The Devil’s Cage

“Do you know what you are talking about?”

The cold voice became colder.

The obvious rage from the voice grew brazen.

Sean’s forehead was slightly covered with sweat.

The pressure from higher-ups and the power of a powerhouse combined into a presence that made Sean suffocate. He could barely catch his breath but he managed to clench his teeth and nodded.

“O-Of course!”

Captain Sean tried to speak as clearly and crisply as possible but under the pressuring presence, his voice couldn’t help but stutter.

“Etorin is a loyal and reliable guardian. In life, he protected my Lord’s land; in death, he will enter my Lord’s kingdom, basked in the protection that he deserved.”

The icy cold voice sounded without any emotion, it was stating a fact that everyone in War God Temple knew.

Sean knew what the voice meant, so after the voice faded, he quickly added, “I am willing to confront Sir Etorin. If I am wrong, I am willing to pay the cost for my act.”

Then, Sean knelt down on the ground on one knee.

He used his words and actions to display his resolution.

The icy cold voice didn’t say anything else, standing in the shadow and praying to its lord.

As one of the two bishops in council above all the other 15 bishops, Mortor was undeniably the highest rank in War God Temple and also the most trusted and favoured believer of God of War.

He didn’t require repeated procedures like the priests, all he needed was to pray in his heart and he was able to contact the God of War, but this time was different.

“Mortor, what is wrong?” When the vast voice sounded, Mortor knelt down in the shadow.

“My great lord, there is something that I cannot solve at my hands. It’s about a believer, Etorin. One of your other believers, Sean, thinks that something is wrong with the former, but he died yesterday night, so we seek your judgment on this!” Mortor reported honestly.

Then, he waited patiently for the God he worshipped to reply.

It wasn’t the first time Mortor sought the judgment of God of War, therefore he soon realized something wasn’t right. It was a little… long.

Before this, a single request took no more than 3 breaths to get a reply, but now, 10 breaths had passed.

‘Could it be… there’s really something wrong?’

Mortor’s heart skipped a beat.

If something was wrong with Etorin…

Almost instantaneously, many thoughts gushed into the mind of this bishop in council because he knew how important Etorin’s role was.

As an armed priest level spy, Etorin’s position in the Inquisition wasn’t at all low. He had total control over almost 50% of all the spies in Edatine Castle, which included but were not limited to the real identities and the cover up identities of the spies.

If something was wrong with Etorin, the existence of the Inquisition in the Edatine Castle’s system was problematic itself.

Anxiety filled Mortor’s heart, but the bishop in council did not rush his own God.

As a belieber, loyal beliefs made the bishop in council believe his own God devotedly and unconditionally.

Everything the God said, he had to listen.

Everything the God uttered, he had to spread.

Second after second went by, and almost a minute later, the vast voice sounded in Mortor’s mind once more.

“Something is wrong with Etorin. Sean is right. You need to consult Sean about the details of the happenings.”

“I understand.” replied Mortor.

When the vast presence left his heart, Mortor stood up and looked towards Sean in the confession room—the confession room was specially built, it wasn’t just a normal mechanical secret room, it was enhanced with mystical spells too.

Standing inside this space, the people in the confession room could never see through here and those in the space could carefully observe the people on the other side.

As its name suggests, it was a 360°, all rounded space without a single dead angle.

To a person who underwent special training, the observation proved to be very useful.

They could easily see the people in the confession room, whether or not they had secrets to hide or were there to lie.

Mortor was one of the best at this, therefore, he wasn’t in a hurry.

He quietly observed Sean on the other side, hoping to find out more, but to his disappointment, although Sean showed a sense of unease, the unease was just towards the unknown, he wasn’t hiding anything.

“What did you find out?” Mortor asked after he was fruitless with his observation.

“It’s the news from the palace,” answered Sean.

“News from the palace?” Mortor asked back.

As the only bishop in council in the north, Mortor had many matters that required his attention. His most important work was to sign his own name on top of the documents which had gone through many stages of selection.

Therefore, he had no idea about the news that just came in.

As for doing everything himself?

Well sorry, unless it’s the God of War, his Majesty, Mortor assumed that no one could attend to everything personally.

After all, his Majesty God of War was almighty.

Standing there, Mortor listened to what Sean had to say, his already cold countenance growing stern.

“Seal this news at once. Without my permission, no one can have access to it,” Mortor gave a direct order.

“Yes sir,” Sean replied, a spark of delight lighting up his heart.

He knew he had done the right thing.

This was fate, no one knew when fate would favour you and what you needed to do to be prepared at all times, just like Sean did.

If it wasn’t for his constant and keen observation, how could he notice the problem behind Etorin?

How could he use it as a trigger to win his superior’s favour?

Sean’s beliefs towards the God of War were stern ones, together with an aspiring, ambitious heart.

He wished that he could be closer to the God that he worshipped, therefore he worked hard endlessly.

This time, he managed to seize the change.

A branch captain was far from enough.

An armed priest? Also not enough.

He ought to be at least one of the bishops to better feel the glory of his Majesty, and in order to quickly achieve the goal, Sean stated his plan in the upcoming 2 minutes.

“Colin must die! Of course, not by our hands! Or at least, it should not look like us.”

Mortor listened to the plan quietly.

Regarding Silent Night Secret Society actively seeking out a meeting with Snake Sect and the representative from Snake Sect being the heir of Edatine VI, Mortor had repeatedly gone through the urgent documents earlier and he did not object to the plan.

A powerful royal court wasn’t beneficial to War God Temple.

“Do as you planned!” said Mortor. He then left the secret space.

He has to report everything to the God of War himself.

…

Kakroom!

The sky was clear for thousands of miles in the afternoon, yet a sudden clap of thunder cracked and shocked everyone in Edatine Castle.

The people looked up into the sky, muttering to themselves in confusion. The civilians had no idea what had just happened, or more precisely, almost everyone didn’t know what just happened.

Those with some knowledge and experience, however, knew it was a display of the divine’s wrath.

But what caused the God’s fury? They had no idea.

Kieran knew, therefore he showed a smile on his face.

He had to admit that Bloody Mary was getting more and more useful!

Perhaps after all these, he should give the Superior Demon a holiday?

Hmm, what about an hour… No, 10 minutes would be a good choice.

The wagon steadily traveled forward, Kieran leaning back on the soft seat, picking up a cup of tea and taking a sip, his mind made up.

Then, he looked outside the window.

Next, it would be his turn to be on stage.