God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

The small limbs attached to the creature's sides made it so that the creature didn't just run very fast, it also could respond to attacks aimed at its blind spots quickly.

That wasn't to say Stingè was losing badly. At the end of the day, because Stingè was smaller, he had better maneuverability. He could attack the Aether beast from anywhere.

As the battle progressed, it turned more and more bloody. Cain quickly saw that his initial verdict was wrong.

At some point, Stingè's speed and strength had increased drastically. All Cain could see at this point, were sparks, and the shockwaves created by their clashes.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the stalemate was broken...

Stingè was a truly terrifying adversary. Despite the obvious power of the Aether Beast, he managed to overpower it in the next few exchanges...

An immense amount of Ki built up at the tip of Stingè's spear. The world around him shifted and twisted as the Ki began to rotate around the tip of the spear. It was very difficult to make Ki move outside of the body, so it was obvious just how good Stingè was.

As it gained more and more rotational power, the ground began to crack and b.peel away.

The worm-like Aether Beast opened its terrifying split maw and let out a soul-splitting shriek. Then, it began gathering a tremendous amount of Aether.

'This is it... The deciding blow!'

The battle had reached its climax. They had battled for a long time, and the entire island was one push away from falling into the void below. It was about time it came to an end.

The Ki swirling around Stingè's spear continued to gain momentum. Then, he uttered the bone-chilling words,

"World Tearing Dragon Spear: Sky Puncture!

The world split open. The ground beneath his feet turned into dust as he charged at the Aether Beast.

The Aether Beast launched the gigantic metal pillar it had conjured up Stingè at supersonic speed, but he drilled a hole straight through it and arrived before the monster in a single breath.

The tip of the spear tore through the creature's defenses like butter and dug into its pink flesh.

A resounding bang rang out. Stingè tore a hole straight through the Aether Beast.

White smoke rose from the surface of his body as he breathed heavily...

Cain stared at all this in absolute shock, gritting his teeth.

'It's still not enough. I need him weaker!'

No matter how one saw it, it was obvious that Stingè had killed the worm-like Aether Beast.

Stingè turned around and readied his spear once again. Cain frowned,

'Could it be it still isn't dead?!'

If Stingè still hadn't let his guard up, then that meant the creature wasn't dead yet. Sore enough, the once static creature began to move again. However, it was very obvious it was much weaker than before.

"What a wonderful creature. Even after that, you refuse to fall..."

Cain couldn't tell if Stingè was frustrated, or if he was just truly marveled. Either way, the battle didn't seem to be over yet.

Stingè sighed as he placed the butt of his spear into the ground,

"Looks like I can't win this one like this, huh.."

Cain got to witness something truly spectacular firsthand. The moment the words came out of his mount, Stingè began transforming.

His body became bigger. Scales appeared on his back, chest, and forearms. The wings on his back elongated and grew in size. His claws and fangs became thicker and sharper. The scraps that were left of his armor were immediately destroyed by the transformation.

"I couldn't find any armor that is big enough for this frame. That acid poison of yours is very troublesome, indeed..." Stingè said, staring at the pieces of his armor that fell to the ground.

The worm-like Aether Beast let out another shriek. Its body was already hearing from the massive injury Stingè had dealt it. However, it was obvious that its healing was much slower.

Stingè's brows furrowed, "I don't know what origins a beast like you will have. I would have liked to keep you, but that would be overestimating myself."

He gripped his spear, which now seemed smaller, from the ground, and pointed it at the beast.

"This ends now..."

His voice was deep and guttural. His energy levels were insane. The worm-like Aether beast hesitated for a second before its rage got the better of it. With an enraged roar, it dashed at Stingè.

Tossing the spear up, Stingè stared the beast down as it approached. Forming a hand seal, he began chanting in a low voice at a rapid speed.

A giant magic circle appeared behind him...

Sensing the scale of the attack Stingè was about to unleash, the Aether beast decided not to hold back as well...

Its Aether caused the clouds in the sky to swirl. When it came to just quantity, this Aether beast had the greatest amount amongst all the creatures he had ever encountered as far as he could. Even the {Alabaster Levithan} would not be able to compare.

Its energy created an elemental storm as thousands of metal shards began appearing out of thin air.

At the same time, a poisonous acid mist seeped out of all the holes in its body. This acid mist swam straight for Stingè like bloodthirsty piranhas.

"Idle World."

