The Devil’s Cage

“Aison Den! Richard Mayden, you useless garbage!”

The leader of the Witchcraft practitioners shouted at Aison Den with gnashing teeth when he saw the man.

Part of the grudgeful scream was for Richard Mayden but most of it was meant for the boss of the Herders of the South Sector.

The Herders deemed the Witchcraft practitioners as their arch nemesis.

The Witchcraft practitioners also deemed the Herders as their mortal enemy.

Neither side would stop unless the other perished.

Especially since both of them were the leader of their own faction in Ai City, the Witchcraft practitioner’s leader, Mazmu, had a grudge against Aison Den that dated far back, a time where the Dark Moon Treaty didn’t exist.

After the Dark Moon Treaty came into play, both sides were put under control but the grudge between them never faded.

Quite the contrary, their grudge brewed like whiskey, the longer the time, the spicier the taste. It was tormenting like a venomous bug eating the heart, the constant anxiety making it hard for either side to live their lives.

Therefore, it was natural that both of them switched their open fight to a secretive one, like this particular encounter.

Mazmu treated Richard Mayden as one of his pawns.

He originally planned to use Richard Mayden to stab Aisen Den in the back during a critical moment, but that unannounced intruder in the North Sector attracted the attention of the Herders. So in order to keep the Philosopher’s Stone under the Herder’s eyes, Mazmu had to expose his pawn, Richard Mayden, prematurely.

He didn’t expect Richard Mayden to hold the Herders for long because he knew how scary his old rival was.

Though to Mazmu’s surprise, Richard Mayden was so useless that he couldn’t even hold the Herders back for a single night.

The more he thought about it, the more angry he got.

His mortal enemy was in front of him and the Philosopher’s Stone was behind him.

Mazmu made his move without further ado, throwing a dozen balls of paper forward.

When the paper balls fell on the ground, they transformed into Papermen wielding swords. Each of them looked exceptionally lively, other than the thinness, they looked not more different than a normal human being, even the swords in their hands glaring like a real iron blade.

When Mazmu moved his fingers, the other Witchcraft practitioners attacked en masse.

Illusive, ferocious, wandering souls and fierce Hounds that hid in the shadows instantly filled the entire passage.

The Witchcraft practitioners didn’t ask why the traps they set up beforehand failed. Those traps were set for dealing with outsiders, not their old rivals who knew every trick in their book.

“Hmph!”

Facing the oncoming onslaught, Aison Den drew out the sword hidden in his walking staff and charged forward.

Aison Den was like a soaring eagle in the narrow passage, fast and keen, and he pointed his sword at Mazmu.

Wherever the tip of his sword swung, the Paperman, wandering souls, the Hounds, everything was cut in half.

Mazmu smiled coldly and lifted his hand again.

Tzzzzzt!

A dark green beam was fired out from his hand.

Aison Den, however, didn’t have the slightest intention to stop. Even though the beam was fired at him, all he did was slightly turn his body, moving his weak spots out of the beam’s trajectory and continued thrusting his sword forward.

The Philosopher’s Stone was in front of his eyes!

Any kind of delay would result in the wildest consequences! He must end this as soon as possible.

Tzzzzt!

The dark green beam hit Aison Den’s left shoulder. Sizzling noise like acid corroding metal sounded, a vile stench following. The coat and the shirt around his shoulder were instantly corroded away, revealing his bare flesh underneath, his skin starting to rot in exponential speed too, yet Aison Den held his sword firmer and faster.

Mazmu was shocked.

Having rivaled Aison Den for so many years, Mazmu knew what his rival ought to do and because of that, he understood how troublesome it would be.

Aison Den was determined to get the Philosopher’s Stone!

As for Mazmu?

He too located it through many difficulties, how could he just give it to others, especially his old rival!

A fierce glare flashed over Mazmu’s eyes, he too didn’t want to step back. Instead, he moved his step aside, allowing Aison Den’s sword to graze his right chest.

Spat!

Fresh blood sprayed out as the blade cut through the chest.

The dark green light gathered around Mazmu’s hand again but as the light shone, Aison Den swept his sword sideways.

The dark green light exploded in front of Aison Den’s chest, the sharp blade slicing half of Mazmu’s chest open.

That was still not the end!

