The Devil's Cage

Kieran frowned slightly at Horlaika kowtowing in front of him.

The little tricks from Mystical Knowledge truly brought out the unexpected.

Of course, it was not that his Mystical Knowledge had leveled up. It was because Horlaika was too weak, his willpower next to nothing, bursting like a soap bubble under the sun.

His level of willpower was similar to that of a child's.

"Is it because of Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon's after effect?" Kieran dared not simply speculate.

Matters revolving around the soul were mysterious. Even Kieran, who was an expert in Spirit, dare not deem himself a pro in the field. It was something even his Mystical Knowledge couldn't reach.

Though he had many other means to counter the situation, such as the Superior Demon!

Demons were originally from the soul domain and they were exceptionally good at manipulating things there.

It was hard to master even with natural gifts or with learning.

It was fair to say that because of the Superior Demon, Kieran was able to claim to be a pro in the soul domain.

After all.... What was the difference between him and Bloody Mary?

None.

What Bloody Mary owned was his and what was his… would still be his.

Using Bloody Mary to inspect Horlaika was the best way around this situation.

Snap!

Kieran snapped his fingers.

…..

The mist giant in the sky had gone away, but the prayers to the Mist showed no signs of stopping.

Aside from the devoted Shegal and Forv, even Carl, in his dark armor, prayed in his heart.

Being born in a devoted family of Sicar, Carl did not resent a God. It was just that Carl's belief in the God of War was limited to a very shallow level, like something he would simply say.

The religious doctrine of the God of War was hard for Carl to truly accept. Family, friends, and comrades were more precious than war. Carl could go to war for the sake of his family, friends, and comrades but would never want to lose them in the war.

Unlike the God of War, the doctrine of the Mist matched his ideal more.

'One can be selfless and disregard consequences for the brothers and sisters.

As long as you are healthy and well, I can move forward with the burden.

Regardless of light or darkness, when the fire shines, I will press on forward.'

Although it was just a part of the doctrine, it was enough for Carl because he found his path.

Looking at his mother, who was at a loss for action, how could he afford to be lost himself?

He knew what kind of person his mother was.

Always staying indoors, never asking about the outside world, and knowing nothing about the dark side of humans.

Even though she liked to read, it was just her way to escape reality.

Of course his mother was a kind soul, but looking from a certain aspect, it was worse.

He could very well imagine what the people around her viewed his mother as: a prey!

A delicious, fat prey that could feed many!

His mother, who always stayed indoors but was not stupid, noticed it as well, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to work with the Mist.

But… it wasn't enough!

No matter whether it was his mother or the Mist, they were still too 'weak'!

Change required blood!

Acknowledgement from the people would only come with a blood bath, only then would people know fear.

'If you all can't do it, I will do it!

I will protect, with the blood and bones of my enemies!

I will protect, with my skeletal body!

I will protect my own mother, my one brother-in-arms, my future friend, I will protect… Sicar!'

The once captain of the scout rider, now a skeleton rider, walked towards the nobles who snitched on the Mist.

Dak, Dak, Dak.

The heavy footsteps woke up the terrified nobles. They saw War God Temple collapsed in front of them, looking at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do.

Then…

Chang!

Carl unsheathed his sword and the sharp edge slid over the noble's necks.

Spurt!

Bloody gushed up into the air as the head flew up, none of the snitching nobles escaping his skeletal wrath.

Or more accurately, they tried but they couldn't outrun or escape the skeletal Carl.

Resist?

Impossible!

After transforming into his skeleton form, Carl had transcended beyond what was normal, he wasn't something that normal people could resist.

It turned out to be a one-sided massacre.

As limbs were being cut off, the black armor was tainted with blood.

Carl shook his sword and turned around after the kill.

The other Sicar nobles who were watching the massacre trembled and retreated.

They were horrified.

To the Sicarian nobles who only joined some hunting trips in the forest every once in a while, the reason why they did not pee their pants in front of the bloody scene was because they wanted to keep their image of nobility.

Shegal and Forv were unmoved. The two young men looked at Carl with a slight nod of acknowledgement.

As a matter of fact, the two young men were only waiting for the lord emissary's order to make a move against the snitching nobles. The two of them had zero tolerance towards traitors.

"See the path in front of you?" Bloody Mary asked softly after he walked up to Carl.

"I do now, my lord," Carl answered Bloody Mary respectfully.

It wasn't some courteous words, the respect came from the bottom of his heart.

It wasn't just because of the debt of saving his life earlier, it was because of the care Bloody Mary showed to his mother in the past few days.

Otherwise, even if he could save his mother from the grasp of the filthy nobles, his mother would lose her peaceful life, and given that his mother had zero skills living outside, she could never live the rest of her life in peace.

Bloody Mary must be thanked for everything he had done.

"Then walk down the path with stern determination. Tell me when you feel tired. I'm willing to share your burdens with you, along with our brothers and sisters, we are all with you on the path," Bloody Mary smiled warmly.

Carl was a little bedazzled as he looked at the kind man before his eyes.

He felt like he had returned to that evening when the brown grizzly attacked. That man smiled at him warmly and waved at him and his mother before he rushed towards the bear with an indomitable manner.

Shaking his head strongly, Carl discarded the pictures out of his mind.

"I will," said Carl.

Then, he suddenly quivered.

His mother walked up to him and used her sleeves to wipe away the blood on his armor, her beautiful dress dyed red by the dirty blood.

"Not just Simon, you have me as well. I may not be of help much, but I am your mother. I will stand by you and give you support," said the baroness.

"Mm," Carl nodded at his mother for he wasn't good with words in this kind of situation. He then stood like a pillar and allowed his mother to wipe his armor clean before he looked at the other nobles.

