God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

And with that opening, he could feel the liberation of his soul...

Blitzing through the dark sky, Cain was like a bird. Suddenly, perceived the world as though time was slowed down. The Abyssal birds became slower, and his window of perception became much more narrow...

Switching the {Scale of the Abyssal Flame} with {Platinum Genesis}, he brandished the sword.

To those with limited perspective, all they would be able to see, was a bolt of red lightning moving through the clouds.

Using {Red Shift}, Cain's speed continued to climb the more he evaded. Every beast he passed by was cut down unfailingly.

The only creature that seemed unaffected by this slowed down viewpoint was the one running from him.

For some reason, the moment his perception locked onto it, the creature began moving even faster.

'I've got you now. You aren't going anywhere!'.

Having felt the area where he activated {Wind Weaver}, Cain was meant to plunge into the dark waters below. However, he as able to delay that because he was moving so fast.

Adding {Red Shift} to the equation, he moved faster the more enemies attacked him, his acceleration continuously climbing.

As such, it was futile to run from him. Still, the creature did whatever it could trying to impede his progress. Half the flock of nightmare avians thrust their claws and hooked beaks at him, but...

'I can see it all.'

It was no exaggeration. He could truly see it all. Thier flight patterns, the parts of his body these nightmares were going after; he could see everything.

"Die!" Cain let out a growl, his eyes containing nebulae of power as his sword spun, turning into a meat grinder. All this time, he didn't slow down for even a moment.

Slowly but surely, he was catching up...

After about a minute of playing tag, he was finally able to gaze at the creature in all its dark, malevolent glory.

***

{Herald of Darkness}: level 120 (Epic,Tier 1)

Strength: 50,500.

Agility: 77,000.

Defense: 3,500.

Magic: 90,000.

HP: 900,000/900,000.

MP: 1,100,000/1,100,000.

Skills: Hellflame, Soul Grieving, Darkness Manipulation, Midnight Sun, Air Burrow, Harrowing Call, Greater Flame Resistance, Speed Boost.

***

Cain narrowed his eyes, 'Strong.'

Compared to the {Redscale General}, this beast was far more capable and terrifying. Its agility was already close to a hundred thousand, and its other stats were equally as devastating. Not just that, but its repertoire of skills was something Cain was very cautious about.

Any creature with this many skills was bound to cause headaches...

'Geared towards high speeds maneuvers and devastatingly quick, powerful attacks. However, its defense isn't the best.'

Making a swift judgement call, Cain quickly rushed to close in.

Swimming through the air put significant drag on his body now that he couldn't use {Wind Weaver}. However, that was okay. He didn't need it.

In fact, the biting wind gave him focus. It allowed him better and sharper focus. At this point, he couldn't afford to lose sight of his target. The moment he did, it would be impossible to live through this.

Switching {Platinum Genesis} with the {Hands of Midas}, he loaded in a magazine of special bullets.

Without aiming, he poured in a torrent of mana into the guns and fired wildly. The bullets, powered by the extra propulsion from his burst of mana, became white hot as they exited the chamber, flying through the air like missiles, creating mini sonic booms.

Even more shocking, was that the vague silhouette of the {Herald of Darkness} seemed to be able to sense them, and accurately dodged out of the way, avoiding most of the initial spray.

Cain clicked his tongue, 'I need to close the distance."

He increased the distance. Just as he was about closing in, the {Herald of Darkness} seemed to slow down a bit.

Seeing the opportunity, Cain didn't hesitate to take it. Just before he could squeeze the trigger, the creature tilted its body...

...and without warning, shot a conflagration of ominously green Hellflame.

"Crap!" Cain yelled in panic.

With his current speed, and his activation of the Lightning Enchantment of {Burning Spirit}, it was close to impossible for him to slow down. Changing course would only allow the creature to create more distance, or even slip away and back into the flock, ruining all his previous effort.

And so, without thinking about it too much, Cain dove headfirst into the approaching sea of flames.

Was it a very intelligent decision? Absolutely not. Was it necessary? Perhaps not.

