The Devil's Cage

There were only a handful of things that could astonish Kieran, and what Kieran saw right now was definitely not included.

Lines of words piled up in his vision.

[Absorbed large special energy!]

[Constitution, Spirit, Origin Forces authentication exempted!]

[Name: Fusion Heart III]

[Type: Organ]

[Rarity: Above III]

[Attributes: 1. Transform Devil III, 2. Desire Summon III , 3. Saint Thorns III ]

[Effects: 1. Fiery Sulphur III, 2. Eye of Evil III, 3. Body of Evil III, 4. Touch of the Cardinal Sins III]

[Prerequisite: Kieran (Host)]

[Remark: This is a fusion organ between the heart of a human, the heart of a demon lord, and the core of the Creature of Desire. With the energy from the Devourer, it has evolved once again and become a unique existence. It has truly fused with you, and of course, it isn’t at its limit yet!]

......

[Transform Devil III: Your heart granted you the power. When activated, you will take the form of the demon lord, 4 minute duration, 1 time per day]

[Desire Summon III: Your heart granted you the control. When activated, you can summon the Creature of Desire, 4 minute duration, 2 times per day]

[Saint Thorn III: If you did not choose to activate Transform Devil III or Desire Summon III, you will resist 70% of the damage when coming across holy energy. When you receive damage (regardless of holy damage) of Average, Strong, Powerful, Extreme, I, II, or III level, you can activate a “Halo of Thorns” with a different level to reflect the damage you receive by 10%, 15%, 30%, 50%, 65%, 70% (Including III and above) respectively. You will also be healed with Light, Medium, Heavy, and Lethal wounded states respectively. When you choose to activate Transform Devil III or Desire Summon III, Saint Thorn will not go off, but its effect will be halved 45%]

.......

[Fiery Sulphur III: Burning flames will follow the lineage of the devil-like shadow. When casting Fire element spells, +1 elemental damage and extra Sulphuric Poison III will be added on the spell (Any target that gets burned will have to go through a Constitution authentication with the caster. If failed, target will suffer Advance Rank damage every second, lasting 5 seconds). The requirements such as the gesture and incantation materials for the Fire element spells are decreased by 80%. Even if the skill failed to cast, you will only suffer a 1/6 of the magic repulsion]

[Eye of Evil III: The conviction of Desire was rooted deep inside your heart. Summon Evil Eye (Secondary Eye level. You can determine the size at will; the smallest is the size of a human eye, the biggest is no larger than the size of Creature of Desire) formed by the conviction of Desire to fight for you. Duration depends on the size of the Evil Eye; the smallest lasts 24 hours, the biggest for 10 minutes, 3 per day (When 2 Evil Eyes are summoned, you will gain a special sight that can penetrate through supernatural darkness and invisible force fields).]

[Body of Evil III: The combination of the devil and desire, chaos and sins, but with a dash of light. Granted 600 extra HP, Stamina, acquired Advance Tensile Skin (absorb Advance Rank damage or below), High Devil Skin (absorb Advance Rank damage or below, extra defense points against Fire and Explosions). When facing against Holy element attacks, you will receive 115% damage and special counter items will deal extra damage to you (included but not limited to blessed objects, holy objects, etc.)]

[Touch of Cardinal Sins: The Cardinal Sins of desire flowed in your blood. At will, you can summon Pride, Sloth, or Gluttony to help. When either Pride or Sloth is summoned, Lust, Wrath, Envy and Greed will provide you total control over them and gain certain buffs. When Gluttony is summoned, +2 Terror to Lust, Wrath, Envy and Greed, able to force them to do things out of their will]

[Note: When target is in panic, chaos, fear or has an extreme desire for something, they will be devoured by the respective embodiment of sins. (No drops!)]

...

[Fusion Heart] didn’t level up but all the attributes received difference enhancement and what caught Kieran’s attention was the increased duration for [Transform Devil] and [Desire Summon], even [Saint Thorn] acquired more percentage in reflective damage.

Although [Fiery Sulphur] did not increase, [Sulphur Poison]’s duration increased, and the casting gestures, required material, and repulsion for fire related spells decreased further. Same went for the other attribute and effects, [Evil Eye], [Body of Evil] and [Touch of Cardinal Sins] included.

If that was all, it wouldn’t have caught Kieran’s eyes, of course, let alone cause such astonishment.

What shocked him was the following words.

[Absorbed, converted large amount of energy, Dawn Sword V → Dawn Sword V+]

[Dawn Sword V+: When you can truly utilize the Dawn Force, it means that you are truly a Knight of Dawn, despite the way you utilize it being one-of-a-kind. Charge Dawn Force for 2 seconds and consume half of your Stamina to fire out a 65-meter rank IV+ attack light sword; cooldown: none]

...

