The Devil’s Cage

The knocks echoed throughout the long corridor.

The flow of time carried the echoes away and made the already quiet corridor even quieter.

The silence could drive a person mad!

Victor dared not even breathe loudly, his eyes locked on the stone door, waiting for it to open.

You controlled her ghostly form and tried her very best to keeping her fear in check.

Scary!

Even a door apart, she could feel the terrifying existence beyond it.

How scary was this Dark Dominator? He could probably squash her with a finger, right?

You tried to think highly of this Dark Dominator before they came but when she arrived right in front of the door, her frightened condition told her she underestimated him.

The slightest level of aura from that lord was enough to strike fear in its core.

‘This is the Dark Dominator?

Then…how powerful is the Bird of Death that this dominator serves?

How could such a scary existence lurk on the grounds of Ai City?

Are there some secrets of the city that I don’t know of?’

The messy thoughts in her mind raising her caution, she clenched her teeth and took the glowing shard of [Philosopher’s Stone] out with her hand.

She raised it above her head.

Victor saw how she reacted and didn’t stop her, believing she was doing the right thing.

They had to show sincerity if they wanted a working relationship.

Without an honest basis, everything could be fake.

The silence continued, yet Victor and You were quite patient.

The two of them didn’t move a muscle as they waited.

Minutes later, after Bloody Mary deemed it was long enough to open the door, it asked them, “What do you seek?”

Its voice was heavy and husky, like it wasn’t used to speaking the common tongue or a giant opening its mouth and a gale would come with every word it spoke.

The sudden voice made Victor and You heave a breath of relief.

Both of them exchanged a gaze before You encouraged Victor to step up.

“The respectful Dark Dominator, your lordship, I am Victor… a man without memories because of some people’s schemes. I hope to retrieve my memories, and if you can tell me who did this to me, I will be forever grateful,” Victor tried to speak as cleanly and simply as possible.

“Retrieve your memories? Hmph! That isn’t enough.”

Bloody Mary chuckled and said with its heavy voice.

Its little chuckle had serious disdain, which it did it on purpose.

Bloody Mary had some thoughts about Victor’s current state.

His soul must have gone through too many ‘cuts’, hence the irreversible damage. Most of the time, people who damaged their soul too much would die straight away or fall into a coma forever, becoming an empty shell.

Yet Victor stood in front of the door… it should be the miraculous traits of [Philosopher’s Stone], not the little shards that got split up but the complete stone!

Of course, there was still the possibility of it being something else entirely.

It might also be that Victor had sufficient preparation to face the unpredicted, hence the reason why he was still ‘alive’.

However, accidents happen, no one could entirely escape being controlled by something, not even Victor, let alone its boss, which was meddling with the scene in the dark.

Bloody Mary sensed its boss was coming closer quickly, and so it concentrated and played its part better.

“If you want to retrieve your memories, you will need at least a complete Philosopher’s Stone. One shard is far from enough!”

Bloody Mary’s voice clearly entered Victor’s ears.

Victor wasn’t really disappointed. In fact, he felt rather happy.

What he worried about was something like ‘I can’t do anything’ or ‘it can’t be helped’.

Although a complete [Philosopher’s Stone] was hard to find, there was still hope, right?

Huuu!

Victor took a deep breath, the most concerning matter in his heart met with an answer. He took the shard of the stone from You.

“Then what can this get me?” Victor asked straightaway.

He did not negotiate at all, neither did he test the validity.

First, Victor in his current state wasn’t used to such vigilance.

Second, he didn’t expect to walk out from here in one piece if he really did test the absolute force.

He knew the situation very well, he knew what he was dealing with and who had the rights to call the shots.

“It’s enough for me to help you to solve an upcoming crisis. A lot of people and monsters are looking for you outside, right? Go to Ai City’s Leaf Dining. Go to the owner, that lord will be able to help you.”

Bloody Mary mentioned Kieran with utmost respect.

That lord?

Victor and You jolted.

Another existence that this powerful Dark Dominator addressed as lord, how terrifying would that person be?

Could it be that Bird of Death?

The two of them quickly related to the possible answer with their clear minds.

While they were wondering, Bloody Mary added.

“However, the cost you pay and the protection that you will receive isn’t exactly equivalent, there is still a little gap. So, you have to follow that lord for 10 years, helping him to deal with the trivial things before he truly awakens. Are you willing to comply?”

“I AM!” Victor answered without a second thought.

He was forced into a desperate situation.

With 10 years of service and a complete [Philosopher’s Stone] for his survival and well-being, Victor couldn’t imagine himself being the loer.

On the other hand, You was muttering to herself.

Truly awakens?

Leaf Dining?

Is it Royan, the God of Slaughter reincarnation?

Her body shook, finally realizing why a powerful existence like the Dark Dominator appeared in Ai City: the lord he served was in the city itself!

Even though the lordship hasn’t truly awakened and was still bound to its mortal body, everything made sense now!

Victor respectfully placed the shard of the [Philosopher’s Stone] in front of the stone door and then went back the way he came. You followed behind him.

The lady ghost told Victor what she knew softly.

“Leaf Dining is that famous?” Victor asked in a muffled voice.

“Em. Normal people might not know, but it has quite the reputation on the mystical side. The eldest daughter of Song Shi Family is a regular there,” said You.

“That Roye is really lucky, I bet he has no idea what his brother truly is,” Victor exclaimed and then said in surprise.

“Reincarnation? Who knew it was real! Based on what I read, there were a few times in history but… Who exactly is that Lord Bird of Death, I have no idea.”

You was pondering upon the title.

She felt like she had heard it before, but was unable to figure out where and when.

“We don’t need to know who that lordship is in his past life. All we need to do is keep our promise,” Victor said seriously.

“I understand,” You nodded.

Both of them walked out of the underground corridor and arrived back on the surface.

The emissary bid them farewell and then returned to the underground corridor.

The sea of ghosts dispersed and the minotaur and horseman went away too.

The underground corridor vanished promptly, leaving only a few marks behind.

Victor and You weren’t surprised.

If the Dark Dominator decided to protect the lord he served in the dark, it was natural that he wanted to keep it down and away from sight.

If he were to ignore everything and go in with a high profile, it would attract unwanted suspicions.

“Let’s go to Leaf Dining,” Victor said.

You led the way right away.

Both of them swiftly left the woods and reconnected to the major highway.

However, a few minutes later, both of them were forced to a stop because a scarlet figure appeared in front of them.

“VICTOR!”

Scarlet the red skull locked its grudgeful, fiery gaze on Victor, its soul fire jumping vigorously. It ought to grab Victor and torture him with every possible way, but it did not.

In Scarlet’s sight, it saw a figure slowly appearing behind Victor and it was very concerned