God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Fist and blade clashed, producing incredibly powerful shockwaves that sent tremors through the belly of the volcano.

Flying backward, Cain's back smashed into the wall for the umpteenth time. The light within his {Infernal Wings} had become so dim, they were nearly transparent.

"Give it up, human. I can sense your barrier is about to give in." Ignis said, her fists covered in raging flames

Ignoring her Cain twisted his body and placed his legs against the wall.

Mana exploded violently from beneath him, increasing the depth of the crater he had made and propelling him forward. The golden blades around him spread out and began moving fast.

"Hmph!" Dashing forward as well, Ignis closed the gap between her and Cain. Showing his outstanding control over his mana and body, Cain jumped lightly on the golden blades that were flying midair, abruptly changing his position. A second later, Ignis came crashing down on his previous position.

Spinning like body around like a top, Cain swung the blades that were attached to the golden chain around his body at high speed, slamming them at Ignis.

Flames igniting all around her, Ignis tapped the ground lightly, and with a leg completely enveloped in flames, she kicked forward.

"Raging Flames!"

Eyes widening, Cain immediately activated {Metal Creation}. A wall of metal rose from the ground, blocking the wave of flames. However, only a brief second later, it melted down into a pool of slag. Cain took this time to create some distance by controlling more of the chains around his body.

Creating a spire of metal a few meters away, the chains wrapped around the spire and dragged him backward.

Meanwhile, Ignis launched herself through the air, creating a sonic boom in the process. Regardless of how fast Cain's magic could make him, it couldn't compare to the raw physical speed provided by over 1000 points of agility.

"Inferno Fist Barrage!"

Cain completely lost sight of Ignis but was able to feel his world rock as she mercilessly smashed her fists forward.

Fist after fist came crashing down, but he was completely powerless to stop it. The ground beneath him turned into lava due to the intense heat brought about by the continuous barrage from Ignis.

Gritting his teeth, Cain let out a roar as he activated {Metal Manipulation} calling all his blades to his side. This time, he was going for a head-on clash. Pouring more than half of his remaining mana into his blades, including the ones attached to the chains around his arms, he struck back.

The color of the blades immediately changed from gold to platinum. These platinum blades looked even sharper than the golden ones. Without hesitation, Cain created a flurry of sword lights as he and his blades struck at the same time.

In response, Ignis took on a stance. Spreading her legs wide apart, she curled her fingers and toes inward. Just as the first blade reached her, she tilted her head to the side, smacking it on the flat side with the heel of her palm. The blade was completely diverted, and a bit of the flame from her hands stuck onto it.

The same thing happened to the other blade, and just as Cain was closing in, she took a step forward...

"You seem to forget the difference between us..."

Her words caused Cain's pupils to widen...

"Burning Ocean..."

A sea of flames spread, with her body as the epicenter. All the metal blades were forced to bear the tremendous heat. The waves within this burning ocean were so powerful, that the moment they smashed down, they consumed and destroyed everything in their path...

BOOM!

Cain watched as he was flung back several meters. The last of the feathers attached to his {Infernal Winhs} fell off, and the skill was promptly deactivated.

"ARGH!"

Cain's back slammed into the wall of the volcano completely unprotected. He coughed up a mouthful of blood on impact. Because of how hot it was, his back was instantaneously charred black.

"Ahhhh!" The pain of the burns caused him to scream out again. Without wasting time, a few blood elemental mana shards fell out of his inventory. Grabbing at them, he drew the power within them to activate {Blood Regeneration}

Thin threads of blood flew out of the crystals and into his body, traveling up to his back and legs to begin the healing process...

Beads of sweat rolled down his body and turned into steam before they could even make it far as he was now forced to bear the unforgiving heat. He was losing both bodily fluids and confidence rapidly once this happened.

'Damn it! I still haven't figured it out. I need to buy more time!'

Although what he was doing was very reckless, he had no choice, as this was a do-or-die affair. If he didn't do it, he would be unable to survive as he would lose, and Ignis would consume him.

However, if he did end up doing it, there was a high chance he would still lose his life. Still, didn't want to go out without a fight.

Taking a deep breath, he stood straight, puffs of steam escaping from his pores. His eyes flowed viciously as he stared deeply at Ignis.

Staring back, the complicated feeling that had been welling up within her chest seemed to grow several folds. Her face twitched and contorted as he let out a menacing growl.

"You, you! Why are you still standing?! What makes you think you can keep fighting?! Just give up already! Can't you see you are in pain?!" She roared out as she charged forward.

"Metal Manipulation!" Walls of metal broke out from within the planet, however, they were quickly melted away by the flames of Ignis.

Waving his hands, thin metal spikes began appearing all over. On the walls, on the ground, in the air. Eyes burning, Cain balled his outstretched palm into a fist as he punched forward.

All the metal spikes flew toward Ignis like bullets, but she continued her charge unperturbed.

"If you want me to fall, make me!" Cain yelled in rage.

Controlling the chains, he wrapped them on the spikes further up the wall. Holding onto them tight, he poured mana into the chains and pulled violently. The chains immediately contracted, dragging him forward at an incredible speed.

Dodging all the incoming metal spikes, Ignis had no chance to pay attention to Cain who was now airborne. In a split second, he arrived just before her. Their eyes met, both filled with an inexplicable rage. For some reason, every time their eyes met, a strange feeling burned within their hearts, and they felt that the only way to get rid of it was by striking with their fists.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Both let out a yell simultaneously as they let their fists fly.

Wrapping a chain of metal around his hand, Cain poured every last bit of mana he had remaining into it.

BOOOOOM!!!

It was like a thousand tons of TNT had gone off at the same time. The lava floating above their heads rushed upward violently, causing the volcano to spill over.

On the surface, Azazel and Alveera stared at the volcano that had now begun to froth over with different expressions.

Azazel had a huge smile away and looked like he was just a touch from bursting out with laughter like a madman.

On the other hand, Alveera had a slight frown on her face as she stared at the mouth of the volcano,

"Just what is this? How can a couple of beings that have not even broken through to the first tier possess such power?"

"HAHAHA! That's because they are my jewels! Never have I ever seen such marvelous potential!" Azazel yelled out blissfully.

Turning to Alveera, he raised his index finger, "Quantity isn't everything... As you level up and acquire stat points, the quantity of your mana increases. However, the quality remains the same. Not unless you have something that can change the quality of your mana."

"Creatures and elemental beings like my little diamond down there have mana shards, which will later develop into a mana core. As a demon, you have both a demon and a mana core, Alveera. These objects can gather more mana into its owner's mana pool, it can improve its owner's control over mana, and most importantly, it can improve the quality of a creature's mana over time."

"However, humans... Humans have nothing like that!"

"This means they possess the same quality of mana they were born with. That is one of the reasons they are so weak! Their very existence is that of stagnant. That is why they smell so stale and repugnant! Their fate is decided the moment mana first enters their lungs. There is absolutely no escape for them.

Such has it been since the beginning of time..."

"But this human, he found a way to escape such a fate! He wasn't gifted with high-quality mana. No! Instead, he created it!"

"Created it? What did he create, my lord?"

"Alveera..." Azazel said, turning to the behemoth snake woman. Physically, she was more than a thousand times larger than he was. However, at this moment, the snake-woman felt incredibly small...

"He has created a magical entity that has latched onto both his body and soul... He has created a heart of mana. Hahaha!" His laugh was so heavy and powerful, it was as though he had been holding it in for so long, and had finally gotten the opportunity to get it out.

Azazel's laugh was like nothing she had ever seen. It was an expression Alveera had not seen on him for over 20,000 years. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she saw him experience genuine joy...