The Understated Legend is Back

Chapter 9: The Execution Cage

The mocking laughter from the guests came first.

Then the whispers.

Then, like wildfire sweeping through dry grass, the realization spread throughout the hall.

“...He's finished.“

One businessman leaned toward his companion, lowering his voice. “He doesn't know. The fool actually thinks that just a cage.“

A younger guest frowned. “What are you talking about? That’s a very strong cage, but it is a cage.“

The older man let out a dry chuckle. “No.”

“It only looks like one.”

Several nearby guests turned their attention toward them. “What do you mean?”

“You've never seen one before?” the old man asked, genuinely surprised. “That's no ordinary prison.”

“...It's an execution device.“

“What?“

Even those who had been celebrating moments ago stared in disbelief.

“I thought it was only a legend…”

“So it's real?”

The old man nodded.

“It has existed for decades… and it was built for one purpose,” he paused. “…Executing martial masters.”

A ripple of excitement swept across the audience.

“So that's why Lady Serena wasn't worried.”

“I knew she had everything under control!”

Another guest laughed. “Well, he nearly ruined our night. He barged in here, attacked the whip master, beat the host half to death and declared he’d bury everyone. He deserves whatever fate he meets in that cage.”

“Even death would be too merciful,” he hissed.

Most people nodded enthusiastically, only a handful remained silent.

One elderly woman looked toward the cage with pity. “...That poor girl.”

Molly hadn't stopped struggling.

Both her hands were clung desperately to the thick iron bars as she pushed with every ounce of strength left in her frail body. “No… No… Please…”

The cage didn't move. Not even slightly.

She changed positions and pulled again but nothing changed.

The enormous structure stood like a mountain planted into the marble floor.

Another guest sighed.

“They're both going to die. It’s unfortunate you know…”

“The young man came to save her, and now he’ll die beside her.”

Inside the cage…

Chay slowly lifted his gaze.

His eyes traveled across the bars, across the chains and across every joint holding the structure together.

His face revealed nothing.

No panic. No frustration. No urgency. He just simply observed.

Molly looked at him in disbelief.

“Chay, help me..” she threw herself against another section of the cage but it refused to budge.

Her breathing became ragged. “No, please. We have to get out, Chay.”

She pushed harder again, and again, and again. But, nothing changed.

What puzzled the audience wasn’t Molly’s struggle, it was Chay.

He had not touched the cage. Not even once.

“He isn’t even trying to get out… why?”

“Or has he already given up? I thought he was powerful.”

“Maybe… he simply isn’t strong enough, haha.”

Molly's strength finally gave out. She slumped against the bars, tears streaming down her swollen cheeks.

“I'm sorry, Chay.” She couldn't even look him in the eyes. “I'm so sorry.”

Her voice trembled violently. “This…”

“This is my fault. If you hadn’t come for me, you you wouldn’t be trapped here with me.”

“I've… I've gotten you killed. I’m sorry…” She buried her face into her trembling hands.

“I always cause trouble. I should've died before you came...“

A warm hand rested gently on her shoulder.

She slowly looked up.

Chay pulled her closer until she rested safely against him.

“It's okay.” His voice was calm.

“So long as I'm here, I'll protect you.”

Fresh tears welled in Molly’s eyes. “But–“

He shook his head before she could continue. “If I could go back in time, I’d still come for you, Molly.”

Molly's lips quivered.

For the first time that night, she had hope.

Across the hall, Serena's smile faded slightly for the first time.

To her, Chay was...

Too calm.

Most people broke the moment they realized what the cage truly was. Yet Chay remained composed.

She disliked that very much.

Her heels echoed softly as she approached.

“Do you think this is merely a cage?” She asked Chay before stopping a few steps away.

A faint smile returned to her lips. .

“This,” She lightly tapped one of the bars with a black rod in her hand. “...is how we execute monsters.”

“...like you.”

The minute her words fell, a low hum spread through the black alloy and the bars began glowing with faint crimson veins, as though molten fire had awakened beneath the metal.

The crimson color glowed in Chay’s eyes.

“Ouch!” Molly cried out, snatching her fingers away. The tips of her fingers had reddened instantly.

“It burned me.”

Several guests smiled knowingly.

“The Martial Suppression Cage.”

“Only three are known to exist.”

“It was forged generations ago from a forgotten alloy.”

“They say it absorbs internal force. The harder you attack it, the stronger it becomes.”

“It feeds on power.” Someone laughed.

“So brute strength is useless.”

“He's trapped.”

“For good.”

For the first time, the audience truly believed Chay had no escape. They were absolutely sure.

Serena folded her arms, a sly smile playing at the corner of her lips. “You’ve realized it now, haven’t you? No amount of strength can save you.”

Chay’s eyes met her. “Tell me something,” he started.

Serena arched a brow.

He continued, “How? How could you become part of something so evil?” His voice carried through the hall,

“You gather innocent people, you torture them, you sell them, you destroy their lives… all for entertainment.”

His gaze swept across the audience.

Chay’s disappointment was far colder than anger. “You all are monsters.”

Several guests pouted, others frowned.

Serena’s expression hardened. “Careful.” Her voice remained gentle. “One more word… and you’ll be saying goodbye to your sorry case of a cousin.”

In that moment, a sharp metallic click echoed from somewhere above, thrice.

Chay’s eyes shifted.

High along the balconies, three men wearing black tactical gears, stepped into view. Long rifles rested in their hands against their reinforced mounts.

In that moment, tiny red lasers pierced the dim chamber and settled across Molly’s body.

One rested on her forehead, one rested over her heart and the last one at her abdomen.

Molly froze and her breathing seized, her heart almost racing out of her chest.

The guests smiled. “Excellent!”

“Lady Serene never loses.”

Serena heard more and more praises from the guests and her heart filled with satisfaction but she concealed it with a tiny smile.

She slowly closed the distance until only the bars separated her from Chay. “A decade ago, you begged outside a cage,” her smile deepened. “Today, you’ll die inside one.”

“Bow Chay!” she exclaimed calmly. “Surrender, and I may even grant you a quick death.”

The hall went silent.

Seconds passed, but Chay didn’t bow. He didn’t blink nor look away from her.

Serena studied him carefully. She knew the man that stood before her was not the man that desperately begged her years ago.

This one had become dangerous.

But, she believed she could handle him. Nobody was too much for her to handle… at least, not in the last two decades.

Suddenly,

CLANG!

The entire cage trembled.

Massive chains hidden within the ceiling descended one after the other.

CLANG!

They wrapped themselves around the cage.

CLANG!

And immediately, ancient locking mechanisms began to rotate into place. Heavy red seals also began to slide over every joint,

The hall erupted.

The glow intensified until the entire structure resembled a blazing prison forged from living fire.

“The Crimson lock!” someone exclaimed.

“It’s engaging!”

“It’s over!”

“No one has ever escaped once it activates. Not even a war saint!”

Molly stared helplessly at the glowing bars. “It’s really over,” she whispered, her hands trembling.

“Wh– What do we do?” she clutched Chay’s sleeve tightly.

But he remained silent.

His eyes slowly lifted toward the ceiling.

Then–

BOOM!