The Devil's Cage

Aaaaah!

A fireball dropped from the sky onto the attacker. It struck his face and burned fiercely.

Agonizing cries quickly followed.

The other three attackers didn’t expect such accidents, all they saw was a black shadow, flying before their eyes followed by their fallen comrade who suffered a facial burn.

"Go!"

After a slight stun, the attacker with the crossbow reacted to the situation.

The rest didn’t run away, instead, they went after Bosco.

Gawk!

Another crow’s call sounded, the black shadow flew over again.

This time around, the crossbow attacker managed to catch a glimpse of the true identity of the black shadow that attacked them.

A bird? No, it’s a raven!

The crossbow attacker was certain after connecting it with the sound a moment ago but it was useless now.

All he could do was watch the nimble raven shuttle along the small alley and kill both of his comrades with its sharp claws and beaks, it even spat fireballs from its beak which didn’t even make sense.

The crossbow attacker heard his comrade’s agonizing death cry and it shook him hard but compared to the failure of his mission, the potential punishment drove him further in risking his life.

He clenched his teeth and drew the short sword from his waist.

The crossbow in his hand wasn’t a continuous one, he would need to reload its arrow before firing again and obviously, he didn’t have the time for it.

However, the moment he drew the short sword, a hand came from the back and grabbed his neck.

"From behind?!"

The crossbow attacker widened his eyes unbelievably.

He remembered what was behind him, it was just an area of the shadow cast down by the intersection of the buildings above, which was also where he was hiding a moment ago.

Yet he never would have thought the spot that he was hiding had someone else.

The shadowy spot wasn’t that big, to begin with, after him occupying the place, there wasn’t enough space to hold another person.

So how did the figure hide in the shadow with him then?

Such doubts kept baffling his mind, but he would get no answers out of it.

Broom!

The violent flame burst out from the hand as it was grabbing the attacker’s neck, it burned the attacker from top to bottom. Different from his comrade, the crossbow attacker was burned thoroughly and he lit up like a giant torch, leaving only ashes on the ground in the end.

Kieran looked at the pile of ash and shook the flames on his hands away.

He was very satisfied with [Undercover] going above Transcendence.

The experience felt like he had interwoven himself with the shadows, fusing his body in the darkness. He dived into the shadowy spot when the attacker was still there, being one with the shadow made him undetectable even at close range.

Although he couldn’t really turn his body into a shadow, the effect allowed him to ignore most of his body’s mass and merge it with the shadows. It was something that Transcendence level [Undercover] could not achieve.

Kieran was even more satisfied with Grand Master level [Charles’ Fire].

[Name: Charles’ Fire (Grand Master)]

[Related Attribute: None]

[Skill Type: Offense]

[Effect: Create a Strong attack devil flame on your left hand, able to burn continuously. Common water and sand can’t extinguish the flame. Has the special ability to burn souls and devour life energy.]

[Special Effect: Devil Flame (Your bloodline has the element of fire. It is your gift and also the proof of your identity. You can ignite the devil flame with an attack from None, Feeble, Weak, Average, Strong at will. After charging for 4 seconds, attack of the flame +1, has small chance to trigger Flame Burst effect on enemies.]

[Consume: Stamina]

[Prerequisite: Constitution S]

[Remark: This is a spell without incantations, casting gesture and casting time. A skill created by the alchemy master fusing ancient hidden knowledge together!]

[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!]

...

Even without charging up, [Charles’ Fire] could already create a Strong level devil flame with the buffs from [Fiery Sulphur].

Before entering the dungeon world and having all requirements fulfilled, Kieran would never give up on the no incantations, no actions and no casting spell, [Charles’ Fire].

Kieran felt the devil energy within him was still operating in a peaceful manner which made him relieved for a bit.

After leveling [Charles’ Fire], it didn’t convert [Devil Flame] back to the uncontrollable one, which was a great relief of burden for Kieran, because not only it will affect [Charles’ Fire]’s usage, it also proved his theory about how [Fusion Heart] worked.

Balance and communication!

While progressing with the plan that he had set up, from the looks of things it was quite effective.

"2...2567?" Bosco stuttered with shock.

He never would have thought the person who saved him from dying would be Kieran.

From the looks of things, it seemed like the news from Lightning Fortress was fake!

A cover up!

Bosco immediately related into more matters in his mind and quickly swallowed \\his words down his throat. He quickly walked over to Kieran respectfully, greeted, and saluted him.

"It’s a pleasure to have you back, Sir 2567!"

Bosco was sizing up the Fire Raven that sat on Kieran’s shoulder while he was talking.

The scene that happened was too fast for him to see with his naked eyes but it didn’t stop him from analyzing the aftermath.

"A raven, fire...The Raven Sect?" Bosco thought in his own mind.

"Go have a look at your follower, he will survive if given the proper treatment in time."

Kieran reminded Bosco of his poor follower who fallen behind him.

Bosco then quickly went back while Kieran sized up the three bodies on the group.

"The clothes are the common clothing of Riverdale, their hands had calluses from using swords for a long time and a pale looking skin... The robber or thief organization that was hiding in Riverdale?"

Kieran recalled back their methods of attacking and formed a theory, followed by a natural thought in his mind.

"A thieving organization would give up the chance of robbing wealth instead they had their eyes on Bosco... Did someone put up a bounty on him? But a bounty in such times..."

Kieran turned back to Bosco who had brought a squad of city guards back and squinted his eyes.

A few of the city guards carried the follower away for treatment under Bosco’s order and the rest of them started to clean up the small alley.

Riverdale was already a big mess, Bosco has no intention to push it further.

He knew Riverdale now was like a giant barrel of oil, the slightest spark of fire would set the entire barrel ablaze. It was a scene that he wished not to see.

The city guards carried the bodies and headed towards a special place.

They too saw Kieran was standing there watching them work and whenever they passed by Kieran, the city guards would be extremely careful and dare not even breathe out loud.

Kieran’s figure was very familiar to them because of what happened that particular night. It was a night that the city guards would never forget for the rest of their lives.

When the city guards saw the raven on Kieran’s shoulder, the ominous feel got even heavier, causing them to carry out Bosco’s orders quicker than ever.

"Pardon me, Sir 2567, they didn’t really mean it..."

"These men who attacked you, do you know where they are from?"

Kieran waved and interrupted Bosco with his question but after a slight pause, Kieran rephrased his question in a more accurate way.

"Or should I say, do you know who instigated them to attack you?"