"Your task was simple..." Og-sth said as he bent his back and picked Cain up by his hair. Gazing into the dark pools of his eyes, Cain saw absolute serenity. He didn''t even look angry, making Cain believe that the angry act was just a ploy.


    However, upon looking deeper, he was able to see the ocean of madness locked away in the depths of his eyes.


    Lyx, the Primordial Devil of Death ruled over death. She was the source the devils returned to when they died. Bemethshal the Primordial Devil of Chaos ruled over absolute chaos. The elements of the world bowed before him and became chaotic when exposed to his influence. Og-sth was the Primordial Devil of Madness. What exactly did he rule over?


    What powers and abilities did he possess? Cain would have to use his body to experience it firsthand...


    "Go to the mountains, get the heart,e back and deliver it to me. That isn''t so hard, is it?" Og-sth said, the venom and malice in his voice gone like the mist at dawn.


    Cain was stumped at this drastic change in reaction. His heart quivered when he realized that something was wrong. However, he stuck to his guns. He absolutely couldn''t afford to reveal anything.


    "It was hard. You sent me on a suicide mission and now, you ept me to just hand it over to you like that? You are quite delusional for an immortal being..." Cain said snarkily.


    Og-sth said nothing as he red down at Cain. After a while, he spoke, a grin slowly stretching the edges of his face,


    "Do you know what madness is?" Og-sth said.


    A silent wind blew through the leaves. Cain felt an absurd chill creep up his spine.


    "Nexus Tether!"


    Cain blinked out of existence, escaping Og-sth''s grasp. A pale golden sword appeared in his ce, but Cajn quickly dismissed it. Starting at Og-sth, Cain''s face was grim.


    Not paying Cain any mind, he continued,


    "Madness is a blessing. It is a state wherein your mind, your soul transcends the limits of what is possible or logical."


    Raising his eyes towards the sky, his gaze pierced through theyers of leaves,


    "Madness is a gift. A gift that keeps giving. It is also a contagious disease. Those who are given madness will never be rid of it."


    All this time, there was a smile on the face of Og-sth. Seeing such a bone-chilling smile on his face made Cain feel fear. Not any regr fear. It even transcended the fear of losing his life.


    This fear was borne from witnessing the mad being before him...


    "I canpensate you if you want Cain. Tell me, Cain," Og-sth whispered, his neck bent backward.


    "Do you want my gift of madness?"


    Cain wanted to speak, but the words got stuck in his throat...


    ''Crap! What is this?!''


    This wasn''t a physical reaction. Rather, his mind and soul were reacting instinctively to the danger of the Devil standing before him.


    Insanity, a form of perverse wisdom. Knowledge that is born from madness is not only dangerous, it is also evil. Og-sth was recorded as the Primordial Devil of Madness because of his use of the perverse nature of the devils to influence the world.


    He was the progenitor of the devils that had taught them how to perverse and use magic with devil essence and mana. He had found a way for the devils to condense mana shards and mana cores, making them stronger, and making it easier for them to conquer more worlds and civilizations.


    And he had done all this, by tapping into the corrupting power of Madness. To put things into perspective, his knowledge and skills in the arcane arts were on the level of beings like Ashur and Tian. Even someone like Azazel would not be able to hold a candle to him...


    He hade here with the intention of ying mind games. He had forgotten that he was dealing with a creature as old as time.


    Cain red at Og-sth, trying his best not to show anything...


    "You can keep your gift to yourself. I am not interested."


    Og-sth chuckled, "What if I insist?"


    Cain''s eyes widened...


    BOOM!


    Red mes with hints of purple floating within them exploded out of his hands,


    "Then you''ll have to kill me."


    At this point, Og-sth burst intoughter,


    "Kill you? I won''t kill you. No... I''ll torture you for all eternity. I have the time. If a year doesn''t do it, ten years or even a hundred years of ying your mind, soul, and body will make youe around eventually."


    Cain gritted his teeth. He felt far more danger when faced with Og-sth as opposed to Bemethshal. It was as though the two were onpletely different levels.


    "You might be an immortal devil, but I have more than a few ways of dealing with you," Cain said, his eyes focused.


    Og-sth shook his head. His ck cloak fluttered in the wind, which was picking up. He then uttered the words of a spell. The mana and devil essence in the air surged wards the Primordial Devil of Madness like a whirlpool,


    "Sacred Purgatory of Haunting Souls..."


    A purple light seeped into the world with Og-sth as the origin. The world took on a darker hue.


    Suddenly, Cain began to hear loud wails. The cries of so many beings all at once made his head spin. These cries were filled with pain, suffering, fear, malice, and evil.


    Cain''s face paled...


    The handprints that were on all the trees in the forest suddenly shone with purple light and became alive. Thousands upon thousands of pale white hands with sharp ck ws were released from the trees at once. Apanied by the wails, they rushed towards Cain.


    Cain''s first reaction was disgust. He could sense that there was something perversely wrong with these hands. Something told him that he should avoid them at all costs. It was simr to the feeling theke of blood had given him the first time. Only, it was amplified by several times on this asion.


    The hands lunged at him from all directions, fully intending to rip him apart, limb from limb.


    "Don''t worry. You won''t die. I''ll be here to heal you up once you are at Lyx''s door." Og-sth said with a gleeful grin.


    "Once you tell me where the heart is and bring it back to me, then I will consider releasing you. If not, then you will scream for eternity."


    Cain clicked his tongue before dismissing his [Ki Fire} he immediately summoned the {Hand of Stingè}, greeting the first hand with a downward stroke.


    The edge of the de cleaved straight through the flesh and bone. However, a grim look shed in his eyes. The arm that he had just severed simply regrew almost immediately.


    ''High-speed regeneration?'' Cain thought to himself. Shifting backwards, his sword shed numerous times as hundreds of hands fell to the ground, staining the forest floor with a thick, viscous purple liquid.


    Cain turned around on his heel and began running through the trees. The hands attacked him from all sides. Some went after his legs, some his hands. One even tried to touch his buttocks. However, the speed of his de was simply unbelievable.


    Cain turned into a murder9us cyclone of des as he manifested several des of metal around his body. Chopping through the hands like rotting twigs, he carved a path forward.


    His eyes shed as he suddenly blinked out of existence and appeared behind Og-sth, who had been standing where in the same spot.


    The de in his hand shed forward like a streak of lightning. Arcs of chaotic electricity sparkled on the de as Cain activated the passive attribute of {Lightning Thief}.


    Og-sth''s hand moved like a viper, catching the de in between his fingers. Cain''s eyes widened as his body was dragged forward. A first came crashing down on his face the next moment.


    His body was tossed like a rag doll, smashing through several trees. Blood streamed down this nose, but the damage was fixed rtively quickly.


    The many hands still chased after him even though he was now airborne.


    "me Orbs!"


    Cain decided to use an alternative approach. Suddenly, he conjured a ball of mes. That ball of mes condensed rapidly until it turned into a small orb of concentrated fire that spun at an aggressively high speed.


    Cainunched it at one of the hands. The {me Orb} cut through the air and pierced through the hand. The mes from the skill continued to spread until they consumed the hand entirely.


    Cain''s eyes widened at this realization...


    ''So they are weak to mes.''  A dangerous look appeared in Cain''s eyes as he poured his mana out.


    His hands stretched out, multiple magic circles appeared behind him.


    "Imploding Star!"


    Tens of fluctuating me orbs were released from the magic circles into the disgusting swarm of pale white arms.


    They dug at the earth and shattered some trees and stones. However, Cain''s magical mes still burned through them all...