The Devil's Cage

E Block, Fire Stove Alley.

Similar to all streets of E Block, it was filled with messy and complicated structures, it even felt a bit suffocating.

Hence there were only a few who would come here, regardless of status as a freshmen or senior.

However, in the eyes of the higher ranks of Theorate, Fire Stove Alley was different because it was where Principal Romuse lived.

The old principal who defended the harshest and most dangerous of waves countless times in E Block wasn't living in luxury or whatever pleasant condition the folks in A Block were enjoying.

He lived in E Block and in a rather broken little house.

There was no guard or surveillance in the area but the black figure who approached the house was careful as he stepped forward, it was like he was walking towards some dangerous place.

The black figure seemed to be calculating the timing of each of his steps, it was less than 300 meters from the alley entrance to the old broken house but it took the figure around an hour.

As the figure finally reached the front of the little house, he wiped his sweat away and heaved a sigh of relief.

He had been through the most dangerous part, so it was time for him to reap his gains!

Unlike the utmost careful manner he used when he walked into the alley, he walked into the house with swagger, as if he was the owner. The figure was very familiar with the place, he headed straight for the second floor after he went in.

Tsk Ga!

The old door of the study room was pushed opened, he walked in and headed to the book rack, searching for a particular item.

Soon, he got what he came for.

With a rather surprised look, the figure placed the item into his bag before he prepared to leave, but before he did, he glanced over the study desk unconsciously.

When he saw the book placed in the middle of the desk, his body froze.

It was an old book, its cover was a little torn but the name was very distinct—Index of Eat!

The words written in pen with calligraphy held endless temptation, it caused the figure to hesitate.

A minute dwelling in his hesitance later, he made up his mind.

He did not touch the book named Index of Eat on the desk, instead he held his bag tight and left the building, carefully retracing his steps away from Fire Stove Alley.

Huu!

After he truly left Fire Stove Alley, he heaved a long sigh but at the next moment, a voice sounded behind him.

"I'm curious what kind of item made you give up the Index of Eat?"

"Ugh… Cough Cough… Why are you here?!"

The sudden voice made the figure choke on his own breath. After a few coughs, he turned to Kieran who walked out from the shadows with a horrified look.

"Because you told me so, Professor Derton!" Kieran smiled.

"I told you so? What kind of joke is that? And Professor Derton is dead!" the figure shouted.

"Is that so? Then why not you take off your mask?" Kieran's smile was still hanging on his face.

"Knowing too much will get you killed."

The figure didn't remove his mask but his voice turned gloomy.

"I didn't want to know this much either, but why would you show your many flaws to me?" Kieran sighed falsely.

"Flaws? If it wasn't for you, what kind of flaws were there!"

The figure's voice became cold.

"Starting from my death, everything was progressing perfectly, I didn't just wash away my suspicion, I was even able to ambush Tyrese! He would be lying in the hospital for at least half a year and after I abducted Eiderburgh, E Block would plunge into chaos soon, Principal Romuse would be forced to come out then."

"But you, you… Your appearance disrupted my plans, forcing me to alter them." Derton then coldly grunted.

"But the more perfect your plans are, the harder it is for you to alter."

"I am afraid abducting Professor Tyrese last night is already your last straw?"

"That is why you did not come after me, a freshman who exposed Index of Eat to the public, instead you sent others to attack me," Kieran said.

"Let me guess, their abilities are so weak that it caused doubts? Compared to the alleged killer that killed me in one blow and caused Eiderburgh to go missing, they are too weak. Even more so after the consecutive attacks, they should have been careful during the third attack after failing twice in a row and yet the third attacker was still too weak," Derton said like he was filling in the blanks for Kieran.

"This is one of them but what really struck doubts in my mind is everything was that everything was too coincidental!"

"The moment Lude escaped, you contacted me and the next thing I know, you're dead. It's too much of a coincidence!"

"What kind of coincidence there is? You knew Lude had found out the secret location of the Index of Eat, so he escaped and of course I had to find you! More so, Lude even took my research away!"

"That's right Everything is reasonable and logical except for the fact that Lude heard about the Index of Eat from you! If you are going that way, can I say that everything is within your plans? Including what Lude did in the dark and the one who had Lude in their crosshairs, they are also your men? Professor Derton?"

The questions and answers finally stopped with Derton's silence.

"How did you know Lude heard about the Index of Eat from me?"

"I am very certain when I released the news, there were no others around me! And you're not within his social circle!" Derton asked.

"Then did you ever think about whether Lude had capabilities that you would never expect?"

"According to your plan, you would have sent Lude out after some more time, a more suitable time, right? Then, there will be a lack of evidence with Lude's death."

Kieran did not answer the question, he asked his instead.

Then, he shifted the topic suddenly.

"But Lude suddenly escaped and disrupted your initial plan, it forced you to take the risk."

"The so-called perfect plan is nothing but a last minute thought."

"Just like after your saw me, you suddenly planned to make me a scapegoat," Kieran then took a step back.

Tss!

Right after Kieran left his original spot, the ground started to melt and a heavy smell of oil came out from the ground.

A 5-meter humanoid that was formed completely out of semi-solid oil crawled out from the melted hole and growled at Kieran.

"Of course! Who else is more suitable than you, an unusual freshman?"

"None! You are the most suitable! Otherwise why am I talking crap with you here!"

"Do you think I am as boastful as you?" Derton laughed coldly.

"Boast? I don't need that kind of thing. What I need is also a scapegoat."

Kieran shook his head and looked at the little house inside Fire Stove Alley.

Derton seemed to have understood something but before he could ponder upon the thought…

BOOM!

The little house in Fire Stove Alley exploded and fell into a sea of flame.

The tremendous shockwave almost caused Derton to fall off his feet, but the blaze that shocked him even more was blooming before his eyes.