God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Seeing the three beasts soar into the sky, Cain urged the Silver Serpent to follow.

With a sharp hiss, the {Argent Amphithere} soared after the three ascending beasts.

Even as the corpses of the {Thunder Newts} continued to fall from the heavens, even more swooped in from the sides, swimming within the surrounding vortexes within the storm like schools of flesh hungry fish.

The hole in the sky became visible the further they went.

Like a silver lining behind a dark cloud, it emitted an incandescent glow that was difficult to avoid.

As they swam towards the hole, the tide of crazed beasts became even thicker.

To the point where even the three beasts were being forced to take the battle more seriously.

Cain felt exasperated,

'Where are all these things coming from?!'

He was also curious about where Grimm and Cello were. They had yet to encounter them within the storm. Did that mean they weren't there, or they were just in a different part of these turbulent skies, farther than his eyes could see?

Or was there a much more simple explanation?

He had no clue.

Nor did he have the liberty or time to ponder about such things that were largely none of his business.

He shot another arrow and it pierced through the head of a {Thunder Newt}. Releasing another, it tire through its wings. Another arrow was sent flying, stabbing it through the throat.

The creature fell, choking on its blood, unable to take flight as well due to its damaged wings.

The system gently informed him of his success in taking the creature's life a few moments later, but he was already preoccupied with killing the next one.

'Just a few more meters!'

The Silver Serpent picked up speed, trying its best to close the distance as soon as possible. In response, the swarm around it stretched its claws and fangs out.

A whirlwind of dark shadows was birthed from the darkness around them, shredding the claws and fangs to bloody bits.

As they continued on, their exhaustion began to mount and it became easier to make mistakes.

By now, both sides of the Silver Serpent were covered in numerous gashes, each bleeding profusely. Thankfully, the beast was yet to suffer anything more serious. Cain had been regularly absorbing the bolts of lightning that struck down on the flying Serpent.

'At this rate we'll never get there alive.'

The hole in the dark sky seemed to close, yet so far away.

The number of {Thunder Newts} just kept growing and growing, to the point where it didn't make sense anymore.

In a situation like this, there was no way to be smart, cause the other side could not be outsmarted. They could only be evaded or pushed back with brute force. And even then, survival was still not guaranteed.

One needed a strong body and a strong mind to brave the storm.

The rain noisily beat down on his armor. The sound of the roaring thunder and torrential downpour drowned every other sound.

In this world of absolute chaos, Cain found a strange serenity.

It was so loud, yet his mind was eerily quiet. Within the storm, his thoughts had grown more concise.

And because of that, he was able to see a way...

A way to cut through the storm.

The {Thunder Newts} made use of the electric signals created from disturbances in the air and correspondingly, on the bodies of their prey, to seek them out in a world that was meant to be shrouded in darkness.

In other words, the crackling bolts of lightning were more than just a means for them to attack.

It was their sun...

Their source of light...

It gave them direction in a land of nothingness.

And Cain...

He had the ability to steal that from them.

{Lightning Thief} was a rather unique ability, the only one he had received from the mana core of a creature called the {Manticore of Sky Purgatory}.

According to what he knew, it has been a rather malevolent, terrifying creature, far more disastrous than any {Thunder Newt} could be.

It had complete dominion over the element of chaos. It was a beast that devoured the power of the skies.

The ability that allowed this creature to do so, was very similar to {Lightning Thief}, just on two different scales.

However, Cain had something that could temporarily boost the scale of {Lightning Thief}.

A special... place in him, if you could call it that.

'It might work. No... it most definitely will work.'

There was no reason for it not to work.

{Lightning Thief}, in a way, was very similar to his {Vampiric Star} spell. If that was the case, then they could both be used in roughly the same way. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire

The manan flow patterns around him immediately became more chaotic.

Something was happening...

Cain considered it for a moment.

His idea was brilliant. But it was also incredibly reckless.