The two of them raised their legs and kicked each other’s crotch, likewise no one was stepping back either.

Bang! Bang!

A unified thump echoed in the passage. Aison Den and Mazmu’s faces turned pale, both of them clenching their teeth tight as no one wanted to step back. However, their body reflexes forced them backward uncontrollably.

Both of them put their thighs together, holding on to their crotch and enduring the excruciating pain and as the pain spread throughout their body, they stared at each other with the utmost hate.

As the new hate and old grudges added up, both of them growled at each other and then threw themselves towards one another. Neither of them would stop until one of them was dead.

Since their respective bosses were at each other’s throats, the other Herders and Witchcraft practitioners would not just stand by and watch.

They too ran into each other, attacking each other frenziedly with everything they had.

Blades cutting flesh.

Ferocious monsters tearing limbs.

Strong corrosive beams corroding swords.

In addition to all the messy noises, explosions followed and sounded throughout the dug up tunnel.

Less than two minutes into battle, half of everyone in the tunnel had fallen.

The battle between Aison Den and Mazmu got even fiercer.

Aison Den was badly damaged, looking like he had just swam out from a pool of acid. Not a single piece of his meat was intact, he reeked badly and couldn’t even stand still.

Mazmu, on the other hand, was drenched in blood, his stomach cut open, only a thin veil holding his innards inside and his left arm completely cut off.

Despite the serious injuries, both of them were still fighting.

Souuu!

Aison Den thrusted his sword again.

Compared to the first strike, which was sharp and fast, this strike was a lot slower, the keen aura from the blade was left with a little, yet Mazmu did not dodge it.

Mazmu allowed the sword to stab his throat.

Tssss!

As the blade swiftly thrust through Mazmu’s throat, the distance between them rapidly shortened.

When the two of them came close face to face, Mazmu stuffed his right hand into his stomach, broke the veil that was holding his innards. He pulled his intestines out and wrapped it around Aison Den’s neck.

The intestines came alive, catching Aison Den’s neck, automatically tightening around him.

He started to suffocate but Aison Den wasn’t really concerned, he twisted his wrist and cut Mazmu’s throat completely.

After losing his neck’s support, Mazmu’s head fell aside but his face showed almost no expression. Only the menacing, ferocious look remained and it didn’t change even after the head was cut off.

“Cough, cough cough!”

Aison Den choked on the intestines around his neck and as he was suffocating, he fell on the ground helplessly.

He had managed to cut Mazmu’s head off but he too was at his end, a dying candle in the wind.

However, when he glanced over the living Papermen, Aison Den realized something was not right.

Mazmu was the controller of the Papermen, yet after his death, the Papermen continued to attack the Herders.

Aison Den looked up and saw Mazmu in soul form had somehow floated into the secret room, reaching out to the Philosopher’s Stone.

In this critical moment, Aison Den no longer cared about why Mazmu’s soul was unharmed by his sword, he only knew he could not allow Mazmu to succeed.

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE!”

Aison Den shouted loudly, throwing himself into the room and as he was charging towards Mazmu’s soul, Mazmu already got his hands on the Philosopher’s Stone.

Kak!

The contraption was triggered, the whole room started to shake.

At the next moment…

A myriad of arrows were fired from the walls.

Fooooosh!

Aison Den and Mazmu were drowned by the arrow storm, and it was just a start!

Aison Den was hit by multiple arrows and Mazmu’s soul was fading rapidly. They then saw the platform in the center of the room start to shake violently.

The platform looked like it was formed naturally, yet it split up left and right.

A black hole was revealed underneath.

Mazmu, whose soul was fading and was eager to escape with the stone, dived into the hole without a second thought.

Aison Den too gave chase without any hesitation, for he was determined to retrieve the Philosopher’s Stone.

Then…

Kabooom!

The entire North Sector of Ai City trembled.

The whole of Ai City felt the shake, including Leaf Dining.

“What happened?” Starbeck, who was cooking soup in the kitchen, stuck his head out of the curtain.

“Nothing, probably some explosion caused by a gas leak. Go back to your cooking, I’m here,” Kieran turned over to Starbeck with a smile and after Starbeck went back to the kitchen, he looked at Amy, or more accurately Amy/Carrie.

