The Devil's Cage

Holuff watched Kieran play with his hands and perform all sorts of shadow tricks on the wall. He went silent for a while before he shook his head.

"It's not the same. They don't have a soul," said Holuff.

"Soul? Your's is also a normal shadow trick, there's no soul in it, right?" Borl was surprised.

Holuff cleared his throat a few times, the first time he realized how vexing Borl could be.

'You don't even know how to negotiate with people, how the hell did you become a merchant?

Did you buy your name and position with money?'

Holuff glared at Borl and Borl scratched his face awkwardly, then went silent.

Holuff then looked at Kieran again.

"Do you think I'm lying to you?" asked Holuff.

Before Kieran had the chance to reply, he continued, "Sometimes, when you can't see something, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. If you have enough talent, you should be able to see it. I really think you can do it, but too bad…"

Holuff shook his head out of pity, looking full of regret.

Borl didn't say anything, but in his heart he assumed Holuff was just bluffing.

He saw similar methods back in Mozaar's outskirts.

Some people would claim to be Demon Hunters, or even called themselves a demi-god, and then they'd use this kind of profound sentences as starters to connect into a series of stories that sounded concerning, but in the end, it always revolved around Gold Purton.

In short, Gold Purton was almighty, Gold Purton could solve all problems.

Conclusion: conmen trick people for their money.

There wasn't even a middleman fee in the process!

Of course, Holuff was different. At least Borl viewed him as a more capable con-man, otherwise he wouldn't make it to retirement in the first place.

"Boy, I saw something in your eyes, something disrespectful to me. I think I should teach you a lesson," Holuff told Borl in a less friendly way.

He swear if he wasn't retired, he would have hung Borl on the city gates a whole night just so he could taste how cold the wind was at night.

"I know sometimes reality can be hard to accept. I understand those who try to be someone else, the feeling is so intoxicating—you still need to wake up when it's time. You are Holuff, not some random John Doe. You might be someone else in the past but you are Holuff now, the owner of Anan Hotel, a rather mysterious retired old man. I cherish a friend like you, I don't even mind your past."

Borl tapped on Holuff's shoulder.

What he just said was all from the bottom of his heart.

From the very first dungeon, if it wasn't for Holuff's help, he wouldn't have made it this far. He might even have died multiple times around, let alone becoming a merchant with a little popularity in the outskirts of Mozaar.

Borl bore the debt of gratitude in his heart, so he didn't mind boasting with Holuff sometimes, but… he wasn't alone now, Kieran was with him, a person whose sole existence terrified people.

Although Kieran had many titles, Flaming Devil was the most well-known and what would happen to Holuff should he bluff a person who was known as the devil?

Borl didn't expect Kieran to tolerate Holuff's bullshit, therefore he tried to dissuade Holuff and signal Kieran with his gaze.

He looked at Kieran with a sense of begging, he didn't want to lose a friend like Holuff.

However, to Borl's surprise, Kieran didn't even bat an eye at him, instead looking at the wall where Holuff displayed the shadow of a wolf with his hands.

The unusual reaction from Kieran naturally attracted Holuff's attention.

Holuff slapped Borl's hand away and looked at Kieran with a sense of suspicion.

"What did you see?"

Holuff learned his lesson from what Kieran replied earlier. He hoped his excitement wasn't for some lousy answer like 'I'm good at playing with shadows, not just wolf, I even know pigeon, fox and snake', or anything similar.

Though, just for the sake of confirmation, Holuff cast the shadow of a wolf with his hands again.

"I think it's because your hands are fat, the wolf looks a little puffy, like an Alaskan husky," replied Kieran sincerely.

Borl got the hint, checking the shadow carefully and then nodding in agreement seriously.

"It really does!" Borl agreed.

Holuff was once again rendered speechless.

He swore if he wasn't retired, he would have hung the two of them on the city gates a whole night just so they could taste how cold the wind was at night.

Huuhaaaa!

Huuhaaaa!

A few deep breaths later, Holuff decided to move away from the topic.

He could tell the two of them were onto him purposely.

They purposely diverted the topic with mocking comments.

As for why?

It was definitely because of the lack of trust between them, even though Holuff single-handedly thought they had enough trust to further the conversation.

