The Devil’s Cage

When the handsome Zackary with his perfect suit walked into the cleaned office, Kieran was holding a cup of tea in his hand.

Unlike the other dungeon worlds where their tea has tons of things added inside, the current one remained as plain as possible and it tasted more like the tea Kieran knew.

“Too bad, there are no tea time snacks.”

Kieran sighed in his heart before looking at the elder man, Zackary, across his desk.

He was quite shocked about how he dressed and the temperament he showed.

Within Kieran’s limited acquaintances, other than Starbeck, there were very few gentlemen that could rival his temperament. In addition, Zackary still had the splendor that Starbeck didn’t possess, it was extra pronounced under the bright suit. The splendor added an extra layer of charisma to the man.

“Hi, Mr. Ethan Hunt, my name is Zackary, pleased to meet you for the first time. Don’t worry, I don’t mean any harm, I am here to express goodwill,” Zackary smiled.

His smile compared to the previous aide, which was full of arrogance, was very sincere, as if he was a good friend sending his best regards.

However, the sincere smile raised an alarm in Kieran’s mind and made him more vigilant than when he was facing the aide.

In Kieran’s eye, the aide was a little ferocious animal that bared its teeth outwards. It had sharp teeth and claws but it wasn’t strong enough, it would have to boost its ferocity most of the time to cover the weakness underneath but Zackary before him was different, his calmness and natural movements originated from his true strength.

Kieran’s senses told him as much. He sensed the half-fiend energy within Zackary’s body but it was somewhat different from the usual.

More importantly, Kieran didn’t forget why he caused such a commotion: to lure Perforation Sting into the light!

The half-fiend before him, could it be one of Perforation Sting’s men?

With doubts lingering in his heart, Kieran laughed coldly outside.

“The last guy that said similar things in front of me was thrown out to the garbage can in the alleyway by my men, I hope you won’t be the next,” Kieran said.

“Of course, he and I are different. He represented a big group of people while I only represent myself, I can call the shots,” Zackary smiled.

Alone?

Kieran wasn’t moved by what Zackary said. As he maintained his cold smile, he asked, “Then what are you doing here?”

“For an auction! A win-win auction for you and I!” Zackary said.

“An auction?” I don’t think this will benefit me in any way or do you all think that I am just a qualified security guard?”

Kieran showed a perfectly timed doubtful expression before turning it into disdain.

“Of course not. I think this is a chance for us to work together in a perfect way. It will grant you considerable benefits while providing me with a decent reputation…”

Zackary then started his long speech.

At first, Kieran was still paying attention to decipher the hidden message in the long and windy speech but as seconds turned into minutes, Kieran slowly realized Zackary was flipping his words back and forth, there was no actual content nor obvious benefits.

The speech he gave didn’t sound like he came for an auction, it sounded more like a test.

“This is a test?” Kieran frowned.

If this was a test, it would be too obvious to the point that it didn’t fit how Zackary presented himself at the beginning, it was very childish.

Kieran didn’t know why he did that but he knew he couldn’t afford to follow Zackary’s pace anymore.

After sending an order to the High Demon, Bloody Mary, Kieran slammed the desk.

Bang!

“Enough! If you want to waste my time by spouting bullsh*t, you can join the other guy momentarily,” Kieran said loudly.

After the slam on the desk, Kray barged into the office with a couple more men and pointed dozens of guns at Zackary’s head.

“Now, now, let’s not get too excited. Maybe it’s my manner of speech, I really came with sincerity.”

“Sir, yes you dear sir, can you do me a favor by taking out the present in my coat pocket that I’ve prepared for Mr. Ethan Hunt?”

Kray who got called out looked at Kieran to receive permission. After a nod from his boss, he reached his hand into Zackary’s pocket and took out the “present”.

When Kray saw what he took out, his breath became fast.

The present wasn’t that big and could even be considered light but the numbers written on it made it substantial in meaning.

100,000!

Kray really wished to pocket the cheque himself when the numbers were made clear but he didn’t lose his logical sense. He took the cheque and placed it on Kieran’s desk respectfully.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Kieran took a glance at the cheque and laughed coldly again, he was acting like he wasn’t moved by the cheque but his eyes were looking at it frequently.

“Sincerity! I’ve said it before, I…”

Bang!

A gunshot interrupted Zackary’s words as the bullet flew through the window and went straight for Zackary.

Zackary made his move when the gunshot sounded and reacted to it by performing evasive maneuver but…

Another shot was fired!

BANG!

A big splash of blood burst out from Zackary’s body as he fell to the ground.

A figure appeared outside the window.

The black feather mantled was fluttering, dancing along with the wind.

“Bird of Death!”

Zackary who fell to the ground was stunned by the sight.

He never thought he would run into “Kieran” at this particular moment.

However, “Kieran”‘s next move confused everyone.

His gun was pointed at Zackary but something invisible was stopping him from firing.

After “Kieran” frowned, he dumped the gun and left.

Kray and the other gang members only reacted to the scene after that, they raised the guns in their hands and pointed it at “Kieran”‘s back.

“Wait.”

The real Kieran stopped his men from shooting as his eyes went gloomy at Zackary on the floor.

He said coldly, “We will not become someone else’s tool.”

Kieran grabbed Kray’s gun and stuck it right up to Zackary’s head, questioning him with a pronounced tone, “Zackary, can you explain why the Bird of Death showed up here?”

“What is it between you and him? Or are you one of Perforation Sting’s men?”

Zackary who suffered a shot from “Kieran” was wounded heavily but when he saw the gun pointed at his head, he smiled bitterly saying, “I assure you I have nothing to do with the Bird of Death!”

“I am not from Perforation Sting either!” He denied.

However, another voice was heard from outside.

“Is that so?”