The Devil's Cage

Tally Landsky was wearing a white shirt and black pants. She looked like a businesswoman.

Unlike her mandarin collared coat and energetic experience, the businesswoman look added a layer of feminine charm to her.

Her long legs looked even longer in those black pants, attracting everyone’s attention.

However, Schmidt, who was sitting on the other side of the table, did not care about any of those things. He was staring at Landsky with eyes full of rage.

"Why did you do this?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?" Landsky raised an eyebrow.

"Stop acting! Why did you do something as childish as this? 2567 is not some good guy. Your actions will only backfire on you!" Schmidt said, raising his voice.

"Schmidt, I did not let you walk into my office because of your suspended chief officer status. You seem like an honest man, but I never thought you would beg or threaten me on a criminal’s behalf!" Landsky said in a cold tone.

"Being honest doesn’t mean that I’m stupid! I know all the tricks you big fellas play, and I also know what kind of person 2567 is! You can’t treat 2567 the same way you have treated other criminals in the past. You’ve picked the wrong person to mess with!" Schmidt spit out with a laugh before he stood up, ready to leave.

"Are you sure about that? Haven’t you thought about who’s left at 1st Black Street while the Bird of Death is gone? A useless potionologist, an amateur shaman, and a pitiful couple. Did you think it was that retarded young man or your ex-partner that is in a coma?"

Landsky gave him a mocking grin.

"YOU!"

Schmidt’s eyes suddenly widened.

The threat was too obvious. The rage in his heart almost made him lose control and pull his gun out, blasting the bitch’s head to pieces.

Landsky kept smiling while Schmidt was looking at her angrily.

"I’ve told you before Schmidt. You are an honest man, so you’d never guess what ways a despicable person would use. Of course, this is not my decision to make either. I’m just following orders too," Landsky emphasized.

"So you are the executioner now?" Schmidt said with a cold grunt.

He had gotten Landsky’s implication, but that did not mean that he was ready to give in. If he did, given his past achievements, he would get promoted to director or an even higher position instead of being stuck as a mere chief officer.

"That’s right, I became an executioner. An executioner that will pave the future!" Landsky said in a steadfast tone.

"Did you even think about why the people before you never succeeded?" Schmidt asked her.

"Are you talking about Nikorei? The strongest shaman on the West Coast? Or about the Dark Star, Night Demon, Unicorn, White Deer, Polaris, or even the mysterious Sanctuary society? Stop being so naive, Schmidt! They disappeared! Every single one of them! This is a golden opportunity for us commoners! Join us, Schmidt! You will be my right-hand man! If you join our ranks, you will see how big this world is and enjoy the real meaning of life!" Landsky suddenly proposed.

"Commoners? The robbers shouldn’t put themselves in the position of the robbed. This makes me sick!" Schmidt said straightforwardly.

"That’s a pity."

Landsky shook her head, looking regretful.

"Want to make your move now? You high-ranking bastards like that! Come on then! Where is it gonna be? Here? Or here?"

Schmidt pointed at his chest and neck, indicating that he was ready.

"No, no, no... I was just thinking. If you joined our ranks, maybe we could let 2567 live. Now though? All you can do is prepare a body bag for him!"

Landsky stood up from her chair, shaking her finger at him.

"If you bastards could deal with 2567, you wouldn’t be having this conversation with me!" Schmidt said, laughing in disdain.

"It might not have been possible in the past, but now... He didn’t bring his weapons with him and he is locked in a special interrogation room. Some interested parties that want him dead have already contacted me. I think they will take care of 2567 quite well," Landsky said in an oddly calm manner.

"Did you even think of why 2567 did not bring his weapons? Don’t tell me he was afraid that you would confiscate them! You are not capable of that!" Schmidt said.

"Why didn’t he then?" Landsky looked at Schmidt in interest.

"Because when he decided to come with you bastards, he already knew what would happen. He didn’t even think that he would be threatened, so I suggest you prepare some more body bags!" Schmidt said, emphasizing each word.

"We shall see then!" Landsky replied after a small pause.

Meanwhile, she quietly pushed a button under her desk.

...

After locking Kieran inside the interrogation room, the assistant chief officer left in a hurry. He did not even cuff Kieran before leaving.

