God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

'So how does one go about killing a god?'

In theory it should have been impossible. The Celestial Deitys ought to have been beings incapable of a mortal's death.

And yet, the reality of it was that they could, in fact die.

'Death comes to all, be they gods or mere mortals.'

'Now that I have determined that my foe can die, how do I kill him?'

Overpowering the Celestial was out of the equation. In fact, it was impossible. He also didn't want to go ahead and reveal his trump card yet, so he reasoned he was going to have to buy some time.

Cain dismissed the {Lonely Dragon} Warblade, turned around and sprinted towards the distance mountain range.

'If I can't fight, I'll run.'

How hard was it going to be? All he had to do was run from death and hope it didn't catch up to him. That was definitely doable.

'Probably...'

Balangol raised a brow,

"You want to run?"

He turned toward Azazel who seems one step away from bursting into uncontrollable laughter,

"Is the successor of Ashur lacking mentally?"

Azazel shrugged, "Who knows? You have to hurry up, still. You wouldn't want your prey to escape, now would you?"

Balangol narrowed his eyes, then clicked his tongue.

Black sand consumed his figure and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Azazel stood there for a moment silently.

Then the silence was broken. The space beside him broke apaylike shattered glass and a hand made of pure darkness stretched out.

It was the same being of darkness that had observed the battle from the sky with him.

"Is there really a need for all this, Azazel? Clearly you don't want the boy dead. Are you perhaps doing this out of resentment, or is there something deeper even I cannot see?"

Azazel sighed and shook his head,

"Don't think about it too much. We can save the talk for later. In the meantime, I have to prepare a few things?"

The being of darkness seemed surprised,

"I thought you didn't plan on interfering?"

Azazel laughed,

"I don't think I am known for keeping my word, am I? Besides, that bastard clearly has a bone to pick with me. If Tian gets even the slightest of clues on my whereabouts, I can kiss my hermit life goodbye. That's not something I am prepared for."

The being of darkness remained silent for a while.

Then it spoke again,

"What are you planning to do?" It asked curiously.

Azazel smiled,

"Obviously, it won't be interesting if we gave Cain too much of an advantage. Instead, I will even put the field, make it a bit fair, you see."

A sigh resonated from the darkness,

"How despicable."

Azazel chuckled, "Now, now... You can't blame me, can you? A Celestial's arrogance is often times their own undoing. I am merely taking advantage of the fact.

"Is that so..." The being of darkness turning into tendrils of darkness that sank into the darkness.

Azazel was once again left behind.

He looked up towards the sky and too in a deep breath.

"Dragons are really hard to cultivate, aren't they..."

***

Cain dashed forward with all his might. The sharp wind cut against his face, and air filled up his lungs as his feet slammed into the ground, propelling him forward at incredible speeds.

All the free attribute points he had gained during the battle against the Aether Creatures and Valestorm's fighters were poured into his agility stat. While it didn't make a drastic difference, it still provided him with a decent advantage.

He was fast. Fast enough to violently displace the air in front of him, creating shockwaves and sonic booms.

'With this speed, maybe even a Tier 3 being would be unable to keep up.'

Granted, he had never come in contact with a Tier 3 being before, so this was more than a stretch.

'Maybe he won't be able to catch me.' Cain thought to himself.

Sadly, reality and his thoughts were never meant to be the same.

Cain felt all the hairs on his body stand on ends. He quickly threw himself to the ground, rolling forward like a boulder down a mountain side.

He heard a loud crash behind him and was able to stand up just quick enough to avoid the second blow.

The hard ground beneath them shattered like glass and rocks came flying everywhere, some of them even cutting his face. Luckily, his armor protected him from majority of the shrapnel.

"Running is futile..."

Standing to his feet, Cain saw Kaelin, or at least what used to be Kaelin standing before him, his eyes deep and dark like a lightless abyss.

There was black colored sand everywhere behind him, right to the sky like a Sandstorm.

Cain felt his heart grow cold, a chill racing up his spine. That signified death. A lot of it...

Just a single grain making contact with him would have been enough.

In the end, he had been too optimistic. There was no way this being, despite being confined to mortal body, wouldn't be able to reach him, especially when he had the power of a Tier 3 being.

Cain causally wiped the blood off his face, then sneered,

"You really are arrogant, aren't you. You can end this fight anytime, yet you still wish to chase me down."

'How frustrating...'

Balangol shook his head,

"I am cautious, not of you, but of the one that resides in you."

The brows over his lightless eyes furrowed,

"Although I loathe to admit it, I was once defeated by that Golden Snake, granted, mostly due to my negligence and pride. Therefore, I have promised myself not to make the same errors twice."

The black sand continued to grow in quantity and density with every word he spoke, causing the fear on Cain's heart to blossom even more.

Balangol added, his tone immeasurably dark and sinister,

"Which is why I must make sure. That you, and his death are final and absolute. I have sacrificed a lot for this moment. I will not allow it to slip between my fingers."

He waved his hand, and the sandstorm of blackness rushed forward like the maw of some abyssal horror.

Cain sucked in a deep breath.

And activated a spell.

'Spatial Jump.'

The space behind him was ripped open and he was sucked in.

The ride of black sand gushed forward just a split second later, consuming the rift

Balangol frowned,

"I told you. Running is not going to help."

***

Rolling to the ground, Cain hid himself behind a rock and quickly changed a few phrases,

'Dark Cloak.'

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A veil of darkness descended over him body, keeping him hidden from all senses.

He slowly exhaled,

'That was close!'

If he had been just a split second later, he would have definitely been done in.

As he had suspected, both the physical prowess and magical ability of this Celestial was unimaginable. There was no way for him to survive a direct confrontation.

But...

He had managed to find something rather important out,

'I am not his true target.'

Balangol's true target was not him, but rather Ashur. What the Celestial believed, was that him and Ashur were two separate entities, just like how Balangol and his Champions were.

Hence, Balangol was certainly going to be cautious. He didn't want to give Ashur the opportunity to come back to life before he killed both his host and himself.

'He's trying to wear me out. No, not just that. He wants to trap me, then extinguished both our souls so there is absolutely no hope of Ashur coming back again.'

Cain sighed, 'How petty...'

But he couldn't blame him. After all, this was a grudge he had kept for over a thousand Millennia. Of course the hatred ran deep. So deep, he had even abandoned his prideful nature, and was instead going to use whatever method he could to grind him to dust.

If that was the case, then there were certainly loopholes he could exploit.

For one, Balangol's plan was hinged on him making sure Ashur didn't have the ability to take over his body.

Cain had experienced it happened before, so he knew Balangol was also aware that it coild happen.

Meaning he had to have some ability to make sure that possibility was ruled out completely

'Then again, I am dealing with a god here. Of course something like that exists.'

Cain's pupils shrunk as he thought,

'This is it. My way out. As long as I can capitalize on his caution, I can win.'

His chances were slim, but they weren't zero.

In fact, he had escaped from the cruel clutches of certain death. There was nothing like impossible anymore in this world.

Now that he knew what to exploit, he also had to know what weapons he had to fight.

He quickly ruled out any thoughts of engaging the Celestial in close combat, or even an exchange of spells.

His face scrunched up,

"Then... How does one kill a god?"