The Devil's Cage

Kieran was quite shocked as he looked at the kneeling J. Pearlman.

The blurred out face kept Kieran from seeing properly, but J. Pearlman's eyes were dull and lifeless, as if his soul was being sucked out. He knelt there helplessly, allowing those outer ring members to scold, insult, and even beat him.

Beside them were four high-rankers with a powerful presence, who stood there and watched it happen. They didn't stop the outer ring members, neither did they join them.

Kieran saw confusion in the high-rankers' eyes.

No doubt the high-rankers, who were also the official members of Freedom Alliance, maintained a sense of rationality. Their clear minds prevented them from taking any impulsive action, thus allowing them to judge J. Pearlman from a fair angle.

When they saw Kieran, the four high-rankers maintained their politeness.

"Sir 2567."

The biggest, tallest of them all with a two-handed sword on his back walked over and greeted Kieran on behalf of his comrades.

"Em," Kieran nodded as his eyes were locked on J. Pearlman.

"Fisherman here killed the leader, he confessed himself. We don't know what happened but someone heard Fisherman arguing with the leader."

The tall man obviously knew what Kieran wanted to ask, so he quickly spilled the beans.

"He confessed it himself?" Kieran asked.

"Yes, from his very own mouth." As the man nodded, the others around him echoed his action.

"A few of us heard the argument between J. Pearlman and Lord Amilian. We couldn't tell what they were arguing about, but it was fierce. Then, Lord Amilian screamed. We barged in and saw him turn into particles, while J. Pearlman stood there blankly, mumbling things like 'It is I who killed you'."

A few of the outer ring members who were responsible for some of the secret watchpoints came up and elaborated on the situation.

Kieran slightly frowned.

According to these few members, J. Pearlman was indeed the killer, but it was just their own words.

Kieran tended to believe himself more, he looked down at the dispirited J. Pearlman.

"J. Pearlman, did you kill Amilian?"

J. Pearlman didn't react to Kieran's question, as if he silently acknowledged it.

It infuriated the outer ring members even more when they saw his reaction.

"Kill him!"

"Kill this traitor!"

"Avenge Lord Amilian!"

The outer ring members were very attached to the Freedom Alliance, they also looked up to the late leader.

While isolated, the human heart will breed fear, but when the numbers went up, fear will disperse and 'courage' will replace the empty spot.

One of the members who had just voiced his anger suddenly drew his sword and swung it at J. Pearlman's neck.

But…

The outer ring member froze on the spot; not literally, but he was clouded by Kieran's killer intent.

Under the solid gaze that had slaughtered myriads of souls, the outer ring member, who was just slightly stronger than a normal player, trembled and drenched in his own sweat.

Then…

Pak!

The sword fell out of his hand and he himself landed on his butt on the ground, limping and panting heavily; his combat abilities were completely robbed.

The members of the Freedom Alliance had heard about Kieran's reputation.

Whether it was the Unique Title recognized by the system, Blade of the Daybreaker, or the titles circulated between players, the Flaming Devil, Flame Emperor, or even the newest and playful Treasure Hunter, as long as one wasn't a newbie, they would know what the titles meant.

However, none of them thought Kieran could disarm a veteran player with a single gaze.

Terror!

That's right, terror!

Terror that far surpassed common scare rose in their hearts.

They couldn't understand the scene, but Kieran knew what was going on.

With his Spirit reaching rank V-, some bizarre changes occured to his body. It wasn't just the weak fire in his mind that was constantly burning the chaos and darkness, even his body had gone through something.

Other than the formless powers that normal people couldn't see getting stronger and scarier, Kieran's vision and hearing were slowly increasing, his body better in sync and more tencile than ever. Although he'd upgrade all these attributes, he felt it clearly with his mind and body.

Kieran was quite delighted with the results though, because he had an idea what this new condition was.

Compensation! When Spirit reached a certain level, it would further compensate the body with minor enhancements. It could also be considered as the soul buffing the body.

Of course, the compensation wasn't as fast and safe as using Golden Attribute Points.

