The Devil's Cage

"My goal was Gilfren Hatch! That guy had made a fortune by using his ability to seduce others! But as my investigation progressed, I discovered that Gilfren Hatch was not just some charismatic idiot able to seduce people. He really had supernatural powers! I wanted to learn more about him so I joined his bunch heretics, but in the end..."

The man paused for a while, a frightened expression forming on his face.

Kieran urged him a little with his dagger, and he quickly continued, "That monster came to my room at night by moving through the wall! He appeared right in my face! I checked the wall up and down, but there was not secret door. It was a solid concrete wall, and he had gone through it just like that!"

"The moment I saw him I thought I was dead, but he only gave me a warning, telling me to mind my own business. Then he just disappeared into thin air right in front of my eyes!"

The man’s face was smeared with fear. It seemed like the encounter had been imprinted in his mind.

"I quickly left that place. I told myself that it had to be a trick of sorts, but my senses told me it was real!"

"Since that day, I’d been having nightmares. Every day I was worried that he might come for my life again. Just as I was paralyzed from fear, I suddenly learned that he had surrendered! Surrendered!" the old man repeated the word, emphasizing his surprise.

"I was delighted and filled with joy, at least for a while. Soon, I became curious, though. Why would a man with that kind of power surrender? What kind of prison could even hold him in? Plus, the man had been known for his merciless methods, yet he had only given me a warning instead of killing me. It was all very suspicious, and my suspicions got the best of me. I became even more curious!"

"When I found out that he was locked up here in Alcatraz, I started investigating the prison itself. I suspected that he had some kind of secret purpose, and my findings proved that I was correct. He did have a secret agenda!"

The old Master Thief’s tone had been hyped up and his head had been moving upwards despite the gun pressing down on him. It was like he had to use that particular tone in order to elaborate on his findings.

Kieran responded by pressing his gun down even harder, pus.h.i.+ng the man’s head back against the floor.

"Go on! No more tricks!" Kieran urged him in a stern tone.

However, this time the man did not continue right away. He paused for a second before he said, "If I tell you the truth, promise that you won’t hurt me!"

"Do you think you’re in a position to bargain with me?" Kieran held his dagger with his other hand and stabbed the sharp edge of it into the old man’s index finger, making him scream in agony.

"I dare not bargain, I just wanna save my sorry life!" Despite the scream, the man was quite firm in his statement.

"Promise me that you won’t hurt me and I will tell you his goal! I swear it will be worth your while!" he added.

Kieran naturally moved his dagger again, The tip of the dagger had already reached the old man’s bone, but other than screaming in agony, the man did not show any intention of continuing.

He was unusually tough, or maybe just perseverant. Kieran frowned. The situation at hand was not exactly what he wanted.

According to his original plan, Kieran would get what he wanted, and then take the old man’s life. The old Master Thief had used him with malicious intent, so Kieran had no plans of letting him go. He would just have to alter his plan a little.

He understood how taking and giving worked. Compared to the secret of Alcatraz and Gilfren Hatch’s goal though, the old man before him was on a whole different level.

"I could let you go, but how will I know that what you’re saying is the truth? Don’t tell me you’ll take a vow, or I’ll laugh my a.s.s off!"

Kieran lifted his dagger and pulled the gun on the old man’s head back a little.

"Vows are more useful than you think if you know how to use them!" the old man said.

"And you know how? Did that shaman that you mentioned teach you?" Kieran guessed. He was a little bit startled.

"Yes, of course!" the old man answered.

"That shaman sure was generous. He didn’t just give you a tattoo to protect you from spirits, but also confided in you such special knowledge! Don’t tell me he was your father or something!"

Kieran laughed coldly. His words were full of contempt for the old man’s statement.

From Kieran’s point of view, no one in the world would treat another person so selflessly, unless there was some kind of benefit for them. Only if both parties had a benefit would their relations.h.i.+p grow tight.

Unless that someone was one’s own parents.

Although Kieran’s memories of his parents were already long gone, he still stubbornly believed that they had been the way he imagined them.

That shaman was definitely not the Master Thief’s parent, though. Although Kieran was unsure of the old man’s age, judging by his white hair, if his parents were still alive, they would be really old.

It was definitely out of the realm of possibility.

"He told me because it was related to the secret of this prison. The shaman also pay close attention to the things happening here!" the old man said with a bitter laugh.

His manner caused an extra speculation to take form in Kieran’s head.

Not only had the secret of Alcatraz Prison attracted the attention of heresy leader Gilfren Hatch, but it had also attracted the attention of the shaman the old Master Thief was talking about. So much so, that the shaman had even sent his own man to investigate the situation.

The process would definitely not have been peaceful, but the old man before Kieran had chosen to compromise.

Kieran grew cautious of the vowing methods of the old man.

If he was indeed a p.a.w.n sent by the shaman, a vow from him might harm Kieran in ways that he could not even imagine.

Kieran treated anything that he was unfamiliar with with extreme care. He knew that if things went south, it could cost him his life.

Just like Zywane’s.

Hold on… Zywane!

Kieran thought back to his short-term teammates, stunned.

Suddenly, a speculation formed in his mind.