We landed somewhat far from Cain, so I grabbed Isabella's hand and imbued her with flight magic.
We flew further in and I felt her grip tighten on my hand.
"Are you ready?" She asked.
"Do it!" I said.
Then she threw me as hard as she could at the tornado.
I readied both of my swords and struck hard.
They impacted something dense and I was blown back by a shockwave of Corruption.
Then the tornado slowly dispersed.
"Well well well... So the hero finally arrives to slay the villain... Don't think for a second that your victory is assured. You might be stronger now, but you're still a weakling. Just like you've always been," Cain said.
"Just looking at you pisses me off, Cain. I don't think I have words to describe how much I hate you at this point," I said.
"That's funny. You'll be so much angrier when I'm done with you. I'm going to make you watch as I violate and murder that precious wife of yours. Then I'm going to throw you into the Abyss forever. You'll rot in a cell until you go completely insane from rage. And when that happens, I'll sit back and watch you suffer. It'll be hilarious," Cain said.
Isabella looked disgusted by his statement and instinctively covered her chest.
"You are a filthy monster," she said simply.
"That...is quite the understatement. I'm a fragment of a god from the depths of the Abyss. Created to spread a world-devouring plague. Come now...you can do better than that!" Cain said with a sinister smile.
"This ends today, you bastard. YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME BEFORE YOU TOUCH HER!" I shouted.
"As badly as I want to do just that, killing you only causes me more headaches... But don't worry...I'll find a way," Cain said.
Then he stepped forward and the ground warped at his feet. A black claymore rose out of the ground and Cain pulled it out.
"It's not Extinction...only Difar wields that one. But this should be more than enough," Cain said as he brandished the sword.
"I'll break it...AND YOU!!" I said.
I shot forward while aiming for Cain's throat and he parried my attack with his claymore.
"FIGHT ME!!! LET ME GO ALL OUT FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE!!" Cain shouted.
He swung his sword down as Corruption warped and twisted around it. Before the sword could strike me, I instinctively dodged to the left and slashed him multiple times.
He flinched as he was burned with emerald flames and struck back at me.
Isabella stepped between us and blocked the attack.
"BLAST NOVA!!" She shouted.
Her shield flashed and Cain was engulfed in a massive, violent explosion.
Cain leaped away and swung his sword multiple times in mid-air, creating several shockwaves of Corrupted energy.
Isabella blocked them and I changed my swords into submachine guns.
"FUSILLADE! BLAST BARRAGE!"
I unloaded as many bullets into Cain as I could. All of them loaded with as much divine energy as I could generate. The crystalized magic bullets split in mid-air and exploded as soon as they hit Cain.
He was pushed back further and glared at me.
"INSOLENT CHILD!!! YOU WILL KNOW TRUE TERROR!" Cain shouted.
Then he placed his hand on the flat of his claymore.
"CORRUPTION BLADE!!!" He said.
A feeling of familiarity washed over me as Corruption engulfed his sword.
I had seen this before...back in Lorelei.
But this time...the Corruption blazed forth like a roaring black inferno.
Cain shot forward and swung his sword down faster than I could blink.
Even with instant reaction, I could only just barely avoid it...but I lost an arm in the process.
"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! LOOKS LIKE I WIN!!!" Cain shouted.
I jumped away and clutched my shoulder in pain.
Cain attempted to continue his assault, but Isabella stood between us.
"MIZIK! I'VE GOT YOU!" She shouted.
Cain tried once again to break her defense, but she remained unbroken. With each strike to her shield, I could see that she took no damage from it.
"DAMMIT!! GO DOWN! DIE!!! WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?" Cain shouted at her.
She smiled and readied herself.
"SUNLIGHT BLADE!" Isabella shouted.
She slashed Cain multiple times with her sword and managed to remove his arm as well.
"Now you're even," she said
Cain glared at her after backing away and his arm began to rapidly regenerate.
Mine had finished regrowing by then as well. He looked at me in confusion.
"What? How the hell...when did you get the ability to regenerate? She didn't heal you, did she...no... That's impossible!" He asked.
"Heart of the World," I said.
"Oh. That's...unnerving..."
Then I was upon him. Slashing more furiously than ever after changing my submachine guns back into swords.
"FULL MOON SLASH!!!" I shouted.
I swung my swords in a circle multiple times around me and managed to land several hits on Cain.
"GAH! THIS IS GETTING NOWHERE!" He shouted angrily before stepping away.
"Have you had enough? Just lay down and die for me, Cain!" I said angrily.
"As if... I haven't even begun to fight for real. Since you've made it so far, perhaps I should show you something a bit more interesting..." Cain said.
Isabella stepped over beside me and we looked on in confusion.
"Here's a little something you might be interested in hearing... The Source of the Corruption can take on any form he wishes. Being a fragment means that I am no exception. I can change my appearance into anyone I want...or anything. But...I have a true form. A great and terrible form."
I felt an even greater power rising from Cain as his eyes faded to pitch black and his veins changed to the same color. His hair turned white and he increased in size...
It was similar to the monster he has a changed into Lorelei. But far stronger...and much larger.
"BOW BEFORE ME, WEAKLINGS!!!" He shouted mightily.
Then the Astrum moved above us and Vakra slammed into the ground nearby.
