It was around 10 P.M

The walls of Reme City stretched like a black ribbon under the darkening sky. Rain clouds rolled above, thick and swollen, their bellies bruised with thunder. Below, thousands of lamps flickered to life, turning streets and alleys into threads of pale gold.

A lean, middle-aged man stood on the highest section of the eastern wall. Brown hair, grey eyes, and a face sharpened; his black frock coat fluttered in the wind. A bowler hat sat low on his head, shadowing his eyes as he studied the city's sprawl—houses, factories, noble mansions, and barracks spread in orderly rows like a chessboard.

"There are only five streets left unchecked in the west borough," the man murmured, flipping through the papers in his hand.

Beside him, a silver-haired woman folded her arms. Moonlight caught the edges of her braid, making it gleam like a blade. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the city below.

Then, she took a strange potion from her spatial ring and drank it in one go.

It was the 'Night Vision' potion.

"What if he slips through the policemen's and guards' eyes?" Anastasia asked, her brow furrowing.

He didn't look at her, only at the sea of rooftops and the grey horizon. "There are hundreds of policemen and guards stationed near the walls in plain clothes," he said evenly. "Even if the kidnapper manages to evade the searching squads, he has to cross this five-meter wall. Not even an Expert Knight can leap it while carrying another person without drawing attention."

He snapped the papers closed and tucked them into his coat. "We'll know when he tries to leave the town."

Anastasia glanced at him, noting the faint tension in his jaw. "You sound sure. But you've also seen how he escapes."

The detective's grey eyes hardened as they lifted to the low clouds.

"That's the problem," he admitted, a trace of anger cutting through his tone. "Even if we pinpoint his location and close in… he slips away. It's as if the world itself bends to help him escape."

All of a sudden, Anastasia froze. Her pupils narrowed, catching a shimmer of movement far beyond the hospital yard.

On the roofline of Sixth Street, a shadow darted like a spider. Small, hooded, and something slung across its back. Only the faint glimmer of moonlight on damp shingles betrayed it at all.

Anastasia's lips curved into a small, predatory smile. "Found him."

She turned to Wayne. "He's moving toward the eastern wall. I'll go ahead. Alert the guards and bring them to me."

Before Wayne could speak, two translucent wings unfolded behind her shoulders, each feather rimmed with pale light.

With one hard beat, she leapt from the parapet's edge, dropped like a falling star, then surged upward—an arrow of silver sweeping around the moon. From the street below, she looked like nothing more than a giant bird passing over the rooftops.

The eastern wall loomed up a minute later. Anastasia alighted on the battlements without a sound, startling the small knot of people stationed there.

"Lady Anastasia?" Selene gawked, potion satchel forgotten in her hand. The wizard momentarily stared at the angel-like figure, hair streaming in the wind. "How… how did you get here? No—why are you here?"

Anastasia raised one finger westward instead of answering.

Selene peered into the gloom, seeing nothing but rooftops and chimney smoke. "I don't—"

"Haa. Take this." Anastasia pressed a small vial into her palm. Selene uncorked it and gulped down the liquid. The world sharpened like a blade. Suddenly, she could see it too—a hooded figure vaulting across rooftops, a limp girl slung over its back.

Selene's mouth tightened. "Can the two of us handle him?"

Anastasia didn't answer. She flicked two fingers skyward. The three policemen crouched behind the crenels raised their rifles, cocked them, and waited for the signal.

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"Stay hidden until he's close," Anastasia murmured.

The hooded figure bounded closer, leaping chimney to chimney. Hundred meters. Seventy. Fifty.

"Now!"

The police officers fired a triple volley into the night sky. The gunshots cracked like thunder, rolling across the city. Alarm bells began clanging at the western gate within seconds.

But the hooded figure did not panic. It only ran harder, closing the last stretch to the wall.

"This guy…" A cold glint flickered in Anastasia's eyes. Her wings snapped out again as she vaulted from the battlement, diving.

Selene's hands moved in a quick sigil. A faint star-shaped mark flared on the runner's left hand—the 'Shadow Mark.'

It was the best she could do. Anastasia was a whole realm above her; she'd only get in the way if she tried to join the battle.

At twenty meters, Anastasia's quarry suddenly feinted left, landing on a high chimney and veering toward the side street. She drew a bow from her spatial ring, cast the spell [Zephyr's Arrow], and loosed.

The arrow screamed like a sonic boom, straight for the hooded head.

