Making sure the figure was away from the door, he pushed the half-shut door open quietly.
The house had one single floor, but it was quite big. There were almost eight rooms available, connected by an average-width corridor.
Fortunately for Kieran, he could see everything with his own eyes from the porch.
At the same time, he picked up the stench of blood from inside the house. The stench was so heavy that it made Kieran feel like he’d walked into a slaughterhouse.
The heavy smell was coming from the end of the corridor.
Kieran ventured in carefully, holding the [MI-02] in his hand.
Although he could not identify the person who had gone into the house, the fact that they had appeared now was enough for him to treat that person with extreme caution.
As Kieran ventured forward, the smell of blood got even stronger.
It almost deviated from the vile stench, becoming strong enough to choke him.
He had to hold his breath as he moved forward.
He didn’t know how many bodies would have to be in that room to generate such a powerful stench, especially in the summer, when the stench would spread after the second day.
He could hear the wooden planks on the floor make noise. They were squeaking because they were unable to withstand the heavy weight.
After a while, the squeaking reached the door. Kieran immediately dodged and hid in the shadows.
The door was pushed open, and the person who’d gone inside earlier came right out.
Judging by their height and physique, Kieran was sure it was the same person.
The man was unusually tall and bloated, so it was very easy for Kieran to recognize him. As he walked through the average-sized corridor, his huge body made it extremely awkward for him to move.
Kieran noticed he had a parcel in his hand, although he was sure he had gone in empty-handed.
That meant that he had gotten something from the room.
"What’s inside that parcel? A clue left behind after killing the witness? Or some other important evidence?"
Kieran’s thoughts rippled through his mind as he got ready to make his move.
Before he could though, a hole was suddenly made on the roof, a black figure flying down like an eagle hunting its prey. The figure landed firmly and jumped up, launching a couple of kicks against the tall bloated man.
The fast, powerful kicks made the man stagger back and eventually fall on his butt. The parcel in his hand was thrown off during the attack.
The black figure hurled itself over towards the parcel as soon as the parcel flew away.
However, Kieran was one step faster. He threw the [Deceiver’s Key] towards the parcel and latched onto it, dragging it from mid-air into the shadows.
The black figure was stunned. He had never thought there would be another person in the house.
The tall bloated man let out an angry growl and stood up right away, throwing himself crazily at the black figure. He did not even care about Kieran hiding in the shadows.
No doubt, he had only seen the black figure after the sudden attack.
The man dashed towards the black figure like a raging bear, his force powerful and fearsome. The black figure was as agile as a sparrow though. He flipped in mid-air towards the charging man, jumped over him and tip-toed against the back of his head before leaping into the hole on the roof.
The tall bloated man crashed through the door, rushing onto the street and running across it towards the house on the opposite side of the road.
He crashed through the wall and was buried under the crumbling debris. No one could tell whether he was dead or alive.
The black figure jumped down from the roof again and kept a certain distance from Kieran.
"Give it to me," he said in a rough voice.
Kieran knew that was not his original voice.
If the man had made enough effort to cover his face, altering his voice would also be an important element in hiding his identity.
Kieran handed over the parcel. He had not decided to compromise. He had already checked the parcel during the quick battle between the black figure and the tall bloated man.
It was only some cash and jewellry. Nothing had caught his attention.
Kieran didn’t mind handing it over, as it was not something he could use to get more information about the situation.
"Was the black figure here for the cash and the jewellry? Or for something else?" he asked himself as he stared at the figure.
"Catch!" he said.
As his words faded, he hurled the parcel over and watched the black figure catch it with extra caution.
Even though his face and voice were disguised, the movements of his body could not be hidden.
Kieran saw clearly how the figure had caught the parcel. He was stunned for a second, suddenly realizing what was happening.
Although the black figure had returned to normal after grabbing the parcel, Kieran was sure he wasn’t there for the cash and jewellery either.
The figure didn’t even check the inside of the parcel. He knew what it was by its weight alone.
That meant…
"He knows this parcel well! As if it’s a part of him! Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to tell what it is just by its weight!" Kieran thought.
Of course, he had learned a lot more than that.
The most obvious thing was that the black figure was looking for something the size of the parcel. Something very fragile.
No normal person would have caught a parcel thrown by an enemy with their own hands.
The safest choice would have been to let the parcel fall on the floor and check it later.
Kieran was curious about the item the black figure was looking for. Why would the item he wanted even be in that house?
Inside a slaughterhouse?
After the tall bloated man had knocked down almost half of the walls and doors, Kieran caught a glimpse of what was inside the door through the dim light of the moon.
He saw the gruesome scene inside, broken limbs and blood flowing like a river.
A couple of dozens of headless, limbless bodies with most of their flesh gone, left only with a perfect ribcage and backbone, were hanging in mid-air by meat hooks.
They were bleeding, some flesh attached to their white ribcages, as if they had been processed by a crude butcher.
Blood was dripping from the ribcages to the floor. It was supposed to seep into the gaps between the floorboards, but it overflowed instead, flooding the floor with a sticky, thick residue and covering its original color.
Kieran glanced over the scene inside the room and turned around towards the black figure, who was backing off.
The figure seemed to have no intention of fighting Kieran. He had confirmed that Kieran had not switched his parcel.
"Seems like he knows this place… He knew his enemies very well! He was sure I was not the one he was looking for!" Kieran thought as he slowly walked forward.
The black figure wanted no trouble, but that didn’t mean Kieran would not try to get the answers he wanted.
Kieran’s actions showed his stance and attitude. The black figure picked up on the signs and halted.
He switched to an attacking stance, warning Kieran.
Kieran responded to the warning by taking his [MI-02] and [Python-W2] in his hands.
When he revealed his weapons, the black figure took out his sword without hesitation.
It looked like a battle between them would break out at any moment.
Yet what happened next was drastically different.