The Devil’s Cage

The inspector was stunned up for a while before the realization hit him. He turned around and stared at his temporary aide.

As for the aide?

He was still pale and frightened but when the inspector looked at him, the paleness remained but the fright vanished without a sign and was replaced by a mannerly smile.

“Inspector Oaker, please leave us for a while, I need to speak with Mr. Ethan Hunt alone.”

The temporary aide said in an official tone.

The inspector didn’t reply or further express himself though, he gave a dissatisfied grunt before leaving the room.

Bang!

The door was slammed hard. The bang that echoed throughout the room sounded like the inspector’s raging roar, it was furious and helpless.

Kieran’s sharp senses still heard the inspector’s furious punch on the wall outside the corridor.

He couldn’t do anything but shake his head silently.

It was hard for those who endured life’s trials and those who didn’t fall into despair when they were suddenly faced with the harshness of reality. If they didn’t waver, they would emerge as true warriors.

These kinds of people should be admired and deserved respect from everyone but most of the time, no one understood them.

Kieran showed understanding of the inspector’s position but his understanding didn’t make him forget who he was at the moment.

He was Ethan Hunt, a special agent… No, a villainous gangster who sought to rapidly expand his influence. He was no longer the 2567 that held the title of Bird of Death.

So, when he looked at the aide, his eyes were bold and rash, vicious and hostile.

“Speak? What right do you have to speak to me?” Kieran laughed coldly.

“I have the right to speak to you if I am able to be here, so don’t worry about that. The reason why I am here is to confirm some matters, not to point fingers in your business but you must also show sufficient cooperation.”

The aide was fairly calm before Kieran’s vicious gaze or rather, he was a little arrogant.

He was concealing his arrogance with formality and courteous words, he was acting like a prideful king who was suddenly turned into a beggar, bowing without the slightest sincerity of begging, all he showed was a facade.

Not just hateful but disgusting, to the point that one would throw up upon witnessing it.

Kieran looked at him, he took a pen that was used for decoration and repeatedly tapped on the table.

Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak!

Each time the pen tapped on the table, its sound matched perfectly with the aide’s heartbeat.

Dak, Dak Dak!

Dak, Dak Dak!

The tapping grew louder.

The aide’s breathing was hurried and it started to get messy but the way Kieran affected him wasn’t new to the aide. Soon, the aide adjusted his breath and looked at Kieran in his calm and casual manner.

“I think… PUK!”

The aide tried to take things easy as he spoke but a chaotic aura filled with a sulphuric scent was blasted into his face, similar to a heavy hit from a baseball bat.

A mouth full of blood was spat out and that still wasn’t the end.

The gaze that followed the aura was what caused the aide to crumble.

What kind of gaze?

A gaze that could penetrate one’s heart! As if every deep and dark secret would be exposed under the sharp gaze!

The aide felt naked before Kieran’s powerful eyes!

No! Naked was an understatement!

He felt like his skin was ripped open and his blood was dripping out of his bloody body!

The aide saw a bright, sharp knife slicing his skin open from his scalp. The knife slid down his forehead and nose and continued down his lips before reaching his chin.

His weak skin was pried open together with bits of flesh and blood by a pair of nimble and agile hands. The fingers pinched and pry opened the skin and…

PULL!

His skin was torn away with his flesh!

Big chunks of flesh were torn away like a piece of beef jerky, leaving behind a clear and clean mark!

Pain!

Agony!

Excruciating cries came out from his mouth uncontrollably.

“Aaaaaargh!”

The aide cried out of agony but before he could prolong his suffering, the cries stopped abruptly because his head exploded!

SPLAT!

Brains flew all over the room, other than where Kieran was, the whole place was painted red with a dash of white.

BANG!

The gang members guarding outside the room rammed through the door after the scream. Each of them was armed and when they entered the room, they ignored the headless body on the floor and nervously looked at Kieran.

“My lord, are you fine?” Kray asked with a nervous expression.

Addressing him as “lord” was Kieran’s order, he didn’t like his men addressed him as boss or leader.

The other thing he didn’t like was the temporary aide whose head exploded.

He was nothing but a disposable scout yet he acted so confidently as if he knew everything, he even faintly showed signs of wanting to threaten Kieran.

It was suicidal for him to act like that in front of Kieran.

“I’m fine.”

Kieran waved his hand and saw the inspector who followed the crowd.

“I didn’t do this, I was sitting here the whole time and didn’t even budge. If you don’t believe me, I have the surveillance camera here to prove my words.” Kieran signaled Kray as he spoke.

Kray then quickly extracted the surveillance feed from the recorder and passed the tape to the inspector.

Oaker didn’t say anything or react badly, he took the tape and left.

He wasn’t holding in his anger or acting though, obviously, he wanted to stay out of whatever that was going on.

The realization hit Kieran as he saw Oaker off.

“As expected! The high ranking officers of Flame City must be very familiar with fiends! They didn’t just completely hand the responsibility to a professional organization like the Funeral Society, they even provided some convenience for the fiends. As long as there was no severe outcome, the authority would choose to ignore it.” Kieran took a deep breath.

He already had speculations in his mind when he took out the half-fiends or the fiend leaders that controlled the underworld of Flame City.

Following the appearance of the aide, the speculations were made clear and it was natural that Kieran got more information out of his verified speculations.

The most direct information he got out of this incident was the attitude Great Swamp used to control the city.

He wasn’t a dictator nor a tyrant, instead, he leaned towards the idea of granting the people the freedom to do whatever they wanted, thus forming an invisible control over the city.

But…

“Didn’t you know how scary people’s hearts are? Or do you have other plans?”

Kieran was deep in thought in his seat, he was waiting for the higher ranking officers of Flame City to provide him with a reply.

However, someone beat the officers to it and paid Kieran a visit.