The Devil’s Cage

Reppu whose half upper body was chomped off died on the spot.

However, the way he died didn’t stop the system rules from applying.

An item floated on top of the remaining half of his body.

Gold!

Its radiance was shiner than common gold items from how Kieran saw it.

The giant white wolf picked it up and obediently delivered it to Kieran’s hand, it didn’t have the ferocity and terrifying look from before.

It was a simple and unsophisticated necklace. Its body was made out of metal and had a pendant the size of a thumb.

The pendant had mystical runes carved all over it and formed a perfect ring together with its metal body. Even Kieran’s Pro [Mystical Knowledge] couldn’t decipher it.

[Name: Thorn’s Deceit]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rarity: Epic]

[Attribute: Fake Beliefs]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is a special item created by the God of Earth, Nikorei, to specifically target Lady Vanessa.]

…

[Fake Beliefs: When detected, it will present the wearer as a devoted follower of the Lady of Thorn.]

…

“NIKOREI?!”

When he saw the remark on [Thorn’s Deceit], even with Kieran’s calmness, he couldn’t hold back his surprise.

He never would have thought Reppu the dual identitied chief knight would have ties to Nikorei.

At the same time, he sort of understood how Reppu could possess dual identities.

A person that didn’t look exactly devoted to his beliefs yet able to ascend to the position of chief knight of a temple, this point baffled Kieran for quite a while.

Now, it seemed like Reppu relied on [Thorn’s Deceit] entirely and when he looked at the necklace, he related to more matters.

“The ones Reppu was referring as “them” was Nikorei and company? The ultimate foe that NIkorei was off to deal with was this Vanessa?”

When thoughts popped up in Kieran’s mind, system notifications followed.

[Sub-Mission: Hidden (Complete)]

[Acquired key item: Thorn’s Deceit!]

[Triggered special event: Obstruction of Fate]

[Obstruction of Fate: Fate loves to play jokes! Your influence towards Thorn Temple will be your final rating!]

[Note: Influence includes but is not limited to reputation; the more influence you have with Thorn Temple, the higher your rating will be!]

…

“Influence Thorn Temple” Kieran spun the gears in his mind but on the outside, he was as calm as ever, putting away [Thorn’s Deceit].

“My lord.”

Mizelle who woke up quickly stood beside Kieran.

“Tie them all up and ask Pelker to transfer the others here. Remember, don’t leave any traces while you move,” Kieran ordered.

“Yes, my lord!”

Mizelle bowed as a reply before running outside.

Following Mizelle’s absence, Kieran turned to Atrina.

Before he even opened his mouth, Atrina beat him to it, saying, “I am willing to do anything for you!”

As she declared her stance, she couldn’t help but looked at [Spirit of the White Wolf], showing an unconcealable terror on her face.

It seemed like [Spirit of the White Wolf] quietly chomping off half of Reppu’s body had terrified the temple deacon to the core.

“Anything?” Kieran emphasized.

“Yes anything!” Atrina nodded.

“Including abandoning Thorn Temple?” Kieran squinted his eyes.

“As long as you guarantee my safety, I can turn on Thorn Temple!” Atrina replied after hesitating for a few seconds.

“You really are a realistic person! Maybe because of that, Lady Vanessa didn’t favor you at all. But I am fortunate to call you my collaborator,” Kieran said.

He then turned around and headed to the living hall.

There was a pot filled with mystical runes on the exterior and when Kieran got close, a heavy fishy smell blasted his face and despite the pot being sealed tightly, it didn’t conceal the heavy stench.

What was inside the pot? The answer was self-explanatory.

The Holy Thorn Grail! There was no other possible item except for that.

Of course, in order to get a firm answer, Kieran would still check it thoroughly but not here.

Kieran raised his hand over [Spirit of White Wolf] and it disappeared silently just like how it appeared, though it didn’t vanish abruptly on the spot but ran towards the shadow aside and slowly faded away, as though it fused with the shadows.

It was also an intentional act by Kieran, in order to mislead Atrina.

Having a collaborator like Atrina, allowing her to know too much will not be a good thing and everything was just as Kieran predicted.

When Atrina saw the white wolf fuse into the shadows and vanish, she couldn’t hold back her shivers.

“T-This is… Hunter Temple? No, not it can’t be! Even the animal companion of Hunter Temple’s Archpriest wasn’t as scary as that white wolf! Not only did it appear without a sign, it’s impenetrable…” Atrina thought of that in her heart while being unable to hold back her gaze toward the shadow beside her.

She felt like the white wolf didn’t vanish completely but it hid inside the shadow, watching her.

Once she did anything that crossed the line, it would come out and bite her neck off.

Kieran quietly nodded in satisfaction when he saw how terrified Atrina was.

Then, he went on checking the hideout without saying anything else.

Instantly, the whole living hall was plunged into silence. Atrina felt extremely uneasy under the quietness.

Fortunately, Mizelle returned soon enough and he brought Starbeck, Pelker and the others.

The Emerald Rock killer, Maize who Kieran dominated was among the bunch as well.

The few of them entered the living hall and saluted Kieran.

“This will be your temporary hideout for now. I’ve checked the place, the supplies here will suffice for you all to live for a month or so.” Kieran said before he looked at Starbeck.

“You stay here too.”

A simple order was enough for Starbeck to know that Kieran would not be able to take care of him in the upcoming events.

Although he was away from Kieran, the fear in his heart already made him panic, he still tried his best in pretending he was fine.

He didn’t wish to distract Kieran because of his well being.

“I’ll try my best to not be a burden” Starbeck reminded himself in his heart while he remained silent on the outside.

Though from how Kieran viewed it, Starbeck’s “normal” was the biggest “abnormal”.

He took another glance at Starbeck, he knew what his priority was now, so after giving further orders to his dominated men, Kieran went up to Reppu’s remains.

The body was still useful; he needed to take care of it.

But more importantly, there was the pot that held the Holy Thorn grail.

Whether or not the upcoming plan could succeed, it will all depend on the grail.

Of course, it would also require the cooperation from the other “party”.

In fact, the other “party” was much more cooperative than Kieran had expected.