On the rooftop of a large building, one that seemed to be of a bar or tavern most likely, a short, skinny figure with blonde hair stood, wearing the clothes of a thief, with gloved hands but bare feet, and a small cat-like tail flowing from behind, holding a sharp dagger.
They held a ball of string in their left hand, tossing it around playfully as if they were currently bored.
"…Hehe. I was merely taking a stroll tonight, and I found two useful tools," The skinny figure spoke, "They both look strong enough to help me, and I know my senses are never wrong."
"All that I need now is for them to have a strong sense of justice, or else I'd lose my chance."
The skinny figure grinned and stretched, preparing to jump from building to building.
"Well, even if they don't fall for it, there's nothing that I, Felix, the ultimate trickster, cannot fabricate!" Felix, the youngest trickster and pickpocketer to have ever lived, declared openly.
Then, with his incredible speed, the tanned little trickster leapt onto another building in an instant, heading back to his hideout.
Meanwhile, a few streets away and down below in an alley, Michael stood there, jaw hanging wide, as he stared at the note.
"What is it?" Scott asked before Michael passed the note to him.
"You two seem promising. Meet me at Sherbet Road at 5 o'clock tomorrow. We're gonna track down all the guys that owe me my money, one by one, and by the end of it, maybe… I won't shatter the "shiny purple gem" I have in my possession in front of everyone! Hehe!"
~Signed, Felix…"
The look of confusion washed upon Scott's face as he read the note.
"What's so bad about this? Or, is it because of this "shiny purple gem?"
"It's exactly that. That gem that this note is referring to is most likely a Blightstone. It would just be a normal rock under normal circumstances, but it is a rock that has absorbed a portion of the Tree of Divinity's miasma*. And, once the miasma is unleashed from that rock, dreadful things will occur."
"Like what?"
"…The miasma inside it may cause anyone around, once it shatters, to turn into a demon," Michael replied, "Thankfully, whoever this "Felix" is, they don't have something like a "Miasmic Concentrate", which could cause a less-typical demon variant to arise…"
Scott scratched his chin. "Huh. For some reason, I had the idea that these demons were born from someone with an abnormality infection."
"What…? Of course not…" Michael replied, letting out a small chuckle, "I mean, yeah, sometimes evil entities similar to demons, like "Nightmares" and "Great Terrors", can be born from severe abnormalities, but that isn't common."
"…It makes sense, with how you kept on calling me a demon back when we first met. I didn't know you could truly sense demon blood, so I thought it was because of my arm," Scott said, facepalming, "But anyway, I think I have an idea of how to deal with this Felix guy."
"What is it?"
Scott smirked.
"We trick him. We meet up with him at the place tomorrow, and then, once we get him to show the Blightstone, we snatch it off of him. Shouldn't be too hard, right?"
Michael shrugged. "I don't know about that… did you see how he dashed past us?"
"So? We weren't prepared last time! It's two guys against one, so the odds are in our favour," Scott replied, "Anyway, there's something else we should be worried about as well…"
"Yep, I've noticed. We have nowhere to sleep tonight." Michael murmured.
"But don't worry, I'm sure the cathedral will allow us to stay the night. I've done that many times before, anyway. Let's go!"
***
After a full twelve hours of sleep, Scott and Michael awaited the time of meeting with this so-called Felix for another few hours on Sherbet Road. And then finally, the city's clocks all simultaneously struck at 5.
"…Is he here yet?" Scott asked, leaning on a nearby wall. By this time, the sun was beginning to set, so they made sure to be extra aware.
"I don't think so… oh, hold on…" Michael said as he noticed a small animal slowly approaching, underneath the legs of passers-by. One that was the size of a small kitty.
"Huh… can he transform into a cat or something?" Scott asked, as he also noticed the kitty-cat coming closer.
"Meow!" The kitty let out as it stared at the two of them intently. And then, it transformed, turning into a young boy who seemed no older than thirteen.
