The Devil's Cage

Through Kieran's Intuition, Rachel's presence before his sight was slightly strange.

The strong and fierce aura was still about, but her inside struck Kieran with a weak feeling.

Looking strong on the outside but actually exhausted within—that was what Kieran sensed from Rachel at the moment.

"Let's talk inside," Rachel whispered to Kieran after a glance at Lawless, who was mopping the floor further away. Kieran nodded.

Due to Lawless' personality flaw, there were a lot of things that he couldn't know.

After going through the not-too-long corridor, Rachel and Kieran entered the small living room, with Rachel in front, who strode quickly to a sofa after she entered and sat down.

Huu, huu!

Rachel was panting as if she had exhausted her strength, her aura growing weaker by the second.

Kieran wasn't in a hurry to ask what had happened though. He sat in front of her quietly, waiting for Rachel to regain her breath before he asked, "What happened?"

"I tried to limit break," Rachel said.

"Limit break? V?" Kieran froze slightly before reacting to her words.

"Yes. Everything's still fine, but some accidents couldn't be avoided. So, I guess I'll have to stay like this for a week or two," Rachel nodded.

"Is this the after-effect after limit breaking to rank V?" Kieran frowned.

He, too, had limit broken to V- rank, but he hadn't suffered any after-effects. Rather, he felt clearer and brighter, his mind fresher than ever.

But after the words had left his mouth, Kieran thought of something.

"Attributes! Different attributes!" Kieran unconsciously looked at Rachel.

He had been wondering what Rachel's strongest attribute was, and each time he got close to an answer, his speculations would be toppled over in the next moment.

Now, judging from how weak Rachel was, Kieran instinctively thought of something: Constitution.

"Is it Constitution?" Kieran asked, in hopes of finding out.

"Yes, Constitution." Rachel was slightly shocked, her gaze on Kieran. She nodded, and the shock in her eyes grew greater.

"Spirit?" Rachel asked, serious in a way she'd never been before.

"Spirit," Kieran replied. He didn't think denying the answer could fool the person before his eyes.

He'd never look down on anyone, especially someone who was weak yet impenetrable, even through his sharp sight.

Given their relationship, they were destined to be close collaborators, and a certain level of honesty was quite useful to work things out between collaborators, especially in moments like this.

After getting Kieran's firm answer, Rachel heaved a breath of relief.

"I thought I'd have to activate my secret card; never thought I'd run into a pleasant surprise. I'll have to hand the inn to Lawless for the time being," Rachel said.

"Guardians?" Kieran didn't ask what her secret card was. Instead, he asked about the potential enemy.

"One of them. Some people are much more annoying than the Guardians," Rachel said, sounding angry and upset.

Kieran understood her meaning right away.

The protagonist of the big city was always a player who lived in it, but not every single player could get along happily. Conflicts, hostility and battles were inevitable, especially since some players were born aggressive. Not many words were needed; only a single phrase uttered, like "What are you looking at?", and conflict would break out.

Kieran had been holding back a lot, so he still hadn't run into such aggressive players, but should he run into said players, he would not hold back either, just like Rachel.

Kieran could very well imagine what the other guy had been through with Rachel.

Arrogant fools would have turned into light particles in front of her, and some more powerful players would become mortal enemies.

Kieran believed that if it were someone Rachel could easily have erased, she wouldn't have kept them alive until now.

And if they were still alive?

They would be extremely powerful or have something up their sleeves.

"What should I do then?" Kieran asked.

"Wait for that guy to come out. Don't worry, it won't take too much of your time, and given who those people are, they won't come out all at once. One or two at a time is their limit, and as long as you display your current power, they will retreat to some corner of the city with their tails up their asses, living the rest of their lives in fear," said Rachel.

Her words were looking down on her enemies, but not her actions.

She then told Kieran the enemies' names, abilities, equipment, personalities and all sorts of other details.

Among the potential enemies, the name Barkel caught Kieran's attention.

It wasn't just because Rachel emphasized Barkel on multiple occasions, but because Barkel was one of the 10 Supernovas, second only to the Witch; he was also a Chosen One.

"That bastard is a robber through the bones. He will take anything that he sees, and if he can't get his hands on it, he will destroy it. Back then, he almost caused Witch's War Two but fortunately…"

A slight grin appeared on Rachel's face.

"Fortunately?" Kieran asked out of curiosity.

"Fortunately, he had his eyes on Harvest Inn, so I gave him the beating of a lifetime. He was defeated, wounded badly, and hid somewhere in the city. He was licking his wounds like a dog, readying himself to retaliate against me. So when he gets the news about me, he will come," Rachel said in a firm tone.

"You purposely leaked your condition?" Kieran looked at Rachel with a slightly shocked expression.

He was getting more and more curious about Rachel's secret ace card after what she said.

If she dared to leak her condition to her enemies, she must have absolute confidence in her secret ace card. Otherwise, it would be a suicidal move, and Rachel didn't look like an idiot.

"Leak my condition? You think too highly of them. If none of them saw it with their own eyes, no matter how real the information I leaked, they would not fall for it. It's the… Party Dungeon."

Rachel revealed the answer and sighed slightly.

"It's a pity that not all of them were attracted to the dungeon; otherwise, I would have swept them clean and not be worrying right now about how to set up the plan."

Kieran was sensible enough to not ask what happened in that Party Dungeon. Once again, he raised the danger level of Rachel in his heart, while quietly mourning for those who stepped on her tail.

They must have been through hell.

Of course, after all the concerns and questioning, Kieran hadn't forgotten one thing.

"Payment," said Kieran.

...

"Huh? That woman really thought herself as the Witch? One Witch is enough in the game. Another one? Hehehe."

Following malicious, cold laugh, a man appeared on the street connected to Harvest Inn.

He was wearing a long white robe and staring at his target with an evil gaze.

The man was ready to execute his plan, but before he could get his hands on the important hostage to force the woman out of the inn, the door was opened from the inside.

A black figure walked out slowly.