The Devil's Cage

Mazmu slowly woke up.

Gasp!

The pain from the back of his neck made him gasp painfully, his mind dizzy and blank.

What had happened?

‘I was digging for the Philosopher’s Stone, then I ran into those black dogs.

Thankfully I prepared for this beforehand and made the black dogs suffer a great loss! That bastard Aison Den, he won’t be recovering anytime soon from that damage.

Still, that bastard set me up with his dogs, chasing me like cancer.

I was forced to jump into that dangerous tunnel and ended up here.

This seems to be Song Shi Family’s villa in Ai City. It should be empty during normal times, but I guess I’m unlucky this time for running into Song Shi Family’s servant.

My reinforcements...

Better forget it, none of them would have escaped Song Shi’s servant.’

Even though his mind was dizzy, Mazmu had a very good understanding of the Song Shi Family.

The family wasn’t some foe that he could fight alone. Even if he could gather all of the Witchcraft practitioners in Ai City, they still might not be a match, otherwise those black dogs wouldn’t have addressed Song Shi as their lord or lady.

But... who attacked me? My Philosopher’s Stone!

As Mazmu recalled Song Shi’s name, he subconsciously thought of the Philosopher’s Stone and he quickly cleared his mind.

After he regained his senses, all he could think of was the Philosopher’s Stone and when he realized the stone was still in his hand, he heaved a breath of relief, but his relaxed state was replaced by worry soon enough.

“Are you sure you’ve handled everything?”

“Of course! Mazmu didn’t even expect me to follow him. This is our chance!”

A conversation entered Mazmu’s ear, one of the talking voices was rather familiar but not the other one.

Judging from the volume of the conversation, the owners of these two voices weren’t far, but not exactly near either. He moved a little bit, slowly opening his eyes and he saw a person’s back.

The back was also familiar, but Mazmu couldn’t really tell who it was.

“The Philosopher’s Stone isn’t something that you can take and go,” the unfamiliar voice said.

“Then will you give up like that?” The familiar voice chuckled coldly.

The unfamiliar voice went silent.

“Right? You won’t either! What we need to do now is make everyone believe Mazmu got his hands on the Philosopher’s Stone and then escaped to some far away place. Since the Song Shi Family are involved, as long as it is carefully taken care of, mess around the facts with the lies, no one will ever suspect us! Don’t you want the power of the Philosopher’s Stone?” The familiar voice sounded anxious.

The unfamiliar voice continued to keep quiet, seemingly hesitating.

“I want! But there’s only one stone...”

“I have a way to divide the power inside! Now, all you have to do is pretend to be Mazmu, attract everyone’s attention, and when the coast is clear, meet me at the usual place.”

The stranger’s voice finally replied after 4 to 5 seconds but just as the voice wanted to go on, the familiar voice stopped him.

“Okay,” the stranger’s voice gave an affirmative answer then went silent.

It seemed like the owner had left.

More than 10 seconds later, the familiar voice muttered to himself.

“Do you really think I will split the power of the stone? I don’t even know how to, and even if I knew, I won’t share it!” said the familiar voice and then the owner turned around.

Mazmu finally saw that familiar face, and he instantly remembered who the person was.

Also a Witchcraft practitioner, a very shady person with secretive whereabouts, possessing decent strength, especially that [Vengeful Spirit House], it was quite well known among the practitioners in Ai City.

“So it’s him! No wonder what happened earlier...”

Mazmu immediately thought of Aison Den’s sudden appearance and interference, he should have been distracted yet he arrived in an untimely moment.

Some doubtful spots were cleared.

This guy must have exposed Richard Mayden prematurely, that’s why that garbage failed so miserably, and he must also be involved with Aison Den, that’s why those black dogs located him so quickly.

As for why all the fuss?

It was too obvious!

It was because of the Philosopher’s Stone!

Too bad! It seemed like this fellow practitioner had underestimated Mazmu’s recovery capability.

Despite Mamzu being heavily weakened after he changed his body, he would not go down with just a single ambush.

Maybe he passed out for a few seconds, but he would soon recover to his peak.

