God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Often times than not, the evolution of a Mutant Beast was heavily influenced by its initial characteristics and its environment, with the ecological aspect being the lesser of the two.

However, just because it was the lesser didn't mean it was not significant. Several creatures developed strange new organs that allowed them to adapt even better to their environment.

Creatures of the sea could harness the tides to move even faster, or even utilize it offensively and defensively.

The mutated birds of the sky could harness the wind to propel themselves faster than missiles as well as generate wind blades that could cut through thick layers of steel easily.

However, there were some anomalies. Beings with evolutions that don't really make much sense at first glance.

One such example is the {Blood Skyray}. A sea creature with the ability to fly.

Such a thing seems absurd. What does a sea beast need to fly for?

There were many others like it. With strange abilities that appeared for what seems like no reason except maybe for a bit of variation.

Another such creatures, were the {Bubonic Mimics}.

Calling them Mutant Creatures was not quite accurate since they didn't have much life in them. They were more or less closer to elementals like Enoch the {Golden Steel Herald}.

However, they also couldn't be considered as elementals as well.

They were somewhere in the uncomfortable middle.

The Mimics were truly strange creatures. With their origins being the {Bubonic Rock}, a rock created from devilish mutation with volcanic rock, they were mostly inorganic.

However, they were also fully saturated with the blood absorbed from the thousands upon thousands of corpses that died along the coastline.

The {Bubonic Rock} was rather prone to absorbing energy, so it readily absorbed the dormant energy within the blood of the deceased beings.

Which in turn led to the birth of these strange creatures.

For the most part, the Mimics acted like normal rocks, laying in the sand.

However, when a beast or human Hunter came into close proximity, they would usually wait until the conditions were most optimal before striking.

Since the energy within the blood they absorbed was so random, the range of abilities the Mimics could use was seemingly endless, without rhyme or reason most of the time.

This made them truly fascinating, but also strange and dangerous creatures.

When dealing with them, it was always best to expect the unexpected.

"We are getting close." Jenny called out to Li.

Li nodded without answered.

Instead, his pupils narrowed into pinheads as his eyes began scanning.

Very quickly, he spotted their target.

"Found them."

Since it was strange for a cluster of rocks to give off life energy, locating the Mimics should have been easy.

However, the damned things had developed the ability to hide their life traces with uncanny precision. So much so, it was incredibly difficult to notice the energy fluctuations.

Regardless of such efforts, it was still impossible for them to hide it completely.

And since such a chance existed, Li figured there would be a way to increase the odds.

And as he had thought, there was.

Most of the {Bubonic Rock} was of a dark, almost devilish hue. However, the rocks the {Bubonic Mimics} appeared like usually had grey, crimson, or purple veins running across their length.

Most of the time, it was difficult to spot these veins as they were located mostly on the sides of the rocks.

But with keen eyes that knew what to look for, it no longer became an issue.

Jenny nodded as she retrieved her rifle from her inventory,

"Be careful."

Before she could complete the words, however, Li had jumped down the back of the flying {Blood Skyray}.

Trailing a streak like a burning comet, his body fell towards the ground with a shrill whistle.

Down below, the strange rocks began to move as though they could sense the threat.

Then suddenly, a rocky arm stretched forth, shooting towards Li with burning malice. In a split second, it was enveloped in scorching flames.

A derisive sneer appeared on Li's face as he clenched his fists and filled his lungs with the salty ocean air.

The air crackled and broke under the strain of the man gathered on his knuckles as he punched at the flaming rock arm.

The next moment, an ear-splitting explosion rang out.

Flying through the air the opposite way, a burst of air shot out of the soles of his feet, allowing Linto harmlessly glide into the ground.

He had suffered no injury.

The Mimic in the other hand, wasn't so lucky.

The rest of its body slowly rose from the rubble.

The body of this {Bubonic Mimic} was smaller than most he had seen. The points where its rocky arms were jointed appeared larger than the rest of the limbs. Its body was covered with a plethora of crimson and purple veins, and its eyes were hollow with a strange blue flames burning in the center of the darkness.

Li sneered at it as he voiced on the balls of his heels.

This thing was certainly not an average Mimic. A split second after their contact just a moment ago, the Mimic had made a move to dispell the energy and force behind the attack. Because of that, it had managed to keep most of its arm.

Still, a decent portion of it had been blown off, with the rest of the arm covered on cracks.

The {Bubonic Mimic} tilted at him, the will-o-wisp flames in its eyes burning a tad bit brighter.

Its body groaned and creaked as it bend at an unnatural angle.

Then it lunged forward.

Regulating his breathing, Li stood like a boulder. A rune etched into his body lit up as his fists were instantly engulfed with flames.

He punched forward.

A stream of plasma in the shape of a giant fist shot out and smashed into the body of the {Bubonic Mimic}, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

Li chuckled as he dusted his hands,

"Good job, me."

Before he could wallow in his flawless victory, however, the other piles of rocks in the surrounding area began to move.