Ash

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Ash (艾什)
Alias(es)	Black Skull; “Savior” of Arthur’s era 742 773
Species/Race	Human; Black Bone–empowered Marrow Eater and demonic vessel 733 776
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Wu Heng’s allies; the Darkness Clan / Blood Marrow Eaters 782 885
Occupation/Role	Evil-spirit hunter; wielder of Black Bone and Eligos-derived powers
Status	Alive; restored to a complete human body and memories by Wu Heng 885
First Appearance	Chapter 742

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Black Bone bearer	742	His black skeletal left hand causes Arthur’s soldiers to mistake him for an evil spirit; he nevertheless survives the sacrificial well and kills its spirits. 742
Black Skull form	773	Confronts traumatic memories and evil spirits within a dream, transforming into his Black Skull state and overcoming the horde. 773
Partial Black Bone control	775–776	Stabilizes the Black Bone within his body; restored skin first appears on his hands, while the rest of his body remains blackened until he gains fuller control. 775 776
Eligos-derived equipment and body	776, 794	Receives Demon Eligos as a backpack that grants halved agility and invisibility; later accepts a replacement body made from Eligos and a meteor hammer forged from the demon’s head. 776 794
Black Bone–demonic synergy	809	Combines Black Bone, Eligos’s telekinesis, and his emotions into a defensive field that shields surviving Marrow Eaters from a Great Evil Spirit’s attack. 809
Origin-level possession	861–862	While possessed by Erkes the Grudge-Binder, becomes an Origin-level threat capable of binding and devouring Great Evil Spirits and humans. 861 862
Restored human form	885	Wu Heng extracts him from the Grudge-Binder’s twisted masks, reconstructing his complete body through the Gestation trait. 885

Background

Ash is the human vessel most compatible with the power of a hell and with opening a passage to the Evil Spirit World. This compatibility also makes him a beacon for evil spirits, placing those around him in danger. 733

In King Arthur’s era, soldiers captured Ash because of his Black Bone hand and publicly displayed him as a supposed evil spirit. He was thrown into an ancient well with other prisoners as a sacrifice, but killed the spirits within, climbed out, struck Arthur, and claimed command of the town. 742

Ash later learned that his Black Bone hand had been prematurely refined from a Mire Graveyard seed. He and Wu Heng split up to seek the Book of Evil Spirits and the Mire Graveyard, while a general provided Ash with a massively reforged chainsaw. 747

After returning to the modern era, Ash spent years searching for ingredients for a time-travel formula. He eventually lost the ability to remember Linda’s and Cheryl’s faces clearly, gave up his search, and drifted into a carefree life of bar work and womanizing. 760

Appearance

Ash normally presents himself as a roguish middle-aged man with a constant, sleazy grin. He conceals his unnatural left hand beneath a black glove and a hand-shaped silicone covering. 760

• His left hand is a black skeletal Black Bone limb. 742
• Black Bone power can turn his skin completely black when his control slips; restoring his natural appearance requires mastery over the Bone. 775 776
• In his Black Skull dream form, he has black ribs hard enough to shatter Eligos’s claws. 774
• He is closely associated with a chainsaw, including a reforged oversized version made for fighting evil spirits. 747

Personality

Ash is loud, boastful, flirtatious, and habitually inappropriate. He makes adult jokes to maids in Arthur’s court, flirts with Kelly at work, and readily attributes supernatural attention to his own “charm.” 745 760 788

Beneath the bravado, he is resilient and protective. He refuses to kill Linda and Cheryl when they are possessed, accepts painful power growth to fight evil spirits, and seeks to change history rather than accept the destruction tied to his past. 751 778 839

He can be selfish and eager to escape danger, but repeatedly chooses responsibility when others are endangered. When the world faces destruction, he humbles himself and begs Wu Heng for help despite hating to rely on others. 745 794

Abilities & Skills

Black Bone Physiology

Ash’s Black Bone is the foundation of his physical power and Marrow Eater potential.

• Crushes an iron plate with his bare hand. 747
• Easily destroys mirror-born miniature versions of himself with his Bone hand and chainsaw. 750
• Lets him fight possessed humans and evil spirits directly without mercy. 760
• Full control is expected to restore his normal skin color and make him the strongest Marrow Eater. 776

Demonic Power of Eligos

Through Demon Eligos, Ash gains mental, stealth, and defensive abilities beyond his physical strength.

• Reads thoughts and senses emotions, allowing him to judge Ruby’s sincerity. 782 809
• Uses telekinesis to stop a bullet and kill an attacking squad captain. 840
• Gains invisibility and increased agility through the Demon Backpack, though both effects are halved. 776 841
• Can combine Eligos’s telekinesis with Black Bone power to create a defensive field. 809
• Fully unleashing Eligos’s power risks letting the demon take Ash’s body and reduce him to the backpack instead. 788

Dream Manipulation

Ash can influence dreams and reconstruct memories within them.

