The Devil's Cage

Carl stared at the twig antlers blankly.

He was completely stupefied.

He couldn't imagine why a stranger, who he had never met before, was willing to stand up and protect him, especially in his current state.

"W-Why?" Carl asked, looking up at the warm smile.

Even though he couldn't really speak with words, his 'voice' trembled.

"Because this isn't the pain you should bear," said Bloody Mary, then turned around and performed a roundhouse slash with its hand.

Fung!

Its hand was like the sharpest blade drawn out of its sheath, vibrating in the air and slicing the weird antlers off the skeletal deer cleanly.

The strange deer tried dogging but it was not as quick as Bloody Mary.

The deer watched Bloody Mary pull its antlers out from its chest and simply throw it on the ground like it was trash. The strange deer went silent for a while before it spoke again with a heavier tone.

"Kin of the Mist, are you trying to stop me?"

Bloody Mary wasn't surprised that the deer revealed its fake identity.

The power that it felt from the twig antlers was similar to the head, originating from the same roots and if both of them were unrelated, Bloody Mary would be the first to doubt it.

As for the speed of knowing its identity?

Technology wise, there's smartphone and other kinds of messaging methods.

Mythical wise, it was much more convenient and probably could provide better details, for example: the power of contract!

The strange deer reeked the presence of a contract.

It seemed like this group of whatever-it-is truly formed an alliance to go up against the God Of War and Lady Calamity.

All the speculations and guesses flashed over Bloody Mary's mind, its face still showing the compassionate look.

"It's not stopping, it's salvation. He shouldn't end like this. In my lord's eyes, this should not have happened."

Bloody Mary was being very vague with its ambiguous words.

Since it didn't know how to answer and could not remain silent, it went with bluffing and brushing the deer off with weird and profound words.

It was what the boss always did and it agreed to the method a lot because it would misguide the opposite to think that it was trying to cover up a crucial point.

'The Mist is onto this prey's potential!'

The speculation appeared in the deer's mind.

Without a doubt the prey in front had amazing potential. He was much stronger than any other prey that it met in the past, and if it could polish him carefully, he would certainly be its exclusive warrior.

A qualified warrior was something of luck, not demand.

The strange deer didn't want to give up, yet it dreaded the Mist, who had been laying low.

"He trespassed into my territory, he should be punished," said the deer heavily.

"He has suffered enough, I… will take his place."

Bloody Mary sighed before it walked towards the strange deer.

The deer got shocked before it stepped back vigilantly. When it realized Bloody Mary didn't do anything out of the blue, except for stand in front blankly, the deer doubted.

"What do you want?" asked the deer.

"Endure your wrath in his place, until you deem sufficient," said Bloody Mary.

The zombified face of the deer showed disbelief.

"Are you sure about that?" It emphasized again.

"I am certain," Bloody Mary nodded.

After the nod, killer intents rose from the strange deer, a bare killer intent!

The others around Sicar were highly alert about the sudden rise of the Mist, even though they, in name, were going up against the God of War and Lady Calamity.

To them, the shocking point about the Mist was how hidden it had been all the time.

Thinking about it, if they would go to war against War God Temple and Lady Calamity and the Mist suddenly jumped in out of nowhere, what would the situation become?

A single thought sent chills down the deer's spine.

Fortunately, although they did not notice the Mist, War God Temple and Lady Calamity did.

Of course, those two bastards had zero good intentions, they were trying to disrupt their alliance from the start.

The same thing happened in the Mist's hideout.

As for this 'Kin' of the Mist having a death wish, it must also be the disruption plan from the two.

Withering Branch wanted to devour the believers of the Mist, it wouldn't mind converting the 'Kin' of the Mist into its own warrior either.

Pak!

Without any sign, the strange deer lowered its head and lunged towards Bloody Mary. The twig antlers stabbed into its body again.

The deer shook its head and the antlers moved like blades, slicing Bloody Mary into many pieces.

Pain! It was very painful!

