God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 797: Vice and Virtue (4).

Cain relaxed in his seat and stared at the Alvi, who had a shaken expression on his face.

There was a moment of silence between them.

"The Dome makes you all think like cowards." Evangeline suddenly said.

Alvi glanced at her, his eyes narrowed,

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged, "You can't even see if for yourselves, can you?"

Alvi shook his head,

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"Young lass, have you ever played a game of chess before?"

Evangeline glanced at him then shook her head,

Alvi nodded,

"Indeed, you are far too young."

Alvi turned to Cain, a stern expression on his face,

"In a game of chess, it is very difficult to turn the tides around, especially when your opponent is a tough one to bear and you have lost so many pieces. In other words, you are in a disadvantage."

"You could try trade pieces and whatnot, but the most effective play to make when on the losing hand..."

"Is to look for a stalemate."

Cain frowned, then shook his head,

"Alvi, do you really think it is possible for us to reach a stalemate here?"

Alvi nodded, "There are many avenues to keep getting resources. There's our connection with the outside world beyond the City thanks to your {Spatial Gates} and even the Otherworld Rift the Pilgrims have. We have the resources available to fight for a stalemate. That is our best course of action at the moment. If we do this, we might even have the opportunity to turn the game around!"

Alvi's eyes narrowed dangerously as he spoke through gritted teeth,

"Taking the Dome down would be akin to removing such a possibility completely. There will be no chance to mount a defense, and the Devils will storm in, tearing us all apart limb from limb."

His eyes widened as he raised his voice,

"You are smart, Cain. Clearly you see the madness in that, don't you? Could it be ascending to the Second Tier has made you overconfident? Reckless? You can't see reality anymore?"

Cain smiled lightly and shook his head,

"On the contrary, I can see things quite clearly in fact. Far clearer than I have ever seen it before."

He paused for a moment then said,

"The only way your 'stalemate' will ever work, is if the opponent is too stupid to see through it, or has no play to prevent the stalemate from happening."

Alvi's brows trembled,

"That is—"

Cain grinned, "What? Amen I wrong? Do you really think those Devils are stupid? They aren't. Even the Mutant Beasts have terrifying intellect, not to talk of those eldritch abominations that fell from the sky."

He sighed, "Of you think about it carefully, there's only ever been two options really."

His eyes turned cold,

"Give up and offer our lives into their hands, or trade pieces and fight to the bitter end. I don't really like how the first one sounds."

Alvi sighed dejectedly and leaned back, covering his eyes,

"You don't understand, Cain. We... We can't fight them. It's impossible. The best we can do is to keep culling their numbers in the way we have been doing so far."

Cain sneered, "And how has that worked so far?"

Alvi fell silent.

"Of course it hasn't worked at all! If anything, their numbers keep growing!"

Cain nodded, "Exactly. Which is why we must do this. Either way, the barrier will eventually fall. It is only a matter of time."

The room fell silent.

Jack cleared his throat then turned to Cain,

"Even if what you are saying is true, it doesn't mean getting rid of it will be any better."

Cain nodded, "Indeed. But if we do that, it will finally force these fools off their asses."

Cain added quickly, "Although I am not a psychopath. I plan on using as much time as we possibly have to get as many ordinaries out of here using the {Spatial Gate}. That way, there won't be too many civilian casualties "

There was another stretch of silence.

Alvi removed the hand covering his eyes and stared at Cain, his eyes bloodshot,

"How are they?"

Cain raised a brow.

"Our chances of winning... What do they look like?"

Cain's relaxed expression melted away and a grim look appeared on his face,

"Less than twenty, although if we keep the dome up, it will be lower."

"I see..."

***

"He's not so bad, is he?"

Susan snorted, "He's just an old croon worried about how much his gains will be affected if the Devils eat everyone."

Cain couldn't help but chuckle.

Hunter glanced at him and said,

"We need to handle a few things first before doing something so drastic, no?"

Cain nodded,

"I'll talk with Gilead once he gets back. For now, I'll be heading to the Temple."

He turned to Evangeline who stared at him with raised brows,

"I need you to do something for me."

He glanced at Jenny,

"You too..."

Evangeline frowned,

"Let me guess, you want eyes and ears on Carrion and the rest of the Iron Beetles."

Cain raised a brow,

"How did you know?"

