Despite the implied promise of countless horrors, Jered made no threatening gesture to move or attack them, which left them a bit apprehensive. He just stood there, a questionable gentle smile on his face, while his eyes were calmly staring at them, no emotion could've been perceived in those green orbs.

The situation was at a standstill and the sullen silence was definitely not a good company for their frantically beating hearts. Especially the leader, his aged and wrinkly body couldn't stand the pressure emanating from his young opponent, thus compelling his weak knees to tremble.

He forced down the lump of saliva stuck in his throat while silently cursing his lack of interference when the mutated crow escaped from the window, he didn't know how, but he was pretty sure that it had something to do with the kid sudden gain of power.

It was better to directly kill him instead of slowly venting his anger by the loss of his subordinate on him. But he was just a powerless child without any sort of power, he couldn't imagine that things would have turned this way.

No, actually...

Was it because he was a contractor?

In his opinion, there was no other way he'd become this strong. He was ignorant on lots of aspects about contractors, but he wouldn't deny the probability that among their special powers they could also grow this fast.

And here he thought that even a defenseless one couldn't bring him any harm. The frustration that his arrogance caused was like a punch in his gut, making him want to vomit.

"Have you finished regretting?" Jered broke his line of thoughts in a condescending tone.

The green flames gently flickered around him, their blazing display of power framed his figure in an even more intimidating shadow. His expressionless face stared at the cloaked men amusedly.

"W-what are you going to do?" The old man asked hesitantly.

"Well, what do you think?" Jered tilted his head, giving them a dazzling smile.

The subordinate that was slightly more behind than his leader couldn't put up with the looming death coming for them. He strongly gripped the edge of his black cloak while quietly retreating, hoping to not be seen.

Samuel watched the scene with surprised eyes. His head was muddled by all the events that seemed so surreal and impossible, yet it was happening right in front of him.

He couldn't understand how he suddenly became a magician out of nowhere, which planted a seed of jealousy in his heart. He struggled for months, relinquishing his own health and tons of money, all for the sake of a bird he couldn't catch.

And now, that kid became what he inspired and devoted himself to be, so conveniently and easily that it was like a spit on all of his hard-work.

It was not fair.

Shifting his gaze to the side, he saw the guy who tied him trying to soundlessly sneak away. But would he be able to? He was in Jered's line of sight, after all, and there'd be no way he won't see him attempting to escape.

Well, it wasn't his problem anyway. All that he hoped for was to get away unharmed from those psychos murderers. If the cost to learn magic was to possibly kill people then he didn't know if he'd manage to do that.

Taking someone's else life? Making them feel pain? Would he really go through it in the end?

He may be a successful businessman, with lots of money to waste on trivialities and other useless goods, and he definitely knew he had a good brain.

And magic was like a childhood fantasy turned into reality. So how could he have refused that dreamy chance to a life more interesting?

He couldn't.

That's why he was so zealous on achieving what he had been requested to do. However, the harsh truth behind that style of life pounded mercilessly on his head, urging him to wake up from that ignorant bliss.

He smiled bitterly, knowing that it was too late. No matter how hard he assumed how the following minutes would develop, as he knew that his existence would fade away.

Jered calmly observed them, the leader still had a fidgety look on his face, clearly fearful of him. What he noted of interest though was the flunky magician trying to unnoticedly get near the exit.

Was he stupid?

He had the urge to shake his head in dismay.

Whatever...

Play times were over, he had some bloody masterpiece to paint.

With an evil snicker, he dramatically raised his right hand, his fingers slightly spreading as a gorgeous green flame spawned on the palm of his hand. Its size was the same as a basketball, and it flickered dangerously.

"You aren't really thinking of leaving us, now do you? The party just got started." He said with fake sadness while waving his blazing hand.

The green flame darted like a burning poisonously snake towards the cloaked man, leaving black marks behind on the ground as it passed across them and hit frontally on his face, arousing a screech of pain.

"Aaggh!!! Someone help me!! Boss!! It hurts!!" He shrieked in devastating agony, hitting his face with his hands, hoping to extinguish the fire. But everything he did was to no avail.

The old man and Samuel watched with utter terror as the flaming man rolled on the ground, screaming and crying from the pain.

