God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Three days went by in the blink of an eye...

The days of this world within the tower were rather similar to what had been on Urbus, albeit a bit longer.

In those three days, as they made their way towards the base of the distant mountain which didn't seem to get any closer, they encountered more corpses scattered across the wasteland.

In turn, they also got to witness more scenes of devastation.

Like an entire swathe of land turned into a pool of boiling viscous magma, Cain was well aware that it didn't have natural origins. The question was what has created it, and was it still nearby.

Then there was a frozen wonderland smack dab in the center of the desolate wasteland.

However, instead of trees with icicles and snow hanging off the branches, there were frozen bodies of all shapes and sizes stuck in place for eternity in ice.

It was a frozen hell...

There some even more gruesome, so gruesome he preferred not to recall them.

Regardless, they continued

Letting out a sigh, he couldn't help but think they had been lucky so far. They had encountered one terro after the other, some weaker, and some stronger.

However, they had managed to come out with nothing more than a few injuries at most.

They had yet to encounter any of these catastrophe-level entities.

The wind suddenly picked up.

Evangeline frowned, "Something isn't right."

Cain nodded, "The wind– is gone."

The desolate wasteland was mostly empty, but it was still filled with wild squalls and might just of winds that could sweep a man off his feet. This was because as they traveled further towards the mountain, the concentration of wind elemental mana increased.

However, for some reason, the wind had stopped. After looking, Cain confirmed there was still an abundance of the wind elemental mana.

He frowned, "Something is coming."

He summoned the {Lonely Dragon} Warblade from his inventory.

His vigilance immediately went from ten to a hundred. Usually when things like this happened, it was because something rather powerful was about to make an appearance.

They all drew their weapons and waited.

Nothing happened...

Cain frowned.

He had already released the {Dark Soul} beforehand, and it had yet to notice anything. Even without the {Dark Soul}, he doubted there was anything that could remain hidden from the {Eye of Clairvoyance}. If there was, then, they wouldn't need to be cautious.

They would be dead anyways...

They continued to wait. A sweat rolled down his temple and his eyes began darting around.

'Where are you...'

Just then, he felt it. Then he looked up.

In a split second, he saw an enormous blade the size of a pillar headed for the center of his head.

His eyes became as wide as saucepans. He reflexively swung {Lonely Dragon}, clashing it with the weapons edge.

BOOM!

A massive shockwave spread forth and he was smashed into the ground, creating a crater.

The others were knocked back by the force of the miniature explosion.

"Cain!" Susan exclaimed in horror.

"Get back!" Evangeline yelled at her. With words flowing off her tongue, she cast a spell almost immediately.

Magic circles appeared on the ground around Cain and black chains shot out. These chains made of shadows and were tougher than steel.

They wound around the figure that had come barreling down from the sky, immobilizing it for a moment.

Cain took that moment to jump out of the crater using {Hell Step}. His feet still in the air, he flipped mid-motion and struck down with the {Lonely Dragon} on the thing's temple.

There was another loud bang.

Cain's face paled as he sidestepped another wide swing. Kicking against the air, he forced his body back. Intent on not letting him escape, it took a large step forward and tswung again.

The might of the blade's edge cutting forward produced a sharp wind blade that could very well bisect him from the middle.

Cain panicked.

BANG!

At the last second, the blade deviated just a bit. However, it was more than enough, allowing Cain to completely avoid the swing.

The rifle in Jenny's hands whirred as mana pulsed through its internal pieces. She took aim, ready to fire another bullet.

Skidding to the ground, Cain stabbed the tip of his blade into the ground and came to a halt.

He looked up at the thing that had attacked them.

A string of information immediately filled his mind.

***

{Tower Warden: Stone Bloodknight, Collosus}.

{Stone Bloodknight, Collosus}(Celestial, Tier 1):

Description: Only those who make it past the first area within the Sky Bridge will encounter Collosus. Defeat Collosus and gain access to the second area.

***

Cain's eyes widened.

'What is this?! Celestial grade?!'

A primal fear filled his heart, and his breathe froze up in his lungs.

This was not the first time he would face something Celestial-grade. However, each time he had done so, it hadn't ended well.

'Damn it!'

The {Stone Bloodknight, Collosus} could only be described as a stone giant. Its bodh and armor was made of stone.

Its weapon of choice was a grey stone greatsword and a stone shield. Behind the visor of the stone helmet were a pair of glowing crimson eyes.

It was as though it was a wraith that possessed the statue of an actual stone knight.

Despite being made of stone though, it didn't move like it was. It was fast and agile.

Clenching his fist, he could clearly feel the pain of the torn muscles in the arm. That had happened when he blocked the strike from Collosus. Just a single attack that didn't land had injured him so badly.

He couldn't help but smile wryly,

"Impressive."

He expected nothing less from a Celestial-grade... whatever this thing was.

Fortunately for him, he heaved very quickly so the torn muscles were already mending themselves.

He heard Evangeline call out to him,

"Cain, are you alright?"

He chuckled, "I'm not dead."

"We have to fight it to move on." She said calmly. Slightly bending her upper body, she looked like a lithe tiger ready to pounce.

Roselle also had her weapons pointed at the creature.

Cain felt all the fear in his heart melt away. For some reason, despite coming face to face with something that could very well take his life with a single strike, he felt his fear vanish.

They didn't need to say anything more.

'Hell Step.'

The ground beneath his feet was scorched black as he shot forward.

He brandished his blade like a mad man, completely disregarding any form of defense.

"Demon Dragon!"

The form of the {Lonely Dragon} Warblade became more menacing, oozing out cromson-streaked Demon Matter. A faint, almost imperceivable later of crimson [Ki Fire] surrounded the edges of his Warblade as well.
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Collosus responded in kind, swinging its enormous stone blade as well.

Jenny's eyes radiated a sharp glint the moment their blades collided.

The wind blowing her hair black, she squeezed the trigger.

Her aim was true, and her bullet was unavoidable. At the last second, however, the {Stone Bloodknight} jerked its head backwards, avoiding the fatal stroke from the bullet aimed at the gap in its visor.