The Devil’s Cage

Bang!

The major landed his kick on the door powerfully, a loud thud sounding and pain spreading from his foot.

An iron door?

The major’s cold, expressionless face twitched as he looked at the door, which looked no different from a common wooden door.

He was stopped from storming in but that didn’t mean he would give up just yet.

The major stepped 7 to 8 steps back, recalculating the distance, the strength, and the integrity of the door before running towards it.

A dash of supernatural darkness flashed over his boots.

When he was three steps away, the major jumped and launched a fly kick at the door.

Fuaa!

A violent wind accompanied the kick. This kick wasn’t something a common man could perform, looking more like a flying giant hammer.

The major believed this kick would bring down the door because he utilized his ‘power’. A cold smile hung over his face as he flew closer to the door and then…

The door opened.

The major became terrified, his face turning pale.

He tried to control his strength but since he had utilized his ‘power’, it wasn’t that easy to withdraw his kick.

The major gave his fullest effort in withdrawing the kick and managed to land at the entrance after falling from mid-air but he didn’t stick the landing properly. He staggered as his body wobbled forward, and since he had not let go of the unconscious Pudder, he lost his balance completely, tumbling forward and landing beside the dining table with a loud thud.

Pudder got separated from the major during the crashing landing. The major had to climb up quickly and place Pudder under his control again.

A clear chewing noise entered the major’s ears after he held the unconscious Pudder in his hand.

He tilted up his stiff neck to the dining table and saw his target eating dinner. Frustration rose from his heart unknowingly, but Kieran didn’t even look at the major.

Kieran was captivated by the lamb shank on his table.

“Ferris, your cooking has improved again,” said Kieran.

He wasn’t brushing Ferris off, it was a real compliment.

Kieran’s tongue could capture the slightest changes in the food he ate. In his memories, Ferris’ handling of mutton and beef steak was two points off before this. The first point was he’d either lose the meaty juices or kept the bloody water in the cooking. Now, Ferris had mastered the technique and the little flaws were gone.

As for the remaining point?

The selection of ingredients and spices applied.

In other people’s eyes, Ferris’ cooking was amazing from the start, but Ferris couldn’t care less about other people’s opinion. Similarly, he didn’t even care about the major crawling on the floor, his cold face showing a smile as he received the compliment from Kieran.

“Thank you for the compliment. This is a great reward,” said Ferris seriously.

Bloodman Odork beside them looked a little jealous, obviously wanting a little compliment for himself too, while Emma Eddie was signalling them with her gaze.

‘Why are they discussing praise?

There is an intruder in the house! He seized Chief Officer Pudder in his hand and definitely does not look very happy!’

Emma Eddie pulled her chair closer to Kieran. Her instinct told her the closer she was to Kieran, the safer she would be.

Huu! Haaa!

The major was panting loudly after being neglected, the rage getting the best of him and almost replacing his sanity. Fortunately, it was ‘almost’, not ‘already’.

He stood up and grabbed Pudder by the neck, loudly saying “2567, do you want him dead?”

“No,” answered Kieran, while chewing his mutton.

“Then follow me!” the major showed a delighted smile.

Weakness always existed, regardless of how strong a person was.

As long as the weakness was exposed, no matter how strong the person was, a single blow was enough to take him down, and all these so-called Hero of Justice shared an obvious weakness!

It was too easy! Even easier than the major’s expectation!

However, his smile froze on his face.

“No.”

“So you want to watch him die?” the major’s face turned heavier.

“No.”

Kieran shook his head again before telling Ferris, “Give me another plate.”

“Yes, my lord,” Ferris said respectfully.

The major’s expression was heavy already and when he saw another plate of lamb shank being served, he looked extra ferocious.

A heavy sense of insult rose in his heart.

He ought to let Kieran know he wasn’t playing around.

“I’ll make you pay for insulting me!” said the major. He then took out a dagger and stabbed Pudder’s thigh.

Pak!

The dagger was stabbed deeply into the thigh but Pudder was unconscious and showed no signs of waking up. The dagger was embedded in his thigh while the major held him by the neck.

Kieran still didn’t care.

“Give me some black pepper,” said Kieran.

Ferris left the dining table and returned with some black pepper. He grinded it above the lamb shank. A unique spicy flavour was added into the aromatic lamb shank, forming an appetizing flavour instantly.

Kieran picked up the fork and knife, quickly cutting the lamb shank in three and forking them all up together into his mouth.

The gravy, together with the tender meat juices, spread in his mouth, making him squint in satisfaction.

“Another please,” he said.

His frivolous attitude infuriated the major.

“You really think I won’t dare to kill him?” the major shouted.

He pulled out the dagger from Pudder’s thigh and stabbed him again. This time, it wasn’t the thigh anymore but the abdomen.

A stab in the abdomen mostly proved fatal because regardless of how familiar one was with human anatomy, one could not always avoid all the weak spots.

This was also a test. The major glued his eyes on Kieran as he was stabbing Pudder, wanting to spot some different reaction or some hesitance on Kieran’s face, even for a moment.

To his disappointment, Kieran didn’t show any reaction, let alone hesitance.

Kieran concentrated in the beauty of his food.

‘Is the lamb shank that tasty?’

The major started to doubt his life, but his training over the years allowed him to understand the right move to make.

He stopped thrusting the dagger into Pudder’s abdomen and moved it up to the neck instead.

The major slowly stepped backwards and finally, Kieran widened his eyes at the major.

Not a word was spoken. When the major caught Kieran’s cold eyes, he threw Pudder towards the dining table and ran for it.

