The effect of the Spirit Devouring Barrier was very strong.
After the Freya Familia left, Cain reviewed the battle he just had.
In terms of physical fitness, there was still a gap between him and a top tier LV6 like Allen.
The reason he could grow stronger with the fight and even defeat Allen with an overwhelming advantage was largely thanks to the Spirit Devouring Barrier.
By frequently inflicting damage, he only took three minutes to reduce Allen's physical fitness from a top tier LV6 level to that of an entry level LV6.
If he activated Domain Expansion, combining its guaranteed hit effect with the Spirit Devouring Barrier, he already had the possibility of defeating Ottar head on.
"Too bad he isn't here."
After lamenting his slightly poor luck, Cain arrived at an alley on Daedalus Street.
At the corner of the alley stood a two story pavilion. Cain walked over and pushed open the pavilion door.
"Lord Dix, you've arrived."
Gran, sitting in the first floor hall, saw Cain and immediately rushed over to greet him.
Cain walked past him without looking back. "Where are the Xenos now?"
"They are all on the second floor."
Gran, having been ignored, was not angry. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed Cain up to the second floor.
The second floor of the pavilion had a total of three rooms. The master bedroom on the left contained no furniture.
Pushing open the door, cages containing monsters appeared in Cain's sight.
There were many types of monsters locked in cages here.
Monsters that should have been distributed across various floors, from the upper to the middle levels, were all gathered here.
There were seven of them in total.
Noticing Cain and the other man entering, the Xenos instantly became alert.
Hostility and killing intent filled the room.
Some gripped the bars of their cages tightly, while others stared with wary eyes, their bodies tense as if ready to fight at any moment.
But just then, the chains binding them emitted a faint light, suppressing their strength.
"Quiet down!"
Gran shouted, glaring at them before quickly turning back to Cain with a fawning smile.
"Lord Dix, these are the Xenos we captured earlier. All seven of them are here."
"Mm."
Cain swept his gaze across them, carefully examining each one.
Their strength varied, but overall they could be considered mid tier among the Xenos.
Considering the timeline, their fate in the original story would most likely have been to be sold outside Orario.
"What are your names?"
"..."
No one responded.
Instead, the killing intent in their eyes only grew stronger.
"There is no need to be so vigilant. I am not a bad person."
Their expressions did not soften in the slightest.
Perhaps worried that Cain would make a move, the Xenos in the cages grew even more tense.
"Forget it. I was not planning on building a good relationship with you anyway. I am just using this to gain a favor."
No longer attempting to communicate, Cain instructed Gran to stay and watch while he left the room and took out a crystal.
As mana was injected, the crystal emitted light, and after a moment, a figure cloaked in a black robe appeared on it.
"What is it you need, Cain?"
"I need to ask you about something."
Cain briefly paused before continuing.
"Do you know about a group of Xenos that were captured recently?"
Fels: "?"
If he remembered correctly, he had not mentioned anything about Xenos to Cain before.
Staring at Cain with his pitch black eye sockets for a few seconds, Fels finally replied.
"I do. A group of seven Xenos went missing not long ago."
"But I remember they were captured by a group specializing in hunting Xenos. How do you know about this?"
"I met them when I infiltrated the Knossos."
"They are in the Knossos?!"
Fels was startled, stood up with a bang, and his voice became agitated.
In fact, after learning about the Knossos, he had suspected whether the group hunting Xenos came from there, as they were always elusive and he could not find any information no matter how much he investigated.
Now, with Cain's confirmation, Fels's doubts were finally answered, but it was followed by a sense of urgency.
"Cain, which floor did you see them on? Were there others around them?"
"Yes. There are seven in total. They are currently all on Daedalus Street."
"Daedalus Street? Wait. Have those people already found a buyer and are preparing to sell them?"
"Not at all. I had someone transport them up."
"Huh?"
"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. My current identity in the Knossos is a descendant of Daedalus."
Cain raised his hand to touch his face, and when his palm fell again, his appearance had changed, even his hair had turned from black to red.
Taking out a pair of goggles from his Huai and putting them on, he casually picked up a spear from a nearby shelf, a playful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Hello, Fels."
