The Devil’s Cage

“Har? What did you do?”

As the wolf head withered, Shadow Aisphany screamed in agony.

The force of restraint on the real Aisphany vanished in an instant; she then ran towards Kieran right away.

It was easy for her to tell which place was safer and which place was more dangerous.

Similarly, she also realized someone had done something to her body.

“Damn it! That mimosa sheep really has some terrifying bastards around him! Other than this wolf-like dangerous bastard, there is still someone that can control shadows!?”

Aisphany kept thinking her vast experience was completely ineffective against Starbeck the mimosa plant.

“That guy is really a freak in a special case!” Aisphany cursed Starbeck in her heart.

Then, her mind spun rapidly while trying to solve the situation before her sight.

“I was used! Evie Dan and Sharly were also purposely arranged by this shadowy bastard? So that he could lure 2567 here? So that means… that wolf head is the final piece of the trap… Huh?!”

As Aisphany was guessing in her mind, she looked at the wolf head in Kieran’s hand but when she did, she was stunned.

Before this, the slightly withered wolf head was still quite “fresh” but now, it was withering faster than before and within a breath’s time, it turned into a piece of rotten wood.

On top of the wood were a few long fangs; maggots as big as a thumb were falling to the ground.

Each time a maggot fell, Shadow Aisphany would scream in agony.

When the last one fell off, Shadow Aisphany was limping on the ground, the materialistic shadowy body even started to fade.

“How is this possible? Why is the plague not working on you!? I bred this from the blood of the Beast of Plague and Famine, even for a rank III player, they would be weakened!”

“Why!? Why are you fine?!”

Shadow Aisphany shouted loudly in unwillingness.

“Beast of Plague and Famine eh?”

Kieran got his hand on a piece of valuable information from the shadow.

His attitude however further infuriated Shadow Aisphany.

“You think you’ve won? This is just a beginning! I’ll…”

While Shadow Aisphany was still clamoring, Kieran had lost his interest in the being because it wasn’t really the target he was prepared to deal with.

“This is just a trigger to activate the trap. Its intellect and thoughts are greatly decreased because of its shadow form. Other than activating the maggots bred from the Beast of Plague and Famine, it’s totally useless.”

Kieran shook his head and raised his hand.

Gluttony who was restless for a while turned into a gale and threw itself towards the shadow. Shadow Aisphany was then devoured into eternal darkness.

Kieran didn’t care about the agonizing screams and tearing noises in the shadow, instead, he turned his attention to the [Knights of Plague Body Tempering Art].

In that little moment before, his body automatically absorbed the Plague Force from the blood of Beast of Plague and famine and rapidly grew. Hence, the [Knights of Plague Body Tempering Art] was leveled up from Grand Master to the Musou level in an instant.

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

[Related Attribute: Constitution]

[Skill Type: Ancillary]

[Effect: After going through a dangerous start, you have learned the body tempering art that people dreaded, Constitution +6 (Basic +1, Entry +1, Master +1, Pro +1, Grand Master +1, Musou +1)]

[Special Effect: 1. Absorb Plague; 2. Release Plague; 3. Tenacious Body]

[Consume: Stamina]

[Prerequisite: Constitution A]

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

[Note: You have acquired this skill through learning, not through a Skill Book. Therefore, you cannot upgrade it with Points and Skill Points. If you want to level it up, you will need to continue learning or acquire a Skill Book!]

…

[Absorb Plague: Absorb plague energy at a decent speed]

[Release Plague: Release plague energy at a decent speed]

[Tenacious Body: Gains +4 buff on any Constitution authentication]

…

The leveling up of the [Knights of Plague Body Tempering Art] didn’t just strengthen Plague Force, all the effects and attributes were enhanced to the next level and the most direct one was the Constitution enhancement.

From ZZ rank to ZZ+ rank Constitution, it allowed Kieran to clearly feel his body getting stronger.

“Eh?”

Suddenly, Kieran lowered his gaze of shock at his feet.

The changes of the [Knights of Plague Body Tempering Art] weren’t enough to shock Kieran because it was all expected. What shocked him was the power of the curse that he dreaded appearing again.

This time, it was much more fierce, more hidden than the previous encounter.

If it wasn’t for his powerful Spirit attribute, Kieran wouldn’t have noticed the changes.

Of course, once noticed, the power of the curse would not succeed, similar to the previous time.

The arrogant Devil Force tore it apart directly.

The rampant Cardinal Sins Force devoured it again while Dawn Force washed away the residue in his body.

The power of the curse was removed without anything left behind but he wasn’t really happy in his heart.

This was because he clearly felt this removal of the curse was much tiring than the first time and the difficulty even was multiplied a few times.

At the same time, Kieran too felt a sense of malicious danger that came from right underneath the ground where he stood. It stung his back like needles and made him very uncomfortable.

“As expected, there is really something wrong with this place!”

If during the first encounter with the power of the curse, Kieran was still wondering whether it was Broker’s men’s handy work or if it came from Supreme Road, after this second encounter, he was assured. Kieran was certain the power of the curse came from Supreme Road itself.

Following the confirmation, some doubts that had been troubling him were solved right away.

“No wonder the other players kept using their men, clones, and shadows to fight in an extremely restraint manner! Other than testing each other out, it is also because of the anomaly around Supreme Road! Anyone who utilized power above a certain threshold would be targeted by the curse!”

A series of malicious gaze gushed towards Kieran like the rising tide, it made him frown in discomfort as his sharp Spirit sensed it all.

Fortunately, soon enough the malicious intents ceased. The ground beneath his feet returned to its normal form but from how Kieran looked at it, it was the calm before the storm.

Besides, Kieran wasn’t a person who was used to staying in the passive site, he called out, “Orderfell.”

“M-My lord, I’m here!”

Orderfell strode over to Kieran without even reacting to what happened.

“Bring me all the information you can get on Supreme Road!” Kieran ordered.

“Yes, my lord.” Orderfell nodded before running towards his study room.

Perhaps not all nobles would become knowledgeable people but they would certainly have a sufficient amount of book collections, Orderfell was no exception either.

He moved pile after pile of books that contained information, drawings, or the slightest mention of Supreme Road to Kieran.

He made at last 10 trips back and forth from his study room and when all the moving was over, Orderfell was panting, limping on the floor.

Meanwhile, in the room, Kieran and Aisphany didn’t even bat an eye at the useless Orderfell.

Kieran started to go through the books while Aisphany looked at him in confusion.

“What? What is going on?” Aisphany asked in a puzzled expression.

Kieran didn’t reply, all he did was glance at her in dissatisfaction.

The meaning of his glance was obvious and it sort of angered Aisphany.

Kieran was the second man who was immune to her beauty.

The first one was related to Kieran, the sheep-like mimosa was also immune to her charms.

“What is wrong with these two? Are they actually blind?”

Angered, Aisphany thumped her feet and went out of the command center but before she opened the door, it was opened from the outside.

Her servant, the assistant who has been missing for almost the whole trip, went in.

“Raulee! Where have you been? Did you know… Huh? Who are you?”

Aisphany was scolding her stupid servant as usual but before she finished, she noticed something wrong about Raulee.