The Devil's Cage

Kieran caught the softly thrown pillow. He stared at Joanna who had rageful eyes.

"You are angry? Because I made you cry? Honestly, if it wasn’t for Harold and Cohen, I wouldn’t even be here at all, looking at you trying to die! It really is detestable!"

Kieran said this while pretending to give a cold laugh in disdain. At the same time, he continued to inspect Joanna’s expression.

Although the girl’s face was covered by bandages and gauze, some micro-expressions and subtle changes of her eyes were enough for Kieran to tell. He continued.

"You feel wronged because I called you detestable? Then have you ever thought of the problems you will cause to the master of this house if you hang yourself here? Harold is your friend and this is how you’re going to repay him? By dying in his house? If you really wanted to die, go find a hidden place and don’t trouble others. The best place would be a place where no one would notice you for a long time. After you die, your body will slowly rot to the point that it becomes even more ugly and vicious than your wounds right now. Everyone who lay eyes on your rotten face will throw up and never hope to see you again!"

Kieran purposely lowered his pitch, describing the gruesome scene.

"Enough! Don’t say anything more!" Joanna yelled.

"Fine. Then pack your things and go find a place to die! Even when Herbert, Harold, and Cohen get worried about you, you still have a death wish! Be quick about it and don’t waste everyone’s time!" Kieran nodded and said in a cold tone.

"I...I..." Joanna was dumbstruck as she was having difficulties forming whole sentences.

Death was a scary thing. Those who could get rid of the fear of death were able to do so because a certain impulse rushed into their heads. When the hot-blooded impulse faded, it was not easy to stare death right in the eyes. Regardless of how calm a person was, he or she would definitely feel estranged when death was in front of the person, let alone a young girl like her.

Maybe when she was alone, bathing herself in loneliness and despair shrouding over her, her death wish would be more sturdy. But when Kieran let himself in, everything changed.

"Don’t want to die anymore? You want me to help you?"

Kieran’s blurted out a little threatening joke in his cold laugh.

Even without any killing intents or emotions, the slight manner of speech scared Joanna to the corner of the bed. She trembled under the blanket.

"Don’t come over! I’ll scream!" She yelled.

"Though I really wanted to go with the flow and tell you to go ahead, even if you scream your lungs out, no one would hear you. What I wanted to say more is... since you don’t really want to die, then don’t torture yourself. Because when you do, you are also hurting those around you.

Harold and Cohen liked you. Both of them wouldn’t abandon you just because of what happened to you. Don’t you think it’s a wonderful thing?"

"Everything is a coin with two sides. Although the process is hard, after the suffering, you will get what you deserved! At least for now, you have two lads that like you, not your face but you as a person! You should be happy, and don’t let them wait for too long!"

"Here, drink this. Get changed and go see them. Talk to them and you’ll realize that it’s good to be alive!"

Kieran took the bowl of porridge besides the bed and handed it over to Joanna.

Joanna was extending her hands out doubtfully but she instantly cried out in surprise.

She saw a ball of fire appear in Kieran’s palm, reheating the cold porridge with the fire. The porridge was heated swiftly and its smell started to fill the whole room.

Kieran took away the porridge with his right hand and allowed the fire on his left to keep burning. The moment he carried the porridge, the devilish energy inside him lost control again.

He looked at the burning fire and Joanna with a shocked face. He frowned in his heart.

Kieran never thought that the devil energy would cause any unwanted problem at that moment. However, he didn’t want to screw up what he was trying to teach Joanna when he was almost done with it just because of some accident.

So he pretended that he had control of the fire and moved it in front of Joanna.

"The world is much more fascinating than what you imagine. If you choose to leave now, you’ll miss out on a lot of things! And it’s better to drink the porridge while it’s still warm!"

As his words subsided, Kieran placed the porridge down, ready to head back outside.

Just as he turned around, he heard a dim voice from the girl.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me."

Kieran then left the room without stopping any further.

Fuuum!

The fire on his left hand went off with astonishing speed. For the past two weeks, Kieran had concentrated extremely hard in studying [Charles’s Fire] and the relationship between it and the devilish energy inside. He could tell clearly that the speed that the fire went out this time was quicker than previous times. It was at least three to four seconds faster.

No doubt it was good news for Kieran since he longed to gain control of the devilish energy but he had no clue at all how to.

Although the shorter time of the fire didn’t mean he could control it, it was enough to provide him the directions where he should be heading.

"My previous conditions? Was my attention diverted? No, no, maybe it’s because I didn’t try to suppress it, control it with force and the cover and the cautious heart about the devil energy was absent! Which means that even the power of the devil had emotions?"

Kieran recalled the situation and started to arrange his clues in his head.

He never dared to underestimate the power of the devil that could match the power of Eye of Chimeras. Since the Eye of Chimeras had emotions, why couldn’t the power of the devil have emotions too?

It was the reason why Kieran was in a dilemma.

He was eager to control the devil’s power but he considered the power as a burden and a bringer of immense trouble, similar to how Eye of Chimeras had affected him and his desires. Yet considering this was the direct opposite of the emotions of the devil’s power. There was no doubt that it would only give him half the results with twice the effort, and even halt his progress.

"Now I see!"

Kieran let out a long breath of relief after realizing.

Then, he went on to wave at Harold and Cohen who had been waiting in front of Joanna’s door and left them with their business while he headed to Herbert’s room alone.

Kieran was anxious to test out his new theory. He didn’t have any spare time to respond to both the lads anymore. After all, the system notification did indicate that [Persuasion] has been completed.

Why not be in a single room so he could test out his theory alone?

It might be the best option. Whether he was thinking or testing, a private space for him was the best he could ask for, given that he wasn’t obliged to the main mission of protecting Herbert.

A couple of days went by after that. Everything was progressing smoothly.

Kieran started to get a hang of his devil’s power as the days went by. Through the skilled practice, he had discovered the downsides of the devil’s power as well.

Maybe the devil’s power couldn’t affect a person’s state of mind directly like the Eye of Chimeras while its influence was much more subtle.

Kieran noticed every time he tested out the power with [Charles’s Fire] that he would be extremely grumpy and cranky for a few seconds after the test.

"So there are pros and cons as well?"

Kieran looked down at the ball of fire on his left hand, feeling the crankiness that rose in his heart without a reason. He couldn’t help but sigh and get over it.

Then, Kieran threw the fireball in a straight line and it landed beside the outside window.

Bang!

Sparks and flames burst upon impact and it also revealed a staggering figure behind.