The Devil’s Cage

The ring emitted a flash.

[Charm] and [Dominate] were in effect.

However, unlike previous attempts, after the captive chose to comply, he was still struggling within himself.

A spirit energy that did not belong to the captive suddenly sprung out from his body, it was also slightly affecting reality!

A chair covered by shadows and emanating heavy sulphuric aura was slowly appearing out of thin air. The being that was sitting in the chair seemed to have noticed Kieran as it stuck its body out.

Immediately, the air rumbled and the shadows were dispersed.

The being revealed it’s bright red, muscular body with its indescribable facial features before Kieran’s eyes; its facial features were indescribable whether it was handsome or ugly.

The most concerning part was the two small horns on the being’s head.

They were black, crooked. and had ends that looked like hooks facing inwards. They were like two small daggers made from goat horns, yet sharper and scarier. Any common man that laid eyes on the being would feel a burning sensation over their body.

A demon! A demon in its ever classical form and the name that everybody knew.

“Gagagaga, look at what have we here? Another lost sheep? What do you need?”

“Sign this contract with me and I will make your wish come true, all you have to do is pay a tiny cost… believe me, compared to what you will get in return, the cost is insignificant.”

The demon’s voice entered Kieran’s ears, it sounded like some messy chatters filled with temptation.

Spirit authentications popped up one after another in his vision. In fact, the moment Kieran laid eyes on the demon, the authentications had been bombarding him endlessly.

Each action the demon took, each expression that it showed, and each word that escaped his mouth carried the wicked aura of hell itself, causing one to feel extremely uncomfortable.

It also caused one to… approach the demon uncontrollably.

Kieran too walked closer to the demon. The demon who was sitting there showed a delightful smile.

‘Stupid and greedy human’

The demon quietly commented in its heart, just like how it commented on countless ones before.

The demon was happy to maintain such comments towards humans though because it represented its strength.

Seeing its target coming closer, the demon was restless, it was eager to devour the soul of its target. The pure and persistent soul!

The taste of the soul was unforgettable for the demon after a single lick.

“Come! Come! Come faster! Come closer!”

Muttering in its heart, the demon raised its hand when Kieran came close enough.

An ancient black goat skin scroll appeared in mid-air, floating in front of Kieran.

“Write down your name.”

The demon’s smile grew brighter when he saw Kieran raise his hand.

But when Kieran grabbed the scroll, it was burned to ashes by the devil’s flame.

A huge devil mirage appeared behind Kieran after that. Its huge magma hand grabbed the demon’s body and dragged it to Kieran’s face.

“I ask, you answer. Got it?”

Kieran said in a calm tone.

The demon was at a loss and confused as to what was occurring. It looked up and stared at the devil’s mirage in a dumbstruck state. The disgust that came from its instinct made it scream in an inconceivable manner.

“Impossible! Impossible!”

“How is this possible?!”

“Why is there a devil?! Why?!”

The scream was sharp and deafening.

Kieran slightly raised his brow.

Gak! Tss… Tss.

The devil tightened its palm and the demon’s body was giving out clear squeaking noises as if its body was about to be crushed any moment.

“Wait! What do you want to know! I’ll tell you! Stop!”

“Stop you bastard! Stop!!”

The demon’s scream was unbearable but Kieran didn’t plan to do as suggested.

He calmly looked at the struggling demon before he slightly released the control on the Devil Force.

ROAR!

“BLOOD WAR!”

The soul that resided deep in the bloodline was roaring loudly.

Then, the scene before Kieran’s eyes changed.

The sky was dyed red, the land was tainted black.

One after another, red blazing comets crashed on the land.

Two different armies were engaging each other in a brutal war, killing each other like giant meat grinders, disregarding consequences as the situation continued.

The morales on both sides were high and stimulating; both sides were evenly matched.

After some time, both sides were exhausted.

The one as tall as mountains, its breath could breathe fire and its figure could send people running in fear was among the troops as well yet it shared the same fate, exhausted.

It tore apart a white elder dragon that had white feathers as wings.

It was walking in a staggering manner yet the steps it took towards its own destination were ever steady.

It wanted to go there badly yet it eventually fell on the ground.

A dagger came from the back and plunged into its body. The strike tore its blazing wings away and ripped its magma body apart.

Its head was severed and treated as a spoil of war, hanging above the holy land.

Its limbs were buried in the bottomless swamp, encaged within endless darkness.

Its torso was thrown into the furnace, it was repeatedly used for forging.

Its wings were dragged into the night by the Pegasus, shrouding the day and night together with the blizzard in the sky.

All that was left of the towering figure was its heart.

Its heart was sealed with layers of seals and locks under the bronze coffin and was thrown into the bottom of the ocean.

Its name and its title turned into dust, being swept into the corners of the history.

No one knew, no one understood.

It was unwilling, it was roaring in rage.

It wanted the one who betrayed it to pay the price!

Thousands of years then passed.

Its memories shattered by time.

Its power was weakening.

It was dying.

But!

It did not forget the one thought that it held onto for so long: revenge!

“Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

The roaring sounded like war drums in Kieran’s ears and it woke him up by clearing the scene; Kieran returned to 17th Randletine Street once again.

He saw the devil’s mirage starting to tear the demon’s mirage apart.

He saw the devil’s mirage biting away at the demon’s mirage.

He heard the devil’s mirage roar, he heard the demon’s mirage plead.

Kieran was unmoved. He was still intoxicated in the previous scene.

He reached out to his chest, touching where his heart was.

Dong, Dong, Dong!

The devil’s heart was beating exactly like the vision he saw; it was strong and vigorous.

He was like the audience that sat through the credits during the end of a movie yet with the same heart, he felt a closeness with the figure.

He felt like he was on the battlefield, charging and killing his enemies.

He felt like he was the one betrayed when the dagger plunged through the figure’s back.

“Where is that place though?”

Kieran muttered softly and he looked at the demon.

“Spare me! I will tell you everything I know! For real this time! I swear on my real name!”

The demon quickly pleaded with its last breath when it caught Kieran’s judgemental gaze but Kieran shook his head.

“What I know, what I saw and what my heart told me is to never trust a demon. Each word a demon says is a lie. Even if it has truth to it, it might end up in a tragedy through a demon’s mouth. Other than that… I already got what I wanted.”

Kieran then turned around after he finished talking.

The fire danced and the demon’s ashes flew along with the wind behind him.