Oh, you little dirty drug dealer!
Samuel had just begun handing out the money when he suddenly stopped. His head lifted sharply, eyes locking directly on me despite the 300-meter distance between us.
He stretched out a hand in my direction. A magic circle appeared similar to the one used by Saimon's lackey but this one was larger, a second outer ring added, pulsing momentarily with flame.
Wow! He actually noticed me?
I was honestly stunned by Saimon's perception. But I didn't waste time processing it. I jumped from the tree I'd been perched on
BOOM!
Flames consumed the spot I'd just vacated. The impact from the blast hurled me even farther than I'd intended to land.
As I turned my gaze back to the abandoned building, I saw it a fireball already three meters away, speeding straight at me. My instincts surged.
Breathing technique: Tempest flow(4 ☆) 2 stage: Wind acceleration
Mana Armis: Left Foot + Left Hand + Right Shoulder + Head – 2nd Form Condensation
Aetheric armor surged over me. I twisted my torso, and my armored hand lashed toward the incoming fireball. Even before contact, I felt the scorching heat, my hand felt submerged in boiling oil.
I gritted my teeth and grabbed the fireball. Heat licked at my flesh beneath the armor. Using its momentum, I redirected the blaze upward, but the sheer force slammed me downwards.
BAM!
For fck's sake!*
My back cratered the ground beneath me. But there was no time to feel pain, I sprang up instantly. My eyes caught more attacks hurtling toward me like comets, each one eager to turn me to ash.
Movement Technique: Wind Kingdom (4 ☆)
Stage 1: Territory Formation
I expanded my territory and moved back along the path I'd come from. As soon as I exited my own aether zone, the land I'd just left behind was incinerated.
I thought I was in the clear. My speed should've been enough. Should've.
But then, in front of me, droplets of fire shimmered into existence dozens of them, fusing and swirling, forming a blazing net that surrounded me like a trap, aiming to collapse into a cage.
What the hell is this?
Not wanting to risk it again, I tried to form my territory. Or more accurately, I wanted to.
Normally, my territory extended 9 to 10 meters in every direction. But now… it refused to push past the perimeter of the fire droplets, which expanded and contracted in erratic pulses, shrinking my range with every second.
I dropped close to the ground, flattening my body and surging forward like a torpedo to escape.
Just in time. The fire droplets exploded behind me, turning everything they touched into ash and dust.
I hit the ground, rolled into a somersault, and sprang back to my feet. I turned to run, but I hadn't even cleared 30 meters before they appeared again.
More fire splashes. But this time, I didn't gamble. I activated my territory again, blasting back before the net surrounded me.
Then, from behind a few fire arrows flew toward me.
I dodged them with ease. Their speed was laughable, probably fired by Samuel's assistants.
(They are slow for Kail, who can move around 100 km/h using the armor.)
That's when I saw a strange glow in the sky, a flame that had no business being there in the dead of night.
And then I saw him.
Samuel.
Wings of fire spread wide, gliding toward me like a divine executioner.
So he's the source of those fire splashes.
I bolted.
At this distance, I doubt he can see me precisely. He's probably planting those traps based on my aether's trail. To test it, I began weaving my path zig-zagging slightly right, then left, never straying far from the original trajectory. And just as I hoped… no more splashes.
My theory held up and the distance between us began to grow at least that's what I thought.Just as I let myself feel the relief, I heard something.
A sound.
Louder. Closer. Fast.
I slowed slightly, trying to locate it and then I saw it.
You? Again?
Samuel, with his fire wing, now also had two glowing magic circles spinning beneath his feet, pumping out twin columns of flame like rocket boosters.
He was gaining speed getting closer and closer to me.
Quickly, I scanned my surroundings and grabbed the largest stone I could lift. Pouring aether into it as much as it could withstand, I braced my stance. My muscles tightened. My senses sharpened.
Using Windweave Vision, I locked onto a current of air that flowed directly along Samuel's flight path.
Perfect.
The stone flew like a bullet, fast and true.
My mana, recognizing the wind current, submitted to its trajectory and, in turn, he granted it considerable acceleration.
Samuel must've sensed the mana spike he tried to dodge.
Too late.
You forgot something basic.
