The Devil's Cage

I am Bloody Mary.

Boss called me High Demon before this and now he calls me Superior Demon.

I'm not bothered by the name because I think Superior Demon is better than Bloody Mary, even though I did come from the Blood Queen's tiara.

What caused my birth was myriads of persistence, grudges, and evil thoughts.

Humans are a kind of complicated and scary animal.

I already knew it when I first gained the ability to think and saw what was around me.

During my early days, I didn't mind wandering alone in that ferry, I was totally fine by myself, I didn't need any being, living or dead, to talk to me.

A year flew by, then a second, a third…

I was still counting at first but as it went by, I lost count.

Boredom filled my heart.

The only fortunate thing was I knew the ferry's structure, from top to bottom, so I found a lot of books in the ferry's secret cabin.

The books talked about a lot of things and unusually rare, it was one of the important collections of the owner of the ferry.

I spent a lot of time with those books, but the waves at sea were rough. They started to spoil and rot. I tried countless ways to stop the books from spoiling but it was not very effective.

The ferry did not have suitable materials to preserve the books properly. What I did was prolonged the spoiling process, but couldn't truly stop it.

So I read faster.

Those really were some intense days. I sacrificed sleep to read and was racing against time.

In the end, before all the books spoiled, I managed to finish every single page and even had extra time to reread everything once more.

This long reading session increased a lot of my knowledge, allowing me to have more perception of the outside world.

I became curious, curious to see what was beyond the ferry.

West Coast, East Coast, the inner cities, the valleys and mountains, the fields, the lakes, the streams…

Hmmm… I think I'd skip the lakes and streams, since they are all water.

I've seen enough water due to being at sea for this long.

I was fantasizing about the outside world everyday and in the end, my patience wore out.

I made a decision that shocked even me: I left the ferry!

This new decision was poles apart from my initial thought but I frankly accepted my own thoughts after being shocked.

After all, humans were complex animals that always contradicted their own thoughts, so if I was the culmination of humanities persistence, grudges, and evil thoughts, I'd also be a little bit contradicting at times.

Wasn't it normal?

Since the goal was set, I'd make a move, so that I could understand what I should do next.

While I was preparing, I was also waiting for a chance, a chance for the ferry to dock and leave this lonely place once and for all!

During the waiting period, many people had their eyes on the ferry but none were suitable.

Some were too weak, some were too strong.

I killed the weak ones and slipped past the strong ones.

Time flew again, and after spending a great effort, I finally found the waters to return to shore.

Who knew how many years the ferry had sailed on sea, but now it had finally docked.

But…

The sudden storm interrupted my plan of docking quietly, forcing me to make a rough entrance.

The rough docking attracted a lot of eyes on the ferry, forcing the eager me to stop my plans and rethink what I should do next.

I knew I was different and I knew what I would face if I appeared in public, but before I could come up with a valid plan, those people ran out of patience.

At first, the people who approached the ferry were weaklings, weaker than the weakest man I remember, they were easy to deal with but I knew it was just the start.

As time went by, true powerful people would eventually appear.

I couldn't wait anymore!

So I decided to take a gamble, and then… I met my boss.

He was a kind of human that I had never met before, obviously powerful but extremely cautious and careful, wanting to keep a low profile.

How would I describe him using the newer words?

Inconspicuous!

That's right, inconspicuous!

He'd lay low as long as he could, and he'd perform in the very last second, in a very unreasonable, rampant way!

I felt sad for those powerhouses that boss killed. They did have the chance to win over boss, but boss was too cunning!

According to the books, people like him harboured extreme wisdom from their mind but it'd harm their body, so many people like him died young.

However, my boss lived long and well, getting even stronger and surpassing the level described in books, to the point that I couldn't comprehend.

Even though he had grown a lot, his stingy habits never changed.

He wasn't thrifty, he was stingy!

Thrifty meant laudatory, I know!

Stingy meant derogatory!

He was wealthy but he was only interested in free things. If that wasn't stingy, what was?

That aside, he sent me here, to Printon, to retrieve his loot.

Of course I knew my mission wasn't simply to retrieve the loot but it was my main mission!

Look at this dark as hell place! Where is the sunlight?!

It reminded me of the dark days I spent in the ferry.

Thankfully, beauce of boss' countless contracts, I wasn't afraid of sunlight and could even bask under the sun.

Standing under the sun and enjoying the wind was what I liked, but boss' mission always pressured me.

At first, it would be over after I died one time but after my secret was exposed, I'd have to die a couple times in a single outing! I've been through inconceivable disaster!

And I think this time is the biggest trouble I've run into since I gained the ability to think.

"Sir Sphendix, we are ready!"

I heard the word when I successfully retrieved boss' loot.

Habitually, I hid in the void and then I saw that black knight.

He wasn't a stranger though, boss saw him before, as did I. In order to retrieve boss' loot quicker, he shared the vision with me, but it was just a simple image showing this black knight.

As for more?

Because of the many contracts, any curiosity that I showed would result in death.

I watched the black knight from the void. He started to clean and decorate the room, which belonged to the one called Luther, the one whose body was blasted into pieces.

Many things were moved into the room.

Magic formation after magic formation were drawn.

'Summon? No! This isn't summon! This is descending!'

The knowledge in my mind allowed me to precisely judge the magic formations. While I was still deducing, my boss already knew everything.

"Wait! Observe! Deliver a lethal blow!"

My boss gave me a very Kieran-esque order.

So I waited patiently in the void, trying to find out what this black knight was doing and then I discovered some secret.

The black knight seemed bewitched and controlled.

