The Devil’s Cage

When the faint voice sounded, an irresistible force struck Beadles at his waist.

The commissioner of the Special Affairs Division was thrown into the darkness further away like a kite broken off of its string. The other Special Affairs Division member that was on guard had his head blown to bits before he could even react.

Bang!

After the gunshot, the brain splattered and the body plunged to the ground.

However, Beadles, who just withstood Kieran’s full-force kick, stood up as if nothing had happened. He patted off the dirt on his body and walked back to Kieran, looking at him with an intrigued gaze.

“You did not let me down, Monster Hunter. If you had really died in the fire just now, although I might have been grateful for the success of my final plan, I would have felt a little regretful at the same time. After all, all these years in preparation…”

Kieran didn’t have the habit of listening to his opponent. Before the commissioner could even finish, a kick was launched at his chest, sending him flying backwards again just when he had reached the spot in front of Kieran.

However, similar to the first time, Beadles stood up without a scratch. He looked down at the kick mark on his chest and couldn’t help but show a smile.

“Not bad, your kick. But… I am immortal!”

Bang!

A bullet fired from [Python-W2] and went straight into Beadles’ forehead, but when the bullet touched his skin, it somehow lost its force and fell to the ground.

It didn’t get suppressed, it didn’t deform—the bullet that fell to the ground was exactly like how it was when it fired out of the revolver.

“Look, I’ve said I am immortal. Why don’t you believe me?”

Beadles smiled and bent down, wanting to pick the bullet up.

But just as he lowered his waist, Kieran appeared before him in a flash and landed his feet atop the back of the commissioner’s head.

Kroom!

The ground trembled. A crater of half a meter in radius appeared in the field of cobblestone and rocks.

The commissioner’s body arched over, and his head was buried deep into the ground.

Beadles struggled to raise his head, but Kieran’s feet were as hard as iron. He didn’t just stand still, he also pressed his feet in deeper, sending Beadles’ head deeper into the ground.

Immortal?

Kieran would never believe what an enemy said.

The reason why Beadles was able to display himself as an immortal was either because the attacks that he received weren’t heavy enough to surpass his damage threshold or because he had some special effect protecting him.

Kieran wasn’t a stranger in this field since he had [Devourer Shadow Mail].

So, Kieran raised his left hand.

Fuu!

Devil Flame rose instantly and expelled the darkness in the area.

The darkness was like a herd of sheep when a wolf attacked, scattering away swiftly.

The area was brightened up a moment later.

Kieran, who spared part of his attention on the surroundings at all times, squinted when he noticed that. The Devil Flame in his hand was pressed down on Beadles’ body without a second thought.

Boom!

Explosion.

Beadles, who had been showing a ‘fearless’ and ‘carefree’ manner, screamed in pain.

The scream was soft though and it stopped abruptly at the next moment, but Kieran heard it.

Kieran curled his lips.

“He can ignore damage below rank III? No, not even at rank III. Well, then…”

The thought flashed over his mind. Kieran raised his left hand and charged the Devil Flame again. A heavy growl of the devil later, the ball of fire expanded rapidly.

The darkness in the area was restless again, scattering away from the fire.

A breath later, all the darkness in a 30-meter radius was emptied, and it was expanding by the second.

“Fire? Not ice?”

Beadles, whose head was buried in the ground, cried out in shock.

The ground didn’t seem to be preventing him from speaking, and his voice didn’t seem to be coming from his throat; instead, it was coming from his mouth straightaway.

“So this is your hidden card? A little surprising. I think we can have a talk,” the commissioner said.

Kieran seemed to have heard what Beadles said, but the Devil Flame in his hand was expanding and changing nevertheless. When the flame reached rank IV, Kieran dunked it down.

“WAIT!” Beadles, under Kieran’s feet, shouted.

The other Special Affairs Division members further away were also shouting, angry at the scene, but no one could stop Kieran.

Devil Flame landed on Beadles’ body, incinerating his body to shreds and burning it to cinders according to Kieran’s will.

“D!”

A grieving, hateful shout sounded from the Special Affairs Division members as they ran over.

Kieran had never seen their faces before, but he could tell that their voices belonged to Beadles.

“Something similar to soul shifting? Or… awakening!”

The scene before Kieran sent him into deep thought, but his eyes were cold when he glanced at the men. Even when they anxiously launched attacks at Kieran, he was not moved.

Amidst the endless gunshots, bullets poured down on Kieran like a storm.

But…it was useless!

When the bullets landed on his black leather armor, they instantly lost their momentum!

No! It was more like they were being devoured!

A python-like monster formed by shadows opened its gigantic mouth, swallowing all the attacks like a whale devouring water.

Then?

Counterattack.

The monster heaved out a breath precisely in the direction where the bullets had come from.

Fuu!

A gale swept over the Special Affairs Division members’ bodies. The gunshots stopped.

All of them stood there blankly. Splashes of blood appeared on their bodies moments later.

They looked down in a disbelieving manner before falling to the ground.

“Immortal? How can you be immortal?”

A questioning one came from one of the Special Affairs Division members who had somehow survived the gale. He spoke while spitting out blood, and though his voice was still Beadles’, the person was not the same.

These shifting bodies were not the same as Beadles’ original body.

They didn’t possess a powerful defense.

Their powers?

Common as well, just like the original body.

“Immortal? Do you consider this as immortality? If you do, then I am sorry to tell you… that I also have what you call ‘immortality’, and it’s a powered-up version,” Kieran raised his gun as he spoke.

Bang!

The man who survived fell to the ground. His brain splattered, ensuring that he wouldn’t survive a second time.

However, Beadles didn’t die.

A series of messy steps later, groups and groups of people appeared in the graveyard.

They came in all sorts of sizes and looks, men and women of various ages; the oldest was white-haired, and the youngest was still a child.

But, all of them shared a common thing: they stared at Kieran with a ferocious gaze, as if they were man-eating beasts.

“Powered-up version? You have no idea what you are talking about! I apologize for underestimating you before this, but now, I’ll correct my wrongs—you are powerful, out-of-my-expectation powerful, but when numbers reach a certain amount, they will cause a qualitative change. And me? I own absolute numbers! Go! Kill him!”

Beadles’ voice gave the orders, and all the people charged towards Kieran.

Glancing at these people who looked like blank-faced, mindless puppets, Kieran quietly shook his head.

He didn’t feel pity for these people who had become his enemy; instead, he acknowledged what Beadles said about quantity inciting qualitative changes.

Unfortunately…

Beadles didn’t know that during a certain period, Kieran would never lose in terms of manpower.

Wuuu Wuuu Wuuuuuuu!

Continuous horns blew.

War horses carrying riders faintly appeared in the dark one after another.

Dang Dang Dang!

The riders knocked their swords against their shields, and the war horses galloped faster with the tempo. The thousand of them acted like a single entity, all of their movements synchronized with each other and their voices converged into—

“BURNING DAWN!”