The Devil’s Cage

The atmosphere in the barber shop had turned icy cold thanks to Mr. Big’s cold stare and his men’s malicious intent.

Larry, on the other hand, looked very worried about the situation before them. After all, it had already exceeded their expectations. Although Kieran and Larry had anticipated Mr. Big to be quite familiar with Sphendix, they had not predicted that he would have such a deep understanding of the company and have even planted a mole in it.

Larry had already drawn the same conclusion as Kieran. He was not that stupid after all. However, that conclusion increased his fear and panic even more, as it meant that their bluff would be coming to an end.

In other words, they would die.

Once the thought had begun to bloom in Larry’s head, he could not help but start mumbling in gibberish and unconsciously look at Kieran.

Larry saw that Kieran was as calm as ever and had not even batted an eyelid at the desperate situation before them.

Larry’s heart calmed down in an instant. He had witnessed too many amazing feats from Kieran in one day, and no doubt it had boosted his confidence. Larry mistaken Kieran’s exceptional calmness for Kieran having everything under control.

He quickly calmed down and waited for him to turn the situation around and get them out of that difficult position. Larry’s eyes were filled with anticipation as he looked at Kieran.

Kieran, however, did not notice his anticipation. He was quite busy at the moment, his whole mind focused on coming up with an argument to persuade Mr. Big. He had come up with one within ten seconds. It was an extremely hard feat even for him. If the argument that he came up with was not enough to convince Mr. Big, he would have to fight a hard battle, him against Mr. Big and all of his men. That potential battle could be lethal for Kieran.

The five gunners before him were not a big deal, and the buff man beside Mr. Big might look intimidating at first glance, but he was not much of a threat compared to the snipers outside of the shop.

A couple dozen of scopes were circling around on Kieran’s back, every single one of them from a sniper. Kieran was familiar with that feeling, because he had been targeted by a sniper before. However, even he did not have the confidence to dodge a dozen sniper shots.

Snipers aside though, there were still plenty more of Mr. Big’s men on the street. Those men would swarm Kieran like bees if he went out and cover his whole body.

Unless Kieran could produce a shield that could make them hesitate to attack him for fear of hurting someone else.

Mr. Big!

”Five steps! Mr. Big has purposely chosen such a distance so he can be within his men’s protection. The buff guy and the other five gunners will stop me or Larry if we make any sudden moves, and their interference will give the snipers outside enough time to shoot us into sieves!”

Kieran was considering the possibility of capturing Mr. Big by calculating the distance between them. It was not encouraging, yet he was willing to risk it.

He still has his ace card, [Primus Arm]. The legendary equipment was enough to give him a ray of hope. Kieran took a deep breath and got ready to strike.

Just as he was readying his muscles though, a series of rushed footsteps came from outside the shop and the door was pushed open.

The small bell above the door frame chimed clearly as it came into contact the door.

A thin man came in with a newspaper, heading straight for Mr. Big.

”Mr. Big, there’s been another beast attack!” the thin man said, passing the newspaper to Mr. Big.

As Mr. Big took it, the thin man walked to the washing area.

A couple of seconds later, the man came out with a map in his hand and opened it up before Mr. Big.

A total of three separate locations had been marked down on the minted map of the city.

The locations had been labeled as ”Sidney”, ”Courtney”, and ”Paul”. The names were still fresh in Kieran’s memory. As soon as he saw them, he recalled that they were the names he had read in the newspaper, in the articles about the beast attacks. The thin man had reminded Kieran of the names, but below the markings were also detailed descriptions of the incidents.

The thin man put a fourth marking on the map, labeled ”Redecker”.

After he wrote down the name, he added a description.

”Munched down until only the head remained, lots of blood and minced flesh around the area, but the main body parts were all eaten.”

The description was much more detailed that the ones in the newspaper, and from start till end, the men showed no intention of hiding anything from Kieran. They acted as if he was not even there.

After the thin man wrote down the description, he went beside Mr. Big, letting Kieran see everything.

The man had written down the name and description with a black ballpoint pen, which seemed to appear oddly obvious on the map, especially where he had circled the spots that the beast attacks had occurred.

It was very obvious to Kieran, and somewhat dazzling.

The first marking, ”Sidney”, branched out at 45 degrees to the second marking, ”Courtney”. Courtney’s location branched out to the right and led to ”Paul”, followed by the newest and fourth marking, ”Redecker”, which branched out in a parallel line.

Kieran unconsciously looked at the spot parallel to ”Courtney” after he observed all four markings. If he used a pen to connect all the locations, they would form an upside down pentagon. Using his [Mystical Knowledge], Kieran connected the markings mentally and formed a pentagram.

A reverse pentagram.

”A magic circle?” Kieran squinted at his new discovery. He was approaching the truth behind all the beast attacks.

”What’s Sphendix up to this time? None of the victims were related to him! This is so not his style! Are you sure about this?” Mr. Big asked as he looked at the thin man.

”Yes, Mr. Big! The victims had no connection to Sphendix, or to each other, whether that would be a hobby, personality trait, or occupation. They had absolutely nothing in common!” the thin man answered Mr. Big’s question seriously.

Kieran opened his mouth, his voice attracting the gazes of everyone in the room.

”Sphendix doesn’t need that, he’s just targeting people randomly. Anyone who appears at the wrong place at the wrong time can be that unlucky fellow!”

”Very well said, but you don’t have any proof to support your words! Besides, you still have not shown me your leverage! I’ll let you die beautifully, exactly the way you spoke now!”

Mr. Big was not happy with Kieran’s interruption. Frowning, he gave Kieran a last ultimatum.

”Proof?”

Kieran gave a snort of contempt at Mr. Big’s use of the word ”proof”. Proof was useful to people who served justice. Mr. Big was no man of justice. His invasive aura and contempt only accepted results.

Kieran was not going to argue with Mr. Big. Instead, he would provide him with the results he was looking for.

Kieran pointed at a spot on the map that was not marked yet and said, ”The leverage and proof that you want so much is there!”