Kieran knew what would happen should he 'overload' himself. He didn't want to end up like that, so his plan of increasing his strength in the future would revolve around Constitution.

Though, everything was still a secret. If Kieran hadn't even told Starbeck, how could he tell others?

The unknown and the mystical, they were like a very intimate couple because in the end, they wouldl give birth to fear.

The Freedom Alliance members were all frightened by the scene, even more so when Kieran's dull gaze scanned over them, feeling nothing but panic.

They thought they saw a huge black shadow erupt from Kieran's body and fly up into the sky, trying to cover the sun and envelop their head.

Then, limbs grew from the shadow!

Limbs and fangs as dark as the night, the sizzling noise came from the friction in the air, a giant head without any facial features except a mouth slightly turned around as it formed, then opened its bloody mouth and jumped on the members.

The sky reeked of blood and it assaulted their nose.

The air was cold and chills went down their spines.

That illusory giant mouth felt like it could devour all the Freedom Alliance members with a single bite.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Aaaaargh!"

All the outer ring members stepped back in fear; the official, core members tightened their muscles and heightened their vigilance as if they were facing the greatest enemy of their lives.

However, at the very next moment, the faceless monster with the giant mouth vanished out of sight.

Only Kieran was left in everyone's sight. He grabbed J. Pearlman and turned around.

"Sir 2567! Given how careful Boss Amilian was, J. Pearlman is the first suspect!"

It was from the tall high-ranker. He hesitated for a while before clenching his teeth and shouting at Kieran's back.

He had to say something, otherwise, Freedom Alliance would be over.

When the people inside an organization were divided, it's collapse and crumble would follow shortly.

But the high-ranker knew had he said something threatening to Kieran, Freedom Alliance would not go through the process of collapsing, it would instantly become history.

The Flaming Devil was too scary!

Therefore, the high-ranker tried to speak as mildly as possible, reminding Kieran of J. Pearlman's suspicion.

It was just a reminder, nothing else, and despite that, the tall high-ranker did muster up all his courage to ooze the words out of his mouth.

Kieran?

He might or might not have heard it.

He didn't stop and continued to strode away.

After Kieran went away, the tall high-ranker finally heaved a breath of relief. He also heard the other members gasping as well.

The high-ranker looked left and right, his face couldn't help but show a bitter smile.

He knew that even if he tried his best to make things right, it wouldn't be effective.

The Freedom Alliance might very well be history from here onwards.

As for using other ways to save the organization?

The high-ranker thought of the black, faceless monster.

His body couldn't help but shudder and he discarded the second thought beyond the clouds.

...

"Is there a problem?"

Kieran asked Rachel while standing in the corridor outside the secret passage of the inn.

Rachel didn't answer, carefully checking on J. Pearlman.

Five to six minutes later, Rachel looked at Kieran.

"It seemed like a curse, but not exactly. I'm not a pro in this territory, I can't really tell," Rachel replied.

"Is there someone reliable to identify the problem?" Kieran asked.

"There is, but he cannot enter Harvest Inn."

Rachel nodded in a firm way and pointed at J. Pearlman.

Kieran didn't refute her words. If he were in her place, he wouldn't allow a walking timebomb into his own room either, especially while carrying some unknown 'thing' in him.

"Are you sure this thing is coming after you?" Rachel asked with crossed arms.

"I'm pretty sure, around 80 to 90% sure. The appearance of the Guardians is too coincidental. If it weren't because of something else, I would have taken out the Prifen Brothers. After that, what do you think would happen?" Kieran asked.

"A messy, bloody war. And a third party would benefit."

Rachel's words were straight to the point, but she frowned right away.

"These kinds of lousy methods don't seem to be from Broker. They're too obvious and rough."

"I know."

"It isn't that bastard. Although I suspected him at first, now it seems like some unexpected player has entered the arena. However, if I were Broker, I wouldn't mind pushing things around to benefit myself, stirring the situation into a messier state."

Kieran then looked at J. Pearlman again.

