The Devil’s Cage

The sea breeze made Kieran’s coat rattle.

He could clearly see the dock of Alcatraz Island.

It was different than what he had seen the first time he had been there.

The tall, high walls and the high security patrol were no longer there.

Alcatraz had seen better days. The walls of the prison were in ruins, and the path that led towards the building was filled with holes. There were slashes of swords, bullet marks and explosion traces everywhere.

One could tell that a terrible battle had taken place there, but Kieran could tell even more.

With his [Tracking], the marks and traces were clear. They had not been left behind by just one fight or one party.

”It wasn’t just the Night Demon Society that wanted to get to the island. It might have been a good idea for Fenkes to contact more attackers to divert the Dark Star Society’s attention!”

Kieran was looking at the battle marks, trying to guess what Fenkes and his accomplice might do next.

The Dark Star Society might have a use under normal circumstances, but fortune could strike a chord in people’s hearts. If the stakes were high enough, reverence was nothing to be afraid of.

Not even for an ordinary person, let alone for special individuals.

The only difference might be the point of interest between an ordinary person and a special one.

Special individuals were more concerned about the mystical and the unknown, both things that were related to them.

The determination of the Dark Star Society to get their hands on the bronze coffin was a signal to other special individuals that the bronze coffin was hiding a huge treasure.

The sole thought of the mystical power inside the bronze coffin would be enough to move the heart of any special individual.

The Night Demon Society would most likely aggravate the already complicated situation to get a claim on Alcatraz Island. They would definitely alter the truth and spread it around to achieve it.

With the Night Demon Society’s aggravation, Alcatraz Island would turn into a treasure island of sorts and become a great temptation for all the special individuals who had the courage to try.

However, although the final outcome might be different in the future, Alcatraz was still under the Dark Star Society’s rule for the time being.

”Men die for fortune, and birds die for food.”

Kieran sighed lightly again, reminding himself that he had to be calm and vigilant all the time.

No matter how big the reward was, it was not worth his own life.

”Those overconfident people have been blinded by their own greed. Ever since we discovered Alcatraz and sent our men over, we’ve had almost 10 cases of assault from the outside. The first was the Night Demon Society, but the others were all overconfident scums. They are like wild grass. No matter how hard we try to kill them, they keep coming back,” Frostill said as he walked up to Kieran.

He belonged to the group that was occupying the place, so his words had a hint of rage to them.

”Everything will end soon though!”

He took a deep breath to calm down.

”When you open the bronze coffin, I will be able to go back to the Dark Star Fortress! I really miss the quiet nights back there. I could sleep peacefully and not be awakened by gunfire. Sometimes I really regret discovering Alcatraz in the first place!” Frostrill said in a joking tone.

Kieran’s heart skipped a beat.

According to his speculations, the Dark Star Society member who had discovered Alcatraz had to be the one who was associated with Fenkes.

Was it Frostrill?

The thought was shocking and unexpected.

The short journey there had allowed Kieran to get a deeper understanding of Frostrill’s identity.

He was not some lower rank member of the Dark Star Society, but one of its highest ranking members. His position and authority were second only to the leader of the Dark Star Society, Serdenk.

Could he be associated with Fenkes? Kieran could not believe it. Unless Frostrill wanted to betray Serdenk, it would serve him no good.

No matter the special society, a high position always depended on its leader’s strength.

In other words, as long as the Night Demon and the Dark Star Society’s leaders were still alive, their position and power would be extraordinary among special individuals.

”Maybe Frostrill is confident that he can overtake Serdenk once he acquires the things inside the bronze coffin.”

It was the only logical explanation that Kieran could come up with.

He pressed on with a new question without the slightest change in his expression.

”Frostrill, how did you discover Alcatraz’s secret? I’d never believe a prison island would hide something like this if it wasn’t for the Warden’s personal invitation,” Kieran said.

”Gilfren Hatch! I wanted to recruit him to our society once. He was under the spotlight for a long time, even more so when he was locked up in Alcatraz. He was not the kind of person who would willingly stay inside a cell,” Frostrill replied.

”I see!” Kieran pretended to understand with a nod.

The gears in his mind were turning swiftly. Frostrill’s words made sense, but they raised suspicions in Kieran’s speculations.

Only those who were in contact with Gilfren Hatch could be associated with Fenkes, who was the new leader of the Hatch Heresy.

Kieran tried to imagine Frostrill recruiting Gilfren Hatch, but being coerced into joining the Hatch Heresy instead.

He was not sure how the two of them had divided the rewards, but he knew the situation had to be more complicated than it looked.

Fenkes could have been associated with a common member or a high ranking officer. The two outcomes would be different, although they might have seemed similar.

Kieran would still be able to slip through if it was the former, but if it was the latter, he could actually lose his life.

If he was in Frostrill’s position and really wanted to betray his own leader, in order to guarantee success, he would definitely have taken all his trusted men with him.

There also had to be others who had followed Frostrill in order to avoid raising suspicion among the Dark Star Society.

The fact that Frostrill had said that the Dark Star Society would pay a hefty cost to get Kieran to finish the tribute and open the bronze coffin implied that all the Dark Star Society members on the island were Frostrill’s men.

Frostrill would not need to cause a commotion to divert everyone’s attention. All he’d need to do was follow the original plan, and he would get what he wanted.

Frostrill’s plans were intertwined. They had already been set right from the beginning.

If Kieran lost his value to Frostrill, the outcome would be self-explanatory.

What should he do?

Kieran asked himself that question as the members of the Dark Star Society came to welcome them.

Once they arrived, Alcatraz Island would become a canyon for dragons to hide and a cave for tigers to set up their lair.

Even if Kieran had wings, he would have hardly been able to fly away unscathed.

Kieran instinctively reached for the waist pack that held the potions Simones had given him.

Two of them were [Underwater Breathing Potions]. Kieran was standing at the dock.

Frostrill was on his left, and the sea was on his right.

”I need to jump!”

As he touched the potions in his waist pack, Kieran got an idea.

Before he could act on it though, Fenkes suddenly came out of his cabin and jumped right out of the ferry.

He landed beside Kieran, forming a parallel line with him.

Kieran was sandwiched between Frostrill and Fenkes.

”Morning, 2567! Sir Frostrill!”

After a good night’s sleep, Fenkes looked very energetic. He greeted Kieran and Frostrill passionately.

Kieran smiled in reply. He knew Fenkes was ready to reveal his intentions.

A squad of Dark Star Society members was approaching fast. When they reached them, it would be time for Fenkes to remove his mask and reveal everything.

Kieran did not have much time left. He quickly inspected Frostrill, Fenkes and the ferry behind him, which was operated by Dark Star Society members.

What should he do?