God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cutting off the head of the last {Rot Lindworm}, Cain let out a sigh. Then his face contorted as he frantically wiped away the blood on his sword. He couldn't have such rotten blood destroying his equipment.

'How long as it been?'

They had surely been down here for more than a day by now. Although much wouldn't have changed above the surface, he was still a bit worried.

On the plus side, they had finally almost completed their objective. They were now headed towards the checkpoint, or in other words, the furtherest and deepest point of the first 'floor' as Vincent liked to call it.

They had encountered all sorts of ruthless, terrifying creatures down here. Some had magic that could reach their souls, others messed with their minds and gave them mental scars while some where just so physically revolting, staring at them too long might incote madness.

In the end, they had triumphed, slaying these abhorrent beasts one after the other until they were just a few steps away from clearing out the first floor.

Cain pondered to himself,

'The First Floor of the Cavern of Darkness. Has a nice ring to it...'

Staring at his Level counter that indicated his progress, he was pleased to see that he was just a step away from reaching Level 199.

The others had also made incredible progress, and were already either Level 198 as well, or on the visor of reaching it.

He was rather satisfied, 'We will definitely be doing this again in the future, perhaps with a bigger party.'

Not only did it let them level up quicker, it was also beneficial on their pockets.

Although most of the creatures down here were to hideous to be consumed, they were much more unique that the regular beasts roaming the surface. They were also a lot stronger.

Some had scales that could insulate the cold rather well, while others had special oegans capable of storing mana, or special toxins stored in special sacs, or even body parts that could be utilized for crafting. There was also the obscene amount of mana shards they had acquired...

All in all, despite its danger, diving into this place has been a lucrative endeavor so far.

But it would all be for naught if they ended up losing their lives. Although Cain wouldn't die, he didn't think he would be able to live with himself if the others died because of him and his choices.

He breathed in deeply.

Then he turned around and spoke,

"This is the last point before we turn around and head back..."

He paused

He wanted to say something like, 'Remeber to be safe', or 'Don't do anything rash' or 'Run iif it gets dangerous'.

In the end, he said none of those.

Instead, he grinned,

"One more to go. Let's finish this."

Li chuckled, cracking his knuckles eagerly,

"Not counting how many times my life has been at risk, this has been really fun, hasn't it, Stan my boy?!"

Stan shrugged then smiled wryly as he drew his saber,

"Just don't push yourself too hard."

Lukas snorted and walked past Cain,

"Can we stop with the sentiments? We've already spent way too long in this hell hole. This stuffiness is going to drive me mad."

The rest either chuckled or remained silent.

However, despite their demeanor, Cain could see it in their eyes. None of them were tense.

Instead, they were ready for a fight. A brutal one at that...

They caught up to Lukas and after a few minutes, they arrived at the edge of the floor.

Cain already knew there was one more mutant beast down here thanks to the {Dark Soul}.

At the end of the floor, there was a gaping hole that stretched from the very high ceiling to the ground.

The stream gathered into a plunge pool just up ahead, which seemed to lead further into the depths of the cavernous system.

The moment they arrived, there was a qualitative change in the world around them.

Cain drew the {Lonely Dragon} Warblade.

The glowing algae for some reason didn't extend to this part of the caves, so whatever light they would have gotten was thoroughly abscent. Cain didn't have to say anything before light filled the entire cave.

Motes of light floated to every corner, driving the darkness away...

With light, the nature of the cove was further revealed.

A large shadow swam in the depths of the plunge pool, its features unknown.

The gaping hole in the wall was indeed the edge of the floor, and going past it would lead one to the second floor and beyond.

Since this was their stop for the day, the final beast they would be fighting, was the creature in the depths of the pool.

Cain turned to Steve and gave him a nod.

With a grin, Steve began moving his gloved hand. A string of golden text began to material into the air hanging there as though they were being etched into some sort of invincible parchment.

At the same time, he muttered below his breath.

A magic circle appeared beneath his feet and on the ceiling above him as he uttered the words;n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Maledictus Opus, Sanguine Demitrui."

Reality undulated as the between the two magic circles, directly above his head, a rift opened, bringing forth an otherworldly glow.

Steve's face turned pale as his mana began draining faster than a broken dam.

The creature at the bottom of the pool stirred.

With a snort, Steve pointed down with his index finger,

"Get up here."

A titanic dark arm covered in welts and malignant tumors shot out from the rift and into the depths of the pool.

A moment later, and the entire pool began bubbling violently as the dark arm grabbed onto the beast and began dragging it out of the waters.

Vincent grinned sinisterly, "That's more like it..."

Then he staggered, blood flowing from his nose. However, he was caught by Cain who stared at the magic Steve had just used, his expression equal parts curious and apprehensive.

He couldn't help but ask,

"What was that?"

Steve wiped the blood from his nose and chuckled,

"I'll tell you later."

Then he pointed, "But it's been done."

Indeed the dark arm has dragged the creation out of the depths of the plunge pool, throwing it onto the black rocks.

A chilling roar that shook the depths of their souls rang out.

Cain chuckled, "It certainly isn't happy with us."

Meanwhile, the power of the rift began dragging the dark arm back. It tried to resist, scratching at the ground and the walls, but it could not resist.

Steve frowned, then snorted, "I have no need for you anymore, evil god. Go back to where you came from!"

However, just before the rift could completely swallow it, a slit appeared horizontally on its wrist, and a split second later, the slit opened up to reveal an eye.

An eye filled with boundless, archaic darkness with all the evil that could possibly exist held into reality bybthe daro arm itself.

At the center of the eye, etched right into the iris, was the ancient rune of madness.

Steve's face paled. Blood strwmsed down the corner of his eye as he tore his gaze away and cursed.

Luckily, no one else seemed to have noticed it. Instead, their eyes were fixed on the creature that had just been dragged out of the plunge pool.

The battle was about to begin...