The Devil's Cage

The darkness felt like still water.

When Kieran entered through the middle entrance, he felt like he walked through a curtain of water that fell on his shoulder.

After walking forward for around ten steps, the light that appeared before his eyes freed his lack of vision.

With the light shedding some clues before his eyes, Kieran saw a straight path before him.

The place was made of ground stones. The ground and the wall had crude textures.

Torches as thick as a man's arms were placed on the iron holder on the wall. They were ten meters apart from each other and they lighted the path.

The fires on the torches were burning with oil, giving out small sparks from time to time with a distinguished noise.

However, the most concerning point was a forked path 50 meters from the entrance. Kieran quickly moved towards the forked path and after some minor examination, he squinted his eyes.

"As expected! Just like I speculated, the three entrances are connected to the inner part! This is the reason why Smulder denied Schmidt's option of giving up, because…"

Wuuuu!

Just as Kieran verified his speculation, the path that he was in lighted up brightly.

It was the same light again!

Compared to the light from Smulder which was a milder type, it was much harsher this time.

If the milder version of the light were like needle stings that felt scalding, the harsher version would be like blades and knife slicing him apart or a burning charcoal placed on his body.

Kieran cried in agonizing pain. He wobbled, about to fall.

Wuuuu!

The harsh light got even stronger after a while. Wobbling Kieran plummeted to the ground immediately but it was not the end yet.

After torturing Kieran for around twenty seconds, the light's power had reached a certain limit and it returned to its original state like when Kieran entered...

"Aaaarrgh!"

His agonizing scream turned his face pale. He leaned on the wall with a weakened breath.

Kieran extended his shaking hand and mustered all of his might to reach for the [Elementary Healing Potion] in his [Safety Potion Pack] but before he could pull the cork open, a hand came out from nowhere and stole the potion.

It was Black Hound! He appeared out of nowhere and stood before Kieran.

With a mask and hood over his face, it kept Kieran from seeing his true identity but the laugh from him was delightful.

"2567! The infamous Bird of Death and the Fiery Devil! What have you become now? A dying dog?"

Black Hound was tossing the potion between his hands and teasing Kieran.

Kieran was exhausted and panting heavily. He wanted to say something but he couldn't find any words for the occasion. All he did was open his eyes wide at Black Hound.

"What a scary pair of eyes!" Black Hound laughed again with a mocking tone.

Then, Black Hound launched a sucker kick, hitting Kieran on his shoulder!

Bang!

Kieran couldn't withstand such a kick in his current state and was sent flying 4 to 5 meters away.

"Hahahahaha!"

The light, mocking laugh turned into a outrageous one.

Black Hound skipped several steps forward and he looked down at Kieran.

"You know what? I've been waiting for this moment since the moment I saw you! I've been wondering when that arrogant, foolish, boorish bull that had a grudge against Nikorei would make his move on you. I didn't even know what means he used! Thankfully, the results weren't disappointing at all!"

"The devil being shined on with the Sanctuary Force… Hehehe, I have to give it to Smulder for his creativity! That boorish meatbag! Feeling angry? I bet you are but what can you do now? You think that you can run rampant here in his special path like you did elsewhere? Stop dreaming, my dear Bird of Death, sir Fiery Devil! You can't do sh*t here!"

The path was lighted up once again as if it reacted to Black Hound's words.

Similar to the previous light, it grew stronger from a dimmer state and when it reached its maximum point, it went off for a short while; Kieran was tortured badly regardless of what level the light was.

"Hahahaha! See that? Did you see that? That boorish Smulder is a person that will uphold his revenge. He wouldn't just let you die like this though! You know, in order to give you a proper treatment, he didn't just grind his mind to create this path. He even gave all of his thoughts in luring you into this trap! I can assure you that after he hears your agonizing scream enough, he will let you die, suffering from all of these!"

"But don't worry! We will avenge you! After all, your appearance gave us this opportunity right?" So to repay us, try to scream as loud and as agonizing as you can please? Your scream can definitely attract that boorish bastard!"

Then, Black Hound pressed his feet onto Kieran's face.

PAK!

Just as Black Hound's feet landed on Kieran's face, a powerful hand grabbed Black Hound by the ankle. The black wristband on the hand revealed a spider icon under the fire's light. It was giving out an unusual shine, granting the weakened Kieran a rapid recovery of his strength.

[Soul Devour II]!

Grak Tsk! Grak Tsk Tsk!

The powerful grip caused Black Hound's ankle to crack upon contact...

"You!...You!"

The pain broke a cold sweat on Black Hound's forehead. But compared to the pain, Black Hound was more shocked by the fact that a weakened Kieran could have such strength to retaliate.

"You want an agonizing scream? How about your own?"

Kieran grabbed Black Hound's ankle harder and lifted him up by the leg. His words escaped through his clenched teeth.

He then swung his hand that was grabbing Black Hound's ankle hard.

Wuung! BANG!

The struggling Black Hound was smashed to the ground by Kieran without any mercy. The sounds of cracking bones were like jumping beans, popping in multiple directions.

Blood gushed out from Black Hound's mouth. Still, he mustered his remaining strength to utter his mind.

"Spare...Spare me!" He sputtered.

Kieran stood up while remained silent. He swung his hand the other way, grabbing Black Hound's ankle with it.

BANG!

The left side of the wall!

BANG!

The right side of the wall!

BANG!

Finally the ground!

BANG BANG BANG!

Kieran repeatedly swung Black Hound in that order continuously, smashing him in all directions. At first Black Hound was able to mutter some words incohesively, trying to ask for mercy. In the end, he was nothing more than a lifeless pile of crushed bones and bloody meat.

The black colored outfit was dyed red by his blood and had layers of minced meat and shards of bone all over.

After a dozen times of smashing Black Hound in all directions, other than the leg Kieran was holding in his hand, Black Hound was left with nothing else but a pile of a gruesome mix of flesh and bones.

An orange ring floated up from the pile of unrecognizable meat.

[Name: Phantom Illusion Ring]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attack/Defense: None]

[Attribute: Shadow Escape, 1/3]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Remark: Even from the hands of ancient alchemy, this product was produced from an extreme accident!]

...

[Shadow Escape: While facing an inevitable attack, the ring will allow its wearer to escape by replacing the wearer with a phantom illusion in his place. The wearer's real body will appear in any spot desired, 10 meters from the original spot]

...

Kieran took the [Phantom Illusion Ring]. Although there was only 1 more usage left in the ring, it didn't stop him from putting it on his left ring finger.

Right after that, a series of footsteps sounded behind Kieran and the so-called Sanctuary Force lighted up once again.