The Devil’s Cage

More than ten thousand people gathered in front of St. Paolo School’s entrance.

More precisely, they filled the streets that were near the school’s gate.

People were moving around, rubbing shoulders with one another.

It was crowded, extremely crowded but none of that could stop the passion from the people.

Passion!

Quite a number of the crowd weren’t the ones infected by the plague, they were just here to see the divine miracle with their own eyes.

Each time the white brilliance shone at the end of the crowd, the crowd would go along with it, uttering their admiration. Then, the prayers toward Goddess of Dawn started once more.

The infected who arrived the earliest at St. Paolo School had already automatically joined the school security team, helping them to maintain the order around.

To be honest, it wasn’t any kind of difficult task. Under God’s name, everything seemed exceptionally easy and no matter how hot-tempered a person was, he or she would be extremely obedient at this time. Even the higher positioned nobles chose to lower their heads at the moment.

As for the worries at the plague? Stop joking!

Hundreds and thousands of people were healed and they claimed that after bathing in the “Holy Light”, they were much healthy than before, more energetic than ever.

All of them hoped to bathe under the Holy Light, thus more and more people gathered here.

When the first light from the sun shone down on the city, the whole area was paralyzed by the traffic.

Chief Officer John also brought his men together in maintaining the order.

“Is this really a divine miracle?” Leschuder mumbled.

“Well, it’s better than dying people right?” John shrugged.

After coming in contact with some mystical incidents, John wasn’t the man who firmly believed in his world view anymore like how he started to be but he knew the things that happened before his eyes were good.

“Hmm.” Leschuder didn’t deny it and nodded, then he suddenly squinted his eyes.

He saw a couple of familiar faces among the crowd, sneaking their hands into other people’s pockets.

“Goddamnit! Even a divine miracle can’t stop all these bastards! This time I’ll really break their hands!” Leschuder angry words escaped from the seams as he clenched his teeth hard.

“That is why we are here,” John said and moved up to the few pickpockets among the crowd.

Leschuder was a step faster, helping John in blocking the escape path for the pickpockets.

The little commotion among the crowds ended soon enough.

In this special moment, the kindness in everyone was enlarged infinitely, the usual evading and panic was absent as well.

After the few pickpockets were exposed, John and Leschuder didn’t even have to cuff them up and they were caught by the surrounding people.

“Well, at least it’s not all bad now.”

Leschuder said with a smile after tying up all the pickpockets in a group with a rope.

He didn’t experience any of the divine miracles but being able to apprehend a few pickpockets, he was truly happy.

John looked at his aide in a delightful manner and he couldn’t help but shake his head.

Some things were destined to be unshareable, John could only keep the mystical stuff deep in his heart.

John then unconsciously looked towards the gate of the school, the brilliance there shone once again.

“God’s Child huh? What a pleasant surprise!”

John pressed the tip of his hat down, mumbling softly to himself.

…

During her long dream, Sister Moni felt like she has returned to the time that she missed so much.

Every day when dawn arrived, the morning prayers would echo in her ears.

It would make one feel unknowingly pleasant and at peace and it would make one feel happy to start a brand new day, but everything was in the past now.

Even in her dreams, Sister Moni understood that very well.

“Not really a beautiful dream…” Sister Moni opened her eyes, sighing hard.

Then, she woke up quickly because she knew there was still a lot of patients that awaited her treatment.

“Hope there aren’t too many people suffering from the unfortunate plague during my time on the bed.”

The praying in her heart made Sister Moni move even quicker.

However, when she picked up the med box beside her bed, the neat and sonorous prayers that should have been forgotten by the people entered her ears.

“Oh merciful Bernadette, may Your name be always with the light of dawn!”

“Oh merciful Bernadette, may Your sight watch over our fields, our rivers, woods, and city under the light of dawn!”

“Oh merciful Bernadette, may Your light shine over our face, body, and heart!”

…

The elderly sister who picked up the med box froze when she heard that, she staggered herself to the window and opened up the curtains to find out what was going on.

When she saw the scene behind the window curtains, she was overcome with tears.

She saw countless people gathered around, praying loudly with a devoted look on their faces.

It was the biggest wish that she buried in her heart since she became the saintess and without knowing, her wish came true.

Sister Moni didn’t even need to doubt and she found the person that realized her wish.

It was too obvious, the light of dawn intertwined with the brilliance on his body, making the young man’s figure look a lot like the one in her memories.

No, not like the one but even stronger than the one that she remembered.

Sister Moni stood in front of the window for quite a while and the moment she came back to her senses, she took the med box and headed towards the school entrance.

Although she knew very well it wasn’t needed, she still hoped she could be of help.

Kieran didn’t feel surprised at all when Sister Moni rushed over, wishing to help.

His sharp sense picked up Sister Moni’s gaze when she landed a glance on his back.

“Morning sister, it seems like you rested up quite well, you look more energetic already,” Kieran said with a smile.

“Morning, Your Highness God’s Child.”

Sister Moni still saluted Kieran with the [Seal of Dawn]’s method and her address of him had unconsciously changed.

When she was done with her salutation, the elderly sister straightened her back and said, “When I was unconscious, something big must have happened but now it seems like it turned out quite well.”

“Yup, quite well indeed!” Kieran nodded. He wasn’t trying to brush her off but it really was quite well, at least for him.

When he was treating the plague-infected patients, the [Knights of Plague] that he memorized in his mind and suddenly completed itself to Basic level and it was enhancing itself with speed that surprised Kieran.

[Name: Knights of Plague Body Tempering Art (Basic)]

[Related Attribute: Constitution]

[Skill Type: Ancillary]

[Effect: After going through a dangerous start, you have learned the body tempering art that people dreaded, Constitution +1]

[Special Effect: 1. Absorb Plague; 2. Release Plague]

[Consume: Stamina]

[Prerequisite: Constitution C]

[Remark: This is the origin of the plague, it has limited benefits to you but it bears a destructive power.]

…

[Absorb Plague: Absorb the plague energy in a slow manner]

[Release Plague: Release the plague energy in a slow manner]

…

[Knights of Plague Body Tempering Art] wasn’t disappointing at all, but Kieran was much more concerned about the speed of its growth at the moment.

Unconsciously, Kieran looked towards the crowd.

When the crowd caught Kieran’s gaze, one of them started to kneel down and it started a domino effect, the crowd started to kneel down one after another.

They all cheered together, “Your Highness God’s Child!”

The combined voice shook the clouds and trembled people’s heart.

The few watchers hidden in the city’s corner swiftly retreated as their faces changed for the worse.

After a while, the rider squad from before had stopped at the city’s outskirt.

The lead rider frowned while he was looking at the city.

“God’s Child? This could be troublesome.”