At the last instant, the figure stumbled, planting one hand in a roof-pit. The arrow shaved past, ripping his hood instead of his skull. Black hair and green eyes flashed in the moonlight—maybe a fifteen-year-old boy.

"Gacy! Stop!" Anastasia snapped out of her moment of shock. Her hands wove the [Windweave Net]; threads of pure air fanned out toward him.

He hurled the unconscious girl off his back straight into the net, then bolted forward and landed on the ground. Anastasia caught the girl easily, lowering her to the ground.

"Take care of her!" she shouted to Selene and sprinted after him.

Her bow was glowing again as she cast a second arrow spell and aimed at his back.

The boy began to change even as he ran. Skin blanching to green, nose and ears stretching, limbs twisting until the human shape dissolved into a goblin.

The arrow was about to strike when a horse-drawn carriage burst from a side street. The goblin skidded; the arrow buried itself in the horse's chest instead. The animal shrieked, crashing into the goblin and flinging him against the unfinished section of the city wall.

From the carriage, a woman stumbled out, skirts flying—Mary. She ran past Anastasia to the netted girl lying a few meters away.

"What rotten luck…" Anastasia's teeth clenched. She glared at the carriage driver, then turned to the goblin staggering against the scaffolding.

The creature groaned and rose, golden light flickering in its eyes. Stones rattled. Cracks spidered across the half-built wall. Dust sifted down like ash.

A boulder crashed onto the spot where it had been standing an instant before. The goblin slipped sideways, dodging with drunken agility. More stones tumbled, opening a narrow gap at the base.

It sprinted for the gap.

Anastasia lunged, but the entire wall section shuddered and collapsed outward in a roar of falling masonry, filling the street with boulders and choking dust. She glimpsed a small dark shape fleeing toward the treeline through the haze.

"Can someone be this lucky?" she muttered.

A ripple of shadow formed at her side. Selene teleported, calm despite the chaos.

"I put a Shadow Mark on him," she said. "Follow me, my lady."

She started across the heap of stones toward the breach. Anastasia followed without another word.

Broken stones shifted and crunched under their boots as Anastasia and Selene climbed over the collapsed section of the wall. Beyond lay thickets and low trees, their branches clawing at the mist. The night smelled of damp earth and rain.

"This way." Selene's voice was low but firm. She sprang from the last stone slab and landed lightly among the bushes. Anastasia vaulted down after her.

The forest swallowed them within a dozen strides. Leaves whispered above their heads. Thanks to the night-vision potion effects, the world was a silver-green map of branches and shadows, every movement clear as day.

"I can see him." Anastasia's eyes narrowed. Ahead, a small figure darted between the trunks—no longer a boy but a goblin, its gangly limbs cutting through the undergrowth.

She quickened her pace, weaving around low branches. Her lips curled into a predator's smile. Wind gathered along her bowstring as she raised it. "[Zephyr's Arrow]," she whispered, and loosed.

The arrow howled, slicing the air. The goblin tried to jink right, but a thick trunk blocked the way. The shaft punched clean through its right shoulder. It shrieked and tumbled, rolling across the forest floor—still clutching something to its chest.

Anastasia's breath caught when she saw what it was: a black cat, limp and mewling.

Its speed faltered. "It's just a Rank-2 Goblin," she muttered, adjusting her aim. "Fast, but weak."

Before she could shoot again, darkness welled around the creature like ink spilled on water. In the next heartbeat, it vanished—and reappeared a hundred meters ahead.

"Teleportation?" Anastasia's eyes widened.

Selene caught up, panting. "No. Dream Walk. It's similar to teleport but different."

Anastasia only nodded and sprinted again. The goblin flickered once more, but this time its lead had shrunk. They were gaining.

When she drew near enough for a second shot, a shadow larger than a man lunged from the trees. Yellow eyes, black fur, and fangs flashing—

A two-meter-tall black wolf crashed into the goblin.

The goblin sensed the danger too late and stumbled. Anastasia's arrow left her bow at that instant, burying itself deep into the wolf's front leg instead.

The beast howled, fury turning its gaze toward her.

The goblin scrabbled upright and bolted into the trees, still clutching the cat.

"Damn it." Anastasia's snarl cut through the night. "Selene, you go ahead and chase him. I'll catch up after killing this thing."

Selene nodded once and dashed past the wolf. It lunged, jaws wide, but she blinked out of existence and reappeared several meters beyond, never breaking stride as she pursued the goblin.

Left alone, Anastasia planted her feet and raised her bow again. The black wolf circled her, blood dripping from its wound, growls reverberating through the trees.

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