The Devil’s Cage

Kieran lifted his foot.

The sculpture in Starbeck’s hand instantly flew towards the running man like an arrow let loose, smashing his head.

Bang!

The man plunged to the floor, so did the sculpture.

Pak!

The head sculpture of Hero Algor was smashed to pieces, revealing something inside: a grail.

More precisely, a grail made out of gold, shorter than a common tall glass but the rim of the cup was twice the size and one would need to use two hands to hold it up.

However, the most attracting point wasn’t the golden grail but the two diamonds the size of a quail egg embedded in the exterior of the grail.

Countless profound patterns started off from the diamond spot and spread out towards the whole grail like vines curling.

Inside the black market gathering spot, Kieran and Starbeck were already an attractive point but when the scene occurred, it captured everyone’s attention instantly, especially when the grail was glowing in faint light.

Shocking cries sounded everywhere after that.

“The Holy Grail! The Holy Thorn Grail!”

As shouts sounded, the people around the hall started to throw themselves at the item.

Kieran on the other hand dragged Starbeck towards the direction where they came from.

In fact, not only Kieran but a few from the crowd also ran straight to the entrance when the holy grail revealed itself.

The heavy door was blocked by the others who got through first, as for the trap arrows along the corridor, they were all destroyed by all sorts of methods.

Looking at the corrosive marks and explosion traces on the wall, Starbeck shrunk behind Kieran cowardly.

Starbeck the mimosa was coward alright but he wasn’t an idiot by any means.

The scene that happened back there was enough to terrify him beyond logic.

Why was the Holy Thorn Grail hidden inside Hero Algor’s sculpture?

Why did the seller who seemed to know everything purposely chose him?

More importantly, the seller who didn’t even stand a blow was obviously a pawn by someone else hiding behind the scenes!

Once Starbeck thought about the real person who stole the Holy Thorn Grail having him under their crosshairs, his body couldn’t help but shiver violently.

“Stop shivering! Things aren’t that bad yet. That thief doesn’t possess such destructive capabilities. All he wanted as an eye-catching target and it was natural that we fell into his sight.”

Kieran swiftly analyzed the situation in his head and easily determined the real purpose of all the commotions.

Kieran didn’t believe the thief who stole Holy Thorn Grail would simply target him and Starbeck.

If the thief had such capabilities, the dungeon difficulty would not be just a 5th one, but 15th or even 20th and above.

Likewise, if the thief really had such outstanding power, he wouldn’t have to steal the Holy Thorn Grail, he might seize it by force.

Even more so, suppressing Thorn Temple with force wasn’t all that hard.

After all, within the list of 25 temples in Naveya, Thorn Temple was ranked below average.

“Really?” Starbeck asked with trembling voice.

“Of course! Otherwise the thief wouldn’t use a fake holy grail to attract attention,” Kieran said in an affirmative tone.

“A fake holy grail? But the holy grail back there… he wants it?!”

Starbeck was stunned before quickly reacting to the situation but before he could say anything, Kieran leapt up the flight of stairs and reached the surface.

The hunchbacked gatekeeper was nowhere to be found and further away, two squads of fully armed soldiers were marching towards them.

Starbeck quickly shut up when he saw those two intimidating groups.

He knew he was a burden so he understood what should he do at times like this: shut up and stop drawing attention.

Looking at the swiftly approaching soldiers, Kieran activated [Tracking] without a second thought, he quickly identified the traces left behind and headed straight for that direction.

The seller back there was just a deceived pawn. The real mastermind might also be in the black market gathering, but who?

The person who ran first during the commotion was the most suspicious.

There weren’t that many people who could maintain their sanity under the temptation of the Holy Thorn Grail, even fewer could analyze calmly and know what to do.

Of course, Kieran didn’t deny the possibility of a really smart person being there but when a person ran when the sculpture fell but hadn’t broken into pieces, “smart” was an understatement.

……

Mizelle swiftly shuttered across the shadows.

The technique that he trained since young allowed him to easily move around swiftly and stay hidden but the sweat on his forehead stated that Mizelle wasn’t at ease.

“Damn it! How can they be so cautious!” Mizelle cursed.

Initially, when he saw the young master wandering around the black market gathering, he thought his mission was on the verge of success. Who knew the servant of the young master was as sharp as a winter wolf.

He even suggested the young master to return the sculpture and ultimately smashed it to pieces!

When the sculpture broke into pieces, so did Mizelle’s chances of success because as one of the participants of this plan, he knew very well what kind of consequences the fake holy grail would bring.

The folks at Thorn Temple must have made a move.

Once he thought about the strength of the folks at Thorn Temple and the consequences of being caught, Mizelle ran even faster, leaving more sweat on his forehead.

His tiring state continued until he reached his own hiding spot.

After closing the door carefully, he wiped the sweats off his forehead and heaved a long sigh.

“Phew, dangerous…”

But Mizelle’s words stop abruptly because a palm grabbed his neck from behind, squeezing his throat.

“You think you can escape? How dare you… Speak, who’s orders was it?”

A heavy shout later, Mizelle was smashed to the floor.

While feeling the excruciating pain spread all over his body as though all his bones were crushed, he looked up and tried to make out who one assaulted him was.

When he clearly saw the face behind the hood and mantle, Mizelle gasped heavily.

It was the young master’s servant!

Mizelle didn’t know how he was followed to his own hiding spot but he knew if he didn’t provide a reasonable explanation, he would end up no better than if he was in the hands of Thorn Temple.

“My lord! What are you saying? I ran first because I realized something isn’t right! Please… Argggh!”

Mizelle tried to swindle his way out but when he was half-way at it, he was interrupted by the pain from his wrist.

Kieran was stepping on his wrist slightly and at the same time spoke with killing intent in his eyes, “Ran first? Before that sculpture even broke, you ran? What now, you have some kind of prophet bloodline?”

“Stop playing tricks! I have more than a hundred ways to make you regret that you were born! And as for your soul, I guess Thorn Temple would be much more interested in you. I do remember they are quite the fanatic when it comes to whipping souls.”

Mizelle quivered as Kieran posed his threats.

Mizelle wasn’t a unyielding person to begin with, so he wouldn’t last that long in front of Kieran with his overflowing killing intent and the pain from his body.

A few seconds later, Mizelle started to beg, “My lord, spare my life! I am just trying to secure a slot in the baptism!”