Urban Nightmare

The day wanes and night inevitably falls, leaving the city of Antomiers in darkness once again. This is the third night that Michael was venturing into D'argent territory to 'gain some exp', but unlike yesterday and the day prior, the gang he was hunting were more than aware that they were being targeted by something.

Yesterday, with his upgraded Ethershock, he'd managed to kill around twenty-two gang members before having to retreat back to his inn room. The fact that his Ethershock could now instantly kill groups of five people made it almost impossible for the small patrols of petty criminals to even fight against him.

Obviously, this many people dying all in one night wasn't exactly common, causing the gang to now travel in patrols of at least ten or more. This massively reduced the gang's income as they couldn't cover as much of the city as before...

Marcel, the D'argent gang leader hadn't said anything on the matter yet, but after this night. Michael was sure to have the man's full attention.

Since he was relying on his magic too much, he'd elected to purchase a short bow and arrows in the morning. He'd never used a bow before, but his Gandalfr runes made him a better shot than most hobbyists.

This is why he could currently be found sneaking along the city's rooftops around the alleyways that the D'argent usually frequent. His cloak hood was pulled up over his head and a bandana obscured his face as he knelt over a wall where fifteen men could be seen waiting for something.

They each had the signature black ribbon tied around their pinky fingers, signifying their affiliation with the D'argent gang. Honestly, Michael was thankful that they wore such things, as it made it terribly easy to target them. If not, he'd need to wait around until they said something incriminating.

He nocks an arrow and aims it at the largest man who was wearing a durable-looking brigandine... It looked strong enough to resist a couple arrows, but unfortunately for the man, its protection didn't extend to his head.

*Fwip*

*Thunk!*

*Clack!*

The man instantly tumbles backwards as the arrow pierces the side of his head, penetrating his brain and easily killing him. The other immediately jump up and try to find some cover against their hidden assailant, but Michael casually and calmly fires another arrow, downing another gang member.

By now all of the men know where he's located, but none are really sure how to reach him. Michael had leapt from rooftop to rooftop to gain this position after all, and you'd either have to scale a sheer stone wall to reach him, or take the same, long path he'd taken earlier.

So, instead of attacking him, they elected to flee and fight another day. Or try at least.

Michael gestures at the thin alleyway that leads into the main street and whispers, "Carnival Tricks.", causing the illusion of flames to appear in front of the men.

They all instantly stop in response, fearing the ominous orange flames in their path. None were aware of it due to their adrenaline running through their bodies, but none could feel the heat from the fire. It was only their instinctual fear of the flames that prevented them from escaping, allowing Michael to pick a couple more off as they were stuck in a daze.

Two, three more go down, leaving only nine of the men left. One had pissed themselves in terror, and thrown himself to the floor to beg for his life... This only gave Michael an easy shot however, allowing his arrow to pierce the back of the man's skull with ease.

Eight left.

Finally, one of the men decided that burning to death was better than waiting to be shot. He sprinted into the orange flames, unconsciously screaming as they enveloped him. He doesn't even notice the flames fading away at his disruption as he runs out of the alleyway and back to the D'argent hideout.

With Michael's illusion broken, the rest all try to flee the same way, but he doesn't allow this to happen... "Ether Shock. Ether shock." he recites twice, causing bright ropes of orange lightning to strike the seven remaining men.

The ropes collide with each of them, some actually scorching holes through bodies due to the sheer heat and electricity they carry. Each of them drops dead, and Michael quickly escapes from the area before any reinforcements arrive.

While the one man that'd managed to flee had seen his Carnival Trick illusion, it wasn't something that was really uncommon in this world. They hadn't seen him cast it wandlessly either, making it almost impossible to pin on him.

"Maybe letting that guy flee wasn't the best idea... They might start having guys patrol the rooftops now..." Michael mutters as he relocates to another part of the slum. He hadn't run out of mana yet, nor had he finished tonight's hunt.

Using his rune enhanced strength, he leaps from roof to roof with ease and eventually comes to a stop as he spots a smaller patrol of D'argent. Though, this time they seemed to have found people to prey upon.

The twelve gang members were grinning maliciously at a young man who was hastily trying to awaken a senior who was face down in the dirt... Judging by the blood pooling below the older man's head, he was either already dead or dying.

Michael shakes his head at the scene, mostly blaming the two idiots who'd wandered into criminal territory without means to defend themselves. The elder looked well-off, so there wasn't really a reason for them to be there.

Regardless, their presence made him unable to use his magic for fear of discovery if they blabbed about him. Whether this would get the two men killed, he wasn't sure. But it wouldn't be his fault if it happened.

*Thwip!*

*Thunk! Clack!*

Again, same as earlier, chaos breaks out as soon as the first man dies