God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 831: Liberation.

Cain exhaled deeply, the ghost of a chuckle escaping his lips.

"Progress? Well, I guess you can say that."

He glanced around at the mess, the black residue still clinging to the walls like bloodless wounds. The others stood scattered about the room, still hesitant and cautious. He couldn't blame them. After all, he also barely understood it himself.

"That guy is gone. His soul was already consumed by the Soulfiend. But I believe we can save the others."

"How?" Hunter asked with a frown.

Cain explained, "It is impossible to truly kill a Devil because of its immortal soul."

Hunter shook his head, "Then how do you explain this?" He said, wiping black muck off his boots with a grimace.

"Simple. I cut the link between the Devil's body and soul." Cain said casually.

Steve burst out laughing. He was forced to stop when he saw the serious look on Cain's face.

"You are serious?"

Cain snorted, "Do I look like I have time to make jokes?"

Cain stared at the remnants of the smoldering mass in the center of the room,

"Soul Sever, a technique that temporarily disconnects the soul from the body. It isn't a very dangerous ability by any means as it doesn't harm the soul itself. However, that disconnect brought even more chaos to the volatile connection between the man's soul and body, and that of the Devil's. The result is as you can see."

Steve vigorously rubbed his face, then let out a tired sigh,

"Then..."

Cain nodded with a grin,

"It doesn't take a lot of power and I can use it as many times as needed so long as the creature isn't stronger than I am."

"So you can save them?" Hunter said, nudging his head at the two unconscious people laying on the ground beside them.

Cain frowned, "I can try."

He turned to Hunter,

"But before I do that, I need you all to promise me that whatever happens in this room stays in this room."

Blaze raised a brow, a look of suspicion on his face,

"Why? Are you going to do something strange to them?"

Cain chuckled, "No, not really."

He nervously glanced at Susan. Then he cleared his throat,

"I know I told you I won't be doing anything dangerous again, but this does involve a bit of danger. The soul of the {Parasyte Soulfiend} can attack, and if it gets me, chances are my body will become a soulless husk."

Susan glared at him. Then she sighed,

"Even if I tell you not to, there's no chance you'll listen to me, is there? It's not like I can tell you what to do, right?!"

Cain was speechless.

He glanced to the side, hoping to find some help from the others in the room.

Unfortunately for him, there was no help to be found, none whatsoever, as they all actively avoided eye contact with him.

'Betrayal!'

Cain sighed. Then put both hands on Susan's shoulders,

"I am not one to actively put my life on the line for others. But if I don't, then there is a huge chance we will lose this war."

Susan's checks flushed a deep red,

"Wha– Get your hands away!"

Despite saying that, she made no attempts to shrug him off.

Cain smiled as gently as he possibly could.

"I would rather not have those that care about me worry too much."

The blush on her face became heavier. Eventually, she managed to push him away.

"Fine! Do whatever you want, I won't say anything. Just don't die this time!"

Cain grinned then turned to the others.

Hunter shrugged, "As long as you save her life, you'll have my word."

"I as well." Dan added casually.

Blaze shrugged, "Do what you must."

Steve chuckled, "Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

Cain nodded with a grateful expression, then turned to the last person in the room.

Calio tried to avoid eye contact, but eventually sighed,

"Alright, I won't say anything. I promise."

Cain breathed a sigh of relief,

"That's good. But first, how about we clean this place up."

***

Clearing off the blackened blood had been quite the chore, but the hardest part was figuring out what to do with the remnant corpses of both the {Parasyte Soulfiend} and the human man it had infected.

In the end, Cain had decided to burn both with the Eternal Sunfire, not only to leave no trace of what had happened, but also to make sure there was no further contamination. After all, he still had no idea how the parasites reproduced and spread.

Not seated on the clean tiles, Cain glanced at Steve seated to his left and Susan seated to his right.

Susan held a staff in her hand, a soft glow radiating from the pristine crystals attached to it.

Steve on the other hand was already busy carving open the flesh located above the woman's spine.

Moments later, the only black tendrils were revealed.

Cain sucked in a deep breath.

Just before he had been forced back into his body, Melech had directly imbued a technique into his soul after giving him the {Soul of the Astral Seeker} rune.

{Soul Sever} was a simple technique that didn't require a lot of focus to initiate. It only had one function, and that was to temporarily break the connection between the body and soul of an entity.

The stronger the entity, the less effective it would be, as the connection between said entity's soul and body would be much stronger.

Since he had the Astral Seeker rune set, he didn't need another Soul Art. Instead, he could make use of the second rune to absorb and refine soul essence for himself.

In other words, for a brief moment, he could separate the soul of the Devil from its body.

He was in no way powerful enough to defeat a Devil, even the weakest ones, in a soul battle.

However, killing it physically was the easier of things. He had not acquired the title of Devil Hunter for no reason after all.

However, it was crucial that he didn't miss the vital moment. The moment he used {Soul Sever} to force the separation, he had to destroy the body, forcibly sending the soul back to the Othershore.

Should he delay it for even a second, the soul of the Devil could find a way to retaliate, perhaps even destroying his own soul in the process.

'High risk, higher rewards.'

Cain sucked in another deep breath, filling up his lungs.

To activate {Soul Sever}, he had to reach out with his soul.

He closed his eyes, gradually entering a meditative state.

Although he could not see with his normal eyes, the {Beholder's Eye} remained active.

Although it felt a bit uncomfortable, he deactivated that as well.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

Now, he was in complete darkness.

Cain expelled all the breath in his lungs with a single exhale.

In the darkness, he found a solemn void.

His mind drifted.

He entered a trance.

The world became black, white, and then some.

And then substance vanished.

Concepts became naught.

His consciousness drifted and floated. For a time, it felt like he was groping around in the darkness.

Eventually, he saw light.

The manifestation of the Devil in the realm of souls was even more grotesque than its physical form. The Devil's soul was attached to what appeared to the the soul of the human woman.

The woman's soul was ethereal with slender dark veins running throughout. The process of devilish corruption has already began.

The black mass attached to the human soul suddenly shifted, as though sensing that something was wrong.

Cain knew he had to act fast.

And act he did. He dove right towards them, straight at the devil's soul.

With his consciousness, he activated {Soul Sever}. He imagined it, shaped it with his will, his soul essence condensing into the form of a sharp, angled blade.

Without hesitation, he swung it down.

A sharp, soul-splitting noiseless sound assaulted him immediately.

However, Cain didn't care. Because he had successfully activated {Soul Sever}.

Cain grinned like a mad man,

"Die!"