Strongest Demigod System

Azrael sheathed his sword and glanced at the remains of the Lesser Daemon one more time before he continued walking forward. There was still a long way to go to the rocky mountain where he wanted to rest, and the sun was already starting to set on the horizon.

Azrael didn't know how long he had been in this place, but he could guess that it was nearing nighttime back in the real world.

Azrael planned to rest for the day and travel at night, but if he didn't hurry up, he would have to rest for the night to gain back his energy.

Azrael sighed and started to walk again.

He would have run, but he didn't have any water, so he wanted to preserve his stamina as much as possible.

He walked for a few more minutes before he saw something blue shining from the corner of his eye. Azrael turned towards it and was surprised when a blurry image of an oasis appeared there. The sun made it hard to see properly, but Azrael could easily pick out the water!

Azrael immediately began heading towards the oasis! It was only a kilometer away from where he was, and he could still get back to the mountain if he hurried!

But when Azrael got to where the water was supposed to be, he stopped and swallowed desperately when there was nothing there.

'A mirage?'

Azrael didn't understand what happened. The image of the oasis seemed so real. How in the world did he mistake a mirage for the real thing?

SHRIEEEKKK!!

The sound of a Lesser Daemon emerging from the sand near him brought him back to his senses and Azrael turned to glance at the large mountain where he had been heading before he brought out his sword and sighed.

At this rate, he definitely wouldn't get to the cave before nightfall.

The Lesser Daemon charged for Azrael, and Azrael eradicated it.

…

The sun had already fallen in the sky.

Azrael walked with his t-shirt tied around his head and his legs dragging on the ground to preserve as much stamina as possible.

He was thirsty and tired, and there were dark circles under his eyes, showing just how little sleep he had gotten in the past two days.

On his way here, Azrael ran into two more Lesser Daemons, and although they didn't pose any form of threat to him, they were still annoying enough that he had to lose some of his stamina while dealing with them.

The rewards he was getting from those monsters didn't seem like it was worth the amount of energy he was losing, and so the next time Azrael discovered a Lesser Daemon, he didn't even bother trying to attack it. He just shuffled out of its path and avoided it.

That way, he saved energy and didn't overload his Divine Core with excess Divine Essence.

The large mountain was finally just ahead of him, and Azrael held his t-shirt tighter around his head while looking up at the rocky structure. There was no easy path up, so he was going to have to climb it.

It would take some more of his stamina, but it was preferable to sleeping on the desert sand.

Azrael grabbed ahold of the structure and slowly began to climb. As he went up, the vast horizon of the desert became more visible to him and he allowed his eyes to glance out over the plains as he hung from the mountain with one hand.

If he were in a better situation, he would probably appreciate the view more. But right now, all Azrael could think about was that he had a long way to go.

Azrael continued the climb and he grunted as he finally put his hand over the ledge and arrived at a flat area where he had seen the cave side.

Azrael released a tense breath as he rested for a few seconds before he finally stood straight and his eyes locked onto a figure a few meters away from him.

"Jane?"

Jane Ashton stood at the entrance of the cave with a pair of twin sabers held in her hands.

She had been giving Azrael a hard look, but once she saw who it was, her stance relaxed and she fell back to the ground tiredly while resting her back against the cave wall.

Jane had arrived at this cave first after her fruitless search for water, and she was so tired that she couldn't even talk without losing some of her stamina.

Not having any water in her bag was affecting her just as much as Azrael.

Azrael frowned when Jane didn't say anything to him and he just walked into the cave and sat at the wall opposite from her.

"Have you… seen any water?"

Jane asked this question through an extremely dry throat and Azrael shook his head while bringing his knees up to rest his hands on them. Jane felt despair fill her body and she groaned.

Although Jane was strong, this was the first time she was going this long without food or water since she always got everything she wanted from the Zeus Pantheon and her parents. Right now, Jane was suffering from thirst for the first time in her life.

"Did you find anyone else from our group?"

Azrael asked this after swallowing to soothe his throat, and Jane shook her head. She hugged herself tightly as the night cold began to intensify and Azrael looked around for any wood.

They needed to start a fire if they were planning to stay in this cave all night.

"Let's gather twigs so we can start a fire."

Azrael spoke up while getting up, and Jane frowned as she pulled her legs closer in irritation.

"Don't tell me what to do."

"If you want to freeze to death, then that's fine by me, but I'm not your fucking slave. Don't be difficult."

Azrael turned with a glare and Jane glared right back before clicking her tongue and turning away. The stress of their situation was making her a lot more irritable, and the mere idea of Azrael telling her what to do was pissing her off.

But Jane realized that Azrael was only trying to make their situation better, so after he walked far enough, she also got up and started to gather twigs and leaves that had grown out from the mountainside.

There was no lint or lighter in the backpack they were given, but Jane easily started the fire with a well-placed spark of lightning, and they built it up until the cave was well-lit and warm.

They sat on opposite ends of the cave, as far away from each other as possible, and tried to warm themselves against the freezing cold.

Azrael took out one of the ration bars from his bag and slowly ate it, and he heard Jane swallow from opposite him.

Azrael looked at her curiously and he noticed she was staring at his food.

"Don't you have any food?"

Azrael's question popped Jane back to reality and she frowned while turning away. It was obvious that she had already eaten all of it.

Didn't she know they were meant to conserve it?

'Whatever. It's none of my problem.'

Azrael turned away from Jane, but the sound of her stomach growling drew his attention back, and he sighed tiredly before finally throwing the half-eaten ration bar toward her.

Jane caught the ration bar with wide eyes and glanced at him, but Azrael wasn't even looking at her anymore, and she gritted her teeth.

For a moment, Jane considered giving it back. She didn't want Azrael's pity.

But her stomach growled again and she realized that it would be stupid to give it back since she was so hungry.

Jane ate half of it with a deep sulk and put the rest in her bag to save for later.

"Thanks."

Jane's voice was barely audible, but Azrael still heard it and he hummed in response.

The both of them stayed like that for a while, simply watching the desert sands being bathed in the white light of the moon above.

There were a few figures moving across the sand, and Azrael could tell that they were daemons that had emerged to hunt for food.

He wondered if the daemons would know where to find water.

The winds buffeted against the mountain wall, and after some time, it began to pick up speed, slamming into the desert sand and lifting them off the ground and into the air in waves.

The winds reached the top of the mountain, and Azrael felt a shiver go through his body as it pierced through his clothes and into his core.

Azrael didn't have a fire-based God Aspect that would allow him to warm up, so the only thing they could do was move closer to the fire.

Jane also moved towards the fire, desperate to get more warmth, and in that moment, they both decided to ignore their hatred for each other as they sat close to the fire.

"The wind is picking up."

Azrael spoke while watching the fire flicker slowly, and Jane ignored him as she put her hand out towards the flames to get more warmth.

Azrael also stayed silent to preserve as much warmth as possible, but it wasn't long before the moon in the sky was slowly covered with clouds.

And then, it began to rain!