The Devil's Cage

Under Bloody Mary’s gaze, the bone bracelet on the ground suddenly shone with a jade-like radiance.

It was mellow and alluring.

Any man would have the urge to go up and put it on his hand but it was useless against Bloody Mary, it wasn’t a man.

Bloody Mary wasn’t affected or moved, yet the bracelet didn’t seem to give up just yet, the radiance around it growing brighter.

An alluring voice started to appear in Bloody Mary’s ears.

It was a faint female voice and it was singing softly, arousing people’s deepest desires.

However, the voice sounded differently in Bloody Mary’s ears, it sounded like, “Come, be alive!”

It didn’t just fail to move Bloody Mary, it sounded very funny instead.

Bloody Mary was a demon, a Superior Demon of Hetero-form.

Bewitching people was its natural gift which had been leveled up to the max since its birth.

What the ‘remnant’ was trying to do looked cheap and childish in Bloody Mary’s eyes.

However, it still went over to pick it up and hide it in its sleeves because Bill, who was assigned as the hidden sentry, had come over with his men.

When the group of men came close enough and saw Bloody Mary’s disguise, they cried out in shock.

“Councilman Colipo!”

The cry of shocks sounded one after another, fear smeared all over their faces.

Although they were aroused by what Luncar, who was also Bloody Mary in disguise, said earlier, when they had to truly face a councilman, these men who were trained by the secret society since they were young couldn’t help but feel scared.

It wasn’t anything shameful though, it was caused by their habits and habits could be scary.

Kieran acknowledged that point, as did Bloody Mary.

As a matter of fact, Bloody Mary was very relieved that these men didn’t run away after they saw its disguise. It at least proved how successful it was with its earlier disguise.

“Bill.”

Mimicking the arrogant tone of Councilman Colipo, Bloody Mary spoke.

“Councilman.”

The scrawny Bill with his long hands showed fear in his eyes, yet he did not hesitate and walked over.

He knew he couldn’t outrun the councilman and dodging would be useless. Since it has come down to this, might as well take the risk.

At least he could create a window for the others behind him.

Anyone who was able to escape would be accounted for by the survivors!

With that thought in mind, a resolute aura appeared aroud Bill. Two daggers quietly appeared in his hand before he dashed out like an arrow let loose at Bloody Mary while also shouting at his men at the same time, “RUN!”

His shout was as loud as thunder, clapping the men back to their senses as they ran for their lives.

The one closest to the storage even remembered to activate the alarm but he failed because a hand stopped him.

Everyone was shocked by the owner of the hand; it was the hand of Councilman Colipo!

Councilman Colipo had Bill in one hand and blocked the man from activating the alarm with another.

Everyone instantly fell into despair.

Among them, Bill was the strongest, yet he was captured almost instantly.

What should they do?

Lost, the men looked at Bill, who was in Bloody Mary’s hand. Bill looked extremely dull, as if he was dead.

Bill knew the councilman was powerful, he would not be a match for the councilman, but not to this extent!

As one of the field agents, Bill was only second to those few without titles, yet when he dashed up to Councilman Colipo, he hadn’t even landed his attack before he was captured.

As for how he was captured, he didn’t know at all.

Finished! Facing against this kind of ghostly speed, Bill knew neither him nor Stone were a match to the councilman, none of his men at the scene could outrun the councilman.

All that was left was death!

Unconsciously, Bill closed his eyes and waited for his end.

Was it regrettable?

A little bit, but not too much.

Compared to being unable to find out the truth earlier, being prepared for this and regret due to failing was much more worthwhile to Bill.

“So rash.”

The cold and arrogant tone echoed in Bill’s ears, followed by footsteps.

Bloody Mary glanced over everyone before it pushed open the door to the storage.

“Come in,” said Bloody Mary to the guards.

The guards lowered their heads one after another and dared not even look at Bloody Mary. With fear looming in their hearts, they were ‘controlled’ by Bloody Mary; all of them went into the storage facility.

Bloody Mary, with Bill in its hand, was the last to enter, closing the door after it went in.

After he turned around, Stone had Bloody Mary surrounded with his men.

There were at least 30 muskets pointed at Bloody Mary.

The leader Stone saw Bill in the councilman’s hand, his eyes showed fear mixed with a little bit of scruples.

Inside the storage, Stone was plagued by anxiety and he noticed something was wrong when the first guard came in with a lowered head. He drew his sword right away, as did his three friends behind him.

