The Devil’s Cage

Four hours after the incident, Kieran walked back into Spicy Hot Kitchen under Willis’ respectful gaze.

Spicy Hot Kitchen was renewed and refurbished, returning it to a brand new state. Drexton who rushed back to the city was sitting at the bar, looking at Kieran with a face full of smiles.

“Sometimes, I doubt myself as well. I keep asking myself, why would I keep doing these arduous and fruitless labors. They are not the same as common men, each of them were extraordinary individuals, each of them moved in unique ways, and each of them would not just change their initial motifs because of your help.”

“In fact, even without any help, they would be fine as well.

“So is this all just to satisfy one’s heart of justice? Fulfilling the vanity of someone or just to display how extraordinary one is? These doubts would fill my mind from time to time and then, there will always someone who gives me a very clear answer. The last time, it was Herzer, and now it’s you, 2567.”

“Your appearance made me reaffirm my own conviction: whenever you need help, please help someone else first,” Drexton said with praise and sigh.

He then signaled for Kieran to sit down.

“I’m sorry that the lunch I owe you became dinner but trust me, this dinner will not disappoint.”

“Hoss, you’re up!”

With apologetic tone, Drexton gave a thumbs up to the real owner of Spicy Hot Kitchen, Hoss.

“Leave it to me!”

A slightly chubby middle-aged man with a round face quickly got to cooking.

After a while, a pungent and aromatic spiciness filled Kieran’s nose.

Kieran took a deep breath and savored the smell. He had an unrequited love for all food, especially when a decent chef handled the cooking, the anticipation in his heart would climb up by the minute. Once it reached the highest point, a plate of delicious cuisine would be served in front of him.

That feeling… was the best!

However, being drunk on his own little anticipation didn’t lower Kieran’s vigilance and perception; Kieran noticed Drexton was breathing irregularly.

“You’re hurt?” Kieran asked.

The first time Kieran met Drexton, he was like a mountain peak in Kieran’s senses, not only towering above all but tenacious as well.

Now, the mountain peak felt like it has suffered a violent typhoon or a destructive earthquake, wobbling off and about to fall.

“Em. It’s not that easy to travel quickly from Printon back to Alkender. I’m quite lucky though since I didn’t run into those troublesome bastards, otherwise…”

Drexton didn’t hide the fact and nodded, his expression was thankfulness due to him being lucky.

“Printon?”

Kieran raised a puzzled brow when he heard the city name from Drexton again.

“It is a city that has been through destruction. The city itself is a haven for criminals, no order, no mercy, no kindness, nothing! All it houses are lies, killing, and hatred!”

Following their budding relationship, Drexton didn’t shift the topic this time, instead, he explained to Kieran in details.

“At first, Printon and Alkender were very much alike. There were superheroes, and also super criminals. Until one day, all the superheroes of Printon vanished without a sign!”

“Vanished! Not murdered, not slaughtered, and they definitely didn’t leave the city but they just vanished, out of thin air!”

“No one knew what happened but those super villains seized the opportunity to roam freely without caring and with the absence of the superheroes, the higher ranking officials of the government didn’t even last three days before it went down. Everything was shuffled, some were killed, some were enslaved and some even pledged loyalty to evil.”

“Printon was turned into a living hell, for the commoners and for us extraordinary individuals.”

Drexton said with a heavy tone.

“So until this day, that place still has a bad influence towards the extraordinary individuals that serve justice?”

Kieran easily picked up a clue from Drexton’s expression and words.

It wasn’t that hard though, given Drexton’s character, if Printon wasn’t in an unredeemable situation, he would have gathered extreme manpower to reclaim Printon.

“Yes. That place was turned into a harsh place towards us extraordinary individuals that serve justice. We don’t only lose a big portion of our powers, our bodies will be weakened as well. On the contrary, those who serve evil were are like fish returning to the water, their abilities and bodies were enhanced in various ways. That is why that place was known as a haven by those criminals.” Drexton nodded.

“We have launched more than one investigation into Printon’s situation but each and every time, we would return empty-handed and lose quite a number of men.” Willis beside added.

The assistant was looking at Kieran with very sincere eyes.

“Thanks. When I got the news Drexton was set up by Mr. Ghost in the afternoon, I almost suffered a meltdown! I worried that Alkender would become a second Printon. Thankfully, you defeated him, thank you.” Willis paused for a while before expressing his gratitude again.

“Defeated?”

Kieran shook his head and took out a package from his backpack; he passed it to Willis.

Willis was stunned.

“T-This…This is?” He asked in a stuttering voice.

“Mr. Ghost’s head,” Kieran answered calmly.

“Mr. Ghost’s head?!”

Willis cried out in shock first before anxiously opening up the package. When he had a good look at the contents of the package, he screamed out in shock again.

Even Drexton beside him who had guessed was flabbergasted when he saw the head.

After a few seconds, only then did Drexton come to his senses.

“2567, you are more powerful than I imagined! How did you do it? This guy has too many clones… Oh, pardon me, I shouldn’t have asked, I am just very excited!”

“2567, so are you willing to join the Hero Alliance?”

Excited, Drexton once again offered the invitation to Kieran again.

Kieran however answered with the same reply.

“Nope. I am used to my own ways of dealing with problems.”

Kieran said while he laid eyes on the new system notifications.

[Special Event: Alkender City Revolt (Complete)]

[Eliminated Mr. Ghost, acquired High ratings, do you wish to continue? Yes/No]

“Yes.”

Similar to before, his answer hadn’t changed, just like his plans.

Therefore, when Drexton signaled Willis, the assistant passed Kieran a cheque.

Kieran caught a glimpse of the 300K currency of the dungeon world and he directly rejected it.

“Don’t reject it, you deserve it. Besides, if you reject it, some other guys who had a harsh life yet huge egos will copy you in rejecting. Once they reject the rewards, they won’t even be able to afford a meal.”

“Please, take it. This isn’t just about you alone.”

Drexton was still very persistent, or rather stubborn about certain matters. He quickly told Kieran the serious matter after he saw Kieran reject it.

“No, no, Drexton, you’ve misunderstood my intentions. It’s not that I don’t want to take the money, but I want to use it to trade for a reward regarding Mordin’s sculpture.” Kieran smiled and waved his hands.

“Mordin’s sculptures?”

Drexton’s face instantly changed when he heard the term.