NOVPUB"Did it work?"
Violetta, seeing the Black Guards in black armor rush away en masse, realized that the plan had succeeded.
'Guess it’s about time I leave too.'
She had been waiting on standby in case something went wrong, but there was no longer any need for that.
She was just about to move when she spotted a familiar face storming into the hall.
'That man... the Key Master?'
It was the very Key Master she had approached while pretending to be drunk — the one she had knocked out. Now he was glaring around, searching for someone, blood vessels popping in his eyes.
'This is a pain. I put in quite a bit of force to keep him unconscious longer... guess it wasn’t enough.'
The Key Master was now standing guard directly at the main entrance, making it impossible for her to slip out that way.
She considered sneaking out through the back door, but the servants there, having received orders, were already blocking that path too.
If she stayed like this, she would be completely trapped.
'Just because the doors are blocked doesn’t mean there’s no way out.'
With light steps, Violetta moved toward a window.
She was on the fifth floor, overlooking the auction hall.
Throwing the window open wide, she peeked down.
Below, crimson streetlights glowed, and cars and citizens bustled past.
The Kunst Auction House, also functioning as a hotel, had higher ceilings than normal buildings — falling from this height would leave her shattered.
But Violetta didn’t hesitate. She carefully lifted her skirts and stepped over the window ledge.
"Alright then. Let’s go."
Sitting on the ledge, she pushed off and leapt into the air.
At the same time, she unfurled a black parasol she held in one hand.
It was an incredibly dangerous situation where she could have plummeted straight down.
But astonishingly, Violetta did not crash to the ground. Instead, she floated up into the air, riding the parasol.
Whooooosh.
The wind caught the parasol and lifted her even higher.
Since it was already night and quite dark, no one noticed the figure in black gliding through the air.
Normally, flight magic used <Mana Discharge> to stay aloft, but since Violetta wasn’t proficient in that, she found another method.
She combined her specialty — the <elemental attribute> of wind — with <telekinesis> that Ludger had taught her.
Riding the air currents through her parasol, Violetta gracefully floated down to a secluded spot out of sight.
Before her portable communicator’s time limit ran out, she quickly sent her final message.
"This is <Mary Poppins>. I’ve successfully escaped from the Kunst Auction House."
Having reported in, she was about to move toward the hideout when she sensed someone staring at her.
A small child stood there, wide-eyed, gaping at her.
The kid must have accidentally witnessed her descending from the sky.
"Shh."
Violetta smiled playfully and placed her finger over her lips.
The child, still in a daze, just nodded dumbly.
* * *
"Hey. Are you all set?"
Sitting in the driver’s seat of the truck they had prepared at the entrance beforehand, Seridan glanced back and asked.
Four figures in black Black Guard armor were busy loading cargo onto the truck.
"Be careful with that! It’s valuable!"
"Jeez. You’d think it was his own stuff," someone muttered.
"Hey, Hans! What was that!?"
"Nothing, nothing."
After they loaded everything, each of the members settled into the truck’s cargo bay.
"All set? Then we’re heading out."
"Ah, wait. I'm getting off here."
"Why? Forget something?"
"No, I have something to deliver to the boss."
Hans pulled out something he had set aside from Vault 3’s auction items.
It was a fragment of something — a shard.
A piece of a Relic.
This was the true reason Ludger had insisted on carrying out this operation.
Hans intended to personally deliver it to Ludger.
And Ludger had explicitly told him during their last communication to bring it.
"Go ahead without me. I’ll catch up with the boss soon."
"Alright. Fine. As long as you’re with the boss, it’s no problem."
Stripping off the black armor, Hans quickly changed into a suit and headed back toward the auction house.
Earlier, the entrance had been heavily guarded, but with the chaos erupting inside, security around the entrances was now pitifully lax.
Hans entered the auction house naturally, without attracting suspicion.
Unlike when he had sneaked in through the back, this time he boldly walked through the front.
Eager to deliver the Relic fragment to Ludger, Hans moved with purpose—until he paused.
'What’s that?'
Passing near the dining area, he spotted a group sitting in the corner.
Five men in black suits.
Nothing outwardly suspicious — but Hans’s instincts picked up a strange stench clinging to them.
'Bad feeling about this...'
He gave them a cautious glance, but—
Suddenly, screams erupted from all around the auction house, throwing the place into chaos.
