A Runaway Performance (3)

Look, I’m not a coward, alright?

Sure, I was standing behind some of the spectators. And sure, I was keeping my head down even though I was hidden behind an illusion. But, eight officers and combat spellcasters were encircling me on all sides. Did you think I’d just do nothing?

That would be stupid, foolish, and naive all rolled into one.

I was already in my late twenties, and if my belly bulge hadn’t made it obvious, I rarely exercised. The last three days of walking around likely totaled more than I had done over the last decade. Plus, I wasn’t even a combat spellcaster. Defending myself without any ticks? Hell no. If it wasn’t for how well the illusions worked, I would have already been captured and kidnapped.

Oh right, I have a show to perform.

“Thank you very much for your donations!” My illusion went around (or technically I pushed through the crowd), collecting reales as my assailants stared with a dumbfounded look. Honestly, I expected as much given my easy escape, but wow, was it hysterical. Even the audience laughed while they cheered.

“Hey…” the captain heaved, snapping out of his stupor. “Don’t… just… ignore… us…” He and his subordinates were clearly exhausted, sweat dripping down their brow as their knees buckled. Meanwhile, the mages were in decent shape, save the occasional glazed eye.

So, of course, I proceeded to ignore him.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” I said, spinning back towards center stage, narrowly dodging a water ball, “What shall I do next? Unfortunately, my lovely stagehands won’t let me sit still.”

“Make another animal!”

“No, another scene!”

“How about a magic trick!”

“Anything works! Just don’t let them catch you!”

“Just. Stay. Still!”

The audience quickly chimed in with their suggestions. Well, that last one was from a mage, but I digressed.

“Hmm, what to do. What. To. Do,” I pretended to ponder, taking a step to the right. Another slice of wind whizzed by.

“Hold still already!” One of the subordinates reached towards me, but his feet caught each other, pulling him to the ground.

It almost sounded like a shattering light bulb.

“Ah! I know! I’ll just run away!”

…

…

…

““““HUH????????”””” The guards, the mages, and even the spectators were flabbergasted, as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. On the other hand, my illusion bounded into the air, jumping off nonexistent platforms. Once I was high enough, I looked down – or up since I was upside down – at the ring of people.

“Well, see you later!” With a quick wave, I landed on the outside and ran. The swathe, on the other hand, stood around, staring at one another.

“So…”

“Um…”

“What are we supposed to do?”

“Isn’t he getting away?”

“Well, obviously–”

““““FOLLOW HIM!!!”””

A mass migration chased down my illusion in three stages. First, there were the mages propelling themselves forward with wind magic. Next, the captain and subordinates trailed far behind, not exactly energized, but not running on fumes either. Finally, my audience members leisurely strolled, covering the entire walkway.

Me? Oh, I had given up and sat down. I was already exhausted asking for donations. No way was I going to catch up.

But if my illusion goes any further, I won’t be able to see him anymore. Therefore…

As I got to the next street light, I made a sharp left, crossing over to the other side. Spells of different elements whizzed by, missing me by the slimmest of margins. Then, I took a step back, head down the opposite side. The mages banging into each other as they tried to adjust their spells on the fly.

As the blob of spectators saw me rush past, they decided to spread out into a thin line, observing from a distance. The area I ran wasn’t that long, only around a city block in length, so they could easily see a single person dogging, weaving, and maneuvering like a madman.

Of course normally, you would expect to see more people on the streets but…

“Apologies, please stay behind the cones to avoid getting caught up in the spells.”

“This area is closed for an off-the-cuff chase.”

“Detour to the left, right, and back. No hops required.”

I stopped each time, laying down bright orange traffic cones I pulled from my pocket, giving a brief explanation to anyone trying to pass by. The mages and guards were in pursuit, but I slipped away each time. The audience continued to grow with the additional space as the cheers turned into roars you’d see on New Year’s Eve.

“Damn it, he keeps dodging all our spells!”

“We can’t catch him even if he’s right in front of us!”

“Use constricting magic!”

“He just dances out of that too!”

“What other options do we have?”

“Does anyone have a rope?!?”

“Ooh! Thank you for the twenty reales!”

“Where are the spatial mages when you need them?!?”

My pursuers continued to lose their minds as every move confounded, confused, and aggravated. In fact, I even had time to collect a few donations, though lumbering over with my real body was infinitely more exhausting. But it was well worth it – the larger venue almost quintupled my income.

“Captain, permission to use Class 2 spells?!” one of the mages eventually cried out. I had no idea what ‘Class 2’ meant, but it was probably dangerous.

“We can’t use those in populated areas!” the captain yelled back.

“But we can’t do anything else! He’s just toying with us!”

“Ergh–”

“Oh, thank you for the ten reales!” I accepted the donation right next to the captain.

The vein on his forehead bulged. “Fine! Do it!”

Four of the mages went to one of the corners of the block while the final one kept her eye on me. They began to chant gibberish again, with four red circles from the perimeter and one green on watch. Mana swelled into the area as if pulled by a vacuum, jostling with increasing frequency.

And then, out of nowhere, the mana created a spark. Then came another. And another. The chain reaction grew so fast that at one moment there was nothing, and the next, a spire of blue flame encompassed the street. The mages seemed to be screaming something, like cartoon characters unleashing their ultimate spell, but they were drowned out by the sonic boom.

Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished, leaving behind a hole nearly ten feet deep. Not a single thing, or person, remained inside. The eight attackers patted themselves on the back, figuratively with how drained they all were.

“We… finally… got… him…”

“Tch. It would’ve been great if we captured him, but that’s how it goes.”

“But what if he escaped?”

“Are you kidding? From that spell?”

“We nearly burned the buildings trying to keep it contained.”

“Yeah, no way anyone’s surviving that.”

“What do you think, Captain?”

“Doubtful…”

“It was very impressive though.” All of them turned their heads towards my voice, staring as if they had just seen a ghost. “Could’ve used a little more oomph though.”

And with that, all my assailants collapsed, unconscious.

“Oh, thank you for the reale!”