God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

There were only small boulders and rock stacks, but that gave them much-needed cover from any Aether beasts that could be lurking on the nearby floating land masses.

In contrast, Floki and Galip were more heavily injured and were receiving treatment from Susan, who was the sole healer in the group, behind a stack of rocks.

Hunter\'s face was dark, "Yes."

Susan\'s face was pale as she spoke through gritted teeth,

"How many more times can you cast {Shadow Gate}?" She asked Evangeline.

Evangeline shook her head, "Two a day is my absolute limit."

Jenny frowned, "Even if she could cast it again, I doubt we would be even able to reach there. If we do, that Demon will be waiting for us."

Ignis nodded with a heavy frown, "The energy in that place must be incredibly turbulent."

Susan frowned. Turning to Ignis, she glared at her for a while before asking,

"You... You should be able to sense him. Is he still alright?"

The [Body and Soul] contract came with a few add-ons. One of them was that the contractor and the contractee were able to sense one another\'s general well-being through an invincible link between them.

If the contract was very strong, then it would be possible for them to be able to sense each other\'s general location as well.

Ignis frowned, "I haven\'t been able to sense anything from him in a while."

Hunter chimed in, "Could it be because of the distance?"

Ignis shook her head, "No... Even when we were trapped in the Garden of Self-Reflection, I was still able to sense him slightly. Now, it is gone completely..."

Susan\'s already pale face became even whiter. She took a deep breath to calm herself...

"If you can\'t sense anything through the link, it can only be one of two things... He\'s either dead, or there\'s something hindering the link."

A solemn silence fell amongst them. Although nobody wanted to admit it, there possibility of the former being true was impossible to ignore.

"I... I\'m sure he\'s alright!" Jenny said in a small voice, trying to reassure Susan.

Evangeline snorted, "If he\'s dead, then I guess that\'s all it took. We should focus on how we are going to get out of this place."

Susan turned and glared sharply at Evangeline,

"Are you suggesting we abandon him here?"

Evangeline shrugged, "You said it yourself, didn\'t you? He\'s most likely dead. Even if he isn\'t, wasting more time here means giving that bastard more time to catch up with us."

Susan sucked in a deep breath. Her eyes which were usually filled with a strange compassionate indifference seemed to have coals of anger burning within them,

"If you want to take your leave, feel free to do so. We won\'t be going anywhere..."

The tense atmosphere became heavier and heavier with each passing second of silence. Susan glared at Evangeline, who stared at her with indifferent eyes.

Suddenly, Evangeline\'s lips curled up into a mocking smile...

"You... you are really arrogant, aren\'t you?"

Susan\'s frown deepened, "Pardon?"

Evangeline shook her head, "You aren\'t deaf, are you? I said you are arrogant. Even if you stay here, what use is that going to be?"

A frigid coldness radiated from Susan\'s glare,

"I knew you were bad news the moment I laid eyes on you. Just what do you want here? If you want to leave, no one is forcing you to stay... I, on the other hand, am indebted to Cain. Until I confirm his death, I\'m not leaving here..."

"Jenny, continue to scour this place. Hunter, follow her and get rid of any Aether beasts you can. If there are any strong ones, avoid them and report back."

Jenny shot a concerned look at Susan before nodding, while Hunter had a frown on his face.

Susan turned to glare at him, "What?"

Hunter sucked in a deep breath, "I... I agree with her on this." He said.

Ignis clicked her tongue, "Bastard..."

Susan stared at him in disbelief, while Jenny had a frown on her face,

"You..."

Hunter sighed, "These men... They\'ve endured more than enough hardship... We need to find the exit to this place as soon as possible. For all we know, the {Blood Abomination} army could very well be behind us."

Jutè, who had been behind Hunter all this time had a complicated look on his face but chose not to say anything. Meanwhile, Susan simply stared at Hunter expressionlessly. After a few seconds, she sighed,

"Fine. I can\'t force you even if I wanted to. However..."

The look in her eyes showed how clear her disappointment was without her needing to say another word.

"Let\'s go." Hunter turned around swiftly and whispered to Jutè, who nodded. Turning to the beastmen, he yelled at them to get ready for their imminent departure.

Evangeline and Susan exchanged a brief glance once again before she melted into the shadows.

\'Don\'t push it...\'

Jenny sighed, "What do we do now?"

Susan stayed silent for a few more seconds before she turned to Jenny,

"Right now, we don\'t know for sure if he\'s dead or not. Ignis, have you regained the link?"

Ignis shook her head, "No. It was cut off so abruptly too..."

Susan\'s beautiful face was furrowed into a frown as she fell deep into thought.

"Whatever you are thinking, we can\'t go back there. It\'s too dangerous." Jenny said firmly.

"Although I find it hard to accept, I agree with her. I don\'t want to die so quickly. My life is very precious..." Ignis said blandly.

Susan bit her lower lip to the point of almost drawing blood,

"I know, damn it. I know..."

"Still, we have to do something. I\'ll try and see if I can gather some information." Susan finally said after some time.

Sitting on the ground, she sucked a deep breath in and cast a spell...

Her eyes were consumed with bright illumination as a strange magic circle appeared above her head.

She then spoke in a strained voice,

"I\'ll go take another look at the battlefield. Protect me for a while..."

Meanwhile, Evangeline stepped out of the shadows and appeared before Hunter with a him expression.

Slightly taken aback, Hunter, who had been watching the beastmen prepare to leave stared at her in surprise.

"Make sure none of them do anything stupid," Evangeline whispered under her breath, still maintaining eye contact with Hunter.

Hunter fell silent for a while,

"Are you planning to go back?" He asked.

Evangeline shrugged, "If he\'s dead, the least we can do is get his body back. He is in a tough spot now because he decided to rescue you and the beastmen. This is the least you can do..."

Hunter\'s face was grim, but he eventually nodded after thinking for a while.

***

The battle between Stingè and the gigantic worm was getting more and more heated over time.

The acidic blood of the worm had melted several layers of rock, turning the already wasteland-like environment into a horror-esque landscape.

As time went on, the battle became even more furious and violent. The clashes between Stingè\'s spear and the monster\'s flesh now produced a different ring.

The monster had now encased itself in a layer of silver metal, increasing its defenses greatly. Such that it was difficult for Stingè\'s signature {Idle Slash} to do much damage.

Stingè\'s lax expression had long since turned into a terrifying grimace as he dodged the stream of acidic saliva that flew at him.

His armor had been melted away in some places, revealing the blistered skin beneath. Although he had very good defense, it couldn\'t withstand the corrosion of the acidic blood that splattered on him every time he attacked.

Cain watched the battle from afar and came to a rather quick conclusion,

\'He\'s going to lose.\'

Although Stingè was strong, the worm-like Aether Beast was truly harrowing indeed.

Every one of its physical attacks was capable of changing the entire landscape. Its defensive and regenerative capabilities were also beyond belief.

To top it all off, its magical attacks made Cain shiver. Its control over the metal element was instinctual. Yet, it was exponentially better than anything Cain could ever conjure.

The beast was a powerhouse through and through...

Despite the odds being stacked against him, Stingè didn\'t look too bothered.

Cain had no idea where this baseless confidence came from.

\'Am I missing something?\' He thought to himself.

Spinning his spear, Stingè pointed the sharp end at the Aether Beast again before dashing forward.

They had clashed numerous times like this in the past hour. However, it always ended the same way. He ended up getting used back.

This time, on the other hand, was different...