God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 598: Celestial Origin: Balangol.

Cain let out a sigh...

'Kill the Champion and his Pilgrims, huh...'

Quite frankly, he has already placed that much on his bucket list.

In this new order, this new world, people with power tended to be rather opinionated. Released from the shackles of society and morality, they would have no qualms backing their ideologies with violence.

As such, there was not a more adequate way to respond, than with even greater violence.

When ideologies clash, the true winner, both on the battlefield and in the history books, is the winner.

The loser is the villain, through and through.

However...

Just because this was on his to-do list, didn't mean he would be doing it for free.

He shrugged, "You might say all this, but quite frankly, I don't have any issues with this Champion and his so-called Pilgrims."

"Hm? Why would you think that way?" The General seemed a bit amused.

Cain grinned slightly, "Well, if he's holding my friends, but hasn't done anything yet, it means he doesn't intend on harming them, at least not yet. That means he wants something..."

The General raised his brows. Cain could almost swear he saw the smile fade away behind the bushy beard and mustache.

Regardless, Cain continued,

"All I have to do is offer him what he wants and he'll give me my friends back. I don't have to go through such a roundabout process, no?"

The General leaned backwards and crossed his arms,

"The basis of such thinking is that you actually know what the bastard wants. And assuming you figure it out, what makes you think you'll be willing to offer it up?"

Cain smiled, "When it comes to my people, I'll sacrifice what I need to. Even if I have to scorch this place to the ground in the process."

The threat behind his words were palatable.

Khan and Boulder could almost see the flames produced by the fiery tension between them.

One was a rather old man who didn't seem old at all, his physique, stature, and bearing that of a mighty warrior in his prime.

The other was a less intimidating figure. However, just staring at him for too long was enough for one to begin to see things. The very air around him seemed to bend and respond to the power he leaked subconsciously.

This was what made Cain so scary, despite the person in question not knowing this himself...

However, this aura seemed to have little to no effect on General Arltzwalt,

"Those are mighty words, young man. Are you sure you have what it takes to back them up?"

Cain shrugged, "We'll just have to see, won't we?"

General Arltzwalt let out a loud laugh,

"Indeed we do. Then, what else would you like to hear?"

Cain leaned back in his seat. Now that they had gotten the initial awkwardness and prodding out of the way, it was time to move on to the finer details.

"This Champion, who exactly is he? What was he like before receiving the Blessing of the Celestial of the Sands and Death? What exactly is the Celestial of the Sands and Death, and what sort of power does he grant?"

The General shrugged, "I have no idea. Luckily for you, we have an expert right here..." He said whilst pointing to his side.

Cain turned to stare at Khan,

"What do you know?"

Khan cleared his throat, "Calm down, would you?"

When he realized Cain's stare was unrelenting, he caved,

"Fine... Let's start from the beginning, shall we?"

He clapped his hands.

The atmosphere seemed to change and shift slightly.

The howling wind on the other side of the curtain seemed to mellow out, and the intense cold became a bit distant.

Khan's voice took on an eerie edge,

"Celestials are beings that were created at the dawn of time. In the main pantheon, there exists a total of a ten Celestial Deities in total. Each one is said to have its own separate pantheon it holds dominion over, filled with lesser Celestial, godly beings, and demigods."

Cain frowned, 'Maon Pantheon? This is the first I've heard of this.'

{Replying to Host: This is indeed accurate, although this aspect of Celestial nature changes from time to time, so it is not reliable.'

Cain raised a brow, 'Changes? What does that mean?'

Before the system could reply, Khan had continued,

"Balangol is a lesser Celestial belonging to one of these pantheons. He was granted his domain by the Heavenly Emperor, Tian. However, it was destroyed on the day the Great Heretic, the Defiled Son of the Heavens, and the Accursed Serpent of Calamity fell upon its head, creating a Cataclysm that ruined the entire domain, slaying Balangol in the process."

Cain felt the urge to slap his face.

'Damn it! That bastard Dragon was the one who killed this guy?!'

