face neutral,

"Get off me, or I'll get you off."

Boulder sighed, "Lucia, that's enough. Stop this, will you?"

Lucia gritted her teeth, before letting go of Cain and walking back.

Adjusting his clothes, Cain's thoughts drifted back to the soft, silky sensation that had spread across his chest just moments ago.

That level of contact was supposed to be endearing.

'What a violent woman...'

Boulder shook his head,

"I apologize in her behalf."

Cain shook his head, "Let's put it behind us. I'll admit, I was a bit rude back then. Still, it doesn't change the fact about it. Your so-called General needs permission to access his weapons. To feed his army and Hunters, he needs food and water. Else, they'll die out.

To keep him in check, the 'Champion' keeps a tight grasp over these resources. And so, because he wants to get rid of these restrictions, the chain over his neck, your general decides to kidnap and threatened me into giving him my resources. Is that about to get?'

Boulder remained sioent for a few seconds before answering,

"Yes. That's exactly the case."

Lucia gritted her teeth,

"That's not the case at all! Before, it wasn't like this! We managed to hold this base by fending off wave after wave of Devils. If the General hadn't found found that damned thing, this bullshit wouldn't have happened!"

Boulder shook his head, "Of the General hadn't found it, we would all probably be dead by now. That thing saved us all. And thousands more..."

Lucia fell silent, a scowl imprinted into her features.

Boulder sighed, the turned back to Cain,

"In the end, because of this, a caste system has been created here. In that part of the dome, from the Central region all the way to the east, that's where most of the civilians live. Here, its either you are a Hunter, a soldier, or you are related to either of two."

Cain spoke up, "Don't forget the people you keep on the streets."

Boulder waved his hands, "We can't do anything about that for now. Not until we get more resources. The use of magic is prohibited here, and moving up the deserted buildings will just get them all killed."

Cain sighed.

Boulder continued,

"Those that are living well, are those close to the Champion, the Priest, and their people. The rest are those deeply devoted to the Celestial, Balangol. Theor main purpose, is to develop their Divinity and offer it to him daily. In exchange, they are given whatever they desire."

Cain nodded, "So that's why they aren't interested in venturing outside the dome in search of greener pastures. There's no need for it."

Boulder nodded. Then Cain frowned,

"If that's the case, then they should have no need for you guys."

Boulder, for the first time since the conversation began, chuckled. With a smile on his face, that made him seem far more sinister than before, he spoke,

"The dome might be strong, but it will only hold the Devils back for some time. Its not farfetched to say that in two months at the earliest, we might be seeing a High-grade Tier 2, or perhaps a Low-grade Tier 3 Devil at our doorsteps. That creature will be powerful enough to destroy the dome in the blink of an eye. If that happens, then we...

including the Champion, the Priest, and this sandy utopia they are trying to build, will crumble like a child's sandcastle before a typhoon."