The Rise Of A Shadowsmith

Chapter 238: Thieving Morons (3)

In a dark and desolate alleyway, Jara and his accomplice huddled together, their faces filled with fear and frustration. They knew they would be caught on eventually, but things unfolded at an unprecedented speed.

Their heist had gone terribly wrong, and the city guards were hot on their trail. Moreover, the whispers of their crimes had spread like wildfire, and now they were branded as fugitives, meaning there was nowhere for them to hide anymore.

Jara’s companions were furious with him, blaming him for the disastrous plan that had landed them in this dire situation. However, Jara wasn’t someone who would take shit from anyone. Besides, he wasn’t the only one responsible for the mess.

As the two lost control over their emotions, Jara pointed out they were the ones who urged him on. This prompted them to begin yelling and cursing at each other for their foolishness, realising that they had made a grave error in judgment.

As if the situation wasn’t troublesome enough, the man they had paid to smuggle them out of Heaven’s Refuge, known as the Escapist, had severed all contact with them, fearing the guards would also track him down.

The Escapist’s business was doing quite well as he had no competitor in his ’endeavour’. So it would be fine for him even if he dropped Jara and his underlings as clients.

After all, many people were willing to leave the city, and he was there to prosper on the opportunity.

"We’re doomed, Jara! Your plan has ruined us," one of the accomplices cried, his voice trembling with fear.

"I never signed up for this," the other added, her eyes darting nervously in all directions. "and that damned Escapist, I’ll strangle him to death as soon as I get my hands on him."

The Escapist was renowned for his ability to get people out of the city without the Eclipse ever discovering their escape. There was a reason nobody usually messed with him or hired his services.

He was a man with backing. However, no one knew what or who those backers were, but according to the rumours, it was someone close to the Mayor himself.

Other than that, his services came at a steep price, and it was an amount of money Jara and his people didn’t have.

Desperate to secure the necessary funds for their escape, Jara had resorted to selling the stolen gear to Ron, unknowingly setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to their downfall.

As the trio hid from the light of the day, they could feel the weight of impending doom closing in around them.

The city’s guards relentlessly pursued them, determined to bring the thieves to justice. Every passing second felt like an eternity, and their panic continued to rise.

"What do we do now...?" the guy mumbled while pulling his hair in frustration.

"I’m thinking!" Jara retorted and turned his back towards them. Seeing their faces was only making him more anxious.

"Alright, let’s relax for a bit..." the other member said.

Desperation etched on their faces, she urged his companions to remain silent as Jara wracked his brain for a solution. Initially, Jara thought he had the perfect plan, but in reality, his plan had crumbled, leaving them no room for error, and they had become stranded within the city’s walls.

Suddenly, an eerie silence blanketed the alley. The usual sounds of the city faded away, replaced by the heavy tension that hung in the air. Jara’s heart pounded, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

Then, a bone-chilling shriek pierced the night, and Jara’s head snapped towards his two companions. To his horror, he found they had vanished into thin air, leaving only their abandoned bags behind.

"Where did they go?!" Jara muttered under his breath, a sense of dread welling up inside him. "Fuck! Who is there!?"

He fumbled to retrieve a knife from his pocket, his mind racing to comprehend what had happened. The fear in his heart entered his head as he tried to piece together what was happening.

"Did they leave me-"

Before he could react, something snaked towards him from the shadows. He attempted to evade it, but the whip-like thingy struck his hand, causing him to drop the knife. In the blink of an eye, his hands and legs were ensnared by an ethereal darkness, and he was immobilised.

Terrified and bewildered, Jara struggled to break free, but the more he writhed, the deeper he was drawn into the sinister shroud of darkness.

"No, no, let me go!" he pleaded, his voice trembling.

His frantic attempts to escape only seemed to tighten the noose around him, and he was inevitably pulled towards an unknown abyss.

As he teetered on the edge of despair, a figure emerged from the darkness, scanning the alley as if he were looking for someone or something. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"Please, someone help me!" Jara cried out as soon as he saw a ray of hope.

However, the approaching figure was not there to save him but was one of the city guards. With a sinister grin, the guard called for his colleagues, announcing that he had captured the criminal, Jara.

"Looks like I found them!" the guard yelled as he slowly walked towards Jara.

Watching the man approach him, Jara sighed in relief, thinking he was safe. Then, the shadows trapping him suddenly receded, leaving him alone in the alley. But he wasn’t alone this time.

The lifeless bodies of his accomplices remained beside him, grotesque and withered, as if everything inside them had been siphoned away.

"This... This is a nightmare!" Jara exclaimed, his voice quivering.

The guards witnessed this gruesome tableau, and they were quick to jump to conclusions. In their eyes, Jara had not only committed theft but had also ruthlessly murdered his own partners to cover his tracks.

The guards didn’t hesitate because Jara had the perfect motive to kill his partners, as they could be causing trouble keeping their mouths shut, so he sealed their mouths shut forever.

"Murderer!" one of the guards declared.

"I didn’t do it! I didn’t kill them!" Jara protested.

Jara continued to scream that he was wrongly accused, but his cries fell on deaf ears. His world had collapsed around him, and he was being pulled into the unforgiving embrace of the justice system on Heaven’s Refuge, which meant certain death.

A short distance away, a hooded figure observed the entire scene, a sinister smile playing on his lips as shadows danced around him like flames.

"Now that I’m done here," Shinon murmured wickedly, disappearing into the shadows and leaving the scene behind. "Let’s get back to work."