As Jace kept walking in the alley, he felt someone enter from the street behind him.
That was, of course, the predator who was after him.
Jace had no idea what pathway or sequence his opponent was; his only strength here was the fact that the opponent did not know that the person he was following knew he was being followed.
After a very long time, Jace felt something he hadn't for a long while: fear. It was the raw, cold fear of losing his life.
But he wasn't going to give in; he was going to do everything he could.
The alley was much quieter than the street, so Jace could clearly hear the footsteps that were not his own coming from behind him.
He was ready.
Suddenly, his Clown's premonition struck! In it, he saw the Polymath Ring on his finger disappear into thin air.
But he was prepared.
—
Just as Francis used 'Theft,' an object appeared in his hand.
But his smirk disappeared as what he felt in his palm was not a silver ring, but a rough, jagged stone.
With a frown, Francis looked at the young magician, who turned around instantly, outstretching his right palm toward him.
"Imprison!" the magician shouted in Ancient Hermes.
Francis froze.
It was as if the space around his body had suddenly solidified into invisible iron, preventing him from moving his body.
—
Jace now understood everything.
Since he was wearing the Polymath Ring, it took only a second for him to deduce and analyze the situation through the ability of the ring.
His opponent was a Marauder, likely of Sequence 7 Cryptologist or possibly a Sequence 6 Prometheus.
When the man had used 'Theft' on Jace's ring, Jace had used an imitated "Distortion" on the theft itself.
This resulted in a normal stone being stolen from the ground instead of the artifact on his finger.
Turning around, Jace used an imitated "Imprison" on the man to immobilize him.
However, since the distance between them was about 20 meters and the power was only half as strong as the real deal, he knew it would only last a second.
But a second was enough. Jace pulled several poker cards from his jacket and threw them with lethal precision at the Marauder.
Swip! Swip! Swip!
While the cards were still in the air, the effect of the Imprisonment disappeared.
Francis immediately used 'Decryption' and his Spirit Vision on the opponent.
Within the magician, he saw a chaotic swirl of colors representing different powers. Using Decryption and his intuition as a thief, he swiped his hand through the air to steal a power that would benefit him most.
This was the 'Power Theft' of a Prometheus!
The cards that were flying at Francis like steel blades suddenly burst into flames.
It was Jace's intention to flame-jump to the Marauder and eliminate him up close, since he didn't have his laser gun on him. That's what he tried to do—or at least, what he intended.
Jace's eyes widened in confusion as he realized he couldn't feel or access his 'Flame-Jumping' power. It was just gone!
The marauder had stoled the power from him!
'Motherfucker! The guy is a Sequence 6 Prometheus!'
—
Seeing the confused expression on the magician's face, Francis smiled.
His choice of stealing a core movement power was the right one.
The flaming cards that were about to hit him were just a nuisance; he could dodge them easily with his enhanced physical coordination.
But his smile didn't last.
To his shock, the magician jumped out of the flames of one of the cards that was still flying toward him!
—
'Bitch, I can still imitate the Flame-Jump power with the Polymath Ring!'
Jace appeared directly in front of the Marauder.
In his hand, he began to manifest a knife of pure, white-hot fire—an imitation of a Pyromaniac's ability to create weapons of flame.
Jace was going to use this to end the Marauder right then and there.
But...
"Huh?"
His foot slipped. His eyes darted to the cane held by the Marauder; he realized too late that it was a Sealed Artifact!
Regardless, it took only a moment for Jace to regain his balance, thanks to his Clown physique.
But it was too late.
By the time Jace regained his footing, the Marauder had already pulled out a revolver and pointed it at his head.
A Beyonder from the Seer pathway had no special physical durability—only the acrobatic skills of a Clown and fast reflexes.
Against a gun at point-blank range, it seemed over for Jace.
Pointing the gun at the Magician's head, Francis pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The magician fell to the ground, his blood splattering against the damp bricks.
Francis heaved a sigh of relief, lowering his gun.
But the magician's "dead body" suddenly turned into white smoke, leaving behind only a palm-sized paper figurine torn in half.
Francis's eyes widened as his intuition flared with a warning of death.
He turned behind him instantly, only to see the real magician standing there with a big fireball already forming in his hand.
Without a word, the Magician threw the fireball. It hit Francis square in the ribs.
Boom!
He was thrown back onto the ground as a searing pain flared in his chest.
But the Magician didn't give him a chance to recover. Just as the Marauder was about to try and get up—
Swip! Swip! Swip! Swip!Swip! Swip! Swip! Swip!
The magician threw not few but several cards, all aimed at a single point: his neck.
—
After a few moments of desperate struggle, the Marauder finally died, his body going limp in the dirt.
Jace immediately cast an illusion over the alleyway, as he could hear people peeking out from nearby windows to see the source of the sounds.
When Jace had first entered the alley, he had discreetly thrown a paper figurine onto a pipe high on the building wall.
When his danger premonition had alerted him about the gunshot, he had activated the substitution, switching places with the paper and appearing behind the Marauder to eliminate him.
It was a small, minor preparation, but it was the "trick" that had won him the battle.
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A/N:- It took a little research and thinking, but i think this turned out pretty good, right?