As the field agents of Silent Night Secret Society, they had powers far surpassing common men, their six senses extraordinary.

With someone taking the lead, these men who were persuaded by Stone and Bill made a quick move.

However, when they saw the person who told the guards to come in was Councilman Colipo, fear came afloat on their faces and some even started to shudder.

Stone saw the fear on his men’s face. He knew the men behind him would collapse in a single blow, let alone engaging the councilman in a fight.

There was no need to say anything else. Councilman Colipo standing in front of them was the biggest despair that they could ever feel.

Could he blame his friends and friends of friends for being cowards?

No, because Stone himself was afraid as well.

Imagination wasn’t real.

Only when facing the real thing would one understand cruelty.

‘An absolute loss?’ Stone bitterly chuckled.

He knew how scary Councilman Colipo was, being able to capture Bill without his knowledge and rendering him defenseless in his hand. The councilman was even scarier than the rumours!

One thing worth taking note was that this councilman was known for freezing his opponent during a fight, nothing else about him was heard of anymore.

There might have been but before anyone could say it out loud, they would be frozen.

With that thought in mind, Stone lowered his sword.

Following Stone’s bitter motion, as though he had accepted his fate, the others around him also lowered their weapons, but no one said anything.

They were waiting for fate to befall them, or death, or something worse than death.

Sometimes death was a relief.

The scarier thing would be worse than death.

With that thought in mind, their faces turned as pale as paper.

Neither one of them dared to look at Bloody Mary and when it scanned over all of them in a single sweep, they lowered their heads to avert its gaze.

Bloody Mary was extremely happy with the result.

Its efforts in the arrangements did not go to waste.

It didn’t need a bunch of brave warriors, the best thing that it could ask for was a bunch of normal men with a bit of courage yet hesitance in their hearts.

“You all are too rash.”

Bloody Mary spoke, at the same time releasing Bill from its hand.

It didn’t toss Bill on the ground, it put him down carefully.

Bill, who had the resolution to die, was stupefied when his feet touched the ground, looking at Councilman Colipo in utmost confusion.

In Bill’s original plan, he was already dead. The same thought went through everyone’s mind as well.

Bill once served under Councilman Colipo, so he knew it was going to happen. Stone and four of his friends shared the same thought.

They all once served under Councilman Colipo, so it was natural that they know the councilman’s attitude. The councilman might seem nonchalant, but deep inside, he was a hot-tempered man with a dash of ruthlessness.

Given what they had done, they would not have survived this.

‘Is he going to cruely torture us?’

The thought came into Stone and the other five’s mind together.

“You all really think that I am going to torture you cruely?” Bloody Mary suddenly spoke.

Stone, Bill and the others were shocked.

Reading minds?!

The five of them dreaded Bloody Mary in disguise as Colipo even more.

They never would have thought the councilman possessed such powers.

The others around them had fallen into a constant state of fear, their mental states pressured to a limit. Any more intimidation would snap their minds.

[Demon Instinct] allowed Bloody Mary to sense every emotion in them, so it knew it was almost done.

It laughed coldly immediately.

“To be honest, I really want all of you dead, including that bastard Luncar. If it wasn’t for you bastards, I would have found the answer that I sought!” Bloody Mary’s furious voice echoed in the storage facility.

Its voice was loud and the rage was obvious.

However, amid the rageful voice, Stone, Bill, and the others did not sense a bit of killer intent.

Even the hundreds of men behind them sensed the same thing.

They knew the councilman was furious but there was no killer intent, let alone the rumoured ruthlessness.

‘What is going on?’

The men looked at Bloody Mary.

“Are all of you confused? Can’t seem to understand why I didn’t kill all of you? I really want to, but I can’t! Because we are on the same side,” Bloody Mary laughed coldly.

“On the same side?!” Everyone looked at each other in utmost confusion.

Only Stone, Bill, and the others showed a tad of realization, but it was quickly replaced by shock.

Among the other men, there were some with quick minds as well.

Colipo was a member of the Snake Sect, it was undisputed.

So, when Colipo said that they were on the same side, it somehow made them Snake Sect but they were the members of Silent Night Secret Society… could it be…

When a new thought appeared in their mind, they looked at Bloody Mary with a terrified expression.

Bloody Mary feigned a sigh when it felt the gazes on itself.

“It is what you think. The Silent Night Secret Society is actually Snake Sect.”