Wind currents always flow toward areas of low pressure
And you've been creating a perfect one the whole time with your improvised wings and foot turbines.
As soon as Samuel tried to dodge the attack, stone trajectory shifted in the air.
Crack!
One of his fire wings was torn apart, completely destabilized. He spiraled downward, losing control.
Then, in the distance
Crash.
A heavy thud against the ground.
Wonderful.Now I can continue.
. . .
"That actually hurts," I muttered, slipping through the open window of the abandoned building, the same one where this whole damn pursuit began.
My left hand throbbed with pain, burned, not critically, but enough that I wouldn't be using it properly for a while.
Now seeing the room from the inside, I took a breath and observed it again.
A round table with eight chairs, all crafted from fairly high-quality wood. Against the wall from where Samuel had taken 3 zip packages. Above a decorative fireplace hung a painting. I removed it revealing a hidden safe embedded in the wall. A fingerprint scanner blinked dimly beside it.
I tried to open it with the handle.
Pff. He forgot to lock it.
The safe opened with a click. Inside:
An old analog phone, probably his link to the outside world.
A clan coin of Flareplume.
And three tracking devices, the exact same type I'd used before.
Seeing that last item made my brain ignite.
Oh, Samuel...
You have no idea what I can do with this.
I'll turn your life into hell.
I grabbed one of the tracking devices, synced it to my smartwatch, then turned back toward the table. The zip packages still lay untouched. I slipped the tracking device into one with capsules, making sure it looked undisturbed.
Then, in a package with banknotes, a deck of silver cards caught my attention.
Curious, I drew one.
A silver card. Just like my own.
But this one had no name. No rank. Only a card number printed in clean metallic font.
"YOU USELESS COCKROACHES!!"
The shout echoed through the structure muffled but loud.
They're close.
I slipped the silver card into my pocket. With speed and precision, I resealed the packages, shut the safe, returned the painting to its place, and made sure everything looked exactly as it had before.
"YOU ONLY HAD TO DO ONE SIMPLE THING—AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT!!"
It was already impossible to leave.
Samuel along with the other seven was just outside the entrance. If I made a move now, I'd be shredded by a barrage of spells before I even blinked.
"I WILL BURY YOU ALIVE!!"
With no way out, I scrambled to find a place to hide inside the building.
No cupboards.
Too little space under the table.
Damn it, maybe another room...
"HOW DUMB DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO NOT NOTICE THAT SOMEONE IS FOLLOWING YOU?"
I lunged for a rusted metal handle on a side door.
THUD!
The handle broke off and clattered to the floor.
Oh shit!
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
"Apparently it came from the school."
"Oh yeah? I THOUGHT SOMETHING FELL OUT OF YOUR ASS.
GO CHECK IT OUT. NOW!"
Panic was already clawing up my throat.
Think. THINK!
Screee!
A sudden, sharp screech sliced through the silence.
A bat?
I looked up and there it was: a hole in the attic, just big enough for me to fit through.
Without hesitation, I leapt up, grabbed a rotting plank, and hauled myself into the dark attic, balancing on the support beams.
"Mr. Samuel thinks this is just a bat from the roof."
"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, YOU TRASH BAGS!"
Samuel stomped inside, eyes blazing, sweeping every corner of the room probably sensing residual mana trails.
Good thing I'd shed my armor long before reaching the building.
He cannot see what is long gone, at least in theory.
But then
Samuel's chest rose, visibly swelling with breath and aether.
Shit.
He was going to expand his Domain.
I sucked in one last, deep breath and froze.
When he exhaled, it was like fire had entered the room. Mana particles of flame thickened the air, slowly engulfing the space. The temperature jumped by two or three degrees.
I could see the fire mana particles.
It crept toward me like smoke with purpose. But because I wasn't breathing, the particles around me moved without any resistance.
My body was already at its limit, forcing my ManaVentis into its lowest possible emission, almost qualified for complete suppression.
Still, even one stray breath, one loose aether leak
And I was done.
"Get out."
Samuel's voice echoed coldly.
"Sorry?" one of his companions asked, confused.
"DISAPPEAR FROM MY SIGHT!"
Did he notice something? Fear tightened my chest. In this state, a single spell was all it would take to turn me into a pile of charred bones beneath the ruins.
