God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 378: I've come back from the Land of the Dead to kill you, Bastard! (1).

Cain saw darkness...

He couldn't tell for how long he had been in that darkness. Then, a spark of light filled his vision.

"Ha..." A sharp breath of air escaped from his lungs through his mouth. His eyes were blurry for just a second. It seemed his soul was still taking its sweet time adjusting after leaving his body for such a long time.

Or perhaps it was a short time. He couldn't tell...

First, his sight came back, and then his hearing. The first thing he noticed was that the sounds of a very heated battle still rang across true.

'They must still be going at it.'

Since there was no real way to judge the passing of time in the fragmented world, Cain had no idea for how long Stingè and the giant worm Aether beast had been fighting.

However, he had concluded that the worm was just as strong, if not stronger than Stingè, so it would last for a fairly long time.

Groaning, he tried to sit up. However, a sharp pain came from his chest. Looking down, he realized that the gaping hole that had been produced when Stingè eradicated his heart was still there.

'As she said. My healing must have slowed down dramatically.'

Even after he had woken up, his healing was still pitifully slow. And that was because his Ki was almost empty, and the energy Stingè left behind greatly reduced the restorative effects brought about by the {Draconic Transfiguration} skill.

Still, he managed to sit up and inspect the damages...

Sure enough, he had been done in pretty good. Broken bones, the damages incurred from activating high-duty skills like {Golden Body} and spamming multiple {Abyssal Crimson Slashes}.

He had also used Dark Dragon, Ascending, and a completely new skill, {Abyssal Dragon Blade Technique: Black Line}, which seemed to have numerous terrible effects on him.

The one good thing he was able to observe, however, was that the Devil Essence Corruption seemed to have come to a halt. On closer observation, he realized that it was more complicated than that...

'I see... Rather than stopping it, the process was simply sped up.'

Indeed, the Devil Corruption had been completed. However, as he observed his body, he didn't see or feel any changes. Excluding the intense hunger that was characteristic of his depleted Ki reserves, he felt a hundred percent human.

Well, almost a hundred percent...

THUMP!

THUMP!

The strong beating of the hearts in his chest pulled his attention towards them. Observing his internal state with {Spirit Sense}, Cain ignored his internal injuries and focused on his new heart.

It looked very different from his normal heart. It did its job in pumping blood, Ki, and nutrients through his body. However, it also circulated another thing.

Thick, high-density Devil Essence...

It was far purer than anything he had ever felt in his life. Devil Essence had the characteristic of being overbearing. Tyrone flowing in his veins was simply on another level.

Cain breathed a sigh to calm himself...

'What do these changes mean? I don't feel a terrifying urge to destroy anything and everything I see... Yet...'

Cain had yet to see any of the side effects of becoming Devil Corrupted, so it was only natural for him to be suspicious.

Cain let out a sigh...

A loud explosion sounded in the distance, and a huge shockwave that destroyed the ground blasted in his direction.

Seeing as he wouldn't be able to avoid it, Cain decided to tough it out. Strangely, the shock wave didn't do as much damage as he had expected it to do.

'My body... is a lot stronger than it was before.'

His brows furrowed in thought. Although this was a bad time, he decided to check his status screen for any changes...

***

Name: {Cain Lenosi}

Level: 99.

Strength: 6,074.

Agility: 6,434.

Stamina: 9/4,289.

Vitality: 4,727.

Defense: 4115.

Control: 307.2..

Perception: 321.4.

HP: 5/80,200.

MP: 1,750/95,000.

Magic: 6,012.

Ki: 231,790.

Spirit: 5,100.

Resistance: Poison- 90%. Fire- 50%. Lightning- 50%.

Skills: Golden Body, Burning Spirit, Burst Step, Divine Essense of Metallurgy, Blood Regeneration, Azure Burst, Mana Heart, Intermediate Seal, Devil Eye: Eye of Clairvoyance, Elemental Body, Abyssal Dragon Blade Mastery Tier 1, Spirit Sense, Gravity Defying, Nexus Tether, Draconic Transfiguration, Neophyte Mage.

