Night Duel

Under the glow of the Crimson Moon high in the sky, and in the light of the Gas Streetlamp that were lit only a short distance apart, Lumian discerned the footprints and followed them at a leisurely pace.

Before long, the wetness dried completely and no longer served as a clue, but Lumian had already memorized the size of the four pairs of footprints, the patterns on the soles of the shoes, and their respective walking characteristics, so he wouldn't confuse them with other footprints.

Even so, his tracking was still quite difficult. Unlike the Ruins Cordou Village, the Messy Street and surrounding areas saw thousands of people coming and going every day, leaving countless footprints that overlapped and destroyed each other, making it impossible to pinpoint the real target.

At the same time, the various kinds of garbage left by the vendors, as well as some of the negative impacts of the terrible environment, sometimes gave Lumian the feeling that he was searching for a drop of water in the Sea.

Fortunately, it was midnight, and there were very few pedestrians on the street, most of whom were drunkards, exuding a distinct scent like fireflies in the Evernight, and their footprints were more or less unsteady, Lumian could easily eliminate at a glance.

Since Margot and the others had only just left, and many traces remained untouched, he managed to follow them.

Sometimes, due to environmental constraints or Margot's caution, the footprints would suddenly break off, but Lumian was not discouraged and did not give up. He would calm down and try to walk a longer distance forward, to the left, and to the right to look for new traces. After repeated trial and error and a lot of time, he finally found the footprints he wanted.

And so, Lumian tracked them all the way to Nightingale Street in the Market District, stopping in front of a five-story Apartment, far from several cheap Dance Hall.

Margot and his Subordinate's footprints led inside.

After careful examination, Lumian confirmed that the three Thug had eventually left the area and gone in different directions.

In other words, only Margot remained in one of the rooms in the Apartment.

"I don't need the protection of my Subordinate, and I have enough confidence in my own strength..." Lumian muttered to himself, becoming even more convinced that his target was Beyonder.

Looking at the Pitch-Black stairwell, he pondered the possible ways the "Hunter" might have dealt with the traces before returning to his real residence. He thought that even if he brought Carbide Lamp and searched step by step, it would be difficult to locate Margot, and he might even fall into a trap set by the other party.

After thinking for a while, Lumian came up with a preliminary plan, turned his gaze away, and walked towards the next street.

Not long after, he encountered a drunk man in his twenties who was unsteady on his feet.

When the other person reached a broken Gas Streetlamp and began to vomit, Lumian pulled down his hat, Past, and said in a low voice, "I want to buy your blouse, 1.5 Felkine."

The drunkard's first reaction was to wonder if he was hallucinating from being so drunk.

He was wearing a gray-blue tweed coat, which he bought at a cheap clothing store in Honest Man's Market for only 1 Felkine. Now, someone was actually willing to spend 1.5 Felkine, or 30 Rick, to buy such an old coat that he had worn for two whole years!

Am I crazy, or is this guy crazy? The drunkard struggled to lift his head and look across, but due to the lack of light, he could only see a blurry outline hidden in the darkness.

The next second, he had two cold Coins in his hand.

The drunkard instinctively weighed the Coins in his hand and touched the pattern on its surface.

He hiccuped and asked, "Why did you want to buy it?"

"If you don't want to, I'll find someone else." Lumian made a gesture as if he wanted to take back the two Silver Coin.

The drunkard stopped asking questions, mumbled something, and slowly took off his coat, taking the things from his pockets.

After Lumian had taken his clothes and walked away, he struggled to lift his head and waved:

"Haha, Madman, money-giving Madman... Ugh..."

When Lumian returned to the Apartment on Nightingale Street, he had changed his clothes. He was wearing Dark Blue Flat Cap, a gray-blue tweed coat, and faded trousers, with old and dirty leather shoes on his feet.

Including some other things he would need later, he spent a total of 12 Felkine.

Looking up at the now-unlit Apartment, Lumian suddenly paused, startled.

Why must I aim to be like Margot, this Beyonder?

His three Subordinate weren't innocent victims; they were clearly weak and didn't know how to hide their tracks. Dealing with them wouldn't be much harder than killing a chicken...

The Destiny of being "attacked by the Montsouris Ghosts" doesn't choose who will suffer it next!

Why was I only thinking about how to Hunting Margot?

I wasn't like this before. I could be ruthless when necessary, and I would also try to solve problems simply when possible, without taking on extra burdens...

As thoughts raced through his mind, Lumian gradually curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.

He found himself "instinctively" choosing the more dangerous prey, seemingly because it was more challenging and made him feel more comfortable and satisfied.

Looking down at her left chest, which was covered by clothing, Lumian suspected that this was a change caused by Corruption in her body.

After a few seconds of silence, he lowered his voice and chuckled softly, "Looks like he's gone a little crazy..."

He had no intention of changing his target; he could almost smell the stench of blood.

