The Devil’s Cage

“The moon was pure that night and it was a rare, beautiful scene for Eiders. A lot of people watched the bright moon through their windows. That’s why most of Eiders saw that pure white moon turn red. A Blood Moon!”

Wier took a deep breath before uttering the term, then his tone became heavy.

“According to records, every Blood Moon represents an ominous sign! This one is no exception! Since that day, those that hid in the shadows were restless, the nights of Eiders became more dangerous than ever. You’ve seen it before right? The handiwork of those Ghouls.” Wier then looked at Kieran.

“Ghouls?”

Kieran unconsciously thought of the women that died outside Stove-grilled Fish, whose limbs and torso withered and organs devoured.

“Yes, those bastards. They’ve turned the entire Eiders into their own hunting ground. They didn’t just go on a reckless rampage, some unknown forces are supporting them from behind as well! Otherwise, with the size of their brains, they wouldn’t have performed such a detailed ‘vanishing plan’ and confused us to the point that we can’t locate their lair.”

Wier’s fist unconsciously clenched.

For anyone who lived in Eiders, Ghouls were the things that they must remove.

Ghouls were different than the other monsters that could coexist with humans, they fed completely on humans, which made them natural enemies.

As a matter of fact, a long time ago, the people of Eiders launched a destructive attack toward the Ghouls.

After that, Ghouls vanished completely from the public sight, until recently and they were more dangerous than before because they had someone who acted as their ‘brain’ for them behind the scenes.

“What about that ‘snitch’? When did he steal?” Kieran asked the one thing that concerned him the most.

“A day before the Blood Moon! On top of that, we have enough evidence to prove that the item that the ‘snitch’ stole is heavily related to the Blood Moon.” Weir didn’t just give a firm answer, he’d even revealed a vital clue.

“What evidence do you have?” Kieran was chasing this particular lead.

“I can’t tell you exactly what. The identity of that lord is a secret.” Wier shook his head.

“This isn’t what we agreed upon on,” Kieran squinted his eyes.

“What we agreed on doesn’t include this—I tell you everything I know but the lord isn’t included in all this. She is a special existence. I have never seen her before but I believe her orders because she is never wrong…”

Even when talking about this lord, Wier looked very respectful.

But what concerned Kieran was the other particular: she!

A woman! A woman who is never wrong!

Kieran noticed the words that Wier used.

After combining the elements, Kieran automatically thought of Wu, his temporary party member who had divination capabilities.

“Is it you?”

At the same time, Kieran did not spare Wier of his questions. After many times making sure Wier did not know any more than that, Kieran took out the paper from the photo and gave it to him.

A location was written on the paper with a black ink pen: 17th Aemon Road.

An address in Eiders.

It was very close to this apartment, around a 5-minute walking distance and less than a minute if doing a full sprint.

“Assemble! Move out!” Wier shouted.

The Spec Ops member that rushed to the scene because of the commotion quickly appeared in the corridor and followed Wier towards the said address.

Mier followed the group as well.

Although she was hesitant, her duty was her priority.

However, before she stepped out of the apartment lobby, the young lady turned around and yelled at Kieran.

“I’ll find you at night!”

Her shout obviously attracted attention from the people around her.

Some of them were shocked, some of them laughed quietly at Mier but she didn’t care at all.

Instinctively, these men looked at Kieran who stood in the apartment lobby entrance.

His cold face didn’t show any expression, his deep eyes made everyone who looked at him feel intense pressure.

Once they thought about the possible identity of this cold man, these men wisely chose to give up the idea of teasing him.

The legend of Monster Hunters wasn’t only made known to Mier alone, the legend was very familiar to these men who dealt with monsters themselves.

Two special traits of a Monster Hunter became fresh impressions in their minds.

First, they were absurdly powerful.

Second, the never followed rules.

The former allowed them to be ever victorious when hunting monsters, the latter made them hated by all the rulers of the land.

The Monster Hunters would not care about what kind of rules were set, they only followed their own code.

So, these Spec Ops members knew what to do if they didn’t want to be beaten without a reason.

As for challenging the Monster Hunter?

As long as their brains still functioned, they would never do it.

Although they were very strong in the eyes of the commoners, plus the special weapons they equipped themselves with, it granted them the courage to not retreat even against the fiercest of monsters, but compared to a real Monster Hunter, they were still far away.

At the very next moment, the gap in strength was displayed before their eyes.

Under that many eyes of the Spec Ops member, Kieran vanished.

A lot of them widened their eyes at the scene.

“H-How is this possible?”

Many cried out in shock.

They knew the gap in strength between them and a Monster Hunter, but they never thought it would be so far apart that they couldn’t even see Kieran move.

Mier glanced over the Spec Ops members, her mouth curled up into a delighted grin, showing off her prideful expression as if she did it herself.

Weir frowned. He didn’t want to see this happen.

Regardless of his granddaughter or his team, he didn’t want them to be overly influenced by the Monster Hunter.

So, he shouted at them, “Hurry up!”

The group instantly quieted down, leaving only footsteps marching forward to their destination.

Aemon Road’s sign appeared in the group’s sight and 17th Aemon was within reach.

…

Tik Dak, Tik Dak.

Blood dripped on the floor from the scattered wounds on Smith’s body.

The wriggling organs were clearly seen through the deepest cut on his body.

For a normal man, it would be a fatal blow, but Smith was still alive.

He was hung up and was breathing weakly.

Bang!

The prison gate was pushed open, a huge Blood Kin walked in.

It was looking down at Smith with an arrogant stare.

“A low, degrading bastard.,” it commented.

“Ha.”