"I am Dix Perdix, captain of the Ikelos Familia."
"..."
Fels stopped thinking.
...
As the legendary sage who invented the Philosopher's Stone, Fels was undoubtedly a genius.
Over eight hundred years, he had witnessed the rise and fall of countless heroes, making him incredibly experienced.
But even the Empress who once stood at the pinnacle of Orario had never shocked him as much as Cain.
Arriving at the two story building on Daedalus Street according to the coordinates, the red haired man in front of Fels hesitated.
"Are you really Cain?"
"Of course, it is me."
"Then who is Dix?"
Fels took out a document.
"I investigated on my way here. Dix's records can be traced back ten years. Could it be that you have been impersonating him all this time?"
"Not at all. I arrived in Orario two months ago. You do not need to doubt that."
Cain changed his appearance back to normal.
"You can understand it as me awakening a special magic. After capturing Dix alive, I used his identity to infiltrate the Knossos."
Who uses magic without any magic fluctuations?
Fels did not believe a single word of Cain's explanation.
Of course, he was not someone with excessive curiosity.
After a brief chat with Cain, the two went to the room on the second floor where the Xenos were kept.
"Gran, go wait downstairs."
After sending Gran away, Cain and Fels approached the cages.
"Fels! Why?!"
Staring intently at Fels, all the Xenos killing intent surged again.
"we always thought you were a good person! So you are in league with these bastards?!"
"I am not. You have misunderstood." Fels quickly waved his hands in explanation. "I am here to save you all."
"Then what about him?!"
Their gaze turned to Cain.
They remembered Gran. He was among the group who captured them.
And from their recent conversation, it was clear that Cain was Gran's superior.
"Are you trying to say this guy is an informant or something?"
"Uh, he actually is."
Fels felt a little strange.
However, he also understood that a simple explanation would not suffice, so he looked at his partner beside him.
"Cain, why do you not give them a demonstration?"
"A demonstration of what?"
"Just changing faces. Yes, exactly that."
Before he could finish speaking, Fels saw Cain swipe his palm, once again donning Dix's disguise.
But before he could say anything, a loud bang sounded as the Xenos grabbed the bars of their cages, their eyes filled with killing intent.
"So it was you, you bastard!"
"You still dare to show your face in front of us!"
"No. You have misunderstood!"
Fels quickly explained. "Cain is not the one who captured you. He is just using that identity."
"Using his identity?"
They frowned, still suspicious.
However, just as they were about to speak again, a cold flash passed through the room.
Crack.
A crisp snapping sound rang out as the sturdy cages were split apart, and the chains binding them shattered.
"Fels, are you getting senile?"
Cain casually cut open all the cages.
"If you do not let them out and just stand outside talking, who would believe you are here to save them?"
Fels fell silent.
It seemed he had a point.
Fels awkwardly coughed, realizing how foolish his actions had been.
"Are you really here to save us?"
The Xenos slowly came to their senses.
Looking at the broken chains on the ground, they felt uncertain.
If Cain was really here to save them, then had they misunderstood him all along?
"I will leave the rest to you."
Cain ignored their reactions and turned to Fels.
"You do not need to worry about Gran. I have controlled him, so no information will be leaked."
"You figure out a way to send them back to the Dungeon. You should know better than I do where to meet the others."
"What about you?"
"I am going to the Knossos."
Cain sheathed Raikiri.
The Spirit Devouring Barrier had two effects.
Wounding enemies and absorbing power to strengthen oneself.
Killing enemies and accelerating one's growth.
He had already tested the former on Allen. The latter needed to be tested in the Dungeon.
Going through the Knossos was faster than taking the regular route.
Taking a shortcut, he could reach the Eighteenth Floor in an hour, and going further would lead to the lower levels.
Ottar was not around, so he planned to level up while testing the barrier.
"See you later."
"See you later."
After watching Cain leave, Fels finally turned back to the Xenos, thought for a moment, and took out an eye crystal.
"Do you want to talk to your companions?"
"...Then I will trouble you."
They withdrew their gaze from the door.
They had many questions now.
But before asking anything else, they needed to let the others know they were safe.
...
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
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