Many things happened all at once. Binko grabbed Keri and invoked a speed spell. Lakan and Hark invoked speed spells and hot fist spells in rapid succession, and Zeron invoked a ball of fire and hurled it at Hark.

Keri screamed in surprise as the men engaged Zeron. The seat where Hark was burst into flames just as Hark jumped out of it. launching himself at Zeron and punching him in the face with a hot fist. Lakan was a close second, tackling Zeron.

"What the hell is going on!" Keri shouted.

"Your ex works for Ganz, Keri!" Binko shouted. "He kidnapped Segi and beat the shit out of her"

"What?"

A flurry of spells went back and forth between Zeron, Lakan and Hark. Zeron jumped back and created a distance between them. He engaged a hot fist spell, his hand began to glow hot as a thing hot film wrapped around it. Suddenly someone noticed the fire and raised an alarm. The entirety of mousetrap erupted into pandemonium as people struggled to escape. Zeron grabbed one of the women trying to escape and pointed a glowing hot finger directly at her temple.

"Stay back, you bastards!" he screamed. "Or so help me I will bore a hole in her skull!"

"You can't get that hot under a spell dampener, you idiot!" Lakan shot back. "How hot do you think bones burn?"

"I'll poke her eyes out!" Zeron threatened, backing away with the woman screaming and crying under his hold. "What do you think is going to happen when I put a hot finger into her eye sockets?"

Lakan and Hark stood back as he backed away, Hark gritted his teeth, the mousetrap emptied as everyone ran for their lives. Suddenly from behind, a thick metal pole smacked against Zeron's head from behind..

"Release my sister you bastard!" A woman's voice rang out.

The impact of the pole on Zeron's head was mostly an annoyance, barely felt. But he decided to look back at the woman and in anger, grabbed her face with his hot fist. She screamed in pain as her face burned away. He then kicked her away with the speed, she flew back and hit her head on a wall, a crunch sound escaped from her body as her lights went out.

"You see that?" He shouted back frantically.

"Zeron please!" Keri shouted, still reeling from the shock that her ex was apparently a murderous criminal. "This isn't you!"

"Binko get her out of here!" Lakan shouted in annoyance.

"There's a psychopath with a hot fist spell right at the door, if you haven't noticed!" Binko shot back.

"Zeron!" Keri shouted. "Why are you doing this?" Zeron ignored her and continued to back away. At the door, he kicked the woman towards the men and bolted. They bolted after him. Binko sped up to the woman who had been kicked. Her spine had been cracked in several places and dislocated. but she was still breathing. her sister had an outstretched hand print burned into her face and multiple broken bones, but she was still breathing as well.

"Keri get us medics!" Binko shouted.

"Right away!" Keri shouted, pulling herself together and going into work mode. She waved to several medics.

---

Zeron fleeing proved no hassle for Lakan and Hark, who had spent most of their career chasing down criminals, even ones with speed.

Lakan cornered him and knocked him off his path, his speed predictably flung him sideways, and Hark was already there to catch his body.

"You're going to pay for your crimes!" Hark said as he strong armed Zeron, who immediately launched a body blast spell, which was a simple spell that created a simple concussive blast from the surface of the speed film wrapped around his body. Hark was blown back but quickly recovered. Zeron wanted to escape but Lakan was already there blocking the way. he looked in the other direction but Hark had already covered it as well.

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"You bastards really want to play, huh?" He asked, laughing frantically.

"Why do you keep calling us bastards?" Lakan asked. "I'm from an intact, Noble home. How about you, Hark?"

"Same here Lakan." Hark replied. "Seems like our friend here is just projecting."

"Hahaha, so it's a joke to you then." Zeron snapped. "I have spells here with me that would end you both! I will destroy your flesh and pulverize your bones!"

"You clearly don't know who you're talking to." Lakan said. "Surrender now before it's too late!"

Zeron laughed, then he invoked and launched a precise energy blade at Lakan, who dodged. Hark closed in on him, he turned to attack hark with a hot fist, but Lakan had already recovered and launched a concussive blast spell at Zeron, which blasted him right into Hark's Punch, He recovered and uttered a defense spell that blocked most of the impact of Hark's punch. He then threw a fist at Hark, who dodged. Lakan came behind him and punched him below in the side with a speed enhanced move.

