God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The {Flame Orbs} spun at higher speeds as they grew hotter and hotter.

Once they reached the peak of their revolutions, Cain let them loose like wild dogs onto the devil army...

ZOOM!

The {Flame Orbs} bolted across the battlefield field like bullets. They flew so fast, even Cain, the caster had no idea why they flew so fast.

"He released the spell? I doubt it will do any good. The {Soul Strike} from earlier should have weakened his mind a bit, so the power of the spells should have dropped." J'orntz said to himself as he prepared to send another soul attack to Cain.

However, the next moment, the {Phantasma} would be forced to eat his words as the outcome of the spell far exceeded his expectations.

The size of each {Flame Orb} didn't exceed the size of a tennis ball. As soon as the first {Flame Orb} came in contact with the first charging devil, it passed straight through it without any obstructions, then went through the devil behind it. But it didn't stop there...

After the second one, it shot through another...

Then another once again, before the power within it was exhausted.

A total of four devils dropped dead with the first {Flame Orb}. The other {Flame Orbs} that followed claimed the lives of even more devils. And these were no ordinary devils.

Each devil killed was above level 20, and they possessed a good amount of power in their own right. Before the creation of the {Flame Orb} spell, Cain would need one or even two {Fireballs} to kill even a single one.

Now, with a single spell, more than a thousand of them dropped dead to the ground.

Cain's face turned pale as soon as he was done with the spell, as his mana pool was immediately emptied.

However, the light in his eyes could not be concealed...

{Congratulations to the host... You have upgraded the spell, {Fireball}, and have created a new spell, Art of Fire: First form, Flame Orbs...}

{+50 to Magic stat...}

{+30 to Spirit stat...}

{Your understanding of the flame element has increased tremendously...}

{You have gained a new resistance...}

{Flame resistance +30%...}

{ 1/5 of the Conditions to evolve the {Elemental Body} skill have been met...}

{You have killed a lot of Miasma Devils...}

{You have killed a lot of Devil Fighters...}

{You have leveled up!}

{You have leveled up!}

{You have leveled up!}

{You have leveled up!}

{You have leveled up!}

***

Name: {Cain Lenosi}

Level: 36.

Strength: 361.

Agility: 428.

Stamina: 209/224.

Vitality: 162.

Defense: 203.

Control: 16.7.

Perception: 15.9.

HP: 10,200/17,200.

MP: 800/15,300.

Magic: 508.

Ki: 224.

Spirit: 225.

Resistance: Poison- 80%. Fire- 30%.

Skills: Golden Blood, Mana Blade, Lightening Edge, Blade Mastery Lvl. 2, Burst Step, Metal Creation Lvl.2, Golden Severance, Metal Manipulation, *Fear, *Bloodthirsty, Blood Regeneration, Azure Burst, Mana Heart, Seal, Hollow Judgement, Devil's eyes: Eye of Clairvoyance, Elemental Body.

Spells: Art of Fire: First form, Flame Orbs, Air Whip, Dark Cloak, Blue Lightning, Blink, Golden Halo.

Titles: Champion of Ashur (locked), Sorcerer's Mind, Blessed by Mana, Pioneer.

Free attribute points: 39.

System points 10,709.

{Inventory}. {Shop}.

***

Cain stared at his status screen, then moved to the description of the spell he had just created...

***

{Art of Fire: Flame Orb}: First form of the Art of Fire spell series. The host has finally delved into the deeper meanings behind the elements and has begun an unending quest to reach a maximum understanding...

Description: Orbs of concentrated flames are created, with each having an attack power equivalent to two times the magic stat of the host. Each {Flame Orb} also have a 50% increase in penetrative damage, but their area of effect is decreased to the maximum. The maximum amount of {Flame Orbs} that can be created per second is equivalent to the host's magic stat divided by ten.

Each {Flame Orb} does not have a set mana cost, and a single one can contain all of the host's mana, should the host be willing, with the damage being proportional to the amount of mana poured into the spell.

No cooldown...

Requirements: 500 magic stat points and 200 spirit stat points...

***

Cain stared at the spell with his jaw dropped in amazement...

'I-isn't this a bit overpowered?!'

Cain had trouble believing the details of the spell before him...

Not only did the spell not have any cooldown, but he was also able to create a total of 50 every second, with each one of them not having any mana cost requirements.

What this meant, was that he would be able to exercise 100% freedom in controlling the amount of mana he put into a {Flame Orb}, and the amount of {Flame Orbs} he could create at a time. Meaning he could create a single {Flame Orb} that contained all his mana, and Numerous {Flame Orbs} that contained only 10MP each.

'Did I create a spell like this?!' Cain couldn't believe it himself.

Suddenly, he remembered the words of Ashur...

"The key to runes and magic as a whole is to seek the truth hidden beneath the veil of existence. Do not let the illusion of the mortal coil pull you down. Let your soul be liberated from the normal path. Only then shall you know true POWER!"

