The Devil’s Cage

Everyone looked at the direction where the footsteps came from.

At the very next moment, Kieran’s look imprinted itself into their minds.

Starbeck obviously heaved a breath of relief. He didn’t know what Kieran did down there but as long as he could come back safely, it would be enough.

Li Jiajia and Amy found their support, their spine, for that rough situation, the panic in their hearts fading off.

The same went for Victor and You. They were even more confident in Kieran than Li Jiajia and Amy.

On the other hand, Anna and Huai Cuike looked even more uneasy and awkward.

“I’m so sorry, Sir Royan,” Anna apologized again.

Huai Cuike looked at Kieran with guilt, subtly pointing at the few hooded figures behind him and expressing that his hands were tied.

The few hooded figures who bore malicious intents looked at Kieran with utmost cautious.

Even with the hoods over their heads, Li Jiajia and Amy could tell how heavy their expressions were.

In fact, not only the hooded figures, even the girls reacted strangely.

That flame that burned from the void wasn’t just strong, it instantly engulfed a seemingly ferocious man, turning him into a human torch, yet it did not burn any other things.

Even the wooden floor of the restaurant didn’t have any burned marks despite the flame burning above it.

Although the scene had zero direct relation to Kieran, he wasn’t even at the scene when the man lighted up, even an idiot would be able to tell who was responsible for the burning.

The hooded figures started to regret their actions and how rash they were.

They weren’t scared of Anna, a discipline and powerful high rank of the Herders, because he abided by the rules.

Kieran was different though. The moment he came up from the basement, he went straight to Starbeck and asked whether he was hurt or not. He didn’t even bat an eye at the hooded figures.

If the strange flame did not burn out of the void, Kieran would just be a loving big brother.

However, with the strange flame in the mix…

More thoughts about Kieran being the reincarnated God of Slaughter appeared in their minds.

They exchanged scared gazes with each other before one of them spoke.

“Ahem, Sir Royan, what happened just now was all Fei’s personal choice. We aren’t familiar with him. We will also compensate you for your loss.”

This hooded man walked out, putting his hand over his chest and saluting in an ancient salutation, together with a sincere explanation.

“3000.”

Kieran checked on Starbeck carefully and after he made sure his little brother was merely shocked, not hurt, he turned to the hooded figures with a price.

It was a fair price, no one would argue with that.

While they prepared the money for compensation, Kieran suddenly added, “Another 30K, for scaring my brother.”

When he demanded the hooded figures pay more for scaring Starbeck, his voice had zero emotions, especially those still eyes that sent chills down their hearts.

Without a second thought, they nodded repeatedly.

They strongly believed if they anyhow argued or denied the price, Kieran would kill them in a heartbeat.

After they agreed to pay more, the burning flame killed itself.

Similar to how it appeared, it went away abruptly.

When the flame went off, nothing was left of Fei, not even ashes.

The hooded figures uncontrollably twitched when they saw the scene, their faces under the hood cramped together. The monsters among the figures unconsciously stepped back and drew distance from Kieran.

‘Is this a threat?’ Anna thought.

Although he strongly objected to any kind of violent methods, he felt unusually happy when he saw how the hooded figures reacted, Huai Cuike too.

As the oldest Herder in Ai City, he was respected but had to obey the laws of the organization most of the time because the Herders was where he got his honor.

As for the rest, all heaved a breath of relief, including Victor and You.

When the hooded figures appeared, they were fierce and made Victor and You uneasy, but when that flame burned from nothing, it horrified them both.

Victor felt like he would be burned to ash if the flame caught him.

You?

The strange presence from the flame alone made her feel like she was breaking apart.

‘As expected!

Lord Bird of Death!

No…not lord anymore! His Majesty!

His Majesty Bird of Death, he is stronger than what I expect!

And the flames…the title revolving a bird…

Is he related to the phoenix?’

You thought on her own and her eyes quietly moved to Kieran.

Kieran sensed many gazes on him, but he didn’t care because Starbeck pulled his sleeve back.

Kieran turned over, seeing worry in his little brother’s eyes.

Starbeck was worried about Kieran’s status because he had just finished dealing with some big trouble and he might suffer from some after effects or trauma.

