With a shattering sound, the window broke, and he fell face-first in the ground riddled with glass.

He envisioned himself rolling away from all the glass like in the movies, but it proved to be way too complicated. Glass shards punctured his face, and as he willed himself to stand up, even more, were jabbed into his hands.

"Meow," Firrol jumped and landed on top of him. Fortunately, he was too light, otherwise Melvin would have been for another bout of pain.

The previously bustling street where laughter, conversations, and the steps of people walking in and about echoed immediately became still as the fallen man became the center of attention.

Everyone seemed intrigued, and impatient to learn about what was happening as they watched everything unfold.

Swiftly standing up, Melvin put the new red hood over his face, touched the dagger in his waistband for more assurance, and bolted through the street. When he looked back he noticed how the guards had all jumped from the broken window, following after him.

"Shit," He cursed as he ran, "They must've become suspicious when they noticed that the shop was closed."

"Yes, it seems like it," Firrol replied from the back, his claws firmly latching into Melvin's shoulders.

However, although it was indeed a bit painful, Melvin didn't complain. He realized that there was no other way to go about it. He could have princess carried the feline, but he doubted the latter's willingness. Moreover, he also needed to keep his hands free in case he needed to do something with them.

Suddenly feeling a sense of danger accompanied by a wooshing sound, Melvin turned to look and found a giant vertical crimson blade of light dashing in his direction. Without even the time to dodge, Melvin's eyes widened and he reflexively rolled to the side with Firrol jumping off his back.

Thick roots burst out of the ground, destroying the light blue bricks on the road as a result, and twisted around his ankles.

"Oh Fuck!" Melvin mumbled when he caught sight of the very close approaching captains, and more so the impressive strength of the roots clutching his ankles.

With a swift practiced motion, he brought out the two daggers and started frantically cutting the roots as his eyes kept stealing glances at the approaching guards. When the roots were close to being sliced, he raised his head to look and saw another one of those crimson blades of light rushing in his direction.

At first, he was petrified because he was unable to dodge, but then his eyes lit up as he thought of something.

He audibly gulped, mind becoming intensely focused, and unconsciously held his breath. When the blade of light was but a few paces away from him, he gently tilted his body to the side whilst keeping his leg glued in its initial position.

Fortunately, what he envisioned in his mind had indeed happened, and his legs were still intact as the roots tumbled down to the ground.

Finally free, Firrol jumped on his back again, and he stood upright.

By then several guards had arrived closely behind him, and two extra thick roots emerged in both directions horizontally flying at him, as if aiming to strangle him.

However, Melvin was still the one with the highest agility out of everyone present, and now that he wasn't limited by the closed space of the home like before, he was free to show it off.

His body briskly walked a single step backward, subsequently dodging two punches and four roots. Tilting his torso slightly, he sent a side kick to the abdomen of one of the guards, tossing him several meters as he groaned in pain.

But when he noticed how the four were about to lunge at him simultaneously, he dodged another root and made a run for it. Shouts and curses echoed from behind him as he dashed through the streets with people fleeing in fright making way for him.

Unobstructed, the guards were unable to gain on him, and so after zigzagging through the winding streets, he quickly lost them.

Once again, he stopped running and focused on a fast stride as he continued his escape.

"Ouff," He heaved a sigh of relief, "That was close."

"Yes," Firrol said, seemingly blithely.

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Noticing his upbeat tone, Melvin slightly turned his head to see a big smile on the former's face, "You're quite enjoying yourself there, aren't you?" He commented, and he then began shooing him off his shoulder.

The duo continued walking through the streets for close to half an hour, and they had already reached the southwest part of the city. Melvin felt like it would be better to hide there since the streets were narrower, and also emptier, unlike the streets of the other districts that were wide and bustled with activities due to the numerous shops.

After walking by a small neighborhood coffee shop, he figured it would be better to just hide there for a while.

Stepping foot inside, he studied the insides. The shop was filled with small circular tables with comfortable chairs, and they had some booths at the side.

Melvin knew that this was the peak of the afternoon, and so the fact that the shop was relatively empty with few filled tables made some sense. Overall, there was a very cozy atmosphere in the shop, and he quickly made his way toward the booth at the very edge and sat down.

In the booth in front of him, two older men sat, playing on a guitar as they smoked. Melvin initially wanted to go ask for a smoke because he had none, but he figured it would be too rude to interrupt their song for a favor, and so he just sat there enjoying the tunes.

