The Devil’s Cage

The lightning-fast punch unleashed towards Kieran was stopped in mid-air before it even touched him.

Kent’s cold smile froze on his face. Even his breathing slowed down in that moment, as if he had witnessed something horrific that he could not accept. He backed up a few steps, his face turning pale as he panted.

The men around Kieran also acted the same way.

When Kieran turned his eyes towards them, they felt as if his gaze was more ferocious than a tiger’s or a leopard’s. It felt like a sharp sword driving into their hearts.

A big number of them fell to the ground, blood gushing out their mouths. The rest also looked pale as they stared at Kieran with a horrified expression.

They had no idea what was happening, or why one gaze from Kieran could make them suffer such a mental shock.

Out of instinct, some of them tried to conquer the unknown fear by pulling out their guns, hoping to fight it with modern weapons.

Their wobbly hands and feet would not allow them to pull them out though. Some of them even fell down as they tried to pick up their weapons.

As men fell before Kieran like bowling pins, he softly touched the [Half-Dead’s Gaze] on his finger. He was in awe of the power of that rare piece of equipment.

He was in complete advantage, unless he was facing someone who had a strong Spirit Level by nature. Most importantly, the ring had a specific range of effect.

The [Dead Man’s Gaze]’s skill had no target limitation though. During it’s one second of duration, anyone who came in contact with Kieran would be forced to undergo a Spirit authentication, and if their Spirit was lower than Kieran’s by -1 rank, they would be induced with [Fear] and consumed by [Fear Illusions].

[Fear Illusions: The Target has fallen under the spell of your Illusions, Spirit authentication… Spirit did not pass authentication, Target suffers Damage similar to your Spirit rank, 40 Damage Inflicted to Target’s HP, Target is Moderately Wounded...]

[Fear Illusions: Target has fallen under the spell of your Illusions, Spirit and Intuition authentication… Spirit and Intuition did not pass authentication, Target suffers Damage similar to your Spirit rank +1, 60 Damage Inflicted to Target’s HP, Target is Heavily Wounded...]

Although Mr. Big’s men looked tough on the outside, the battlelog notifications proved that they were nothing more than ordinary men. Their combat ability might be much stronger than average, but that did not change their status.

Kieran looked down at Kent, who looked as if he was about to collapse.

”I think I’ve made myself clear about who I am and what attitude you should have when talking to me! You have one minute to find me a driver! Don’t even think about trying anything, or you won’t survive the consequences!” he warned Kent in a calm, stern tone.

Without waiting for a reply, he opened the passenger door and got in the car.

Kent clenched his teeth hard to keep himself from falling down. His faint, struggling expression eventually turned into fear.

Kieran could clearly see Kent’s expression through the side mirror. It was exactly what he wanted. He was actually delighted by the results.

Kent was not some fighter who would look death in the face. He was nothing more than a high-ranking gang member. When his life was threatened, he got scared and panicked. Facing the unknown made him feel the same way.

When Kent was facing both at the same time, his fear got the best of him and tore down his confidence, causing his worldview to collapse.

”Next… Mr. Big!” Kieran said quietly.

Kent would definitely report the incident to Mr. Big, there was no doubt about that, and Kieran could already guess what Mr. Big’s reaction would be.

After all, Mr. Big was not the kind of man to stare death in the face either.

Kieran needed to go through the minor details carefully though, and a one-minute timeframe was obviously not enough for him to do it.

He quickly collected his thoughts as the driver opened the door and got into his seat.

[Tracking] would consume a lot of his Stamina, and distinguishing a single track from the countless tracks on the road would require him to be highly concentrated.

”Start the car now and follow my directions!” Kieran said.

”Yes, sir!” the driver nodded in compliance.

It seemed like someone had told him about what had just happened back there.

With a turn of the key, the black MPV started to cruise on, following Kieran’s directions.

After an hour and a half of driving, the MPV reached a huge building.

”This is the Sphendix Corporation Headquarters, sir. We can’t go any further, or we’ll be in big trouble!” the driver told Kieran.

Kieran didn’t need the driver’s warning to see the big Sphendix sign before the building and the tire tracks leading straight to Sphendix’s parking lot.

”Okay, turn around!” he told the driver after memorizing the tire tracks.

He was not upset that this had been their destination. Before they had started following the tracks, Kieran had already had a hunch that they would eventually lead to Sphendix. He had followed them just to be on the safe side.

After all, his effort had not been futile. At least he’d had the opportunity to display his strength. Of course, his decision to show his strength meant that he would have to take Mr. Big’s test later on. Only after he passed that test would he really have shown his strength to Mr. Big. Kieran was sure that the man would be prepared for him, so he had saved up his good equipment especially for him.

...

Kieran went back to the barber shop and pushed the door open right away.

There was only Mr. Big and Larry inside the shop. No other men were around.

Larry was sitting in the chair, his face covered with shaving cream as Mr. Big’s sharp shaving knife caressed his face softly.

Mr. Big had quite the shaving skills. He shaved Larry’s beard off along with the cream.

It was supposed to be a relaxing process, yet Larry looked close to tears. After all, the man shaving him was Mr. Big, the Underground King himself.

One gaze from Mr. Big was enough to shake the informant’s heart and make him want to bow down before him.

Larry’s eyes lit up when he saw his savior push the door open, but he dared not move a muscle.

The sharp shaving knife had suddenly moved close to his neck.

Kieran saw the sharp knife on Larry’s neck and turned his attention back to Mr. Big, who had just turned around with a friendly expression.

”I gave you the ”proof” and ”leverage” that you wanted so bad!”

”Yes, you did. Even more so than I expected. But it was a little too much, to the point that I cannot accept it!”

Mr. Big’s manner was still friendly, but his eyes were filled with killing intent.

He wanted to kill Kieran. After confirming the reports sent by his men, the thought of killing him had bloomed inside his heart. He felt threatened by Kieran’s existence, and it was not something that he could tolerate.

Sphendix was enough competition for him, he did not need another opponent. Yet as he faced the unknown, Mr. Big felt the hint of a doubt in his heart. It was because of that doubt that he had decided to meet with Kieran again after setting up an escape-proof net for him.

He wanted Kieran to clear his doubts.

”According to my sources, Sphendix has some kind of terminal illness. He should have been long dead, yet he is still living and kicking. His personality has also changed suspiciously. Using a beast to chew on common people did not use to be his style. Even I, his oldest rival, have been having a hard time figuring out what’s happened, yet you, a complete stranger, can predict the precise location of the attacks and seem to know exactly what he is up to! Can you tell me why?” Mr. Big said slowly.

”It’s because Sphendix has someone like me by his side as well. What’s so special about defying death?” Kieran smiled as he raised his right hand.

A lightning sparkle shone around the room in an instant, making Mr. Big turn his face away.