Four thick black iron chains hung from the high stone ceiling of the hall. They stretched from the four corners of the walls and were fused together at the center of the ceiling. At the point where the chains converged was a sinister metal structure resembling a monster's claws. These twisted, claw-like pieces of metal formed a cage that tightly grasped a black crystal more than a meter long.
Just as Vivian had described: half a meter to a meter in length, slender and irregularly shaped, with a black texture like smoked glass. A faint red glow could still be seen at one end of the crystal.
When the three of them had rushed in earlier, they had had no time to care about what was hanging from the ceiling. Lily had looked up, but the Werewolf girl didn't recognize the thing and had assumed it was merely an ordinary decoration. Now, however, she and Hao Ren knew exactly what it was: the Demon Stone.
Hao Ren felt his Data Terminal vibrate. Then a flat, emotionless voice sounded in his mind. "This machine is truly grief-strick—" "Heh. Shut up."
"This can't be happening..." Lily dropped onto her butt. After thinking about it, she repeated, "I'm still just a little wolf cub! I haven't even dated anyone yet..."
"Stop fooling around." Hao Ren reached out and knocked Lily on the head. "It's still just a stone! It might not turn the demon..."
Vivian's indifferent voice came from nearby. "Why do you think the defenses in the Underground Palace suddenly activated? And why did all those suits of armor wake up?"
Hao Ren immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Wasn't it obvious? The Demon Stone had started acting up!
"Tell me, does this count as an overwhelming crisis beyond human control