It was a Gift, and a Curse.

Pulling down his Flat Cap, Lumian, carrying a bunch of things, went around to the back of the target Apartment.

He placed the greasy chunks of meat, flammable sofa stuffing, and other items in a corner against the wall, and created a firebreak around them.

Then, Lumian struck a match and threw it Past.

The spark spread rapidly across the most flammable material, quickly growing from small to large and engulfing everything around it.

Black smoke then rose up.

As the smoke thickened and enveloped the surroundings, Lumian shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fire!"

"Fire!"

He ran back to the front of the Apartment while shouting, and shrank into the shadows in the corner.

His plan was, since I don't know which room you, Margot, live in in the Apartment, or what traps you've set, I'll just make you come out on your own!

If Margot were the "Pyromaniac," he would surely realize that the Flames and smoke below could not possibly form a real fire, and his response would be completely different. At that time, Lumian would be able to judge the opponent's Sequence level based on this, and decide whether to continue the plan or give up.

As thick smoke rose, flames flickered, and Lumian shouted, the residents of the Apartment and the surrounding houses rushed up the stairs into the street.

Because the "fire" was small and the Apartment was not affected by smoke, no one risked jumping down.

Lumian fell silent, staring intently at the Apartment entrance, while others "took his place" in calling out similar words and began searching for the source of the fire.

Two seconds later, a figure jumped out of a second-floor window and landed steadily.

That was Margot, wearing a red shirt and sail-colored trousers, his short, light blond hair standing on end!

Margot, taking advantage of his status as Beyonder and living on a lower floor, didn't walk down the stairs like other tenants; instead, he jumped out of the window.

After landing, he looked back at the Apartment and realized that the fire was not big at all. His act of jumping out of the window was unnecessary and made him look panicked and foolish.

Just then, he saw a figure wearing Flat Cap and a gray-blue woolen coat dart out from the corner.

The figure, head bowed, pointed at him and laughed, "Look at this guy, he's so stupid!"

With a bang, Margot's emotions exploded.

His eyes, slightly bloodshot, lunged at the man who had mocked him.

He was fast, but the figure was even faster, having already turned around and sprinted towards the nearest alley.

Margot just wanted to beat that guy up, so he kept chasing after him.

The two ran one after the other into the dark, deserted alley.

With a series of thuds, the figure rushed to a Barricades, pressed down with its right hand, and flipped Past.

Without pausing, Margot stomped his feet hard, leaping into the air and jumping over the Barricades.

He had just landed when he saw the figure stop and turn around.

Bathed in the Crimson Moonlight, the face beneath the Dark Blue Flat Cap came into Margot's view.

It was wrapped in layers of white bandages, with only its nostrils, eyes, and ears showing.

The other person's left hand was the same, holding a silver-black, slightly Evil Dagger.

Margot's pupils dilated rapidly, and his heart skipped a beat.

He instantly snapped back to reality and realized that he had just experienced the effects of a similar "Provocation".

Suppressing a slight unease rising in his heart, Margot drew Pistol black Revolver hidden at his waist.

He targeted Lumian and activated his "Provocation" ability:

"Just with that knife?"

"Idiot, this is the age of guns!"

Bang!

Margot pulled the trigger, and a bullet shot out, heading straight for Lumian's head.

Lumian suddenly fell backward, as if bending into an arch bridge.

Immediately afterwards, he sprang to his waist, flying horizontally and dodging the second bullet fired by Margot.

Then, Lumian straightened his body as if springing back, and casually threw the "Fallen Mercury" in his hand at Margot as if it were just a throwing knife.

Considering the enemy's ability to "Provocation" and the possibility that they might poison their weapons, Margot dared not take the blow head-on. He hurriedly turned his body to the side, letting the silver-black Dagger pass him and embed itself in a crack in the Barricades.

Having just dodged the attack, Margot saw Lumian pounce on him like a tiger.

Only then did he realize that the other person's ears were stuffed with thick wads of paper, and he was almost unaffected by his earlier "Provocation" remark!

The one who understands the "Hunter" best is always another "Hunter"!

This reignited Margot's anger, as if he had been silently "Provocation" by the other party's behavior.

With a sharp crack, Lumian clenched his right fist and slammed it into Margot's temple.

Margot braced himself with his left arm, blocking the attack steadily.

At the same time, he raised his right hand again and aimed the Revolver at Lumian's head.

At this close range, let's see how you dodge!

In an instant, Lumian leaned forward as if to smash his head into Margot's chest, and reached out with his left hand to grab Maggot's right wrist.

His right leg, however, kicked with incredible flexibility behind his head.

No, he didn't kick the back of his own head, but rather the "Fallen Mercury" stuck in a crack in the Barricades next to him!

The Evil, silver-black Dagger soared into the air, half-guided and half-tied by Lumian's foot, flying towards Margot.