God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

'Is this what battle truly is?!'

Cain's body was being torn apart at the same rate at which he was tearing the {Chaos Orc's} body apart as well. There was no time to use any techniques. The {Scale of the Abyssal Flame} was no longer in his hands. He was forced to fight with the {Choas Orc} using his bare feet and fists.

The more the fight drew out, the more brutal the beating Cain received. At first, he had been able to go toe to toe with the {Chaos Orc}. However, it was as though the creature became stronger with every blow it landed and received.

It became faster, stronger, and more keen. Its movements became sharper, and the flow of Aether within and without its body became increasingly violent until it was like he was being overwhelmed by a storm.

His blood splattered everywhere. His bones were fractured, and his muscles and ligaments were torn. However, his body was also being healed, in a sense. His Vitaloty was dropping, but his damaged body was being repaired.

As such, he was locked in a constant cycle of life and death...

To make matters even worse, the flames created from Ki that burned on the creature's fists were very troublesome, to say the least. While the damage they dealt was next to non-existent, Cain couldn't deny that it was perhaps, the most dangerous skill in the creature's arsenal.

This was because by disrupting the energy flowing in his body, it would be able to kill him simply by making all the energy in his body go wild, or kill him by causing all his active skills to deactivate all at once due to a reduction of energy flow.

For some reason, the degree of chaos that occurred when he was struck by the strange Ki attack was lesser when he activated {Rakshasa} and {Golden Body}.

Despite this, there really was no way he could come out on top in the fight, except something truly miraculous happened. Or a divine opportunity reared its head.

Cain knew Evangeline had sunk into the shadows long ago because he would be unable to help in the fight at all due to how wounded and exhausted she was.

However, he had no doubt she was brewing up something. All he had to do was hold out and wait. If nothing came, then he would have to fight until he died...

'Not a bad way to go out, in my opinion.'

Cain's stamina was being drained like water. The consumption from {Golden Body} and his passive stamina consumption made it so that his lines were beginning to protest.

Clenching his teeth, Cain took a punch squarely to the face. At the same time, he threw a knee kick into the {Chaos Orc's} midsection. However, the creature didn't even bat an eye as it swept his legs from under him.

Momentarily airborne, Cain was briefly stunned. Then a huge fist came crashing down, driving him straight into the ground. Blood erupted from his mouth, signifying heavy internal injuries.

Eyes still bulging from the pain, Cain pushed up and rolled to the side. Dodging the second most that came crashing down, Cain riled up his Ki. The boiling energy traveled up his arm like slithering snakes.

'Concentrate...'

Cain's eyes widened as he threw a straight jab straight at the monster's jaw. A loud bang was the result. The creature staggered back, blood dripping from its mouth. Seizing the moment, Cain took another step forward...

'Faster...'

A multiplication of four times on all his stats was by no means little. Cain's base speed was already beyond what mortals could comprehend. Four times that, and he was faster than a machined propelled by a jet engine.

Cain let out a heavy roar as he threw hundreds of punches in quick succession. Despite being stronger and faster, the {Chaos Orc} was still a creature made from flesh and bones.

As such, there was no way it would be able to react to every one of Cain's attacks. Cain finally experienced a turning point in the battle.

His hopes were immediately squashed when he noticed that the creature was no longer reacting to his punches.

'This...'

Before his brain could even register what was going on, the {Chaos Orc} grabbed his outstretched hand. There was a brief moment of pause before a loud snapping sound echoed through the now-empty cavern.

"Argh!" A yell of anguish escaped from Cain's mouth as he staggered back, his hand hanging limply by his side.

'Damn it!'

Although {Draconic Transfiguration} was working quickly to heal him up, this also meant that his Ki reserves were taking a high blow. This meant that unless something changed, all his remaining energy would be completely depleted in every short time.

The {Chaos Orc} grinned ferociously as it pressed the attack. Cain was forced to be on the defensive completely. Gritting his teeth, he continued backpedaling. The {Chaos Orc} grew even more excited. Its attacks became more and more ferocious with each passing second.

'Something has to change...'

