The Devil's Cage

[Eliminated Special Enemy, Acquired Mark of Noir...]

[Mark of Noir: This is the token of a grudge that will hunt you down until you are dead. (As long as you are inside this dungeon world, you will face a relentless pursuit until you die, leave this dungeon, or your pursuers are eliminated!]

"Relentless pursuit?"

Kieran furrowed his brow hard. No one liked a relentless pursuit.

Especially when they were chased by a bunch of monsters that were immune to fire, electricity, shadows, common blessed objects, and spells.

Even Kieran had to reevaluate the risk of the Sub Mission related to these monsters. It seemed even more dangerous than the extra Sub Mission [Hundred Years of Hatred], but this was no reason to give up.

A higher risk meant higher rewards. Kieran knew that very well.

"Let’s talk inside."

Kieran waved at Schmidt, signalling for him to go back into the house.

In fact, the battle with the black knight had alarmed Simones, Elli, Raul and Cidney, who had already headed out of the house.

Louver, who still had the demon inside him, had been the first to dash out.

When he saw Kieran, his explosive temper was replaced by a dull, lifeless expression. Louver instinctively went over to Kieran, not saying a word.

Everyone in the house had seen the black knight dissipate into a dark mist. Their expressions were serious.

They were members of the mystical realm after all. They might not be as powerful as Kieran, but they still had a substantial grasp on some common mystical knowledge.

Why would the black knight from Forende appear there?

It had been hunting down his target! Everyone had a similar theory about the black knight’s appearance.

At Kieran’s signal, they all went back into the house.

They sat down in the living room, unconsciously looking over at Kieran. Simones might be the oldest one among them, but Kieran was the strongest one.

Kieran looked at Simones, hoping to get some help from his experience and knowledge.

"Do you know what these monsters are? I found this on him."

Kieran took out the [Night Owl Token] and handed it to Simones.

"Ancient alchemy!" Simones said in an affirmative tone as he glanced over the token.

Then he lifted his head and looked at everyone’s curious expression.

"This is the alchemy before the dislocation. I came across something similar with Rei during an excavation at an archaeological site back in the day. It was just that..."

Simones paused, as if he had thought of something, but eventually shook his head, staying away from that particular subject.

Before anyone could ask what he meant by "dislocation", he went on.

"If this is really a product of ancient alchemy, then our power and knowledge could barely harm them. This is suppression of a whole different level! The mystical knowledge we possess is just the tip of the iceberg compared to ancient alchemy. Fortunately, we still have some alternative solutions!" Simones said, looking at Schmidt in a serious manner.

"Spill! What do you want me to do?" Schmidt replied straightforwardly.

"Get some heavy artillery! If our mystical powers cannot beat these knights, we can only rely on firearms! Thank God firearms were invented!"

Simones shrugged in a self-mocking manner as he finished speaking.

Everyone present except Kieran and Schmidt felt uneasy.

As members of the mystical realm, choosing to use firearms over their trusted mystical powers against an enemy sounded too strange to them.

Kieran, who was a solo player, thought that it was natural to do so. He had become familiar with desperate times and desperate measures. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have learned so many skills and wouldn’t be carrying so many weapons with him.

Schmidt, who was a part-time mystic, had never had such an experience before. He told everyone goodbye and left in a hurry, assuring them that he would be back before nightfall.

The abrupt appearance of the pursuers had made the chief officer very uncomfortable.

Louver, on the other hand, had no idea what everyone was talking about.

Before Schmidt left, he explained briefly what had happened back at the station, advising the others to stop Kieran from going on another reckless adventure. Schmidt had a terrible impression of Tally Landsky, and that impression automatically extended to her grandfather, Rosland Landsky.

"This is too dangerous! The East Coast mystics are no common John Does! In fact, if it was not for Rei, those bastards would have extended their evil claws to the West Coast by now!"

Simones shook his head, but he did not try to persuade Kieran directly. Instead, he just revealed further information that Kieran hadn’t been aware of before.

The information was also news to Elli, Raul and Cidney.

"The East and West Coast mystics didn’t get along well?" Raul asked oddly.

The couple had been to a lot of places, but they’d never gotten that impression. They had actually thought that the East Coast mystics were more peaceful than their West Coast peers.

"You should thank Rei for this! After the Blood Moon War broke out, the West Coast mystics suffered a nearly catastrophic annihilation. During that tragedy, some people offered aid, but others hurt the victims in favor of their own selfish benefit."

"The East Coast did the latter! They were thrilled that the West Coast’s major factions suffered a heavy loss and they started raiding us. From our common resources to our rarest spells and ingredients, everything was loaded on cargo ships and was shipped back to their own bases on the East Coast."

"Do you know why the Dark Star, Night Demon, Unicorn and White Deer societies were hostile to each other?" Simones asked.

He nodded when he saw everyone’s surprise.

"That’s right! Just as you all thought! The Dark Star and Unicorn headquarters were located on the East Coast. They were the ones who had led the raid on the West Coast back then. On the West Coast, the Night Demon and White Deer societies had suffered the most from the raids."

"Their open, secretive fight lasted over 100 years, until Rei came of age. She single-handedly annihilated the general offense that claimed to have conquered the West from the East. The Dark Star and Unicorn societies’ leaders’ heads were impaled at the docks by Rei and used to feed the seagulls! The Night Demon and White Deer societies, who had wanted revenge, were also punished hard. The war finally ended after a peace treaty was signed and the parties agreed to never invade each other’s territory again!" Simones explained slowly.

Elli’s eyes were shining brightly, while Raul and Cidney were shivering in fear. They had never thought that Nikorei would be so ridiculously strong.

What would it be like to face the general offense of the whole East Coast by herself, impale the Dark Star and Unicorn leaders’ heads at the docks and feed them to the seagulls?

Two of the major five societies had been so terrified of her powers that they hadn’t even dared retrieve their leaders’ heads!

Kieran was surprised, even though he knew that Nikorei had also single-handedly eliminated the Shepherds of Death, who had shared the same status and power as the major five.

The power of a single society could not be compared to the power of a whole continent.

"The God of Earth?" Kieran muttered. He realized Nikorei was truly worthy of that title.

When he heard that even the Night Demon and White Deer societies had been punished, Kieran shrugged.

That kind, but hot-tempered old woman was just. She would not allow the West Coast to be slaughtered like a lamb, but neither would she ignite the fire of war on the East Coast.

"This is so much like Rei..." Kieran thought silently.

"So, 2567... I won’t stop you from going, but if you insist..."

Simones’ face turned serious and strict, as if he was voicing his dying wish.

"Please bear in mind that you are the assistant of the strongest shaman on the West Coast, the very God of Earth! Get rid of them! Every single one of them!" Simones said, emphasizing each word.

Elli, Raul and Cidney were shocked.

They had not expected Simones to let Kieran go or utter such harsh words. They also didn’t understand the meaning behind the phrases "the strongest shaman on the West Coast" and "God of Earth".

Kieran smiled knowingly as he answered, "Very well!"

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Rei is ridiculously strong...

I’ll be away for a couple of days boys and girls.

Don’t miss me ya ~

and don’t burn up this section when I am away.