Kieran curled his lips into a smile, subtly tapping Starbeck’s hand, and when he saw Starbeck returned to normal, he turned back to Anna.

“We had a deal,” Kieran said.

“Yes, and I broke it. I accept any punishment that comes to me and will compensate you for your loss,” Anna lowered his head down in guilt, together with Huai Cuike, who expressed his apologies.

Kieran slightly nodded and then looked at the few hooded figures.

He knew these few hooded figures were the ones who forced Anna and Huai Cuike to come to the restaurant.

They saw the cold gaze from Kieran again and it forced them to bow down.

“My lord, we didn’t mean it!!”

“We will also make it up to you!”

“And also obey what you have in mind!”

Although the mystical side did not follow the rules of the jungle, the stronger ones would still be able to decide how things flow, and coincidentally, Kieran had the strength to call the shots, together with the idea to do so.

“Come back here tomorrow after 3 p.m,” He said.

The hooded figures left the restaurant in a hurry, as if they were spared from execution.

Anna and Huai Cuike bowed before they left.

“Clean the place up.”

Kieran then pulled Starbeck into the master bedroom upstairs.

Amy heaved a long breath as she saw Kieran and Starbeck go up.

The temporary assistant muttered to herself, “Why do I feel like I can’t breathe whenever I stand beside my partner?”

“It’s because he is scary,” Carrie Mayden’s soul spoke to her softly, and Tom and Jerry, the soul of the two guard dogs, nodded in agreement before shrinking behind Amy.

The two dogs showed a heavy sense of fear, as if they had met something horrifying.

Animals were more sensitive than humans, even in soul form, but there were also exceptions.

‘I see it!

I see it!

Fear! Plague! Calamity! Destruction!

He is…’

“Shut up! He is my boss and he is powerful! Teacher is also good to me! That’s it! If you dare to speak another word, I will tell the boss about you!” Li Jiajia threatened the voice in her head.

It was super effective.

The voice in her head stopped right away, only a shallow weeping heard.

Li Jiajia was immune to the weeping, more concerned about the irritating loud screams.

Victor and You, on the other hand, started to clean up the messy restaurant, bearing Kieran’s orders in mind.

“It’s completely broken now. It will be hard to put it together.”

Victor checked the damage before saying.

“It must be rebought then. I wonder if the color will match the others,” You exclaimed.

“Wait for His Majesty’s order, we will clean and disinfect the place first,” Victor said.

You told Victor about the title, His Majesty, therefore Victor addressed Kieran with a very solemn tone and he was fine with it.

It seemed reasonable in his point of view.

It wasn’t just the contract but the strength as well. Kieran had already kept his promise, so Victor was happy to oblige.

Victor and You started cleaning up, the others promptly returning to their senses and joining the fray.

The Elite Hound shook its body and stood up slowly.

It glanced over the busy group, wagging its tail, and went upstairs to lie down in front of the master bedroom.

It didn’t know a lot of things, or rather, it knew who it served and it also knew it should stay beside its master at all times, listening to what its master had to say.

It should be responsible for its duty, regardless of how strong its master was.

Coincidentally, its master was very strong.

Elite Hound started to recall what it heard and saw before, remembering that it peaked into the origin of power before, but ultimately it shook its head.

An unprecedented power!

As the thought lingered in the Elite Hound’s head, it ordered the others to stay in position before it yawned and closed its eyes. Its breath became slow and long because it was asleep.

…

In the master bedroom, Starbeck looked at Kieran with surprise.

“You’ve recovered?”

Starbeck tried to avoid the word ‘seal’.

Although he wasn’t strong, he had been through enough to know what he should pay attention to.

“Mm,” Kieran nodded and smiled.

Starbeck heaved a breath of relief.

‘Great! This is great!

2567 has recovered and even unsealed himself!

This is marvelous!

But…

Does it mean we will go back to the big city soon?’

Melancholy floated up from his sea of joy.

As a teammate, Starbeck understood Kieran quite well and he wasn’t a person who would waste time. Seize the moment to complete what had to be done and use the time he earned to enhance himself, that was Kieran. Other than the occasional joy that Starbeck spotted from the real Kieran, he couldn’t imagine how Kieran would be free.

Kieran was probably a clock, he never stopped ticking.

Starbeck commented on Kieran in his heart before he adjusted his moon.

