God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Evangeline's shadow made it so that the {Chaos Orc's} perception would no longer be able to reach them. As soon as Cajn stepped out of the shadow, the {Chaos Orc's} neck snapped backward. By then, however, it was too late...

Cain smashed his fist into the head of the {Chaos Orc}. Blood and teeth fragments were sent flying as the creature was launched a few meters backward. Cain moved dangerously to the side and brought his blade up with his other hand.

A ring of charged Ki raced through the blade, making it seem as though its edge had taken up the properties of the Ki Fire.

The {Chaos Orc} twisted its body and dodged, following up with a quick slash of its own. Cain parties the blow and slashes forward again.

Aether stirred in the air as the {Chaos Orc} poured its overwhelming energy into the weapon.

The shadows beneath Cain's feet became alive and he sunk into them. He appeared immediately behind the {Chaos Orc}, Ki, and Devil essence boiling at the edge of the {Scale of the Abyssal Flame}.

"Abyssal Crimson Slash!"

Violent energy was compressed to the edge of the blade and was released as a forward-cutting attack that sliced through the ground at the {Chaos Orc}.

Thanks to Evangeline, the {Chaos Orc} was unable to react in time to the attack. The result of this was a gnarly attack on its back.

The creature let out a roar of agony as it fell to the ground. Cain let out a steamy breath as he dashed forward again.

Blood poured down his nose and his eyes as he continued his rampage. Despite the power of the [Ki Fire], its side effects were just as terrible. It wasn't mere exhaustion he was facing. Rather, he could feel his vital energy burning away, which was far more dangerous.

'I don't have a lot of stamina left. Let's finish him now...'

Cain's mind was calm, his thoughts were sharp as well. Ki exploded from his body, and his grip on his weapon tightened.

The {Chaos Orc} roared furiously as it swung its battle axe as well. The ground beneath them was broken into a million pieces as the shockwaves and remnant energy sliced through the ground like butter.

Rocks of varying sizes floated all around them as they became embroiled in their battle. Now and then, Evangeline would interfere with the battle, allowing Cain to dodge extremely terrifying attacks, throwing the {Chaos Orc} off.

However, the longer they fought, the stronger the {Chaos Orc} became. Its {Devilish Transformation} skill was still active meaning the effects of this increase were even more prominent.

The {Chaos Orc} let out a shrill shriek as its body meta-morphed once again. It became brawnier, its jet-black scales became bigger, and its fangs and claws became sharper. And the magnitude of its Ki Fire increased even further.

It now stood at over twelve feet, completely towering over Cain.

'Damn It! This pressure is insane!'

Cain gritted his teeth as he jumped back. The transformation had happened all of a sudden. The changes were not only terrifying, but they also had a great impact on Cain.

This meant the power and speed of the {Chaos Orc} had reached truly frightening levels.

Thick Aether poured out of the creature's body as it prepared to attack. It had fought for a long time as well, so it was also exhausted. This was its final transformation. It was also its final attempt. It had decided that it would kill the puny being before him.

Although it seemed like they had battled for a long time, the truth was the battle was not very long, barely a few minutes. However, to both participants, it felt like an eternity.

Their blood and sweat had mingled as they battled. Now, both Cain and the {Chaos Orc} had the same thought in mind.

The battle was going to end now...

Cain's eyes narrowed. His heart raced. His blood pumped. His body and soul quaked. His muscles bulged as he lifted the heavy weapon in his hand.

'Concentrate...'

Cain took a deep breath. This was it! This was the apex. His body was torn apart, but he had realized its potential. Pain shot through his body as he temporarily stopped any repairs and poured all the Ki he had recovered using {Kill} into his weapon.

The blade trembled excitedly as it drank more and more energy like a water-deprived man who had found an oasis.

Cain took a stand. Their eyes locked together. Then the {Chaos Orc} made a move...