Without the help of Ashur, he might have caused himself irreversible damage. If he hadn't gotten the key to the successful spell creation, the spell would have either exploded in his face, or it wouldn't have worked at all.

Not only did he need to manipulate the rune lines, but he also had to make sure his emotions were in tune his the element he was controlling at that moment...

'Rage and flames... Seeking the truth beneath the veil.' Cain had a brief moment of epiphany that caused his understanding of the flame element to deepen even further...

'But what does he mean by liberating the soul?' Cain could only speculate on the last part, as he couldn't seem to be able to grasp it immediately.

"What in the hell was that?!"

Cain came to when he heard the loud exclamation of Vincent who stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers.

"A spell..." Cain replied halfheartedly.

"Damn right, it was a spell! I'm asking where the hell it came from?!" Vincent yelled even more.

"Dunno..." Cain immediately tried to play dumb but was quickly exposed by Steve.

"Incredible... To think you are actually capable of deconstructing and reconstructing spells on the spot! So incredible! You must teach me once we are done with this dilemma!" Steve had stars in his eyes as he moved closer to Cain who was forced to push him off.

"Haha... it's a bit more complicated than that, but sure..." Cain responded with an awkward laugh.

"Creating spells on the spot?! How is that even possible?!" Jenny said as she looked up from the scope of her rifle with shock in her eyes.

"Anything is possible with mana and the imagination, I guess..." Cain said with a laugh as he removed various HO and MP potions from his inventory and gulped them down. Although he could recover his mana fairly quickly with the aid of {Mana Heart}, since they were in the heat of battle, using the MP potions to rapidly recover wasn't a bad idea.

'Master! That was incredible!' Ruby, who had been seated still beside Cain couldn't help but chime in, excitement evident in her tone.

'I feel like I'm finally starting to understand the true nature of mana, this mysterious energy.' Cain said as he clenched his fist, feeling the mana flowing within and around him.

***

"Lord J'orntz... With that attack, most of the lower-grade spawn devils are dead... We can begin the next stage now." Jamiel said in its low raspy voice as it pulled the chakrams that were lodged in its back out. They emitted a sinister green glow as a deadly poisonous smoke seeped out of them.

"Lord J'orntz?" Seeing that the {Soul Devil} didn't seem to reply, the {Hulking Behemoth}, Jamiel called out once again but was ignored...

Instead, J'orntz began mumbling a few things under its breath...

"Accursed human... Damn you... Why didn't my attacks work... This must be a mistake... I'll kill it... I'll kill it..."

"L-lord J'orntz..." The {Hulking Behemoth} stood beside the {Phantasma}, uncertainty somehow making its way onto its terrifying face.

'J'orntz... Control yourself.' A soft, yet sinister voice called out to the {Phantasma} from the depths of its subconscious.

'Mother?' The {Phantasma} was instantly broken out of its daydreaming by the powerful call of the {Broodmother}.

'I have seen all I need to... Not only is the suppression of our kind great on this planet, but the humans also seem to be evolving very fast as well. Although the spawn devils are weak, they are still devils in their own right, and defeating them shouldn't come so easy to the humans.

I think it is time we show these humans see what devils truly are...' The {Broodmother} spoke slowly and unhurriedly, as though it wanted to make sure it got every single word across.

Any planet the devils landed on would always reject them...

That was a fundamental law created by the Nomad since the creation of the universe. The inhabitants of a world faced with the invasion of the devils would be filled with rich mana, as that was the only thing that attracted the power-hungry devils. Due to these reasons, the evolution of the inhabitants of said planets was always faster than the norm...

This meant that unless the devils consumed the appropriate amount of mana and nutrients needed to grow stronger, there was a possibility they would be beaten back by their host planet's inhabitants.

'Yes, Mother. I got carried away there. Forgive me...' J'orntz said, its tone filled with fear.

'As long as you understand... I will start the process now. Prepare all the {Hulking Behemoths} to recover their power.' The {Broodmother} said before breaking the connection with the {Phantasma}, J'orntz.

"Kekeke... Prepare, for the true battle is about to start.' J'orntz said as the gem at the center of its forehead began to glow with an ominous light.

"Mother has given her approval?" Jamiel who stood before J'orntz said with excitement.

With a nod, J'orntz had an evil grin on his face, "Let us show these humans what devils really are."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Although the spawn devils were devils as well, the nature of the devil race ensured that the ones at the bottom always got devoured.

Even if Cain and the others didn't kill them, the weaker {Bladeless Devil Imps}, {Blade Devils}, {Miasma Devils}, and {Devil Fighters} would have still been sacrificed for the strengthening of the stronger {Hulking Behemoths}.

This was a principle that was set as soon as they were birthed...

The ones favored by fate would live.

Those who weren't would serve as nutrition for those who were...