Evangeline flashed a smirk, "I can make it happen, but I'll have free reign. Is that fine with you?"

Cain thought about it for a moment, then nodded,

"Alright. Hunter will give you as much support as you need."

Then he turned to Jenny.

She shrugged then gave him a smile,

"I don't have any problems with that. In fact, I gained a few skills back in the trial I am eager to try out."

Cain nodded, "That's good. Also..."

He gave Evangeline a glance,

"Try not to spill too much blood."

Evangeline shrugged, "I'll try."

Jenny laughed nervously.

Cain sighed,

"Alright then."

Then he turned to Roselle and Susan,

"I might need you guys for what's about to happen."

Roselle stick her chest out proudly,

"Well, you need not worried. We'll be your trusty handymen!"

Susan shrugged, "I'll stick to you in case you get hurt again."

'I don't there's anything within the boundaries of this Dome that can do me serious harm.' Cain thought to himself.

But he dared not say it out loud.

"Then I'll be in your care."

"In that case, I'll be on my way. I have places to be." Hunter said.

Cain placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a smile,

"Hm? What's that? You're coming with too."

Hunter's expression soured,

"Didn't you say I have to keep an eye on everything? That's what I'm doing. You are disturbing my work."

Cain rolled his eyes,

"You can do both simultaneously. Come on, let's go."

Hunter let out a tired sigh then turned to Dan.

Dan shrugged then gave him a thumbs up,

"It's alright, I'll handle things."

Hunter nodded then turned back to Cain, his brows furrowed,

"So?"

Cain grinned,

"I'm eager to go test something out."

***

A few minutes later, Cain arrived before his intended destination.

The vast stretch of sandy land that had been Sandsea had emptied out after all of Balangol's presence was gone.

Now, it was replaced with a destitute and broken concrete road, with stubbles of run down buildings spread around like sprouting weed.

The air was filled with a sort of solemn despair that could only exist in a place that once had life.

Because the influence of the Celestial that created the Sandsea was gone, the beast's within it had either died, or had mutated and changed to adjust to their new environment.

Not only that, but there were even creatures that had been born of it.

Cain stared at the {Demon's Eye} floating above their head. He couldn't help but be impressed with himself.

Even though his {Beholder's Eye} had quite a wide range, it still wasn't as wide and far reaching, compared to the {Demon's Eye}.

Not only the range, but the ability to allow for the user to actively distinguish between living and non-living as well as determining their threat levels.

"There's more than a hundred {Black-mouth Crawlers} down there, underneath that building. Absolutely nasty fuckers, they are." Hunter said with a frown.

"According to what I know, they've been quite a hassle to the Hunter's that come here to get mana shards. Most of the deaths that happen here is as a result of these fiends."

Cain nodded, then asked,

"What's so bad about them? How powerful are they?"

Hunter answered, "The average level is Level 160. There's been reports of a chieftain leading them and coordinating their movements, but we can't be so sure yet."

Cain shook his head with a grin,

"No, I'm sure there's a chieftain. As for how strong he is, I'd say around a hundred and ninety, close to reaching the second Tier, but not quite there yet."

Hunter hummed, "That should be about right."

He glanced at the {Demon's Eye} floating overhead.

He couldn't help but think to himself,

'Those things are useful. But dangerous...'

He cleared his throat and continued,

"As for what makes them so dangerous, it's their affinity for rot, as well as their agility and inhuman strength. There's also another thing..."

Cain frowned. Hunter's face had turned a bit dark.

He asked,

"What is it?"

"Apparently, those creatures are incredibly intelligent and hard to fin down. They also have a tendency to capture human females and do... things I'd rather not say to them."

Cain's face turned dark,

"For fun?"

Hunter shrugged,

"Mostly. But apparently, squads that are wiped out usually have the males eaten and the women kept. They use them to breed offspring as well. Truly disgusting stuff."

"I see..."

"Such terrible creatures should be burnt to ash." Susan said, her voice low and cold.

Roselle nodded, her hand already gripping the hilt of her blade,

"I couldn't agree more."

Cain deactivated the {Demon's Eye} and put it away,

"We'll take all of them out. Hunter, you can provide support, or not. Either works for me."

Hunter spoke calmly,

"If there will be a battle, I will gladly participate. Pay me no mind."

Cain grinned,

"In that case, let's get started."