The Devil's Cage

A tremendous explosion shook the entire building and screams followed.

The corridor, the rooms upstairs, and the hall downstairs were all filled with screams.

The sharp, irritating screams made Kieran frown the moment he walked out of the school infirmary.

Duuuu Duuuu Duuuuu!

"Attention! Attention! The school is under an unknown attack! All the students and teachers, please evacuate to your respective shelters! Repeat!"

…

Two loud sparks came from the loudspeaker in the corridor before the broadcast followed.

The screams paused.

Kieran then saw all the panicked students run upstairs, and he was dragged along by the crowd.

When he passed through the stairs, he saw the directory of the building.

1F: Hall, Office

2F: Cafeteria

3F: Activity room, School infirmary, recreation room.

4F: Multimedia room

5F: Meeting room (Temporary shelter)

…

After a quick glance at the directory, his attention was captured by a figure amidst the crowd.

The figure was a girl whose long brown hair extended below her shoulder, her white shirt neatly tucked in her black skirt with a white edge. The slightly tight shirt offset her big chest, and the short skirt perfectly covered the necessary parts and her bottom; the black stocking made her already long legs longer and straighter.

She held a katana as long as herself, and it was quite eye-catching, but what captured Kieran's attention was her movements.

While everyone else was running towards the shelter, she was moving in the opposite direction.

A single person could not oppose the majority's decision most of the time, but this girl was different.

She leaped up, stepped on a boy's shoulder, and continued forward as she jumped from shoulder to shoulder.

"Sorry! Sorry! I have to go to the cafeteria! I'm so sorry! Sorry!"

…

A few more apologetic words later, the girl vanished from sight; however, a rough and sonorous voice caught up.

"Get off! Get the hell off!"

A two-meter tall, buff man rushed down the stairs, and unlike the kind, polite girl, the man was like his voice, rough and loud. He moved around recklessly and disregarded people's safety.

The surprising thing was, the man carved out a path for himself in the middle of the panicked crowd with his body. Scoldings sounded when the rude man left.

Kieran frowned as he saw the man off.

If the first girl had to go to the cafeteria because of some matters, what about the man?

Kieran was utterly sure the man's destination was also the cafeteria.

The nervous and competitive look on the man wasn't an act when he looked at the polite girl.

"All going to the cafeteria? Is something happening there?"

Since Kieran held quite the special feeling towards cafeterias or whatever place had food, he stopped himself from being carried away by the crowd, moved towards the handrail of the stairs, and leaped over it.

In fact, not only Kieran, but also a few others amidst the swarming crowd who chose different paths.

Kieran knew what happened behind him, but he didn't care. As he got through the third floor and finally reached the second floor, an alluring scent assailed his nostrils.

Fat and coal played a symphony, cumin and chili danced in harmony.

There was also an indescribable sauce in the mix that emanated its own unique smell. The scent perfectly combined with the fatty mutton in the fire.

Roast meat!

Kieran's eyes shone.

"Is there a barrier around here?"

Kieran looked at the stairs connecting the second and third floors.

He was confident that with his Intuition, this kind of rich scent should not escape his nose even if it was miles away, let alone a few flight of stairs.

And if he had picked up the scent earlier, the panicked crowd wouldn't have been able to drag him away!

It was no joke because eating was priority!

Kieran hastened his steps without further ado.

However, when he entered the cafeteria, there was already someone else there.

It wasn't the girl or the man from before, but a figure wrapped in complete darkness.

The dark figure stood in front of a charcoal stove.

On top of that stove was a big piece of fatty mutton that gradually turned golden. The dark figure held a pair of chopsticks.

"Good sense of smell! Didn't think the new batch of students would hold…"

"Get away!"

Kieran pushed the figure away rudely before the figure could even finish.

Wuuu!

The figure was sent flying as an air-whistle sounded behind him. As if he were hit by a train, he crashed through the window, eventually turning into a small dot and vanishing beyond sight.

Since the figure had been holding the chopsticks, it meant he was going after the mutton, and whosoever dared to touch Kieran's food would be his enemy, regardless of whether it was a man or woman!

Chang!

The metallic blade collided with its sheath, its force starting to build up, and once it was completely drawn, it would make a sharp and fierce strike. Or so Leanna thought.

Before her katana was fully drawn, a palm touched the hilt and pressed it backward.

Kak!

The katana was pressed back into its sheath. Leanna wanted to struggle, but the power from the palm was too strong, to the point that she couldn't even resist.

A black shadow then appeared before her eyes. It was… a forehead?!

A headbutt?!

The moment the thought formed, Kieran headbutted her right in the forehead.

Bang!

Leanna was instantly drowned in dizziness. She didn't faint, as his forehead hit the bridge of her nose, but blood rolled down her nostrils.

'A concussion! And a broken nose!' she thought before she passed out.

The big and tall Marick was stunned when he saw Leanna get knocked out with a single headbutt. He couldn't understand how a newbie who just got into school and hadn't even eaten 'Fast Food' knocked out a person with a headbutt, but it didn't stop him from charging towards the roast meat.

The roast meat was the pinnacle of 'Bento' class food, it was almost at the level of a 'Proper Meal'!

It wasn't something common even in Theorate, so Marick must eat it!

The scent at the tip of his noise triggered an irresistible hunger that spread throughout his body and started to drown his sanity.

His eyes were red as he charged towards the charcoal stove, but just as he wanted to reach for the mutton with his hand, a strong palm grabbed the back of his neck.

"Don't drool on my food!"

As the cold words sounded in his ears, Marick felt like his world toppled upside down.

Bang!

Throwing just another person who had ill-intentions toward his food on the floor, Kieran slowly walked back to the roast mutton without even caring how many broken bones Marick suffered.

He took the chopsticks, grabbed a small piece, and shoved it into his mouth.