The Devil's Cage

KABOOM!

Dust and dirt flew all over.

Kieran quickly raised [Arrogant Word] up again.

"I yield!"

Ren raised both his hands up directly against Kieran’s greatsword.

Kieran frowned at his surrendered opponent. He really wanted to swing his greatsword down, but...

Kieran quickly turned his head around and saw the monk who appeared behind him suddenly.

Unlike from the glance before, Kieran could clearly see what the monk looked like now since the monk was standing before him.

The scrawny hunchback monk didn’t just look saggy, his teeth fell off a long time ago and his eyes were extremely turbid.

Regardless of which angle one looked at the monk, he was nothing but a dying elder.

Yet, Kieran didn’t forget the previous scene where Rassho Temple’s main hall moved.

Kieran was very alarmed by the sudden move.

He stared deeply at the old monk with extreme vigilance.

The old monk, however, replied with a smile to the vigilant gaze.

It was a kind and friendly smile.

The old monk then shook his head.

Kieran followed the motion, he was baffled by the old monk’s actions.

Though, before Kieran could ask anything, the old monk turned around and walked away.

Tssk Gak!

The main hall gate was closed once more.

Other than the crumbled outer walls, Rassho Temple returned to its original peaceful state, yet something was different.

Kieran’s damaged [Armor of Excellence] repaired itself, leaving no traces behind. His lost HP was also recovered fully.

Compared to Kieran however, Ren didn’t change at all, blood was still gushing out from his mouth and it even looked more serious than the initial hit.

It seemed like a great opportunity for Kieran to take the finishing blow!

Kieran turned to Ren, his killer intent was overflowing from his gaze.

Kieran never showed mercy when he was able to reap his rewards, especially when the target had an unknown agenda and never stated himself as friend or foe.

Ren smiled bitterly when he felt Kieran’s killer gaze.

"I can tell you everything that happened!"

Ren spilled out his thoughts before Kieran could take further action.

"Everything?" Kieran emphasized.

"Everything!" Ren repeated.

Kieran put away [Arrogant Word] after the reply and Ren finally heaved a sigh of relief.

"What a surprising junior you are. Firearm weapons, secret weapon artifacts and more than one! If I didn’t verify your identity beforehand, I would assume you were the descendant of that guy!" The Fiend Exorcist said with a face full of exclamation and sighs. His expression prevented Kieran from telling how old he actually was.

"That guy?" Kieran asked.

"Artitelgar!" Ren didn’t try to hide the fact.

Since he agreed to tell Kieran everything in exchange for his life, he chose to be honest.

"Artitelgar is just a respectful name that we gave to that person, his real name is...Great Swamp!"

Great Swamp!?

Kieran was stunned. His mind started to recall the dragon-snake like creatures that he encountered and at the same time, more doubts filled his heart.

"What is that underground space at Saint Brilliant High?" Kieran continued with his questions.

"That is that person’s father’s palace. When he chose his current way of living, that place was abandoned, just that no one would expect it would be used by some schemeful bastard!" Ren sighed.

"Current way of living?" Kieran raised a brow.

He unconsciously recalled the rumor that he heard from the inspector.

"Just like what you thought. That person chose his current style of living and the people of this land chose to attach themselves to his existence. They contributed offerings, praying for protection and that person was delighted to do so as well. So as time went by, Flame City slowly appeared on the map."

"However, some bastards with ill-agendas wanted to take away his power! Initially, they couldn’t even lay a finger on him nor have to chance to do so, but as time went by again, he was slowly merging himself with Flame City, which was also the bastard’s chance to steal his powers!"

Ren couldn’t help but grunt coldly when he mentioned the bastards.

"Merge with the city?" Kieran though was concerned about other aspects.

"Yes, merging himself with the city. In simple words, that person is God within Flame City."

Ren uttered the most crucial word.

Kieran was mentally shaking. He never thought Artitelgar would have such an identity.

Unconsciously, it reminded him of another God of Earth, Nikorei.

Did both of them share the same situation?

Kieran wondered in his heart but his questions kept coming.

"So the moment I appeared in Flame City, he had already noticed me? He wished for my appearance to disturb those with ill-agendas... You people are absorbing his powers?"

Kieran suddenly realized the story between the lines, he recalled the dragon-snake sculptures and the power that was absorbed by the terrifying presence.

"You people wanted to slay a God?" Kieran looked at Ren in an astonished gaze.

"Not us, but another bunch. We the Funeral Society took up the responsibility to eradicate the fights, yet were unsuccessful." Ren shrugged.

"I can tell," Kieran added.

From the moment Ling came into play, everything had gone beyond Funeral Society’s expectations, leading them into the plans of that bunch of God Slayers.

If it wasn’t for Kieran’s appearance, thus disturbing their plans, those people might already take out Artitelgar altogether.

Fuuu.

Kieran took in a deep breath uncontrollably.

He related his thoughts to the point if Artitelgar died after merging himself with the city, what would happen?

Despite all the possible outcomes, it will be nothing good.

"Who are those people?" Kieran asked.

"Perforation Sting. A messy organization formed by humans, fiends, and half-fiends. They appeared about thirty years ago. No one took them seriously back then until their intentions were discovered, everyone else then realized how terrifying they were!"

Ren took out a cigarette from his coat’s pocket and lit it up. After a deep puff, the smoke he spat out shrouded his handsome face, causing his features to become misty.

Though, Kieran wasn’t concerned about those at all. His sharp senses caught the hidden meaning in Ren’s words.

"You are saying, it’s not the first time they slew a God?" Kieran asked in a heavy tone.

"Yup, it’s the third time to be precise! The first two times, one succeeded and the other failed."

"That time they succeeded in slaying the God, one of them acquired the powers of that Godly being of that city. Thus, surging the growth of Perforation Sting. During that period, Perforation Sting was unstoppable! Until the second time where they failed! Not only did the Godly being that belonged to them escape in a severe state, the rest of them were eliminated. However, out of anyone’s expectation, they came back less than ten years later and even fiercer than before."

Even with the layer of smoke, the bitterness on Ren’s face was inconcealable.

"You want to hear more? The more you hear, the harder it will be to remove yourself from the situation!" Ren said. Yet his eyes at Keiran was filled with probing and anticipation.

Though, Kieran’s decision made Ren surprised again.