God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"Of course, the battle will not happen here. This world is far too fragile to handle the power of a Celestial Being, after all." Azazel added with a grin.

Cain chuckled bitterly,

'Then how do you thinky body would fare?'

Balangol raised a brow,

"And what do you get out of this, Demon. You can choose to end this farce, but having this scrawny beast do battle with me is purely foolish. There is no meaning to it, like this mortal's life.'

'Ouch... That hurt a bit.' Cain thought to himself.

Azazel shook his head, an expression of pity on his face,

"You gods sure are arrogant, aren't you? Think about it. Do you think a being worth of carrying Ashur's soul if a mere mortal? Ha..."

His eyes sparkled and his gaze drifted a bit,

"This brings me back, to be honest. Back then, the same thing happened."

He glanced at Balangol, who's face had turned black with rage and shook his head,

"Back then, you also didn't believe that you could be killed. Fortunately, we were able to properly fix your doubts."

Cain looked around, his face pale,

"Then where are you taking us?"

Azazel smiled at him,

"To Prometheus..."

***

Cain opened his eyes after what seemed like an eternity of darkness.

'Ah... How nostalgic.'

The muddy brown skies, that annoying heat, the motes of black mixed in with every breath he took.

And if course, the intense gravity that made him feel at least three times heavier.

However, it was much more bearable than when he was last here. He didn't even need to circulate his Ki to move.

The ground beneath his feet was rocky due to the years of volcanic activity. Although there was sand, there was not a lot of it, which gave him hope.

He turned to the evil being that had brought him here once again,

"Why?" He asked.

Azazel turned to him, a deep darkness smoldering in the depths of his eyes.

He was silent.

Cain gritted his teeth,

"I thought you were on my side. Weren't you and Ashur friends when he was still alive?"

Azazel sneered, "Calling us friends is a bit of a stretch."

Then he shrugged,

"But that doesn't mean I want you dead. On the contrary, I'd rather you stay alive for a very long time."

Cain shook his head,

"Then this doesn't make any sense. If you want that, why would you give me a death sentence?! Me, fight a literal god?! In my current state?!"

Azazel grinned and tossed him a bottle.

Cain snatched it from the air and gave it a glance.

He narrowed his eyes as he activated the {Eye of General Observation}. Thanks to Azazel, he was able to use his mana.

***

{Dew of Mourning}:

Description: On the edge of a dead world, when the night comes to an end, and the stars of rebirth rise once again into the sky, a new mourning is found. A divine nectar of mystic origins that replenishes all.

***

Cain read the description with wide eyes.

He turned to stare at Azazel who merely shrugged,

"What are you staring like a rock for? Hurry up and drink it."

Cain nodded and popped the top off the potion bottle and downed its contents in one go.

The moment it hit his tongue and he swallowed, a soothing sensation rushed through his entire body and his pores opened up.

"Shit..." Cain groaned as he fell to the ground.

All his energies were being replenished at an outstanding rate. His wounds were also healing, and he could feel his stamina returning rapidly.

But it was too much stimulation for him, making him weak in the legs.

Azazel, meanwhile just stared down at him with a contemplative look on his face.

Finally, after a few minutes, Cain jumped back up to his feet.

His eyes are filled with a renewed vigor, but he still didn't look impressed.

"Okay, now what?"

Azazel gave him an odd stare,

"What do you mean by 'now what'? You fight, of course."

Cain chuckled wryly,

"I don't think it matters even if I am in top condition. There's no way I can fight a god and come out alive. It's impossible."

'Didn't we just have this conversation?'

He truly did believe that. Especially with the power Balangol had put on display not too long ago.

The freshly reborn Celestial Deity was arrogant. But he had a lot of power to back that up.

And what he would be fighting against would only be comparable to the smallest fraction of the god's true power.

Azazel shook his head,

"That's not my problem. I gave you a way out, so it is in your hands now."

Azazel's eyes narrowed,

"If you don't win, then all your friends will lose their lives, not just you. Is that what you want?"

Cain clenched his fists,

"Of course not!"

Azazel nodded, "Then figure it out. This is your battle to fight, after all, your burden to bear. The best I can do is give you a bit of advice; whatever you do, know that he is far superior to you in almost every aspect."

Cain wanted to curse at the heavens,

'Wow! What wonderful advice!'

He slowly exhaled the air from his lungs.

Right now, he was in a bit of a fix.

No, not a bit...

He was massively screwed.

There was no way he would fight a god and live to tell the tales, especially with his current strength. Even if he pulled all the cards he had, he would be unable to do anything.

Even worse, the power of this newly reborn god was equivalent to a Tier 3 being. He was certain he wouldn't be able to take a Tier 2 in a fight, let alone a Tier 3. His death was all but guaranteed.

And yet, somehow, the spiteful Demom wanted him to do actually battle..

And yet, somehow, his heart didn't want him to despair. Discover more content at m,v l'e|m-p| y r

It was as though he hadn't fully given up yet.

And he knew exactly why...

Cain smiled wryly as he gripped his chest, the side containing his heart,

'You want to have a go, don't you, you little bastard.'

Indeed, he had fought Kaelin with everything he had back then. But there was still one thing he hadn't done.

He wasn't out of options just yet.

He was just down to his final option...

Standing rather far away from him and Azazel was Balangol, casually observing the details of this bizarre world called Prometheus.

His eyes were narrowed,

"So this is where you fled to, Demon. Of all places you could go, the Hell realms was where you sought refuge? How pitiful..."

Azazel shrugged, "Hey, a demon's got to do what he can to survive. It's tough out here."

Then he grinned,

"Besides, the Hell realms is one of the very few places that bastard Tian can't just waltz into, if he doesn't want to start another Thousand Millennium War that is."

Balangol scoffed then turned around,

"The Heavenly Emperor is not one that can be understood. Eventually, you shall get your reckoning, demon. Just like those before you. Either way, let's get this face over with."

Azazel's expression turned dark for a split second.

Ignoring the wild demon, Balangol turned back to the human, his eyes blazing,

"To find yourself in the body of a human, one of the weakest races of mortals. Those who go against the will of the heavens never find fortune, no matter what means they use. Your doom is inevitable."

"Finally, I can right the wrongs of the past and claim the life that was denied of me. Ashur, you have hidden yourself, but I know you hear my words."

His blazing eyes suddenly cooled off...

...And morphed into hollow black holes. Black sand poured out of the empty sockets and down his face as he spoke,

"Death claims all, eventually. Not even gods are spared from its cold embrace."

A bottomless abyss of blackness. That was all Cain believed he could see, staring at this being before him.

Whatever confidence he had before was quickly extinguished.

'Fuck...'

However, there was no way out now. It was a do or die situation.

"Draw your sword." Balangol said, his voice now raspy and hollow, like the lightless abyss of black sand he embodied.

Cain sucked in a deep breath and retrieved the {Lonely Dragon} Warblade from his inventory. Holding onto the hilt tightly, he exhaled through his mouth.

'My hands are shaking.'

For the sake of the others who were still fighting back on Urbus, he had to win. The outcome of this battle would determine the fate of those back on Urbus.

'Dying here would be a really terrible move to pull off, wouldn't it...'

He chuckled to himself.

Seeing that both sides were ready, Azazel raised his left hand up, with a wide grin on his face,

"The rules of this battle are bound by divine will and blood. A battle to the death, one involving a Celestial of Death, and a mere mortal. What a time to be alive..."

Balangol glared at Azazel,

"Buying time at this stage won't help much."

Azazel shrugged,

"Is that so..."

His hand fell,

"Then, let the battle begin."