The Devil's Cage

[Fusion Heart, fusion level increased a little...]

[Acquired special effect: Touch of Cardinal Sins]

[Touch of Cardinal Sins: The cardinal sins of desire is flowing in your blood. Consume 100 HP to summon either Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath or Envy to assist you. Consume 200 HP to summon Pride to assist you. The embodiments of sins share your looks but each of them possesses different abilities. The summons last for 1 minute and an extra duration will cost extra HP.]

[Note: When the target is in panic, chaos, fear or has an extreme desire for something, they will be devoured by the respective embodiment of sins.]

...

"As I expected, the potential of [Fusion Heart] has not yet been fully discovered!"

Kieran clenched his fists hard when he saw the new special effects.

Then, he glanced over the description of [Touch of Cardinal Sins].

"By consuming my own HP? Each of them possesses different abilities?"

Kieran raised a brow. He looked at the seven other embodiments of sins before him. He could feel himself be closer to them after getting the new special effect.

Yet, this closer relationship cost Kieran a fortune.

Not only dozens of Magic rank items but a Rare rank item was consumed by them as well.

However, Kieran knew deeply that he had to take the risk as it was a game of give and take.

Using dozens of Magic items and one Rare item to exchange for a further progression of [Fusion Heart] was quite worthwhile for Kieran since he had a long-term goal in the future.

More so, the biggest reward of this trip was still in his hand.

A ring forged with gold in the shape of a snake.

The ring was seemingly alive; the snake was biting its tail, forming a circle and space in the middle.

When Kieran wore it on his right ring finger, the space in the ring shrunk to fit his finger.

[Name: Ring of the Serpent King]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attack/Defense: None]

[Attributes: 1. Dominate Reptile 2. Serpent Spirit 3. Snake Molt]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: Spirit A]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: A ring fused with the blood of the lineage. Its birth was an accident. Grindwell has been searching for it until now!]

...

[Dominate Reptile: Able to communicate with any reptile you come across. You and the target will have to go through a Spirit authentication. If your Spirit is higher, you will temporarily acquire control to that target reptile. Every additional reptile will increase your Spirit burden. When your spirit burden is maximized, dominating effect will disappear and you will receive a Moderate Wounded spirit attack]

[Serpent Spirit: Summon a 20 meter long two-headed snake spirit with 3500 HP and Stamina to serve your will. The serpent spirit is a unique being, able to convert between a mirage and solid form. 3 minutes duration, 1 per day.]

[Snake Molt: When you receive Lethally Wounded damage, you will shed your skin like a snake, resisting 1 lethal attack but you will be induced with Weaken debuff for 12 hours. 1 per week.]

......

Its Legendary rarity granted it powerful attributes that matched its status.

Kieran would list [Ring of the Serpent King] as one of his common items just because of [Snake Molt], let alone the other two powerful attributes.

Promptly, the seven embodiments of sins vanished into thin air with a thought from Kieran’s mind.

Kieran then went on to check the battlefield, making sure that he didn’t leave out anything before sprinting swiftly back towards the rendezvous point that he promised Herbert.

Mozorc’s strange appearance made him aware that the real battle was ahead of him.

...

Meanwhile, in a shadowy spot somewhere in the wilderness, Herbert was standing there, hiding. Beside him was Contly, knocked out cold and tied up, with furrowed brows.

Herbert witnessed Contly’s condition with his own eyes before: a dull, absent face with a dash of frenzy to it.

That was definitely not Contly’s original character. The elderly scholar was certain of this.

"What in the world happened?" Herbert pondered the question hard.

"You are not convinced?"

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside him, causing Herbert to look beside him.

A pale-faced, scrawny figure but with a beautiful feature of a young man appeared beside him with a warm smile.

"You are?" Herbert was anxious in his heart but his voice displayed a different tone.

Herbert also glanced at where Sven and Rien were hiding but instead, he noticed a couple of unfamiliar men in their place.

His heart sunk.

As more and more men appeared with some Night monsters mixed with the bunch, the elderly scholar’s heart sunk to the bottom of the abyss.

The situation before him was clear.

They were the alliance army of the Night and Mutant race!

The pale-faced young man should either be the leader of the Mutants, Mozorc, or the leader of the Nights, Edgar.

"If this is the case, then 2567..." Herbert thought in his heart as his heart grew more anxious by the second.

An intense worry topped the anxious in his heart.

"I am Edgar, not Mozorc. Don’t be afraid. According to my calculations, 2567 will not have any big problems. He might be tangled for a bit but the final victor will be him! Of course, should he fail... Well, you can’t blame me for that. After all, accidents happen right?" The Night leader said with a light-hearted smile.

"He read my mind?!" Herbert was shocked.

Although Herbert was thinking about Kieran in his mind, he was sure that he kept away all expressions on his face, revealing nothing to Edgar.

If he knew what Herbert was thinking, there was no other valid explanation other than mind reading!

More coincidentally, some old records about the legends of Neegor Dynasty did mention that that particular king had some similar abilities as well.

Perhaps...

Concluding what he knew, Herbert suddenly thought about something else. His gaze turned slightly dreaded when he looked at Edgar.

"That’s right. It was just like what you thought it would be! I am one of the Neegor Dynasty’s Royals!"

Edgar nodded with a smile, acknowledging Herbert’s guess. Then, before Herbert could utter a word, he exclaimed, "As expected of you Professor Herbert to discover the weakness of mind reading in such a short period... You are trying to avoid thinking about it, using some old memories to shield the information that I truly seek..."

"Given a few months ago, I really have no other options if you do this, but now? Thank you and 2567 for eliminating Bartos for me!"

Edgar walked close to Herbert as he spoke.

However, he stopped when he was a few steps away from Herbert. His gray eyes started to shine colorfully, the shine that was similar to the shine of Eye of Chimeras but slightly dimmer and with fewer variations of color. However, it was mixed with a distinctive devilish power.

The Nights and Mutants around submitted before that power when it appeared, showing their allegiance to it. All except for Sven and Rien who were dominated by Kieran. But still both of them were unconscious and no help was coming from them anytime soon.

As for Herbert, the moment Edgar gazed at him with that colorful shine, his face was struggling, hesitating, and resisting the power before him but eventually, the struggles turned into a calm face.

"Tell me, Herbert, where is the sealed place? What is the incantation to break the seal?" Edgar asked.

"It is..." Herbert slowly opened his mouth.