The Devil’s Cage

Passed?!

Nikorei’s words struck Kieran as a surprise. He replied almost instantly, “So not just West Coast, but also Naveya to be part of the test to be your assistant?”

“Yes. West Coast is the preliminaries—pass it and you all will have the qualifications to be in the running for my assistant. After you get the qualifications, you will enter the rest of the test. Those who pass will be my assistant and will help me in dealing with some matters. Of course, I’ll make it worthwhile.”

Nikorei, the Goddess of Earth, explained to Kieran in detail while rocking in her chair.

She really looked like a kind old lady who had retired in a rural village, but Kieran wouldn’t believe his eyes.

He squinted his eyes and pondered upon the word ‘you all’.

It was obvious that Nikorei wasn’t referring to Ellie Jones, Raul, Cidney or even Schmidt, because every single one of them were there to make him stand out.

As for what happened throughout West Coast, it was all the old lady’s setup.

Perhaps among the others, Ellie Jones had a certain gift and was temporarily trained in Black Street 1st, but Kieran was sure Nikorei paid more attention to him and the others who had the qualifications.

Then how many assistants was she looking for?

Just one? Or multiple?

If she only needed one and there was more than one candidate, what would happen then?

Unconsciously, Kieran’s thoughts started to turn sour.

Kieran might not bear malicious intent but he would never lack the heart of vigilance.

“Don’t worry. I am not too strict about the number of assistants. The thing that you are afraid of won’t happen. Moreover, the gifts and strengths that all of you possess far surpass common people, you can even say that all of you are one in a million. I can’t bear to waste such good resources.”

The old lady seemed to have pierced Kieran’s thoughts, and spoke with a light laugh.

Kieran didn’t want to comment on it, so he kept quiet.

Sometimes, even the things he saw were false, let alone the things he heard.

Only when the truth was presented before him would Kieran choose to believe.

As for other times, reserving a certain level of doubts was not something bad.

Even before the Goddess of Earth, Nikorei, Kieran had no plans of changing his little habit.

“Dubious little fella, aren’t ya? But I must say, you really have some luck there. I didn’t have much hope in you after you implanted that heart. It may give you quite the power at times, but in the end, it will only wear you down. As a matter of fact, if it weren’t for Tiki keeping an eye for you, I wouldn’t be here talking to you either.

“Now that you have officially become my true assistant, I will answer your questions. Secret spells, news, organizations, some mythical knowledge, or even some items that you seek, I can give them to you—after this time though, you have to clear my tasks before asking more of me.”

The old lady didn’t show any dissatisfaction at Kieran’s attitude but showed praise instead.

Kieran, on the other hand, was more concerned about the information she revealed through her words.

It seemed like the Devil’s heart had some shackles on it, but for Kieran, the shackles were non-existent because since the beginning, the heart that he had implanted in his body wasn’t the Devil’s heart but Fusion Heart, the culmination of many types of powers.

Maybe Fusion Heart had some kind of restrictions too, but Kieran hadn’t come across them until now.

He had no intention of telling Nikorei the deepest secret of his heart though. Likewise, he wouldn’t let this rare opportunity slip.

Therefore, he chose to ask the thing that concerned him the most.

“Restraints, are they like Vanessa’s? If I were to absorb the Power of Faith, would I become like her?” Kieran asked.

“No, these restraints are much worse than Vanessa’s. Thankfully, you’ve overcome them. As for the Power of Faith, well, you and Vanessa are different from the roots. When they became gods, although stronger than common men, they weren’t that absurdly powerful. Compared to divine descendants, they were still very far away, and using their body to fuse the Fragments of Divinity, even with certain rules in this world to help them, they did not end up any better. Vast, endless Power of Faith will wash their souls until the day their souls are replaced.

“But you, you are different, 2567. You have a body strong enough to sustain them, and you’ve even ignited your own Divine Fire. Absorbing an endless amount of Power of Faith is like adding logs to your fire—the more you absorb, the stronger your fire will be, and a strong Divine Fire will help you give birth to your own unique Divine Dower,” said Nikorei after adjusting her sitting posture.

“Divine Fire giving birth to Divine Power… Then what are those Fragments of Divinity?” Kieran asked.

“Fragments of Divinity? They are the only evidence those pitiful souls left behind in the material world after they’d fallen. It is also the last hope of their resurrection. If you hadn’t helped Vanessa, she would have soon turned into a mindless puppet and waited for the lingering soul in her divinity to be awakened. After that, she would be replaced by another kind of existence.” Nikorei sighed.

Whether she was sighing about the fallen gods or the fate of the so-called Naveyan Gods, no one new. Kieran wasn’t as empathetic as her though; he wasn’t that sentimental to care about the strangers around him.

He knew what his priority was due to the rarity of this opportunity to ask questions.

“How do I get my own divinity?” Kieran asked.

“When your Divine Power reaches a certain state and forms your own Divine Form, it will be the ‘medal’ given to you. But you are still too far away from that. What you need to do now is raise your Divine Fire and push it to the limit. Of course, you can also replace your cultivation by fusing those Fragments of Divinity to get your own in advance. Though, I do not suggest that you simply fuse yourself with those fragments, as it will make the formation of your Divine Form difficult,” Nikorei said.

“Will the final outcome be any different?”

“A huge difference. Fusing in advance is like killing the hen in favour of the eggs. This is it, boy. This is what I can tell you for now. As for the rest, you need to work for it.”

The old lady ended the conversation, and Kieran, too, didn’t ask anymore.

Since he had experience in exchanging information regarding rank V, he knew how valuable was the information he had just gotten.

He could rely on this information and earn a large sum of Points if he had the need to.

Besides, what he got was far more than what he heard.

“I want to know more, so… Is there anything that I can help with?” Kieran asked.

Kieran thought it was only fair to give before taking, and he was also happy to comply.

But when he got the scroll from Nikorei in the next moment, his jaw dropped.