The waiter of the shop gently approached him with a smile on his face, and Melvin knew that he was going to ask him what he wanted to drink. However, the waiter's steps suddenly halted as his eyes widened in shock. Just as he was about to ask the new customer what he wanted to drink, everything changed.

Five strong men barged in through the doors with a savage glint in their eyes, and before he could even process that the previously inconspicuous customer had strangled him from behind, and put the edge of his dagger at his throat, threatening, "Stop there, or this guy gets it."

Amidst his shock and horror, the waiter's head slightly turned to the side, and he finally caught sight of the customer. The moment he did so, his knees felt weak before they gave out, and the dagger at his throat drew a bit of blood.

"Shit!" Melvin cursed again, "Get a grip man." He mumbled at the waiter, his eyes unwavering from the five approaching guards.

"Put the weapon down, Jacob," The tall bald captain spoke softly, "You can't escape."

Hearing the words, Melvin gulped, he truly began to believe what they were saying.

'How? How?' He shouted in his mind, unable to think of how they were able to find him.

However, this was all more or less within his expectations. He knew that being ignorant about the world and its capabilities was his biggest weakness. He understood that if he was a fugitive then chances were some special means would be deployed to apprehend him, and what he witnessed now in front of him was one of them.

"I will kill him!" He shouted with a mad look on his face.

The group in the middle had already run away to the sides of the coffee shop but smoking still as they watched everything unfold. The two guitarists did the same, and everyone watched what would happen with bated breaths.

Unfortunately, the captains seemed to prioritize arresting Melvin instead of a civilian's safety, so their steps didn't pause as they continued approaching. "Put it down!" The bald captain shouted.

"Fuck all of you," Melvin shouted with indignance at the group seeing how his hostage plan had no effect, and with a push of his hands, he shoved the waiter in front of him. Stumbling forward, the waiter fell before the guard's eyes. By then, Melvin had already escaped into the back room of the coffee shop, hoping there was a window.

Fortunately, his luck turned out to be better this time. In the back room, there was a whole backdoor instead of just a window.

With another round of curses and hurried steps behind him, Melvin opened the door and stepped outside. He randomly thought of maybe using his strength to obstruct the guards from following after him, but he quickly realized it was a stupid idea. They could easily break through, and then start attacking him from there.

Swiftly looking to his left, he was met with a wall, and looking to his right he saw the exit out of the alleyway. And just as he took several steps forward, those same thick roots emerged out of the ground and attempted to catch him. However, he was already prepared for this move, and so he easily dodged them and continued running with Firrol on his shoulders.

When he turned to the right, into another narrow street, the cat suddenly mumbled, "I found it!"

"What?!" Melvin impatiently questioned as he ran with everything that he had.

"I know how they're tracking you down," Firrol said with a slightly uncertain tone.

"Really?" Melvin uttered, his tone hopeful, "How?"

"Look up," Firrol says, and when Melvin made sure nothing dangerous was in front of him as he ran, he followed.

"See that blackbird?!" Firrol asked, "Its flight pattern is too odd, it seems to be perfectly following after us."

Melvin squinted his eyes due to the sunlight to the side and tried to see what he was talking about. But strain his eyes as he could, all he was able to see was a small black dot, "I don't see anything."

"Your eyes are bad," Firrol commented, "I know what you should do. I have hunted birds before."

After listening to Firrol's words and then his plan, Melvin decided to go with it as he trusted his judgment in matters such as these.

Melvin with laborious breathing and a fast thumping heart, continued walking back and forth through the streets, until finally the object of his search was found.

A butcher shop.

Understanding that he had no money and the only way to get some meat was through theft, he dashed by the shop and grabbed a big piece of meat that was hung by the side through a sharp metal spike.

"Youu!!" An angry voice yelled from behind him as he ran with the meat in hand, and by the time the voice thought of other things to say, he was already long gone.

With the first and only ingredient in mind, he continued looking through the narrow streets of the Southern part of the city, and not long after he found the thing he had been looking for once again.

An open door.

Melvin without a care in the world brazenly pushed it wide open and began climbing the flight of stairs. Soon, he began hearing a series of footsteps, and he knew that it belonged to the inhabitant of the house.

When he reached the rooftop's door, he gently opened it and stepped inside.

"What now?" He said to the cat.

Firrol pointed toward a clothing drying line and said, "Cut that off."