~2125 words
A rat chase.
That was exactly what was happening in the streets of Backlund before the two figures finally left the populated space and began moving towards the area beside the Tussock River.
The figure in the front was a tall man clad in a long leather jacket and had a plague mask with a long beak on his face.
He was being followed by another man who had a pale complexion, bearing indistinct, dark patches on his face, as if they were healing marks from rotting wounds. The malice in his eyes was completely undisguised and unrestrained. He looked more like a zombie who was craving fresh flesh rather than a human being.
Sequence 6, Zombie Jason of the Prisoner Pathway!
Despite being as fast as a steam locomotive, the curly and black haired man who he was chasing always felt out of reach. This was partly because Hyde had completely memorized every nook-and-cranny of the giant city.
He was aware of every junction, street and sewers. By using his vast knowledge of his terrain and employing various Mystical Items at his disposal, he was able to out-speed Zombie Jason. However, this was not purely a matter of speed.
He was using Guile to do surface level divinations on the fly and was using Barbarian's physique and Ember's enhanced physical capabilities in perfect tandem with Guile's perfect balance and agility, which helped him maneuver complex terrain.
However, the things Hyde could leverage to his advantage were running thin as he ran towards an empty space. The ground was soft and the sound of the river flowing was eerily loud in the absolute silence of the night.
Soon, the sound of two men panting filled the air as Hyde suddenly flicked his wrist and somewhere, a piece of paper was ignited. At the same time, the figure disappeared into a flash of embers.
Zombie Jason came to a halt, the screech of his boots muffled by the soft mud under his boots. At the same time, multiple hands that had putrid wounds and lacerations on them shot out of the ground. They held on to his calves, pulling him down, however, he quickly shook them off and looked around crazily.
"Come out, you little rat! I am going to kill you!"
However, he was met with nothing but silence.
The next instant, his eyes suddenly glossed over and he clenched his own throat, suffocating himself. In his eyes, a woman dressed in a regal black dress appeared.
Wraith's possession!
This was Madam Sharron employing one of the deadliest weapons at a Wraith's disposal.
In the distance, a man dressed in a thick coat with a pastel drawn on his face appeared. He cocked his revolver towards Jason and pulled the trigger at the same time.
The bullet finds its mark, however, it did not penetrate through, leaving only a small indentation.
The clown with a pastel face pulled the trigger two more times as the metallic defenses around Zombie Jason's forehead began to weaken.
Before however, he could fire another shot, the supernatural control of Madam Sharron suddenly weakened and she was forced to leave.
At the same time, Zombie Jason recovered instantly and took out something that he had taken off of Werewolf Tyre.
It appeared to be a dark red accessory that constantly emitted a serene luster. Shaped like a full moon, it had crimson rubies embedded along its circumference and in the middle was a symbol that symbolized the moon, as well as many other mysterious labels.
It was unknown when the mystical item was activated, however, it had been active for a while now, resulting in Madam Sharron to suddenly manifest in her material form.
At the same time, the pastel faced clown suddenly froze and someone's face was reflected in his eyelids.
Wraith Steve!
However, the pastel clown—Klein had already foresaw this outcome. Instead of panicking, he quickly activated the Sun Brooch and a column of purifying light suddenly struck him from above.
Wraith Steve's body drifted out of Klein, visibly damaged as Klein's own body disintegrated into ashy papers.
Paper Figurine Substitutes!
On the other hand, Zombie Jason, who had disarmed both Maric and Sharron began to grin like a madman. His gaze roved shamelessly over Sharron and through her clothes as he licked his lips. "You bitch, I am going to—"
Whether it was genuine lust, bloodlust, or just the intoxicating sense of supremacy granted by the Scarlet Lunar Corona, Zombie Jason appeared to lose his composure for a fleeting instant and devoted his full attention to imposing himself upon Madam Sharron.
That infinitesimally small lapse in attention was all Hyde required.
Utilizing Guile and Ember in seamless tandem, he appeared behind Jason and scourged his exposed back with Scourge.
The Beyonder Weapon made out of Holy Sunbird's feathers lashed like a whip against bare skin, causing a shrill cry to leave Jason's mouth. The Scarlet Lunar Corona dropped from his hand as Hyde caught it and once again disappeared.
As Jason looked back to look at the cowardly attacker, Hyde appeared from behind him and suddenly climbed him from behind and wrapped Scourge around his neck.
Instantly lacerations began to appear on Jason's neck. Jason clawed at the weapon in an attempt to tear it away, but the moment his fingers came into contact with Scourge, they began to liquefy.
Hyde poured even more spirituality into the artifact before swiftly repositioning himself.
His legs cinched tightly around Jason's waist while his right arm shot beneath the chin, establishing a deep chin-strap grip.
Then Hyde threaded Scourge across Jason's neck and locked his hands together, converting the weapon into the equivalent of a high-elbow guillotine choke. Simultaneously, he elevated his choking elbow and arched backward, turning his entire torso into a lever.
Hyde had trapped Jason's neck with Scourge and had solidified it in place with a Guillotine Choke by applying a cervical extension!
The supernatural metallic defenses that protected Jason's flesh and bones had already been eroded by Scourge. Under the combined pressure of the weapon and Hyde's leverage, Jason's spine was gradually forced beyond its natural anatomical threshold, ready to snap in half at any moment.
At the same time, Maric picked a gun and began shooting at Jason's exposed occiput.
Hyde tried his best to avoid getting hit, however, one of the bullets did hit his finger.
