Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2145: Capturing A Suspect

The black-clad figure froze the moment he saw them.

For a split second he simply stood on the opposite rooftop, body tensed, the night wind tugging at the edges of his dark cloth. Lantern light from the street below painted thin gold lines across the tiles. He had been careful. He had taken the long route across the northern roofs, avoided every patrol, and still somehow ended up staring at the exact people he needed to avoid. He recognized Grey and Reynolds the instant he saw them.

Grey sat with one leg dangling over the edge of the roof, looking completely at ease. Void circled once around his shoulders before settling, tail flicking lazily. Reynolds leaned back on his hands, glancing between Grey and the newcomer without any visible tension.

The figure’s heart slammed once against his ribs. He spun and bolted in the opposite direction, feet barely touching the tiles as he sprinted toward a lower roof that led into a denser cluster of buildings.

He did not get far.

A soft gust of wind brushed past him, and suddenly Grey was standing on the rooftop directly in his path. The black-clad man skidded to a stop, boots scraping against the rough stone. He tried to change direction again, leaping sideways toward another roof.

Reynolds appeared there instead, lightning faintly crackling around one hand. He did not attack. He simply blocked the way and raised an eyebrow.

The figure landed hard, breathing faster now. His head turned left, then right. Every escape route already had someone waiting. Above them the moon hung clear and bright, leaving almost no deep shadows to hide in.

Grey tilted his head slightly. ”You’re in a hurry.”

The man’s voice came out muffled behind the black cloth. ”What do you want?”

”You already know,” Grey answered, calm as ever.

The figure’s hands curled into fists. Fire elemental energy began to gather around his arms, thick and restless. He was an Eighth-stage Sovereign. If he could create enough chaos, he might still break free and disappear into the city before more people arrived.

Void yawned, showing small white teeth. ”He’s going to run.”

”I know,” Grey said.

The black-clad man moved. Flames exploded outward from his body in a wide, violent burst meant to blind and push them back. At the same time he shot upward, trying to use the cover of the fire to escape toward the higher rooftops.

He never made it.

Lightning wrapped around Grey’s body as he cut off the man’s path and sent a palm strike crackling with electricity straight forward. The flames scattered like smoke under the force of the attack. The lightning palm slammed into the man’s chest and sent him flying downward. He managed to steady himself just before hitting the ground and immediately darted into a dark alley, trying to lose them in the narrow streets.

Grey closed the distance almost instantly and drove a fist toward the fleeing man’s back. The man spun at the last moment and unleashed a tornado of flames that roared outward, swallowing Grey’s arm in the center of the blaze.

Grey did not pull back. He tightened his fist and released a sharp burst of wind that shredded the tornado into scattered embers. His punch continued forward without slowing and connected cleanly with the man’s back, driving him hard into the ground. Before the man could recover, Grey grabbed him by the neck and sealed his cultivation in one smooth motion.

He rose back to the rooftop with the captured man in his grip. The Eighth-stage Sovereign was still conscious but completely unable to move, eyes wide with shock behind the black cloth.

Reynolds walked over and looked down at him. ”That was faster than I expected.”

Grey glanced at the streets below, still busy with late-night movement, then back at the immobilized man.

”He’s only the first one,” he said. ”The other still hasn’t moved.”

Void hopped onto the man’s back and sat there as if claiming a new cushion. ”Can we eat again after this?”

Grey ignored the cat and tightened his grip slightly.

”Let’s find out where he was going.”

Grey lowered the sealed man onto the rooftop tiles and crouched beside him. With a short pulse of mental energy he forced the black cloth down, revealing a middle-aged face twisted by frustration and fear. The man glared up at him but did not speak.

”You were heading east,” Grey said quietly. ”Who were you meeting?”

The man’s eyes flickered for only a second, but it was enough. Grey stood and glanced in that direction. The eastern district of Cinderloch was quieter at this hour, mostly older warehouses and a few residential blocks that had emptied after the war intensified.

Reynolds stepped closer. ”Want me to carry him?”

”No need.” Grey hoisted the immobilized man over one shoulder as if he weighed nothing. ”Bunny Leader.”

The small rabbit appeared at once. ”My scouts are already watching the second one. He still hasn’t left the manor area.”

Grey nodded.

They moved across the rooftops in silence, keeping low. Lantern light from the streets below painted shifting patterns on the tiles as they passed. Void rode on Grey’s free shoulder, occasionally glancing down at the captured man with open disdain. The city still hummed with late-night activity, distant voices, the creak of cart wheels, the occasional bark of a dog, but up on the roofs the three of them traveled almost unnoticed.

After several minutes the denser housing gave way to wider gaps between buildings. Ahead, a row of long, low warehouses stood against the old city wall, most of their windows dark and boarded. One of them, slightly larger than the others, showed a faint line of light under a side door that should have been sealed.

Grey stopped on the last high roof that still gave a clear view. He set the sealed man down and looked over the quiet courtyard in front of the warehouse.

”This is the place, correct?” Grey asked the black clothed man who looked at him in shock. He didn’t tell Grey anything so he couldn’t understand how Grey was able to accurately locate the place.

The reaction of the man confirmed his words.

Reynolds flexed his fingers, a few sparks of lightning dancing across his knuckles. ”How do you want to do this?”

Grey’s eyes stayed on the thin strip of light under the door. ”We go in to investigate first, if we can deal with them then we will, if not, we report to the Mayor.”

He glanced at the captured Eighth-stage one last time, then at the dark warehouse.

”Stay close. I want to see who’s waiting inside.”