The Devil’s Cage

Wuu Wuuu Wuuuu!

The night breeze carried a soft sobbing into Kieran’s ears. Right away, Spirit authentications appeared in Kieran’s vision one after another.

The monsters who were eating the dead bodies in the area scattered like frightened birds the moment the sobbing sounded.

Some made it away, but most spun on the spot.

It seemed like none of them passed through the Spirit authentication.

Then, a figure with a broken mantle, carrying a baby skeleton in its hands, slowly walked out of the dark; the sobbing came from under the hood.

The baby skeleton shook left and right as the figure walked, producing noises.

When it walked past one of the monsters that was the size of a calf, black in color and slim as a jackal with spikes all over its back, the monster whimpered.

After that, a white, translucent, glowing energy mist came out of the monster’s body and entered the baby skeleton’s nose.

Bluish green soul fire lit up the deepest part of the eye sockets.

It flickered like a real baby sucking on its thumb.

Pak!

The monster wobbled and fell to the ground, absent of any signs of life. Its body dissolved into a pile of mud, reeking of the foul sea.

None of the monsters could escape their doom, and even after there were over a dozen disgusting mud creatures on the ground, the elusive figure with the baby skeleton didn’t feel fully satisfied.

The sobbing grew louder. The soul fire on the baby skeleton burned brighter, and it looked like a blazing torch in the darkness.

They were seeking more delicious food. Likewise, something else was looking for food too.

Inside the shadows, Kieran looked up at the left side of the sky and then subtly at the ground where the elusive figure stood.

The next moment…

Wuuu!

A raging wind blew in the dark sky and a figure that was carried by the powerful wind jumped down from up above.

The dark figure had wings that expanded to a dozen meters, boosting its speed to the maximum, thus the elusive figure with the baby skeleton didn’t even have time to react before it was swallowed by the flying figure’s big mouth.

However, just as the black flying figure began to fly away after its meal…

Kroooom!

The ground shook, multiple thick tendrils bursting out from the ground, brazenly latching onto the black flying figure like a jumping python and dragging it down into the deepest part of the ground.

Graks, Graks!

Loud crunching noises spread all over the ruins, scaring away the monsters who ate the human bodies, making them run faster and farther.

The sudden erupted tendrils also forced the other monsters hidden in the ruins to make the wisest choice: to run.

Kieran sensed that hundreds and thousands of bodies, of strong and weak presence, had quickly left the place, as though they had acknowledged that these ruins were the territory of the monster underground.

“A primal hunting ground?” Kieran’s face looked serious.

The monster hiding underground wasn’t a threat to him, especially with his current power level.

However, the spot where the monster was hiding was nothing but a normal street, near the docks in what was once Naveya City.

There were many streets like this around the dock area in Naveya City, and it still didn’t include the few bigger streets connecting to other districts.

Most importantly, the ruins Kieran was currently in was the docks of the once Naveya City, the district which was slightly further away from the heart of the city.

If the monsters went on a rampage, even in a place like this, what would happen to the civilian district, the prosperous wealthy district, the intricate council district, and at the core of the city, the temple district?

Especially the temple district!

During an evacuation of the temples, the believers could bring most of the things away from their respectives temples, but a hurried evacuation would not allow them to bring everything with them.

The things that were left behind would be enough to attract a large number of monsters to lay their prying gaze on the temples.

And it seemed like the monsters under the ground didn’t have any intentions to head further into the city. They didn’t even want to budge. Which meant that within these two days, when Kieran wasn’t around, the core districts of Naveya City had been distributed into multiple territories with a respective terror residing in it.

“Too bad.”

Kieran glanced over the temple district that was clouded by darkness with a pitiful gaze. After checking the direction of his destination, he went into the night.

If he had time, Kieran wouldn’t mind exploring the temple district.

Whether it was the remaining items in the many temples or the monsters currently residing there, both were quite valuable to Kieran.

Unfortunately, not only did he not have enough time, he had to seize the moment to catch up to the evacuation group.

Naveya City had fallen into the monsters’ grasp and they were now the new residents of the dead city.

Kieran was also sure the monsters weren’t only in the city. When the people evacuated the city, they had enough valuable goods on them to attract monsters.

Also! The ‘followers’ that mixed themselves into the group would cause far more damage than the monsters!

As for the Devourer itself?

Kieran believed that should the Devourer show itself again, the evacuation group would face a destructive blow, similar to the city they once lived in.

It was something Kieran didn’t wish to happen, as he had too many things in dire need of explanation.

“Hope it isn’t the worst situation yet!”

With this slight hope in his head, Kieran brought out [Dark Shadow Ride]. The chaotic Origin Force in his body shook slightly before the headlight of the bike frame lit up bright red.

Dak Dak Dak Dak!

The bike frame then transformed into the black mechanical horse and knelt its front limbs in front of Kieran.

This time, Kieran hopped onto the horse without a second thought.

Neigh!

[Dark Shadow Ride] brought Kieran into the dark.

…

A large, messy, and overstaffed convoy was moving slowly in the night.

The cold night breeze was blowing onto everyone’s anxious face, even the Officiants and Archpriests.

Some looked worse because as of two days ago, they had completely lost contact with their God.

No matter how hard they prayed, they hadn’t gotten a response.

The only thing preventing them from collapsing was the divine messages from their respective Gods.

This particular divine message from their Gods became the last string the Officiants and Archpriests held onto.

“No! I do not agree! We need to head north!”

Einderson, who was once an elder priest and now the new Thorn Temple Officiant, was sitting in a board wagon and voiced his disagreement in a decisive tone.

The wagon was moving forward slowly. Other than Lightning Temple, all the ‘seeds’ from different temples were all there: Harvest, Mercy, Thorn, War, Valiant, Love, Hunter, Melody etc.

The leaders of all the 22 temples were discussing the direction they should go in.

“Our God told us to go south!” said the archpriest of Hunter Temple in a heavy and strong tone.

“That’s right!”

“We too received a similar divine message!”

“Yes!”

“Us as well!”

…

Other than Love and Melody, Harvest, Mercy, War and Valiant, the representatives of the other temples spoke in succession.

“Our God told us to go west! Right away!”

Harvest, Mercy, War and Valiant Temple’s archpriests spoke.

“Our God wants us to follow Thorn Temple,” said Archpriest Fanny of Love Temple.

“We have the same divine message as well,” said the archpriest of Melody Temple.

Love and Melody had a different opinion from the rest.

Everyone went silent, looking at each other with a serious gaze.

Their beliefs in their Gods prevented them from making their own decisions. The group would eventually face an inevitable split.

However, trouble was just coming to their doorstep.

Karkooom!

A sudden explosion shook the broad wagon.

Everyone’s face instantly turned sour.

The monsters were here!