Kieran was grateful about that. It was easier for him to read his book that way.

However, things would have been better if the cup of water before him was not poisoned and there wasn’t a magic circle in the interrogation room.

The moment he stepped into the room, a notification told him that his [Burning Hand] was sealed.

Kieran was not surprised. He had expected that his enemies would be prepared. He was just curious about the magic circle they had used. The magic circle in the room was not something a low-ranking mystic could have gotten their hands on.

One would need at least a Master Level to set up a magic circle like that.

Kieran knew this from "The Supernatural Collection of the West Coast, Pre-Er990", a book from Nikorei’s library. The author, Weister Rei, had stated in surprise that Nikorei had easily completed a Master Level magic circle when she was only 15 years old and had even made some improvements on it.

When Kieran had consulted Nikorei about the book, her words had made a deep impression on his mind.

"If this was just some average magic sealing circle, I could’ve done it when I was 10!"

Kieran had no words to appropriately describe Nikorei’s gift, other than the fact that she might not be human.

However, he would never dare say that before her. The prophecy had caused him a lot of embarrassment, so he knew that Nikorei would also hate such a proclamation.

"Are they mystical individuals from the higher ranks of the government? Or did they collude with some local gangs?" Kieran wondered.

He quickly submersed himself back into reading, finishing his book.

When there were a couple of pages left, the interrogation room door suddenly opened.

Loud steps and a sharp gaze full of malicious intent interrupted Kieran, who lifted his head.

A total of three men had appeared before him. One of them was strong, and one was scrawny, but the three of them still took up half of the room.

"Where is the [Fantos Manuscript]?" the one in the middle, who acted as their leader, asked straightforwardly.

"You are here for the [Fantos Manuscript]? Are you guys East Coast mystics?"

Kieran was looking at the men in surprise. Their appearance had really caught him off guard. He never would have thought that Tally Landsky’s network would be so extensive. Had she discovered the secrets of the Sunshine Mary and contacted the East Coast mystics?

Or...

"Did the East Coast mystics contact Tally Landsky instead?"

Kieran squinted his eyes at the thought.

The two possibilities would result in different conclusions.

If it was the former, Kieran would have to re-evaluate Tally Landsky’s abilities, and if it was the latter, he would need to re-evaluate the abilities of the East Coast mystics.

Unlike the West Coast mystics, the East Coast mystics had formed a tight collaboration with the government.

When Nikorei had become a police mystical consultant on the West Coast, she shook the whole coast with her position. If it hadn’t been for her formidable abilities, she might have been exorcised.

When he deemed that he had given Kieran enough time to think, the man opened his mouth again.

"Spill! Where is the [Fantos Manuscript]?" He sounded even more anxious now.

His men turned their anxiety into action, moving towards Kieran even though he was right before them. They wanted to grab his arms and force him onto the table, before using a more direct way to get the location out of him.

Could they perhaps have been more cautious?

How much caution was needed against a disarmed mystic in a Sealed Magic circle though?

They didn’t think they needed to be careful, even though they were facing the infamous Bird of Death.

As a result, when they were kicked off towards the wall with the table, suffering countless relentless kicks, they could not believe what was happening.

They instinctively wanted to resist, but Kieran’s kicks were too fast and too strong.

None of them had any idea how Kieran could unleash kicks that fast with so much strength.

This was different from what they had been informed about!

They had been told that he was good with a two-handed great sword, he was able to use bows, spears and firearms, and he was skilled at rush offense tactics and fire element spells.

However, the scene before their eyes told them that they had missed out on the most important piece of information, which was his most lethal ability.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The small, narrow interrogation room was the best place to unleash [Hundred Violent Kicks]. When [Barsical Kick]’s special effect [Bide] was triggered, [Hundred Violent Kicks] became faster and stronger.

The fast, violent, concentrated kicking shadows overlaid, appearing before Kieran in a 120-degree angle, shrouding the three men.

By the time Kieran stopped, the three of them had been robbed of any human features. One of them had dropped a green glowing piece of equipment. Kieran picked it up casually and walked back to his seat without breaking a sweat. He just resumed his reading.

After a while, a voice was heard through the door of the interrogation room.

"Does the Bird of Death care about his destiny?"

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Happy Weekend!