He kept flailing his arms with no particular orientation while his senses got fuzzy from the burning sensation on his skin. He tried to flow the mana to his face, hoping to put off the fire and cool down the constantly rising heat, however, it didn't matter how much he squeezed his mana pool, it didn't work.

The sound of fingers snapping echoed amidst the screams, quickly making the flames dissipate without any delay. What it left behind, however, was an unrecognizable face, burn marks covered the entirety of it while some parts were clearly lacerated, with dry blood upon it.

"Aah..." He groaned, his labored breath almost choking him.

His hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes were completely burnt, leaving only deformed flesh. His eyes were cloudy and he was evidently disoriented as he kept looking at the ceiling without moving.

"Are you planning on leaving too?" Jered asked nicely the old man, his face was devoid of any feeling of perturbation or regret by what he had just done, which deeply frightened his old heart.

Was he really dealing with a kid who just got his powers?

"I..." He started obsequiously, but no words crossed his head. It was like he had lost his communication skills. He furrowed his brows while clenching his fist in anger and fright.

Jered smiled.

"Good boy. And since you've been so obedient I decided to offer you the opportunity to let you freely go away, unharmed obviously. What I only ask of you is to play a game with me." He proposed with a gentle expression.

Oh hell no! There was no way he'd let himself get fooled by his fake leniency. After all he had done, it was impossible he'd be given a chance to live.

But, what could he possibly do? He was trapped, his strength was too low to do any relevant damage, plus his mana pool was almost empty.

And his opponent? He was a freaking contractor.

He gulped nervously.

"F-fine." He accepted reluctantly.

"Good, then..." Jered made a thinking pose while rubbing his chin. He suddenly shifted his gaze towards the burned magician on the floor and grinned.

"Aaaaaghh!!" Green flames materialized all over his exhausted body, bringing back the pain he desperately wished to forget. This time, however, Jered made no gist to stop, and in a few minutes, a charred corpse laid on the cold ground.

What he didn't expect though was...

[ Alert: The special skill 'Green Flames of Greed' has absorbed a total amount of '30' mana value, which will be used to further strengthen the skill. ]

[ Alert: The special skill 'Green Flames of Greed' has reached a temperature of '1,230 °C' ]

Hoh?

He stared pleasantly at the notification. It was definitely an unforeseen harvest. From the name of the skill, he knew that it'd have some special effects, and its name did hint something. However, it was surprising to know that he could increase his flame's heat by consuming external mana.

This new discovery almost made him swiftly kill the old man so that he could absorb his mana as well. Still, he held back. It wasn't time yet...

He refrained from smiling and laughing joyously like a child, he had the role of a villain to play, after all.

Jered approached the old man with steady steps, not caring about the man's fear and impulse to retreat away from him. Putting his arm around his frail neck in an intimate manner, like they were best buddies, with his eyes shining with kindness and benevolence, while his smile reflected compassion and selflessness, he slowly and serenely said.

"Do you see that corpse? Eat it." He whispered calmly.

"W-what!?" The elderly magician exclaimed incredulously, not wanting to believe his ears.

Did he hear him correctly? He wouldn't really ask him to do that, right?

"That's the condition to win the game; your game. Do you want to survive? If so, then to what extremes are you willing to go to achieve freedom? I'm curious, please enlighten me." He explained patiently, the smile never left his face.

All the color abruptly drained from his face, his lips quivering as shivers went down through his spine. How could he? Why was he so calm?

Why wasn't he disturbed!?

No...

He couldn't do that.

Taking a quick peek at his dead subordinate, at his dark red flesh, chunks of skin were missing and a weird smell was emanating from it.

Damn!

He held back a gag reflex, refusing to let the disgusting liquid cross up through his throat and fill his mouth.

Just thinking about eating it really drove him to the edge, and from Samuel's expression, he noted that he wasn't that far off from regurgitating his breakfast.

"N-no... I can't do that, please..." His eyes wavered, and if it wasn't for his pride as both a man and a magician, he was sure he'd let some tears slip by.

"Mmh, so you're not going to do it?" Jered looked at him, his grin slowly fading into an impassive expression.

"I...I..." He opened his mouth, but what came out was only an uncertain and weak stutter.

The overwhelming feeling of being a toy in another's hand was extremely awful. He had no way out of this, he knew it, but if he refused, all that awaited him was a world of pain, and should he abide by his order he could surely say goodbye to his mental state afterward.

