The Devil’s Cage

“A map!”

The moment Kieran raised the gun to his hand, Zackary gave the answer immediately to prevent another beating.

A map?

Kieran was stunned.

“What map?” He asked.

However, this time around he didn’t get the answer he was looking for.

Even though he pointed the gun to Zackary’s forehead, Zackary shut his mouth.

“So this is the attitude of a collaborator?” Kieran asked coldly.

“And I suppose yours is? This is the first time we truly work together, so both of us need the process to get familiar with each other. While in my humble opinion, for starters, I think we can abandon these kinds of violent acts against me.”

Zackary smiled looking at the gun.

Kieran frowned and ultimately lowered the gun.

“See, it’s a great start for us! Now, I need to cover up Albunai’s death and bring every necessary preparation for the auction to you. While I do that, all you need to do is continue to expand your influence,” Zackary said with a smile.

“I don’t need orders from you. What I want is the details of the plan, I don’t think the auction will proceed smoothly when an item of Great Swamp’s concern is related,” Kieran pretended to be stupid and replied.

Not only because Kieran was currently pretending to be a reckless, hot-tempered person, he still wanted Zackary to lower his guard completely.

Obviously, Kieran’s previous acting was award-worthy, Zackary didn’t even doubt it for one second, instead, he elaborated in further detail.

“We won’t disclose the plans to them beforehand. What we need is a big stage, a stage that can hold every performer at once, then… we can sit back and enjoy the show. The whole “show” has nothing to do with us, after all, that “item” will be acquired “accidentally”.”

Zackary was limping out of the room as he elaborated.

Kieran, on the other hand, shouted his orders to his men, telling them to move out before Zackary even left the room.

When the messy hustling noises were heard from behind him, Zackary who was limping away smiled even brighter.

“This is really… an unexpected surprise!” He muttered to himself softly.

After he left Dublin Street and made sure he wasn’t followed, Zackary walked into a secluded street and dialed the public phone in the only telephone booth.

The secluded place shouldn’t have had a public phone booth to begin with but it appeared out of nowhere a fear months ago despite its usage being almost zero.

“Our plan can start now,” Zackary spoke through the phone.

“Mm.”

A cold voice on the other end replied.

Zackary hung up the phone after that and headed to his temporary lodging point.

He needed to settle Albunai’s matters and although it wasn’t easy while also requiring quite a hefty cost from him, compared to the ultimate outcome, the cost paid was incomparable.

“Great Swamp, Perforation Sting, God of Forest City…”

Zackary mumbled the names repeatedly.

HIs limping leg was recovering by the second and his pace quickly increased.

After a while, he vanished from the street.

When Zackary left the street, another figure also vanished from the shadows.

…

Back in Footer’s original office in Dublin Street, Kieran was there in his seat holding a red crystal sphere.

The crystal wasn’t big and only half the size of a thumb yet it had a dazzling layer of glint on it. It wasn’t a reflection of light but it came from the crystal itself.

[Name: Fire Lineage Essence]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attribute: 1. Consume; 2. Embedding]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: It is the crystallized essence of a half-fiend bloodline, it looks like a dazzling gem but it is actually coagulation of the blood. It is quite the supplement for a fire elemental fiend.

…

[Consume: Consume it to acquire some Burning Flame Bloodline]

[Embedding: Embed it on weapons or defensive items to acquire Fire effect]

[Note 1: There is a certain percentage of failure when consuming and will cause harm if the consumption fails]

[Note 2: There is a certain percentage of failure when embedding, the essence crystal and equipment will be destroyed together!]

……

Without further ado, Kieran tossed the fire essence to Fire Raven who was hiding at the top of the roof beams.

Fire Raven caught [Fire Lineage Essence] with its beak excitedly, it lifted its head upwards and swallowed the crystal essence without a second thought.

Then, the Fire Raven was shining in a scarlet red brilliance. It seemed like it was transformed into a ball of fire, burning ceaselessly while increasing in temperature.

After a few minutes, the scarlet red brilliance faded from Fire Raven, revealing its new form before Kieran’s eyes.

The raven grew bigger in size and its body was painted red thoroughly, the only area with black left was a spot in the middle of its forehead. Its round dark eyes had glares sharper than a falcon.

When the sharp glare and its sharp raven beaks and claws were put together, people wouldn’t see it as a raven, instead, they might mistake it for a valiant falcon.

But in fact, the Fire Raven was countless times stronger and better than a falcon.

[Name: Fire Raven General]

[Type: Fiend]

[Rank: Above Average]

[Attack: Strong]

[Defense: Average]

[Attribute: 1. Agility III, 2. Transform Fire III, 3. Spitfire II]

[Effect: Infuse III]

[Prerequisite: The first sight]

[Remark: After consuming a High Fiend’s meat, the matured Fire Raven leveled up. It can carry out scouting missions, contact people and is a definite choice for an ancillary attack]

…

[Agility III: Increase flying speed by +2, nimbleness +2]

[Transform Fire III: Able to transform into a ball of fire with Strong attack. Able to adhere to a surface and float]

[Spit Fire II: Able to emit a fireball with Average attack as a long-range attack (no further than 35 meters), 3 times per day]

…

[Infuse II: Able to infuse itself into its companion or user’s fire, boosting the fire to a decent level.]

…

“Not bad!”

Kieran commented as he caressed the feathers on the Fire Raven’s neck.

Although [Infuse II] still had not shown a precise description like “increasing fire attack by 1” or another similar effect, the effect itself had an obvious enhancement and Fire Raven’s enhancement was visible as well.

As one of Kieran’s indispensable aides, Kieran was very delighted to see Fire Raven’s enhancement, it was some solid extra power for him.

More importantly, the enhancement would not just stop there.

Kieran believed [Merman’s Meat] and [Fire Lineage Essence] were rare but there must be many others in the current dungeon world.

He might even encounter extra surprises, like a supplement for Frost Wolf pup.

However, that was a matter for the future.

Now, Kieran had to read through the notifications before his eyes.