Although he tried his best to maintain this original form, his reactions were a little slow.

Other people might not be able to tell the difference but I understood this very well.

My boss is a master in controlling people and these kinds of controlling methods were nothing compared to my boss' ones.

After the descending magic formation was completed, the black knight thought he had completed the preparation. He evacuated everyone and started muttering to himself.

"Everything is completed! Hmph! All I need to do now is wait for the Calamity Dragon to descend on Alkender!"

He would pause after each sentence.

It seemed like the black knight was talking to the one controlling him and I really felt sad for whatever was controlling the black knight.

In short, my boss was currently at Alkender City.

While I am in Printon City!

The descending of Calamity Dragon?

No! More like a fast food delivery!

I knew how good of an appetite my boss had.

Calamity Dragon, the name alone sounded very nutritious.

Seconds turned into minutes.

"Yes, activate the descension formation!"

When the black knight uttered the response, boss' words entered my head again.

"Let him do it."

I followed orders and watched the black knight slit his wrist and throw weird things into the formation, incantations sounding softly.

It was a success!

It was obvious that the black knight had prepared for a long time, but he was destined to fail because boss' order came.

"Kill him. Yes."

I waited a long time for this, jumping out and decapitating the concentrating black knight.

His head flew, blood spraying and the descension magic formation was broken, yet it wasn't a complete failure.

The magic formation was still holding up and managed to work.

"Nicely done, Superior Demon!"

Boss' praise entered my head.

This is a first, right? Boss praised me for the first time!

I am happy, what I've been through became worth it, but it sounded wrong. When boss' voice entered my head again, I discarded the messy thoughts.

"Wait for my order!"

"Yes, boss!"

...

RAWR!

The Calamity Dragon roared in anger as it was stuck in the breach.

It was certain that this little change was caused by this 'offering' before its eyes.

Although it had no idea how an 'offering' did something like this to stop its descension, it was infuriated nonetheless.

Finding a suitable 'offering' wasn't easy, so simply letting him go wasn't an option. It would be a joke!

Who was it?

It was the Calamity Dragon! The Calamity Dragon that once wreaked havoc on the land!

Kaboom!

Plague aura erupted like a live volcano, surging from the enormous body of the Calamity Dragon.

A dead silent darkness clouded the entire night sky above Alkender.

The stars and the moon were all consumed.

The birds that slept in the trees, the stray cats and dogs that hid in the corners, the rats that roamed the sewers, all kinds of animals felt an unusual anxiety and danger, as if death was coming.

They wanted to run but the animal's body were hardened, they couldn't move at all.

The civilians who had just entered the emergency passageway to the shelter instinctively raised their heads too.

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

Someone asked out of instinct, sounding afraid, likewise the person who answered.

The little question and answer represented the thoughts of everyone in the shelter.

Subconsciously the people looked at Drexton.

Drexton felt the discomfort too, suspicion rising in his heart.

Did you know when this shelter was specially built, it was enforced by not only technology but also mystical means.

Despite the enforcements, Drexton was still affected. He could only imagine how scary it would be on the surface.

The monitors in the shelter that should display the situation on the surface showed nothing but black, spreading the fear faster.

Drexton knew he must stop the fear from spreading, otherwise it would trigger some dire consequences.

"Willis, can you see what is happening up there?" Drexton looked at Willis.

"Sorry boss, the shelter's structure blocked my abilities," Willis shook his head.

Drexton then looked at the Machinist, but he got the same answer.

Drexton frowned. Willis and Machinist were the best candidates to scout the situation and if both of them couldn't…

"Why not let me try?"

While Drexton was figuring a way to get eyes up there, someone spoke.

A young man in glasses pushed himself out of the crowd, followed by three more people behind him.

"Goran? Emma Eddie, Ferris, and Odork?" Drexton was stunned.

He knew the four of them, they were his friend's, 2567, comrades, but shouldn't they be in the shelter at the hospital with his other friend, Herzker?

Why were they there?

He was troubled by the question but he did not hesitate.

"Sure, Goran," he nodded.

Goran pushed his glasses up and walked to the black monitors.

He placed his hand on the monitors and it started to turn blurry, a blurry image forming before slowly becoming clearer.

When the footages in the monitor cleared up, everyone gasped in astonishment.

It wasn't just the people in this shelter but everyone in Alkender City.

They saw the enormous body of Calamity Dragon and the dead silent dark night sky.

"My God! What is this?" someone asked out of shock.

The children were terrified, crying while their mothers covered their mouth in order to suppress the crying, but the muffled cries made people more nervous.

When the monitors paned sideways, everyone saw the figure that stood on the ground, confronting the enormous monster in the sky.

The figure was also black, but deeper.

"Look!"

"T-That's…"

"Glutton Emperor!"

Astonishment sounded again but this time it wasn't out of fear, it was joy.

Humans are like that, they always wish for protection against a powerful unknown.

It wasn't shameful because it was part of the instinct, and those who could overcome the instinct and stand in front of the people, protecting them from harm, those people were known as… heroes!

Instantly, the gazes on the black figure changed.

Goran quietly walked back to the crowd and when he did, his body shook.

Connecting all the monitors in the shelters wasn't as easy as it looks.

"Nicely done," Odork helped Goran up.

"For the lord, it's my honor!" Goran smiled weakly.

The conversation was soft, others couldn't hear it properly, or rather, everyone else was captivated by the scene in the monitors.

Screams then sounded the next moment.

That dead silent darkness that shrouded the entire night sky above Alkender started to fall like an enormous meteor.

The black figure in the monitors didn't move, instead jumping up to the sky, going straight into the falling darkness!