He uttered a hot body spell that heated his speed film, causing Lakan and Hark to step back. He went after Hark and rained down several fire attacks on him. Hark dodged most of them and blocked the last one, counterattacking with an energy ball that knocked him back, right into Lakan's attack that broke his left forearm with a concussive energy blade that, without the defense spell he had on, could have torn away his entire hand.

He groaned and grabbed his arm.

"Surrender!" Lakan shouted he blocked a blast spell Zeron had invoked. Zeron invoked more and more spells, he was doing them frantically now, Hark and Lakan were forced back.

"You'll never take me you bastards!" He screamed, then he invoked a foot trap spell at Hark who jumped. while he was in mid air, Zeron fired an energy blade at him. He invoked a defense spell that protected him but threw him back. Lakan rushed close but walked into hot punch, he dodged it but Zeron invoked a foot trap spell, Lakan couldn't dodge that fast enough. Being trapped, Zeron immediately punched him down with a powerful spell. a sputter of saliva escaped Lakan's lips as his back hit the ground.

"ooouch." He groaned. He however quickly invoked a defense spell that blocked the next three punches, narrowly escaping certain death. Hark used the opportunity to turn things back on Zeron. He invoked a foot trap that trapped Zeron's feet. Lakan quickly recovered, he jumped to his feet and trapped the broken hand, Before Zeron could say another word, Hark stuffed a his hand into Zeron's mouth, blow ridding him of being able to cast another spell. Zeron glared at him

"Surrender." Hark said firmly. "Before I cook your tongue in your mouth, and don't even think about biting. I'm one spell from blowing away your entire jaw."

Zeron stared at Hark in shock, Lakan sprung into action, and, trapping the other hand, put him. in a chokehold.

Lakan slowly tightened his grip as Zeron struggled to get free. Eventually he began to fall unconscious, Lakan continued to hold until the man's body went limp. Lakan released and Zeron's body hung in air, his feet trapped in the ground, and his two hands trapped above his head in invisible holds.

Hark took his pulse and nodded to Lakan.

"Still alive." He said, he sniffed the hand the hand he'd put in the man's mouth. "hmm, surprisingly good breath."

Lakan vomited. "Fucking bastard." He lamented.

Hark wrinkled his nose at the residual smoke smell from all the spell casting.

"I've used up a tenth my spells."

"I've used more than half of mine." Lakan said, laughing as he was bent over, with his hands on his knees puking in the alleyway they were in.

"That's dangerous, Lakan. Bind more spells." Hark said. Lakan sighed.

They bound Zeron's unconscious body and gagged him, then carried him back to the Mousetrap, where Keri's colleagues had cordoned off the area as a crime scene.

Keri and Binko were being briefed by a woman named Serene, Lakan and Hark approached them.

"Hello ladies." Lakan begun. Serene noticed the unconscious man.

"Is that the culprit?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah. His name is Zeron." Lakan replied.

"Right, I see. Well thank you for apprehending him," Serene said. "we're going to take him now."

"Woahh" Lakan laughed, backing away. "No you're not."

"We're taking him in, lady." Hark said. "he has special crimes to answer for."

"What? This is *my* jurisdiction. He committed the crime here, and so *we* will question him."

"He's a special interest, Serene." Binko said. "He has to go with us."

"This is my city!" Serene exclaimed. "When has any Seryulan Mage come into your city to take your prisoners?"

"Listen here lady." Lakan said firmly. "A criminal mastermind has been hanging out in your city for months now, he's responsible for the deaths of dozens of people at this point, and your incompetent forces let him roam about with his vermin minions here, and they even harmed one of our own. Clearly you haven't done your job properly, so why should we trust you on this one?"

Serene was taken aback. "young man, You can't talk to me like that. We are doing the best we can, Saymor has one of the lowest crime rates in Gan!"

Hark jumped in. "Mage Serene, Just this once, let's have him. I promise we'll return him once we're done questioning him. Besides if he goes with you, there's a high chance Ganz will break him out of your prisons. He needs to disappear from this city entirely."

Serene considered Hark's statements.

"Okay fine," she said. "but you will need tell me more of what you know of Ganz. We had no idea he's been in our city for months. That is troubling."

"I'm glad you agree." Lakan said. Smiling briefly. "Guys, let's go."