The Devil's Cage

Galeart, who was supposed to be heavily wounded and couldn't even get up on his feet, dashed out to that big tree like the wind.

Kieran was faster, or should it be said, he was prepared for this.

He grabbed Mary with one hand and the box with [Arrogant Word] with the other and arrived at that big tree a step ahead of Galeart.

As soon as he reached the big tree, he swung the box in his hand.

Bang!

The sturdy and heavy box smashed hard on Galeart's raised arm. The impact stopped his maddened dash and made him stagger behind. Kieran didn't even spare a window for Galeart to breath. He pulled out the dark red greatsword and slashed it down onto Galeart's skull.

Wuuuu!

The raging, air-breaking howl blasted Galeaet's white hair and beard. He started to wobble under the pressure of the strong wind. Although, a fraction of a second before [Arrogant Word]'s sharp edge slashed his skull, he dodged it with a sudden flash of movement and retreated at least 10 meters away.

Mary, who was behind Kieran's back, had already squinted her eyes to the scene.

Even though she was a child in the public eyes, her mother's education and her early matured thinking allowed her to hone her intelligence far above her peers to an unimaginable level.

The scene before Mary made it clear to her what happened.

"Galeart! It's you who killed mother!?" Mary yelled.

Galeart kept quiet, not because of guilt or missing words, but because he couldn't speak.

He was dragged back after that flash dodge by an unaware spider web that was latched on his left arm that was covered with bandages.

Kieran, who was controlling the other side of the spider web, pulled hard out of a sudden.

Galeart's body was suddenly sent flying towards him even though the body seemed so buffed.

At the end of the line where Galeart was flying towards was the sharp edge of [Arrogant Word] waiting for its victim.

Chang!

A cold light flashed in mid air, following which, a thin, narrow sword appeared from his waist to his hand, slicing towards the spider web.

Ding!

The spider web, which should be soft and easy to cut loose, had a defensive power that far exceeded Galeart's imagination. He thought the spider web would be easily cut off, but instead, he failed to. It even produced a metallic screech when his blade collided with it.

There were no chances for Galeart to escape from the spider web as the dark red blade edge appeared in front of him again.

Though the slash missed its target.

Galeart's body suddenly twisted like a snake and swirled away from the blade edge, arriving before Kieran. He was shooting off killer intents from his eyes at Kieran who was meters away from him. Galeart was eager to tear Kieran to pieces since he was the one who ruined his plans, and so he did.

The thin narrow sword was even more nimble than a whip. It was twisted in mid air and the sharp tip of the blade split from one to ten, stinging towards Kieran's eyes, throat, heart and abdomen.

When Kieran saw the complicated attack, he didn't make the effort to dodge it and allowed the attack to land on his body.

After a cry from Mary from behind, only she noticed that the blades didn't even touch Kieran's body, but were stopped by a formless force-field barrier.

[Primus Scale]!

The powerful, defense force-field protected Kieran from the complicated sting.

"Because of the swift attacks, he split the power from his sting?"

"What about the force-field barrier?"

Mary tried her best to analyze the situation, but all she got was another cry from herself.

Her cry couldn't even cover the vicious laugh from Galeart.

His ten blades combined into one and lunged forward like a comet, aiming for Kieran's throat.

It was fast! Faster than the reaction from a common man. And that sting was not only fast but had quite the power with it as well.

Mary's sharp senses made her feel certain that Kieran's force-field barrier wouldn't be able to withstand such a sting.

"Be careful…"

Chang!

A loud chime similar to a giant bell ring overpowered the girl's reminder.

No one could tell when, but the dark red greatsword had arrived before Kieran, becoming a sturdy shield, blocking away the deadly sting.

[Greatsword Blocking]!

Not only did Kieran block the sting, the thin narrow sword was also sent flying off Galeart's hand by the shock of the impact.

[Sharp Weapon, Heavy Arms] Transcendence effect [Shock]!

Galeart seemed to have anticipated it beforehand. After he was disarmed by the shock, he neglected his right arm that was numbed by the shock on impact of both weapons and quickly retreated backwards.

Even though he clearly saw that the spider web effect from [Mardos Arm, Spider Webbing] was still sticking to his left arm, he didn't change his actions.

Then, just as Galeart predicted, Kieran pulled the web hard again, dragging him back with a force that he couldn't resist, though he was not panicked at all.

"DIE!" Galeart shouted.

Galeart then used the force of pulling from Kieran and threw himself into the air, launching a barrage of kicks at Kieran.

Ssss, Ssss, Ssss!

His legs turned into a two-headed venomous snake. Not only did they produced a wicked hiss, the kicks were also mixed with speed and strength that Galeart didn't show before.

Galeart's signature move was his kicks!

The [Sword Skill, Fast Sting] from before was just a cover up during his usual times. It was just that the moves of his opponents couldn't make him activate his ace card.

Now? It would be the most appropriate timing for him to do so.

A vicious smile appeared on Galeart's face. He was eager to see Kieran being kicked to death by his proud kicking skills. Following that was the time for harvest.

Going undercover in Swusters Castle for 10 unsparing years, was this not his goal since the beginning?

Wealth, Power!

Everything was within his grasp!

Then, Galeart had a glimpse of Kieran's smile, a one-sided smile filled with mockery.

An unknown terrible feeling flooded Galeart's heart, but his confidence in his ace card suppressed the feeling down.

"You are still playing tricks at the verge of dying? You are as foul as Ellen, that resentful woman! I'll show you what an agonizing death feels like!" Galeart shouted.

It was an insult to Galeart after he was played by Ellen's tricks, tossing him around like a ball.

When he saw Kieran's smile, he unconsciously recalled Ellen's dying smile, the smile that was exactly the same at this particular moment.

This made the rage inside Galeart's heart rush up to his mind. He shouted to cover his insult; at the same time, the rage made his attacks stronger and sharper. He wanted Kieran to die an agonizing death. He wished to break every bone in Kieran's body with his kicks and let Kieran wail to death.

However, before Galeart turned his thoughts into action, he was covered by blooming afterimages of kicks that could cover the sky, like the melting snow under the scorching sun.

When Galeart's kicks came to impact with the stronger, faster, more ferocious kicks, they were instantly defeated and dispersed.

Crack, Crack!

Under the cracking bones, the sky-covering afterimages of kicks turned into a tidal wave, drowning Galeart within.

Transcendence [Hand-to-hand Combat, Kick Combats]!

Master [Barsical Kick, Bide]!

Pro [Hundred Violent Kicks]!

The combination of three skills allowed Kieran to deliver an agonizing death to Galeart in a definitive way.

Pak!

After around 15 seconds, a pile of deformed meat paste fell on the ground.

The meat paste splattered upon impact on the ground, splashing blood all around.

An orange glow appeared on top of the meat paste.