The alley wasn't very wide, only enough for four people to walk side by side, its walls tall from stone and wood that had already blackened at the lower sections from dampness.
Five people on each side blocked the left and right exits, each standing at a calculated distance, not too close together but enough to anticipate every possible escape route.
A large man stepped forward from the right line, his body nearly half the width of the alley itself, his hands empty but their size was reason enough not to carry a weapon. "This time you won't be able to get away, little rat."
From the left side, another man stood with his hands on his hips, his build smaller than the large man but the way he stood was different, more relaxed, more certain. His eyes went to the large man. "Torn, I can't believe I had to bring this many people just to catch one little rat."
Torn turned toward the man who called him. "Don't underestimate her, Jason. She has magic ability."
Jason let out a quiet snort. "Magic is just entertainment for children." His hand tapped the side of the weapon hanging at his left hip, a pistol with a larger build than an ordinary pistol. "Technology will rule the world, not spells."
His hand went into his jacket pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper, opening it with one motion and holding it up in front of him.
On it, a sketch of the hooded figure in enough detail, with notes written at the bottom. "Sorry, delinquent." His voice didn't sound like someone who was genuinely sorry. "But you're going to be my prize tonight."
The hooded figure didn't answer right away. Their eyes behind the cloth mask moved to the paper, then to Jason's face. "Wait." Their voice came out in a tone that wasn't entirely certain. "That ... is that the city's wanted list?"
Jason didn't answer, only gave a small smile.
"I'm just a small pickpocket!" Their tone rose one level. "I've never killed anyone, never hurt anyone, only took wallets from people who definitely wouldn't run out of money!"
"Yes." Jason nodded casually. "But the people whose wallets you took are important people in this city, damn it." His hand lifted slightly as a command. "Fire."
One person on the right side raised a weapon of a size that wasn't normal for a pistol, more like a launcher with a short barrel. Its mechanical sound fired once before a thin metal net shot forward at a speed that was difficult to avoid.
BOOM!
"Huh! It won't be that easy." The hooded figure's left hand rose, thin blue light forming a half-circle wall in front of them.
Not for long, only to briefly hold back the iron netting. The figure rolled to the left, the net falling where they had been standing with the sound of metal clanging against stone.
A man from the rear line was already moving, the iron rod in his hand swinging toward the head from the right side. The figure ducked, the rod passing above their shoulder, and their elbow reversed to strike the man's wrist from below. The rod didn't fall but the next swing wasn't as strong as the first.
Two more came in from the left and front simultaneously.
The figure stepped back one pace, their right foot kicking toward the knee of the man coming from the left, then their body twisted and their hand pushed the chin of the man coming from the front with an open palm. That man staggered back two steps. The one from the left bent their knee holding back the pain but didn't fall.
Attacks kept coming, taking turns, giving no gap sufficient to breathe in an orderly way. The figure kept moving, dodging more than striking back, their movements efficient without any unnecessary contact, every backward step calculated to avoid touching the wall.
But the alley wasn't wide enough.
The figure muttered behind their mask. "If it's come to this, what can be done."
Their foot kicked off the ground and their body jumped upward, far higher than a normal human jump. In the air, their hands moved into the position of someone drawing a bow and bright blue light began filling the space between their fingers, lengthening, curving, until the crystal bow formed fully with a light arrow already set in place.
Jason looked up, his eyes toward that bow, and the expression on his face changed, not surprise, more like someone confirming something they had long suspected.
The arrow was released straight downward, directly into the middle of the alley between the attackers.
BLAST!
An explosion of blue light filled the alley, air pushing outward in every direction and dust from the dirt ground rising straight up into a thick cloud that covered the entire alley in seconds.
People were thrown, some hitting the walls, some stumbling to the ground, weapons thrown and scattered. The figure landed and immediately ran toward the gap between the billowing dust.
"Damn, this is exhausting. I have to get out of here fast." The end of the alley was already visible, but their eyes suddenly went wide.
BANG!
A bullet shot through the air, not a net, not a lead bullet either. The figure didn't try to dodge because the bullet had missed far in another direction, passing several centimeters to their side.
But suddenly their body jolted.
"ARGHHH!"
Their body convulsed, electric shocks spreading across their entire body bringing them to a stop. The hooded figure couldn't even move their fingers.
The bullet was still in the air, slowing until nearly stopped, small electricity sparking at its surface before falling to the ground and releasing one final spark.
"Damn." Their voice came out quietly.
They could create the sensation of an electric shock, like what they had done to Ash at the hot spring pool, but couldn't control it like an elemental. The electricity entering from that bullet was the type that worked from the outside, and their body had no way to expel it quickly.
"Ha, got you," Jason muttered while snapping his fingers.
A metal net shot from behind the still thick cloud of dust, opening in the air and falling to cover the figure's entire body before they could fully rise. The thin metal tightened on its own as it touched the ground, and the figure sat within its netting with knees on the ground.
Slow and steady footsteps were heard from behind the dust that was beginning to thin.
Jason walked forward with the large weapon in his right hand, its barrel still pointing downward. "When I was a kid, my mother always told me stories before sleep." His voice was casual. "Stories about beautiful fairies who guarded the mortal realm."
He stopped two steps from the netted figure. "What I always remembered from those stories was their weapons." His hand moved toward the figure's hoodie, pulling the cap back with one motion.
Bright green hair fell to the shoulders, and from between those strands, long pointed ears protruded to the left and right, their tips slightly raised.
"A light bow and arrow that appeared like magic." Jason stared at the face now uncovered in front of him, a face that looked too young for all the trouble it had caused. "Looks like you're lost, little fairy."
The elf woman growled, her body pushing left and right but the net gave no room. "Don't call me that."
Jason didn't respond, only nodded toward two people behind him.
***
Ash stepped out through the eatery door with his small axe back at his hip and fresh air that felt different from the air inside. At the end of the road to the left of the eatery, a large tactical vehicle had stopped with its open cargo bed at the back.
A man was closing the iron bar at the rear of the cargo bed, his hands moving quickly to lock the latch. On the cargo bed, an iron cage stood at the center.
Ash glanced toward that vehicle briefly without taking in anything in particular, then looked ahead, choosing a direction not yet decided before starting to walk.
"Boss! Hey, over here!"
That voice came from the direction of the vehicle. Ash stopped and turned.
Inside the iron cage on the vehicle's cargo bed, the elf woman was smiling at him and waving her hand as if greeting an old friend.
Ash's expression that had been flat changed. His eyebrow lifted slightly, then he stared longer to make sure his eyes weren't mistaken.
"You?" he said.
***