God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 384: The Demon King Escapes (2).

Black flames licked the ground...

Ash and smoke billowed into the skies, turning the already dark atmosphere of the fragmented lands even darker.

In the distance, the smaller and weaker Aether Beasts ran for their dear lives as the danger that descended a few moments ago had shaken them to their cores.

Slowly descending to the ground, Cain's face was a bit pale...

'So tired...'

He had completely drained all of his mana in one go, so it was only normal for him to feel drained.

'Good thing I activated the Water Enchantment beforehand.' He thought to himself with a tired sigh.

Before draining all his mana into the {Black Sun}, Cain had made the wise decision to activate the Water Enchantment of {Burning Spirit} first. This way, his mana would still regenerate rapidly after it had been completely expended.

Right now, his mana pool was being filled rather rapidly. He breathed in a sigh of relief. However, the smoke that filled his lungs caused him to cough heavily.

"Damn it!"

The speed of his descent stayed constant. He couldn't afford to go back to the ground right now. If he did, he would get burnt to a crisp.

The {Flame of Darkness} was a truly terrifying thing. It was known for its ability to burn almost anything in existence. It was mostly used by magicians to purify magic stones and by blacksmiths to purify metals.

There were very few beings that had a dual affinity of both darkness and flames, and there were even fewer that could combine the two.

This was because, in essence, flames and darkness were conflicting concepts. Combining them required more than just affinity.

And because of just how much of a terror it was, using the {Flame of Darkness} on the battlefield could have adverse effects. Even the conjurer of the evil flame was not safe from it.

To maximize damage, Cain had taken the {Imploding Star} to a new level, creating a sort of variant spell. By remotely controlling the spell the moment it was released, he had been able to make sure the spell was able to do as much damage as possible.

A supernova came after the implosion of a star. When the concentrated flames began causing the orb of flames to implode into itself, all the compressed energy would be released at once to restore balance.

Staring down at the various strata of rocks that had been liquified down into molten magma, Cain could only let out a breath of relief.

'If it is this bad, then those two most definitely aren't having a good time at all.'

Using {Wind Weaver} to control his body, Cain used {Burst Step} to shift away from the large crater that had been formed by the explosion.

After a few minutes of semi-flight, Cain finally landed on the arid, cracked ground.

' ...Damn.' He stared at the level of destruction he had caused with just a single spell.

'Even {Heavenly Blue Lightning} powered by a charge from {Lightning Thief} didn't do this much damage. Incredible...'

Although this spell was powerful, Cain had made his mind up never to use it when he was around his comrades. Someone would definitely end up dead if he activated it willy-nilly.

Staring at the large tails of black smoke filling the air, he realized it would take a rather long time for the residual flames to die down and for the smoke to clear away.

As such, he did the only wise thing he could do at the moment,

He decided to calmly sit and wait...

Folding his legs, he sat down cross-legged on the hard ground. However, he wasn't the slightest bit uncomfortable. And that was because his body was no longer human.

Staring down at his body, a grimace appeared on his face,

'Even the gods might not know what I am right now.'

Although he had no problems with his new transformation ability, he didn't want people to mistake him for a Devil everywhere he went. As such, he spent some time trying to suppress it...

Since it was a skill created from the mutual interaction between {Golden Body}, {Draconic Transfiguration}, and the abundant Devil Essence flowing in the Nirvanic Circle Veins, it had traits of all of them.

In this state, not only his physical stats were boosted, but his magic stats were also increased greatly as well. That was the only way he was able to deal so much damage with his combo spell.

***

{Golden Wyrm: Asura}: The one thing that cannot be corrupted by the Essence of Devils, is the spark of Celestial Divinity. This skill paves a path of golden thorns for the host. The blessed body of a Celestial Beast, the Evil powers of the Devils, and a strange, yet mystical energy. All the host's stats are increased by a multiple of ten until the skill is deactivated.

Cooldown: Three days.

***

The reason the cooldown for the skill was so long stemmed from the conditions necessary to deactivate it in the first place.

To deactivate the skill, Cain needed to calm down the flow of Devil Essence in both the Nirvanic Circle and his magical Ley Lines, simultaneously...

This process needed to be incredibly precise, or else, he would be sent straight back to the Othershore. He didn't want that to happen at all...