Bloody Mary cursed the damn deer in its heart but its face maintained a smile.

Even if it was cut into smithereens, or its head were smashed into pieces, its mouth would maintain the upward curl.

'Even if the others couldn't differentiate anymore, I have to maintain the quality of a professional actor!'

A full minute!

Bloody Mary stood there, allowing the strange deer to attack its body endlessly.

Its body was sliced over a dozen times, its head crushed more than that, yet it was able to recover every single time. The smile remained after its head reformed and it continued to look at the strange deer.

From the overflowing killer intents from the start, the deer felt a little horrified after killing Bloody Mary many times.

It was born after the Black Cataclysm, those like itself were more or less the same age and they knew each other very well, even to the roots.

Therefore, the strange deer thought the Mist, which should come after the Black Cataclysm, was like itself, the Mist would have certain 'undying' traits but it should have a limit.

Being able to revive once or twice was the maximum, but this 'Kin' of the Mist had already revived himself more than a hundred times.

The harsh reality told the strange deer that the Mist was unlike itself.

Maybe...

The Mist wasn't born in Sicar or the neighbouring places at all!

Only then did it make sense!

Then, what was the Mist's goal to be here?

A thought came afloat in the deer's mind, it didn't want to waste time here anymore.

It was just a warrior, nothing compared to the Mist.

Again, Bloody Mary's body was cut into pieces and then reformed.

The strange deer stepped back as it watched Bloody Mary reappear.

"Enough?" Bloody Mary asked softly.

"Hmph!"

Anxious, the stranger deer coldly grunted before it swiftly vanished into the pinewood forest.

Bloody Mary saw the deer off before it turned around to Carl, who was cautious yet grateful.

Carl was grateful for his life, but at the same time, he was cautious against the God of Mist.

Bloody Mary once showed heavy disdain against the old God of Mist. Aside from the merciless methods, it had no skills and was overly fond of blood sacrifice.

Anyone with a sane mind would never accept that and be cautious against such existence, especially a noble like Carl, with a decent educational background.

In fact, Bloody Mary was very certain if it didn't just save his life, Carl would have stabbed it.

Since Bloody Mary had decided to make a move, it ought to reap the fruit in the end.

Cautious? Prevention?

What are those?

If you cannot remove it, you can only blame yourself for not being able to act properly.

With good acting, everything will come into place naturally.

Bloody Mary lightly shook its body and showed Carl the warm smile again.

"It's fine, my brother, I…"

Before it could finish, Bloody Mary fell on the ground.

It was hurried and sudden, there were no signs before the fall and Carl wasn't prepared for this.

In Carl's perspective, that strange deer earlier was already a formidable foe and Bloody Mary naturally categorized as 'untouchable'.

Carl witnessed Bloody Mary's undying traits first hand, but right now, the 'untouchable' Superior Demon fell down before his eyes. Its face wasn't just pale, its presence was weak.

"How are you?"

Without a second thought, Carl helped Bloody Mary up.

Regardless of who Bloody Mary was, it helped him before. It was a fact, an undeniable fact.

"I'm fine, my brother. Compared to the pain my lord suffers, this is nothing."

Bloody Mary was extremely weak, and despite its condition, it kept its smile on while it looked at Carl.

The smile was very dazzling in Carl's eyes.

"Why did you save me? I will never believe in the God of Mist! I will never become your brother!"

Carl couldn't hold back his true thoughts.

Bloody Mary didn't reply verbally, shaking its head with a smile.

"Can you send me back to the west gate of Sicar?" it asked.

"Sure," Carl nodded right away.

Carrying Bloody Mary by the shoulder, Carl walked towards the west gate of Sicar, Phernesa smart enough to follow behind them. Carl knew his current state would not allow him to pass through the gate, even if he was once a noble of Sicar. Should he approach the gates of Sicar, he would be greeted with merciless attacks, yet he agreed to deliver Bloody Mary back there. He hoped to repay the debt.