The bodies on the ground made the soul fire in his eye sockets more pressuring and scary.

The nobles trembled when they caught the fiery gaze, many of them falling to the ground as their legs turned to jelly, their noble bearing following and shattering on the ground.

Carl chuckled coldly inside.

The prestigious dignity of a noble?

Is that even a thing?

Perhaps it was, but definitely not these nobles on their knees.

They were just the maggots chewing on the pillar of honor.

He hated these kinds of useless maggots, so he was very straightforward with his next question.

"Are there any more objections? I will give you people one last chance," said Carl in a heavy tone.

No one answered.

The nobles were frightened to their core, not just by Carl, but also how powerful the Mist was.

They didn't know if it was a projection, a clone, or his true form. All they saw was the Mist winning against the God of War and the War God Temple even collapsing after that.

"W-We hereby abide to Lady Eline Nord Sicar's will and order. Your will is supreme, your will is holy."

The nobles spoke words that went beyond the rules though.

Supreme, among the nobles, was a word only used to describe the faraway king in Edatine Castle.

Holy, meaning the Gods.

However, no one dared to point it out.

The nobles purposely used flattery to prolong their lives, none of them willing to stand up and slap themselves in the face.

Bloody Mary and company were happy to see this scene.

After all, from a certain meaning, the baroness represented the highest authority of the Mist in the city and the land of Sicar, nothing could go beyond her!

Bloody Mary smiled at everything that it carefully conducted.

'I guess the boss is happy to see all this eh?

Well then…'

Amid its thoughts, it received the call from Kieran.

"Carl, Shegal, Forv, I'll leave this to you three," Bloody Mary turned around and spoke to the three.

"Simon, you are leaving?" the baroness asked in a heavy heart.

"I have to continue to help my brothers and sisters, just like how I helped you," Compassion flashed over Bloody Mary's face.

"Then, will I ever see you again?" the baroness asked again.

Carl also looked at Bloody Mary, waiting for an answer.

"Of course. Call for me in your heart and I will do my best to come back," said Bloody Mary as he replied to both of their gazes frankly.

Everyone at the scene felt the frankness and sincerity in it's gaze, the worry on the baroness' face fading and the soul fire in Carl's eye sockets returning to normal.

Bloody Mary then smiled and vanished on the spot.

To Bloody Mary, this baroness had become an important part in forming the Mist Sect. For the boss' plan, it had to protect the baroness with all its effort.

Of course, its boss was the one who called the shots, so when it received the call, it would naturally reply as fast as possible.

...

"At your service, boss."

Outside the city, Bloody Mary arrived upon being summoned, seeing Horlaika crawling on the ground.

Through the power of the contract that Kieran released to it, Bloody Mary had got a clear grasp of what happened here.

"Come, look at me," said Bloody Mary.

Horlaika looked up and his sight was immediately covered in darkness.

It was dark and cold, somewhat freezing.

A pair of eyes branded in his soul were examining him up and down.

"Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon? This is soul-splitting!"

Unknowingly, Horlaika heard this in his ears.

He then fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, the sky was dark and the ceiling above his head was something new, the blanket on him rather soft and warm.

He turned around and saw his own 'teacher'.

A respectful and knowledgeable person.

His teacher showed him guidance when he was lost.

Although his teacher did not acknowledge the identity, Horlaika took the man as such.

"Teacher, what happened to me?" Horlaika tried to get up from the bed.

"Don't move, you are weak now. Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon's side effect has driven you to the verge of breaking down. If you do this a few more times, even I can't save you then. The potions you used, they worsen the process, and… call me Simon," Bloody Mary walked over and laid Horlaika down.

"It's that serious now?" Horlaika looked blank as he sighed softly.

As the person involved, he knew his condition was not too bright but not to this extent.

"I'm sorry, if I meet you any earlier…"

"No, teacher, this is my choice."

Bloody Mary was interrupted by Horlaika's solemn looks, continuing, "Only people with value can continue to survive there and I chose Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon because I want to live. Though I am also grateful that I chose this technique, because if it wasn't for this technique, I wouldn't have met you and might not even know what I want to do. The old me wandered around aimlessly like a dead person, living life day after day on repeat. It was you who told me how to live a colorful life! It was you who let me know protecting others could make me happy also!"

Bloody Mary laid his hand on Horlaika's shoulder and looked at him with a sincere gaze.

"You've protected everyone and now it's time for everyone to protect you. Come home, His Majesty the Mist has become a demi-god, we have the power to protect everyone else!" said Bloody Mary with utmost sincerity.

"No!" Horlaika shook his head.

A sense of holiness and sternness appeared on Horlaika's face. Disregarding his body's condition and sitting up, he looked at Bloody Mary and said, "Teacher, our enemy is much stronger than we thought! The origin of the Black Cataclysm and that woman is still a mystery. No matter how hard I try to search, I can't seem to get to the bottom of this but I am very sure there is something that we must pay attention to along the way! Otherwise, we would only repeat our mistakes! So I still cannot leave, at least not before I get to the bottom of this. And…" Horlaika took a deep breath before he continued.

"A demi-god isn't His Majesty's limit, I will try to buy more time for him!"

Bloody Mary went silent for moments before he looked at Horlaika and Horlaika replied with a strong gaze.

Both of them spoke in one voice.

"The snake lives to rattle its tail.

The snake is good at hiding in the mist.

The snake walks with the shadow and eyes the darkness."

...

It sounded like a vow but also a prayer.

Their voices were loud and many hisses followed after they ended.

Standing outside the room, Holuff listened to the words carefully and watched the snakes dance, he turned around, looking at Kieran and asking softly, "This is the Snake Sect?"