The Devil's Cage

Holuff gazed upon the black burning flame and then at Pride, who walked towards him. He wanted to say something but Pride didn't care, the cardinal sin walking past Holuff and going back into Kieran's room before shutting the door.

Looking at the shut door, Holuff scratched his head, the last few strands on his head waving as his fingers fiddled around.

What?

Holuff was confused, he couldn't understand 'Kieran''s action and the meaning behind it.

'Kieran' saved him and then ignored him?

Even when they met each other during other times, they would greet each other in a friendly way.

What caused the strange reaction today?

'Could it be… he is hinting something at me?'

Holuff frowned after the thought popped up. He gripped his battleaxe tightly and started to search around carefully.

The other one who frowned was Horlaika.

He had the exact look, with thick hair, long eyes, high cheekbones, and thin lips, that Clairehore, who had just died in the black flame, did. He would strike others as a harsh person with a single glance.

In fact, not just his looks, even his expression and countenance were very similar.

Horlaika and Clairehore almost looked identical. If they were to stand together, they could be twins... No! Not twins, clones!

Horlaika sat in a room, using his fingers to rub his swollen painful temples in hopes of easing the uneasy tension but it was useless.

His head was getting more and more painful by the second, like he was cut by an axe.

The excruciating pain made him inhale with his mouth repeatedly.

In the end, his shaking hands took a spare potion out from his inner pocket of his coat.

If it was possible, he wouldn't want to use this potion. Not just because it was the last one that he brought, this potion would also inflict irreversible damage to his body. His strength would greatly decrease in a short period of time after consumption.

However, he hesitated for less than a second when the headache plagued him again. Horlaika uncorked the potion and drained every drop in a single gulp.

Right after the refreshing potion entered his mouth, it started to quickly ease his headache.

Hu!

Horlaika heaved a long breath of relief, but his relaxed brows furrowed together again shortly after that.

There were many secret spells within Silent Night Secret Society yet Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon was still one of the most precious ones.

The power that came with its success was enough to make anyone envious.

Of course, what shunned people away was the absurd difficulty and the consequences: the pain of splitting the soul!

Many who cultivated Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon failed, killed off by the immense pain.

Horlaika relied on the special potion to become the only one who successfully cultivated Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon in Silent Night Secret Society in the past hundred years.

Then, Clairehore was born!

In short, Clairehore was Horlaika's shadow that he divided out.

Clairehore was like any other normal human being. Despite being a shadow, he had quite the intellect and possessed his own personality. He even possessed the same strength and power as his host. Other than being unable to cultivate Hazy Moon Shifting Shadow, he would live like anyone else.

Of course, this 'shadow' was completely under Horlaika's control.

The strongest point of Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon was as the shadow grew stronger, it could provide feedback to the host. For example, even if the host hadn't learned a certain technique or spell, as long as the 'shadow' had managed to learn it, the host would eventually know it as well.

So it was natural that whatever the shadow saw and felt, the host could see and feel the same via the power of Hazy Moon Shifting Shadow.

That was the reason why Horlaika felt weird.

Why would his shadow feel so furious before he died?

And that feeling of disdain, when did it appear?

One thing worth taking note was that the behaviour and reaction was completely different from Horlaika during normal times.

The shadow came from himself, that's why Horlaika knew Clairehore very well.

The shadow might be a little intimidating at times but against the unknown Snake Sect, he should be vigilant against it. Even though he displayed a 'proud' side, it would just be a disguise, not truly from his heart.

However, the pride and arrogance the shadow displayed earlier was authentic.

'Am I affected?

That target has the ability to instruct people's emotions and from there control people's minds?'

Horlaika's heart throbbed.

Horlaika knew some insider news from inside the organization, so he was at 120% cautious against the unknown Snake Sect.

Otherwise he wouldn't have waited three days to make his move during the battle between the Mist and the projection of God of War. He even sent his strongest shadow to test the water.

Yet, things were not good!

The more he thought, the more he worried. Horlaika stood up, wanting to leave the city.

Being careful at all times was his life motto.

Moreover, his mission did not exactly fail, and as a matter of fact, as a pathfinder, he had completed his mission.

