The Devil’s Cage

The blade chimed lightly as the black figure pulled out his sword.

The long sword didn’t even have a slight glint at first. It was black and gloomy, just like a burned wooden stick.

However, as the blade chimed, it started to glow green. Not jade green, which symbolized life energy, but a darker green with a hint of gray.

The gloomy green blade made Kieran feel uncomfortable.

He unconsciously frowned as he looked at the odd-looking sword. Just as his brow furrowed, something happened. The blood flooding the floor suddenly started burning.

The flames were not red, but bright green!

The color was similar to the color of the blade.

The green flames flew off like swallows returning to their nest, attracted by an unusual force, and gathered around the black figure’s sword.

Kieran shivered a bit and wanted to pull the trigger, but what happened next shocked him even more than the green flames.

The black figure threw his sword forward nervously, as if avoiding a plague. Then he turned around and jumped up through the big hole on the roof.

”Run!” he warned Kieran before he left.

Although Kieran didn’t know what had caused the scene before him and he did not believe the black figure, his instinct told him that he had to overcome the danger.

[Primus Scale]! [Crow-Like Agility]!

His leather wristband flashed and covered his body with a defensive force field barrier.

The feather mantle shook lightly as Kieran flew like an arrow let loose.

The moment he flew out of the house…

BOOM!

There was a huge explosion!

A giant green fireball rose up in the dark sky. It was over three meters in diameter, and pieces of wood, debris and bones were swirling in the powerful energy stream around it.

It exploded in all directions, firing debris everywhere. The force was even more powerful than a loaded crossbow firing an arrow.

Its air-breaking speed sent the debris flying, and everything within a 50-meter radius was caught in the explosion.

Kieran, who was sprinting away with all his might, was also sent flying.

The Powerful [Primus Scale] Defense protected him from the explosion though.

He was unharmed, but when he turned around and faced the scene, he was flooded by panic.

If he had not escaped from the blast point of the explosion in time, he might have suffered heavy damage.

The crater created on the ground by the blast was as deep as two meters and allowed Kieran to understand how powerful the explosion had been.

The house had had about eight rooms, and they were all gone!

”It was a trap! A trap set up for the black figure! Both parties are unusually familiar with each other! I just happened to be here and get caught in the crossfire!”

As Kieran recalled the explosion, he smiled bitterly.

Then he turned around right away and went looking for the tall bloated man, who was buried under the debris, in hope of finding more clues.

Although everything seemed like a coincidence, the green flames reminded Kieran of Calkin and his wagoner and the green goo they’d left behind after dissolving.

Besides, Calkin’s description of the house had been too precise. It had not seemed like a lie that had been thought up on the spot.

Of course, it might have been a mere coincidence, but what if it wasn’t?

The thought made Kieran rush up to the debris. He could clearly see the tall bloated man buried under the bricks.

After he moved away the beam on top of him, the man’s swollen forehead was revealed.

”He crashed his head and passed out, then got buried under the bricks… Maybe the bricks saved him from the shock of the explosion. What a lucky bastard!”

Kieran grabbed his bloated body and carried it on his shoulder.

Then he sprinted towards the darkness.

As he left, the patrol police arrived to the scene one step too late again. They didn’t even notice him.

...

By the time Kieran reached Herbert’s place, it was already 3 a.m. in the morning.

Other than Herbert, who was still up writing, only the bodyguards were awake, keeping watch in shifts.

Joanna and the cooking maid were already asleep in the tent.

Harold was snoozing off beside the campfire with a long sword in his arms.

The young man had insisted on keeping watch, but he didn’t seem to be faring well.

When Herbert saw Kieran carrying the big man, he put his pen down and said jokingly, ”Look what you’ve got there!”

”Something good!”

Kieran threw the big man down. He was as heavy as he looked, maybe even heavier.

If he hadn’t had to carry him, Kieran could have reached Herbert’s place earlier.

”There was also something else!”

Kieran told Herbert about everything that had happened, including about Calkin and his wagoner.

He was hoping to get some help from Herbert’s expertise. Herbert was a knowledgeable scholar after all, so he might have an idea about what had happened to Calkin and his wagoner.

Even if Kieran had kept that to himself, when the big guy woke up, he would have had something to say as well.

If that was the case, why not solve the problem right away?

”Their faces looked as if they’d been burned off? They seemed kind of rotten, but still able to maintain their sanity? Their skin could withstand common knives and sharp objects? What kind of beings would those be? It seems like they share some similarities with a legendary monster! No, no, no, that monster would be way stronger! That’s…” Herbert mumbled to himself as he fell into that trance Kieran had seen before.

Kieran just shrugged.

Based on his previous experience, when Herbert entered that trance, all he could do was wait.

Although Kieran was longing for a final answer, judging by Herbert’s mumbling, the man had to have some clue about the changes on Calkin and his wagoner.

”What a long night!”

Kieran added two more pieces of wood to the campfire, looking at the sparks flying around. Then he let out a long breath and closed his eyes, trying to take a catnap.

He knew there would only be more things waiting for him the next day.

Of course, he still remained vigilant. The big guy was still unconscious beside them after all.

If he woke up, the other two guards might not be a match for him, even if they used their weapons.

After repeatedly crashing through doors and walls, he was mostly unscathed, except for his swollen forehead, where the beam had fallen and knocked him out.

After a quick check over the big guy’s body, Kieran knew that he had displayed tremendous defensive abilities.

Such abilities were enough to raise more questions in Kieran’s mind.

”Did he undergo a mutation like Calkin and his wagoner?” he thought as he relaxed.

Other than the sparks by the campfire, the whole place was silent.

When the bodyguards switched shifts again, the morning light expelled the last piece of darkness from the sky.

A new day had begun.

Joanna, who had just woken up, suddenly cried out in shock.

The young girl was looking in the distance, where seven fully-armed men were walking, heading their way.

Even farther than that, as far as the young girl’s eyes could reach, more men were headed towards Herbert’s place.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Here comes the candidates (Calvary)...