But without even looking, Cain could already imagine the slaughter going on below. If he didn't end things fast, more and more people were going to meet their end.

And so, with a loud yell, he plunged into the flames...

Activating {Infernal Wings}, Cain could only hope and pray that the spell held long enough. If it didn't, he was going to get cooked through.

The wave of flames slammed against the wings of flames, and almost instantly, all the feathers were either consumed or blown away, completely destroyed by the green Hellflame.

Cain let out a piercing cry as the flames burned his body, clinging to him like tar. It was horrid, like a million fire ants crawling into all his pores and orifices.

Even with his healing factor greatly boosted by his Asura state, it was as though it didn't matter.

All his hairs curled up, and the hairs on his head caught the attention of the green flames. The flames were wicked and unwavering.

Another wave of mana washed over him. With a gleeful cry, the {Herald of Darkness} charged at him, spraying forth another wave of Hellflame.

Cain tried to rile his mana up, constructing as many shields as he could. He was granted a moment of repose, but even that was torn away as the Herald used its giant talons to rip through the shields like they were made from cardboard.

Setting its nefarious eyes on Cain, it let out a loud caw that threatened to rip his eardrums apart. Feeling a frightening wave of weakness wash over him, Cain knew the creature had used a skill on him.

'Fuck.'

Not much closer, he was able to see with utmost clarity, the features of the ghastly creature. Very similar to its lesser brethren, the Herald sported a large hooked beaks and long, razor sharp talons.

The greatest difference between itself and its minions, besides the large cloak of darkness that enveloped its body, was its size.

This bird, possessed the wingspan of a commercial airliner, and a body as huge as a building. The darkness on its body shifted with its rabid emotions, swirling like madness itself.

Cain felt the pain before he even registered what was happening. The damned creature had plunged its ten inch talons into his body. They ran straight through him, jutting out of his back.

Coughing out a mouthful of blood, Cain held on tight, fighting the lethargy that came with losing a large amount of blood and energy.

'I... can't go on.'

It was exhausting...

Battling a creature as strong as this was tiring. He was even surprised he had lasted this long.

'Maybe I should just rest. The others can handle it...'

Maybe it was his soul rejecting those thoughts, but he found himself unable to slip away.

His grip became stronger, grabbing the webbed feet of the creature. A gutteral growl emerged from the depths of his throat.

The Herald let out a loud pitched cry and tried pecking down, cracking his head open like a nut.

Giant golden arms materialized form thin air, grabbing onto the Herald's neck and head. Metal chains spawned mid air, wrapping around its wings,

Letting out a cry of distress, it tried stabilizing itself. Capitalizing on this, Cain pulled himself off the talons.

His eyes burned with rage and hatred as he began oozing with mana...

The mana came from the depths of his soul. He had torn the floodgates open. He had finally opened the {Elemental Vault}.

He had gathered a few 'stars' of mana within the vault during the one month voyage across the Black Sea.

He had simply tapped into the power of a single one. Within that star shaped like a golden dewdrop was an abundant amount of dense metal elemental mana.

Dismissing the guns, he summoned {Wilted Tears}.

Silently, dozens upon dozens of large hiltless star-tipped blades appeared around him. The normal limit for the creation of the {Fallen Stars of Orion} was fourty-nine. Currently, more than two hundred of these dazzling death instruments revolved around him, producing golden light like stars.

The {Herald of Darkness} struggled, breaking the chains and golden arms with its wings, claws and beak. Its flames spewed everywhere, melting the chains, and yet new ones were created in a seconds, binding it firmly in the air.

"Die!" Cain's cry was hoarse.

All two hundred blades split through the air and dug into o the flesh of the damned creature, turning it into a giant pin cushion.

Waving his staff, Cain willed the blades out, causing a torrent of blood to spill out. Still, he wasn't done.

Over and over again, he continued. A whirlwind of blades accompanied by a trail of boiling blood.

With his chains binding the Herald, it was unable to break free, slowly losing strength under Cain's mad, relentless assault.

Until it died...