The desert that Gakrak City resides in was estimated to span over 30,000 km in landmass.
Along the way, apart from the city, all one could see was sand.
However, other than Gakrak City, there were also other cities and villages located beyond the desert.
Some were even known to harbor hostility against their neighboring cities.
That was the reason no one dared cross each other's territories, to avoid waging war.
Ranging from rocky fields to grasslands, each had different terrains inhabited by monsters of all kinds.
That was the reason shelters like the cities were needed for survival. The harsh weather conditions and the dwelling of dangerous monsters made it unsafe to thrive outside.
Ever since the arrival of the celestials, Earth had no longer been the same.
Their presence had caused the realm to become a life-threatening place that required people to constantly look over their shoulders.
The sun itself, once known to bring light into one's life, now threatened to take it each day.
Night time wasn't safe either, whether from humans or monsters.
No place was safe anymore. The gods' arrival on this planet had caused suffering for everyone.
Trust could no longer be given.
Kindness had died a long time ago.
Forbidden acts were committed.
Outside the cities' walls, there were no laws, no rules—only survival of the fittest.
'Sigh, I am surrounded by fools.' Azrael roughly rubbed his fingers on his face, wondering if he should just jump off a cliff.
"My bad, sir. We are just new at this," a sweet and kind tone came from Charlotte that made his skin crawl.
'Should I just push them into the canyon or slit their throats? Ahhh! I am so stressed!' Azrael screamed in his head, his face crumpling as his eye twitched uncontrollably.
In all his years of being a god, no one had ever been as annoying as the party he ended up with.
It was to the point where he wanted to end himself and reserve his revenge for his next reincarnation.
A while ago, after everyone had entered the golden, sparkling portal of Professor Erath, they found themselves in a barren land that was completely deserted and filled only with rocks.
The land was located near a volcano, and from the way the earth was hard and parts of it were black, it was clear an eruption had occurred not too long ago.
Just as the receptionist had said, they were separated into individual groups of five, each given a safety magic object for communication, especially for emergencies, as stated by the professor.
Azrael, on the other hand, wanted to be put together with Princess Mary. Why? So she wouldn't be found ever again.
It was simple—join the team, teach her the manners she hadn't been taught from birth (probably killing her in the process), and eliminate the beefy fellow who aided her to complete his quest.
Instead, he was placed in a group he could tell was struggling to even pass the second layer of being a champion.
Although it was normal, considering they were only teenagers, he still felt they were too weak.
He wasn't happy with the arrangement of putting all these weak people in a group. If he weren't there, they would be slaughtered by a strigoi.
"Big brother Mike! Come on, we have to find strigois to kill. Brother Mike!, did you space out?!!" Charlotte called out.
She turned around and walked toward Azrael, who was at the back of the group.
He had stopped walking and was staring at the canyon, debating whether to jump and escape from these people.
She grabbed his arm and dragged him along.
"I am not your big brother, you fucking bastard!" Azrael said, irritated.
'My name isn't even Mike! I am the god of Darkness, for fuck's sake!'
"No!, you are. You are old and wise. You help us navigate through this place, so you are greatly respected by us, and we'll protect you whether you're weak or strong," Charlotte said with cute little cheeks.
"Yes," the others agreed.
Their team consisted of two males and three females, including Azrael.
Because Azrael appeared to be the eldest, even though he was just twenty-seven (the age of his body's former owner), Charlotte followed at twenty, while the rest ranged from seventeen to eighteen.
Everyone was on the move when, suddenly, Azrael felt a chaotic presence.
"Strogoi!" Azrael blurted, and the others quickly went on guard.
"Where is it?" Lucas, the other male in the group, panicked. "I can't see them!"
"Big brother, are you sure you sensed right? Because we don't see anything..." Charlotte's words were interrupted as a sharp, needle-like object pierced the air.
It was quite fast, but Charlotte quickly deflected it with her scythe, pinning it to the ground.
Azrael gazed at the object and felt a sense of familiarity.
"Where have I seen this kind of mineral before? Hmm, what creature produces this stuff again?" Azrael thought, before it suddenly clicked.
'A Dalga.'
The object that was launched at them was a unique mineral produced from a Dalga's skin.
Initially, it oozed out as a dark purple goo but instantly solidified into crystallized mineral shards with sharp edges, perfect for long-range attacks when shot from their bodies.
It didn't take long before multiple dark purple crystals were launched at them again from seemingly nowhere—too many to count.
"Form a defense circle to block the attack, quickly!" Charlotte shouted, and the group huddled together, their backs facing each other.
"Where's big brother?!" Charlotte's eyes widened in panic.
She had forgotten that Azrael was new to their group and hadn't been taught their way of fighting.
On their last mission, they had lost a comrade who had been hunting with them for over a year to a fire bear.
With their party reduced to four, they couldn't hunt effectively, as most missions required a team of five.
Professor Erath had assigned Azrael to their team so they could hunt again, but they had overlooked the fact that he was untrained in their strategies, particularly for dealing with large-scale attacks.
"Big brother!!"
Meanwhile, Azrael stood at the edge of the group, casually staring at a boundary wall, seemingly unbothered by the hail of deadly spikes about to rain down on them.
'Hmm, so here you are all along.'
Energy pulsed from Azrael's hand, transforming his arm into a sharp, blade-like weapon.
With a swift slash through the air, something black dropped to the ground with a lifeless thud.
"Filthy pest,"
****