God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 271: The Evil Mountains.

Cain took a deep breath...

"So if I understand you clearly, then you are saying you can open the barrier around this forest, but you can only do it for a few seconds? And you can't leave because the gap will collapse due to your overwhelming power, is that it?"

Og-Solath nodded, "I think that encapsulates it pretty well."

"Wait, wait. I'm not done." Cain said, shaking his hands.

He continued, throwing a strange glance at his carbon copy. Having someone wearing your face and staring at you in such a way was a unique experience, to say the least.

"You also said that the Primordial Devil of Chaos, Bemethshal, was killed in the Evil Mountains, and while his corpse was proliferated, his heart was too much for them and they couldn't take it. Is that right?"

Cain was incredibly suspicious. There was no way something like that was safe to do. If the powerful Celestial army couldn't do it, then how was he, a measly human not even past the First Tier going to achieve anything?

Again, the mirror image nodded, "That's it." As though he could sense Cain's skepticism, he continued,

"However, after a few eons, I doubt the situation remains the same. That bastard's heart has most likely lost a lot of energy."

Cain's eyes narrowed, 'Most likely, huh...'

"Although the energy left might be a little, it might still be enough to kill someone as insignificant as me."

Hearing that, Og-Solath chuckled, "Actually, you are quite mistaken. That strange form you can assume is strangely related to the Primordial Devil of Chaos, If I am not mistaken..."

Cain's brows shot up. Then he remembered the description of the Rakshasa...

"One day, a lone devil left the devil mountain and embarked on a journey through the aether. He ate and devoured all that he came across. All except a very special one. The devil was enchanted by the beast, and thus, made an unholy union with her. Thus, the first of the demons was born..."

'Who exactly was this lone devil? But the Aether was created by the destruction of the Devil Mountain, right? This doesn't add up!' Cain furrowed his brows.

As though he didn't notice, Og-Solath continued,

"The similarity in energy profiles is just too much. I can't be mistaken. Anyway, that doesn't matter. If the energy profiles are so similar, then I believe you can make contact with the heart." The Devil said with a smile.

Cain stared at this strange creature with a frown...

"You... Why are you different from the other devils?" Cain just couldn't understand. Every devil he had encountered wanted to destroy and kill indiscriminately. Remembering how empty the school had been on the first day, Cain felt his suspicions rise even further.

The Primordial devil had a dark expression, "While it is in our nature to dominate every other being, that doesn't mean that is all we think about. The stronger the bloodline of the devil, the more control said devil will possess over its actions. As Tiers increase, this control only gets stronger. Besides, we are what we are not by choice, but by circumstance and a bad hand dealt by fate."

Hearing his words, Cain didn't know what to say. Eventually, he sighed,

"I'll agree to your conditions. However, I need your word that you will not harm any of those girls." Cain said seriously.

"If that is all, then you've got yourself a deal, human," Og-Solath said with an ear-to-ear grin.

"That is not all. I require one more thing."

Like he could read his mind, the devil standing before him sighed. Light shimmered in its hand, and an object materialized within his grasp.

Cain stared at the item in the Primordial devil's hand with confusion...

"Erhm..."

Og-Solath rolled his eyes, "This thing will be useful during your mission, I can assure you."

Cain stared at the gloves now placed in his hands with a hesitant expression.

'Well, it shouldn't be too terrible. Although they are gloves, they should be quite useful as well.'

Cain had no idea how or why gloves would be useful outside or during a battle other than to protect his hands. If that was the case, then he already had gloves that came with the {Weak Blood Carapace}.

***

{Abhorrent Devil Enchanted Gloves}:

Description: During isolation in his prison, the Devil of Madness descended into madness. As such, the magnitude of his power continued to grow. In a fit of madness, he used the rest of his flesh to create these gloves.

{Abhorrent Devil Enchanted Gloves}: Deadly.

Strength: 120.

Agility: 30.

Defense: 20.

Control: 2.5.

Skills: Adherence, Flow, Inscribe, Levitate, Double Impact.

{Adherence}(active): These gloves allow the user to adhere to any surface once mana is circulated within them.

{Flow}(passive): These gloves improve the natural flow of mana within the host, increasing his attack output and decreasing casting and cooldown time significantly.

{Inscribe}(active): These gloves were created from the flesh of Madness personified, and thus, contain the power to inscribe magical runes onto any surface.

{Levitate}(passive): Releases the host and anything he touches from the hold of gravity, making them lighter.