“What should we do next?” he asked.

As Kieran’s most qualified partner, Starbeck knew he shouldn’t delay Kieran’s plan.

“Wait,” Kieran answered.

“Wait? Is it because of that guy?” The smart Starbeck immediately understood what Kieran was referring to.

“Mm. Get some sleep.”

Kieran nodded and ended the conversation.

Starbeck obediently went into the bathroom to clean himself up and when he came back out, Kieran was already on the sofa.

Starbeck went to bed, switched off the light, and watched Kieran use the dim moonlight as he slowly merged into the shadow.

Unknowingly, Starbeck fell asleep.

Starbeck didn’t have any dreams that night.

When the sun rose to the center of the sky, Starbeck woke up, and similar to before he went to sleep, Kieran was still on the sofa.

“Morning~”

Starbeck greeted Kieran shyly with his head over the blanket.

“Morning,” Kieran stood up from the sofa, greeting his little brother as he walked to the window.

“Why don’t we eat some salad for breakfast? I feel a little heavy from having too much mutton,” Starbeck asked as he walked to the bathroom.

“Anything you make will be fine. Meanwhile, I’ll go deal with something before breakfast.”

Kieran then opened the door, touching the Elite Hound on the head before he walked down.

Elite Hound knew what the touch on its head meant, so it stood up right away and went on guard.

Its ears stood up high and its eyes were alarmed.

Kieran went downstairs.

Amy had left early for work.

Li Jiajia was still asleep after grinding her cooking skills for the whole night.

Only Victor and You sat quietly at the chairs.

“Good morning, sire.”

The two of them bowed and greeted Kieran when they saw him.

“Open the door.” Kieran said.

Victor and You quickly went over to the door.

The moment the door was opened, a group of people barged in.

Anna and Huai Cuike were still the leader and behind them were a huge group of humans, Inhumans, and monsters. It was a few times more than the number from yesterday.

Even Song Shi and her butler Mian Yi were among the group, but they were among the smart ones who got the news. They did not say anything and allowed Anna and Huai Cuike to deal with Kieran.

“Good afternoon, Sir Royan. I came as promised. And this, this is from me and these are from the group yesterday.”

Anna greeted Kieran like an obedient kid before passing him two boxes.

One of the boxes held a feather the size of a palm.

It wasn’t the pure white colored one but yellow.

[Name: Light Float Feather]

[Type: Wonder Item]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attack: None]

[Defense: Strong]

[Attribute: 1. Light Body; 2. Leap]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: No]

[Remark: Do you want to run faster? Jump higher? Wear it.]

…

[Light Body: When walking or running, reduce body weight by 50% (limit 150kg). The effect lasts continuously as long as it is equipped, but it is unable to reduce the weight of handheld items.]

[Leap: When you jump, reduce body weight by 30%, or exchange it for a transcendent jump chance (unable to jump further than 20 meters) 3 times per day.]

…..

The other box was a cheque, with the amount of 100K.

The box with the [Light Float Feather] was from Anna and the other one with the cheque was undoubtedly from the hooded figures, the amount of money including the damage to the counter and the compensation for scarring Starbeck.

After making sure of everything, Kieran nodded.

“We can start now.”

After the words subsided, one man walked out from the crowd.

The man wasn’t tall, had short black hair, and had only one functioning eye, while the other eye had an eyepatch over it. He was wearing a rarely seen black robe and his hands were inside his sleeves.

“Greetings Lord Royan. I am the prophet recognized by the Herders and all the renowned families. I am here to judge Sir Victor.”

The man introduced himself.

Victor glanced over Kieran and with Kieran’s nod, Victor walked out eagerly.

He was eager to prove himself and clean his name.

“I will need some hair, a nail, or a drop of blood from you,” the man said.

Victor didn’t hesitate at all, pulling a few strands of his hair and just to be safe, clipping some nails and even poking his finger for a drop of blood.

Victor’s frank manner surprised the crowd.

They frowned and suspected what they saw.

It wasn’t Victor?

The prophet smiled.

“Don’t worry, these are only used in this particular session of divination. I assure you they won’t end up elsewhere.”

The prophet then tossed everything into his mouth and tasted them carefully.

Promptly, the prophet’s expression drastically changed.