[Absorbed, converted large amount of energy, Plague Arrow V → Plague Arrow V+]

[Plague Arrow V+: After the body tempering art reaches Transcendence, you are officially a Plague Knight. You’ve also mastered the unique attacks of a Plague Knight. Spend 1.0 hours to create a Plague Arrow that can fire without a bow or crossbow at the target no further than 1200 meters. Inflicts 1 rank III+ and above penetration damage and has rank III+ of plague infection (Even if the penetration damage didn’t occur, the plague will spread). You can store the arrows, at most 4 arrows at once]

...

[Dawn Sword] and [Plague Arrow] received enhancement as well!

This was what truly shocked Kieran!

“An all-rounded power for all Origin Forces!”

At first, Kieran thought that since the broken piece of mirror matched [Saint Thorn]’s energy, it would be the enhancement for [Saint Thorn], but it turned out to be all-rounded!

An unexpected gain!

“Io Mirror, eh?” Kieran muttered the term in a muffled voice.

Despite all increments not being qualitative, what Kieran acquired was the broken Io Mirror piece in the size of a peanut.

What if it was a bigger piece of mirror or an intact one?

Dong Dong Dong!

Uncontrollably, Kieran’s heartbeat turned fierce.

Greed was one of the cardinal sins, especially for a stingy man like Kieran. It was impossible for Kieran to stay calm before such a huge gain, but he had learned to control it.

Huu Huu!

A few deep breaths later, Kieran suppressed the impulse for greed, knowing what he should do at the moment.

It was true that Io Mirror moved his heart, but it was also true that he would face death if he left Alkender City and something happened.

His main mission did not change: fend off those super criminals in 12 weeks’ time.

Of course, he could still somehow change it, should he trigger some key point events, but until now, Kieran hadn’t found any. He did have some ideas though.

Sitting in the backseat, Kieran was in deep thought.

Ferris drove the car steadily, ensuring a smooth cruising experience; Odork took out a reserved blood pack and sucked on it like jelly. He spent money on the blood because he learned how to save the unnecessary trouble after he became Kieran’s follower, likewise Ferris.

Due to his personality, Ferris was much more vigilant than Odork.

Therefore, when he spotted a person up ahead, he stopped the car and gathered the freezing air around his hand, despite the person not being a stranger.

Selina, in a long white dress and with a newly purchased bag, strode towards the vehicle. This lady, who was secretly Kat Lady, showed unhappiness and helplessness all over her face, seeming a little forced.

The closer she got to the vehicle, the more obvious her look.

In fact, after that rainy day, Selina swore to never see Kieran again.

She wasn’t just vexed, but she also realized nothing good ever came out of the meetings with Kieran.

In short, he was the very definition of bad luck in her dictionary.

Whenever she thought about running home soaking wet that day, she naturally put Kieran on the top of her blacklist.

However, some things were not changeable by simple thoughts; at least, she couldn’t reject Drexton’s request.

It wasn’t just because of how good Drexton was to her, but also because she owed a lot to him. She was probably countless times in his debt.

“Drexton asked me to come over. It’s about the Broken Fire Council.” Selina stated the purpose of her arrival from outside the window.

“Em.” Kieran nodded and granted her permission to come into the car.

Hesitating, Selina opened the door.

If she had a choice, she would rather not sit in the same car as him, but it wasn’t appropriate to discuss the matters about the Broken Fire Council on the road, either.

“I...”

“Let’s wait till we get back to 17th Randletine,” Kieran interrupted Selina.

Compared to the moving car, Kieran trusted the house more because of its layered defense.

Selina glanced over at Kieran and kept quiet.

She dared not oppose him because she was scared she would get beaten. She knew who she was sitting beside.

Cold, cruel and merciless.

A man like Kieran could only be considered as a friend by the kind Drexton, while others would avoid him like the plague.

Selina adjusted her sitting posture and tried to keep a distance between herself and Kieran.

Her eyes peaked at Kieran every once in a while and her back was arched, seemingly ready to jump out the car should anything go wrong.

Kieran sensed the caution from Selina but wasn’t bothered.

Talking sense to a woman plus cat was a ridiculous joke. He might as well try to wash a charcoal white.

Squinting his eyes, Kieran continued to ponder upon the current situation and to perfect his plan.

Since Kieran kept quiet, so did Ferris and Odork.

The silence in the car caused more discomfort in Selina. She was the first to jump out when they finally returned to 17th Randletine Street.

Before she reached the door, it already opened.

A thin young man with glasses walked out. He turned a blind eye toward Selina and walked to the vehicle.

“My lord.”

Goran bowed to Kieran after Odork opened the door for him.

Selina pouted beside the entrance.