Regardless, Hyde did not loosen his grip over the guillotine, tightening and pulling even harder. Jason screamed and convulsed violently, thrashing with enough force to break stones, yet every desperate struggle only worsened his predicament.
The guillotine continued to ratchet his neck farther and farther backward, vertebra by vertebra, as even Hyde began to hear his back slowly breaking apart. In the meantime, Maric and his zombies kept thrashing Jason until he fell to his knees.
Hyde tightened his legs around his waist and pulled his neck even harder. Suddenly, Hyde felt a push as Jason's neck popped and the flesh around it ripped instantly, causing Hyde's head to hit the ground.
With the help from Maric, Hyde had ripped Jason's head off, despite his body being as strong as steel.
Hyde quickly stood up and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Can't believe he didn't use any of his ice powers..." Maric whispered underneath his breath. It seemed like he had been badly injured and he was quite close to losing control as well.
Hyde nodded and stood a little distance away from him.
He had gotten lucky somehow while dealing with Jason, however, he was unsure if he could do the same with Maric, in case he lost control. After all, there was no way for him to defeat Jason if it was not for Maric and his zombies constantly eating away at him and breaking his defenses.
The two of them looked ahead and saw the pastel clown standing straight. Inside one of his glossed eyes was Madam Sharron and in the other was a man with a pale face who looked to be in his forties. He was wearing a black tuxedo, a dark red cloak, a head of hair slathered with oil and a pair of dark green eyes.
Wraith Steve!
Madam Sharron and Wraith Steve were locked in a metaphysical tug-of-war within the clown's body.
Behind the makeup of the clown, Klein seemed to be struggling with something. It looked like he was thinking of making a decision.
'He is thinking about Madam Sharron. He can use that Sun Brooch but he is afraid he will hurt her... Hmm, at this rate he might die.'
Hyde was about to leave when he saw a flash of darkness. Jason's Beyonder Characteristic manifested in the form of a gray-white heart with hints of ice blue. Both Maric and Hyde looked at it and before Maric could say anything, Hyde picked it up and stuffed it inside his pocket.
Maric stared at him with some venom but refrained from saying anything. There were more pressing matters at hand. Just as Hyde thought about lashing the wraiths out of Klein using Scourge, both Sharron and Steve left Klein's body who was frozen in place for a moment but then suddenly disintegrated into pieces of paper.
At the same time, Sharron drifted away from Steve.
Both looked to be quite disoriented. Maric threw the Scarlet Lunar Corona at Sharron, however, suddenly Steve's lips curled up into a grin.
He flicked his wrist and shards of ice flew into the air. Using the reflective surface of the ice, Steve disappeared and reappeared right in front of the Scarlet Lunar Corona.
His fingers were inches away from the item when suddenly his eyes lit up.
Literally.
Following in the blind-zone created by the Scarlet Lunar Corona was a Fire Raven.
The Fire Raven struck Steve into his chest... or so it looked like.
Steve grabbed the Scarlet Lunar Corona and turned corporeal before reappearing somewhere else. However, the moment he materialized, another Fire Raven homed in from behind him and struck him in his spine, sending the Scarlet Lunar Corona flying.
This time it was Madam Sharron who caught the Mystical Item and pointed her hand at Steve while simultaneously activating Scarlet Lunar Corona. Under the influence, Madam Sharron began to rejuvenate herself while Steve failed to turn corporeal.
Endless rays of light burst forth from Sharron's palm. As they fed on Sharron's spirituality, they interweaved in front of the doll-like lady to form a bronze door, which was covered with mysterious patterns and filled with an indescribable smell.
The door swung open with a creak and a crack appeared. From the crack, pairs of pale or transparent hands or arms covered in teeth or bloody, skinless arms, stretched out, crossed the void, and grabbed Wraith Steve!
Before he could even react, Steve was grabbed by the arms, and he was entangled by smooth and incorporeal tentacles. These tentacles were dark-green vines that had countless baby faces protruding out.
These strange entities were crying and laughing as they tried to drag Steve behind the door. Even though his thoughts were completely controlled by his bloodlust and the urge to kill, Steve instinctively felt afraid.
The pastel-faced clown strolled calmly toward the bronze door despite the overwhelming suction emanating from it. His colorful coattails fluttered violently in the gale, yet his steps remained unhurried.
He stopped a few meters away from Steve as his painted smile widened. Then he offered a courteous bow.
As he straightened, Klein raised two fingers and pointed them toward Steve in the shape of a revolver. The corner of his lips curled upward.
"Boom!"
Wraith Steve staggered weakly.
"Boom!"
The second shot struck Steve from the side. The clown—no, the Magician was now standing atop a nearby wall, balancing effortlessly on one foot.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Klein repeated the process in a comical manner, changing position every time he would hit Steve with his Air Bullet. The entire exchange resembled a bizarre and twisted stage performance.
It was only a matter of time before he fully lost balance. With one last dramatic boom, Steve's battered body that was full of holes, succumbed to the force and went flying.
The moment Steve was sucked in, the door closed and Madam Sharron fell to her knees, thick beads of sweat on her forehead.
Hyde looked at Sharron who was on the ground, and Maric who was extending his hand to help her get up and then at the pastel-faced Klein. The clown looked at him and then took his hat off before flicking his fingers.
A column of flames erupted as Klein disappeared.
Hyde looked at him with genuine interest.
'So the Acting Method for a Magician requires him to perform and gain feedback. I suppose the gaining feedback part is quite common Sequences of all Pathways.'