The two of them obviously didn't share the same thought.

Holuff wasn't exactly familiar with Colin, so he had no comments on him.

Colin was always so cold and quiet, it was hard for Holuff to get a grasp of his mind, but Holuff was very familiar with Borl. Looking at that embarrassed smile and apologetic face, if Holuff knew nothing about how Borl came to be, he would have fallen for the lies.

Bastards!

The thought of being mocked and played caused discomfort in Holuff. He started this conversation like it was his last words, yet he wasn't trusted enough.

It felt bad.

Plagued by his feelings, Holuff's voice turned cold and stern.

"Do you want to know about Lady Calamity? I have some exclusive news, but you must understand, news revolving around a God doesn't come cheap."

"How much?" Kieran asked right away.

"5,000 Gold Purton!" Holuff gave a price.

Kieran turned to Borl right away, because he did not have enough money.

"H-How much?" Borl stuttered.

It was worth taking note that the dukeship that he was going to purchase was only 3,000 Gold Purton. A small fry merchant from the outskirts of Mozaar only had a combined net worth of around 5,000 Gold Purton.

He did it on purpose! Holuff did it on purpose!

Otherwise he wouldn't give a price that perfectly matched his total combined net worth!

Borl instantly understood something, quickly looking at Holuff with a pitiful look.

He didn't want to beg, but he was forced to. The one calling the shots was the Flaming Devil beside him. Borl was nothing but a lackey following orders, why put him in such difficult situations?

The thought in his mind made him look more pitiful than ever, but Holuff turned a blind eye at him.

"No tabs or installment, cash, right now," Holuff crossed his arms and tilted his head up.

Borl smiled bitterly and then started to take off his shoes.

He took a piece of draft bill from the sole that had 5,000 written on it.

The smelly piece of draft bill was then placed on the table.

Holuff looked at Borl in surprise and doubt when he saw the draft bill.

"The missing horse robbers around the outskirts, you did that?"

It was a question but it was asked like a statement.

Holuff once again sized up this little merchant who he thought he knew.

Kieran?

He sat there without any expression. Ge wasn't pretending to be normal but he really knew what happened. During their first meeting, Kieran already noticed the unusual noise in Borl's shoes, plus that unique smell of money. Although he didn't know how much Borl hid in there, his instinct told him it must be a lot

He always trusted his instinct, this time included, that's why he chose to make the deal in a fair way.

Holuff went silent for 2 seconds before he took the smelly draft bill and said, "Lady Calamity is much more mysterious and scarier than you think."

"She isn't one of those little Gods that people worshipped in small towns or those pagans in the area. She brought the Black Cataclysm upon us. A great amount of us, the Demon Hunters, died because of that, even though we did not go after the disaster at first."

Amid the rather elusive words, Holuff showed a subtle sense of sadness on his face.

Kieran and Borl didn't say anything and listened quietly.

Though Holuff didn't explain straightforwardly.

"Do you know about the Silent Night Secret Society?" he asked.

Kieran shook his head, he didn't know a lot about this dungeon world.

Borl experienced this dungeon world before but he didn't get in touch with those secretive organizations, hence the shake of head.

"It is an organization with a history. It has been around since Edatine I built his empire. Not only that, but based on intel from the Demon Hunters, Edatine I received help from them to unite the Northern Lands. This particular intel is very real though, it's not some rootless rumours. As for why they helped the king, I have no idea. No one in the Demon Hunters knew either, but we know why this organization suddenly decided to assassinate Edatine I."

"Why?" Borl asked in surprise.

He knew it wasn't polite, but he couldn't hold back his shock.

Unlike Kieran, who knew nothing, Borl spent some time in this world and he knew what Edatine I meant and represented.

The king was so powerful that he could slay a dragon and so great that he built an empire by his own hands.

The forces under his command were from different principality. Some were arch-enemies in the past but they were charmed by Edatine I's irresistible charms, hatred and grudges wiped off and surrendered to the great king's command.

Not only that, rumour had it that back then Northern Land was the home to a hundred countries at war. Edatine was just a small noble in some village. He didn't just lose his land when he came of age and got expelled from his principality, he was exiled to the place known today as Edatine Castle. Back then, Edatine Castle was known as Enpeters Castle, the land of a Grand Duke.

