The Devil's Cage

Was Zywane’s death related to the man in front of Kieran?

The thought popped up in his mind, making him blink in alert.

The more Kieran thought about it, the more suspicious he became.

How had Zywane died in the first place?

Being possessed by Gilfren Hatch had led to his demise, that was for sure.

But what had happened to him before he had died?

Why had Zywane headed to Gilfren Hatch’s cell so obediently and agreed to becoming a host for the man’s soul?

Zywane had not been a particularly generous person, so Kieran could not picture him giving his life for someone, let alone for a native.

Kieran speculated that he had done so unwillingly.

He could not come up with another explanation.

"If he was controlled, how was he controlled?" Kieran asked himself again.

Then he started to rearrange all the events in his mind.

"Jack’s under-the-table funding led to the prison riot, and there were gunshots everywhere. Zywane must have heard the gunshots and headed there, thinking he might trigger a Sub Mission!"

"Then he must have accidentally discovered this "special" person. After Zywane had displayed his skills and strength, the old Master Thief here must also have showed some of his specialties, attracting Zywane and deceiving him into taking a vow. It was the vow that had taken control of Zywane’s body!"

Kieran’s heart shivered. Zywane must have been an easy target as he’d anxiously been looking for a Sub Mission. All the old Master Thief would have had to do was look too unpredictable and profound to understand, and offer Zywane enough benefits, and making him fall into his trap would have had a 90 percent chance of success.

"Then…"

Kieran looked at the man on the floor and smirked.

If his speculations were right, then he could draw another conclusion.

The person before Kieran had to be Gilfren Hatch’s accomplice or subordinate.

The shaman the old man had mentioned must not even have existed at all. The magic circle that protected him from the spirits and the correct way of taking a vow, everything must have been Gilfren Hatch’s plan.

The old man must have already pledged his allegiance to Gilfren Hatch from the first time they had met.

Kieran recalled the words of the old man and took a deep breath.

The old man had seemed very concerned about his encounter with Gilfren Hatch and how he had narrowly escaped from the clutch of death. He’d kept talking about that incident. Initially, Kieran had thought that the old man had been afraid, but now it seemed like it had just been a cover-up for the old man’s tricks.

Still, his words must have had some truth to them as well.

His original goal must have been the one he’d claimed, except that when he’d joined the heretics, he must have been discovered by Gilfren Hatch.

Then Hatch must have given him two options, either serve him or die.

Obviously the old man had chosen the former.

"In order for Gilfren Hatch to be reincarnated as a half-dead, he had to use the hundreds of prisoners in Alcatraz as leverage. Although the prisoners were not exactly innocent people, how could Gilfren Hatch forgive anyone who coveted him?"

"In fact, any normal person would also have had the urge to kill if their secret had been exposed by a stranger, let alone…"

Kieran kept thinking silently as he bent down his head and activated his [Tracking].

Its precise vision allowed Kieran to easily locate the final clue he needed in order to support his speculations. Zywane’s footprints.

He had been tracking Zywane’s footprints all along the way and had already grown familiar with their shape. He could recognize them by just one look.

The set of footprints were heading in from the corridor and stopping at the spot Kieran was at, entering the cell and eventually leaving it to head towards the rest of the cell area.

After Zywane had encountered the old Master Thief, he must have entered his cell room as expected. In order to unlock the Sub Mission, he would have needed to find a certain item to make his vow.

After Zywane had finished his vow, he must have been possessed and involuntarily walked out, heading towards his final destination.

The place Zywane must have headed to must have already been prepared by Gilfren Hatch to meet the requirements for the half-dead reincarnation ritual. The place that the ritual had been held at must have had a secret passage that led to the main building of the prison.

The controlled Zywane must have returned to the building through the secret passage and entered Gilfren Hatch’s cell room.

When Lawless had blasted the cell room with his rocket launcher, Gilfren Hatch must have just finished his reincarnation ritual and taken complete control of Zywane’s body.

From then on, Zywane had been considered dead.

"I was too careless!"

Kieran was upset by the facts before his eyes. He had not initially noticed the flaws in the old man’s words, even though they had been obvious.

"I must have lost my cool thinking about the potential rewards from solving the mystery! Greed really is one of the seven sins. It doesn’t just blind one’s logic, but it can cost one’s life as well!"

Kieran mocked himself with a smile before his face suddenly turned stiff and serious.

He warned himself silently to remember this incident. He knew very well that this time he had been saved by his habit to not believe in others.

What about the next time, though?

Would he be as lucky if there was an even bigger reward placed before him?

This time, he had lost his calm because of Alcatraz’s potential rewards, and the next time he would eventually become less cautious and careful because of a bigger reward.

He could not handle this. Zywane’s fate had said it all, and Kieran did not want to follow in his footsteps.

A mild wind blew through the corridor and passed by Kieran, giving him a chill in an instant.

He noticed that his undershirt was soaked in sweat, but he didn’t know since when.

The chilling sensation made Kieran recollect his thoughts. He looked down at the man on the floor. The old man was still waiting for Kieran’s answer.

It looked like the Master Thief had the situation under control. He seemed pretty confident that Kieran would agree to his proposition.

The only doubt he had left was why Gilfren Hatch had not appeared yet, but even if he did appear, the old man would not get to meet him.

Kieran squeezed the trigger of the [M1905] in his hand.

Bang!

Before the old man could react, his head was blasted off by [Bullets of Blessing].

A faint purple glowing book appeared on the old man’s dead body.