Although it took some time he was able to get it eventually. What was so good about the skill, was the fact that it could be kept active for as long as he pleased, as it didn't passively burn energy and during this time, the effects of {Draconic Transfiguration} increased greatly as well.

Slowly but surely, his body was being transformed into something that was very much not human.

The thought filled him with dread and anticipation simultaneously...

The pain of {Golden Body} was also absent as well. The reason he experienced so much pain any time the skill was activated in the past, was because of his mundane physique. The reason why he got better at bearing the pain over time was thanks to his stats increasing steadily.

He also eventually got {Draconic Transfiguration} which helped make his physique more robust. Thanks to it, he was able to ignore the pain most of the time.

Now, his physique was strong enough to bear ten times the strain without him having to do much.

'This place... Helped me grow so much.'

Although he was tired of being in this dreadful place, Cain couldn't deny the amount of progress the numerous encounters with death had given him.

He didn't know if his luck was divine or just terrible...

Still, he was firm on his decision...

'No more inter-world travels for me.'

Taking his time to recover, Cain waited for the blazing dark flames to die down. Although heavy smoke still filled the air, he decided not to wait any longer...

Sending the {Dark Soul} first into the layers of black soot, he made his way not too far behind. Although he could see in the dark, the acrid smoke made his eyes sting and water, so it was best to make use of the {Dark Soul}.

Sweat poured down his face as he continued deeper...

'I can't breathe this in!' Covering his nose, Cain made sure not to inhale any of the smoke as he quickened his pace. Although he was now strong, that didn't mean he could survive without oxygen.

Looking through the eyes of the {Dark Soul}, he quickly found what he was looking for. He almost let out a deep sigh.

'As expected. That bastard, he... he ran away!'

When he had not heard the system informing him of any successful kills, he immediately knew that Stingè and the worm-like Aether Beast had not been killed by the attack.

It had been almost unbelievable to him, but he soon realized that it was only fair. There was no way they would go down so easily...

'Still, it never hurts to hope...'

After blocking his attack Stingè had decided to run away. Although Cain didn't know exactly why, he could make assumptions.

'Perhaps his barrier had given up halfway, and he was forced to bear the searing heat of the {Flames of Darkness}.'

Despite what his reasons were, the fact of the matter was that he had managed to get away, leaving Cain very frustrated...

He hadn't waited for the perfect moment to strike for nothing...

'If he had to run away, then that means he was rather seriously injured. That means we might be able to get out of this place relatively unharmed.'

The main reason Cain had wanted to get rid of Stingè was so that they would be able to return to Urbus without interference.

If Stingè was terribly wounded, then the goal would still be achieved either way...

Signing internally, Cain turned to the other target. The worm-like Aether Beast...

Looking through the eyes of the {Dark Soul}, Caij was able to see that the once large creature had greatly reduced in size, almost as though all the moisture in it had been evaporated by the intense heat.

Not only that but the mana fluctuations and vitality coming from it were also very weak. It was very obvious it wouldn't last very long.

Although the beast had helped him out greatly, orchestrating its death was a necessary evil he had to commit. If not, he would not have been able to beast Stingè.

Leaving the beast alive would also have been a rather stupid mistake to make, as it would have most likely attacked him the moment it could kill Stingè off.

'The king might have run off but at least he left his prize behind.' Cain snickered softly as he walked closer to the beast.

***

A/N: Special Mass release of chapters incoming!!!! Just like last month, special chapters will be released till the end of the month. If we can meet the goal by the end of the month, I plan to release an extra chapter every day for the first ten days.

Conditions: GIFTS!

Yes, people... Your gifts and active use of coins motivate me to write more and more of this book I'll seem to enjoy so much. So... Here's how we are gonna do it

Gifts worth 1000 coins: 3 extra chapters.

Gifts worth 2000 coins: 6 extra chapters.

Gifts worth 5000 coins: 15 extra chapters.

I really appreciate the continuous support. From the bottom of my heart. These gifts go a long way. Cheers!

P.S: Gifts higher than 5000 will also be factored in depending on if I have the time or not. For gifts below 1000, I'll try to sum up collective gifts to make it up. If it doesn't reach the mark, I'll still release an extra chapter by the end of the month.