The Devil’s Cage

Thanks to the unique noise of an ignited fuse, plus the sulphuric nitre smell that escaped when the iron door was opened, Kieran instantly guessed what was beyond the door.

Explosives!

Kieran had no idea why a person would prepare so many explosives beforehand. The only thing he knew that moment was that if he wished not to end up in pieces himself, he needed to run as fast as he could.

Kieran sprinted out of the reception door and onto the grass field at the front before suddenly…

BOOM!

An unstoppable force blasted him from the back, sweeping him off his feet and sending him flying forward like a leaf amid a raging gust of wind.

Rampant flames blasted out through every window, door and frame in an instant. Every possible exit was destroyed by the blast and the burning fire as glass debris flew all over the place.

The burning fire rose up high in the night sky, producing a thick rolling smoke.

Kieran slowly crawled up the grass field, shaking his head.

He was not hurt by any means, but the explosion had compromised his hearing, filling his ears with a deafening noise and causing him to struggle to find his balance.

Car lights flickered in the distance. Before the sharp braking noise could stop completely, Schmidt had jumped out of the Picard.

”Are you okay? 2567?” Schmidt ran up to Kieran, asking about his well-being.

”I’m fine. My ears are just ringing a little.” Kieran shook his head and turned around towards the recovery center, which was engulfed by the raging fire.

”What happened? What caused the fire?”

Schmidt was also looking at the fire, his face filled with confusion.

”I met a demon. That guy purposely chose the Gordon Recovery Center to raise the demon. I just don’t get it. Why did he set up so many explosives?”

Kieran briefly explained about his encounter with the demon before voicing his own question.

”That bastard is really crazy! How could he control something and make it self-destruct? But then… What about Louver?”

Schmidt’s sense of justice enraged him, but then he started to worry and sympathize with the young man.

As for the person who had raised the demon, neither Kieran nor Schmidt believed that he had died in the explosion. That person must have been controlling others inside the Gordon Recovery Center. There were far too many suspects.

”From the looks of things, Louver might actually have been controlled! His heart was filled with self-destructive emotions! If I was that guy, I would not have let such good material slip away. The method he used to raise that demon...”

Kieran went quiet, but Schmidt understood right away.

Bang!

Schmidt smashed his hand hard against the hood of the car and cursed, ”F*ck!”

Although Schmidt was unclear about how the demon had been raised, judging by his past experience, he knew this was bad news.

After all, a demon that was not harmful to humans was unheard of. Raising a demon could only end in a tragedy.

”I will find and kill that piece of sh*t!” Schmidt said furiously.

”We have to find him fast!” Kieran said, raising two of his fingers.

”We have two leads now. First, that list that we found in the Cursed Society’s secret room. There were two obvious things on that list, a Blood Queen Tiara and the Fantos’ manuscript. If we search for those names, we should be able to find something!”

”Second, we have the explosives before us. I don’t think that guy could have made so many explosives appear magically. He must have some secret channel for getting explosives! I think you should have some insight on those!”

Schmidt was outright and outspoken. Despite his hot temper, he would never take the bad guy’s side. Kieran believed that Schmidt had several methods to keep an eye on illegal channels for arms deals.

Explosives had to be included in those channels.

”Leave the explosives to me!” Schmidt said right away as soon as Kieran finished his words.

”Then I’ll follow the Blood Queen Tiara and the Fantos’ manuscript leads! I’m quite curious about what that person took from the Cursed Society. Those were my rewards!” Kieran said slowly in a cold tone.

A stingy person like Kieran hated having his rightful belongings taken away from him. As long as they were living under the same sky, Kieran would find that person.

After dividing up the tasks, the two of them waited for the police cruisers to arrive. Only then did they return to the city.

”I don’t want to cause a panic! If the famous ”Bird of Death” visits the station late at night, everyone will think the God of Death is at our doorstep! Our director has high blood pressure, you know. I don’t need another idiot replacing him and poking around right now! It would take me longer to cope with another idiot! Don’t worry, I’ll find you tomorrow! Good night and sweet dreams!” Schmidt said, waving goodbye at Kieran.

Kieran gave him the middle finger and started the Picard. Schmidt was laughing as he disappeared into the night.

”What trouble have you caused me this time, Rei?”

Kieran could not help but shake his head as he drove with a bitter smile on his face.

Schmidt’s mocking laugh had faded away, but it was not the end.

Kieran knew that Schmidt had no hidden intentions. It was just a joke between friends. Someone else would not have taken it as a joke though.

Others could not understand process. They only recognized results.

From the day Kieran had taken the train back to the West Coast, to 1st Black Street, the Cursed Society, the Hell Hounds, the Muller Society and lastly, to the explosion at the Gordon Recovery Center, ill omens had followed him everywhere. Or rather, death had followed him everywhere.

If it hadn’t been for Nikorei’s prophecy, those incidents would only have caused him surprise. He wouldn’t have thought too much about them though.

However, under the circumstances, they had confirmed the prophecy of the strongest shaman on the West Coast. This obviously changed everything.

When the police officers had met them at the scene, their faces had been filled with panic, contempt and fear. Kieran could not help but sigh.

A couple of the officers had seen him several times that day. They had been there to clean up every time Kieran had ended a battle. Therefore, they were the group that feared Kieran the most and the group that spread rumors of those horrifying happenings around.

Kieran had also seen a couple of others, whose fear had turned into contempt after a couple of conversations regarding Kieran.

He had wanted to explain, but before he could approach them, every single one of them had scattered away like he had the plague.

Kieran had made the wise choice to give up.

”Why are you doing this to me, Rei?” he muttered to himself.

Up until now, he had not bought the story about Nikorei’s prophecy.

However, if this was a joke, it was an obvious one. Kieran knew that Nikorei was someone who disregarded the consequences sometimes.

The old woman must have known very well what would have happened if she uttered such a prophecy about her assistant and how much trouble she would have caused him.

The Raven, the Ominous Bird, the Bird of Death, and everything else were only the beginning.

The real trouble was contained in the phrase ”Reign the land with a kingly might”.

Kieran could already imagine what situations he would have to face in the near future.

No one could laugh off something like that.

As a matter of fact, trouble had reached Kieran faster than lightning.

The accelerating Picard suddenly died, its lights going out without a warning.

The street lights also turned off, and so did the moon in the sky, which was suddenly blocked by a dark cloud.

Footsteps were heard in the darkness.

The steps seemed to be dragging and pulling against the ground.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Trouble is here, make it double!