"But sir, what about your leg?" asked one of the men I had tailed on the way here.
Samuel turned toward him. I couldn't see his expression, but the way the man recoiled
It told me everything.
Samuel raised his arm. A small magic circle formed, instantly flaring red. Flames burst into his palm. Without hesitation, he directed it toward the man's shoulder.
"I just told you to leave."
His voice was calm. Too calm.
"Y-Yes, Mr. Samuel, I apologize"
His burning hand didn't stop even for a second.
"AAAAAAHH!! sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to…"
The smell of scorched flesh spread fast. The man staggered back, nearly falling to his knees.
"Why do you make me repeat myself three times?"
Samuel's hand pushed deeper into the man's shoulder.
"AAAAHHHH I didn't mean it!!! I beg you!!! AAAAAAA let me go!! IT HURTS AAAA"
Tears streamed down his face. He was breaking down. Completely.
His body trembled violently as fluids ran from him blood, sweat, urine filling the room with a nauseating stench.
"Why do you force me to use these methods?"
Samuel's voice stayed maddeningly composed.
"I'm not a demon... why?"
"I'M SORRY!... I'M SORRY!..... PLEASE—SORRY!!"
The man was barely maintaining consciousness anymore, his voice cracked, hollow, his will shattered.
Finally, one of the others stepped forward, stunned but decisive.
"That's enough Sir. We'll leave the building—immediately."
Samuel paused.
The flames in his hand vanished. He turned, pulling a scarf up over his nose.
"Make sure I don't see any of you, until I call for you."
The others rushed to lift the broken man, who would clearly not recover anytime soon. They left quickly, closing the door behind them.
The moment Samuel was alone, he cast a spell to ventilate the room. The burning stench began to fade.
And now... how the hell do I get out of here?
Holding my breath wasn't yet a problem but time was ticking, and even I had limits. I looked around, assessing the space.
There wasn't much space between the roof and the ceiling, the space here was delimited by the other side of the building by the same walls as in the room but when I turned around I noticed a hole.
Something was moving inside it. I froze.
A bat.
It fluttered out of the hole, bypassed me, and flew down through the attic gap I'd used to enter.
Samuel noticed.
"EVEN THE FCKING BATS ARE PLAYING ON MY NERVES!!"
With a snap of his fingers, he conjured a fireball and hurled it at the creature.
It hit not fatal, but enough to scorch one wing.
The bat tumbled to the ground, writhing.
"Useless thing," Samuel muttered, turning away in disgust.
SCREEEEE!!!
The wounded bat on the floor let out a piercing, earsplitting shriek.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Samuel snapped. A fireball materialized instantly in his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, he incinerated the creature without hesitation.
He turned away and strode toward a heavy-looking safe built into the wall. Placing his index finger on the scanner, it beeped and opened with a metallic hiss. Samuel retrieved a phone from inside and dialed a number.
But I had my eyes fixed elsewhere.
The movements in the depths of the roof which until now were random now became very considerable and as time passed they became more and more intense.
"I apologize for disturbing you at such a late hour," Samuel spoke into the phone, his voice suddenly calm, unnervingly polite like a different person entirely. "But there's been... an incident. If possible, I'd like to request the temporary return of the goods, just until I stabilize the situation."
Thug.
I shifted slightly, moving to press against one of the attic walls.
He heard that for sure.
Samuel paused mid-sentence. His footsteps changed direction, getting closer. He was approaching the hole in the sealing.
SCREE—SCREE—SCREE—SCREEEEEEE!!
A deafening chorus erupted from the hole in the wall.
Hundreds of bats exploded from the shadows like winged specters, pouring out from the depths of the roof in a furious black storm.
They shrieked, clawed, and dove chaos incarnate.
"WHAT IS THIS!?!" Samuel roared, swiping at the swarm as they filled the air around him.
The moment the living column of bats cleared the path, I jumped right into the void they'd emerged from.
It was suffocating. The air was dense, reeking of guano and rot, sharp enough to sting my eyes despite me still holding my breath. The creatures didn't pay me much attention—they had a different target.
Pushing forward through the cramped space, I spotted what I needed an exit.
A jagged hole in the roof, half-covered by broken tiles, where most of the bats were escaping through.
I followed.
And finally the night air hit my face like salvation.