Was it worth it? To practice cannibalism so that he could save his life?

The question is: Would he really let him go should he do that?

He doubted it, there was no way that someone who proposed such a disgusting deed would be so merciful as to let him safely leave that place.

"Please... " He pleaded faintly, his voice almost inaudible.

Jered chuckled, slightly entertained by the old man's internal conflicts and fears. But he needed to pay him back, and he'd make sure to do it in the most vicious way.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. Come on..." He smiled while with a strong grip he grabbed him by the cloak and approached the corpse, the old man forced to follow him behind.

"No!" He shouted, trying to put some form of resistance, however, his old age coupled with the complete lack of any sort physical activities showed their consequences as he couldn't even lightly hinder him.

"Don't be naughty! The lunch is ready! I know you don't like it, but it contains lots of proteins and vitamins, moreover, I put a great effort to cook it for you, so be good and take a bite!" Jered exclaimed faking anger and indignation, sounding like a mother scolding her child.

The old man's heart was about to burst out of his body from the panic, he gathered all of his strength and tried to stop Jered from dragging him, but it was just a meaningless struggle.

With a strong push, the cloaked man stumbled and fell down near the corpse with a yelp.

Jered crouched down, staring at him and pointed at his dead subordinate.

"Do it." He said with a commanding tone, leaving no room to refuse.

The man started trembling, while the burned body in front of him sent waves of nausea through his stomach.

He didn't want to do it.

But his life was important as well...

Gritting his teeth, he silently concentrated that little bit of mana left in his body on his hand, and with a shout, he raised his hand and shot a medium-sized fireball towards Jered's head, hoping to catch him off-guard and insta-kill him.

However...

A green flaming hand caught his in an iron grip, slightly hurting him. His fireball had been consumed by its emerald-colored counterpart, leaving no traces of his existence behind.

"How bad of you..." Jered grinned maliciously.

"No..." The elderly man suddenly had a bad premonition.

"Yes..." He laughed.

With a fast movement, Jered put his hand on the back of the man's neck and ignited a small fire, enough to cause him pain but not to instantly fatally wound him.

"Aaaagh!" An ear-piercing scream resounded, giving the sensation that whoever that cry belonged to, he must've been in great sorrow.

Jered exploited the fact that his mouth was opened and with a thrust he forcefully leaned the man's face on the bloodied corpse, making sure it'd make contact with its most injured part.

"Ugggmh!!" His cry of refusal came as a muffled groan while he moved erratically, trying to break off from his grasp.

Jered pinched the man's nose, preventing his lungs to take in the air, thus suffocating him.

"Bite it! If you don't you'll die." He said.

Continued resistance was all he got for a moment. But the desperate need to breathe and his survival instincts kicked in, forcing him to do what he knew would let him take in the oxygen.

He shut his eyes closed and chomped off a chunk of burned flesh and skin. With his teeth alone he could hardly tear out the human meat, however, he persevered and after a few seconds, a small bloodied piece was in his mouth.

His face shape changed, squeezing itself like he had tasted something way too bitter. He tried his best to not focus on the flavor but the fact that it was still there haunted him. With a throaty and disgusted belch, he tried to regurgitate it.

Too bad Jered wouldn't let him do so. Quickly moving his hand he covered his gourmet enemy's mouth shut, forbidding him from spat out his 'meal'.

"Chew it and then swallow it." He ordered stoically.

The cloaked magician's eyes looked at him resentfully before forcing himself to obey.

He chewed. The texture was a bit tougher than others type of meats, and he didn't dare to contemplate on its flavor.

After a repeated and prolonged motion of his jaw, he finally swallowed it, a bitter aftertaste filling his mouth.

Jered smirked and let go of him.

"So? How was it? Yummy?" He asked curiously.

No answer came from the man, who leaned on the floor, his arms supporting his trembling body while he looked wide-eyed at Jered.

"Monster... you're a monster..." He uttered in disbelief, his head processing what had just happened as his subconscious auto-defenses tried to calm him down so as to not let him go crazy from that traumatic experience.

"Yep, I know." He replied cheerfully.

Samuel watched the exchange unfold in front of him flabbergasted and borderline horrified.

Did it really happen?

God...

How could he be so inhuman?