As for losing his shadow, it was nothing.

All he had to do was recover and cultivate for some time and divide another shadow with the help of the potion.

Although it would make him more reliant on the medication and he'd suffer further damage to his true strength, the pain of splitting his soul was an experience he did not want to try a second time.

Besides, he didn't want to lose his current position as well!

His shadow had already achieved name and status.

The other thing worth taking note was that his shadow, Clairehore, was named as the Immortal: no matter how severely wounded, or even dead, all he needed was a short slumber and he would be as lively as a tiger when he woke up.

Therefore, his shadow had acquired quite the position in the society, relying on the special trait.

He even used this trait as a start to form certain forces around him.

As for Horlaika, he was still no one.

It was fair to even say that after his shadow, Clairehore the Immortal, came onto the scene, Horlaike was pronounced 'dead'. Horlaike only chose to appear when Clairehore was caught up in something or unable to show himself, so that he could maintain the title and pride of the Immortal.

Horlaika wasn't unhappy or uncomfortable with it, quite the opposite, he was delighted.

Doing this would only make him more and more inconspicuous!

In Silent Night Secret Society, being inconspicuous meant being safe!

The society wasn't a charity house, any misstep would cost him his life.

Survive, let alone thriving, would require not only power, but also vigilance, technique, and the ability to improvise!

Therefore, Horlaika made up his mind to leave! Immediately!

He couldn't stay in the city anymore!

Horlaika quickly left the temporary base and strode towards the city gates.

The patrol soldiers were nothing for Horlaika since he had inherited a powerful hiding technique from his shadow despite his current weak condition.

As for the city walls, they were also nothing. He did not rely on any tools and climbed the walls with his bare hands. Swiftly crossing the city walls, Horlaika reached outside the city and ran into the pinewood forest.

Hu!

After he managed to get into the pinewood forest, Horlaika heaved a breath of relief.

He was worried that he might get ambushed by Snake Sect along the way, but it seemed like they did not notice him.

"I mean it can't be helped right? Clairehore is dead in the eyes of the Snake Sect! Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon is considered a secret even within the society, let alone to an outsider! Even Snake Sect…"

As he muttered to himself, Horlaika habitually turned around, wanting to get another look at Sicar before he returned to Edatine Castile but… he saw Kieran instead.

Kieran silently appeared behind him without his knowledge, the mutters instantly stopping.

He widened his eyes in disbelief at Kieran.

"You…"

Bang!"

Before his words even subsided, Horlaika was kicked to the ground by Kieran.

The kick was very sudden, fast and fierce.

Horlaika clearly heard the bones in his chest crack.

He opened his mouth and wanted to say something but… Crack, Crack. His wrist and ankle were both broken by the following stomps, the words that he wanted to say becoming screams when they reached his mouth.

"Aaaargh!"

The painful scream was loud and short, then stopped abruptly because a musket appeared in Kieran's hand and was pointed at Horlaika's forehead.

Pain made Horlaika sweat coldly, the sweat moving along his forehead and entering his eye. The stinging sensation burned his eye, arousing the urge to blink, but he didn't dare to as he widened his eyes at the young man before him.

He was shocked by the young man's straightforwardness and fierceness.

He had inherited many experiences of engaging a Demon Hunter from his shadow but even the rudest of them all had never struck his shadow down right away. They'd talk with the shadow, give him enough time to reach, and not a single one of them made a move first before talking, like Kieran had done.

"Don't shoot! I'm the inspector sent by the Silent Night Secret Society! I know the secrets of the society!"

Horlaika spoke quickly and loudly, afraid that if he remained quiet, he would lose his chance to speak.

Kieran didn't reply, instead sizing up the man in front of him.

'Something similar to a cloning technique?' Kieran wondered.

Through Pride's eyes, he saw Horlaika once, or rather, another person with the same look. Countenance-wise, both men were completely different.

The one Pride ran into, although affected by the cardinal sin, felt more hot-blooded and was obviously a veteran who had killed on the battlefield.

The one before Kieran's eyes, however, revealed a sense of weakness behind his power.