‘Hmph! Ignorant humans!’

She coldly grunted and started to go into the house, but when she took the first step inside, an electric current ran through her body.

“MEOW!”

A painful meow later, Selina was sent flying backwards, but it wasn’t the end.

While in the air, Selina saw a pipe extending out of the brick wall. The pipe was only as thick as a pinky, but it struck unrivaled danger in her heart.

Selina endured the pain, did a flip in mid-air, and jumped forward.

Ssss!

The moment she jumped, yellow liquid with gas sprayed out of the pipe, and when it touched the ground, it corroded the stone.

“Hydrofluoric acid!”

Selina’s heart skipped a beat before she glared at Kieran angrily.

Even if her body was special, getting sprayed by hydrofluoric acid would still heavily damage her and even cause death.

Kieran did not care, and Goran instead spoke with an apologetic tone. “I’m sorry, because you have multiple thieving records in the past, I set you as one of the least welcome guests. I’ll adjust the permission right away. Don’t worry, this will be the only time.”

After the sincere explanation, Goran waved his hand.

“Okay, now you can enter 17th Randletine Street freely. You still need to knock and get permission; otherwise, you won’t want to know what you will face and it’s something we don’t wish to see,” Goran replied with a smile.

In Selina’s eyes, that smile was threatening.

‘He did it on purpose! It must be!’

Selina was pissed!

‘Of course, I did it on purpose! Do you think you could get away after talking badly to my lord? How naive!’

Goran’s smile remained as he pushed his glasses up a bit and followed Kieran into the house.

After parking the car, Ferris and Odork went in, too.

The door wasn’t closed, but Selina was reluctant to go in. Still, she had to.

When she crossed the door, she felt her chest tightening. It reminded her of her youth when she was dumped into a box on the street; she was helpless, weak and too young to suffer.

“Those bastards!”

She cursed in her heart and strengthened her thoughts of never seeing Kieran again after this.

She took a deep breath to regulate her thoughts. She prepared to spill everything out in a breath to quickly leave the place.

But...

The aroma of fish and roast chicken entered her nose! Plus grilled meat and butter jelly!

The mix of the delicious aromas stunned her.

Standing on the spot, she saw Kieran sitting down on the dining table while Ferris and Odork served the prepared food skillfully. There were a few chairs around the table, and after calculating the people in the house, Selina was given a seat at the table.

‘I’m invited?

‘No!

‘This must be a trap! It must be!’

Selina stood there with utmost caution.

“Selina, come quick, lunch is starting soon.” Emma Eddie waved her hand at Selina.

Emma Eddie was told there would be an extra guest for lunch, so she prepared an extra set of cutlery.

Selina hesitated for a while, but the aroma of the food pulled her over. She walked towards the dining table uncontrollably.

“Ferris prepared the food this morning. Every single dish was stewed for a long time since it would match their time going out for business,” Emma Eddie explained to Selina with a smile after she sat down beside her.

“Meow cannot be bought by a single meal! I’m a strong and steady... This is delicious!”

Selina spoke to Kieran in her usual arrogant manner, but after she took a bite of the grilled meat, her eyes were concentrated on the food instead of Kieran.

Ferris’s cooking was surely incomparable to Starbeck’s, but considering that he wasn’t a professional cook, it was good enough.

And when Ferris noticed that Kieran was unusually fond of eating, he cooked with all his heart and rapidly increased his cooking skills until they were good enough to satisfy Kieran.

Food that could satisfy Kieran were delicacies for the average people, including Selina.

She scooped up a spoon of steaming fish, blew on it a few times, and shoved it into her mouth before it truly cooled down.

“Hot! Hot! Hot! It’s hot!”

Selina stuck her tongue out, reacting exactly like a cat that accidentally ate some hot food.

The only difference was that she scooped up another spoon of fish and repeated the same thing again.

Lunch started with Selina saying hot and it continued until the end.

After lunch, Emma Eddie helped Ferris clean up and Odork went to patrol around the area. Kieran accepted tea from Goran and looked at Selina, who was laying down on the sofa after a full meal.

Selina the Kat Lady didn’t care about her image at all. She stretched her limbs on the sunn sofa and squinted her eyes in satisfaction. Snores came out of her mouth.

Even though she caught Kieran’s gaze, she didn’t want to get up but continued lying down comfortably.

Kieran didn’t mind. He took a sip of his tea and said, “You had contact with the Broken Fire Council?”

“Yeap! Meow was in the mercenary line before this. As a freelancer, I accepted their missions, but they were very poor in keeping promises. They even tried to turn on me, so meow left before they could. Nevertheless, meow found out one of their secrets,” Selina answered under the warm sun and a full belly.

“Secret?”

Kieran squinted his eyes as his interest was piqued.