Feeling his lower power part a bit wet he looked down and saw that there was a growing grey and ill-smelled patch on his pants. He had peed himself.

Sigh.

An adult not managing to restrain his bladder was definitely shameful, but he didn't feel embarrassed at all, because he knew that what he went through today would have caused the same reaction in most of them.

Still, it was uncomfortable.

"Well, rejoice! You have still more than 40kgs worth of human meat, so don't hold back and have your fill!" Jered said exuberantly.

The old man stayed silent, human blood smeared on his lips. His lifeless eyes reflected deep anguish.

"Hahaha, don't be so boring, we still hav-" He was interrupted by a vibration on his right pocket, followed by an upbeat melody that completely destroyed the gloomy silence.

He took his ringing phone out and without even looking at the number answered.

"Yes?" He greeted the unknown interlocutor.

"Jered..." A clear and delicate voice replied.

"Mom?" He asked, mildly surprised that his mother would call him at that time. It had been a while since they had last conversed on the phone, and he was glad that they were doing it again.

"Umh... am I perhaps disturbing you?" She sounded unsure.

"No! Of course not!" His answer came a bit faster than usual.

"What were you doing?" She asked dubiously.

"Oh... I was hanging out with some friends..." It wasn't entirely a lie, he was hanging out with someone, though not with his friends.

"I see..." She seemed puzzled and surprised given that her son was not that much social, he had friends; of that she was sure, but he rarely went out with them.

"So, what do you called me for?" He asked curiously, fully ignoring the brooding old man and the 'wet on his own liquids' tied man.

"Actually, it's about... Jasmine. She's not feeling well." She said.

"What!?" He suddenly felt worried and anxious.

If even his mother called him for that reason then it must have been serious. He didn't think she would call him because of a cold.

What happened?

He felt his heart thumping.

"Can you go to her? I'm coming as well, but since I'm getting out from work right now it'll take some time." She asked worriedly.

Jered nodded.

"Yes, I'll go to her right now." He acquiesced seriously.

If he remembers correctly then his sister should be at her best friend's home, she would often go there; no, she would always go there. He didn't meet her friend that many times, but he did recall that her name was Alison.

Luckily he also knew where she lived, though he had never been there.

After a few small exchanges with his mother, he hung up.

Looking at the old man's depressed face he approached him.

"It's time to go..." He started smiling.

Hearing him saying this he abruptly raised his head excitedly.

Would he really let him go?

Happiness filled his body, thinking that after his prior cannibalistic experience, he'd still die. But now his heart was brimming with hope, soothing his memories of him eating flesh.

"To hell." Jered finished with a chuckle.

With a snap of his fingers dazzling green flames engulfed the shell-shocked man, covering him in a beautiful blanket of pain and misery. What was surprising though was that not a single scream of pain came out of him, instead he simply stared at Jered.

Their gazes interlocked, and he made sure to keep looking at him as he was dying.

After a while, the man fell down lifelessly, his entire body scorched.

[ Alert: The special skill 'Green Flames of Greed' has reached a temperature of '1,290 °C' ]

Jered snorted.

Turning his head around, he was met with Samuel's scared face.

"Well, hello there. Did you enjoy the show?" He chortled somewhat diverted.

Obviously, with the gag in his mouth, Samuel couldn't answer, not that he would have done it anyway. The kid in front of him crept the shit out of him. He clearly had mental problems, no; he was a psychopath, no doubt about it.

And from the look in his eyes, he knew it. He wouldn't be spared.

"Don't fret it, my friend. I have a fun game for you too, it's called: Survive The Dark Cage." Jered said, slowly walking towards him.

He gripped him by the collar and started to drag him till he arrived in front of the dead crows-filled container. He opened it and using his enhanced strength, threw a terrified Samuel inside it.

"To win the game... uhh... you... mhh... well, I don't know, you have to survive, I guess? Well, good luck." He said, dismissing his playful jokes.

He watched with a smile Samuel squirming and wriggling on the blood-stained floor, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes.

Tied and gagged inside a dark container, just the thought made his heart palpitate with dread.

No...

He wanted to say something, to beg for forgiveness, anything!

However, the slowly closing doors killed off any hopes he previously had, and with it, the only and last source of light he would have ever seen before darkness crawled in and embraced him.

.

.

.