After the debt was cleared, only then he would think about his goal and how he should overcome the situation.

With that thought in mind, Carl carried Bloody Mary all the way back to the west gate of Sicar carefully. To his surprise, before he even got near, a group of soldiers of Sicar ran out.

"Lord Emissary!"

The young leader of the group called out loudly, sounding worried, but that didn't stop him expressing his gratitude.

"Thank you sir for delivering our emissary back to us. I am forever grateful," the young man then bowed at Carl. In fact, not just the young man, the others behind him bowed together as well.

"If you require help or are troubled by something, please look for me here, I am Shegal," said the young man.

He then took Bloody Mary from Carl and the whole group swiftly vanished into the night, leaving Carl and his horse behind.

Carl knew Shegal, he was one of the rather well-known soldiers among the city guards.

He was strong, young, and had outstanding swordsmanship.

Though Carl never thought Shegal was one of God of MIst's believers, similar to how he did not expect the scene to unfold after he arrived at the west gate.

There weren't any attempts to try to rope him in, it wasn't even mentioned at all!

Neither was there fear towards him or Phernesa in their current skeletal form, everything happened naturally.

The reaction from Shegal was what he should show towards a lifesaver, the gratitude coming from the bottom of his heart and it wasn't some pretentious acting.

Carl could tell the difference, but because of that, Carl felt bad.

"I am the one who was saved!" Carl muttered softly.

Unfortunately, other than Phernesa, no one else heard what he said.

Phernesa might be smart but was unable to understand such a complicated emotion, widening its soul fire eyes at its master quietly.

A while later, Carl regained his senses.

He decided to leave this place.

With his current state, the wilderness would be the best option for him.

After checking the direction, Carl jumped on Phernesa and rode to the east of Sicar.

The east of Sicar had an area of forest where the patrols of War God Temple would patrol once a month.

The patrol finished their duty three days ago and that place would be a decent choice for a temporary hideout. At least he wouldn't have to worry about people finding him in the next month.

As for what came after that?

He still had time to figure that out once he settled his current condition.

...

"Nicely done," praised Keiran.

Through the power of the contract, Kieran saw everything and he had to give a big round of applause to Bloody Mary for its perfect reaction.

If he was in Bloody Mary's spot, he honestly couldn't do better than his follower in handling the situation.

Bloody Mary's undying ability was really useful at times.

Though because of that, Kieran thought Bloody Mary still had many raw potential waiting to be discovered.

A capable man, or demon, is always busy, right?

Kieran looked down at the [Lord of Mist] in his hand, the pure Power of Faith gushing out endlessly from the crystal and consumed by Gluttony, which was then converted into pure Origin Forces and operated in his body.

It might not be a lot at once but its source was endless.

Both Kieran and Gluttony were very satisfied with it, therefore Kieran was interested in the 'gathering' the head spoke of earlier.

"The gathering of the local pagans? And it's held in the mansion of the viscount of Sicar."

Kieran tapped the table with his fingers, his eyes showing a ridiculing gaze at the topic.

A viscount who was a believer of the God of War and even put the divine emblem above his own house emblem on the soldier's breastplate was affiliated with a group of pagans?

It was something no one would expect.

Or rather, the real viscount of Sicar was dead and the one in the mansion was nothing but a puppet.

Hmmm, it didn't make any sense.

The viscount was a devoted believer of the God of War, he'd go to the temple for prayers everywhere. If he was a fake, War God Temple must have known.

Branching off from there, if the viscount was affiliated with the pagans, War God Temple would also discover something.

Unless… War God Temple already knew everything!

What the viscount did was all part of the God of War's will!

If that was really the case, the viscount must have spent quite a lot of effort in winning the pagans' recognitions.

As for how the viscount did it, Kieran didn't care.

What he cared about was Borl arriving at Sicar. Is this particular point part of Broker's expectation?

Or was everything that unfolded part of Broker's plan?

There was also another crucial player in this game, Lady Calamity.

Kieran thought of her, frowning unconsciously.