The distance between the dining area and the corridor to the door wasn’t that long to begin with. The major had been stepping back and was almost at the edge of the dining area, so when he turned around and ran, he managed to charge through the corridor.

The exit was within reach, the major sparing no more thoughts to hesitating and ran faster, but someone else was faster than him.

A palm suddenly landed on his shoulder.

Shou!

The major hurled his dagger backwards without a second thought when he felt the touching sensation on his shoulder.

He then heard his dagger plunging into the body and the flesh cut open but at the very next moment, the same dagger was held over his neck.

‘This! Impossible! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!’

The major widened his eyes at the dagger at his neck but what overwhelmed him was the person with the dagger. It was Pudder!

In that instant, many messy thoughts flooded into the major’s mind.

“I see! You are also an Extraordinary individual and only 2567 knew it! That is why he wasn’t moved when I took you hostage!” the major said after some thinking.

He seemingly solved the questions in his mind and he looked back at Kieran at the dining table with a sour look, mixed with unwillingness.

“You are lucky this time but you won’t be the next!” said the major, coldly.

“Next time? You are still coming for a next time? Or do you really think the thing on you is going to save your life?” Pudder said in an upset tone.

His tone was drastically different from his usual self but the nervous major didn’t care about it. He looked at Pudder in shock.

“How hard is it to guess? If you don’t have a backup plan that you believe can secure your escape, will you seize Pudder here? In your original plan, Pudder is nothing but an abandoned pawn right?”‘Pudder’ rolled a white eye.

The major finally noticed something was off.

“Y-You are not Pudder?!”

“Of course not!”

‘Pudder”s body distorted in a freaky way and transformed into a ridiculous figure right in front of the major’s eyes.

Bloody Mary, the Superior Demon!

The major instantly thought about that little scene where he crashed landed and Pudder got off his hand. It was that only time Pudder was away from his control.

“You switched him in that window?” The major asked after a deep breath.

“What? What switching in an hour? You held me hostage from the very beginning! What switching here and there? There is no need for such trouble, as long as the plans are laid straight, people like you will step into the boss’ trap like an idiot.”

Bloody Mary pouted in disdain at the major before it turned around and smiled in a flattering way at Kieran.

“Impossible! Impossible! How did you find out about my plan?” the major shook his head repeatedly, not believing his plan was exposed from the beginning.

“Again, how hard is it? You are also nothing but a pawn by the mastermind behind the scene! There is no need for boss to see through your plans because what you did is nothing but to match the mastermind’s plan. As long as the boss paid attention to that guy, everything about you would show itself. From the phony undead following Ferris to that exploding farm, they are all nothing but tiny setups to agitate the boss. They really deserve a beating though. If Ferris really died on that farm and you coincidentally arrived here with Pudder, what did you think the boss would do? Chances are that the boss would kill you straight away, and should that happen, the life-saving trump card that you assumed useful would come into play!” Bloody Mary explained diligently while the major trembled repeatedly, his face as dead as ashe.

“No, no, no, no…”

All that was left was repeated mutters from the major. It lasted for a while before the major regained his senses.

“The trump card that I assume will save my life? It’s not an assumption! No! It is my life-saving trump card! Although I have no idea what it really does, it will prevent you people from killing me because you people can’t afford to bear the consequences of the unknown!” said the major as he returned to normal, his eyes looking energetic.

Bloody Mary showed a pitiful look at the major’s pathetic explanation.

“You are really an idiot, but I guess that’s expected since you are an abandoned pawn, right? Otherwise, you would have noticed the reason why I tell you so many things is to test the reaction of the mastermind behind you. Too bad, that mastermind ought to make things look real, nothing was done to your body,” Bloody Mary sighed and shook its head.

“So what? You dare kill me now?” the major shouted his lungs out.

His mind was in chaos after the revelation. The only thing he bore in heart was these people would dare not kill him. It would be his biggest reliance.

“You know, if I have to deal with people like you, I’d cut your arms, your legs, and slice your meat, slice after slice. I know a lot of ways to torture you without killing you, but too bad…”

“Too bad? Too bad you don’t know what kind of consequences you will bear!”

The major interrupted Bloody Mary’s words and showed delight in his words, trying to provoke the Superior Demon.

However, at the next moment, the major looked down in horror. Bloody Mary moved its hand through the major’s chest and crushed his heart.

“Wrong answer. Too bad… the boss has no mood to play with you or time to waste.” Bloody Mary chuckled as it corrected the major’s mistakes.

Pak!

The body fell on the floor and when it touched, it melted rapidly into an arrow, firing out like a comet through Bloody Mary’s body and embedded into the wall behind it.

Bloody Mary looked down to the hole in its chest, feeling heart-wrenching pain tearing it apart. It turned around to Kieran with puppy eyes.

‘No need much, just give me an hour! An hour of rest!’

Bloody Mary delivered its thought to Kieran but he shook his head in a decisive way.

“Why sleep when you are alive, you can sleep all you want when you die. You can enjoy your overdue eternal vacation when you die, why are you so eager to get it now?” Kieran said.

His words made a lot of sense, everyone else acknowledged it, even Bloody Mary.

But…

‘I’m undead and you are talking to me after dead?

Are you kidding me?’

A sense of grudge was added in the gaze at Kieran.

…

In a faraway mysterious land filled with blood and flames, the sound of a tightened bow releasing spread.

Bang!

Shoooo!

As the bowstring vibrated from the rebounding force, several red figure staring at the place showed a meaningful smile, as though they had it in the bag.