The Devil’s Cage

”I want that crystal!”

That impulsive thought was like a rising tide beating hard inside Kieran’s heart and defying his logic.

The calm, cool manner that Kieran was so proud of himself for was close to crumbling down.

His mind was only filled with thoughts about the rank of the crystal, ”If I get that crystal, the killer players would not be a problem anymore!” he thought.

His thoughts became persistent and eventually turned into an instinctive desire.

That desire fed his thoughts and made them grow bigger.

Without any sound or motion, the desire within Kieran turned into a creature that could devour him.

Hundreds and thousands of hands and legs intertwining, all limbs twisted, clashing and fusing together. Each time the limbs came into contact with each other, they formed an eye.

The creature was blood-red in color and emitted an eye-catching, rainbow-like glow.

Circles and layers of sharp fangs and vicious teeth were spinning around like a chainsaw, grinding anything that went close to the creature. Its next target was Kieran himself.

The creature’s mouth appeared above Kieran’s head. Kieran was still in a daze, stunned by the crystal’s glare.

The creature was about to devour him from top to bottom.

”What a beautiful creature of desire! What an astonishing, twisted, demented fear! Although this would be interesting, I’ll let your flesh and blood stay temporarily attached to your body! I wanted to see you turn into a Night Monster instead! Oh pitiful peasants, accept the grace of your King!”

The ex-guardian and current Night Race leader saw through the rainbow crystal that Kieran would get devoured by his own desire.

The Night Race leader was astonished, but then he quickly changed his intentions.

The frenzy that had turned him into a Night Monster made him sense that nothing was wrong.

His spirit was connected through the rainbow crystal, and the rainbow crystal instantly started shining brightly.

The creature of desire suddenly opened its mouth and extended tubes as thick as thumbs, poking at Kieran’s body.

Their strange energy started to immunize Kieran’s body.

The inoculation was very direct and violent. Its intent was to destroy and recreate cells, creating new bodily fluids, bones and muscle tissue.

It was a smooth process at first, similar to every other alteration process that the crystal had initiated, but as the energy was soaking deep into Kieran’s body, it met resistance.

A warm, extremely tensile energy appeared, blocking the external energy.

The [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art]!

The continuous practice of the art had fused it with Kieran’s instinct. Even though he was so dizzy that he had almost fainted, the way he breathed was still in accordance with the body tempering art.

In other words, as long as Kieran was breathing, the [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] would never stop working!

”Huh? Seems like things are getting more interesting! What kind of lineage is this? Well, it doesn’t matter anymore! All powers are useless against the Eye of Chimeras!”

The Night Race leader was a little shocked by Kieran’s sudden change, but his shock was soon replaced with maniacal laughter.

The thought of destroying a non-resistant body did not satisfy him enough, even more so when he had seen Kieran, whose body was special.

Only resistance made a body worthy of his attention.

The Night Race leader used the rainbow crystal to increase the inoculation of its energy.

The slight tremble of the rainbow crystal made it shine brightly across the hall. Afraid, all the other Night Monsters hid away. The shining light could penetrate almost every spot inside the hall though.

The Night Monsters could only crawl on the ground, shivering in fear.

Only the Night Race leader could stand still against the light. This made him even more unique than the others.

The Night Race leader was fond of that feeling. It made him laugh violently again.

An air-breaking sound was suddenly heard from above him.

It was a long sword swinging down in mid-air.

The Night Race leader caught the sudden movement with his left hand, his mouth forming a disdainful smile.

”You’ll never change, Contly! How could such an attack be effective? Don’t forget that I was your teacher! Everything you know were taught by me!”

Ignoring the sharp edge of the blade, the Night Race leader caught the swinging sword with his bare hand and turned his mocking eyes to look at the red-headed guardian.

All the Night Race leader had to do was exert some strength with his palm and the steel sword was twisted with an agonizing screech.

The sword eventually broke into pieces with a loud noise.

Bang!

The Night Race leader punched the red-headed guardian hard against the abdomen.

Contly instantly flew off like a fired bullet, whipping up a small cloud of dust behind the crumbled wall.

”Don’t worry, I won’t let you die! I am in need of a female for reproduction. Your body was the best target after all. Why else do you think you were able to live this long?” the Night Race leader said in an arrogant tone.

”You are always so arrogant, Bartos!” Contly, who had suffered an internal injury, was bleeding from the corner of her mouth.

”What?”

The Night Race leader, Bartos, suddenly sensed some kind of danger behind Contly’s words. He unconsciously wanted to move his right hand, but it was too late.

A pitch-black dagger slashed out from the shadows, aiming right at Bartos’ right hand.

His monstrous right hand, which should have been able to resist all kinds of sharp weapons, was cut off by the black dagger as if it was mere paper.

”Arghhh!” Bartos cried out in pain. He did not care about his right hand though. He extended his left hand to grab the falling crystal, but the attacker was faster.

Lorl, the one-armed mercenary, launched a kick at the crystal, altering its course.

The crystal was flying towards Kieran and the wall beside him.

The energy attached to the crystal was so powerful that if it really crashed against the wall, it would break into pieces.

”You think you can succeed?” Bartos yelled again, activating his telekinesis.

Earlier, Bartos had used his telekinesis to control the kerosene lamp. This time around, he wanted to control the crystal.

However, unlike the kerosene lamp, the Eye of the Chimeras had powers no one could ignore. Even Bartos, the Night Race leader himself, could not ignore such power.

Therefore, he did not alter the general direction of the flying crystal. Instead, he only altered its landing course. That was already enough.

The Eye of Chimeras, which was supposed to crash against the wall, broke into pieces and flew straight into the left side of Kieran’s chest.

Almost half of the rhombus shaped crystal was stabbed into Kieran’s chest, the sharp edge on its tip pierced through the wall of Kieran’s heart.

Instantly, the energy from the Eye of the Chimeras poured directly into Kieran’s heart.

The warm, mild, tensile [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art]’s power suddenly turned violent as the crystal poked into Kieran’s heart.

The warm stream became more violent than ever before, as if a casual walk had turned into a sprint.

Kieran’s injured heart was beating violently and relentlessly, ignoring the consequences.

The agonizing pain spread throughout his body in an instant.

Thanks to the pain, Kieran’s impulsive desire dissipated and his crumbled logic reappeared like a sturdy stronghold.

Kieran had awakened from his daze.