It wasn't caused by the potion though. Before Horlaika drank the potion, Kieran already noticed him and even had the time to inspect him.

Horlaika was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, striking Kieran as a sheep wearing a wolf's skin.

At first Kieran thought the weakness came from the cloning technique of Horlaika but when he spoke, Kieran immediately knew Horlaika was truly weak.

Of course, in order to make sure the man wasn't pretending to be weak, Kieran raised his musket higher, his foot going up above the crushed ankle and slowly moving upwards.

At the same time, the hand holding the musket was shaking rhythmically.

In times like this, using [Mesly Ring] would be the best way to determine the truth but even without the ring, Kieran wasn't all that helpless.

The Mystical Knowledge that he learned came with many little techniques, which would be enough for him to determine whether the man was lying or not.

"Aaaaa! Spare me! I'm afraid of pain! Ask what you want, I'll tell you everything! I assure you that all the answers are true!"

Tears and snot rolled down Horlaika's face. Under the immense pain, his eyes unconsciously looked at Kieran's palm and were captivated by the movement, yet his body dared not move an inch, crying repeatedly.

Kieran saw how Horlaika reacted, lifting his foot and stopped inflicting pain on the man.

Without Kieran's foot on him, Horlaika did his best to crawl further away from Kieran but after a few inches, he saw the musket in Kieran's hand.

Horlaika then crawled back to the spot right away.

"I am a person who follows the choices of my heart! I love my life! So I will do my best and use my biggest leverage to ensure my survival!"

With snot and tears all over his face, Horlaika sounded exceptionally serious.

"What are you to the person who died earlier?" Kieran asked right away.

"He was a shadow I created using Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon. He had my thoughts, memories, and ablitiies but did not know about my existence. I could control him through the dark and learn what he learns and also inherit language and memories, plus the real power he acquired. Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon is one of the most precious techniques in Silent Night Secret Society. I accidentally came across this technique and then relied on medication to cultivate it. After that, I shifted behind the scenes and made my shadow 'me', while I became a follower of my shadow."

Horlaika honestly told everything to Kieran, not even choosing to hold back the secrets of Hazy Shadow Shifting Moon.

"The reason the society sent me here was because Luncar discovered the remains of the Demon Hunters and another group, named the Snake Sect, during his 'pawn' mission. The councilmen were frightened by the Snake Sect Demon Hunters because during the Black Cataclysm, the Demon Hunters should have been wiped out, yet there were a group of them who escaped. According to the investigations of the councilman, they should have gotten help from someone. As for the helper, the councilmen searched for it night and day but it was fruitless. They didn't even know where the helper came from. The appearance of Snake Sect this time allowed the councilmen to confirm that there must be some secrets hidden behind the normal group of Demon hunters, plus…"

Up until this point, Horlaika quietly peaked at Kieran.

After he noticed there wasn't any expression on Kieran's face, the member of the secret society who cherished his life so much quickly continued, "Plus all of our recent missions, which should have been easy ones, all failed! It was like that time when we wiped out the Demon Hunters, we failed without knowing why! Even those who carried out the mission died! The appearance of Snake Sect made the councilmen believe that Snake Sect ambushed our agents during their mission. So they sent my shadow that bears the title of Immortal."

Horlaika paused after all that, trying to make sure whether or not he missed something.

After some thought, he noticed what he was missing.

"The 'pawn' mission is the plan that the councilmen set up to empower the Lady. After the Black Cataclysm, many pagans appeared all over the land, all of them yearning for a descension and it made them anxious, trying to achieve it by any means necessary. So after a little guidance, they became the best prey for the councilmen! At first the councilmen were victorious, but as Snake Sect appeared, things complicated itself. Based on what I know, all 3 recent descensions failed. My respectful lord of the Snake Sect, is there anything else you want to know? Or are you assuming that I know a little too little? Don't worry about that my lord, I can be your spy! If you are still worried, I can take a fixed poison pill or you can use the power of the contract on me! As long as you release me, I can do anything for you!"

As he pleaded, Horlaika climbed up with difficulty and kowtowed in front of Kieran.