Suddenly, Cain was overcome with the desire to delve into history. He wanted to know just how much of a disaster the Golden Dragon was. The only true child of the Heavenly Emperor.

"Before he was slaughtered by the Golden Dragon, the Celestial of the Sands and Death held dominion over the elements of Sands and Death with his weapons; Kalistik and Aridrys."

Cain was once again stumped, 'Kalistik and Aridrys?'

{Replying to Host: They were considered weapons, but in reality, these items were simply extensions of the Celestial itself, a manifestation of its power}.

Cain asked, 'Well, what did they do?'

{Replying to Host: Kalistik was a scythe, representing the element of death. It was used by Balangol to drain the life from the realms he conquered. Aridrys was a scepter, representing the element of Sand and degradation. It was used by the Celestial, Balangol, to allow his domain to encroach upon ither domains, devouring ot until all that was left, was a world of Sand and nothing}.

Cain felt a chill race down his spine. Didn't that sound quite familiar?

The death and the Sand?

What was outside this tent besides death and sand?

Was the Celestial using the Death of the humans that had turned to it for salvation as a way to further increase the power of its realm?

But that didn't make any sense.

After all, the Celestial was dead, and its realm was destroyed.

But that was the thing about Celestials. They could die, but they were immortal beings. They never truly died in that sense. Rather, it was more like their existence was temporarily switched off.

Khan continued as he was unable to hear the conversation Cain was having with the system,

"The main aspects one would have as the Champion of Balangol, would be that of Sand and Death. The element of Death is a very rare one. Because of this, Balangol was considered a threat, even amongst the Celestials. None could escape the reach of his scythe, because wherever the blade was pointed, death followed..."

The ominousness around Khan slowly faded away,

"But that doesn't mean they cannot have other elemental attachments. These are just the ones to watch out for, as they have Divine origins."

Cain was impressed, "How do you know so much about Balangol?"

Khan shrugged, "I told you, didn't I? I used to be a Pilgrim. Information on these things are easily accessible as long as you seek them."

Cain clicked his tongue, "Is that so..."

From what he had heard so far, this Balangol seemed very scary, and dangerous.

At the end of the day, this fallen deity's mission was to be revived. The way it would do this, was by planting the seeds of its Revival, the God Remnants on various planets for its inhabitants to find.

Once these seeds began to sprout, it was the beginning of the end. This was how it was for all Celestial Deities.

General Arltzwalt yawned, "So, have you heard all you want?"

Cain nodded silently.

The General smiled, "In that case, I assume you are-"

Cain raised this hand, prompting the General to stop mid sentence.

Cain chuckled to himself before speaking, his face straight and serious,

"If that's the case, then I'll need about fifty percent of your men. I'll also need unhindered passage out of the Dome. If you can grant these things, then it might be possible for us to work together."

The General immediately shook his head,

"That would be impossible. The plan would fail before it even began."

Cain shrugged, "I need a lot of manpower for what I want done."

The General shook his head, "Well that's impossible."

Cain chuckled, "Then how about I pick out a few of your men that can be of help."

The General seemed to hesitate at the mention of this.

Cain rolled his eyes, "I'm not even asking for much. You want to hire a Mercenary, yet you are afraid of paying this small of a price?"

The General hummed deeply, his eyes narrowed,

"What exactly is this your plan?"

Cain shrugged, "That's for me to know and for you to ponder about."

"Don't you think it would be for the best if you revealed it to me?" The General asked.

Cain shook his head, "The fewer people know, the better. Execution would be far easier if we keep things this way."

There was a moment of silence...

Eventually, the General sighed,

"Alright, consider it done."

Cain nodded, "Then I'll be choosing Lucia, Khan, Boulder, and the rest of their squad."

The General looked as though he was expecting this,

"You don't hold back, do you..."

Cain smiled, "Of course not."

Boulder shrugged, "I have no complaints, if this is what must be done."

Khan could only sigh, "So much for laying low and not attracting too much attention."

Cain chuckled to himself,

'We'll take Valestorm by storm.'