Spells: Infernal Celestial Arts: {Flame Orbs, Imploding Star, Vampiric Star}, Infernal Wings, Wind Weaver, Sigil of Darkness, Blue Lightning, Spatial Jump, Golden Halo, 7 Golden Stars, Frozen Paths, Frost Temple, Poison Arrows, Flames of Darkness.

Abilities: Elemental Vault, Ki Fire.

Titles: Champion of Ashur (locked), Sorcerer's Mind, Blessed by Mana, Pioneer, Devil Hunter, Loved by the Spirits.

Free attribute points: 97.

System Points: 4,201,200.

{Inventory}. {Shop}

***

He was beyond surprised. His mind still reeling with shock and suspicion, he decided to glance through the system notifications.

***

{The host has been killed...}

{Foreign interference has been detected...}

{A reversal has been initiated...}

{The host has been resurrected. Devil Corruption has entered its final stage...}

{Devil Corruption Complete...}

{Congratulations to host... Despite facing the excruciating process of Devil Corruption, the host's soul persists...}

{+1000 to all stats...}

{Host has entered the embryonic stage of Partial Devil Transformation}.

{Host's race has changed from Human to ???}.

[Partial Devil Transformation]: The host's body and mind have entered the initial stage of being transformed by the Essence of Devils.

***

Cain was confused, 'Partial Devil Transformation? That means I am not a complete devil?'

Cain decided to ask the system for questions straight away...

{Replying to host: Partial Devil Transformation is the only name befitting for the condition that had befallen the host as there has never been such a unique case before}.

Cain frowned as he bore the strain another shock wave placed on his organs...

He quickly put two and two together...

{Since the beginning of time, there have been only two fates for those who come in contact with the malicious and unforgiving Devil Essence. No changes, or corruption. Once corruption begins, it won't stop until its host is devoured completely. However, if a being cannot be corrupted, perhaps due to the presence of divinity in its body and soul, then it will not be corrupted.

The host is a unique case...}

Cain sighed. Although it was important to know what was going on, he didn't have that time. Now was the time to escape...

He needed to recover as swiftly as possible so he could run away from here. Staying any longer would put his life in jeopardy once again.

Right now, the only energy he had access to, was Devil Essence. However, outside of battle, he felt Devil Essence didn't have a lot of uses.

However, when thinking about it again, he realized he was wrong. Lyx had created a new and functioning heart for him using Devil Essence it didn't seem to be temporary, and he didn't know if the old one would regenerate regardless of the presence of this one.

What he did know, was that Devil Essence was not as simple as he thought it was. It was so complicated, that he didn't even know where to begin. How could it be, that something that was meant to cause only pain and destruction could grant him life? It didn't make any sense...

That seemed to open his eyes a bit. Taking a deep breath, he rose shakily to his feet. The first thing he needed to do was find a place to rest and absorb as much stamina, HP, and Ki as he could. Recovering his mana could wait, but Ki and the others were absolutely important.

Ki, Stamina, and Vitality were stats that were interconnected with one another. Ki affected stamina and Vitality, while Vitality was what made Ki so powerful. The stronger a being's vitality, the stronger the quality of its Ki.

Crawling into a small ditch created during the previous fight, he lay there, unmoving. Since his energy was so depleted, he went by completely unnoticed.

Stirring his Ki Plundering Technique, he began absorbing the energies of Heaven and Earth, making it his own. His Vitality and Stamina swelled as a result of this.

To his absolute shock, he realized that he was able to absorb far more Ki than he could previously.

'W-what is this?!'

The change was so drastic, he was at a loss for words.

'System, what is going on?!'

{Replying to host: The host's internal composition has been affected by Devil Essence, which has in turn, greatly increased the rate at which the host regenrates Ki and other energies. As the host would know, the bodily composition of the Devils is quite different from that of Humans...}

{They possess far stronger physical bodies. The Devils the host has come across so far are far from being called true Devils. True Devils are blessed with such incredible physiques and robust Ki, they are immensely resistant to all types of physical damage. The host's body is changing to adopt a more Devil-like physique}.

'This is...' Cain was at a loss for what to say.

Although he was shocked, he knew he couldn't stay like this forever. He quickly began absorbing as much Ki as he possibly could.

His injuries quickly began to slowly disappear until they left just slight scars behind...