Dak Dak Dak Dak.

Footsteps sounded.

After confirming the person’s identity, Mazmu closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious. The loss of sight didn’t stop Mazmu from making his move though, because when the person reached out to his hand for the stone, Mazmu thrusted his other hand into the person’s neck.

Splat!

The person’s neck was perforated. He widened his eyes in disbelief.

“Did you really think I’d lost all my self-defense ability after I change a new body?”

Mazmu opened his eyes, laughing coldly at the rat behind the scene and pulling his hand out.

Pak!

The man fell on the ground without any sign of life, his eyes still big and filled with disbelief, a restless death.

Mazmu didn’t even care about the body on the ground.

Even if this person could return in soul form, it required time for the forming and conjuring power, it wasn’t something that could be done quickly.

Until then, Mazmu would have recovered to his peak or further.

Why would he be afraid of a mere soul?

After Mazmu confirmed that he was still in the tunnel, at the split path, he quickly made a decision.

In front him was the servant from Song Shi Family; behind him were the black dogs chasing him.

His reinforcement wouldn’t hold the servant of Song Shi family for long, getting wiped out was almost certain.

Even if his reinforcements were able to escape death, Mazmu wasn’t sure he could find a place for him to be in Ai City for the time being.

The moment he showed himself, he would attract hostility from his enemies.

It wasn’t just because he was in a weakened state, it was also because of the stone in his hand.

So, the best way for him to get out of this sticky situation was to channel the stone’s power.

Using the Philosopher’s Stone to recover his strength or even push him to new heights, only then would he have the power to overcome the danger before him.

Having the Philosopher’s Stone yet weakened and consuming the Philosopher’s Stone to become stronger were two different concepts.

Mazmu grinned at the cobblestone in his hand.

“A bunch of fools! You people really thought I didn’t have a backup plan?”

He then plunged his hand into this body’s stomach and pulled out an item the size of a cigarette box.

The package was wrapped in oil paper and had a heavy herbal smell, the bloody stench overpowering and the opening healing rapidly.

Mazmu carefully opened the package and took out the Purity Stone, which was a diamond, the leaf of a hundred year old oak tree, and a tube of seawater during a storm. He arranged all three items to form a triangle and then put the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ in the middle. He bit his left index finger and dropped a drop of blood on top of the stone, incantations following.

“Purity, once was your soul.

“Oak leaf, once your body.

Storm, once your scream.

Born from darkness yet shining in light...”

The long incantation echoed throughout the split paths and when the echoes stopped, Mazmu looked at the ‘stone’ in anticipation.

But nothing happened.

“What the... Did I remember the incantation correctly?”

Mazmu was surprised, starting the ritual again, but he got the same result.

After the second time, Mazmu was a little nervous. He knew he had staked his future on this ritual and if the ritual truly failed, it was the end of him!

Without further ado, Mazmu started the ritual again, nervously.

His incantations started to stutter, but did not miss, and similar to the previous two times, nothing happened.

“What happened?

Where did I go wrong?”

“Does the stone have a secret that I don’t know of?” Mazmu thought in his heart but before he finished wondering, the back of his neck hurt again.

Bam!

The same brick that knocked him out the first time was smashed into the back of his head again.

Though this brick attack was unlike the previous one, Bloody Mary didn’t hold back at all this time. It went all out and swung its arm in a circle, the precise hit plus the strength imbued in it cracking the brick upon impact.

Mazmu fell unconscious on the ground without making a sound.

Blood Mary then walked out from his back.

“Piece of cake.”

Even after Mazmu was out cold, Bloody Mary didn’t return to its original look, still disguised as the Witchcraft practitioner who attacked the restaurant before. It took all the items on the ground, including that ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ before it smashed the brick into Mazmu’s head again. It has to make sure Mazmu would not wake up anytime soon.

Bloody Mary sensed the battle at the surface was coming to an end, quickly diving back into the ground without further ado.

A minute later, Mian Yi, who had fought off all Mazmu’s reinforcement, came down from the hole.

