The Devil’s Cage

At night, Saint Brilliant High School was shrouded in mist.

The dark and blurry scene obstructed the sight of a commoner, even if there was light, it wasn’t enough.

Three figures appeared within the school compound, entering the main academic building in a one-two formation.

Kana was following Tanya while holding the ever confused Jen beside her. Her nose was sniffing as if she had caught the scent of something.

At the same time, the flashlight in her hand was raised up. Even the high power flashlight couldn’t shine past a 5-meter range in the thick mist.

The mist was thick, rumbling relentlessly at the edge of the light source as if something would jump out from the unseen any moment.

To be honest, Kana had indeed picked up an unusual scent.

”Are you sure it’s here?” Kana asked.

”My servant told me, this is the promised land…”

”CAN YOU SPEAK HUMAN!?” Kana interrupted Tanya with an upset tone.

If her friend didn’t fall into the dazed and confused state because of the soul releasing process, she wouldn’t even need to rely on divination to find out who the killer was.

With Jen’s power, she could very well directly speak to the souls of the dead. Still, Kana was forced to rely on the others for the time being.

One of them was barely sane and the other was terrifying.

”Damn It!” She cursed when she thought about Kieran.

The fear of Kieran made her feel hesitant about his presence but she needed his help in the meantime. So after countless thinking, Kana decided to pay the required cost to gain Kieran’s help.

However, even to a half-fiend, the cost was substantial.

But…

When she arrived at the old school dorm, she realized Kieran wasn’t even there.

She punched the air with all her might, seemingly frustrated. It was a terrible feeling, to the point that she was barely able to control the effect from her bloodline.

Tanya’s following words sounded like gasoline poured into a burning fire.

”You peasant, you couldn’t understand what I say…

Fuuuuu!

A thin layer of flame appeared in Kana’s hand.

”Trust me, follow me now!” Tanya finally said in a serious tone.

Tanya even took the initiative to walk faster.

The trio went straight up to the stairs on the left from the first-floor lobby. The stairs were connected to the second floor but below the stairs was an empty spot.

Most of the time, unwanted miscellaneous things were stored there, like broken study tables, etc.

Yet the spot was empty at the time, nothing was left there.

The three of them were stunned. They shed light over the spot and saw no broken tables or chairs, instead, they saw a door, which was shorter than a common one.

”Door!” Jen said with her absent-minded tone, pointing at the door.

”Now what?” Kana turned to Tanya.

”My talents have been temporarily sealed, I can only see up until this spot, the rest is unknown.”

Tanya replied instinctively but when she saw Kana’s clenched fist, her words returned to normal.

”What a half-ass! Even Senior Ling…”

Kana grunted angrily but before she finished, the movements of her mouth ceased.

Even though Tanya had limited powers, she was there because of both of them, lending her hand. Although she was given a reward, it didn’t mean Kana could insult her.

Though, she wasn’t able to take back the words that escaped her mouth. Her half-fiend attitude had decided how her character was at birth.

”Let’s continue forth!”

Kana said while taking Tanya’s place in front.

Tssk Gak!

An irritating screech later, the short door was pushed open.

Kana looked strangely at the door. The door was much heavier than expected, even with her half-fiend strength, she had to utilize all her might.

The door wasn’t made out of wood but a kind of unique metal, which she couldn’t identify at the moment.

Fuuuu!

A violent wind blew out from within the door.

Kana blocked her face and looked through the gaps in her fingers, trying to see what was behind the door.

Tanya who was almost blown away because of her petite body quickly stood behind Kana, grabbing her shirt.

”My servants informed me, this place is dreadful. Wait for my knight to arrive is the optimum choice for us.” Tanya said after looking at the black door.

”We can’t wait that long!”

Kana didn’t even care anymore how Tanya spoke. As her words subsided, Kana went straight in.

Her decision came into form after lots of thinking yet she didn’t locate Kieran in the end. Kana had lost the courage to try once more as if her hot-headed temper had taken over her body’s control while in the times of danger, ignoring the consequences of her actions.

But when the hot blood cooled down, all that was left was fear.

Kana was in a similar situation, she chose to believe in herself this time.

After seeing Kana go through the door, Jen followed as well. Tanya hesitated for a while, but when she saw more mist gathered around her, she rushed in without further delay.

Although the eighth-grade syndrome in her mind was serious, she wasn’t an idiot.

She could still tell which place was safer for her to be, or more precisely, temporarily safer.

Tssk Gak!

Just when the trio went into the short door, the heavy metal door was shut.

Bang!

The heavy noise shook Tanya a little, while Kana’s expression was heavy.

The door that she had to utilize all her might to open wouldn’t be shut closed by some mere wind, there was only one explanation.

It was a trap!

”My servants informed me, danger approaches.” Tanya’s voice started to shiver.

”Shut up!” Kana yelled at her.

Following the shutting of the door, Kana’s instinct told her something had gone south but there wasn’t any chance left for her to back out or regret her decision, all she could do was move forward.

The tunnel was clear of any mist blocking their sight.

With the strong light from the high powered flashlight, the darkness within was expelled, revealing the true look of the tunnel.

At the end of the tunnel, there was a small hall only 10 square meters large filled with dust and spider webs.

As the trio moved inside, the dust flew up in every direction. The dust particles were visible under the strong light.

Opposite the entrance where they came from, there was a corridor with round stairs leading down. The flight of stairs was circulating the pillar, forming a spiral downwards.

The flashlight could only shine through so much, the rest was still covered in darkness. Further down the stairs looked even darker under the flashlight’s shine.

Kana took a deep breath and went on the stairs, Jen followed.

Tanya was scared but she had no other viable options.

The three of them walked down slowly, following the spiral stairs. The flashlight only sheds light over the darkness before them; the darkness was eating up space behind them.

The three of them were like a glowing glass globe, being swallowed into a lengthy liver.

The corridor length had exceeded their expectation. After a full 10 minutes of walking, they finally reached the ground.

There was a room that looked identical to the small hall at the beginning of the stairs, just that there was something extra in this second small hall: a well in the middle.

Dik, Dik, Dik.

The water droplets sounded from inside the well, following by a faint chanting of a song.

”Dusk, Revive, Snow Willow, Bleeding Blood…”

”Human, Death, Rare, Breath…”

The weird lyrics caused Kana’s face turned pale. She widened her eyes at the well.

Even Tanya couldn’t believe what she heard.

”I...Isn’t this…”

Tanya’s shivering body couldn’t maintain her usual manner of speech.

Though before she could finish, a figure slowly rose up from the well.