The Devil’s Cage

After recalling where he’d seen the person, Starbeck quickly bowed politely.

“Hello.”

Before knowing who Starbeck really was, his manners saved him a lot of trouble and Borl obviously didn’t know the true Starbeck.

What Borl was concerned about was Starbeck’s equipment.

Through his perception, he realized that Starbeck was extremely dangerous.

Just look at his six rings etched with healing and defense runes and his seemingly normal necklace that emanated extremely negative energy.

Starbeck’s belt was even carved with runes such as Nimbleness and Agility on it. And his pants should be a hide taken from a vicious beast, thus the coldness. Even his shoes had teleportation runes on them!

Most importantly…

Borl’s eyes unconsciously landed on the pack around Starbeck’s waist.

That pack struck chills that weren’t from the actual cold down his spine, as if some cataclysmic catastrophe was about to befall Borl if he made any sudden movements.

So, Borl stood still.

“Is 2567 here? Can I meet him for a while? I am Borl, by the way,” he said.

“Hold on.”

Starbeck then went into his house, and the moment the door was shut, Borl heaved a long breath.

Although the garden was still considered part of Starbeck’s room, which was also protected by the system, Starbeck still felt chills crawl over his back from meeting the stranger.

Fortunately…

Starbeck looked at Kieran.

“With him here, he will be my strongest, steadiest support.”

“What’s strong?”

Kieran, who was washing the plates with skillful hands, turned around when he sensed Starbeck’s gaze.

“A player named Borl is outside and he wants to see you,” Starbeck said honestly.

“Borl?” Kieran furrowed his brows.

Kieran was quite alarmed at this strange yet familiar player.

“I’ll go have a look.”

Kieran then wiped his hands with the cloth beside the sink before taking off the apron and giving it to Starbeck.

After wearing the apron, Starbeck saw Kieran out the door before he continued washing the plates quickly.

As for the matters between the two?

Starbeck believed Kieran would deal with it properly.

…

“I asked the folks at the inn about your whereabouts and they told me you were here.” Borl straightaway stated how he found Kieran in Starbeck’s place.

Kieran wasn’t surprised though; he didn’t cover up his visit to Starbeck’s place anyway. Most of the folks at the inn should know, but it didn’t mean Kieran would let his guard down against Borl.

“I don’t mean anything bad. I just wanna talk to you after understanding some things.” Borl then quickly stated his intention for the visit as if he sensed Kieran’s alarm.

“Talk about what? My Unique Title, Blade of the Daybreaker? Or the Guardians?”

Kieran tested the waters with his words. He knew perfectly well why others would pay attention to him, and what followed proved as much.

When Kieran stated the two terms, he clearly sensed changes in Borl’s presence—Borl tried his best to cover it up, but it couldn’t escape Kieran’s sharp senses.

As his Spirit and Intuition grew stronger each day, tricks that others used to conceal small details in themselves were no longer useful against Kieran.

“Unique Title is my secret; I don’t want to discuss it. As for the Guardians, they’re also a private matter that I don’t want to share with you.”

Kieran continued before Borl could reply, and after he finished, he turned around with the intention to leave.

In Kieran’s eyes, Borl was nothing but a stranger, a stranger who he should take note of but not be overly concerned about.

“Wait…”

Borl wanted to hold Kieran by grabbing him, but the moment he raised his hand, a narrow sword flew out from Kieran’s shadow and lingered at his neck.

The tip was sharp and filled with blood and malicious intent. Borl could practically hear the death wails around the blade.

It was an ominous sword! Borl could tell at the very first moment it appeared.

This confirmation made him raise his hands up high.

“I don’t mean anything bad!” Borl stated his intentions again.

“I don’t care about what you mean. I only know that you and I are strangers. You are not my friend and I am not someone you can trust, so stop testing my patience. This is the big city, death is very common here,” Kieran said in a calm tone without even turning back.

Correct. Though the big city was a place where cyber law enforcers were around to uphold rules among the community, there were too many ways to bypass them.

Killing wasn’t a theme around here, but it would always be a constant accompaniment.

Borl was filled with helplessness when he saw Kieran going off without turning back.

He was once very similar to Kieran.

Back in the era, Borl was exactly like Kieran, so up until today, he was unwilling to give in.

He was unwilling to allow that woman to control him!

He was unwilling to allow her to laugh at him!

Even in death!

He wanted to slap that woman hard to vent his emotions!

Borl took a deep breath when the thought came into his mind.

He lowered his voice and said, “I know the secret of the Witch.”

The Witch’s secret?

Kieran stopped.

“I don’t know if the secret is related to the legacy she left behind, but I can assure you, it is connected to the Guardians.”

Seeing that Kieran had stopped moving, Borl quickly elaborated.

Then he removed his right glove, revealing a red circular smiley face on the back of his palm.

The moment the freaky smiley face was revealed on Borl’s right hand, as if it was responding, Kieran’s own tattoo vibrated as well.

He quickly turned around, and when he saw the freaky smiley face, he squinted his eyes.

“The Witch’s Mark. It’s what we called it back in the days. Maybe it has a new name now,” Borl said slowly when he saw Kieran turn around.

“It’s known as the Witch’s Gift now,” Kieran replied.

“Gift? I suppose that’s right. It really is a gift at certain times, given that you never offend her,” Borl’s tone turned heavy all of a sudden.

“Offend?” Kieran squinted his eyes and mumbled the term.

He felt too much abnormality in that term alone.

“Yes, offend. How can the servant with the mark surpass the master who granted it? Once the servant surpasses the master, it is considered offensive. Until then… You will become like me now.”

Borl’s voice was heavy and depressed yet filled with hatred.