He frowned when he saw the swelling on Mazmu’s face. He searched around but found nothing, then pointed his finger at Mazmu.

Mazmu immediately woke up.

“Philosopher’s Stone!?

My Philosopher’s Stone!”

The moment he opened his eyes, Mazmu realized the stone was taken away, screaming in panic, and then he saw Mian Yi.

He couldn’t care anymore, even if Mian Yi was one of Song Shi’s servants, he jumped forward to Mian Yi.

“Give me back my stone!”

Mian Yi stepped aside, Mazmu grazed him, and Mian Yi delivered a chop to the back of Mazmu’s neck.

Pak!

Mazmu fell unconscious, again.

Mian Yi was overjoyed as he looked at the unconscious Mazmu.

“Philosopher’s Stone? Who would’ve thought it would be the stone!”

Mian Yi was excited, grabbing Mazmu and swiftly going back the way he came.

Outside the villa area of South Sector, Bloody Mary walked out from the shadow.

It was still in a weakened state, carrying things in its illusory form was very exhausting.

It panted heavily but when it turned around and looked at the villa area, it smiled.

It’s easier to fish for a fish in muddy waters!

It wasn’t purposely here to deliver trouble to Song Shi Family because its boss felt unhappy about the sudden ‘visit’.

“Have a wonderful day.”

Bloody Mary threw the cobblestone beside and then vanished into the shadow.

...

When Bloody Mary returned to the restaurant, it was already morning.

The civilians started their work and Starbeck fell asleep 10 minutes ago.

Kieran was on the sofa, waiting patiently.

After he sensed Bloody Mary had returned to the basement of the restaurant, he stood up, giving a signal to the Elite Hound at the corner, and then walked away from the room.

There was another Hound in the corridor, it wagged its tail when it saw Kieran.

Kieran touched the Hound’s head, pointed at the master bedroom, and then walked downstairs.

He did the same to the other Hounds on the main floor before he headed to the basement.

These Hounds felt no tiredness, all they needed was some food and they could carry their duty to the fullest. Kieran viewed them as the best guards.

He praised the Hounds by touching their heads.

The basement was originally a wine cellar and after Kieran tidied it up, it became a storeroom.

Bloody Mary was inside.

“Boss.”

Bloody Mary presented the Purity Stone, a hundred year old oak leaf, and the tube of seawater during a storm to Kieran with utmost flattery when it saw Kieran walk in.

As for the incantations?

With the power of the contract, Bloody Mary believed with its boss’ intelligence, he had carved the incantations into his mind after listening three times.

Kieran didn’t start the ritual right away despite having the items in his hand.

His usual vigilance made him reserve a little bit of cautiousness for the stone.

So, he tended to be more carefree in using the Crossing Coins since it wasn’t the first time.

He didn’t go back to his room, he used the 40 silver coins in the storeroom.

40 silver coins equalled 1200 copper coins, which was also equal to exorcising 1200 souls, based on rough calculations.

The 4 digit number increased all of Kieran’s stats once more.

[Spirit broke through a layer of seal, increased from A → A+]

[Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intuition broke through a layer of seal, increased from B+ → A]

...

Spirit consumed around 600 copper coins for a single layer breakthrough, the rest of the stats consumed 150 coins respectively to break through 2 layers at once.

His body powered up again, savouring the feeling and using the breathing methods from [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] to regulate his breaths.

Each time he broke a layer of seal, he would adjust himself.

Practice makes perfect, so in addition to his concentration, Kieran adapted to the newly enhanced body in matter of seconds.

He then took out the gold coin.

Similar to trading silver to copper coins, 30 silver coins could be exchanged for 1 gold coin.

However, because of the rarity and its special usage, the conversion rate was a little higher, 35 silver coins to 1 gold coin this time.

If it was any other time, Kieran would have exchanged it for silver coins to maximized his gains, but this time wasn’t any other time.

It was the first time Kieran would consume a Crossing Gold Coin, and Gluttony in his body was yearning for it.

He signaled to Bloody Mary and decided to consume the gold coin in his hand.

But when the thought came into his mind, the coin in his hand changed drastically.