The Devil’s Cage

A metallic cup was put on a sturdy table. The cup had no decorations and looked rough but it was sturdy and able to hold a large volume. The sweet egg beer inside the cup was shimmering under the sunlight.

Sweet egg beer wasn’t just cheap, it was also many people’s favourite, especially in the Northern Lands, near the outskirts of Mozaar. The drink was able to provide warmth and sweetness and it had become a must for every person on a trip.

Holuff was one of them. Even though he had retired, he liked to have one cup in the afternoon, but not today.

Holuff held his cup of beer and stared into space blankly, his eyes were out of focus and his mind was in deep thought.

The worker beside Holuff saw his boss in deep thought and quietly left him alone.

In the past few days, the worker had gotten used to his boss going blank occasionally.

People asked about what happened at first but Holuff kept quiet every time, or when he was nervous, he would just scold them for being busybodies, so the workers knew what they should do.

The door closed quietly.

A few minutes later, Holuff sighed heavily.

Snake Sect?

Was there really a Snake Sect?

The retired Demon Hunter scratched his head and fondled the few strands of hair left as his mind fell into doubt.

He recalled the young man from two days ago, who claimed to be Colin of Snake Sect.

Holuff didn’t believe Colin at first, despite him being powerful and doing things similar to a Demon Hunter, but he had never heard of the Snake Sect that Colin mentioned, not even once throughout his entire life.

Therefore, he thought Colin was just bluffing and fabricating identities to fool him.

If Colin further explained himself during that situation, Holuff would persistently assume Colin was a liar, but Colin said nothing, not even an excuse!

After he said ‘Those who should know will eventually know; those who should not know will never know!’, he went back to his room.

In the next few days, Colin didn’t even look for Holuff once.

Holuff knew this kind of tactic well. In fact, he always resorted to such tactics in the past to trick many despicable bastards, but… was it truly a bluff? Some tactic?

One day, two days, three days…

From the disbelief at the first day to the current dubious state, Holuff was grinding his gears, he realizing there was no reason for Colin to bluff him.

His hotel?

It might sound like a decent property to the commons but to a powerful person like Colin, it was nothing significant.

The equipment he left behind? Less than impossible.

Those items and equipment were originally a present for Colin. Holuff decided to give Colin the items when he displayed the Mark of the Lone Wolf and he believed Colin noticed it too, otherwise it was not possible for Colin to reject so straightforwardly.

Though once he remembered Colin’s reply about the shadows and tricks, Holuff couldn’t help but breath heavily.

“What a bastard! I don’t care if you are Snake Sect or not, you are a bloody bastard! But… is there really a Snake Sect? Unlike us, the Demon Hunters in the dark?” Holuff muttered to himself softly.

He started to recall the history of the Demon Hunters.

He realized whenever the Demon Hunters were pushed to the verge of annihilation, they’d unknowingly stand back up and thrive to live another day. It was like some unknown force behind them protected the ‘seeds’ for the future.

If there is really a Snake Sect… it could really explain all of this!

Because of that, Holuff did not contact his familiar Demon Hunter contact.

He wasn’t sure the Demon Hunter that he once called a friend was trustworthy.

That war almost wiped out the Demon Hunters, although it was claimed to be an investigation on the Black Cataclysm. Holuff always felt like the real problem lies inside the organization.

Otherwise they wouldn’t have fallen apart so easily.

Perhaps people from the Snake Sect knew something about this.

As far as Snake Sect was concerned, they might be involved in that war secretly as well. They must have discovered something but somehow failed to spread the news, giving the Demon Hunters hints and going deeper into the dark.

They did not spread the seed of the Demon Hunters right after the disaster but chose to stay in the dark so that they could get to the bottom of this.

‘This Colin, who comes to me, must have gone through many tests, just to make sure I am clean, and then he hoped to know something from me.’

Holuff was quietly thinking. His thoughts unconsciously leaned towards the good side.

It was part of human nature. Humans always liked the good side and resented anything bad.

Whenever things went south, humans tended to bet on a fluke. Even when disaster truly struck, the hope for a fluke didn’t go away; one would never change before seeing their deathbed with their own eyes.

Even if Holuff was a Demon Hunter, this human nature of his would never change, because deep down in his heart, Holuff didn’t accept the fact that the Demon Hunters were defeated miserably, even though he chose to retire after that.

