The Devil’s Cage

Kieran knew what Morr had come for, and he had no interest in meeting him or speaking to him.

Moreover, there was a meat pie before his eyes.

Mier, with exceptionally skilled hands, sliced the pie into four and gave Kieran two big pieces.

The other two pieces were allocated to Lagren and the girls.

“This is for borrowing your place and utensils,” Mier told Lagren with a smile. “Give it a try, my cooking is quite good!” Mier spoke softer and smiled more tenderly at the girls.

After knowing what the girls had been through, no one could treat them badly, especially Mier from the Special Operation Division.

She blamed herself for the negligence of duty for what happened to the girls.

“Thank you.”

The girls didn’t dig in right away, looking for Smith’s nod before thanking Mier and finally laying their eyes on the golden crush of the pie.

The mutten’s aroma was infused into the flour and olive oil. It tingled one’s appetite, and even the girls, who already had their breakfast, couldn’t help but start a second round, let alone Kieran and Lagren.

When the pie was served to him, Kieran became completely captivated.

Nice!

The rich smell was so nice, filling his face.

The aroma was so dreamy-like, Kieran felt like he was in some fields instead of the hotel.

He saw golden rice fields.

He saw herds of white goats.

The goats shuttled through the fields, white and gold intertwining. As the goats moved further in, the gold and white merged to a single color.

Gak Ts!

When his teeth bit into the crispy crust, the crunchy noise along with the warm meat juice entered Kieran’s mouth and flowed into his stomach.

“V-Very nice!”

Gluttony was crawling across the hill and eating like a real beast.

Its mutters were unclear because of its full mouth.

Energy from Gluttony came and gushed into Kieran’s blood, expelling the darkness and chaos in his body.

It was a rare but not unusual phenomenon.

Kieran had the same experience when he was eating Starbeck’s cooking.

However, Mier’s cooking was different from Starbeck’s.

The difference was the feeling and intentions behind it.

It was different from Starbeck’s, different from any other cook’s.

Mier’s feelings showed persistence, anticipation and no lack of passion.

But soon, the differences were blurred out.

Kieran’s mind was left with a single word. Gluttony, who was crawling in his mind and munching, was also left with a single word.

Eat!

Likewise, it wasn’t the first resonance between Kieran and Gluttony, but each resonance was cherishable and precious.

So Kieran raised his hand.

A ghastly blue translucent figure appeared at the door of the hotel.

Its face was too blurry to see, but the coldness that spread out of its body told everyone who laid eyes on it to not provoke it.

Smart people who laid eyes on it knew what was going on, but some did not, or more precisely, they knew but had to move forward nevertheless, like Wier and the members of the Special Affairs Division, who followed him.

Unlike the Special Operation Division that was tasked in taking care of civilians, the Special Affairs Division only reported to a single class: the higher rankers of Eiders.

Therefore, Senator Morr’s strange assault naturally fell into their business.

“Sir Wier, please hold on a moment. I have something to ask of the Monster Hunter.”

The member of the Special Affairs Division who arrived at the hotel seemed quite familiar with Wier, but his tone sounded courteous and he spoke in a faintly arrogant way.

Humans are different since birth.

Could Eiders’ civilians share the same status as the higher rankers?

No.

Even if one lied to themselves, they would know that both were different from the start.

Were the Special Operation Division and the Special Affairs Division the same then?

Of course not.

Not just in terms of arsenals, the strengths of the members differed as well.

Unlike the Special Operation Division, which mostly consisted of commoners, the Special Affairs Division’s member chart was much more complicated, including but not limited to non-human members.

Wier looked at the man before his eyes and the other two hooded figure behind him. He didn’t say anything and instead stepped aside.

It wasn’t the first time both parties met.

Wier knew what kind of man this person was and also how he worked things.

Although both were on the same side and should have been considered allies, it was just theoretical, not literal.

Wier watched the man bring the two hooded figures towards [Chilling Spirit].

“An evil spirit? Just as the rumours say, in order to complete his or her task, a Monster Hunter won’t care about the so-called good or evil, just like a hungry hyena.”

When the man from the Special Affairs Division saw [Chilling Spirit] in front of him, his not-so-young face showed a sneering smile, and the contempt in his eyes was obvious.

What did the Monster Hunters treat this place as?

Some rural village in the outskirts?

This was Eiders!

And they were not some commoners without a dark past that would scream in shock because of some small anomaly.

This man knew exactly what happened here last night, but sometimes, knowing did not equal to believing.

Although rumour had it that the Monster Hunters were very powerful, they were just rumours.

They weren’t facts!

The things that transpired last night were outrageous, ridiculous!

How could one man wipe out hundreds of thousands of monsters in the dark?

It was only reasonable for him to be able to kill some of them, as this man from the Special Affairs Division could as well.

But claiming that a Monster Hunter killed a myriad of monsters within the blink of an eye?

He would not believe it no matter what, because he couldn’t do it himself.

The man didn’t even consider the possibilities.

From how he saw it, the ‘facts’ were nothing but exaggerated excuses from the Special Operation Division to cover up their incompetence.

As for the bodies of the monsters?

Other than the special ones, all monster bodies were burned to cinders, so it didn’t count!

When the man saw the evil spirit blocking the door, he verified his speculations.

What could a Monster Hunter possibly do if he had to rely on an evil spirit to block the way?

Evil spirits to commoners were lethal.

But to the Special Affairs Division? They were nothing.

“Deal with it.”

The man raised his hand and pointed at [Chilling Spirit].

The two hooded figures behind him immediately dashed towards their target.

The man was watching with a smile, anticipating the next scene, but at the next moment, his smile froze on his face, just like his two men.

Three ice statues glistened under the sun outside Stove-grilled Fish’s entrance, looking as lively as ever.