God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Cain huffed tiredly as settled into his seat.

He was lucky the two girls were very reasonable. If not, he surely would have gotten his behind handed to him. On the other hand, Leah in particular didn't seem very pleased.

'It is unfortunate, but it seems that her opinion of me has fallen quite low in just a few moments.'

Despite that, his behind was safe for the moment.

At least he hoped so. He could already feel a few vicious gazes bearing down on him from all sides.

His back drenched in sweat, he tried to ignore them.

The large building had several floors, one of them including a large floor that had been repurposed for one reason and one reason only;

To allow for a large number of people to congregate.

Essentially, a meeting room for all the higher ups of the Golden Asura.

And as more and more people gathered, the room began to fill up.

Cain's eyes slowly scanned the rapidly forming crowd. Every single person here was familiar one way or the other.

Most of them were also powerhouses in their own right, but they had all gathered here at his first call.

He tried to keep his expression neutral.

As time ticked by, eventually, the room was finally full.

All the members has arrived.

The indistinct chatter slowly began to die down.

Feeing so many gazes on him, Cain decided it was time to begin.

He cleared his throat and then spoke, his voice loud and concise,

"Everyone, Welcome."

A thick silence blew across the room. Dozens of eyes, each belonging to a seasoned killer, hunter, adventurer, and survivor, stayed locked on him.

Most of the gazes seemed to contain a hint of respect, with some of them even bordering fear.

Regardless, there was a single commonality they all shared;

Every gaze on him was laced with curiosity.

Cain tapped his finger lightly against the arm of his chair,

"We all aren't strangers anymore, so I'll be blunt,"

As someone who didn't enjoy standing on ceremony, Cain felt it would be better to speak how best he was comfortable with. And he was sure the others will appreciate the same.

"You all already know why I've called you here. We've tolerated their existence, but the Blood Moon Sect has grown bolder. So we have come to a decision to uproot them once and for all. Those who have a differing opinion, please, feel free to speak your mind."

Murmurs rippled through the room. Most of them laced with suspicions.

Cain's gaze swept across them as he spoke again,

"Hunter has confirmed it. They plan to strike soon. Which means we have two choices: wait until they cut us down from behind, or take matters into our hands and strike first."

A hand shot up. It was Lin Lin's.

Cain raised a brow,

"You have something to say?"

Lin Lin nodded. Her dark eyes fixed on him as she leaned forward with arms crossed as she spoke,

"Why haven't we done this since the beginning? What use was it, leaving them to grow for so long when we could have cut them down before they became an issue?"

The murmurs in the room died down.

'Looks like a lot of people were curious about this as well.'

Cain smiled as he explained,

"There are two reasons; one of them, is my own selfishness and guilt. To tell you the truth, I have been looking for a justification all this time. Perhaps, in my mind, I was hoping there would be room to compromise in the future "

Lin Lin huffed and sneered, "Clearly, there wasn't going to be any.

"Lin! That's enough!" Leah raised a brow and cautioned her.

With a roll of her eyes, Lin Lin pursed her lips,

"So? What's the other one?"

Cain nodded,

"At the time, we would not have been able to handle them without incuring heavier losses than was necessary. The Blood Moon Sect has their own band of powerhouses that could prove to be a real problem to us."

Jenny raised a hand, a frown dancing in her beautiful lips,

"If that's the case, then what has changed now?"

Cain smirked,

"Now, we should be more than able to take them on in a straightforward battle."

"Cain, how certain are you of this?" Blaze asked with raised brows.

Several others nodded.

Cain shrugged and turned to Hunter who was seated right beside him.

Hunter gave him a look then sighed as he rose to his feet,

"There are twelve Elders of the Blood Moon Sect left behind, even after the death of the Blood Matriarch. Not a single one of them died in that battle. They are; Nebula, The Black Steel Viper, Nockt, the Rat Keeper, Baldur, the Stone Ox King,

Suzume, the White Fox Princess, Dravok, the Saint of a Thousand Chains, Myrhh, the Blooming Hollow, Senkai, the Thousand-Eyed Demon, Thorne, the Ink Sorcerer, Veyra, the Priestess of Battle, Frejlorr, the Frost-Hand, Plague, the Withering Pestilence, and Night, the Daughter of Shadows."

Hunter's gaze was dark and cold as he scanned the crowd,

"There are more than thirty of us in this room. However, not up to twenty of us can match up to even the weakest of these twelve. That is why Cain decided to drag it out this far. You should all be grateful he isn't willing to throw your heads onto the chopping block just to prove a point."

He said the final part with his gaze fixed on Lin Lin. Ignoring her death glare, he fell back to his seat.

Not sure how to feel about Hunter's rather strong defense, he cleared his throat,

"It is as Hunter said. And since there are some of us that got to witness their power during the battle, it isn't an understatement to say dealing with them will not be easy. However, I have faith in our current power. Lukas..."

Cain turned slightly to face the leader of the Lightslayers within the Golden Asura.

Lukas had also attended the meeting. By his side was Zue who seemed far more respectful towards him compared to all the other times they had met, and his sister.

Seated behind him was Luke and Rollo. But heavy lifters within the Golden Asura as well in their own rights.

Lukas snorted. Without standing up, he spoke,

"As much as I hate to admit it, the dog man is right. Those guys are no joke. If we go in half-heartedly, we'll end up losing a lot of resources pointlessly."

He glanced at Cain, then shrugged,

"That being said, I believe clearing out our backyard is not a bad choice. But are you sure it is ideal?"

Cain raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

Lukas smirked.

"Well..."