Almost as if it was a signal, the men in black suits stood up from their seats.
Hans felt his hair stand on end.
They pulled out wands — the exclusive tools of mages.
"Shit...!"
At the same time, a dark, sticky surge of black mana swept over the surroundings.
* * *
‘What the hell is going on?’
Ludger was genuinely thrown off by the sudden explosion.
At first, he thought maybe Seridan had lost control of her inner pyromaniac and caused an accident — but he quickly discarded that idea.
'This auction house is protected at all times by mages casting [Silence of Fire] magic. There’s no way a regular explosion could happen here.'
Which meant that whatever caused this wasn’t gunpowder or a conventional blast.
Magic? Or something else?
It didn’t matter what it was.
The real problem was: who did it.
The type of people who’d set off an explosion in a place like this were obvious.
"Nobody move!"
"Move and you’re dead!"
Just as he expected, a gang of thugs burst into action.
"You—you bastards! Do you even know where you are?!"
"Shut the hell up!"
"Aaaah!"
When a middle-aged man who had foolishly tried to speak up got struck down, bleeding from the head, the rest of the guests finally realized the gravity of the situation and began to scream.
Watching the chaos unfold, Ludger understood immediately.
'How the hell did they get into the Kunst Auction House?'
And more importantly, what the hell gave them the guts to pull something like this in such a tightly secured place?
'Ah.'
Ludger exhaled quietly, realization dawning.
'It’s our fault.'
The Black Guards who should have been defending the Kunst Auction House were now trapped underground with a broken elevator — thanks to his own plan.
Meaning there was no one left who could quickly suppress an incident inside.
Sure, some internal security remained — but the enemies currently wreaking havoc were clearly not ordinary thugs.
From their outfits to the weapons in their hands.
They had come here with full preparation to rob the place — and their strength probably matched their intent.
The difference in strength was overwhelming.
Normally, these bastards would’ve backed off, deeming the risk too high.
But now — with 80% of the Black Guards locked away underground — it was the perfect opportunity.
There were plenty of personal bodyguards hired by the VIPs attending the auction, of course.
But those bodyguards weren’t there to protect the Kunst Auction House — they were there to protect their employers.
And the attackers knew that very well.
"Eat this!"
A cloud of green gas spread rapidly through the hall.
It looked dangerous even from a distance. The bodyguards gritted their teeth.
"Get down!"
"Fall back! Don’t let it touch you!"
Fighting to protect someone else was always harder than just fighting to win.
The bodyguards didn’t have to fight for justice — they only needed to ensure their employers’ safety.
'Still, even for that, this much chaos is...'
Ludger’s sharp hearing caught faint explosions in the distance.
Aside from the gang stealing valuables on stage, there were others moving elsewhere inside the Kunst Auction House.
The loss of deterrence had brought out the rats from hiding.
Opportunists who had been biding their time — now finally springing into action.
It was inevitable.
It was just bad luck that it happened now.
"Dark mages! There are crazy dark mages inside!"
Someone ran into the auction hall screaming.
The man’s skin was crawling with black, throbbing veins — signs of a dark magic curse.
It was one of the burly men who had been monitoring Ludger.
He flipped his eyes back, let out a hideous scream, and collapsed to the floor, frothing at the mouth.
The cries of "dark mages" and the sight of a man dying horribly—
Fear spread like wildfire.
"Aaahhh!"
"Run for it!"
"Goddamn it, stop shoving!"
"Get out of the way! Our employer’s escape comes first!"
"Don’t block me, asshole!"
Bodyguards desperate to protect their employers.
Guests still clueless about the situation.
People dying.
Explosions going off.
Screams filling the air.
Bodies crashing into each other, tangled and cursing.
The auction hall descended into total chaos.
It was like some twisted bastard had dumped a barrel of despair over a cauldron of helpless people.
'I need to get out of here.'
Ludger had already accomplished his goal.
There was no longer any reason for him to stay.
Especially now that it wasn’t just one or two intruders.
Thieves looting the valuables — fine, expected.
But now there were also dark mages.
And judging from the other sounds of battle, more factions were involved as well.
Blending into the crowd trying to flee, Ludger suddenly remembered something.
He had given Hans a specific instruction.
Hans had set aside a fragment of the Relic — the true prize of tonight’s operation.
And not long ago, Hans had contacted him, saying he was on his way.
