The Devil's Cage

That snowy white hair, those slightly squinted eyes, and that kind smile...

If it was not for her over-shrivelled body that made her look like a walking corpse, Kieran would have thought that he had found the missing Nikorei.

The resemblance was uncanny.

Her face, manner and the aura around her all fit Kieran’s memories of Nikorei.

"Wait... Memories?" Kieran suddenly shivered.

The monster in the dark could read his memory!

However, before Kieran could check his battlelog, his surroundings had transformed completely.

The ravaged captain’s cabin started to repair itself piece by piece, like a video rewinding itself, and the aging smell in the atmosphere started to fade away.

In a second, the whole Sunshine Mary had returned to its former glory.

When Kieran came to his senses, he was standing in front of the secret door inside the captain’s cabin, following a person down the stairs.

He wanted to stop, but he could not control his body. He was sure his mind was still sane, yet he could not even lift a finger.

"Illusions?" Kieran guessed. Before he could speculate any further, he had reached the end of the stairs. The metal door in front of him was pushed open, revealing what was beyond it.

Behind the metal door were luxurious rooms decorated like suites.

Inside each of the rooms was a beautiful young lady wearing nothing except a collar on her neck. However, none of them looked even a tiny bit dissatisfied.

The naked young ladies were tame as pets, attending to the men beside them.

Young, old, tall, short, handsome, ugly. There was a different man in the arms of each woman. All of them shared one common trait though. They were all wealthy.

Kieran was certain after getting a small glimpse at the accessories on a couple of the men.

His body was still following the person in front him, until an auction table appeared before him.

Pieces of valuables were being safely guarded behind the curtains of the auction table.

Kieran caught a glimpse of the [Fantos Manuscript] and the unhatched Hell Fiend Spider egg. There was also a bright red tiara.

Before Kieran could look any further, the person he was following took a sharp turn to the other side, where there was a caged cell, or in other words, "different merchandise".

A young lady with otherworldly beauty that could even shake Kieran’s unbreakable will was sitting straight up inside the cell. Despite the fact that she was imprisoned, her delicate, elegant aura and ice-cold expression could reach visitors even miles away.

When Kieran laid his eyes on her, he felt like he was looking at the crescent moon in the winter, the soft light shining down on the land and the sharpness of the moon’s edge.

The man before Kieran was acting proud, looking down on her from above. His ego was eradicated by the beautiful lady’s unique ways though.

The lady swept the man’s ego under the carpet, infuriating him completely.

The man was breathing heavily. Suddenly, he turned around and looked at Kieran.

"What should I do? I want her! I love her! She’s ungrateful though!" the man said.

Kieran was shocked at first, but he quickly came back to his senses. The man’s question woke him up from his daze.

Kieran unconsciously realized that he was able to move his limbs again! His strength had come back. This was delightful news, yet the situation before him was not. Kieran frowned.

"Should I kill her now, or ravage her body? Answer me! Give me an answer now!" the man said in a quicker, louder tone. He could have been roaring by that point.

The beautiful woman next to him seemed not to hear his loud roar or notice Kieran’s presence though. She was just staring at the man with utmost contempt.

"Will a different answer trigger a different outcome? Too bad... None of these options is my answer!" Kieran replied honestly.

Then he clenched his fist and punched the man hard on his infuriated face.

The man turned into a dummy and fell to the floor.

"Wrong answer! Wrong answer!" the dummy said.

The beautiful lady inside the cage lifted the corner of her mouth into a bewitching grin. Her beautiful face melted, and her body expanded at exponential speed.

The metal bars of the cell, which were as thick as a baby’s arm, could not contain her ever-expanding body anymore.

After a series of ear-breaking screeches, the metal bars burst open.

A five-meter tall, sharp-fanged monster with green skin and red hair appeared before Kieran.

The monster opened its bloody mouth and hurled itself at him.

The strength that Kieran had regained a moment ago disappeared once more at that crucial moment.

Kieran could only stare at the bloody mouth approaching fast. He was moments away from being devoured.

He was unsure whether the things happening in this reality would affect his real body.

His burning doubts made his back sweat.

The fear that came with death lingered in his heart again. It was the feeling Kieran hated the most.

Kieran started to struggle. He was unwilling to die like that. He was unwilling to bow down to despair when his life was just getting started.

He had too many things that he wanted to try and experience.

"F*CK OFF!"

The cry burst out of Kieran’s mouth uncontrollably.

Suddenly, the bloody mouth inches away from him disappeared. So did the auction room and the other luxurious rooms. Everything disappeared.

Kieran had returned back to the Sunshine Mary that had aged through time.

[Fear: You are within Target’s Fear range. You have Body of Evil, Affected by High Demon’s Fear, Spirit has failed authentication, Incomplete Hint...]

[Hint (Incomplete): You are within Target’s Hint range, Spirit has failed authentication, Abnormal Illusion...]

[Illusion: You are inside the illusion of your Target, Your Spirit and Intuition have passed the authentication, The Illusion Realm could not inflict effective damage on you...]

[Stabbing: Special Method, Lethal Attack...]

...

Kieran felt like he had spent over half an hour inside the illusion, although it had been just a second.

A series of notifications spammed his vision, informing him about what had happened.

The high demon that had worn Nikorei’s face had used its common-looking but sharper-than-blade fingernail to cut through [Paul’s Camouflage] Defense and stab Kieran on the chest.

The first section of its fingernail had plunged into Kieran’s chest, going even deeper.

The demon’s target was the [Fusion Heart]!

Instantly, Kieran realized something...

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

The name of the High Demon is Bloody Mary lol