The Devil’s Cage

“Oh? You knew?”

With an interested tone, the figure walked out of the darkness and revealed his true face.

It was a man over his fifties. The corner of his eyes were filled with wrinkles; his sideburns were white; his body was slightly chubby, and he seemed crippled because he walked with a stagger.

With each step the man took, the old wooden flooring would squeak sharply, irritating the ears.

However, the crowd was more concerned about the gun the man was holding.

It wasn’t a standard gun, but a privately modified one. Maybe it didn’t have the firepower of a standard gun, but no one would doubt that it was dangerous.

“W-What are you trying to do?” Eckart asked in a shaky voice.

As he asked, he naturally shrunk behind Kieran’s back, as did the lighting man and cameraman.

Both of them were considered young and energetic, and they weren’t barehanded, but facing against an armed ambusher, retreat became their second instinct.

Mei Huasheng was different from the two of them.

The moment the man appeared, she tried her best to move away from the light and subtly make her way toward the man. She wanted to catch the man off guard and seize his weapon.

In fact, she had done it countless times throughout her career, and each time ended with success. She was quite confident with her skills, but this time…

It was different.

“Officer Mei Huasheng, please stay where you are. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee the safety of these men here. I know that you realize what I’m holding is a self-made gun, but given the close distance, it wouldn’t be hard for me to kill any of them.”

The armed man suddenly spoke.

He even waved his gun, expressing that it wasn’t a joke.

“Stop!” Mei Huasheng shouted and came out of the dark.

She frowned at the man before her.

She couldn’t match him with her memories, yet the man somehow knew her name, piquing the female officer’s curiosity.

“Thank you for your cooperation. Now, please move behind the shaman,” the armed man said with a smile. Under the light, the wrinkles around his eyes were mashed together.

After Mei Huasheng compiled, the wrinkles mashed tighter.

At the same time, the armed man went up the last two flights of stairs and stood in the corridor of the third floor.

He then pointed the gun at Mei Huasheng and turned his eyes to Kieran.

“How did you know? Just guesses?” he asked.

He didn’t say it straight, but everyone present at the scene knew what the man was asking.

“The existences here kept whispering to me from time to time, including… your dead uncle, who fell to his death. Or rather, the uncle that you pushed to death and covered up as an accident,” Kieran said calmly.

Unlike the others, who were shocked the moment the man appeared, Kieran was expressionless from the moment he appeared until he was standing in front of him.

A self-made gun? He didn’t care.

“Oh? Does this mean you can talk to the dead? Then… Can you let me see my dear uncle again?”

The smile on the armed man didn’t change, his voice even sounded delighted, but the gun continued to point at Kieran.

It was clear to see. If Kieran couldn’t fulfill his request, the man would shoot him.

Suddenly, Kieran’s expressionless face showed a smile as the gun pointed at him.

He widened his mouth and showed his white teeth; they looked a little pale and dazzling under the lighting. He was like a lone wolf in the snow trying to capture its prey with its bloody mouth opened.

“Are you sure? As you wish then!” His gloomy voice was cold.

Kieran then walked up to the man.

Each step he took, his body twisted in a weird way, like his bones were missing.

It looked like a… snake! A walking snake!

The light was somehow blocked by the ‘snake’. The camera showed an eerie, stranger’s back.

“What are you doing? Stop!” He shouted.

The armed man who thought he had control of the scene suddenly changed his expression for the worst. His forehead dampened with sweat.

“What am I doing? Granting your wish, of course. My dear, nephew!”

The first two sentences were still in Kieran’s calm voice, but the last one sounded hoarse and heavy. A gloomy coldness spread throughout the third floor corridor.

It was a change caused by the accumulation of killer intent tempered from the reaping of thousands upon thousands of living souls.

The others on the scene froze.

The armed man who Kieran locked his gaze on felt like his blood was going to freeze. He felt like he was seeing a butcher knife falling from the sky, wanting to chop him in half.

“S-Stop! Stop!”

Bang!

The man had never been to war before and never experienced the baptism of the cruelness on the battlefield. He growled loudly and unconsciously pulled the trigger.

Since both of them were meters apart, the gun wouldn’t miss its target.

The bullet landed precisely in Kieran’s arm, which he laid over his abdomen.

The yellowish orange bullet didn’t perforate Kieran’s arm; in fact, all it did was embed itself a little, then no longer move.

All Kieran’s stats were decreased and all his skills were forcefully sealed at Musou level, but it didn’t mean the skills were rendered useless. Especially some skills that did not require a level up at all; the existence of their effect did not defy the rules of this dungeon world.

One of them was [Secondary Armored Skin]!

While facing against physical damage of None, Feeble and Weak, [Secondary Armoured Skin] could ignore all the damage done. While facing Average and Strong physical damage, Kieran would only have to endure Feeble and Weak damage respectively.

A standard issue military gun was around Average attack while the weaker self-made gun was below Average, only slightly above Weak.

It was also the reason why Kieran covered his abdomen with his arm.

He didn’t want to suffer any fatal damage, but in the end, it turned out that the self-made gun was even weaker than he expected, as weak as the man before him.

Kieran used [Viper Body] along with Pro [Mystical Knowledge] to lead the man into the trap. The man’s will was not as strong as he expected.

Now…

It was showtime.

“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts…like when I fell down from the mansion!”

Kieran twisted his figure even more. The bullet embedded on his arm was taken out and placed in the middle of his palm.

“Is this yours? Is it? I’ll give it back to you! Just like all the things you did to me back then, I will return everything to you, little by little!” The rough, hoarse voice continued.

“No! No! Don’t come near me!”

The armed man was already heavily affected by Kieran’s twisted body, and when he saw the bullet in Kieran’s palm, he lost it. He threw the gun at Kieran and turned around, wanting to run for his life, but his crippled leg couldn’t run fast.

Kieran’s footsteps behind him were like a voodoo charm hastening his death. The man freaked out and fell into panic. He tried to run but his step missed…

He tumbled down the stairs.

The neck-breaking sound was clearly heard as he tumbled.

Crack!