• Recreates his first meeting with Wu Heng in a dream to search for him. 793
• Is forbidden by Eligos’s curse from recreating Middle Ages-related people or events in his dreams. 793
• Uses dream-born thought perception after awakening Eligos’s mental power, though Wu Heng’s mind remains unreadable to him. 778

Origin-Level Evil Spirit Form

When possessed by Erkes the Grudge-Binder, Ash becomes an uncontrollable Origin-level predator.

• Shatters a sinister battlefield domain merely by arriving. 861
• Binds and devours Great Evil Spirits, including Sefros and Rhinogron. 862
• Gains memories from the entities he consumes, including knowledge of the Flesh-Weaving Machine. 862
• Can briefly regain awareness and order Marrow Eaters to flee, but repeatedly loses control to the evil-spirit form. 862

Combat Experience

Ash has fought evil spirits for decades and is exceptionally dangerous in close combat.

• Uses chainsaws, greatswords, improvised weapons, and even possessed enemies as bludgeons. 744 747 810
• Fought evil spirits for more than thirty years before the later resurgence. 760 806
• Uses his own body parts as bait to delay Baal and give allies time to act. 788

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Reforged chainsaw — An oversized chainsaw made by Arthur’s bald general; powerful enough to drag victims in and grind them apart. 747
• Demon Backpack — Eligos reshaped into a backpack with a spine-like harness; protects Ash’s back and grants limited agility and invisibility. 776
• Meteor hammer — Weapon created from Eligos’s head after Ash receives his demon-made body. 794
• Book of Evil Spirits — A sought-after book tied to travel between eras and later used in attempts to oppose Baal. 745 788
• Demon-exorcising wooden plaque — A relic once given to Ash by Wu Heng; sought alongside the Book of Evil Spirits. 764

Relationships

• Wu Heng / Gerard — Ally, mentor, and recurring rescuer. Wu Heng assists Ash’s Black Bone control, modifies Eligos into equipment, and later restores Ash’s human body. 775 776 885
• Linda — Ash’s girlfriend. Her death and possession are central to his trauma; he later tries to return to the past to save her. 751 841 844
• Cheryl — Ash’s sister. He refuses to seriously harm her when she is possessed. 751
• King Arthur — Initially Ash’s captor; Ash defeats and humiliates him after escaping the sacrificial well. 742
• Kelly — Coworker and later companion. Ash flirts with her immediately, but she is unimpressed by his stories. 760
• Pablo — Coworker and ally who later betrays the group after being manipulated by evil spirits. 760 799
• Hank Stuart — Wizard and ally. Hank works with Ash against the evil-spirit passage and later recognizes him after his restoration. 782 885
• Ruby — Initially distrusted by Ash; they form an alliance to close the evil-spirit passage and prevent Baal’s emergence. 781 782
• Demon Eligos — Enemy, parasite, and eventual source of Ash’s demonic gear and replacement body. 775 776 794
• Erkes the Grudge-Binder — Possesses Ash and turns him into an Origin-level devourer before Wu Heng extracts him. 862 885

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arthur’s Era

• Captured as an apparent evil spirit because of his Black Bone hand. 742
• Survives the sacrificial well, kills its evil spirits, defeats Arthur, and becomes the town’s new authority. 742
• Searches for the Book of Evil Spirits while Wu Heng seeks the Mire Graveyard. 747
• Reunites with Linda and Cheryl, only to find them possessed; he cannot bring himself to kill them. 751

Black Skull and Eligos

• Faces his trauma in a dream and awakens the Black Skull form. 773
• Meets the real Wu Heng within the dream and begins learning to control the Black Bone. 775 776
• Accepts Eligos as a Demon Backpack and later fuses with its power. 776 793
• Allies with Ruby and Hank to oppose Baal and close the evil-spirit passage. 782 788

Attempt to Change History

• Leaves Marrow Eater territory intending to alter history and prevent the Darkness Clan’s existence. 839
• Returns to Saginaw, Michigan, before the disaster and tries to protect Linda from the forest’s evil. 840 841 842
• Recognizes that an idyllic reunion with Linda, Cheryl, and friends is an evil-spirit illusion, then destroys it despite the emotional cost. 843 844

Possession and Restoration

• Descends onto the battlefield as a terrifying new force and captures Sefros. 861
• While controlled by Erkes, devours Great Evil Spirits and Marrow Eaters, driving both factions into panic. 862
• Is rescued by Wu Heng, who reconstructs his body and returns his memories. 885
• Chooses Jacksonville and the surrounding southeastern United States as his territory after the conflict. 894

Notable Quotes

“From now on, I’m in charge here. Anyone who objects, step forward!” 742

“When I was fighting evil spirits, you were still drinking milk in diapers.” 806

“I’m a sinner. I brought back a terrifying thing. This is all my fault.” 885

Trivia

• Ash’s Black Bone hand causes medieval soldiers to mistake him for an evil spirit rather than a human. 742
• He calls Wu Heng “Gerard,” the name by which he first knew him. 742 775
• Ash is sensitive about the blackened skin caused by incomplete Black Bone control. 776 781
• Despite his habitual boasts, many of Ash’s claims about fighting evil spirits are true. 747