Erik slunk through the dark alleys of Caelora city, sticking to the shadows as he scanned the city streets for any sign of the blackguards.
He knew they were out there sowhere, lurking amongst the citizens like wolves in sheep's clothing.
Erik had to be careful - the city was crawling not only with those bastards, but even with rcenaries and police officers, all on high alert ever since word got out that the shapeshifters killer had been found but on the loose.
As Erik peered around a corner, he spotted a group of ard rcenaries patrolling up ahead.
They wore the usual mismatched armor that marked most sold swords, but Erik noticed they all had the sa insignia - the mark of the city guard.
These rcenaries were on the city's payroll, which ant the Blackguards were controlling them to catch him.
Erik lted back into the shadows before they could spot him, but the sun was high, and moving unseen was not easy. Erik could morph into animals, change his face or hide with the Chaleon Veil.
The problem was that the previous battle consud a huge chunk of mana, so he kept a minimal transformation and just changed his face, as it was less strenuous than hiding his body.
While using the Chaleon Veil was going to be a last resort move. He couldn't waste mana, as his opponents had at least doubled what he had.
He continued navigating the back alleys, ducking behind dumpsters and pressing himself against walls whenever he heard footsteps approaching.
Up ahead, Erik spotted the warm glow of the city square. Erik crept to the edge of the alley and peered around the corner, scanning the crowd.
His eyes locked onto a group of police officers chatting near the central fountain. No blackguards. Erik cursed under his breath.
He needed to find one of them, but they were probably scattered throughout the city to search for him.
As Erik turned to leave, a commotion at the far end of the square caught his attention.
A ripple went through the crowd as people shuffled aside. Erik spotted the police officers stiffening, hands drifting toward their weapons.
A squad of armored rcenaries marched through the crowd, parting the citizens before them.
As they neared the fountain, the leader signaled, and the squad fanned out, beginning to accost random citizens.
A young man was grabbed roughly by the shoulder and spun around, coming face-to-face with a rcenary's helt.
"State your na!" the rcenary said. The young man stamred, holding his hands up in frightened compliance as the rcenary grabbed him.
"W-wait, what are you—" he tried to say, but he was interrupted.
"Quiet!" the rcenary interrupted him. "State your na. I won't repeat myself twice."
"I'm just h-heading ho from work. My na is Derik."
"Search him for weapons," the rcenary said, ignoring his protests as he patted him down. Derik squeezed his eyes shut, face pale.
After a tense mont, the rcenary found nothing. He shoved Derik back into the crowd. "Get out of here."
Derik staggered, then retreated into the mass of concerned citizens. As he hurried away, he glanced back at the confrontational rcenaries with a mix of relief and unease.
Nearby, a young man cried out as his bag was ripped from his grasp. "You can't take that!" he said as the rcenary dumped out the contents.
Since he only found everyday items, the rcenary shoved the bag back into the young man's arms and moved on, leaving him to take his stuff back from the ground.
Another young man was grabbed, his arms spread wide as a rcenary patted him down.
The rcenary grunted, doing a cursory check, before pushing the young man back into the crowd.
It was clear they were profiling and only searching for the young n who potentially matched Erik's appearance.
One by one, the citizens were searched and interrogated, the rcenaries on edge as they hunted for any sign of Erik.
But their actions were fruitless, Erik observed. These rcenaries were fools if they thought he would be caught so easily.
Then he noticed so rcenaries erect glowing energy barriers at key intersections, funneling all traffic through security checkpoints. Erik could sll the blackguards making their move, preparing their trap around these checkpoints.
They were trying to prevent him from reaching the city's exit, but they didn't know he had no intention of going out of the city yet. However, there was still no Blackguard in sight.
Observing from afar, Erik activated his Instability brain crystal power, reaching out with his mind. He established a ntal link with June.
"June, what's your status?"
"No sign of Blackguards here yet. Just a bunch of rcenaries and police searching the crowd."
June was near another blockade on the far side of the square. More armored rcenaries were accosting citizens, grabbing young n at random to search and interrogate.
The rcenaries' armors glinted in the sun, their faces obscured by helts.
The Citizens shrunk away, fearful expressions on their faces as the imposing rcenaries shouted orders and shoved people aside.
June lingered in a narrow alley off the square, half-hidden in shadow. He peered around the edge of a brick building, watching the scene.
The alley was damp and strewn with trash, but it allowed June a concealed vantage point.
As the armored rcenaries marched past his alley, June pressed himself back against the wall, blending into the darkness.
He was dressed in nondescript clothing - faded shirt, pants and boots - nothing to draw attention.
Though the rcenaries were distracted by their search, June knew he needed to be cautious. One suspicious move could blow his cover.
So he waited, still as a statue, scanning the blockade for any sign of the blackguards' presence. Once he was certain the area was secure, he would move on.
"Stay alert. The Blackguards can't be far."
"Will do. Watch your back over there too, Master."
Erik nodded to himself as the ntal link faded. He trusted his clones to find one of the Blackguards as soon as they could.
They were strong, smart, and knew what to do. For now, Erik just had to remain patient and vigilant. The prey would show themselves soon enough.
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