"What do you mean? From the city? Retrieve me? No, wait. That's not important! What was that earlier? Did you just talk to me in my head?! T-tel... kin..."
"Telepathy," she said, shaking her head. "And no. It's not me, but you."
"Me? How?"
"Only you'd know that. Also, didn't you use your power to get this?"
Raising her hand, the female agent showed the plastic bag filled with red fruits.
"How— what do you mean? I didn't steal anything. It was just there, sitting on the pile of cardboards."
"Don't move."
Due to panicking, Alain stepped backward. And in that moment, the death presence that the man, Ash, exuded earlier returned.
He grinned. "Threatening me is useless."
As soon as he said that, his vision blurred and the world around him distorted. Then, the burden of weight was lifted from him.
Thud.
Alain saw his own body falling hard to the ground. But instead of being terrified, he felt relieved.
Because not only was he freed from death's grip, but he might also be able to escape from there. After all, he had seized control of the female agent's body with the power he gained a week ago.
'I thought it'd be hard to possess this body. Not only is it easy to invade, but she's also very vulnerable! It's so easy to move as her, hahaha!'
Alain, possessing the female agent, glanced at the tall man standing beside him.
'Then, should we—'
"Hey," the man's deep voice felt different.
It vibrated, causing a ripple in the air around them. Then, the moment Alain heard his voice reverberate inside his head, he experienced tremors each time the man spoke.
"(Stop fooling around.)"
Alain forced his weak legs to move and stood up.
"Fooling around…? You're the one…" he paused to catch a breath. "...huff. You're the one fooling around. What did you do to the kid?"
Ash turned slowly, his red eyes glowed brighter as he stared at the silver-haired woman before him.
"..."
"What? Is there something on my face—"
Before Alain finished his word, a fist flew toward him like a bullet.
Quickly reacting, he stepped outside and crouched near his original, motionless body, dodging the fist that would have blown up his head if he weren't possessing the female agent's body.
Assessing he couldn't fool the man called Ash, he hurled the trash can toward him and bolted deep into the alley while carrying his original body.
Watching the possessed female agent disappear into the alley maze, Ash smirked and flexed his fingers.
"Don't blame me if you end up in hospital, Nova."
After speaking in a whisper, Ash chased after them.
Still possessing the female agent called Nova, Alain ran hard against uneven stone. As if that was not a struggle enough, he had to do it while wearing heels, in a maze-like alley with tight corridors carved between leaning buildings and roof beams nearly touching overhead.
Laundry lines snapped against his face as he ducked past.
"Tch! Why do you have to wear heels, ma'am?!" Alain hissed, forcing Nova's body to turn sharply.
Pain flared up in the borrowed calf as he vaulted over a stack of broken crates. He didn't stop running after landing badly and stumbling.
Looking behind, he spotted a menacing figure running like a hungry predator. His glowing red eyes left a trail in the air.
"Is that even a human?!" Alain cursed.
Veering sideways, he forced Nova's body up a narrow stair carved into the side of a building.
Alain burst out onto a rooftop, almost stumbling a few times due to wearing heels on slick, moss-filled surfaces.
"This. Annoying. Heels!"
Frustrated, Alain took off the heels as he ran and threw them at his chaser.
Noticing two glaring red objects flying at him, Ash's eyes widened. He didn't dodge the thrown objects, but caught and stored them inside his coat carefully. After that, he quickened his pace.
Nova's body leapt across the gap between buildings, barely clearing it. As another pain jolted all the way up to the borrowed knees, Alain brushed it off with a laugh.
"Hahaha!!"
Ahead, another jump had to be made in a few paces.
"Hup!"
Thud.
Successfully landed on the next roof, he sprinted until he reached the edge and didn't slow down.
With a grunt, Alain hurled his original body downward, flinging it into a mound of rotting sacks and broken furniture piled in the alley below. The impact sent up a foul-smelling cloud, but his body landed limp and intact.
At the same time, Nova's body jumped high. But no matter how much force was put into the jump, it was impossible to land on the next building. At that point, crashing into the building wall was inevitable.
Alain knew that. But still attempted to jump anyway.
It was all a distraction.
Mid-air, he severed the possession of the agent's body.
Gasping as she regained control over her body, Nova simply smiled.
In the alley, buried under broken furniture, a hand emerged.
"Fwah!"
Alain rose from the trash pile, coughing and laughing as a loud sound erupted from afar.
"Wow. That's loud. How many bones are broken, I wonder."
As he had barely made it three steps, the ground shook.
Before he could realize what happened, a force drove him face-first into the stone. Something cracked, but Alain couldn't tell if that was bone or pavement.
"Oof," he wheezed.
Still not registering the situation, something grabbed his hair and slammed his head into the wall once. Twice. The third time, he finally caught on when someone shouted.
"Ash! Enough!"
Ash twisted Alain's arm behind his back mercilessly. A muffled scream escaped his mouth as his shoulder dislocated.
"Heh," Alain gasped, grinning through blood. "What's up with taking—"
Before he could finish his word, Ash drove a knee into his spine, causing Alain to fall unconscious.
"Shut your mouth."
Then, he released him to the ground. The ragged teenager's body fell like a rag doll before lying motionless.
Stepping closer, Nova breathed hard as she squinted her eyes at Alain, then at her partner.
"We're supposed to take him alive."
Ash snorted. "That's your fault for playing around with him."
Her serious demeanor immediately fell off, replaced by a playful one. She tapped her head lightly, closed an eye, and stuck out her tongue.
"Hehe."
There was not a single guilt written on her face.
Squatting, she checked Alain's pulse. After a moment, she smirked.
"Thankfully, he's still breathing."