The Devil's Cage

Bang!

Kieran’s right hand was holding [Wilco’s Grudge], punching the shadow hard on the head.

The moment Kieran’s punch came into contact with the shadow, the [Chilling Touch] was activated.

Freezing air covered the whole shadow within a breath.

The air removed the shadow’s ghastly form and revealed its true body, yet it did not stop.

There was a man underneath, his eyes filled with panic as his body temperature dropped to its freezing point. He fell from mid-air and crashed against the ground.

The frozen shadow fell hard and broke into pieces like a block of ice. Then it disintegrated into small pieces and disappeared.

[Chilling Touch: 500 Ice Damage inflicted to Target HP, Special Effect, Freezing triggered, Target dies...]

[Grudge Curse: You do not have any skills or equipment to resist the Damage, 300 Damage inflicted to your HP, Moderately Wounded Status...]

[Player Killed: Shadow Strike]

[Treated as self-defense through authentication]

[Categorized as an Honor Kill]

[You will receive all the Points and Skill Points of the player...]

[Total: 8,000 Points and 8 Skill Points]

[Received the player’s house key]

[Granted the right to use the player’s house]

[All the player’s belongings have been returned to their house]

[Honor Kills: 4]

...

The battlelog notification that appeared shocked Kieran, Hanses and the others.

Kieran was shocked because the man was not who they had expected. It was not Black Hell Banning, but another killer.

Hanses and the others were shocked, as they hadn’t known there were players among the formless souls.

After a small delay, they all looked at Lawless, whose face was pale and dehydrated.

"I’m fine, just a little exhausted! I think I have to find myself another weapon though!" Lawless replied with a smile and a wave of his hand. He pointed at the scrap of junk he was holding. That deformed piece of metal was what was left of the [Tekken-II].

"Now I know why you’re so poor all the time! Your skills are really burning money, man!" Hanses said, his words filled with admiration.

Everyone present had witnessed what Lawless had done. His earlier attack had exceeded the range of normal players, even veteran ones.

With such a terrifying power, it would be a piece of cake for anyone to clear seven or eight dungeons, although it had to have its restrictions.

"Wow, so you’ve reached a Supernova level now?" Ramont asked in awe.

Hanses and Raven did not object to his comment.

If Lawless could counter Black Hell Banning’s attack, he himself must have similar strength. He had to be on par with the Supernovas.

When the black veil above them dissipated, the sun shone down on them again, blessing them with warmth.

"There’s still a gap though."

Lawless shook his head under the warm sun and looked at Kieran.

"Thanks, man!" he said.

Even without Kieran’s aid, the sudden ambush would not have killed Lawless, but he would have suffered much heavier damage.

That was a cost Lawless could not afford after that last attack. He had lost his main weapon after all.

If he lost any more equipment in the process, he would be back to square one in just one night.

"Remember to give me a 5% commision discount, and we’ll be good! So, anyone here know Shadow Strike?" Kieran said in a joking tone, instantly getting serious when he mentioned the culprit.

"Shadow Strike? No, doesn’t ring a bell." Lawless frowned, turning his attention to the rest of them.

Hanses and the others shook their heads as well.

"That’s odd. Why are so many strange names popping up and showing such formidable strength?" Hanses said curiously.

Raven and Ramont looked puzzled as well.

Nobian, Shielder, Correy, Shadow Strike, and Nightingale, the man who had kidnapped Coll, were all unfamiliar names to the veterans.

However, the killers were no newbies. If it had been just one or two, it might have been considered a coincidence, but they were all coming one after the other.

It was too odd!

"Let’s go then! The trail has gone cold here. Let’s head back to the Harvest Inn before we make any more moves!" Lawless said. The others did not object.

After the sudden ambush by Banning, the other three veterans were like birds startled by the sound of a bow string. Even though Lawless had successfully beaten Banning, he had lost his main weapon, so if Banning struck again, they would not be as lucky.

Kieran did not object either. He was still looking at Lawless with a puzzled expression.

He could feel that Lawless had noticed something, just like that time at Shameiken Square, when he had also noticed Lawless’ unusual behavior.

When Hanses had mentioned that strangers with formidable strength were popping up all over the place, Kieran had seen Lawless draw in a breath before he quickly returned to normal.

The unusuality was too obvious to Kieran. If Hanses and the others had not been frightened, they would have noticed it as well.

"What he did discover?" Kieran asked himself silently after taking another look at Lawless. In the end, he chose not to say anything.

Lawless was his friend, so he would not press it any further. He was too afraid that it might hurt their relationship.

Besides, Kieran believed Lawless would reveal everything at some point. All Kieran needed was a trigger.

He just had to wait patiently for that particular trigger to appear.

...

The five of them went back to the Harvest Inn without any further incidents.

Back at the inn, the other veterans were still waiting for them.

On the way back, Hanses had already informed them of their encounter. Therefore, as soon as the five of them entered the inn, the veterans that had stayed back started talking loudly.

"Is it really Black Hell Banning?"

"Damn it, I heard he was dead! Why would he appear again?"

"How could someone like him die so easily? Lawless really surprised me though!"

"Yeah, right! I knew you were strong, but I did not expect you to be as strong as the ten Supernovas!"

"He will be the eleventh Supernova! Firearm Hunter Lawless!"

"Firearm Hunter Lawless!"

...

After the veterans were done talking about Banning, the topic eventually shifted to Lawless. When one of the veterans raised his cup for a toast, the others joined him.

Rachel was smiling happily, watching her wine being consumed glass by glass. She was so delighted that she was humming some unfamiliar melody.

"You should join them!" she told Kieran, who was at the bar.

"Other than Lawless, I don’t know anyone else all that well. I only know Hanses a bit, and I’m not used to such merry situations!" Kieran shrugged her suggestion off in a light tone.

He did not want to hide his character at such places.

However, when his light tone of speech lingered around and the [Crow’s Black Feather] texture shook a little, as if another man’s face was covering Kieran’s blurry one, Rachel was startled.

"CROW?" she said out loud unconsciously.

"What?" Kieran was stunned by her sudden high-pitched voice.

"Um... Nothing." Rachel shook her head. Then she added in an odd tone, "Why is he here?"

"Who?" Kieran asked.

"Zorl. Do you know him?" Rachel said.

"Zorl? The bazaar auction registrar? Broker’s right-hand man?" Kieran asked.

"Yeah. He said he knew where Coll was being held."

Rachel’s high-pitched voice pierced through the place despite the merry, noisy atmosphere.

The whole inn suddenly went quiet.