"Hehe. I didn't expect you two to come here before I did! I see you two have a much higher moral standing than I even expected."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Michael asked, before Felix, ignoring his question, dashed past him and towards Scott, with a fascinated expression on his face.
"You… you've got something interesting, don't you?" He asked Scott, before swiftly taking the dagger that hung from his tail and tearing through the robes that covered his chest in an instant.
"What the…?!" Scott yelled out in total bewilderment, leaping back and covering his chest quickly.
"Aha!" Felix exclaimed, earning the equally bewildered glances of the many people nearby, "I knew it! From your eyes and your oddly perfect face, I could tell in an instant!"
"Under those strange-looking, sewed-up purple robes, that make you look like those sophisticated scholars of the Altē-Sciēns Society by the way, you… have an Arcane Mark!"
"…Hisbiril's Mark, too! I can't believe I've landed my sights on a disciple of the embodiment of thought, creation and imagination!"
"Damn it…!" Scott half-mumbled, as he caught onto the fact that half of the entire street was staring at him at this very moment.
They had no idea whether this was because the feline male knew of their plan or not, but things looked like a total disaster.
Michael face-palmed out of pure embarrassment but then noticed a shiny glimmer in Felix's left pocket. Knowing there was no way out of this already, he lunged for the Blightstone and almost got his hands on it too, however, Felix's quick movements allowed him to evade gracefully, and, soon after, run away.
"Urgh, Scott, let's chase after him!"
"Ah, alright…?!" Scott replied, while also trying to cover up his chest, "What a disaster!"
They barely followed Felix's tracks that led across several streets by then in a matter of seconds and tried to predict where he was going to cut him off first. All their attempts failed.
And then, they ended up at a bar on Cradle Street, one that was named Pugsley's Wines & Alcohol, where Felix seemed to have carelessly dashed into.
"Phew… phew... how the hell is he so damn fast?!" Scott grunted, feeling the small cuts and bruises all over his body, "And, he even had enough space between us to plant traps…?!"
"Yeah, when I get my hands on the Blightstone, I'll show exactly why I'm a disciple of Glamar…"
They entered the bar. Yet, they were met with major astonishment.
"You cat bastard! I told you not to come back here until you collect all of the money you owe us! This is not a hideout for you anymore, petty thief!" A gruff, tall and muscular man exclaimed, holding Felix by the neck.
"And, who told you to take this?" He asked menacingly, snatching the Blightstone from Felix's pocket.
"A-ah… I'm s-sorry!" Felix spat out while being choked half to death, "I'll—"
"HEY!" A loud yell interrupted him, followed by a powerful, red-blazing fist to the muscular man's face.
"Woah…!" Felix cried out, as he hit the ground hard.
"Argh! Who the hell…??"
Michael rushed to pick up the Blightstone, while Scott stood over the now-injured man and looked around. Every single person there looked like an ordinary bandit, with their angry faces and scruffed attires, and not to mention, there wasn't even a bartender around.
"Whew… so… I don't get what exactly the situation is, but it seems, in this case, you guys are the ones who put him up to his shenanigans, huh?" Scott asked.
There was no answer, but instead, every single person in that bar picked up their weapons and got ready to fight, including the big guy with a fist-shaped mark engraved on his cheek, who seemed to be the chief bandit around there.
"…You pack a fiery punch, for a guy like you," The chief bandit spoke, picking up an axe while flexing his hand, "I won't get hit again, so this time, I'll put you in your grave, with that petty thief, and your little buddy!"
Scott grinned. He knew this was gonna be a tough fight since the fella in front of him took a punch enhanced by flames like almost nothing. However, as far as he knows, he hasn't ever lost a fight, and wasn't intending on doing so either.
"…Alright, so you guys want a fight, huh?" Scott asked, glancing around, "Then, bring it on! And, get ready for the beatings of your life!"