Some time later, Holuff decided to be frank with Colin, wanting to have an open talk with the young man.

He couldn’t wait like this anymore, he would surely go bald if he did.

Holuff carefully combed the remaining hair from the left to right and carefully stuck them on his scalp. He drained every last drop of his beer and endured the burning sensation in his stomach. As he rubbed his fat stomach, his eyes unconsciously looked through the window and into the direction of War God Temple, which was shrouded by dark clouds and rumbling lightening.

“God of War?”

Tsk.

Holuff pouted in disdain.

The reason why Demon Hunters were unlikable was greatly related to their beliefs.

They never worshipped any God, not as pretend.

They only believed in their teachers, parents, family, and friends.

They only believed in the weapon in their hands.

They did not belong to the light, but neither did they belong to the darkness.

Strolling on the verge of death without the honor of being praised and without the songs being sung, all they had was the pride in their heart.

He unconsciously looked up, placing his hands on his chest and feeling the rigorous beating of his heart coming out of his chest. Holuff grinned widely, he then strode towards his closet.

A folded battleaxe, a broken windcoat, and a worn out hat.

There was also a backpack beside the armament, looking pretty aged. In one of the side pockets was a small pistol and the other had several throwing daggers, along with some miscellaneous items.

Holuff grabbed the folded battleaxe and then the backpack.

His hand shook, the folded battleaxe expanding and transforming into a long polearm.

With the battleaxe in his hand, Holuff performed a vertical swing in front.

Funng!

The heavy air-breaking sound crashed on to the floor powerfully.

The wooden planks were shattered and dust clouds flew up, the whole room clouded in dust and blocking his sight.

Holuff then swung the battleaxe into a horizontal slash.

Funng!

The edge of the axe whipped up a strong wind and carried the layer of dust together, slashing towards a spot which seemed to be empty.

Bang!

A person fell out after the slash.

The person was wrapped in dark grey clothes and upon falling on the floor, the body dispersed like smoke.

Holuff coldly chuckled at the scene.

If this was earlier, when he was still subtly affected by that bastard’s incitement, this person’s hiding technique would be flawless, but now?

Against a clear-minded Demon Hunter, this kind of hiding technique was of an ostrich sticking its head into the ground while exposing its body.

Holuff pulled out his short pistol.

Unlike the usual short musket, this short pistol was fatter and the muzzle was as big as a grown man’s fit.

When the trigger was squeezed…

KABOOM!

The muzzle flashed like a cannon.

Tiny little pellets were blasted out, blanketing everything in a 100° and 5 meter range in front of Holuff, including the furniture and the enemy.

The enemy wrapped in dark gray clothes was blasted heavily, there wasn’t an intact piece of meat on him. His dark body twitched as he widened his eyes at Holuff, losing his breath promptly after being shot.

Holuff didn’t care about the kill, he exerted his strength through his feet and backed away quickly.

Bang!

His fat body crashed through the wall behind him.

Right after Holuff crashed out of his room, the dead body on the floor expanded like a balloon and then it flashed.

KABOOM!

Holuff’s quarter was blasted into the sky.

He was away from the effective blast range, so he did not suffer any actual damage, but the dirt caught his face. As he spat the dirt out of his mouth, he swung the battleaxe backwards and performed a thrust.

There was more than one enemy!

As the shockwave of the explosion blanketed the area, enemies wrapped tightly in black clothes appeared, one after another.

These enemies were similar to the one Holuff just killed. They had the figures of men but smelled like beasts, and even with the tightly wrapped clothes around their faces, the hoarse growling was very obvious.

They were like a pack of wolves, circling Holuff and scanning for his weakness.

Holuff squinted his eyes, the long battle axe laid horizontally beside him and his fat body slightly bent down, looking like a giant wine barrel.

Then… he spun rapidly!

The battle axe swung up and down as it spun in a flurry!

The edge of the battle axe sliced the air with extreme speed, and as it cut the air, blades of wind appeared in its trail.

A moment later, when the wind blades accumulated together, a tiny tornado appeared.

It spun frenziedly and had a powerful suction force, dragging the enemies into the area and throwing them into the wind grinder, shredding them into smithereens.

However, more and more enemies appeared after the first wave.

