The Devil’s Cage

Kieran could barely hold himself back anymore.

As soon as he walked through the storage entrance door, the door squeaked open and Kieran’s expression turned smug and cocky, much like all the thugs he had encountered.

“What now? Goddamn it! Why do I have to be here again while all the others are drinking and playing poker? This is the third time this week!”

The words were spoken by a thug coming out of one of the rooms. He was supposed to be on guard duty by the storage entrance, and he was complaining about it.

When he noticed Kieran’s unfamiliar face, he turned his gun on him.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked.

“Hey man, I’m on your side! Drey introduced me to the gang. I even got Wurke’s approval!”

Kieran explained, holding his hands up in the air.

When Kieran mentioned the captive’s name and the leader of their group, the thug seemed relieved. However, he still did not put his gun down.

“Drey? Then where the hell is he?” he asked.

“Oh. So you don’t know about Drey and Wurke’s mission?” Kieran asked him with a perplexed expression.

“Of course I know about it! They are both out looking for some guy and girl that crossed us! If I didn’t need to keep watch here, I would have join the mission too!”

He felt that Kieran was looking down at him, so he exaggerated his willingness to participate in the mission, even though he was just some low-level lackey.

“Oh really?” Kieran said suspiciously, which kind of ticked the thug off.

However, his attention was captured by what Kieran said next.

“Yeah, you’re right. F*ck them both! But the guy is already dead, and the girl was brought back to the base. Everyone is lining up for her!” Kieran bluffed, acting like he knew everything.

“For real?”

The man’s eyes shined when he heard about the captured girl.

“You bet. Wurke asked me to fetch Darte,” Kieran bluffed again, his lies getting more ridiculous by the minute.

The thug was not buying it, though.

Darte was The Jackal’s most trusted man, so if Wurke thought that capturing Kieran would prove difficult, then Darte would have joined Wurke on the mission.

“So can I go get Darte?” Kieran asked the thug, who still looked doubtful.

Kieran already knew what his answer would be.

According to the captive, although the Vulture used women as bargaining chips to make trades with the rebels, he valued his “goods” greatly.

Other than the Vulture and the Jackal, only very few thugs were considered powerful enough to keep women for themselves.

Low-level lackeys like the one before Kieran could not even get near the “goods”.

Of course there were exceptions, such as women that could not even be considered “goods”. Obviously Colleen fell into that category.

That’s why the thug’s mind was on her.

“Get on with it!”

The man waved his hand, signaling for Kieran to go ahead while he walked out the entrance, wanting to get a piece of the “goods” himself.

His lust clouded his judgement, and he did not notice anything suspicious.

At least not until a hand grabbed his mouth firmly from the back. Then the next thing he knew, a sharp blade had sliced through his throat. It was already too late for him to figure out what was going on.

He died before he could even fight back.

[Stabbing: Inflicts 100 Damage to target HP (50 Sharp Weapon (Dagger)(Basic) X2). Target dies…]

Kieran quickly dragged the body back into the room the thug had come out of. The only piece of furniture inside it was a chair.

As a matter of fact, the whole base up to the last line of defense was crude like that.

Kieran lay the body on the chair, checked his shirt for any blood stains, and went deeper into the storage area.

He moved at a moderate speed, ignoring all the other thug rooms and the sound of the diesel generator. All he could see was the room at the end of the hallway.

The room the Vulture was in. That was his destination.

As the saying went, when a tree fell, the monkeys on it scattered. Once the Vulture was dead, his men would eventually scatter due to the lack of supplies. Their big number would only speed up the process.

As for whoever would take over the Vulture’s position?

The Vulture would never let any important information about his status or life reach his men’s ears. If they realized that they could take over his position and status, their greed would lead to internal conflict.

Kieran was certain of this. He knew all about their ignorance, greed and ego. After all, he had encountered enough thugs.

The Vulture had to die.

Not only would that end all the suffering around the area, but it might also affect his rating at the end of the Dungeon Level.

Kieran reached the end of the corridor. The door looked the same as the others, but the inside of the room was spacious. It was a few times the size of the room that Kieran had placed the dead thug in. Even though the Vulture had made this room his chamber, there was still enough space to store the supplies that supported eighty percent of the base.

Still, according to the captive, the Vulture was a cautious man who wanted to monopolize everything.

The Vulture’s room was not just full of supplies. It also stored firearms and some of his special “goods”.

Kieran stood behind the door, trying to eavesdrop.

The door was thick though, and it cut off most of the sounds coming from the inside.

Realizing he could get no information on this side of the door, Kieran used his left hand to knock while his right hand held tightly onto the dagger.

“Who is it?” a sharp frustrated voice called out.

“Boss Vulture, Wurke is back!” Kieran said.

His plan was to try and trick him, and the Vulture seemed to buy it. He was really confident in Wurke’s ability to complete the mission and in the triple defense that he had set up.

He also thought that his notorious reputation would discourage anyone from trying to harm him.

The Vulture then opened the door.

A thin, tall man in a pair of bermuda shorts and a top stood in front of Kieran. The man’s face was thin with harsh features, a sharp nose, and thinning hair. It was as if Kieran was facing a real vulture.

He looked around and noticed Kieran.

“Where’s Wurke? Where’s the boy and the girl?” he asked.

“The boy is dead and the girl was brought back here. She’s with Wurke…,” Kieran left off a smirk.

He inspected the infamous Vulture.

He was not as buffed as he had expected him to be.

“That bastard Wurke!” the Vulture commented with a smile that revealed his black teeth.

He did not care what Wurke was doing. He only cared that he had completed his mission and upheld his reputation.

“He’s done well, I’ll give him a better reward!”

After he finished his sentence, he prepared to close the door.

As for Kieran?

The Vulture had just recruited some new guys, so he did not suspect a thing. Plus, he would never believe that anyone would dare take a step inside his precious lair.

As a result, when Kieran raised his right hand and thrust the dagger into his throat, the Vulture did not have any time to react.

“Ughh!”

The Vulture backed into the room, holding the dagger that was sticking out of his throat. He had left the door wide open, and Kieran entered the room and closed it softly.

The Vulture fell to the floor.

His eyes were wide open in surprise and his face looked puzzled by what was happening.

Until the very moment of his death, the Vulture still did not know why Kieran had killed him.

He did not even know that Kieran was the man he had ordered his men to kill.

[Stabbing: Inflicts 100 Damage to target HP, (50 Sharp Weapon (Dagger)(Basic) X2). Target dies…]

Kieran bent down and removed the dagger from the Vulture’s throat, avoiding to touch his blood.

He looked around and saw a large master bed. On top of it there was a girl. Her hands and legs had been tied and her mouth was gagged. The girl looked at Kieran with shocked eyes.

“Don’t worry, I mean you no harm!” he told her.

Before he could elaborate though, a cell phone ringtone diverted his attention.

Following the sound, Kieran spotted an old cell phone lying on the bedside table.

He went over and picked up the phone, checking the caller ID.

It was the rebellion’s major.