The mist was stopped in its tracks by a barrier deployed by Stingè. Meanwhile, the creature continued its charge, its Aether building up to insane levels. It was no doubt that the spell it was about to cast would be absolutely catastrophic.

"It is futile..." Stingè said solemnly.

The spear he had thrown into the sky had yet to come back to the ground. Instead, it continued to float there, unperturbed.

The laws of space around the spear became unstable as a frightening amount of mana built up around it. Although Stingè's Ki was frightening, his mana was on a whole other level. The quality was not just superb, but the deepness of his mana pool was something that was enough to inflict fear into the hearts of the most confident.

"This is the end... No living being has ever survived one of these." Stingè said, a mad grin forming on his face.

Licking his lips, he prepared to deal the final blow...

BOOM!

It was then...

Out of nowhere...

A tremendous change occurred...

***

Cain had concluded after watching the battle for so long that he would have only one chance. One chance to flip the script. One chance to capitalize on the situation. One chance to defeat Stingè...

And it had to be executed perfectly. He would have only a split second, probably even less. The chance might never even come if Stingè was well guarded.

However, in his mind, Stingè was certain he had killed Cain. That meant there was no possibility of a surprise attack ever happening.

Even if it did, there was no way any of Cain's attacks would harm him seriously in his normal form, not to mention his transformed form.

Right now, Stingè was the very definition of confident...

And he would have had every right to be that way... if Cain was still the same Cain he was when he had died.

Cain took a deep breath. Ever since he came back, he could tell something had changed inside him. With every heartbeat, that change continued to grow in magnitude.

His body which seemed weak before was suddenly filled with a never-before-felt strength. This strength didn't come from his stats. It was something far deeper. Far more primal...

He held onto the hilt of the {Scale of the Abyssal Flame} tightly. The blade greedily sucked in so much Devil Essence and Ki, it was almost frightening.

The broken tip of the blade was mending itself at a frightening speed. Cain watched this happen in mild shock. He curiously opened the description of the weapon.

***

{Scale of the Abyssal Flame}: [Weapon]

Description: Standard weapon of the abyssal army created from Fiend Steel treated with the sacred flame of a dying Nightmare dragon. This blade has absorbed a special foreign energy that has greatly mutated its properties. It is of the flame and darkness and can currently only be used by devils.

Skills: Heart of Despair, Wicked Blade.

{Heart of Despair}(active): Despair is the heaviest of burdens, and the despair of a dying celestial even more so. Pouring Ki and devil essence multiplies the weight of the blade.

{Wicked Blade}(passive): Sharper than a razor, a blade wielded by wickedness cuts through even the most holy of beings. The more devil essence and Ki circulates through the blade, the sharper the blade becomes.

Current state: Severely Damaged [999/1000]

***

The blade was repairing itself using the Devil Essence and Ki overflowing from his body. Cain didn't know this could happen.

Since he had no idea what that counter was, or what it entailed, he had ignored that aspect of the weapon. He now realized it was a counter that showed how damaged the weapon was, zero being the worst, and a thousand being the least damaged state.

He suddenly remembered the reason why the blade was even usable in the first place.

Now, the blade was almost fully recovered...

The counter soon reached a thousand, and the change happening to the weapon stopped.

Checking its description again, Cain was amazed...

***

{Scale of the Abyssal Flame}: [Weapon]

Attack Power: 100

Attack Speed: 2.0

Description: Standard weapon of the abyssal army created from Fiend Steel treated with the sacred flame of a dying Nightmare dragon. This blade has absorbed a special foreign energy that has greatly mutated its properties. It is of the flame and darkness and can currently only be used by devils.

Skills: Heart of Despair, Wicked Blade,

{Heart of Despair}(active): Despair is the heaviest of burdens, and the despair of a dying celestial even more so. Pouring Ki and devil essence multiplies the weight of the blade.

{Wicked Blade}(passive): Sharper than a razor, a blade wielded by wickedness cuts through even the most holy of beings. The more devil essence and Ki circulates through the blade, the sharper the blade becomes.

Current state: Damaged [0/1000]

***

Cain suddenly felt as though the blade in his hands had become more alive.

At the same time, the Devil Essnece in him seemed oddly excited for some reason and continued to flow into it.

Devil Essnece and Ki wrapped around his body, creating a Demon of crimson darkness once again.

'This time... This time, I'm not going to lose.'