Smith seemed to hear the comment, he laughed lightly and spat a mouthful of blood at the Blood Kin with his full effort.

But the blood did not land on the Blood Kin. It moved away the moment Smith spat.

Pak!

The blood landed on the ground.

The Blood Kin looked at Smith in contempt.

“So this is your retaliation? Feeble and weak. It really does match your identity as a bastard. A bastard like you still wants to get back to the House?”

The Blood Kin said arrogantly like it was a titan despising the ant under its feet.

“Ha.” Another light laugh.

Although Smith did not die from the intense interrogation process, his heavy injuries made him too weak to even speak, he didn’t have the required energy.

Replying with a single light-toned laugh was his best effort.

“Are you still hoping for the Elder of the House to show you mercy? Or… Do you think the thing you are holding is the key for you to return? Stop dreaming!”

The Blood Kin looked at Smith, hung up and weak, it decided to send Smith into deeper despair.

It would be more pleasurable for the Blood Kin to rip Smith’s heart after the despair.

As a reward for this operation, it would not let Smith go that easily.

Because of Smith, it utilized its triumph.

“I’ve sent my men to your place. When they bring back the thing to me, it will be your end. Aren’t you surprised by my men heading to your place? It’s because the Elder of the House never knew of your existence since the beginning! Shocked?”

The pale Blood Kin showed a malevolent smile, it raised its hand and signaled his men further away to turn the capstan.

Smith was then lowered down to a height suitable for the Blood Kin to beat him.

However, the Blood Kin did not strike, because it saw a smile on Smith’s face.

Smith, who should be in despair right now, smiled.

Not a fake smile! But a smile from the bottom of his heart!

“What are you smiling at?” The Blood Kin shouted fiercely.

Smith didn’t answer, instead, his smile got brighter.

He tried his best to look up, looking at the Blood Kin who thought it had total control over the situation.

Of course, Smith knew what tricks the Blood Kin was playing.

From the moment Smith selected the Blood Kin as an entrance, the Blood Kin’s attitude and working style were already within Smith’s grasp and the effort he spent didn’t go to waste.

Greedy and repetitive as it was, the Blood Kin was acting as expected

Smith achieved his goal.

That child would have been saved by now, right?

Sorry.

Bringing you into this mess, I hope you can forget this tragedy and start over.

Smith was thinking about that child, his eyes were looking soft and kind.

As a mix between Blood Kin and a human, a bastard was what he was called most throughout his life. Even when he escaped that place, he knew he had to hide his identity.

Otherwise…

The Blood Kin would not tolerate a ‘house member’ with the blood of a human.

Humans would also not receive a stranger with Blood Kin lineage.

The hiding was suffering, he rejected all sorts of kindness shown to him because he didn’t know whether the kindness shown was true or false.

In the end, he became a quiet firefighter.

It was what his mother always hoped of him. Even though his mother passed away when Smith was very young, benefiting from his abilities from the other half, he clearly remembered everything.

Because of his abilities, he successfully escaped from the house.

Just when Smith thought his life would go on without any kind of ripple, a mother and daughter pair moved in beside him.

The mother was young, the daughter was a toddler.

To make ends meet, the young mother would work endlessly every day. The daughter was left at home most of the time, sometimes she would appear in the corridor with her mother.

Smith always walked past the duo.

At first, it was unfamiliar and scary.

Smith’s quietness daunted the mother.

But as they met more often, the quietness became a habit.

The mother and daughter started to speak to him, Smith was as quiet as ever.

Until a few ill-intended bastards approached the two, Smith didn’t hold back and chased them away. The mother and daughter showed admiration after that, they’d send over food at night sometimes—it was the best they could offer as gratitude and it was also the tastiest food he could remember.

A meal drew both sides closer.

He was still quiet, but he would smile. His changes surprised his colleagues, but no one asked.

Every man for themselves.

Smith’s realization made him heaved a breath of relief. He started to curl his mouth even more and during a group photo session at work, he unconsciously showed an expression known as smiling.

He felt happy but the happiness was stripped away by a sudden nightmare.

The daughter was missing from the house without a sign.

There were no clues, hence the police had their hands tied.

Smith rushed home and saw the young mother who was on the brink of collapsing. Somehow, he felt pain in his heart, the pain that came from the memories of his mother.

He walked over to the young mother, he gave his promise, he would bring back the daughter.

He knew what was happening.

How would he forget the smell of a Blood Kin from the traces in the house?

He started to work hard, he was anxious, eager to fulfill the promise.

He knew he had limited time, those scum would not keep their food idle for too long.

And at that time, the Blood Moon appeared and the things that followed swiftly provided him with a risky plan.

Everything was going so well until then, the only pitiful thing was…

Smith could never see the mother and the daughter again.

“I-I hope that you will be happy.”

After the soft mutters, Smith’s head slowly lowered down

He was exhausted.

Dak Dak Dak Dak!

Hurried sprinting steps approached rapidly.

“My lord! My lord!”

“We were tricked!”

The calling from its men infuriated the Blood Kin. When it realized two of his men were killed, he furiously extended his hand towards Smith’s chest, trying to rip his heart out but when he almost touch Smith, it moved towards Smith’s neck instead.

“Tell me! Where is that thing!” roared the Blood Kin.

Life was swiftly fading away from Smith, he couldn’t answer.

“You can’t die before you tell me where that thing is.”

The Blood Kin felt Smith was dying, it wanted to look for food to keep Smith alive.

But the moment it turned around, a hand came out from the shadow and grabbed the Blood Kin’s neck.

Grak!

A neck-breaking sound.