He remembered doing something like this a while back. Back then, if it hadn't been for Steve, he would have been burnt to a crisp.

And yet, his heart trembled with excitement still.

In reality, it would not be as dangerous as before. He had nearly lost his life in the past doing something like this, because he had tried expelling a ridiculous amount of energy from the {Elemental Vault}.

But now, he was trying to do the opposite.

With his spirit as the funnel, he would channel the surrounding Lightning elements into the {Elemental Vault} using {Lightning Thief}.

Whips of electric blue bolts of lightning crackled all around him, leaving scorch marks across the silver scales of the {Argent Amphithere}.

The chaotic sky rumbled with a fury unlike ever seen in this desolate stormy place.

It was furious. It was insulted.

Its claws were being ripped away, after all.

Cain didn't care though.

He focused all his mental energy on {Lightning Thief}.

'That's enough for a start...'

With a deep breath, he pushed open the gates of the {Elemental Vault}.

The skies immediately lit up.

A pillar of pure power in the form of twisting bolts of lightning descended and struck down with unrighteous wrath.

However, that was not the end, as a moment later, another one fell.

Then another...

And another...

Until a star born from concentrated bolts of lightning was born within the storm.

Evangeline, Jenny, Susan, and Roselle scurried away from him to the other side of the {Argent Amphithere}.

Jenny's face was clad with worry as she squinted her eyes,

"What is going on?

For some reason, despite being only a few meters away from this ball of chaos, they felt nothing. All the lightning elemental mana was being directly absorbed with absolutely no spill over.

Susan frowned deeply,

"He's... absorbing the surrounding electric currents."

Evangeline couldn't help but smirk,

"Smart. He's blinding them."

Roselle raised a brow, "Blinding them?"

Evangeline nodded, "They use electric signals to sense moving targets. Since we can't stop moving, the next best thing would be to take away what makes them see."

Roselle was speechless.

Sure enough, the effects were immediate.

The dark sky was immediately filled with screeches as the {Thunder Newts} slammed into one another, dropping from the sky in droves.

Losing the ability to see, they couldn't tell left from right even if they wanted to.

Some tried drawing on the power of lightning themselves to replace what had been lost, but it was impossible for them to fight against the pull of the {Elemental Vault}.

Until Cain himself closed it, the Vault would been sucking in as much as it could, until it was filled.

And it was nowhere near being filled up.

The elemental lightning coalesced around him, emitting blinding light that forced the girls to shift even further away from him.

The {Argent Amphithere} hissed in a panic. However, Cain's thoughts soothed its frayed emotions, forcing it to remain calm.

High above them, Asteron, Avalon and Thern looked down in shock and horror.

"By the gods..." Avalon muttered subconsciously.

Asteron glanced at him,

"Do you still think him a mere human?"

Thern stared down, a string of complex emotions hidden in her eyes. She turned to the Wind Drake,

"Asteron. This human..."

Asteron nodded, his vertical pupils fixed on Cain's form shrouded by the blinding lights,

"An incredible specimen. Perhaps my initial assessment was wrong. He might not be a Demon after all."

His eyes narrowed, "He might be something worse."

Then he turned and shot through the opening in the dark sky.

Avalon and Thern exchange a look before following suit.

The {Thunder Newts} fell into pandemonium. Without any nearby signals, they couldn't find what they were chasing. Without eyes and ears, they didn't even know where they were anymore.

The {Argent Amphithere} continued to pick up speed, dodging the falling {Thunder Newts}.

Cain struggled to remain his control over the power coursing through him.

'Just a moment more!'

His eyes shot open, tainted white, streaks of lightning swimming in his retina.

His control was slipping.

A whip of lightning broke away from him and struck the Silver Serpent's back again, this time, leaving a deep groove in it.

The {Argent Amphithere} hissed in pain, but didn't stop. Instead, it increased its speed one last time.

And shot into the hole in the sky right behind the three bloodline beasts.