“This is the doll you asked for. It’s a little special though, it is the reason that you are what you are now and it can also track your location, dead or alive.”

Kieran told Carrie honestly when he passed her the doll.

From how Kieran viewed it, it was no good to hide the facts.

Since he agreed to trade, he ought to make it a win-win situation and it seemed like Carrie shared the same thought.

She controlled Amy’s hand and wrote down an address and listed down a list.

Kieran nodded in satisfaction after he read through the list.

“Happy working together!” said Kieran.

Carrie smiled and nodded, letting Amy hold the doll and went back into Amy’s body.

Amy looked down at the broken doll, touching it, and a strange feeling bloomed in her heart, familiar yet unknown. It was a very weird feeling and unknowingly, Amy soaked herself into the sensation.

Kieran saw her reaction, then signaled the Elite Hound beside his feet with a meaningful gaze before he quietly went upstairs.

The Elite Hound stood up, walked to the kitchen entrance and laid down horizontally.

It lowered its head on its paws but its ears were up, it wasn’t asleep and its teeth were barely showing, its eyes were also sharp.

The Elite Hound who was summoned by Kieran treated Kieran as the alpha male of its pack, following orders from the alpha male became utmost important.

More so, it didn’t dislike Starbeck, hence it tended to carry out its duty fully.

Having 5 normal Hounds and one Elite Hounds was a great help for Kieran, at least he didn’t have to overly worry about Starbeck.

The night breeze came through the window onto the second floor.

Kieran’s jacket was fluttering when he got up. Seeing Bloody Mary appear in Bain’s look, he quickly strode over.

The Superior Demon’s disguise was perfect in front of other people but in front of Kieran with the contract, it was useless.

“Boss! Unexpected discovery! I found a high quality magic stone!”

Bloody Mary took out Philosopher’s Stone and gave it to Kieran with utmost flattery.

When Kieran saw the crystal clear Philosopher’s Stone with its colorful glow, he felt energized, and when he touched the stone, his eyes were overflowing with astonishment.

[Name: Philosopher’s Stone (Shard)]

[Type: Wonder Item]

[Rarity: I]

[Attack: None]

[Defense: I]

[Attribute 1. Energy Recover; 2. Expel]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: No]

[Remark: This is the epitome of ancient alchemy. It isn’t complete but it has astonishing power.]

[Note: You have to have related Mystical Knowledge to truly use it.]

…

[Energy Recover: Shower in the colorful glow of the shard and you can recover your HP, Stamina and Spirit quicker.

[Expel: It can slowly expel the negative effects on your body.]

…

Due to the contract, Kieran knew Bloody Mary had stumbled upon something good.

Just that he had never expected Bloody Mary would get its hands on the Philosopher’s Stone. Even though it was just a shard, it was astonishing enough.

Based on what he knew about the Philosopher’s Stone, the stone could bring the dead back to life and was a necessary item to complete a Prayer Spell!

This was just a piece of shard and its rarity was already in Advance Rank, its attribute was very good also.

Using that as a reference, Kieran could very well imagine what the complete Philosopher’s Stone would look like.

On top of that, using it to recover Hp and Stamina wasn’t the true usage of the shard.

If it was the true usage…

Kieran squinted his eyes in deep thoughts.

Though when he glanced over the ‘unable to bring out of dungeon’ line, he sighed helplessly.

Since it couldn’t leave this dungeon world, its value was halved, unless…

Kieran instantly thought of something, turning to Bloody Mary.

“You know what to do?” Kieran asked.

“I do.”

Bloody Mary nodded and then vanished from the spot.

It had to infiltrate the Herders or the Witchcraft practitioners to find the true ways of using the [Philosopher’s Stone (Shard)].

It was nearly impossible for others, but for Bloody Mary?

It was only a little harder, and after tonight’s battle, it will have a lot of chances.

“Seems like my arrangements are worth it!”

Bloody Mary returned to the North Sector with the lingering thought.

Kieran was about to close shop. He put [Philosopher’s Stone (Shard)] in his pocket and headed to the restaurant entrance.

He took the little blackboard off the window and got ready to go back inside, but when he was about to push the door, he felt a gaze on his back.

The gaze was at random, it had no malicious intent, yet it caused goosebumps all over Kieran’s back.

Danger!