The Devil’s Cage

Kieran and Mary walked forward together, almost side by side.

Along the red velvet carpet, both of them entered the big southern camp, but they didn’t go straight to the main tent. Instead, they went towards the origin of the scream.

It was Kieran’s suggestion and Mary didn’t object.

Despite being of a young age, Mary understood many things that adults didn’t, even sayings such as ‘when the fangs are shown, there is no need to keep them away’.

The sword that was drawn must kill before sheathing!

Mary deeply understood the saying. Besides, she was quite curious about the scream as well since the person was of Ghastly Wood Sect, the same origin as her aunt.

However, the moment Mary finally met the person, she was quite disappointed.

The person was a dwarf with ferocious features. Her shirt was in a mess, and gold and silver accessories were scattered all around her. After a glance at the size of the accessories, Mary’s face slightly changed.

“Repulsion?” Mary asked softly.

“Mm.” Kieran nodded.

The dwarf from Ghastly Wood Sect obviously suffered a repulsion from the power of the curse.

After multiple contacts with them, Kieran never underestimated the curses, thus he forbade Mary from getting close. Even he himself kept a distance from the woman.

Kieran carefully sized up the woman, and despite the endless screaming, the Ghastly Wood Sect woman also took notice of Kieran and Mary.

Even while in pain, she wasn’t completely helpless, still having a bit of power left in her.

Unfortunately, that bit of power was like putting out a cartload of fire with glasses of water in battle. The scene that happened just now allowed her to understand that there was a deep gap of strength between her and Kieran.

So…

Run!

She was no knight, so there was no wrong with her doing so.

Therefore—

Gawk!

A black crow that was formed completely out of black mist flew out from her body suddenly.

Still screaming in pain, she shouted at Kieran and Mary with utmost viciousness, holding a grudge.

“You think you can live if I die? The rest of Ghastly Wood will not spare your lives! You will suffer relentless retaliation! You…”

But at the next moment, her fierce voice stopped abruptly because the black mist crow that carried her last hope was burned into nothingness by flames.

The figure of a bright red aviary grazed the sky.

The Fire Raven didn’t even care that it burned one of its own kind. It flapped its wings like a hawk, landed on Kieran’s shoulder and gazed at the Ghastly Wood Sect woman that shared the same presence as the crow. The Fire Raven surprisingly showed a very humane, disdainful expression.

It felt like the Fire Raven was saying: The sky is my territory! No other being is allowed to soar together with me!

The screams finally stopped.

The agonizing screams were just a show to numb Kieran and Mary, but after her last hope was burnt, there was no need to pretend anymore.

The Ghastly Wood Sect woman sat up. She looked at Kieran.

After Fire Raven’s appearance, her attention was completely captured by it.

“Hahahahaha! So this is it! This is it! The Raven Sect! The Crown Raven!”

The woman laughed loudly as she pointed at Kieran. As her voice grew dimmer, her presence grew weaker, her life fading away bit by bit. She seemed to have acquired momentary consciousness before dying, as she managed to say softly, “Don’t think everything is over with my death. This is just the beginning!”

The woman seemed to want to say something else but she found herself powerless to do so, leaving her lips opening and closing.

Fire Raven, with the link to Kieran, spat out a mouthful of flames at the dead woman. When the orange glow came out of the charred body, it flew over and grabbed the loot before soaring up to the sky again.

Kieran double-checked the body and the surroundings. After he made sure there weren’t other loots worthy of his attention, he turned around and said to Mary, “Let’s go! It will be smoother from here onwards!”

Just as Kieran said, when the important figures, soldiers of the southern reinforcement, recovered from the terrorizing experience of the Devil, everything became easier.

The doubt and contempt in their eyes toward Mary was gone because the person beside Mary taught them what they should do.

“Your Highness.”

All the important figures were kneeling down on one knee inside the main tent of the camp.

Respectful with a slight sense of fear. Some hadn’t even regained their senses, people like the old duke’s second son. He seemed to still be in a trance.

Meanwhile, the quickest to react among the bunch was the eldest son of the old duke, Celder.

After bowing, Celder spoke.

“I must again express my gratitude for Your Highness coming down here. The incident was so sudden, we weren’t greeted with any signs and yet our father befell into a malevolent fate—my brother and I will bring his coffin back to Will Prefecture, returning him to our home and burying him according to our customs. Please do allow us to give him a proper burial in his home,” Celder said in an orderly fashion.

“Is there any lead on the assassin?”

Mary didn’t agree nor disagree with the suggestion, choosing to instead divert the topic.

“No, Your Highness but House of Will will surely apprehend the murderer to avenge my father!” Celder said in a sonorous voice.

“Is that so? May I see the duke’s body for the last time? As the heir of Warren, I should give my blessing to the Guardian of the South one last time,” said Mary, slowly.

Following Mary’s words, the six southern barons reacted strangely.

As the participants of the incident, they, of course, knew that the old duke faked his death, and yet, Mary requested to see the body…

Would they be exposed?

The six barons looked at each other.

One of them clenched his teeth, wanting to say something.

After all, one dead was better than all dead.

Looking at Kieran beside Mary, the barons lost any resistance in their hearts. All they wished for was forgiveness, pardoning themselves from death.

But when one of the barons tried to say something, Celder nodded right away.

“Very well, please follow me. My father’s coffin is placed in that tent.”

Celder then led the way while Mary stood up from her seat to follow.

Together with Kieran and the barons, who sported weird expressions, they entered the tent beside the main one.

There, they saw the old duke’s body, a real dead body.

When they saw the body, the barons’ expressions looked even weirder but none deigned to say anything, as none felt any sorrow, not even the eldest son, Celder.

Only the second son looked sad before his father.

His eyes teared up uncontrollably when he saw the corpse of his beloved father.

Then he noticed the blood that was dripping out of his father’s body.

The dark, grand outfit of the old duke was soaked in his own blood and it looked exceptionally dazzling inside the white coffin.