The Devil’s Cage

The police station looked bright on the outside. The lights were on at night, but the area around the station was pitch black.

The monochromatic scene had a high contrast to it, as if it was divided into two worlds, a black one and a white one.

Still, the darkness was devouring the light inch by inch.

Kieran was standing by the stairs outside the station, raising his head to take a look.

He could see clearly through the darkness with his [Tracking].

A big swarm of shadows were rushing towards the station like the raging waves of the sea.

Amid the raging waves, every heat and light source was destroyed by the negative energy charging down the path.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The street lamps were broken one after the other like a domino as dozens of shadowy figures walked out of the darkness.

One could barely catch a glimpse of their faces through the combination of light and darkness.

Every single one of the creatures had only skin on their faces. There were no visible facial features on them.

Those blank faces with the ghostly features were extremely eerie and frightening.

They were formless souls and Evil Earth Spirits.

Their appearance did not come as a surprise to Kieran.

He took a quick look at the spirits, trying to find his target, which was the members of the Drifter Society.

Kieran was well aware that no matter how many those formless souls were or how eerie the Evil Earth Spirits looked, they were only puppets controlled by someone else.

The only effective way to end this was by removing the puppeteer itself.

However, despite Kieran’s C- Intuition and [Tracking], he could not spot any target that fit the criteria of a member of the Drifter Society.

”Are they hiding their tracks? No, no way. Considering they’ve already released such a big number of spirits, there’s no use hiding in the dark anymore. The only thing that could escape my eyes is...”

Kieran looked at the ground instinctively. His enemies might be hiding underground using some kind of earth submerging technique.

As for the possibilities of them being invisible?

Unless they could make their bodies formless like spirits, they would still leave some traces behind.

If they could really change their bodies’ form at will though, Kieran would need to reevaluate the situation with the Drifters, considering that Nikorei had referred to them as a third rate faction.

Or he might need to reevaluate the dungeon difficulty itself.

According to Kieran’s theory, after the phone call with Nikorei, any player would have run back home to have a better chance of avoiding the danger.

If a player chose to fight face to face with the Drifter Society, the difficulty would hike up by at least two to three levels from the normal two time dungeon difficulty.

Even though Kieran had chosen the least safe option for dealing with the danger, that did not mean that the game would suddenly turn into hell for him.

Suddenly, Kieran sensed some minor movement beneath his feet. The movement seemed about to confirm Kieran’s theory.

Boom!

There was an explosion at the spot where Kieran was standing. Pebbles and debris flew all over the place, and a three-meter diameter crater was formed on the stairs.

Suddenly, two figures emerged from the smoke and debris around the crater.

”He dodged it?” a thin, sinister-looking man spoke.

”Death is just a sequence. What’s the difference between now and later? Everyone’s death is already predicted!”

Beside the sinister-looking man stood a stern, solemn middle-aged man in a long robe. He pronounced Kieran dead as soon as he emerged.

”First you, little assistant, and then that sly fox Nikorei! That pitiful old lady who has diverted completely from the sole belief of power will be our stepping stone in building our true name!”

The sinister guy stared at Kieran.

With countless of formless souls and dozens of Evil Earth Spirits behind them, the two of them looked at Kieran as if he was already dead.

”So it’s only the two of you in the Drifter Society?” Kieran said in a plain tone, as if he had not heard them or seen the countless spirits behind them.

”So you’ve heard of us! How many men does it take to deal with a couple of mortals?”

The sinister guy was startled at first, but he laughed out loud without holding back when he saw Kieran’s blank face.

”Aren’t you guys scared of provoking the public? I think there’s supposed to be some kind of rule or limitation regarding special people dealing with mortals, isn’t there?” Kieran asked.

It was only a guess, but Kieran was very sure of it. Otherwise, the dungeon world would have been a different place altogether.

There wouldn’t have been any modern technology in the city, and magic would have ruled the world.

And yet, currently it was modern technology that was advancing fast and magic that had fallen behind. There was only the occasional minor confrontation.

It was the relationship between Schmidt and Nikorei that had made Kieran come up with that bold theory.

”Rules and limitations? There are, but when that thing comes, the cards will be shuffled again! Poor kid, you have no idea about your unavoidable destiny!” the sinister guy laughed again.

That thing? The cards would be shuffled again? Kieran was caught off guard by their words.

