After Nivek discovered sothing was wrong with Alka’s bed, he turned his head just in ti to face a torrent of steel pellets rushing towards him. He had extrely limited ti to prepare; the enemy’s attack was too sudden. With no ti to think, the clown-faced Nivek twisted sharply to the side and downwards. His waist bent towards the ground to a degree an ordinary person could never achieve. The sickening crunch of bones colliding rang out as he exerted himself. The speeding pellets narrowly missed Nivek, smashing into the stone wall by the head of the bed, nearly penetrating the solid surface. With an exaggerated contortion, Nivek snapped his torso back upright. His spine audibly snapped back into place with the movent. He glanced at his left shoulder, where two round, bloody holes were visible. The suddenness of the attack ant he hadn’t fully evaded it. Combined with the shotgun’s spread, he had ultimately been hit by two pellets. The clown’s expression grew increasingly sullen. With an explosive burst of power from his legs, he launched himself like an arrow through the adjacent window, shattering the glass.
Alka, anwhile, knew that several people were waiting for him outside the villa’s main door. In this uncertain situation, he had no way of knowing if those people also possessed Extraordinary Power. Moving with extre speed, Alka vaulted over the side wall into the neighboring yard.
"WOOF WOOF WOOF!" The sudden barking didn’t faze Alka. He strode forward, using his hands and feet to swiftly scale the main gate of the neighbor’s yard. His movents were fluid and seamless. Even the guard dog, monts before in a Deep Sleep, only saw a shadow flit past, barking twice out of habit before it registered.
The sound of shattering glass and barking startled the surrounding residents. It also alerted the gang mbers waiting outside the door.
"What’s going on? Did he miss?" one of them muttered.
As they spoke, they saw Nivek tumble out from the broken window.
"Look there!" another exclaid, having already spotted Alka fleeing in the distance.
The n exchanged glances, and the youngest-looking among them imdiately sprinted after Alka, pulling a handgun from his pocket on the move. But just as he started, two older mbers grabbed him.
"Ahem, let’s go together," said one of the older mbers, motioning for the other to join him as they led the young man in pursuit of Alka.
"WOOF WOOF WOOF! WHIMPER..." More barks sounded, followed by a sudden, pained yelp. Another shadow vaulted out from the yard. This figure, however, cleared the several-ter-high courtyard wall as if vaulting a hurdle. He landed on the street outside, his body low like a sprinter, legs almost a straight line and skimming the ground as he sped after Alka. The running figure was utterly inhuman.
"Let’s hurry and follow!" the young man urged.
Hearing this, the more experienced mber retorted, "If soone can make even Lord Nivek fail, are they soone we can afford to ss with? If you’re eager to die, go on, pick up the pace and catch up."
Looking into the veteran mber’s eyes, the young man swallowed nervously and slowed his pace. The three gang mbers trailed from a distance, eventually losing sight of both Alka and Nivek.
Alka could now see the clown, a monstrous figure, relentlessly pursuing him. He fired a handgun bullet and a shotgun blast backward, then reholstered the empty shotgun in its thigh rig. Gripping his handgun, he quickened his pace.
The enemy is clearly soone with Extraordinary Power, Alka thought. I’m not sure if it’s from a Magic device or if they’re already a Toucher. Regardless, this isn’t soone I can afford to provoke right now.
His objective was clear: reach the city gate quickly. Having lived here for several days, he had gained so understanding of the city. As a tourist capital, it had no curfew, and its gates were not normally closed. He had already crushed the Crystal Slab. Andre and his team, who were likely preparing for their exploration, should have received his distress signal. All he needed to do now was hold on until they arrived. The rifles of the city guards at the gate should be enough to at least slow down the pursuing clown.
Alka’s parting shots—a handgun bullet and a spray of shotgun pellets—forced the rapidly pursuing Nivek to slow. The spread was cunningly aid. Nivek had to break his sprint, hopping twice to evade.
"Quite the marksman," he muttered through gritted teeth, his eyes now bloodshot. The bloody holes on his left arm had sohow fully healed, leaving only a pattern resembling intertwined thorns. After landing, he resud his strange, hurdle-like pursuit.
"Help! Murder!" Alka suddenly scread from ahead. His voice was loud and sharp, laced with genuine fear and desperation. The piercing cry instantly shattered the silence of the night, mingling with the occasional muffled gunshots.
Upon hearing Alka’s call for help, Nivek cracked a cruel smile. Without hesitation, he increased his speed, nimbly dodging the bullets Alka fired back at him.
Glancing at reflections in the surrounding shop windows—Mirror Surfaces—Alka saw the clown relentlessly closing in.
This won’t do, he thought. I have to think of sothing. The enemy is too fast. At this rate, he’ll catch in no ti.
His hand flashed to his waist, producing three steel cards. He abruptly halted, whirled around, and forcefully flung them toward his pursuer. Then, without hesitation, he resud his flight. Alka was far more confident in his card-throwing skills than his marksmanship.
Two of the cards flew like streaks of Silver Light, arcing through the air, one from the left and one from the right, speeding towards Nivek. Faced with this peculiar attack, Nivek, though unsure what they were, had no intention of taking them head-on and stopped instantly. He crouched, then leaped. The first card zipped directly beneath him, thudding into the doorfra of a nearby shop. As the other card arrived, Nivek twisted his body in mid-air with an inhuman contortion, watching the Silver Light flash past his throat. The moonlight reflecting off the card illuminated his face. This near miss made Nivek frown slightly; he would no longer underestimate Alka.
The instant he landed, "ARGH!" A third card—the one he hadn’t seen—flew from seemingly nowhere and embedded itself in his calf.
"ARGH!" Then the card he thought he’d dodged in mid-air, the one that had skimd his throat, suddenly curved back in a boorang arc and sliced into his buttock. Now two cards were embedded in his body.
"Damn it!" More than the pain, the feeling of being toyed with by his quarry drove Nivek to the brink of madness.
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