'Where’s Hans? Did he get out safely?'
Normally, Hans was quick-witted ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) enough to sense danger and retreat.
But for some reason, Ludger felt a gnawing unease.
* * * 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
'Shit. What the hell.'
Hans realized he was lying flat on the floor.
He could feel the cold marble against his cheek.
When had he collapsed? He didn’t know.
He tried to get up—
'No strength.'
His whole body was drained.
He managed to move his right hand with sheer willpower.
Rolling his eyes, he checked his hand.
'The shard... where is it?'
The hand that had been gripping the Relic fragment—
Was empty.
Hans slowly lifted his head.
People were lying scattered all around.
And weaving between them were figures in black suits.
The stench of death radiating from them was even stronger now.
'Dark mages.'
Goddamn it.
Hans cursed inwardly.
Of all days, of all luck — the day he and the boss decided to hit the Kunst Auction House, dark mages had shown up too.
Or maybe it was their own fault — because they had stripped away the Black Guards' defenses.
Hans wanted to just close his eyes and play dead.
But then he saw it—
One of the dark mages was holding the Relic shard.
The bastard had stolen it off him.
To an average person, it would look like worthless junk.
But dark mages — they’d know.
They would sense the fragment’s true value.
'No. I can’t let them have it.'
That shard was meant for the boss.
It wasn’t something to be stolen by these bastards.
But what could he do?
He could barely move.
Yet before he could even think about it, Hans’s mouth moved on its own.
"G-Give it back."
"Huh? What the hell? This one’s still alive?"
The dark mage, clutching the shard, looked down at Hans.
He had assumed his curse magic had killed everyone — yet this guy had survived.
This one had unusually strong vitality.
"This thing... Give it back. I have to... give it... to my boss."
"Oh, this?"
The dark mage sneered and—
Thud!
Kicked Hans hard in the side.
"Khak!"
"You useless worm. You think you can demand anything?"
"Ghhhk..."
Hans lay sprawled on his back, staring up at the ceiling.
The dark mage leaned down and grinned coldly at the black veins rising along Hans's skin.
"Judging by the way you're rotting inside, you won’t last long anyway. Consider it mercy that I’m not killing you myself."
Mercy, yeah right.
He just wanted to watch Hans suffer a slow, agonizing death.
Hans couldn't even argue back.
"Haa, haa..."
Damn it.
Hans gasped for breath, gritting his teeth.
His whole body was paralyzed.
Even breathing was a struggle.
He could feel his body slowly dying.
'If it had been someone else here instead of me...'
If it were Alex, Phantos, or even Arfa, would they have.
If it had been them, at the very least, they wouldn’t be lying here disgracefully, sprawled across the floor like he was.
They wouldn’t have had the item stolen — the item that was supposed to be delivered to the boss.
'It’s... because I’m weak.'
The swelling feeling of helplessness was unbearable.
He gritted his teeth and tried to endure it, but he couldn't stop the tears from streaming down.
He had lived a life of running away, afraid to fight.
Then he met Ludger — and for once, he could do what he was good at without having to fight.
But in the end, that was only true when he was with Ludger.
Without him—
This fool named Hans was nothing more than a coward who couldn’t do anything.
'I am...'
Haa. Haa.
His breathing grew faster. He could feel his lungs breaking down.
The curse left by the dark mages was eating away at his body.
Hans squeezed out the last scraps of his strength.
With his trembling right hand, he pulled something out from inside his jacket.
A dagger.
But it wasn’t an ordinary dagger.
Where a sharp, refined blade should have been, there was a rough ivory fang embedded instead.
Hans stared at it with shaking eyes.
And then—
"Ghkk!"
He drove it into his own abdomen with all the strength he had left.
* * *
"Everyone, this way! Stay calm while you evacuate!"
"Don’t push! Be careful!"
"Where the hell are the guards!?"
Screams echoed along the evacuation route.
Ludger, mixed into the crowd rushing toward the exit, suddenly stopped moving.
"What the hell! Don’t stop!"
"Get out of the way, damn it!"
Ignoring the shouting people around him, Ludger turned to look behind him.
The sense of unease that had been gnawing at him for a while finally rang a final alarm in his head.
From deep inside the auction house—
A scent, carried on the wind, stirred an old nightmare he'd once encountered.
Ooooooooooooo━━━!!!
The roar of a beast thundered through the building.