{Double Impact}(passive): Host can draw out twice his strength stat to attack once by sacrificing 1,000MP.

***

Cain stared at the stats and skills attached to the gloves with a blank expression.

Without turning to the grinning devils he nodded his head,

"These will work nicely. So when do I leave? I'd like to get this done as soon as possible."

Light shimmered in his hands as the gloves disappeared into his {Armament Armory}.

The Devil nodded his head, "Now will be a wonderful time."

Cain thought about it for a while before nodding his head. He couldn't afford it for anyone to try changing his mind, not like he could. The only options present to him right now were 'take the mission' or perish. It was obvious which one he would favor.

"In that case, let us begin..."

Cain watched as the being that looked exactly like him sat on the ground. Then he got to witness something that was equally as frightening as it was magical...

Three different energies exploded from the Primordial devil. Ki, Mana, and a destructive amount of devil essence.

Cain took a few steps back as the energy pouring out from the devil threatened to overwhelm him.

The Ki was the most overbearing he had ever witnessed. It was on the same level as his {Dragon's Gate Ki}. No, it was a bit lower, but the sheer quantity of it made Cain feel fear. And this was when the devil was using a body that wasn't his. Cain had no idea how Og-Solath's identity theft skill worked. However, he had assumed it would have only been able to use his abilities.

'So this is a primordial devil?'

The level of power the devil before him had shown wasn't something he had ever experienced before.

'Well, except for that demon...' Cain thought to himself.

However, it wasn't just the Ki. In fact, the Ki was the least oppressive of the three energies. The mana pouring out of the devil was so dense, Cain could see its turquoise radiance in the darkness of the forest.

Finally, the devil essence spire that broke through the crown of the overhead trees began spreading to every corner of the Garden of Self-Reflection.

Cain watched as the pillar of devil essence began contracting and contorting into weird shapes as though it was a living, breathing abominable creature made from intangible darkness.

Eventually, it found a gigantic runic symbol behind the devil that sat cross-legged on the forest floor.

The devil's voice echoed as it spoke,

"Wheel, Expand."

The magic circle behind it suddenly expanded until it had broken out of the forest completely...

Cain was stupefied...

However, that was just the beginning.

"Devil Body..." Suddenly, Cain got to watch as the expanded wheel of devil essence began spinning. It started slow, but soon, it was spinning so fast, it created a tornado that threatened to blow everything away.

"Crap!"

Cain held onto a tree and clung on for dear life as he continued watching with wide eyes.

Suddenly, the bluish-black Ki that floated around the devil's body seeped back into its flesh. At the same time, a tremendous transformation began.

Cain watched as his body, or the body of Og-Solath began to change and mutate right before his eyes. A long tail grew from his behind, his spine elongated and his muscles became bulky. At the same time, the primordial devil continued to grow and grow until he broke past the crown of leaves above even whilst he was seated.

Cain watched in amazement as his body also began rising above the trees. Once he broke above the leaves, he also got to witness the rest of the transformation.

What he saw made him question reality. Above the enormous devil was the image of a large, ethereal mountain that ascended to the sky. On his back were two pairs of wings, one pair of them blue, and the other appeared as though it was created from glass.

Its head held three eyes. Or it once did at least. Now, its three eyes were simply bleeding eye sockets.

There was a single horn growing from the side of its head with the other one broken off from its roots. Funny enough, the devil's facial features weren't changed much. His face looked incredibly human, just like Cain's.

Cain had never seen something like this before, so it was only normal he was shocked out of his mind.

Suddenly, the Primordial devil opened its mouth,

"I will now tear the barrier open. Rush through it as fast as you can, as I can only keep it open for a few seconds. If you fail to do so, then all this will come to waste."

Saying that the primordial devil formed a strange hand seal with its two hands. The mana that had been building up all this while suddenly sorted into a magic circle that appeared in the devil's hands.

The devil chanted in an ancient language that Cain could make sense no of even with the system's inbuilt language translation.

The magic circle separated from his hand and floated away before coming into contact with an invincible barrier with a loud boom.

"Now!"

Hearing the loud shout reach his ears, Cain moved into action without missing a beat.

The mana within him boiled as he activated {Wind Weaver} and used all his strength to kick against the air.

He flew like and arrow and bolted toward the now rapidly closing gap...

'Come on!'

His mana wrapped around his body, propelling him faster through the tunnel of wind.

Just before the gap became too small, his body blurred through the gap. At the same time, the hole in the barrier snapped shut.