God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Unsure of what to do, Blaze sighed and picked up the other mug.

Staring at the light pale frothy liquid, he felt his stomach churn. It didn't look like any beverage he was familiar with whatsoever.

Bringing it to his nose, he sucked in a deep breath, catching a whiff of the drink's aroma.

Instantly, a mix of floral and pungent hit him, stunning him for a moment.

Perplexed and curious, he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip.

"Slightly sweet, a bit sour and yet still a bit mellow."

He also couldn't taste or smell any alcohol either.

Regardless, he tilted his head back and allowed the cold delicious liquid pour down his throat.

Draining the entire mug in one gulp, he let out a satisfied sigh as he slammed it down onto the counter.

"Incredible..." He muttered, smacking his lips.

"You might want to take it easy on the drinks, boy..."

Blaze frowned and turned slightly. There, standing not even half a feet away was a group of three men.

The two at the side were large burly men with faint runic tattoos on their bodies. They wore their weapons openly, and their vicious expressions screamed how eager they were to cut someone down.

The man in the center was at least a head shorter, around Blaze's height. He wore white leather armor with a red scale chest piece attachment.

He stood at the bar, calmly sipping his drink from a glass tumbler.

"Are you talking to me?" Blaze couldn't help but ask.

The bar was crowded, but for some reason, there weren't a lot of people crowded around their immediate area, as though they were actively avoiding it.

The man turned to face Blaze. He had tired, droopy eyes, a head of messy brown hair, and an unshaven chin that made him look rather unkempt. But beneath that, Blaze could tell that his gaze was as shockingly sharp.

The two burly men that looked like bodyguards gave him a death glance, but didn't say anything.

Instead, the man chuckled,

"Of course I'm talking to you. There's no one else around here, is there..."

Blaze frowned then nodded, "It would seem so."

The man grinned,

"By the way, you folks seem to be new. I haven't seen you around here. Are you both part of them beast folks that just recently packed in?" He said, giving Cain a targeted stare.

All this time, Cain was looking at his drink, not even acknowledging the mystery man's presence.

Sensing something amiss, Blaze quickly answered,

"Not quite. And my friend here is not a Beastkin."

The man snapped his fingers,

"Aha! So that's what the freaks call themselves. It's rather catchy." He said with a laugh.

Then he stopped,

"But what do you mean by 'not quite'? It's either you are one of them, or you aren't. And your friend there sporting those horns isn't doing any convincing, you know..."

Blaze frowned, "Are you looking for a fight?"

Despite asking this, he couldn't sense any malicious intent behind his words.

The man chuckled and shook his head,

"No, I'm just curious, is all."

Blaze's eyes narrowed, "Is that so..."

'It would be better not to start any trouble.'

With that thought in mind, he spoke,

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"Well, we are–"

Before he could get all the words out, Cain who had been silent all this time, suddenly turned over, a subtle frown on his face,

"I knew they'd send a dog out eventually. Never did I expect it to talk so much though."

Silence...

Then, the sound of energy charging as the two burly men pulled large magic firearms that looked like shotguns from their backs and aimed them right at Cain's head.

The other patrons in the bar receeded like the tide, moving even further away, but close enough to watch the spectacle unfold with utmost clarity.

Cain didn't even spare the big guys a glance. Instead, his gaze was still fixed on the mysterious man.

The man on the other hand didn't seem even slightly offended by his comment. Instead, he laughed,

"Your reputation proceeds you, Cain. You are even funnier in real life."

Cain shrugged, "That wasn't a joke though."

He paused for a moment, "Still, it's impressive you were able to respond so quickly. I thought I'd have to tear the entire joint apart before I could find anything."

The man paused for a moment, then scratched his head awkwardly,

"Well, the Boss wouldn't like that very much, would they. That's why he sent me out here..."

Cain nodded then gestured at the two big men,

"And what about them? Do you not care for their well-being also?"

The man shrugged and motioned to his two bodyguards,

"Relax, boys. If anything happens here, I'd be the one trying to save your asses. Put the guns down."

The burly guards hesitated for a moment before they finally relented and reholstered their weapons.

Cain seemed satisfied with this. Then he turned his attention back to the mysterious man,

"Name?"

