The Devil’s Cage

The ones who bore malicious intent and hid in the shadows felt their hearts tighten all of a sudden.

“No way!”

“It must be just a fire at Wayne’s manor!”

“That’s right, it must be just a common fire!”

They were comforting themselves with wishful thoughts.

It was not something odd or strange though, humans would naturally reject any ominous feelings out of instinct, just like the reluctance to face death.

They run from it, fear it, and dread it as much as they can. But in the end, it’s all useless.

What was bound to happen would eventually come and nothing would be able to stop it.

No matter how many reasons or excuses they made up, it would end the same because from the beginning to the end, they had no idea whose tail they stepped on.

So did the newly ascended Duke Wayne.

Outside the manor, the winds were roaring, the rains were downpouring but inside the grand hall, it was as warm as spring and under the beautiful lighting and music, the people were dancing happily.

The new Duke Wayne had smiles on his face, raising his glass up occasionally.

For the new Duke Wayne, the scene before his eyes wasn’t just any dinner but it was the crucial moment where would pronounce himself as the newly ascended leader of the family.

So, the scene was extravagant, luxurious yet dignified and stern.

The fully armed guards stationed around the manor weren’t just for show or scaring the outsiders but they were also there to suppress the other family members who showed ‘smiles’ on their face.

The new Duke Wayne knew the other family members weren’t convinced of him and the emotions would stay for quite some time in the future but what else could they do?

After all, he has taken the position of the new duke and the new leader of the family, the entire Wayne family now viewed him as the leader.

The moment he had beaten the other members in his family to seize command of the family guards, everything had been decided.

“Bunch of morons!”

When the new duke recalled how the once competitors tried to rope him in after the old duke’s death, his heart was filled with contempt and disdain.

He had had enough of the days of being pushed around here and there, so how could he let the chance before him slip away?

The contempt and disdain in his heart didn’t stop the new Duke Wayne from raising his glass, toasting at the competitors and losers before him.

Though his smile became extremely prideful, the losers in the eyes of the new duke were no different than disowned dogs. All the valuable properties of his competitors were collected and all they could own now was a single penthouse in the city.

“Thank me and my merciful soul that I didn’t drive all of you away and eliminate every one of you!”

The thought that bloomed in the new duke’s heart made him more and more arrogant and it also made the other Wayne family members more and more nervous and panicked.

They didn’t forget about the fact that the new duke before them wasn’t a merciful person, those other members who didn’t comply with his commands were buried in the family graveyard long ago.

The family members that were present at the dinner were the ones who pledged their loyalty to him.

Looking at the other members who weren’t convinced of him yet afraid, the new duke really wanted to laugh out loud, he was very satisfied with the scene before his eyes.

Wasn’t the situation the exact thing that he so sought after?

However, soon enough the new duke’s delightful mood went away.

After a certain attendant whispered in the duke’s ear, the new duke left the hall with an ugly look.

Looking at the new duke’s back, the Wayne family members were relieved but when they thought about the ugly look on the new duke’s face, they became nervous again.

The ones who were alive and able to stand at the dining hall, each of them was frightened to death by the new duke without a doubt and even their own emotions were affected by the new duke’s mood.

Such people would not have any foreseeable future to speak off.

As for the new duke?

His roaring came out from the study room.

“Damn it! Didn’t I tell you to find some skilled man to kill the old nun? How could it fail?”

The enraged new duke smashed the glass on his personal attendant’s head.

Pak!

The glass was shattered and the attendant’s head was bleeding.

“My lord, I’ve searched for the two best killers in the city but who would’ve known they would die silently in an alley! Fret not my lord, I…”

Before the attendant could finish, he passed out on the ground and revealed the figure behind him.

“Who are you!”

The new duke shouted at the figure and reached out to his drawer, trying to pull out the flintlock pistol.

Kieran looked at the new duke’s action and he couldn’t hold back his slightly shaking head.

Compared to the old Duke Wayne, the new one wasn’t just lacking one or two characteristics.

Whether was it his temper, character or the ability to judge the situation, it was on a completely different level.

Bang!

With a hood on his head, covering half of his face, Kieran kicked the duke on the groin without the slightest courtesy.

“Ouch! Do you know who I am? I am… Aaaargh!”

After being kicked on the floor, the childish duke didn’t even forget to threaten Kieran with his identity but Kieran quickly made him realize the situation.

Pak!

One of the fingers on his right hand was snapped and the new duke was crying in pain.

“Shut up!” Kieran yelled at him.

The new duke, however, didn’t shut up but his cry got even louder.

Pak!

Another finger was snapped by Kieran and when Kieran chose the third to snap, the new duke finally shut up.

“I ask, you answer. Other than sending two killers after the sister, what else did you do to St. Paolo?” Kieran asked.

“I…I…Argggh!”

The new duke was a little hesitant but what he got in reply was a third broken finger.

“I didn’t do anything! All I did was send killers! To avenge the old duke and it is a duty that I have to fulfill as the new duke, it isn’t my own will!”

When Kieran picked up the fourth finger, the new duke was spilling out the details while he cried his heart out.

“You didn’t leak the secret of the treasures of Dawn?” Kieran asked.

“Treasures? What treasures?” The new duke was slightly stunned.

Kieran raised a brow at the new duke’s reaction, he wasn’t lying.

The new duke was such a useless straw bag and he definitely couldn’t cover it up to this extent, which means what the old duke did in the sewers, the Wayne family members didn’t know?

No, no, no, not the family members but only the new duke in front of him.

Otherwise, it couldn’t explain the fact that the treasure’s secret was leaked.

Sister Moni and Guntherson would never have leaked it and for the other related personnel, they knew what they should do after forming a contract.

Only the family members of Duke Wayne would relate to something from him being missing and presumed death but the new duke before Kieran…

Kieran didn’t think he had such capabilities.

Dak, Dak, Dak, Dak!

A quick and messy series of footsteps approached quickly. The new duke who was crying like a baby instantly turned arrogant.

“My men are here! I will make you pay for what you did! I will let you understand what will become of you when you offended me, Duke Wayne…”

Bang!

Kieran lifted his leg and sent the new duke flying away.

The agonizing moan that came from the duke when he hit the study room door, the commotion made the guards move even faster.

When Kieran saw the overlapping figures in the corridor, he didn’t feel surprised at all.

Since Kieran didn’t stop the duke’s crying, he knew what was coming for him.

Huu!

A giant fireball appeared in Kieran’s hand.

The guards froze!

The guards who were still charging in courageously a moment ago were frozen like they were struck by a petrifying spell. They widened their eyes, looked at the fireball in Kieran’s hand.

The guards who were just normal humans had never witnessed such an unimaginable scene before.

How could a man control fire? It was a feature of the devil!

The fear of the unknown started to spread rapidly. Before Kieran could take any further actions, the guards started to flee, faster than they came but how could they outrun the flying fireball?

KABOOM!

The flame waves that exploded in all directions devoured the running crowd as it rumbled fiercely. The whole floor was being washed by flames, followed by the whole building.

The flames ignored the rain showers, burning fiercely in the night.

Soon, the entire manor plunged into a sea of fire.

A bunch of panic-stricken Wayne family members were looking at the manor absent of actions.

Only when the guards reminded them, they reacted to the situation.

“Put out the fire!”

“Put out the fire!”

The crowd shouted.

The whole scene was chaotic and messy, none of them noticed one of their family members revealing a cold smile at them.

Likewise, none of them including the one with the cold smile noticed the hand that came out from the shadows, grabbing the smiling Wayne member and pulling them into the dark.