The Devil’s Cage

Schmidt covered his stomach and kneeled on the floor to throw up.

He was certain that the bastard before him had done it on purpose. Such a punch to the abdomen could only be achieved through special training.

The pile of vomit before him was his breakfast, which he had puked all over Tally’s carpet. She was really pissed off.

”Stop it, Marco! I did not ask you to show off!” Tally stopped the man, who was preparing his fist for another round of beating Schmidt.

Marco was taller by a foot, and his physique was much bigger than the average grown man’s.

Even the loose suit on him looked tight around his muscles.

Those wide palms and strong fingers of his ripped off a corner of Tally’s desk, showing off his strength. He clenched his fist as powder fell from the corner of the desk through the gaps of his fingers, as if the desk was made of chalk.

”Pardon me, Landsky. You know I can’t control myself sometimes,” Marco apologized insincerely before he walked towards the chair behind Tally’s desk and sat down in her seat.

His substantial weight made the solid chair let out a screech.

”Do you really need to waste so much energy on this piece of trash?”

Marco was looking at Schmidt, who was struggling to stand up with a disdainful expression.

”A year and a half ago, you were trash yourself. Don’t you forget it!” Tally grunted coldly.

”So what? I am not the man I was back then. I’ve been reborn! I will become the strongest warrior there is!” Marco sounded upset at first, but then he went on as if he did not care about her comment.

”You should show me some respect. It would be best for you to do so, regardless of your current position or the one you wish to have in the future. Don’t forget, most high-ranking officials were not satisfied with you. Me? I am the chosen one among thousands, I will soar up to the sky soon!”

Marco mocked Tally before his ego took over.

”Maybe you will soar up to the sky soon, but right now you are just my assistant! The reason I called for you is to show Schmidt my leverage!”

Tally laughed, not holding back the fact that Marco hated the most. The fact that he was the director’s assistant. Infuriated by the reminder, he flipped the desk away and dashed towards Tally angrily. He wanted to tear the woman apart limb by limb.

Marco had acquired strength beyond the imagination of any human in a short period of time by using some special methods. It had come at a price though. He might be as strong as an ox, as quick as a swallow, immune to small caliber firearms and able to recover from body injuries quickly, but he had lost control of his emotions in exchange for that.

Once he lost control completely, he would also lose his sanity. As the director’s assistant, he was bound by a pair of special shackles.

Tally was the one who controlled his shackles, so when she saw Marco rushing towards her, she was not afraid. She slowly turned the ring on her right index finger.

The silver metal ring suddenly emitted a red flash.

Marco, who had been a raging ox a moment ago, turned into an obedient dog.

All he could do was grunt and moan in dissatisfaction.

Tally ignored Marco, who was now crawling around on the floor, and turned her attention to Schmidt, who looked shocked.

”Who… Who the hell is he?”

The director and her assistant had not hidden anything from Schmidt as they’d talked. Schmidt, who had a certain degree of understanding about mystical practices, could make some guesses, but he could not believe what he was seeing.

”An alchemy-enhanced human!” Tally told Schmidt.

”How dare you do something like this? Have you forgotten about the Blood Moon 200 years ago?” The sense of justice in Schmidt’s heart made him shout at Tally.

Alchemy-enhanced humans were not rare in the mystical realm, but they were forbidden. The transformation process was inhumanly cruel and it had a low success rate. Such a transformation could create an insane, bloodthirsty monster.

Two hundred years ago, before the current government system had been implemented, a lord had been ruling over the West Coast. The uncontrollable, bloodthirsty monsters had destroyed almost the whole coast.

The powerful society that had created those monsters had also been destroyed following the monster uprising. The monsters had started to attack any human or animal within their sight. Any living being became their target.

The kingdom capital had been breached in just two weeks. More than 100,000 lives had been lost during that period.

Generals, soldiers, civilians, nobles, elderly people, children, men, women, no one had survived.

The societies with tremendous mystical power had paid an even heavier price.

When the kingdom’s armies had been completely destroyed, those mystics who did not wish to die had to go to the frontline and fight the monsters created by their peers.

The war had lasted for over two years. In the end, the mystics had won, but their glory days had been numbered.

The strong kingdom of the West Coast had disappeared in the sands of history.

The mystical societies had come to a tacit agreement, forbidding any human experiment related to alchemy spells. Anyone who violated that rule would not be forgiven.

As the new agreement was formed, so was the new government that replaced the old kingdom.

However, the long-lasting war had affected the whole country, leaving behind battle scars all along the West Coast.

The Blood Moon!

People who had survived the war called it the Blood Moon.

”You people want to destroy the West Coast again?” Schmidt yelled in outrage, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

”No, of course not! Technology advances with time, and so do alchemy spells related to human experiments. After we…”

As Tally countered Schmidt’s argument, she did not notice her silver ring. The red flash was dimming as she spoke. Schmidt did not notice it either.

When Marco stood up with a vicious smile, their faces turned pale in sudden fear.

Tally was looking at her ring incredulously. Schmidt instinctively wanted to pull his gun out, but before he could, Marco was already in front of him.

”DIE, YOU PIECE OF TRASH!” he shouted.

A fist as heavy as a hammer struck Schmidt’s skull hard.

Schmidt unconsciously closed his eyes. He knew that, considering Marco’s strength, a punch on his skull would only result in his brains splatting all over the place. He could not think of any other possible outcome.

The anticipated pain did not come though.

”Trash? Trash like you really deserve to die!” a familiar voice said from beside Schmidt.

2567!

Schmidt opened his eyes in surprised delight.