When Bloody Mary spilled the words out, the quiet storage facility was filled with gasping noises.

The members of Silent Night Secret Society never expected things to take such a sharp turn.

Even Stone, Bill, and the others who were mentally prepared for this couldn’t help but widen their eyes in disbelief.

“Don’t believe me? I guess it’s natural. If it was me, I wouldn’t believe it either. Silent Night Secret Society being Snake Sect seems like a lie but it is a fact. Otherwise, why are all of you still breathing?”

Bloody Mary laughed coldly with its question.

The storage facility fell silent again.

Yeah, if we aren’t on the same side, why were they still breathing?

But what about the things Luncar said?

And, if they really were Snake Sect, then what was it with the conflict with the Wolf Sect Demon Hunters in the past?

Internal conflict?

Up until that point, many were still baffled by the confusion.

Sensing everything in their minds, Bloody Mary touched the bone bracelet that it got earlier.

It was ready to use other reasons to bluff them, but when it held the bracelet in its hand and felt everything that was contained inside, a new thought replaced its original one.

“Are you all wondering if we are Snake Sect, why did we eliminate the Wolf Sect Demon Hunters during the Black Cataclysm? It is because… of the pagans!”

Bloody Mary’s voice unconsciously grew softer, sounding like it squeezed those words out of its gnashing teeth.

With the killer intent that was contained in the words, the temperature in the storage facility began to fall. Those who felt the sudden drop in temperature couldn’t help but shrink their necks and look at Bloody Mary in fear.

“All of you looked nothing like Snake Sect, but you are the seeds of Snake Sect. If it’s possible, I would really want to clean up everyone and raise a new batch, but time is not on our side—the corrosion from the pagans is far more severe than what you can imagine. Other than me, the other 16 councilmen are all corrupted! They had become it. Silent Night Secret Society of Snake Sect has turned into the secret society of pagans! I can’t reveal elaborate details to all of you now, but you can go to Clairehore at Carrot Hotel. He will tell you the rest. That bastard Luncar, always as rash as he is, he is really a trouble magnet!”

After the big speech, Bloody Mary’s body started to distort and then vanished on the spot.

Looking at the spot where Bloody Mary disappeared, everyone was heavily stunned, shifting their gaze to the leader, Stone.

Four out of the five also looked at Stone for guidance.

Facing the gazes of hundreds of men, Stone had to clench his teeth and step up to his responsibility despite the fact that he was in a daze.

“Divide into five groups and go to Carrot Hotel for Clairehore,” Stone ordered his men.

“Are we really going there?” Bill asked softly when the men started to group up in five.

“What else? Are we going to continue staying here? If what the councilman said is true, we might be the ones who have just passed the test, we are members of Snake Sect who just got recognized. Would those corrupted Silent Night Secret Society councilmen spare a bunch of recognized Snake Sect members? Besides, we still have our family and friends, they are all at Silent Night Town. If we don’t rely on the Snake Sect identity, we can’t save them,” Stone smiled bitterly.

Bill fell into silence for a while.

In the end, the scrawny man muttered softly to himself, “Luncar really is a bastard!”

“A bastard? Maybe he is, but he is still quite an honest man. He is much better than those sinister bastards in the corrupted Silent Night Secret Society,” Stone sighed, raising his hand and ordering the groups to move out right away.

The group of five men quietly approached Carrot Hotel.

Seeing the groups off, Bloody Mary slowly walked out from the shadow.

It really had hoped that it could deliver the speech a little better, but reality wouldn’t allow it.

The more it talked, the more chances there were that it would make a mistake.

Moreover…

Bloody Mary looked down at the bone bracelet that it took out.

A swirl of mist came afloat on the bracelet, forming a face which started to speak with its mouth.

“Liar! Shameless liar!”

The voice sounded strange, yet it penetrated into one’s heart easily.

A normal man would fall into a craze or end up as its puppet with a single sound but to Bloody Mary, it was not enough.

Bloody Mary even counter-seized throbs and scanned the bracelet’s emotions.

[Demon Instinct]!

[Illusion]!

Both skills were activated instantly.

It looked at the misty face with a nonchalant look, its voice sounding like it was enchanted with magic. As it spoke, it penetrated deep into the bracelet’s soul.

“Tell me your true goal.”

“Impossible! I will not tell you that we’ve already allied up and are ready to destroy all of Edatine Castle…”