The Devil's Cage

On top of one of the battleship’s decks, a crew was shuffling back and forth in an orderly manner.

The iron cannons were being loaded with pellets, ready to fire.

General Barry was standing at the front deck, donning a black military outfit. He was looking stern and persistent. That strict manner of a soldier that was hanging over his well-aged face was intimidating. He was staring at the island on his ship like a hawk targeting its prey.

The island before him was the destination that he had been searching for 20 years: Sanctuary Island!

It was a place with secrets that could topple the world and at this very day, General Barry was going to finally expose the secret to the eyes of the world!

"Fire!" General Barry said softly.

The ordering officer beside him sent the order down with a raise of the red flag in his hand.

Promptly, hundreds of iron cannons were fired off from the fleet of battleships.

KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The island afar was being bombarded by the cannon and was instantly engulfed in a sea of fire.

The bright fire and thick black smoke enshrouded the whole island in an instant.

...

After moving forward for around 3 kilometers, Kieran and Schmidt went through trap doors, pit holes, poison gas and hidden arrows. Then, they arrived in front a wooden door.

Three of the paths led to the same end.

Schmidt looked at the intact wooden door with metal covers on all four of its edges and a single handle. He looked hesitant because he recalled what Kieran said before.

Although he hated to admit it, Schmidt knew that the current situation had a high chance to turn out exactly like what Kieran said before.

Subconsciously, Schmidt looked at Kieran.

"Since we are already here, there’s no way back for us!" Kieran said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"But..."

"I rather take a gamble than stay in this place imprisoned by Smulder. Even if you are willing to be my cellmate, nothing will change! Now, let’s proceed with our plans!"

Kieran interrupted Schmidt and pointed at the wooden door.

Schmidt sighed and backed off as a signal of understanding.

After Schmidt retreated around 10 meters, he raised his hand to signal Kieran.

Kieran nodded and headed towards the door. He didn’t pull the door open immediately because he was considering the existence of Sanctuary Force. Kieran hid behind the door and pulled the handle with his hand.

Tssk Gak!

The door was pulled open, blocking Kieran in the corner.

A faint light shone through the door’s back.

Sanctuary Force!

Kieran identified it without a second glance since he had multiple encounters with that power despite it not burning him this time around..

Then, Kieran pushed the door back again.

Bang!

After a loud bang, the door was shut once more.

"How was it?" Kieran asked Schmidt.

It was the plan that both of them had discussed on the way there.

Because of Sanctuary Force, Kieran’s movements were highly restricted so Schmidt had to act as his eyes in certain situations.

Schmidt was a little stunned when Keiran asked the question.

After a delay of three to four seconds, Schmidt gave a bitter smile.

"Just like you predicted. There is an exit behind this door leading outside but there is also a diamond emitting Sanctuary Force in the middle of the room! That diamond was very dazzling. It softly radiated around the room but the brightness at the center was hard to look at!" Schmidt’s bitter smile got heavier as he spoke.

He did witness the light that caused damage to Kieran. Even the milder version previously had caused quite the pain on Kieran. Should Kieran go near the bright diamond in the middle of the room, it might really kill him!

As the thought flooded Schmidt’s mind, he tried to persuade Kieran.

"Let’s change our path! There must be some other way out!" Schmidt said.

Kieran however shook his head calmly.

"Other than that, is there anything else noteworthy in the room?"

Kieran wasn’t concerned about the diamond since he already expected it. He didn’t plan on altering his initial plans to break through.

On the way here, Kieran had thought it through. No doubt Smulder was crazily strong but he wouldn’t have stored Sanctuary Force within the walls itself. He must be relying on some items or relics.

Sanctuary was such an ancient organization; it didn’t surprise Kieran that they may possess such an item.

At the same time, such items must have some protective measures whether it was being stored or being used. The protective measure was what Kieran was afraid of.

With Sanctuary Force in the mix, Kieran’s power was not even a tenth of his former self’s strength. All he could rely on was Schmidt to help and his limited strength...

No doubt facing a powerful enemy was nearly impossible but how about dealing with the item that was emitting Sanctuary Force?

If the protective measures was removed, everything would be easy for him.

Kieran had a few hands in dealing with such a item anyway.

"Can’t really see properly, it’s too dazzling!" Schmidt said with a shameful manner.

Kieran frowned, not because he was grunting at Schmidt.

He knew that Schmidt was a common man. Surely he wouldn’t be upset over such things but if they couldn’t figure out protective measures, their next move was going to be troublesome for both of them. It placed them in a terrible position.

So Kieran went with Plan B instead.

"You open the door this time. Don’t worry. I’ll stand as far as I can. If we can’t figure out what is inside, we are really going to stuck here forever!" Kieran said.

"At least 30 meters!" Schmidt gave an estimated safe range based on the shine range of the diamond.

Kieran didn’t say anything and headed backwards on the path. After getting into position, he gave Schmidt an "OK" sign with his right hand.

The door was pulled open again. The Sanctuary Force’s light shone again but the shine was just as Schmidt had estimated. It was dimmer at the 10 meter range and barely any light reached the 30 meter range.

Kieran was able to see what was inside the room.

The room wasn’t that big but because of the angle’s view, he could only get a general image.

A diamond, the size of a grown man’s thumb, was placed over a delicate iron stand carved with mystical wordings; it was placed in the middle of the room.

The iron stand was welded to the ground. The ground around the stand and the walls were also carved with mystical wordings.

On the wall opposite of the door, there was an opening that revealed the night sky outside.

Similar to Schmidt, Kieran too couldn’t spot the protective measures.

Although it didn’t mean that Kieran would give up just like that. After signaling Schmidt another "OK" sign, Kieran took his [Python-W2] revolver and aimed at the ground inside the room.

He pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The muzzle flashed, shone and the bullet was fired.

Chang!

Suddenly, when a bullet entered the room, a broadsword appeared in its trajectory and blocked the bullet. Upon impact, sparks were flying from the broad sword’s body.

Then, a two meters tall armored figure appeared from within the room and landed in Kieran’s sight.

It charged out at Kieran without any hesitation. As the armor was charging, the Sanctuary Force on its body was dazzling brightly. At the same time, the walls along the path faintly emanated the light again.