The Devil's Cage

"What? What did you say? The station was bombed?"

Schmidt, who had been free for the past week, was lying down on the couch completely relaxed, when Simones brought back those news. Schmidt jumped off the couch right away.

"Who the f*ck was it?" he asked.

"2567!" Simones replied with a bitter smile.

"What the f*ck? 2567 was reading books here the whole time... Someone must be framing him! Damn it! It must have been that b*tch Tally Landsky’s idea! She was humiliated by 2567, and now she’s back for revenge!"

After a small pause, Schmidt realized what was going on. The suspended chief officer started cursing loudly.

Schmidt’s hot temper could easily cost him his job. Although this was not the worst case scenario, he had still gotten on Tally Landsky’s bad side.

Before Simones could utter a word, Schmidt picked up the only phone in the study angrily and dialed a number.

"Aren’t you worried at all?"

Simones looked at Schmidt’s reckless, impulsive move and then turned to Kieran, who was sitting on a chair reading his book, as if he hadn’t noticed the small commotion. Simones smiled bitterly.

"What’s the use of worrying? Landsky has already made her move. We’ll just improvise and get over it!" Kieran said lightly.

As he spoke, his eyes never left the book before him. It was "The Path of Stars and Destiny", an advanced version of "Stars and Destiny".

After finishing "Stars and Destiny" and gaining some other basic knowledge, this was like reading a book from Heaven. However, even after learning tons of things, that book still baffled him. At least he could get something from it though. He was still able to understand a little.

Kieran could feel that he would master the Basic Level of [Astrology] after he finished the book in his hands. It was one of his most important reasons for returning to the dungeon world. Surely, he would not get distracted by any other matters in the meantime.

So what if someone had bombed the station pretending to be him? This was just a petty matter in his mind, but it was not something he hadn’t expected.

Kieran knew that he was in the middle of a whirlpool of trouble.

He might not share Schmidt’s opinion completely, but the newly-promoted director wanted to win some face back and Kieran was quite sure that she was related to the bombing at the station.

After all, Landsky was not someone who would give up easily, despite their abrupt meeting the other day.

Schmidt slammed the phone down hard. His face looked uglier than before.

"That f*cking Tally Landsky just issued an arrest warrant for 2567! A team of officers is heading here right now!" he said.

Simones’ expression turned worried instantly.

Elli, who had just come down from her room, clenched her white tiger teeth and said fiercely, "I’ll let that woman know what a big mistake she’s made! I’ll make her regret her decision!"

The young lass tried to walk out of the house as she spoke, but Kieran stopped her.

"Calm down, Elli! Maybe that woman is waiting for you at her office. It doesn’t matter if it’s you, Simones, or Raul and her husband... Whoever she gets her hands onto, she will use as leverage. She knows that she won’t get what she wants from me. That’s why she is using this method to provoke us. Don’t forget that she displayed her strength the other day. She’s not some government officer that knows nothing about the mystical realm. She is very familiar with the mystics. She is even able to channel such powers!"

Kieran had to put his book down to talk to the impulsive young lass.

"Relax! I’ll be back soon..."

Kieran smiled at Elli and the others around him.

Just as he said, fully armed officers with terrified expressions appeared before 1st Black Street. Kieran cooperated with the officers and got into the police cruiser willingly. He did not even take his backpack and the box with [Arrogant Word] with him. All he had taken was just a book.

Kieran’s friends were surprised by his actions, but they did not voice their concern. They knew that Kieran never did anything without a reason.

If he had decided to leave with a book, he must have had his reasons.

"I’ll follow!" Schmidt opened the cruiser’s door, pulling one of his colleagues out and sitting inside.

The officer looked like he had been relieved off a heavy burden. He headed to another cruiser delightly. The assistant chief officer sitting in the front seat was smiling bitterly.

"Please don’t hold a grudge, 2567. We are just following the director’s orders!"

The assistant chief officer, who had been Schmidt’s partner in the past, knew a little about the mystical realm. When he saw Kieran sitting in the backseat, he felt chills go down his spine.

If it was not for his pension, he would have resigned and handed in his badge before he accepted this assignment.

Arresting the Bird of Death? The Ominous Bird?

When he’d received the order, he had wanted to pull his gun out and point it at the woman. He’d wanted to question her sanity and nerve.

Did she not know that the man people called a raven would plague every place he visited with catastrophes?

Did she really want to arrest him? If she had a death wish, so be it, but she could leave the officers behind at the station!

As for Kieran bombing the station, that was a ridiculous joke. Anyone with eyes knew what was going on. Considering how strong the Bird of Death was, no explosion caused by him could have been casualty-free. This was the joke of the century!

The assistant chief officer had pulled himself out of this assignment out of instinct.

Kieran could not help but sigh when he saw the assistant chief officer’s terrified face. His smile was bitter, yet he had still mustered up the courage to explain.

He never would have thought that Nikorei’s prophecy would have been rooted so deep in people’s hearts.

Kieran admitted that some of it was a mere coincidence, but still...

"Is a combination of death and the unknown the root of all fears?" Kieran thought before he lowered his head to continue reading "The Path of Stars and Destiny". He had no interest in talking with a person who had lost his ability to judge due to his fear.

It was lucky that Schmidt had come along.

"Let’s go!" he said.

The three police cruisers drove off.

Elli, who was staring at the police cruisers from inside the house, felt like she had lost her soul. "If teacher was here, would he have been treated like this?" she asked Simones.

"Rei? If she was here, everything would have been fine. Don’t forget that she is the strongest shaman on the West Coast!" Simones said with a soft sigh.

"Is that so?" The young lass nodded before she headed back into the house.

Simones watched Elli walk off toward her room. Maybe it was his old eyes, but for a moment he had felt like he had seen Nikorei back in the day.

A younger Nikorei had once told him that the Gods in the sky had fallen, but there was still her left on the Earth...

Simones smiled.

"Ha ha... How is this possible?" Simones went back into the house, laughing softly.

Despite Kieran’s assurance, Simones, a traditional person within the mystical realm and a potionologist, still felt uneasy. He might need to come up with a plan after this.

Otherwise, when Nikorei came back and discovered the truth, she would be infuriated.

Raul and Cidney shared the same uneasy feeling, and so did Louver, who was forcefully left behind.

After Kieran had gone off, Louver’s dull, lifeless emotions were replaced by anxiety.

When Louver felt a spying gaze that bore ill intentions, he pulled his blade out without hesitation.