His sharp instinct told him that he might have discovered something big brewing in the shadows.

”Death will follow the living like a shadow!” the stern guy in the long robe shouted.

The army of spirits behind them rushed at Kieran, trying to drown him with their number.

”Death is great...”

The middle-aged man in the long robe was still chanting without the slightest change in his expression. The spirits kept attacking Kieran until he punched the man under the chin with a lightning punch.

The clear sound of his bones breaking sent the middle-aged man flying in the air without any sign of slowing down.

Bang!

His head crashed hard against the solid marble arch, his brains splattering out at the impact, painting the white marble red.

Bam!

Only when the middle-aged man’s body fell to the ground did the sinister guy react.

He was looking at Kieran with a ludicrous expression as Kieran walked out of the mountain of formless spirits with a pale white aura surrounding him.

”A... A Holy Knight?” the sinister guy screamed.

At his scream, the mountain of formless souls and Evil Earth Spirits surrounded Kieran once more, trying to drown him. When they were one step away from him though, all the spirits stopped, as if they were before a landmine.

As they stopped before him, Kieran saw the twisted space in front of him form an invisible barrier against them. Kieran was in awe of the effectiveness of the one-time consumable.

[Name: Holy Water VIII]

[Type: Potion]

[Rarity: Excellent]

[Attributes: Within one minute of duration, it causes Fear to low-level spirits and negative energy beings. When it comes into contact with low-level spirits and negative energy beings, it causes them lethal damage!]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Remarks: This is an excellent product from a renowned alchemist. Its name originates from an ancient potion prescription ranked no. VIII! Please remember not to drink it. Rubbing it on your body or weapon will do!]

...

[Holy Water VIII] was a one-time consumable Kieran had taken with him when he’d entered the dungeon. It was one of the items he had gotten from Lawless, and it had cost him 1,500 Points per bottle, even at a friendly price.

It was not cheap, but considering the effect Kieran had just witnessed, it was certainly value for money.

Kieran dodged quickly towards the sinister guy.

Apparently, the man was still in shock, because he did not react when he saw Kieran in front of him.

Kieran frowned as he realized how strange the members of the Drifter Society all were.

Not just their actions, but their mental state as well. It seemed like all of them had some kind of mental problem.

That did not stop Kieran from knocking the man out cold with a punch though.

He needed him alive to get more information.

Kieran quickly used his title [Spectre Buster] and turned around towards the mountain of spirits.

Every single one of the formless spirits had a small chance of dropping a [Soul Shard], which meant Points and Skill Points for Kieran.

It was the sole reason Kieran had chosen not to overcome the danger in the safest way.

He could not let that chance slip.

Kieran emitted a holy aura thanks to the potion as he rushed in single-handed against the countless formless spirits. He did not even need to attack. A simple touch was enough to turn them into ashes after they let out an eerie howl.

The same went for the Evil Earth Spirits.

What seemed like a big army of Evil Earth Spirits went in complete disarray at Kieran fast attacks.

None of them were even able to react to his sudden barrage of attacks before they turned into a pile of dirt.

”What the….”

Schmidt, who had been overseeing the situation from the second floor window, felt his jaw drop open.

Although he could not see the formless spirits, he could see clearly the Evil Earth Spirits, the crater in front of the station, and Kieran, who was covered in a white aura.

Kieran was shining like a warm source of light within the evil darkness. He looked bright and dazzling.

”A Holy Knight!” Schmidt said.

Sworn to protect the weak, serve justice, and eliminate injustice!

Schmidt lost it completely as he witnessed Kieran’s miracle. His head was filled with lores and myths about the Holy Knight. It was what he had been chasing after. It was his dream.

”Schmidt! Schmidt! What happened? What happened to 2567?”

The old shaman’s voice on the phone pulled Schmidt back to reality.

”Don’t worry, Sir 2567 is fine. All of us are safe now!” Schmidt had even changed the way he addressed Kieran after what he had seen.

”Don’t worry? Safe? What in the world happened over there?” Nikorei kept asking.

”Just now...”

Schmidt explained the situation to Nikorei as he watched Kieran fight.

Schmidt had not noticed the bright glare in his eyes that resembled the look of a fanatic.

His eyes were bright, yet soft instead of dazzling. They looked similar to the white aura surrounding Kieran.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Early chapter today!