The Devil’s Cage

There were seven bodies lying down around the Curseman Vase display case, like a strange, eerie flower blooming.

The petals of flesh and blood, and the stamen of gold and silver.

Under the light, the scarlet blood didn’t overpower the color of the Curseman Vase; instead, the red offset it even more, making it more dazzling.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the strange and eerie scene, even the cameras.

Kieran was the only exception.

His eyes were locked on Porl Nelson throughout the process, and he captured a sense of shock and disbelief that flashed over Porl Nelson’s face.

He also captured the deepest, darkest greed in the curator’s heart! The greed that was branded in the bones!

“Damn it! What happened here? Hurry! Call the police again, tell them what happened here. I want them here as soon as possible! Everything has gone beyond our control!”

Porl Nelson yelled and rushed the security, who was lost.

The night security at the museum could only deal with some small matters; murder was a little out of their league, as they didn’t possess the capabilities to solve them.

The security was brought up in a peaceful environment. It might have been their first encounter with a dead body outside of a funeral, and that many at once.

“O-Okay!”

The few security guards faltered and ran outside after stuttering a reply.

Porl Nelson looked at the security guards’ frightened figures and couldn’t help but sigh.

He then turned to Eckart.

“They are really terrified. Even I’m getting shivers from the scene. I’m sorry, Eckart. I really want to continue but this interview has to come to an end…”

“Why do you want to end it?”

Kieran’s hoarse, heavy voice interrupted Porl Nelson’s suave and calm words despite the gruesome scene.

Everyone’s eyes instantly landed on Kieran.

“Mr. 2567, it’s not suitable to continue filming. I’m sorry to cut it short but the situation is somewhat special…”

“Special? ‘They’ don’t think so.”

Porl Nelson’s patient explanation was interrupted by Kieran again.

“Stop harassing me with you unreasonable words!”

After being interrupted so many times, Porl Nelson frowned and spoke as if he was angry, but Kieran could see that his eyes harboured fear and evasiveness, not rage.

When the curator heard the term ‘them’, the fear and evasiveness became clearer and deeper.

“They were greedy people controlled by sloth. ‘They’ told me ‘they’ were seduced! They had the chance to seize benefits in front of them! ‘They’ told me ‘they’ were lured into a trap! But in the end, they perished in their own greed! ‘They’ told me the one who made them lose their lives is the one who seduced them!”

Kieran repeated what Porl Nelson said earlier, answering with ‘they’.

“What are you talking about? You bloody con-man medium, get the hell out of my museum!”

This time, Porl Nelson was no longer just frowning anymore. He was infuriated and shouted at Kieran.

“Of course, I will leave. But ‘they’ will stay,” said Kieran with his hoarse voice.

Kieran pointed at the bodies on the floor. His body then started to twist weirdly, like a snake coiling up its tail and lifting up its head.

This snake was looking at its prey with its cold eyes, hissing softly.

Then…

Sssss!

The snake hisses sounded aloud.

Porl Nelson instantly turned pale and faltered backwards as if he saw something terrifying.

“It wasn’t me! I didn’t kill you! I just hired you people to steal the Curseman Vase! I have nothing to do with this! It’s all the Curseman Vase’s fault! Yes, it’s the vase! It bewitched me! It’s the vase of misfortune!”

Amidst his rushed and irritated screams, Porl Nelson fell to the floor and moved backwards with his hands.

His neatly dressed suit was messed up and became dirty as he fell. His sincere and kind look even turned sour and ugly.

Kieran then stopped. He quietly looked at Porl Nelson, who had fallen into hypnosis.

This time around, Kieran had enough time to set up everything. He didn’t have to rely on his killer aura to achieve the desired result.

In fact, after meeting with Porl Nelson, Kieran was certain something was wrong with the curator. After connecting him with the little fiasco during the ticketing session, Kieran would not take it as pure coincidence.

He didn’t believe in coincidences.

The things that happened in the same location had to be related somehow. If he couldn’t find any similar points, it could only mean that he wasn’t searching hard enough.

Given that the location was the Rain City Museum, the similar point was very obvious.

The Curseman Vase!

If the Curseman Vase was the common point connecting those malicious gazes and Porn Nelson’s request of an early meeting, what would the outcome be?

Theft!

Alibi!

The answer appeared in Kieran’s mind almost instantly; therefore, when they were still at the coffee shop, Kieran pretended to look at the museum.

His shaking little finger and the endless mention of ‘misfortune’ were all hints.

And when the cumulated hints were triggered, they exploded like an explosive.

Kieran had Nuna to thank for that though.

If it weren’t for her reminder of ‘music and dance’, he wouldn’t have thought about infusing hints into daily gestures to amplify the hypnosis.

After all, Kieran was used to another kind of battle. Despite his skills being sealed, he couldn’t change his thinking pattern to work on this forceful choice at the very first moment.

But from the looks of things, the effect was quite decent.

Kieran looked at Porl Nelson, who kept shifting blame and making excuses. Kieran’s eyes then showed sneers.

Some people put on a mask and acted like hypocrites, blaming the others who shared the same roots.

This way, they didn’t just conceal themselves, but also made themselves look noble as well.

Even if they were exposed, they would not wake up from the mistake. All they would do is blame others.

Kieran was disdainful of such people.

When the faint siren echoed, it brought the TV crew back to their senses.

“W-What is this about?”

Lyn Amie couldn’t react to the situation, as it happened too fast.

Porl Nelson, who entered the museum with them, suddenly became the criminal?

No one answered him though, as the crew was sharing the same thoughts.

However, when they saw the uniformed police officers rush in, the crowd heaved a breath of relief.

“It’s over!” Eckart said.

Kieran, however, shook his head and pointed at the bodies on the floor.

“Over? No, it’s just the beginning! ‘They’ told me a lot of things!”