The man gave a slight bow,

"They call me 'Jackal' around here, but you can just call me Jack."

Then he turned to Blaze, 'And I know who you are as well, Blaze. Although your leader's reputation supercedes yours. To have gone head to head with Gilead is no small feat, I'll tell you that."

Blaze's eyes narrowed, "Who are you? How do you know all this?"

Jack shrugged, "What I know and how I know it should be irrelevant to this conversation, shouldn't it?" He said, staring at Cain.

Cain shrugged, "I don't care either way. I want to speak with your Boss, Jack."

Jack sighed and scratched his head,

"That might be a bit difficult."

Cain raised a brow, "How so?"

Jack cleared his throat,

"I have a message from the Boss to you. He said I should pass it on to you directly."

Cain was surprised, "A message for me?"

Jake nodded, "Indeed. The message is quite simple actually. His exact words were..."

He cleared his throat and continued,

"I do not wish to do business with you. Please leave my establishment."

Cain was perplexed. He scratched his head in confusion,

"This... How is he so sure of my intentions?"

Jake shrugged, "That's his business. What's mine is to pass on his message and hope you comply."

The moment he said this, Cain felt the immediate shit in the atmosphere. Several people mixed in with the crowd suddenly began to emit rather obvious hostility, their hands reaching for their weapons and their gazes turned malevolent.

What was already incredibly tense turned into a simmering pot just waiting to explode.

Blaze sighed and turned to the bartender who didn't look to bothered by the situation,

"I'd like another cup please..."

With a nod, the bartender left to take his order.

Meanwhile, a dangerous look appeared in Cain's eyes, but it was covered up with a smile,

"I'd like to tell you to ask your Boss to reconsider. I came here in good faith. Sensing me away at the door without looking me in the eyes even once is rather rude, isn't it?"

Jack paused, as though unsure of what to do.

In the end, he could only sigh,

"You know, the stories about you are rather wild..."

He smiled as he leaned on the counted and picked his drink up,

"Some say you transformed into a dragon on the battlefield, eating men left and right, others say you fought Kaelin to a draw, then summoned an otherworldly being that ended up being even stronger that Balangol. Others say it was a battle that happened on another world, so we can't even be sure what went down..."

Cain chuckled and couldn't help but ask,

"What do you think?"

Jack swirling the amber liquid in his glass,

"What I think? I'd like to believe that a human wouldn't be able to defeat a god. And yet, the fact remains that for some reason, it did happen. Balangol's presence is no longer with us. And so, I am inclined to believe that a battle did happen, one that led to the celestial's demise that is..."

His smile turned a bit odd,

"But that doesn't mean you did it, am I right?"

Cain shrugged, "You'll have to put it to the test to find out, now won't you..."

Jack grinned. The tired look on his face was suddenly gone, and the sharpness in his eyes was magnified several folds in a second.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He lightly tapped the handle of the blade resting on his waist,

"It's rather embarrassing, but there is a reason they call me the Jackal. I'd like to see what the so-called 'Demon' is capable of."

Cain wanted to laugh. He really did.

He had no idea how this day had turned so interesting in a matter of seconds.

He could sense that the man standing before him was incredibly strong. If he and Blaze were to battle each other, he had no idea who would come out on top.

But that was besides the point because it seemed like the stories of his feats on the battlefield had been embellished many times and the tales had been twisted, so much so, that none of it seemed believable.

Even worse, the truth of what had happened was most likely would be the most farfetched story out there.

To make matters worse, with his {Eye of Clairvoyance} active, he could clearly see the number of people taking aim in the darkness, as well as the secret floor located beneath them.

'That's where his Boss is...'

Cain had no idea how he knew they were coming so quickly to have been able to arrange all this, but in the end, it made no difference.

This was not a test.

They were trying to dissuade him from making contact. They didn't want to get their hands dirty, involving themselves with him.

'Unfortunately, you have no choice...'

Although he wasn't here to fight, he didn't mind having to flex a bit.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

He turned to stare at Jack. Then a sinister grin appeared on his face.

He scratched his head and put on an apologetic look,

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I recently went on a mission and I am still recovering from an injury. So, instead of fighting me, why not take on a few pets of mine?"