After Edatine arrived in Enpeters Castle, he had made up his mind to survive through the harshest condition but right before the king-to-be got himself in some lousy jobs to make a living, the Grand Duke of Enpeters summoned him and married his only daughter to him. A month after the marriage and becoming the son-in-law of the Grand Duke, the Grand Duke passed away due to illness.

Several neighbouring principalities saw a chance to take over Enpeters, immediately forming an alliance and summoning 300,000 armies to march straight to Enpeters' gate.

The Grand Duke died not long ago and the only daughter inherited the throne, yet inside the principality itself, dark schemes were brewing for a coup d'etat. The new female Grand Duke had to deal with the internal conflict and was exhausted from the process, yet the enemies from outside were already at their gate. As the husband of the Grand Duke, Edatine stepped up and led 100 riders outside.

Edatine planned to reach a truce with the alliance army, just so he could stall.

However, when Edatine appeared in front of the alliance army, a meteor shower came from the sky and destroyed the army of 300,000.

Several Grand Dukes died in the meteor shows too, their respective principality following their Grand Duke's footsteps and plunging into chaos.

On the contrary, Edatine and his wife quickly settled the internal conflict and then marched towards the other principalities plagued by chaos.

According to records, the great king didn't even spend lives in the process of taking down the other principalities. Everytime he marched to a new city, the city surrendered right away and the people fell under the great king's charm, welcoming him into the city with open doors and knees on the ground.

The phenomenon lasted until the whole of the Northern Land was united under one flag.

Other than dying of assasination in the end, Edatine I lived a legendary life.

"Edatine I was assassinated by Silent Night Secret Society?! Wait! I remember Edatine I was at his prime when he was ready to conquer the South. The Black Cataclysm also came from the south… could it be?" Borl wondered and looked at Holuff with shimmering eyes.

"It's similar to what you suspect. Traces are left behind. When the Black Cataclysm happened, the Demon Hunters discovered the trail, so everyone gathered up and wanted to get to the bottom of this. In the end?"

Holuff laughed loudly and stopped, but the sadness in his laughter was self-explanatory.

The Demon Hunters almost getting annihilated during the investigation of Black Cataclysm wasn't a rumour, it was a fact.

A lot of people assumed that they were extinct.

"If the Silent Night Secret Society instructed all of this, it's because…" Borl frowned.

He connected many more details.

After the Black Cataclysm, the whole Edatine Empire almost fell apart.

God of War, who was quite active in the past decades, vanished without a sign, and Lady Calamity, who came out of nowhere, shone brightly and stole the limelight.

The answer was obvious.

God Creation!

No! It should be God Ascension!

The society used everything that happened to forge the image of Lady Calamity.

Borl's heart skipped a beat when he reached that point, thinking of all the pagan activities and weird things that had happened throughout the Northern Lands after Lady Calamity's appearance

It was obvious that Silent Night Secret Society didn't just spend all those efforts to forge a single Lady Calamity.

Unconsciously, Borl looked at Kieran, hoping for a more accurate answer, but to his disappointment, Kieran was expressionless.

Borl believed Kieran must have gotten something from Holuff's words but why the calm reaction?

Did he know beforehand?

Impossible!

Borl shook his head, but then he thought of how unusual Kieran's appearance was.

Unknowingly, Borl also thought of the mist giant.

He thought of the blazing fireball from the sky and then the God Ascension of Lady Calamity.

When he connected all the dots, Borl's eyes at Kieran changed.

His gaze at Kieran now showed caution, fear, and worry, like a rabbit looking at a tiger.

Holuff didn't notice the gaze, continuing, "Yes, we Demon Hunters were almost wiped out. Those who survived were weak and old. Fortunately, we managed to protect some training bases to ensure our legacy continued. As for that Lady Calamity? She had it no better than us. The gift we prepared for her stopped her from truly ascending to God status until now, but we are destined to be unable to stop her ascension. We just stalled her. Time is almost up and we need help. It's not for free, of course. The thousand year savings of the Demon Hunters and the chance to ascend to God will be part of the reward!"

Holuff then looked at Kieran sincerely.

Kieran nodded to express that he understood but then he said, "I reject it."