The blast hit like two fragmentation grenades. With no cover nearby, dodging was nearly impossible.
Facing the incoming bone spikes, Shea had no choice.
"Sorry, pal."
She darted into the guards, using their bodies as shields. They hadn’t even processed what was happening.
The front-line guards were instantly riddled with bone shards. Those not killed outright would suffer agonizing deaths from the venom.
Shea barely escaped.
Amid the chaos, she shoved corpses off herself. This wasn’t over.
"It’s Lico! Grab her!"
The surviving guards snapped to attention. The cultist could wait—this was Phantom Thief Lico, wanted for years.
Her bounty was astronomical. Nobles paid fortunes for her head. Alive? Even better.
No one had ever caught her. Now, the prize was within reach.
And honestly? That catgirl was stunning.
Like wolves starved for three days, the guards ignored the thrashing cultist and charged at Shea.
"What did I ever do to you guys?!"
Trapped, Shea dropped a smoke bomb, leaped upward, and grabbed a ceiling beam. She swung toward the skylight.
Once outside, they’d never catch her.
"Lico’s gone!"
Smoke, screams, and trampling filled the warehouse. Greed, humanity’s original sin, reigned.
When the smoke cleared, Shea perched at the skylight.
"Hey, boys!" she called down. "That cultist poisoned your ‘pure water powder.’ Check it, yeah? I’ll just borrow a few trinkets. Ta-ta!"
Her mocking grin infuriated them. They scrambled to seal every exit, then hacked the hapless Crescent Moon Rank cultist into mincemeat.
But no trace of Shea remained within a kilometer.
She’d already vanished into the city.
Perched atop a watchtower, she counted her loot.
"Wonder how much this’ll fetch…"
A demonic voice shattered the night. A bloodstained hand slammed down behind her.
"Who’s there?!"
Abel. He’d hunted Lico for days. Crimson demonic armor encased his fists. Beside him floated a compass—now dark and lifeless.
He’d assumed Lico was dead. But tonight, the soul-tracking compass flared to life, leading him straight to her.
Success.
Except…
*She’s breathtaking.*
Moonlight caught her silver hair fluttering in the breeze. Her sky-blue eyes glittered like gemstones. Abel had never seen such delicate beauty.
Pity she’d stolen from him.
"Phantom Thief Lico," he growled. "Return what’s mine. You can’t outrun a Radiant Sun Hunter."
He’d spare her—for that face. Beauty had its privileges.
"Eh… Hunter-san," Shea stammered, almost slipping his name. *First meeting as Lico. Don’t know him.* "Your ring? Left it at home. I’ll bring it tomorrow, okay?"
Truth was, she *had* left it home. She couldn’t use its weapons anyway—too risky to carry during heists.
Abel didn’t buy it. *Tomorrow? She’ll vanish.* Tracking this white cat had cost him days. Someone was hiding her trail.
"So you refuse, Miss Lico."
As expected. Time to catch this cat.
His Demon Hand swept forward, sealing all escape routes. Shea dove off the tower, spreading her night-suit—it transformed into a glider mid-air. She soared toward the Slums.
Abel missed. No glider meant ground pursuit.
Lico flew straight for the Slums.
*Chase.*
His speed on foot outpaced her glider. Shea’s head throbbed. Only one option: lose him in the Slums’ crowded alleys.
*How did he find me?* That compass, surely. But it was dead now.
*Just survive tonight.*
Abel knew the same. Let her slip away tonight, and she’d vanish forever. No more cat-and-mouse games.
He unrolled a scroll. Magic swirled.
Wind howled, violently yanking Shea off course—away from the Slums. She fought the gale, losing control.
"Damn it!"
A crash at her Starry Rank strength meant death.
Shea chose the lesser evil: crash-landing. Better a spanking from the hunter below than splattering on pavement.
Winds roared. She collapsed the glider, plummeting. Abel waited below, arms outstretched.
She missed his grasp—barely. Her foot snagged on tangled wires above the Slums.
Suspended mid-air, she swayed precariously.
*This really sucks.*
