The Devil’s Cage

The Blood Hand Society, a killer organization hidden in the shadows of the city.

More than one-third of the unsolved murders were related to this organization.

As for the remaining two-thirds, they more or less were connected as well.

Still, no one was able to catch traces or clues about this mysterious organization.

Whether was it Director Patrick or the current chief officer, John, none of them apprehended any of them.

It felt like the members of the organizations were invisible, each time they committed a murder, they would come and go without a trace, let alone finding the leader.

Even the most detailed information about the leader didn’t even state the gender of this mysterious figure. In simple words, there was nothing known about the person.

However, Herles was very pleased about that because no one would ever think the leader of such an organization would be a night watcher.

Every evening, he would push his cart loaded with oil and a ladder around the streets and alleys, refilling street lamp oil and reigniting the lamp filament and in the morning, he would go around and put them out again.

More than half of the citizens in the city knew Herles the night watcher, after all, he had been in this line of work for 20 years.

Now, this night will be his last to walk the night because after tonight he will have enough gold for retirement. He would find a beautiful place, settle down and live the rest of his life with an abundance of wealth.

When he thought about the great life waiting for him ahead, the downpour of rain before him looked more pleasant.

Herles was a person who liked rainy days, not only because it would affect people’s sight and hearing but also because it was able to cover up the smell of blood, allowing him as a killer to have enough time to arrange the crime scene perfectly, just like tonight!

No one would have thought St. Paolo School would be hit by a murder, just like no one would have thought St. Paolo had hidden a part of the treasures from the Church of Dawn.

Even Herles who proclaimed himself as the killer leader that controlled the night accidentally heard the news from one of his members.

After some investigation, the news was confirmed but the things he discovered together didn’t make him move out recklessly, instead, he chose to deal with St. Paolo School with more secretive means. The effect was quite decent.

Although it might result in losing a part of the gold, the remains would still be enough for this murderer.

At least he didn’t have to fight that scary old man that didn’t look like one… no, that didn’t look like a normal person!

Whenever Herles thought about that abnormal old man’s strength, his proud attitude couldn’t help but shiver. However, once he thought about how the old man had left the place in order to send away a portion of the gold, Herles heaved a long sigh of relief.

However, the old man would be back! But when he did return, Herles would be long gone with the remaining gold and no matter how powerful the old man was, it would be useless at that time.

Herles couldn’t hold back his smile when he thought about how smart his plan was.

Right after his smile, the explosion from far away and the blazing light that shined through the dark sky made Herles’ heart skip a beat. The unknown anxiety made him send out the signal prematurely.

Herles lit up the street oil lamp beside him, he pulled the filament up and filled the lamp with sufficient oil, making that one lamp shine brighter than the others in the rainy night.

While standing on the ladder, Herles looked towards the direction of St. Paolo School, he was anticipating a perfect ambush but…

Nothing happened.

Nothing changed within St. Paolo School under the heavy rain.

The leader of the Blood Hand Society stared straight at the illuminated small chapel beside the school field, he hoped to find his men’s figures but he couldn’t even locate their shadows.

The nervousness and anxiety in his heart grew stronger.

At the same time, a faint bloody stench that normal people would ignore instinctively entered his nose.

Without further hesitation, Herles jumped down from the ladder and ran towards the escape route that he had planned beforehand.

Herles who hadn’t been caught for so many years didn’t just rely on his disguise and exceptional abilities but also because he had vigilance that no one else had.

No matter how high the success rate was, Herles would definitely think about what he would do should he fail.

A wagon was waiting for him at the end of the street. Inside the wagon was a sufficient amount of rations, food, and essential currencies but before Herles could get to the wagon, he was forced to a stop with an ugly look.

The closer he got to the wagon, the heavier the bloody stench was.

It was obvious what it meant.

“Who is it? Show yourself? Herles yelled, looking like he was ready to go all out.

However the moment the words escaped his mouth, the leader of the Blood Hand Society swiftly backed up, not turning around to run, but maintaining his forward posture and tip-toeing backward.

Despite his posture looking strange, he wasn’t slow at all, especially when he drew out the dual guns that packed threatening firepower.

Then, a huge force appeared behind Herles! Herles who kept backing away felt like he crashed into a speeding truck and was sent flying forward a dozen meters, falling before the wagon and unable climb back up again.

Kieran who controlled his strength didn’t really kick the man to death.

Kieran had gotten a clear understanding of the situation from the Wayne family member’s confession. Herles in front of him had more insider information than the Wayne family member and even though he was the guy who leaked the news about the treasure of the Church of Dawn to Herles, in the follow-up investigation, the Wayne family member wasn’t involved.

Even the plan that happened tonight, the Wayne family member only knew about it after dark.

Based on his confession, he was just an outer ring member of the Blood Hand Society initially and through some kind of coincidence, the Wayne family member had gotten the news from a certain direct heir to the dukeship. It was after that he was promoted to core member as an exception.

Kieran didn’t make any decisive judgments regarding the matter he believed the Wayne family member’s promotion was an exception and also believed the man had gotten the news from a certain direct heir to the dukeship.

However, none of them mattered anymore. Even if the matters were intentionally concealed, it wouldn’t matter to Kieran anymore.

But, Kieran didn’t believe that the certain direct heir to the dukeship died in such a timely manner, which was shortly after the old Duke Wayne went missing, thus ultimately allowing a useless straw bag to inherit the position of the duke.

So, Kieran planned to get more information from Herles. He went up to Herles and picked him up.

Herles whose spine was broken was like a puppet off its strings, allowing Kieran to pick him up without the slightest struggle.

“Release me! I…”

BANG!

A thin gunshot interrupted Herles’s words and with Kieran’s intentional controls, the bullet only grazed Herles’s shoulder and landed on the carriage of the wagon beside them.

When he saw the bullet mark on the carriage, Herles who didn’t have the ability to struggle anymore started to scream out of panic.

“Take me! Take me away quickly! I’ll tell you what you wanted to know! I’ll give you what you seek as well! Everything! Just take me away!”

Amid his begging, Herles didn’t sound like a ruthless leader of a killer organization but a normal night watcher.

It wasn’t an act but authentic emotions from the man. It might seem like a pretentious act at first but after a while it became authentic.

Human habits were exactly the same as human desire, they were all scary.

Listening to Herles’s begging, Kieran turned a deaf ear and his eyes turned towards the source of the gunshot.