Cain realized that unless he did something drastic, he was going to be killed. This wasn't a normal opponent or a mere beast. It was by far, the most dangerous creature he had ever faced.

Cain immediately reset his thoughts...

He had realized something during their battle...

He was going about it the wrong way.

'It is impossible to fight fire with fire here. It is just too strong. However, my spells won't work on it. I can't even use my spells right now, so there is no point.'

'But what can I do? If I draw this fight out any longer, it will become impossible to fight it. Ha... What an overpowered ability.'

Cain could feel his brain overheating as a million thoughts per second raced through it.

His mind suddenly drifted through all the battles he had had since he arrived in this strange place...

First, the battle with the {Abyssal Realm-Walker} had been a wake-up call. If not for the circumstance involved, he would have been killed for sure. Then, he had fought so many abominations, faced an entire herd of weather beasts, and fought a creature that had the blood lime of a dragon. Suarez it was very diluted, but it was still there. And that made it exceptional.

Then, he fought and exchanged blows with a Primordial devil. He had even come out of the entire exchange with his life still intact. He had killed thousands of {Chaos Goblins} and {Chaos Trolls}, unsealed another Primordial devil and decimated an entire colony of Chaos creatures.

He had accumulated a wealth of combat experience during all these battles. He had created new skills and spells, acquired even more, and was very close to reaching Level 100. However, he had also come to realize that he was missing more than a few things. He had concluded that his weaknesses were still holding him back.

His combat abilities were lacking. He had begun to rely too much on his abilities and as such, his blade had become dull again. It was something he couldn't help. He had become hung on increasing his might, he had forgotten what he told Susan some time ago, back at the gymnasium of their school.

He had asked her if her skills were what had allowed her to come so far, to stand above the other students who had been brutally and ruthlessly killed by the devils that had invaded their world.

What made them, the survivors better than the dead?

Their ability and desire to wield their weapons with the sole purpose of killing their enemies and surviving...

He had obtained so many weapons, and here he was, wasting them away...

'It is really pathetic, isn't it...'

He wondered what his master would think if he saw him like this...

Cain's eyes emitted a hard glare. His gaze was so sharp, it nearly cut a hole through the air before him.

'No more...'

'I am done with this feeling of incompetence.'

The {Chaos Orc} threw another blow. However, Cain reacted by tilting his body slightly, allowing the blow to glide right past him. The {Chaos Orc} contained unperturbed. Cain's vision narrowed...

All he could see was his opponent. All that existed in his world was him and his opponent...

He had experienced something like this when he had fought against the Four-headed {Chaos Troll}. It was a strange state one in which his thoughts, his body, and the energy flowing in him all aligned.

His body began to remember all the feelings during training. Although he had only ever trained with a blade, he was also proficient in hand-to-hand combat.

To the {Chaos Orc's} surprise, it realized it could no longer land continuous blows on Cain. Flames burned in the eyes of his little opponent as it redirected a majority of its attacks.

Feeling a bit infuriated, it withdrew a dagger from its waist. Spinning it in his fingers, the {Chaos Orc} stabbed forward...

CLANG!

Cain had already withdrawn the {Hand of Stingè} from his inventory and had used it to block the deadly attack.

However, the two weapons were flung far away due to the intensity of the attack. Growling, the {Chaos Orc} continued attacking, its attacks getting heavier and faster every second.

Meanwhile, Cain had reached an epiphany. The alignment of the energy in his body and his mind had finally reached the zenith. That feeling he had lost during the battle with the Four-headed {Chaos Troll} was back. It flooded the entirety of his body.

'I'll pour everything. All my energy, all my knowledge into this last attempt, even if my soul is damned in the process...'

All the Ki left in his body, despite how small it was, flowed into his hands. Cain began mirroring the {Chaos Orc's} movements, blocking each strike with a strike of his own

The {Chaos Orc} was filled with shock when it felt a flood of pain explode into its body through its fists.

Blood exploded from Cain's nose as he suffered a terrible energy deficiency. However, a grin made its way onto his face as a certain notification popped up in his field of vision.

{Congratulations to host. You have unlocked a basic Ki manifestation ability, [Ki Fire]... }