They did not show fear as they stared straight at Holuff.

They were waiting! They were waiting for Holuff to exhaust his strength!

They knew this kind of heavy weapon was very powerful but only for so long!

Once Holuff slowed down, it would be his end!

Clairehore was very certain of it.

Standing in the middle of the crowd, Clairehore looked at the spinning Holuff coldly. Although he got the news about the Snake Sect from Luncar, he did not pay too much attention to it.

A bunch of sneaky bastards hiding in the dark. If it was before the Black Cataclysm, they might prove to be trouble for them but now?

Impossible!

Their target wasn’t the mortals anymore!

On the other hand, the Mist was much more troublesome than expected.

Clairehore looked towards the thick mist that appeared out of a sudden.

This little pagan who achieved descension quietly managed to become a demi-god!

“It seems like the so-called Snake Sect Demon Hunters aren’t so useless after all.”

Wearing a black robe, Clairehore smiled in disdain and spoke arrogantly.

Demi-god?

He wasn’t one, but he wasn’t afraid of one!

After all, the one behind him was really a true God!

Therefore, he chose a more direct way: kill Holuff and then that Snake Sect Demon Hunter.

Then?

If he could lure more Snake Sect Demon Hunters with the kill, it would be good for him.

He would never show mercy or hold back in killing them all!

In the end, his target would be the Mist!

Though it wasn’t something that he should be worried about.

The God behind him would deal with the Mist perfectly.

Mortals should mind mortal’s business, let the Gods deal with themselves.

It was an unspoken rule among the Northern Lands.

Silent Night Secret Society might be strange and elusive, but with Lady Calamity as their support, they did not mind following the rules.

It was beneficial for them, right?

Just like this moment, where Clairehore could simply neglect the opponent’s God and achieve victory with absolute advantage.

Feeling the tornado getting smaller and Holuff slowly exhausting himself, Clairehore’s smile grew more arrogant and disdainful.

He won again!

The feeling was really incredible!

Dak Dak Dak.

Clear footsteps suddenly came from the other side. With arrogance and disdain reaching a peak on Clairehore’s face, he turned around to face the footsteps and saw Kieran walk out from the shadow.

“Shouldn’t snakes hide in the shadows? Snakes exposing themselves aren’t dangerous,” said Clairehore slowly and then furrowed his brows a little.

The arrogance and disdain he saw on Kieran caused discomfort in his heart.

He was used to looking at others with arrogance and disdain but not used to the other way around, especially when the feeling was real and not fake. Clairehore somehow felt angry.

“GO!” Clairehore waved his hand.

The men around him immediately came out and jumped on Kieran.

Similar to how they surrounded Holuff at first, the advantage of numbers was on full display by these men, but…

Hiss!

A series of snake hisses suddenly sounded them.

Robust snakes sprung out from the ground and constricted the men.

In that instant, those men who jumped on Kieran were petrified on the spot.

Not only the men, even their leader, Clairehore, was terrorized.

They widened their mouths and fell into an abyss of fear, their bodies twisting uncomfortably.

“Aaaarh! Don’t come near me! Go away!”

Clairehore shouted loudly, his hands waving in the air in order to expel the non-existent snakes.

[Sword Skill, Myriad Viper]!

Sword skill in name, illusion that is based off of Kieran’s Spirit in core.

An illusion would be fake if one saw through it, but when one deemed it as authentic… it would become real!

A black greatsword appeared in Kieran’s hand. Without any fancy technique, it cut Clairehore in half.

The immense pain woke Clairehore from the illusory state.

“I-Illusion!? Not bad at all, but the pain you inflicted on me brought me back and it will be your biggest mistake!”

Clairehore woke up quickly after being cut in half, but he didn’t die. Instead, he looked at Kieran energetically, ready to attack again.

However, he once again saw that disdainful expression that caused him a lot of discomfort.

“I WILL KILL YOU! KILL… aaaaaarh!” Clairehore shrieked furiously, but at the next moment, the shriek was replaced by screams.

Black flame burned from his body, the Flame of Desire engulfing him whole.

Pride didn’t even look at the man and turned back to Holuff.

As Pride walked to Holuff, the black flame spread around him and engulfed everyone else from Silent Night Secret Society.

The black flame burned the bodies like black lotuses from the abyss, blooming beautifully.