God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The wet sound of flesh hitting the ground was heard as Stingè's arm fell to the ground, completely severed from the elbow down.

Thick black miasma seeped out of Cain's pitch-black skin. Heaving and panting, a deep guttural noise came from his throat,

"Hehehe... How'd you like that?"

Stingè silently stared at the stump left behind on his arm,

'An attack made from condensing Devil Essence so much, such that it becomes something that can forcibly rip my {Idle World Barrier} apart. Most Devils and some True Devils don't even possess this level of affinity to that baleful energy. Just what exactly is this human?'

Staring at Cain, Stingè's face was devoid of any expression.

"You... Just what are you? Aren't you supposed to be human?"

Cain let out a guttural chuckle, "What sort of stupid question is that?"

A long silence stretched out between the two. Although Cain seemed composed, inside, he was on the brink of despair.

'I... I can't move.'

His body had finally given out, and it now refused to respond to him. Blood seeped out from his pores, but it wasn't visible due to the armor covering his body, and the transformation taking place.

"You are very interesting. It is a shame..." Stingè sounded incredibly regretful.

Hunter chose this moment to finally rise from the ground. However, he couldn't make it to his feet before he fell back to the ground, his face contorted in pain as he let out stifled grunts and groans.

Ignoring Hunter, Stingè continued,

"You are even more interesting than the Beast of Ragnarok. Still, you have to die. Ha... Analyzing a corpse is always less fun than a living one."

Walking closer to Cain, Stingè peered down at him. His eyes were still filled with that hateful malevolence and evil. However, there was now something else lurking within. Something deeply disturbing.

"Be proud. You managed to take my arm with you. That is the greatest achievement you have come across during your short-lived existence. Still..."

The muscles of Stingè's arm began to contract. The blood vessels wriggled like worms, and a sick, crunching sound could be heard.

Right before Cain's eyes, a new limb popped out of where the old one used to be.

"Losing limbs during battles at my level is a regular occurrence. That still doesn't change the fact that you were able to bypass {Idle World Barrier} as a Tierless being. What a waste..."

Stretching a finger towards Cain, he spoke in a dark voice. The thick killing intent oozing out of him made it difficult for Cain to breathe.

Cain sighed as he dismissed his armor, revealing his normal body, covered by only a few pieces of bloodied, torn undergarments.

His body was covered by a thick layer of Devil Essence. Even his blood had taken on a black tint. The horns growing from his temple remained, with sharp claws growing from his fingertips as well.

The most glaring thing about his transformation was the gleaming silver scales on his chest. These were the Scales of Antiquity, and they numbered twelve in total.

These seemed like a beacon in the darkness, helping Cain hold on desperately to his sanity.

'Ha... In the end, I still couldn't do anything.'

He was now about to be killed. However, there was something he had to do before that.

Grinning at Stingè, Cain stared straight into his eyes and spoke with blood dripping down his chin,

"I would have lived to beat you with my own power. Unfortunately, a coward's tactic is superior."

It was at this moment, a deep rumbling noise came from the depths of the earth. The entire battlefield shook violently.

Stingè's face fell as he looked around. On the other side of the deep gorge that separated them from the army of {Blood Abominations}, Susan, Jenny, and Ignis, as well as Floki and Galip were standing behind a barrier of light that the {Blood Abominations} constantly there themselves at, just to be shot down by magic bullets and arrows before they could come closer.

Cain had been unable to pay them any attention due to his battle with Stingè. However, he was glad they were all still alive and kicking.

'The {Shadow Gate} spell's cooldown should be over right about now...'

On cue, a large torrent of wriggling shadows burst out from under the feet of Susan and the others.

Cain heaved a sigh of relief. As long as the others were able to escape in time, he would be able to die without guilt.

He then turned his attention to Hunter, who was staring at him with an incredulous look on his face,

Cain grinned, "What the hell are you looking at, dumbass? Get lost!"

Hunter's face fell as he stared at Cain,

"You... What did you do?!"

Cain smiled, "What was necessary... Now go!"

Stingè had a frown on his face,

"What was that? Is there some beast slumbering beneath the mountain?"

Cain turned to him and grinned, "Of course! I'm not so stupid as not to make contingencies, bastard. At the very least, I'm taking you down with me."

Stingè stared at Cain, momentarily lost for words. Meanwhile, Hunter glared at Cain,

"Stop this nonsense, Cain. What are you trying to say?!"

Cain silently struggled to his teeth, his back turned to Hunter. After a second, he grinned and turned around slightly so that their eyes met,

"Don't worry. I don't plan on dying soon. This is all a part of my master plan."

He lied...

Hunter stared at him, unable to tell if he was lying or not. The smile on Cain's face disappeared,

"But if you are still here, I will not be able to carry my master plan out. You are in the way..."

Hunter's eyes widened when he heard that. His face turned pale, and he stared at the ground.

Cain turned back to face Stingè whose face was squeezed up. Magic circle floated a few inches away from his palm as he pointed it at the ground. Hunter could see that he was deeply worried about something, and as such, he was completely ignoring Cain and himself.

Cain spoke to Hunter through their mental link,

'Tell Susan and Jenny they need to leave now. You need to make sure they leave safely. They might refuse to leave if I don't get back, so I need you to promise you'll make them leave.'

Hunter stared at Cain for a while. Then his eyes turned cold once again. He had reverted to his original set that thought about things logically and coldly.

Despite Cain's seemingly inhuman transformation, he still had his sense of self even after all this time, which gave Hunter hope.

Picking himself up from the ground, Hunter spoke coldly,

"Don't die."

Cain laughed, and lied through his teeth,

"Of course, I won't."

Hunter turned and ran as fast as he could towards Susan and the others. Stingè's eyes snapped towards him,

"Where do you think you are going?"

A dozen {Idle Slash} magic attacks flew at Hunter with incredible speed. However, Cain stood in their path. The edge of his blade sang gloriously as it stirred up a torrent of Devil Essence.

"Dark Dragon, Orbiting..."

The phantom of the Dark Dragon seemed incredibly realistic as it used its black scales to deflect all the approaching spatial blades. The blades were shifted off course, but they still slammed into the ground beside Cain, stirring up a small dust cloud.

Hunter refused to turn back. Instead, he increased his speed...

Meanwhile, Stingè stared at Cain with a sneer,

"Why do you keep up this vain struggle? There is no point in it. I do not know what you just did, but it is pointless."

Cain's face was calm, "To you, it might be. The vain struggles of a dying man? What good will that do?"

Stingè sighed, "I can tell you still struggle to accept reality. That is why I will help you. Think of it as a gift."

Raising his hands towards the sky, Stingè began chanting. A giant magic circle appeared behind the malevolent demon.

"I'll kill them all. That way, you can die without feeling the need to steuggle."

Cain's face became as white as a sheet. Still, he persevered and didn't make any rash decisions. Glaring at Stingè, he spoke through gritted teeth,

"What is the point in all that? Why not just kill me now?!"

Stingè spoke calmly, as though what he was about to do was as mundane as stepping on a few ants,

"Grand Idle Slash..."

The magic circle behind him turned into a huge spatial blade. The space around it seemed incredibly unstable, and an almost inaudible hum accompanied the manifestation of the spatial blade. Cain stared at it in pure disbelief,

'This bastard would go this far?!'

"Although this is indeed a bit of a loss, I'll find more eventually."

The spatial blade tore through reality at a speed Cain couldn't fathom, leaving behind a black tear.

In Cain's eyes, there was absolutely no way a living creature could survive this attack...

Suddenly, the earth rumbled again...