A shadow rose in front of us and Aldaril manifested.
"Is that Cain?" Aldaril asked.
"It is. It's his true form," I said.
When I spoke, Cain smiled.
"The Corruption is too dense... I can't compress him. I can still fight, however...gah..." Vakra said.
He had changed forms again.
"I guess it's physical attacks for you now?" I said.
Vakra simply nodded and took up a fighting stance.
"You've gathered quite the freak show, Mizik. I'LL ENJOY DEVOURING ALL OF THEM!"
Before he could utter another word, Vakra disappeared.
He reappeared and slammed his fist into Cain's jaw.
Cain took a step back and held his face.
"P-PURIFIED DIVINE ENERGY!? HOW!? ONLY MIZIK AND ISABELLA CAN DO THAT!!!"
"I HAVE A FEW TRICKS UP MY SLEEVE FOR THE PILE OF SHIT TRYING TO DESTROY MY WORLD!!! I AM VAKRA!!! THE MAD ADMIRAL OF ELYSIUM!!!"
Aldaril stepped forward and changed his lantern into a spear.
"I'd like to have a go at this as well..." He said.
Then the ground split open in several places as gigantic bones began flooding out.
A pale light engulfed all of them and formed a massive, three-headed skeletal dragon.
It glared at Cain with unholy hatred.
I stepped forward and so did Isabella.
"You're surrounded and outmatched, Cain. Give up and I'll make it quick," I said.
"Grrr... GO TO HELL!!!" He roared.
"I was hoping you'd say something like that..." I said.
I tapped the device on my chest and Isabella tapped hers.
I increased the output to 50%.
I forgot to mention this until now...
But I had only been fighting at 25% power.
Energy exploded all around us and Cain looked at us in surprise.
He almost seemed...worried.
I teleported to him and immediately carved out several sections of his body. Burning him in the process.
"GAAAH!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!"
He immediately turned to me and his hand changed into a large mace.
"Shield enchant."
Cain swung his mace and it slammed into Isabella's shield.
The sound that the explosive impact made reverberated through the air and shook the ground.
Her shield exploded into light and engulfed Cain.
He reeled back and screeched in pain as parts of his body began to burn away in white flames.
Vakra took the opportunity to teleport behind him. He let loose with a barrage of punches that I could barely see. Each impact seemed to cause severe damage to Cain's back.
Aldaril threw his spear into Cain's chest and a plague-like darkness spread out in his body.
I got close again as Cain continued to flinch in pain and sliced off his mace arm.
He looked down at me and roared.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!!! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
Then there was burst of Corruption as the three of us stood back from him. Isabella remained in place with her shield raised.
"SUNLIGHT BLADE!" She shouted.
Her sword extended into brilliant light and she slashed Cain multiple times through his entire body.
Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough.
He gritted his teeth through the pain and took the attack.
Then he regenerated rapidly and slammed the ground. A shockwave burst out around him and Cain disappeared.
He appeared again behind Vakra and grabbed him by the throat. Then he slammed him into the ground over and over.
"YOU'LL HAVE TO D- GAH! DO BETTER THAN THA- GAH!" Vakra said.
I saw Aldaril cover himself in bones and increase in size. He became a skeletal titan.
He rushed towards Cain and punched him straight in the face.
Cain opened his mouth after the impact and unhinged his jaw. He bit down on Aldaril's fist of bone and Corruption began rapidly spreading through it.
Aldaril was enveloped in shadows and reappeared next to us holding his lantern. He shone a bright light on Cain that caused him to drop Vakra and step away.
I felt a pulse of power from Isabella as well. My abilities skyrocketed again and barriers formed around everyone. She began launching brilliant streams of white light at Cain.
Each one of them pierced his body and exploded.
Then Cain disappeared again and tried to strike me with his fists as well as several bladed tentacles that had sprouted from his back.
Isabella already planned for it and moved in front of me to block all of his attacks.
"YOU'LL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME, FIRST!!!" She shouted.
Then her shield exploded into brilliant light as she readied her sword.
"SUNLIGHT BLADE! SHATTER!!!"
Isabella slashed Cain several times with her sword as the light burned him.
Her voice caused parts of his body to crack and he reeled back in agony.
I took my chance as he recoiled.
I switched my swords into a fully automatic rocket launcher aimed at him.
"FUSILLADE! BLAST BARRAGE! SNIPER BURST!!!" I shouted.
By combining the three skills together with this particular weapon, I unloaded an extremely dense barrage of highly accurate and explosive magic crystals that multiplied as they flew.
When I had finished, Cain had dropped to one of his knees. He was badly wounded and still surrounded.
Vakra recovered and now stood at the ready to continue fighting.
"Fine then... I'll stop messing around... I'LL GIVE YOU A TASTE OF THE ABYSS!!!"
Suddenly, Cain stood up straight and regenerated his broken body. He dropped down and slammed his fists into the ground. They sank into it like roots from a tree.
I didn't wait for him to finish.
I started shooting again and Isabella began attacking with her light magic.
Unfortunately...Corrupted energy exploded violently all around him and nullified our attacks.
The shockwaves from what he was doing continued to increase in power and we had to back away. Something rose from the ground in the crater Cain had made...
I looked on in awe at the monster we now faced...