The {Chaos Orc} truly was a being of war and battle. Its body and physique were many times greater than Cain's, and its stats were greater than his many times as well. If not for {Golden Body}, Cain would have been killed long ago.

Cain only managed to see a fast-approaching blur the moment the {Chaos Orc} made a move.

At the same time, as though she had been waiting for this moment, Evangeline suddenly emerged from the shadows, black and crimson runes enveloping her body.

Blood streamed down her eyes as she chanted the name of her skill,

"Blood and Shadow Manipulation: Causality Curse."

The skill, {Causality Curse}, was a very strange one. Evangeline made use of the Shadow and Blood elements of herself and her opponent. A shadow is an imitation of an object created by light, while blood is the courier of life in a living being.

Combining her control over these two elements in an intricate manner, she had created a skill that would allow her to control the blood flow and muscle contractions within the body of her enemies by casting a shadow of it and manipulating that shadow using {Shadow Manipulation}.

It was a very strange skill, and while it had a wide range of applications, it didn't directly damage the enemy. It was also harder to use on stronger enemies. However, in a battle like this, where every second and every moment counts, even the slightest mistake could spell death.

The moment Evangeline appeared, the {Chaos Orc} was doomed to failure. That was what made her so dangerous. Her ability to forcefully influence the actions of her opponent was insidious and terrifying.

The blur in front of him suddenly came to a halt. Cain could see the panic in the bloodshot eyes of the {Chaos Orc}. It tried to move, but its body was completely motionless.

Evangeline coughed up a mouthful of blood. The whites of her eyes were filled with blood as she croaked at Cain in a weak voice,

"Kill... him..."

Cain didn't need to hear her words as he had already dashed forward before they could reach him.

The {Scale of the Abyssal Flame} was consumed with the violent energy that poured out of it. Cain yelled as he swung the sword with every ounce of energy he could muster.

The blood vessels in his arms ruptured, and the energy in his body went haywire. However, he managed to execute the attack perfectly...

"Hell's Nexus..."

Silence...

Cain locked eyes with the {Chaos Orc}. The eyes of the creature were blank. They stared at one another for a while, neither moving an inch.

Cain couldn't move because his body had time into momentary shock. Now, all the energy in his body, even the Devil Essence that seemed to be almost inexhaustible was depleted completely.

His body was torn, and his life was hanging on by a thread that threatened to snap at any moment.

Despite all of these, his face was calm. His eyes were still locked onto that of the hulking {Chaos Orc}. The creature looked down on him, no emotions hidden in its eyes.

Slowly, the {Devilish Transformation} skill became undone. The original body of the {Chaos Orc} was once again revealed.

The creature took a look at Cain, this time, a bit of emotion appearing in its eyes.

Relief, pain, agony, regret, sadness...

Cain couldn't tell which emotions were rolling around in its eyes. However, he felt a subtle connection to this terrifying beast.

It was strange. Just a few seconds later, the creature was trying to kill him. Now, it seemed as though they had come to a mutual understanding.

Cain let out a shaky sigh,

"Guide your kin into the afterlife, Chief..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the life in the eyes of the {Chaos Orc} was extinguished. Slowly, the upper part of the {Chaos Orc} fell to the ground.

There was no blood, as the high-speed moving energy particles had cauterized the wound. Its grip on the axe loosened, and it fell to the ground as well with a loud thud.

However, its lower half continued to stay upright. Even in death, the proud creature refused to fall completely. It was the chief of a tribe, the Champion of Chaos, a descendant of the 0rimordial devil of Chaos.

It died with pride...

***

{Congratulations to the host... You have slain a Chaos Orc, the Champion of Chaos}.

{+1000 to Strength}.

{+1000 to Agility}.

{+500 to Defense}.

{You have acquired an Armor, Heart Scourge}.

***

Cain didn't even have the opportunity to listen to the rest of the system's announcement before his vision went dark.

'Huh?'

His last thought was one of confusion before his body fell to the ground and he lost all consciousness.