God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The group stared in stunned silence at the newly transformed {Stone Bloodknight}.

It was magnificent...

It was oppressive...

It was unholy, an apparition that should not be...

Fear, terror, anguish, resignation...

Its presence evoked all sorts of negative emotions.

The oppressive aura radiating from its form seemed to shake the very air around them. Cain clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white as he felt the overwhelming pressure mount on him.

He couldn't help but chuckle,

'Now this is a Celestial-grade creature.'

"This isn't just an upgrade," Evangeline murmured, her voice uncharacteristically tense.

"It's evolved."

Susan bit her lip, trying to keep her frazzled nerves from showing,

"I suggest we retreat now." She yelled out to them.

Cain shook his head and yelled back,

"We can't retreat now. It won't let us."

As though to affirm Cain's words, the giant Stone Knight got into a striking stance.

Evangeline's eyes narrowed,

"If we try running, it will cut us all down from the back one at a time. We cannot run."

She turned to Susan. Looking into her glowing ruby eyes Susan felt like taking a step back,

"Support us for as long as you can. If you want us to live— no, if you want to live, support us for as long as you can."

Susan dropped her head, gripping her staff tightly.

"We are counting on you, Susan..." Cain said, his eyes still fixed on the Stone Knight.

Hearing his words, Susan raised her head, her eyes wide.

Cain sucked in a deep breath and opened the {Beastmaster's Subspace}. From it, The {Argent Amphithere} spared out into the sky and let out a mad hiss.

Ruby barreled out of the rift in space and let out an enraged roar.

The {Dark Soul} rose out of the ground, manifesting a physical body. The Abyssal Creature turned from a mound of smoldering darkness to an enormous caricature of the {Stone Bloodknight}, complete with the sword and shield. Cain gave the Dark Diver an odd glance, to which it responded to with a blank stare.

He sighed and turned to Susan with a grin,

"I won't die if you heal me. Plus, we aren't afford to hold anything back anymore."

They had to pull out all the stops.

The pressure he felt from the current Stone Knight was the same he had felt from Balangol.

Susan's grip on her staff relaxed. She groaned and closed her eyes,

"Honestly, you all just love dangerous situations, don't you..."

Jenny chuckled, "I think we have Cain to blame here."

Roselle chuckled as well and even Evangeline broke a small smile.

Cain snorted. His luck definitely wasn't that rotten, right?

Maybe it was, but what was done was done. Now, it was their battle to fight together.

He let out a heavy breath again.

Then, he activated the Lightning Enchantment of {Burning Spirit}.

Evangeline's body was also enveloped with shadows as she sank into the ground.

Ruby growled and scratched her paws against the ground, whilst the {Argent Amphithere} circled overhead.

They all remained motionless, waiting with bated breath.

Then, they exploded into action...

The knight moved with an eerie grace that belied its massive size. With a single step, the ground quaked beneath its weight, cracks spreading out in jagged lines. Its crimson eyes glowed brighter, scanning them like a predator choosing its next prey.

Ruby and the {Dark Soul} charged forward together.

The massive Mutant Bear was like a running disaster. She smashed her enormous body towards the Stone Knight. In response, Collosus brought its shield down.

BANG!

Ruby smashed against the shield and to everyone's chagrin, failed to move the Stone Knight back even a step.

The Dark Diver arrived next, swinging its pitch black greatsword at the Stone Knight.

The eyes of the Stone Knight shone with contempt when it gazed at the {Dark Soul} that had taken its form.

It pushed Ruby back with its shield and brought itself blade down. The air around the edge of the blade ignited into flames. It fell, cutting right through the sword made of darkness and the Dark Diver itself.

Cain felt the pain from the {Dark Soul} through their bond. Luckily, it was only the sword that had been damaged. The {Dark Soul} had turned immaterial at the last second to avoid the heavy blow of the {Stone Bloodknight}.

The {Argent Amphithere} swooped down from the sky and coiled itsong body around the head and torso of the Stone Knight. Then, with all the force it could muster, it but down on its helmet.

With no delayed movements, the Collosus bashed its shield into Ruby's head, splitting it open like a nut. Blood poured down the Mutant Beast's face as she retreated with a yelp.

Then, it dropped the shield to the ground and reached up, grabbing the flying snake by its tail.

The silver flying serpent let out a screech and a moment later, belched out a mouthful of scalding blue flames right into the head of the Stone Knight.

Unshaken by the flames, the Stone Knight pulled on the Silver Serpent's tail and dragged it off before proceeding to smash it against the ground at full force.

Then, it brought its sword down and swung. If the attack struck true, the {Argent Amphithere} would be cut cleanly in two, and itself life would end.

Before the sword could cut into its neck, Cain had arrived.

BANG!

He struck three times in quick succession on the same spot on the flat of the blade, throwing it off course.

The {Argent Amphithere} wriggled out of the Stone Knight's grip and soared into the air once again.

Breathing heavily, Cain struggled to keep control.
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The Lightning Enchantment of {Burning Spirit} was powerful as it doubled the speed of his attacks, but significantly reduced his control. Meaning his attacks could become equally lethal to both him and his opponent likewise.

Still, the trade was worth it.

At least now, he would be able to keep up with the Stone Knight's speed.

"Eva!"

Evangeline burst out of the shadows. Following her saw a steam of shadow chains that bound the Stone Knight's limbs.

The creature took a step forward and easily broke them all.

Then it swung its blade at Cain again. He took a step back.and raised his blade again to block. Their blade clashed again and Cain was launched back.

Ruby charged at the Stone Knight again, but was once again blocked by the shield, while the {Dark Soul} lurched out of the shadows on the ground attempting a sneak attack, but was almost stomped to death.

They all poured their attacks from all directions, but the Stone Knight was a master of combat.

It calmly and methodically blocked, parried and launched deadly and vicious counters with its sword and shield.

They were at a stalemate.

Cain couldn't help but feel amazed.

It was taking them so much effort to just barely keep up with the damned thing.

Each of them was powerful in their own right. Even his contracted beasts were powerful.

However, they completely failed to get the upper hand.

And from the look of things, it seemed like the Stone Knight was slowly getting accustomed to their continuous barrage.

The amount and lethality of its counter attacks were slowly increasing.

Cain gritted his teeth as he struck down multiple times in a split second before narrowly dodging a chop from the Stone Knight.

Sweat rolled down his face.

Everything was moving so fast.

But in this moment, it felt like he was locked in an instant.

He couldn't help but think,

'This is what I need.'