Way of the Knights

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The Devil Emperor was hurt and angry…

It thrashed around its cell, trying to pull the Chains of Order and the Last Seal. Unfortunately, no matter what it did, the sturdiness of the chains and seal were unusually strong today so nothing was working. 

The Devil Emperor was in so much pain that it can't even speak. Its whole body was covered in white flames that's releasing an impecabble brilliance, lighting up the cell it was in. When was the last time that the Devil Emperor felt this kind of pain? Even if someone was to ask that, the Devil Emperor might not be able to answer. 

It has been imprisoned here for far too long that it's own memories were fuzzy. Perhaps if it focused enough, it would be able to remember, but under its current state? That's impossible. 

The pain was one thing. The Devil Emperor won't die from this. If it were that easy, then it wouldn't have lasted this long. Not only does it have an unusually string and vigorous physique, its Will is also exceptionally strong, even the people above knew that this won't be enough. 

What really angered the Devil Emperor the most is that its escape plan that has been going-on for decades was neutralized just like that. The Devil Emperor wondered what went wrong. As far as it knows, those idiots shouldn't have found this out until it was too late, so what was this then? What happened? How did they discovered it? Or maybe it's just a coincidence? What was this flame and why is it this painful? These are what the Devil Emperor wants to know currently. 

Sadly, it didn't even matter how much it thought about it. The plan it prepared fro decades went down the drain just like that. How can it not anger the Devil Emperor? 

The flames that's scalding its body were relentless. The Immortality trait was working but the pain was subsiding at all. The Devil Emperor didn't know whether this was the Cleansing Flame or not but what it do know is that what this is, it's strong and persistent. 

The painful torture lasted for almost an entire day before the Devil Emperor managed to form a skin that's hard enough to push everything away. With a kick filled with fury and grievances, the Devil Emperor got rid of its flaming old skin. It then slumped on the ground, weak and powerless as it looked above with despair and anger. 

At least it wasn't painful anymore, but in order to save itself, the Devil Emperor had to use up majority of the energy it recovered. In the end, its back to square one. 

The Devil Emperor had the time to think and realized many things. It still doesn't know what kind of flames were those but it knew that the people above can't use them willy-nilly. Also it wasn't just a misconception. The Chains of Order were repaired to it's perfection, the shackles that are binding its body were now more solid and more suppressive than before, further fueling it's anger. 

Unfortunately, no matter how angry it got. There's no way it can escape. The only thing it could do is to howl at the top of its lungs to vent out its frustrations.

"I WILL SLAUGHTER ALL OF YOU!!!"

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"Shut-up, idiot!" 

Raven spat as he panted heavily. If it weren't for the fact that he's severely exhausted right now, he would've made a rune that will sent meteors to the Devil Emperor, unfortunately he can't do that just now. 

The people around him can't even retort with that declaration. They were all too exhausted from this operation. All of their energies were sucked dry just to make sure that the task will be completed without hitches. The Fire Keepers already collapsed on the floor, even the poor Grand Elder wasn't spared. Elder Flame's silhouette was blurry, his flames were reduced to a pitiful plume because of the stressful mission. 

Nevertheless, they were successful. They managed to avert a severe crisis. 

"Great work…everyone…" Raven said while panting, he was barely standing as he squeezed out a smile. His legs felt like they were jelly, his consciousness was blurry as well. 

When the others heard him, they let out a sigh of relief. One by one the Fire Keepers lost consciousness. The Elders looked haggard, still they managed to sit cross-legged and stabilize their conditions. Everyone worked really hard today, especially Raven who pulled out everything he could just to make sure that the plan will succeed. 

Elder Flame went silent. The diagram of the Extreme Yang Illumination disappeared from his body. He was now hibernating and would probably wake-up three to five days later. 

Raven was barely hanging-on as well. He took out a talisman from his pocket and sent a message.

Before he lost consciousness, he managed to contact Kyrie and tell her to pick them up. After that, his eyes rolled at the back of his head and he lost consciousness. Raven collapsed on the floor, and wasn't aware of what happened next. 

Shortly after he collapsed, Kyrie arrived at the temple. She was surprised to see them worn-out. She became vigilant and tried to search for the enemy but Lady Hera informed her of what happened. 

Kyrie relaxed and sighed in relief. She then took out her own talisman and contacted people who knew the other Fire Keepers. When the helpers arrived, they went towards their respective lords and carried them back to their own home. Kyrie did the same and also said that she'll be returning to help the Elders as well. 

After making sure that Raven was resting properly on his own room. Kyrie returned to the temple just as she promised. She then carried the exhausted elders to her flying abode and returned them to the Storm Dweller's Peak. She attended to them since they were severely exhausted, only after they recovered enough energy to move around did she left and tended to her Young Lord as well. Of course, Raven's Avatars were helping her as well.

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"Ugh…" A rough groaned escaped from Raven's lips. "Damn, my head hurts." 

Waking-up feeling rough, Raven clutched his head due to headache. Unfortunately, he underestimated his condition. As soon as he moved, he let out a pained groan since his body's condition was also bad. 

Clenching his jaws, he sat-up from the bed and leaned on the headrest. His vision was still a bit blurry but he could tell that he's back in his room. He looked at the bed-side table and saw a small vial in there. Enduring the prickling sensation of his aching body, he reached out to it and emptied the vial in one go. 

He then regulated his breathing and felt the potion doing it's work. Not even five minutes later, all the pain was gone. Raven sighed in relief but he didn't get up from the bed just yet. He just rested there for some more time. 

The potion was still doing its job. Even if Raven doesn't actively enter meditation, his condition will continue to get better thanks to it.

After half an hour, Raven regained his energy back. He slowly got-up from the bed, soaked in a warm bath and changed into a more comfortable clothes. Raven was still feeling a little bit lethargic so he sat on his bed and stared at a blank space for quite some time. When he woke up from his stupor, he shook his head and went out of his room. 

When he got down from the stairs, he saw Kyrie working with his Avatars. Sensing him, Kyrie turned her head and bowed at him. 

"Have you rested well, Young Lord?" Kyrie asked.

"Yes. Is there anything I need to know?" 

"Nothing important, Sir." Kyrie replied, "The sect has been relatively peaceful."

"How long was I out?" 

"Seven days, Young Lord." She replied. 

"Ah. I guess I was really tired then. Were you the one who took me back here?" 

"Yes."

"Thank you." Raven smiled, causing Kyrie to be stunned. She was dazzled by the appearance of her Young Lord so she immediately broke eye-contact. 

"Y-you're welcome. I w-was only following your orders." Kyrie replied but she was stuttering and was feeling a bit flustered. 

"Thank you still." Raven nodded to her, "Oh uh…" 

"W-what is it, Young Lord?" Kyrie nervously asked. 

"…can I trouble you? I'm famished." Raven scratched his face, feeling a little bit embarrassed. 

"N-no! Of course not. You're not troubling me at all." Kyrie immediately denied. "Please, wait for a bit Young Lord. I shall prepare a feast for you."

"Mn!" Raven smiled once more, launching another fatal attack. 

What caught her off-guard was Raven suddenly holding her face and rubbing something off of her cheeks. Kyrie froze like a statue and dared not to move. 

When he was done, Raven looked at his thumb and smiled at Kyrie once again.

"Take you time, I'm not in a hurry. I'll be outside." Raven then walked away in a brisk pace, leaving Kyrie standing there like a frozen statue. 

When she regained the ability to move, Kyrie hurried off to the kitchen with a crimson face. 

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