The Devil's Cage

As the secret door was opened, sunlight shone down on the gloomy, dark passageway.

Kieran squinted as a figure appeared at the top of the secret door.

"Nikorei?"

Kieran had to double confirm, even though he could see Nikorei’s face clearly.

After all, he thought she had been currently out of town.

"Of course it’s me, you doubtful lad! Come on up quick! Or do you want me to prove that it’s me? The first book you read in my study was ’The Features of the Night Walker’ and the second was ’The Distribution of the Man Eater’..."

Nikorei had to tell him something only the two of them would know, because Kieran was doubting her.

"Will that suffice?" she asked again after listing the books Kieran had read in her study in the correct order.

"Yes." Kieran nodded before starting to climb up the ladder. He was not surprised that Nikorei knew which books he had read. Ferad had been with him the whole time he had been in the study, and considering Nikorei’s abilities, "seeing" what Kieran was doing had to be a piece of cake.

Hold on!

"Seeing"?

A sudden thought made Kieran’s heart skip a beat, but it did not stop him from moving up the ladder fast.

Nikorei moved away from the exit. She held Tiki in her arms as she made way for him. Kieran climbed up and put Simones down.

"Let me take a look at him... He’s little hurt, but he’ll survive. This is typical for him. What a pitiful, lucky guy!"

Nikorei checked on Simones carefully and shook her head with a sigh before turning her attention to Kieran.

Or more precisely to the figure behind Kieran,

There was someone behind him. Wilco’s partner!

Kieran reacted quickly, but he did not turn around like a normal person. Instead, he rolled forward and away from the figure behind him.

A cold flash swept past Kieran as he rolled forward.

The chilling, sharp blade that could freeze one’s spine made Kieran clench his heart, even more so when he saw the attacker come out like a chameleon. He had appeared out of thin air, using some kind of camouflage technique.

Even a Musou Level [Undercover] could not have achieved that. Was it Transcendence maybe?

The attacker had missed in his first try, but he did not stop. He swung his blade toward Kieran again.

The blade was only a couple of inches away from him, when suddenly...

"Meow!"

Before Kieran could react, a clear meow was heard.

It was Tiki, who had jumped from Nikorei’s arms on the blade of the attacker within fractions of a second.

The yellow-striped, plump cat had landed on the blade light as a feather and instantly dissipated the cold, sharp feel of the blade.

The black-clothed attacker saw the unusual cat stand on his blade like a feather, but he could not move it, even though he was straining every inch of his muscles.

His weapon was frozen in mid-air with Tiki on it.

That’s right. It was frozen, even though there was no ice on it.

No matter which direction the attacker tried to move the blade in, it would not budge.

Kieran could sense fear coming from the man.

Even though he could not get a clear look at the attacker’s face, his panting was very obvious.

Kieran was panting just as heavily.

The tremendous power before him had exceeded his imagination. The casual presence of such force made the power look even more formidable.

Kieran focused all his attention on Tiki. He could no longer consider it a regular cat.

"Meooooow!" the cat yawned in front of him.

Nikorei walked over slowly.

"Go back and tell Morenderke that I don’t wish to start a war with the Night Demon Society. I have more important matters to attend to, and I’m not afraid of you. I hope that he can pay me a personal visit at my house at 1st Black Street and give me a reasonable explanation why a Night Demon member would attack my assistant! He has one week to do it! Otherwise..." Nikorei warned the attacker in a calm tone.

As she finished her words, Tiki wagged its tail, leaving the attacker’s blade.

The attacker quickly raised his blade and fell back through the door. The door was shut as soon as he’d left.

Tiki leapt back into Nikorei’s arms.

Nikorei caressed the cat’s head in an odd manner before she turned her eyes to Kieran. Her gaze was full of admiration.

"2567, you did better than I thought! You beat Wilco, and this reflective action just now... It seems like you are fine on your own!" Nikorei said with a smile.

Her praise did not make Kieran cocky. Quite the opposite, his thoughts got even clearer.

"You can "see" again?" Kieran asked instinctively.

Nikorei replied with a nod.

"Does that means that if I get captured, you will appear right on time?"

Again with the nod.

Kieran could not help but rub his temples as Nikorei answered silently.

He realized that he had overlooked an important factor during his encounter. This was just a second time dungeon after all.

Wilco’s sudden appearance and his malicious intent and chilling power had consumed Kieran’s focus and made him forget the facts.

However, Kieran did not regret his forgetfulness, nor was he upset about it.

He had beaten Wilco after all.

Even if he had remembered, he might still have risked it if he saw an opportunity to acquire more rewards or increase his dungeon rating.

His vigilance reminded him that he was not calm enough.

"I need to calm down, or else I will really die!"

Kieran turned to Nikorei.

"So what next?" he asked.

"Let’s get back to the house. Considering your gift, I could teach you enough Mystical Knowledge within a week! That’s a promise!" Nikorei answered.

A Mystical Knowledge lesson.

Nikorei’s words lit a fire in Kieran’s heart.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Happy november !