The Devil's Cage

No free food would fall from the sky.

Kieran deeply understood the saying when he was still in the welfare home.

Even though it was a welfare home in name, it needed the orphans like him to exchange labor for food and sleeping spots.

Of course, it wasn't extremely harsh, at least it was better than the church's welfare home. There wasn't anything about being caned if he couldn't gather enough donations, but if he failed to complete his work, all sorts of verbal abuse and disgusting expressions would still hurt him, physically and mentally.

Looking at the radiating statue, would the statue bless him fully without expecting anything in return?

Kieran didn't believe it.

The situation might seem taking a turn for the worst, one of the Twenty Hounds of the Elder Council was almost upon him and every second that passed, a Marulyn friar died.

But, among all the believers why Kieran? Because he was stronger?

So the statue would bless an outsider in order to save its own?

It didn't make any sense. Not one bit.

After all, it would be more reasonable to bless one of its own and allow the friar to cooperate with him.

Even if Sister Reid was a merciful and empathic person, she should know how to choose while also doing what was best for the Marulyn Church that she belonged to.

Of course, there was another important factor.

That white-haired elder that had left earlier!

He knew he was inside St. Red Hospital premises and yet he stepped into the Elder Council's trap resolutely.

So, did he predict the situation where [Sister Reid Statue] would come alive in the moment of danger after the Marulyn friars kneeled?

The answer was certain. As a higher ranking person in the Marulyn Church, the white-haired elder must be a legacy holder and he must have known how the situation would turn out.

Still, despite knowing the outcome, he decided to leave.

Did he turn his nose up on the blessing from the statue? Or would the blessing plant a hidden peril that was hard to overcome in the future?

Kieran's vigilance made the gears in his mind spin rapidly.

"Accept my blessing and you will gain power beyond any mortals! You will ascend to the ranks of a divine, bathing in praises from believers!"

The statue's voice echoed in Kieran's ears.

It was merciful and tender but it further confirmed Kieran's steadfast decision in his heart.

"I…"

Kieran prolonged his tone.

The radiance on the statue grew even more dazzling, a great aura then appeared around the statue, as though the moment Kieran finished his words, he would acquire the power for himself.

"Reject!"

The word escaped Kieran's mouth.

At the same time, the [Interrogator Knife] in his had slashed over the statue's thinnest, weakest spot which was its neck without any mercy.

Since Kieran had chosen to decline the offer, he didn't plan on getting along peacefully with the statue and rather than wait for the statue to turn hostile against him, he might as well take the initiative to gain the upper hand.

At least Kieran had the confidence to pay the cost in order to escape from the High Demon outside, but he couldn't even grasp the ins and outs of the prayer statue.

Therefore, not only did he take the initiative but he gave it his full effort as well.

After slashing the [Interrogator Knife] at the statue's neck, his body's momentum didn't stop but went along with the flow and as his body turned, he launched both his kicks at the statue.

Souuu!

Pak Pak Pak Pak Pak!

The thin knife brought up an unusual air-breaking noise in the air but was quickly replaced by a series of strikes similar to thrashing a thick layer of linen cloth.

Kick after kick, kicks connected to more kicks.

The kicks were like the raging roar of the fiercest beast, the loudest thunder from the heaviest storm and as it was kicking relentlessly. The statue was completely drowned by the kicks.

The radiance was blown off and cracks appeared on the statue like a fallen porcelain.

Krank!

Right after the cracks, a clear sound of broken clay came from the statue and revealed something inside as it broke down into pieces.

A person! The white-haired, long robe elder!

The elder's eyes were in pain and filled with disbelief as he looked at Kieran who attacked him in front. He didn't understand how his setup was seen through by Kieran at the very last moment.

Blood gushed out from the seams of elder's finger as he covered his slashed neck with his hand but the lethal damage came from his body.

His muscle, bones, and organs were all crushed to bits by the storm-like combo kicks. Yet the elder was not willing to die like that. He glared at Kieran furiously and was ready to drag him down to hell together.

"I will…"

"AIOPLDS!"

Kieran who has prepared for this a long time chanted the incantations loudly, he opened his palms wide and formed a triangle in the middle with his thumbs and index fingers, aiming towards the struggling elder.

BOOOM!

The cone shape flame burst out and engulfed the elder completely. The blazing flame became the last straw that crushed the dying elder.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Following the agonizing cry, everything around started to shatter.

The darkness, the hospital hall, the Marulyn friars, the Elder Council's Twenty Hounds, everything before Kieran's eyes shattered like a broken mirror.

CRANKS!

A heavy cracking burst later, everything before Kieran's eyes disappeared.

He realized he was still hiding in the hospital corridor after sneaking in through the side gate.

The attacker's body from before was still beside his feet and a charred body was standing still in front of him.

The charred body was still holding the uncorked potion bottle in his hand but now the potion was glowing in gold from Kieran's eyes.

"Illusion?!"

"Legendary item!?"

Kieran was stunned for a while before recollecting his senses.

He took the seemingly normal bottle from the charred body hand. A closer look at the bottle added an extra aged pattern around the tube.

It seemed like porcelain but it was actually iron, less than 4 cm in height and less than a thumb's width yet unusually heavy. Based on initial feeling, it weighed at least 10 kg when Kieran held it in his hand.

[Name: Syriard's Breath]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attack/ Defense: None]

[Attribute: Incubus Wendigo, 1/5]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: Spirit S+]

[Remark: Syriard created this special item to remember his wife but its effect had gone beyond his expectations.]

...

[Incubus Wendigo: Create a hyper-realistic illusory realm as you control it at will. Its realism will surpass your wildest imagination.]

...

"So this is what he used to drag me into the illusion?"

Kieran recalled what happened back there, he couldn't spot anything unusual at all.

Even Hoskin and Teresa inside the illusion were so real, the battle between Marulyn Church and the Elder Council also felt real.

But eventually…

Kieran took in a deep breath and discarded the unpleasant experience from his mind.

After getting [Syriard's Breath], he turned his attention to the other two Magic equipment from the attacker.

A dagger and a pair of shoes.

[Name: Dark Venom Dagger]

[Type: Dagger]

[Rarity: Magic]

[Attack: Average]

[Attribute: Armor Penetration Lvl 1, Laced Poison Lvl 1]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: Sharp Weapon, Dagger (Master)]

[Remark: Assassins likes daggers]

...

[Armor Penetration Lvl 1: Able to penetrate Light armor (Weak, Average defense)]

[Laced Poison Lvl 1: The iron used to forge the weapon is naturally poisonous, inflict Heavy damage to targets below E Constitution.]

...

[Name: Nimble Shoes]

[Type: Equipment]

[Rarity: Magic]

[Defense: Average]

[Attribute: Hiding Lvl 1]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: Undercover (Entry)]

[Remark: Thieves and assassins wouldn't mind a pair of these!]

...

[Hiding Lvl 1: Increase 10% Hiding effect during undercover or hiding.]

...

Whether was it real or not, the items before him were real.

After equipping them swiftly, Kieran turned his attention to the [Sister Reid Statue] in the hospital hall, or more precisely the person beside the statue.

The white-haired, long robe elder.