The Devil’s Cage

Kieran’s first guess had been that Paul had faked his own death. Compared to the other four victims, whose skulls had been the only thing found at the scene, Paul’s case was too obvious. Only his forearm had been left behind.

A forearm left too much room for speculations. Without the palm, there were no fingerprints to identify, and only the special alphabet was recognizable.

If it had just been some random alphabet, Kieran would not have given it a second thought. It would only have strengthened his original speculations. However, that kind of special alphabet was not something ordinary people could come up with, and it filled Kieran with doubts.

If Paul had cast the magic circle, why would he use himself as a tribute?

Human beings could exhibit a sacrificial spirit. That was a fact Kieran could not deny. However, the reasons they would sacrifice themselves were very limited. They would only do it for family or loved ones.

Paul and Sphendix were not related at all, so why would Paul sacrifice himself for Sphendix’s goals?

Most importantly, provided that Paul had managed to set up such a magic circle and possessed a certain level of [Mystical Knowledge] himself, even Sphendix’s wealthy background would be nothing against him.

”Why would Paul sacrifice himself for an unrelated common mortal?” Kieran asked himself.

Only a martyr would do that.

Paul was obviously no martyr, or else he would have achieved some kind of respectable feat long ago.

In a city controlled completely by Mr. Big and Sphendix, Kieran was sure that no one would need any help.

If someone had taught Paul how to set up that magic circle, why would he sacrifice his own student? Finding someone able to learn about [Mystical Knowledge] was not an easy task. Kieran knew that himself. Even if the person who had taught Paul had had evil intentions right from the start, he had no reason to purposely leave Paul’s arm behind and take the rest of his body. That would only make Paul stand out from the rest and create more doubt among the public.

”Maybe Paul’s body was special in some way?” Kieran thought to himself before shaking his head.

If Paul’s body had been truly special, it would not have been possible to hide it from the people around him. The records showed nothing of that kind though, and neither did Paul’s pictures.

Maybe Paul had met or been influenced by someone or something and gotten the words tattooed on his forearm, but that still did not explain why he would leave his forearm at the scene.

”Why would he leave his forearm behind?” Kieran’s brow furrowed even harder.

Meanwhile, Kieran started to rearrange all the information. He knew he had reached a dead end and he needed to find a way to get past it.

Mr. Big was waiting quietly beside him, ignoring the sound of flipping papers that filled the room. Despite being the Underground King of the city, Mr. Big’s patience was remarkable.

As time flew by, the flipping noise gradually stopped. Kieran stopped moving as he read about Paul.

After another round of re-arranging, he suddenly realized what he had been missing right from the start.

The tamer! No matter what way Kieran’s speculations went, the tamer always appeared.

The tamer of the beast was there to create pain and panic. Even if the man was not aware of the big picture, he still might know something important. He might know if Paul was really dead.

”Mr. Big, is there a tamer among Sphendix’s men?” Kieran asked, turning around.

”Ever since the beast attacks started, I’ve been searching for this tamer myself. I have discovered nothing though. That bastard is very mysterious. He must have joined Sphendix Corporation after the beast attacks started happening, but he must only be in contact with Sphendix himself!” Mr. Big replied with a frown.

He looked kind of upset about it. It seemed like Mr. Big was not overly fond of not having things under control.

”Even your source could not discover the tamer’s identity?” Kieran asked in awe.

According to Kieran’s speculations, Mr. Big’s source had to hold a high-ranking position in Sphendix Corporation. Such a position should allow him to have access to most of the company’s intel, except Sphendix’s personal secrets.

”You don’t know how hard Sphendix is protecting that bastard! He’s set him up on a floor only Sphendix himself can enter, and he delivers that little prick’s meals himself every day! I swear Sphendix is not this protective even of his own son!” Mr. Big replied.

A light bulb suddenly went on in Kieran’s head.

A sudden addition to Sphendix Corporation, whose identity not even Mr. Big’s source could discover, and who was protected by Sphendix himself...

These three new pieces of information elevated the tamer’s status in Kieran’s speculations.

”Maybe the tamer was the one who set up the magic circle?” a new thought bloomed in Kieran’s mind.

Although it was only a hunch, Kieran treated it as a breakthrough in his investigation.

The tamer had been placed on an isolated floor only Sphendix himself could enter and no other employees knew who he was or how he looked, but there had to be traces of him. After all, he had been tasked with setting up the magic circle, which required a series of complicated procedures. The tamer had to take out the beast, which was not small by any means, and head to the designated locations so the beast could munch on the dead bodies.

Even if the tamer could avoid any surveillance cameras during the attacks, it was impossible to avoid them on his way there.

Especially on a busy road. The tamer would need a car big enough to carry the beast, a big SUV or maybe a truck. Of course such vehicles were common on the roads, which was why the tamer had been bold enough to use one.

Once the vehicle had entered the streets near the Sphendix Headquarters, he would have been absolutely safe. When Kieran had been chasing the vehicle earlier and had approached the Sphendix Headquarters, the driver had reminded him that the surveillance cameras were all controlled by Sphendix, just like the streets near the barber shop were controlled by Mr. Big.

Therefore, any traces of the tamer could only be found in the area between the Sphendix Headquarters and the five crime scenes.

For others, finding a vehicle among the streets would have been like finding a needle in a haystack, but it was easy enough for Kieran.

He pulled out a blank piece of paper and started drawing.

After a while, Kieran passed the paper to Mr. Big.

”What’s this?” Mr. Big looked at Kieran with a puzzled expression.

”Tire marks! I’ll need your help in finding the vehicle with that exact width and marks!” Kieran said.