The Devil's Cage

Kieran turned around and looked at Jorge.

The taxi driver was blankly looking at the scene, how the dead came back to life and was killed a second time. His face looked inconceivable, but not panicked.

When Jorge noticed Kieran's gaze, he asked in a fearful manner, "W-What happened?"

Panic was smeared over Jorge's face again, but from how Kieran viewed it, it was done deliberately.

Therefore, Kieran pointed his gun at Jorge.

The taxi driver was stunned, but soon smiled.

"So you've noticed, eh? I practiced a lot, but when it comes down to the real performance, it's not as easy as it looks! But Sir 2567, your perception is really sharp. Should I say… as expected of a shaman? You see things others don't and solve things other can't."

Without the digital alteration, the tone was strikingly similar to the voice's; thus, it was safe to say that Jorge was indeed the man behind the voice, the mastermind.

Jorge wasn't as nervous and scared like he was before; he stood there righteously, his presence strange and pressuring.

Even more so when he turned his head around and showed Kieran a smile, sending chills down one's spine.

"Can you tell me when you noticed?" Jorge asked with a smile.

He spoke as if he wasn't being pointed at by a gun, but like he was speaking to a friend.

"Don't you think it's a little bit extra?" Kieran said plainly.

"Extra? Ah, right, extra! A 'messenger' like me should've been killed after finishing my task, not standing here watching all this. What a mistake, but I really wanted to see the show up close! 2567, do you know that when you appear on the screen, you make me excited? Far more excited than anything I've ever felt!"

Jorge's smile was widening as he spoke.

Then his red tongue stuck out and licked his lips disgustingly; his eyes shined with an unknown glimmer.

"I said, don't you think this is a little extra?" Kieran ignored the disgusting look and repeated what he said.

At the same time, his finger moved towards the trigger.

"Har? Do you want to shoot me? Do you think the gun is still loaded? And.. did you forget the bomb on my body? I'm sorry to tell you, but this bomb is rigged with a reverse mechanism, which means once I die and my finger leaves this button, it will go off!"

As Jorge explained, he pulled out the little display of the bomb from his pocket. The disgusting smile on his face then had another layer of delight added to it.

"As a matter of fact, I knew you would eventually notice. That's why I prepared this. I want to see your helpless face! Compared to your organized way of solving problems, I am more looking forward to your anxious and helpless expression…"

Bang!

The gun was fired.

Jorge, with his endless words, got his crown blown off by the powerful bullet. His brains splattered, and the delightful, disgusting smile was frozen on his face.

Until his last breath, he didn't believe Kieran would really shoot him.

Was he not afraid of bombs?

Definitely! Kieran in his current condition was indeed afraid of explosives.

Similar to how he knew the gun was fully loaded based on its weight, he knew he would be blown to bits if he faced the explosion near its blast point.

Without protection of his items and equipment, his B rank Constitution was not enough; even with [Secondary Armored Skin], [Secondary Elemental Damage Resistance], it would be the same.

So, the moment Kieran pulled the trigger, he was already dashing towards the door at the side of the hall.

KaBOOM!

The whole underground structure shook fiercely like it was going to collapse at any moment.

Blazing light burst from every direction of the hall, ravaging everything in its path.

What was more terrifying was the shockwave created by the explosion.

When Kieran entered the door, the shockwave from the explosion blew his body away, sending him crashing into the wall opposite him.

If Kieran's Constitution hadn't recovered back to B rank and had [Secondary Armored Skin] as a buffer, this blow alone would have taken his life.

After suffering the blow, although he was still alive, he wasn't in any good condition.

Cough Cough Cough!!

Blood gushed out with his coughs. Kieran felt like his body was being burned, especially his right hand, which he had used to buffer the blast; the bones throughout his right hand were crushed.

Dragging his right hand and holding the gun with his left hand, Kieran stepped back into the hall.

The hall, which was extravagant and beautiful a moment ago, was blasted into ruins. The walls were charred, the pillars cracked, and flames lingered on the ground.

Jorge's body was blasted into a million pieces.

Just like what he said earlier, the bomb Jorge made was enough to level out the temporary villa Kieran was staying at, and now, with himself being in the center of the blast point, he was torn into a million pieces the moment the bomb went off.

The masked man, on the other hand, had quite the reaction though. When Kieran fired the gun, the masked man was already running towards the other door.

Unfortunately, the masked man wasn't fast enough and was caught in the blastwave.

Not only did the man suffer through a charred body, he even lost several limbs.

Bang bang!

When Kieran saw the man's body, he fired two more shots without a second thought.

The heavily charred head of the masked man was blown off, followed by his charred body, but Kieran still fired a second shot before he looked at the door the masked man originally wanted to escape toward.

Step by step, Kieran went closer to the door.

Meanwhile, behind Kieran, the headless, broken charred body suddenly moved!

It rose like a beast waiting on its prey, throwing itself at Kieran's back.

Since Kieran was already in front of the door, he didn't look back; instead, he leaned his body forward and dished out a right kick behind, along with the motion. He also fired the gun in his left hand into the door.

Bang!

The bullet flew out from the gun, hitting the man coming out the door.

The man wasn't a stranger to Kieran; he was one of the cold-looking servants from before.

The servant fell to the ground after being shot.

At the same time, Kieran moved forward because despite bursting into pieces after a kick from Kieran, the body coming from his back was much more powerful than he expected.

However, the male servant who was shot didn't really burst into pieces. Although he had died, his body remained intact.

A moment later, the servant struggled to climb up and charged towards Kieran.

Bang!

Kieran's sweeping kick precisely landed on the male servant's neck, thus sending the dead body flying backwards like a ball.

Kieran didn't spare further attention on the body and walked straight into the door.

He wasn't looking for the male servant, as it was as extra as Jorge, to the point that the extra existence revealed the plot of the mastermind.

Dak, Dak, Dak.

Just as Kieran wanted to step into the door, which only had the concrete frame intact, the rest of the male servants appeared altogether.

They were armed with weapons and stood before Kieran like a human wall, blocking his way inside.

Or more precisely…

They were protecting the person behind them, the person Kieran was looking for.

Looking through the human wall, Kieran locked his gaze on that particular person.

"Found you!"