Way of the Knights

---

Raven stared ahead and stared at the enormous pillar of black light. Now, it is currently filled with glittering silver seals which created an abstruse contrast. A smile of contentment appeared on his face as he stepped within the pillar of black light, promptly disappearing from view. 

Once he felt the strong upward pull, Raven thought: \'Alright, I\'ve revised the seal on the first three floors by now. By the time that I\'m done here, I should still have some time before the next patrol." 

It has been a few weeks since Raven returned from the sect. He used that time to rest and fall back into the rhythm of things here in the sect before he goes out to do something big once more. 

...such as what he\'s currently doing right now. 

Currently, Raven infiltrated the Devil Emperor\'s Pagoda by himself. His task is to revise the current seals placed on them in order to improve the effiency of the disciples who\'d be hunting devils in the future. 

Entering the pagoda, Raven already had his expectations but was still surprised on how different it was outside. 

As he decided to work his way up, he naturally had to start at the first floor which is located at Tartarus. The environment in Tartarus remained as unpleasant as he remembered it to be. There\'s a foul odor everywhere and the killing intent is present all over the place. 

But when he took his first step inside the Devil Emperor\'s Pagoda, he was surprised to see a massive expanse of rainforest. Tall trees and an expanse of seemingly boundless vegetation greeted his sight the moment he entered. 

At first he thought he arrived at the wrong place but it didn\'t take long before he was ambushed by Imps who he dealt with using a single finger. The further he travelled the greater the amount of Imp ambushes he experienced. This is where Raven was convinced that he wasn\'t at the wrong place, he was indeed inside the Devil Emperor\'s Pagoda. 

He also thought that searching for the entrance that will bring him to the next floor would be difficult but it turns out to be not so difficult. In fact, it\'s pretty clear where he should go. 

At each floors, there is a massive pillar of black light at the very core area of the floor, it cannot be missed for it is one of a kind and too auspicious. The pillar of black light seem to be connecting the ground and sky of each floor, so with all of that in mind, it\'s pretty clear that it also serves as the gateway that will allow him to ascend to the next floor. 

The seal which keeps the devils from escaping this place is also that enormous pillar of black light, therefore Raven also chose it to place new seals which could increase their advantage against devils. 

Revising the seals on the first three floors went smooth and easy so far since the enemies weren\'t strong enough to distract him.

In the end, Raven used multiple seals which created a several seals which would release a constant flux of self-sustaining energy which weakens the Imps. Alongside of that, there was a seal that could differentiate between allies and devils. Raven\'s plan for this, is to create a tracking rune which could be recognized by this seal, activating the rune will cause the seal to respond and transport the rune-holder out of the Devil Emperor\'s Pagoda. In short a life saving rune. 

There is also a seal in here which is made out of Raven\'s Cleansing Flames. If any devil, descends to this floor, they will bear the burnt of this seal. For allies, it will grant them a protective coating of Cleansing Flames which they can use on the succeeding floors. 

The final seal was placed in-case of an emergency. This seal was hidden and will only activate once the original seal has been destroyed by a foreign force. When triggered it will automatically and instantly repair the original seal, making twice as durable as it once were. This seal has to store energy before becoming useable once again and will do it\'s job for a total of five times before dissipating completely. 

So far, this all Raven could do to make the lives of the disciples easier and to minimize the death counts. With time tough, he\'ll be able to create stronger seals which he\'s confident that not even the Devil Emperor itself could break. 

For now, this should suffice. Now he\'s just wondering if he could do it in the higher floors as well. 

---

"Well...this is as far as I could go huh?" Raven said as he caught his breath. 

Since Raven was acting alone, he was moving much quicker. Within three days, he managed to revise the seals for all floors present in Tartarus. He could\'ve done it faster but Raven didn\'t find rushing the process a wise move. That\'s why he made sure to rest in between, just enough time to recover from his exhaustion and to restore himself back to his peak condition. 

Sadly though, he could feel that this is as far as he could go into his mission. Revising the seal on the 9th floor was already a risky move since he could feel a strong repulsion. It is not coming from the original seal of the pagoda but rather the will of the Devils.

At this point, Raven was under the impression that his actions had already alerted the Devil Emperor. He could feel its will bearing down on him, telling him to not push his luck or else it\'ll start throwing a fit. 

Raven of course understood the message and willingly backed down. He wouldn\'t do so if he was confident about resisting the Devil Emperor but since he couldn\'t, then there\'s no reason for him to really test its patience. 

After noticing that, Raven only smiled wryly and backed-off. He then used a special seal to exit the pagoda and go back to his place where he could have a long and refreshing bath. 

---

"Welcome back, Young Lord. How was your trip?" Kyrie bowed and welcomed Raven while also inquiring about his little escapade. 

"It went fine." Raven answered as he sat down to momentarily relax. "I was able to revise the seals on all floors in Tartarus. So far, that\'s as far as I could do. Any more and I\'m afraid that the prisoner will soon be breathing down my neck." 

Kyrie was momentarily alarmed but since Raven returned in one piece and completely sane, she was relieved that he didn\'t do anything reckless. 

In truth, Kyrie originally wanted Raven to bring them along in this little trip of his. Now that her Young Lord\'s status are of much importance to the sect, it is imperative that his safety will always be secured. However, Raven insisted to go alone, telling her to not worry about him since he valued his own life and promised that he won\'t do anything reckless. 

Kyrie couldn\'t convince him in the end so she just reluctantly agreed. Not before reminding him to not be careless and not do anything reckless, thankfully Raven followed her advise and is now here, safe and sound. 

"Right, when will the trip to the Danger Zone occur again?" Raven asked his Battle Maid. 

"Two days from now, Young Lord." Kyrie replied, "You\'ll be accompanied by Sect Master, his wife, Prometheus and War Gods Henry." 

"I see." Raven nodded, he then mumbled something barely audible. 

"What is it, Young Lord?" Kyrie asked. 

"Oh! Nothing. I\'m just wondering about some things. Don\'t mind me." Raven said as he stood up and went towards his room. 

Kyrie was confused but she decided to forget about it. If Raven wanted to say something or ask for a favor, he\'d say it directly to her anyway. 

When Raven returned to his room, he locked the door behind him and went straight towards the bathroom to soak in a hot bath. He always liked to do this after finishing his work, wrapping up the day in a positive note. 

As felt the comfortable warmth coursing through his body, Raven involuntarily released a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed. Resting his back against the ceramic wall, his thoughts wondered on its own. 

\'Two days huh, If I start this midnight, then I would have enough time to make it.\' Raven murmured inwardly. \'That two days can be stretched into a whole year for me so I could do lots of things.\'

Coincidentally, Raven still have his full two entry pass to seclude himself within the Crown Space. That gets him an entire year\'s worth of seclusion, enough time to make some late improvements in order to make sure that he could preserve his life just in case something bad happens. 

\'Our destination is somewhat dangerous even at my current level of strength. I need to be prepared and I\'ll take any form of strengthening in order to make sure I\'ll be safe.\'

\'Hmm, what should I do?\' Raven thought long and hard, then an idea struck him, causing his eyes to brighten. \'Yeah! That should work.. Okay, time to make some preparations.\'