Amilian was a coward; all the things in his room pointed to him as one, and killing a coward was even harder than killing a brave man, because the former would not put himself under the crosshair.

As for the latter? If the brave didn't venture forward in the face of danger, how would one be called brave?

An act? It was also within the realm of possibilities.

If Amilian was pretending to be a coward, it would be harder to kill him. He had spent so much effort and blood to forge a cowardly image, he would have protected it with the fullest effort.

Most of the time, he would have remained a vigilant heart and given the circumstances, unless the killer was someone he trusted, Amilian wouldn't have died.

And regardless of how one looked at it, J. Pearlman fit the criteria. But how could he kill his own boss?

The Fisherman was an honest man. No matter how poorly Amilian presented himself, J. Pearlman wouldn't have killed him. The most J. Pearlman would do was leave Freedom Alliance, and maybe even give up something for his leave.

An honest man was always a target for bullying, so a lot of people tended to take advantage against one.

Not paying a single dime and able to get fill one's heart with pleasure or some actual benefits, it was too good to be true, who wouldn't want it?

"Could it really be J. Pearlman?" Rachel asked after some deep thoughts.

An honest man was the target of bullying, but they had their own bottom line too.

And when that bottom line was crossed, those who bullied would have to meet their maker before even apologizing.

"Possible. But I want to know what triggered him, or the motive behind it—why did Broker do it? Is this a trap, or what?" Kieran shook his head and spoke his mind.

Kieran really didn't care about Amilian's death, what he cared about was the meaning behind this murder.

Unfortunately, the only clue he currently had was J. Pearlman, who had lost his mind.

"I'll find someone to fix him as soon as possible. Consider it as returning a favour."

Rachel obviously understood what Kieran meant.

"I want someone trustworthy and reliable. One time of the 'curse dispeller' incident is enough for me," Kieran reminded Rachel.

"Don't worry, I am not an idiot like Lawless," Rachel smiled.

"I'll wait for your good news then," said Kieran before he grabbed J. Pearlman, bringing him to a nearby house.

The place was one of the rooms that he got after the Honor Kills.

As a matter of fact, Kieran had too many rooms in the city with his Honor and Cruel Kill rewards.

The only unfortunate thing was… all these rewards couldn't be treated as real commodity like the real world. Kieran felt pain in his heart every time he thought about the number of rooms he had in the big city.

"Boss, I am at your fullest service."

The High Demon, Bloody Mary, was standing at the door of the particular room after Kieran contacted it through their special link.

"Look after him." Kieran passed J. Pearlman to the High Demon.

"Of course," Bloody Mary assured Kieran.

Kieran was relieved by Bloody Mary's assurance. Although the High Demon might nag or complain sometimes, it was undeniable how well it carried out its tasks, which bloomed certain thoughts in Kieran's mind.

"You can use items too, right?" Kieran asked.

"Sure, I am exceptionally skilled in Mystical Knowledge."

Bloody Mary thought it was on to something and looked at Kieran with shining eyes.

"Okay. Go train Frost Wolf," Kieran ordered.

What?

Bloody Mary was shocked. This was not what it had thought.

Shouldn't Bloody Mary get some items to use and strengthen its own power?

Why did the High Demon end up training the Frost Wolf?

Was Bloody Mary lower than the Frost Wolf?

No way!

How could a High Demon be lower than a wolf?

It must be in its contractor's deeper thoughts, this might be a test of sorts!

Right, this must be a test!

Bloody Mary fell into its own thoughts as it saw Kieran turn away. Then, it saw Kieran suddenly stop.

Bloody Mary quickly straightened its body again.

'Yes! I knew it!

'It was a test just now!

'The wolf is just along the way while I am the core!'

Bloody Mary anticipated with confidence.

"Oh and if you can, train the Fire Raven as well."

Kieran then vanished without even turning back.

Bloody Mary was left on its spot. It seemed to have hardened into a rock while the wind blew a couple of leaves in front of its face.

Suddenly, Bloody Mary felt very cold and tired. It wanted to return to the West Coast.