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The blackout seemed to be resolved quickly.

This was because the emergency power system activated right away, which was prepared for when there were issues with electricity.

However, when that emergency power system also went down and darkness descended for the second time,

the atmosphere inside suddenly grew chaotic, as if everyone sensed that something was off.

“What was that…!”

“Quickly… restore the power…!”

Voices faintly drifted in from the hallway beyond the door.

It seemed they finally realized this was not a mere accident but a deliberately orchestrated event.

It seemed that having gathered so many esteemed VIPs, this unfortunate incident was no trivial matter.

For those people, it must feel like a knife was being held to their throats in real-time.

Of course, once they realized the blackout was just the beginning… they’d probably wish to faint!

By the way, this fox mask that Greg gave me has great performance. Even with the lights suddenly out like this, I can see clearly in front of me. Artifacts are truly something else!

I admired the functionality of the fox mask that allowed me to see clearly in the dark, watching as Sabrina seemed to have adapted to the darkness, scanning the surroundings.

Maybe it’s because she’s a nocturnal bear beastman?

She didn’t seem to need much time to adjust to the dark.

As I quietly gazed into her eyes, which glimmered faintly from the reflected light, she whispered nervously in my ear.

“Fox, what are we going to do now? Stupid big brother has started moving. Do you have a plan for what’s next?”

“….”

A plan? Of course, I still had one.

I had taken out all of the Nemesis’s combat robot battalion.

As long as Lexi didn’t come across David, it would be over, and that would be the end of the game.

But how was I going to make sure Lexi wouldn’t encounter David?

That was simple. Since I had a rough idea of where Lexi was, I just needed to lure David outside for a moment when he was passing by.

There was no need to fight at all. Lexi was fixated on Raven, anyway.

If I used that as an excuse to talk, she’d probably go along with it.

‘Then let’s go that way.’

I quietly replaced the ceiling I had opened earlier.

Pointing forward with my finger, I signaled to Sabrina to move in that direction.

Thanks to having watched the whole process of immobilizing the combat robots,

Sabrina nodded without any particular doubts and silently followed behind me.

‘Since a large-scale blackout has occurred, sleep gas will soon burst out from all directions. Fortunately, the sleep gas is heavier than air, so it won’t reach us up here… but just in case, we should prepare for a situation where we might end up inhaling gas.’

I glanced down at Sabrina’s outfit from top to bottom.

She appeared to be wearing a simple hoodie, as if she had rushed out. Underneath that was presumably just her underwear.

I took off my jacket and vest and handed her a lighter vest.

Just in case it became troublesome if she inhaled the sleep gas deeply, it was meant to cover her mouth and nose.

“Why is this…? Wh-what?! You want me to stick my nose in the clothes you were wearing…!”

“…?”

“…Ugh, well, it can’t be helped!”

Even if it’s a bit uncomfortable, please bear with it.

As I lowered my head in an apologetic manner, did she understand that there was no other choice?

Sabrina took the vest, her face reddening as she snatched it.

‘With this, we won’t fall asleep from the sleep gas. Alright, let’s go disturb Lexi.’

I took off my cumbersome tie and stuffed it into my pants pocket.

Sabrina and I crawled quietly through the space above the ceiling.

Though I could move quickly with psychokinesis, I wouldn’t be able to hear what was going on below, so it had to be a slow march.

Just how far did we crawl through this dark, narrow ceiling passage?

The moment I felt we were nearing where Lexi might be, a suddenly startling loud sound echoed.

Whip… Crack!

‘Wait a minute, is that… a whip sound?!’

There was no way I could miss it.

It caused a small sonic boom as it moved faster than the sound, the distinctive loud noise of a whip.

And there was only one person in this building who could use a whip as a weapon.

I hurriedly opened the ceiling above the area where the sound came from and took a quick look at the situation below.

‘…What?’

My mind was suddenly blank with panic.

And the reason was simple. Below, David and Lexi were glaring at each other, engaged in a tense standoff.

No, Mr. David, you shouldn’t be here at this time.

As the flickering lights began to stabilize and return to normal,

I rolled my head around, speculating on the cause to match the already occurred result.

‘Could it be because Raven, who received a request from Sabrina, is nowhere to be found?’

Let’s think this through. In the original story, Raven was commissioned by Sabrina to stop David.

With his keen observation, he was cornering David, who was planting gas devices all over the hotel.

But now, because Sabrina and Raven hadn’t met, the result was that there was no one to keep David in check.

If David managed to reach the VIP banquet area in the blink of an eye without being interrupted by anyone?

‘Ugh! This original story isn’t helping at all!’

I felt like tearing my hair out in frustration.

I had planned to separate David from Lexi before they faced each other.

But of all things, the two ended up meeting first!

The precarious situation suddenly felt like it was rolling toward the worst pitfall at breakneck speed.

But whether I was panicking up there in the ceiling or not,

Lexi, who seemed to have already exchanged a move, whispered seductively to David while licking her lips with the whip in hand.

“You seem to be quite responsive. Are you perhaps the fixer? This unnatural blackout is your doing, isn’t it?”

“…I have no reason to answer that.”

“Oh really? Hehe… I’m so curious if you can still say the same thing after I strangle you thoroughly?!”

Wow, that’s scary.

Lexi’s eyes were wide open enough to be noticeable from a distance.

She truly looked like a queen engulfed in madness.

“Snake, bite him!”

Swish!

She lightly swung the whip toward David.

It was a casual motion, like swatting away a fly that had landed nearby.

But the result was anything but light compared to such a casual gesture.

“What, what is that…?!”

Sabrina, watching anxiously from beside me, widened her eyes in shock.

Deep gouges that looked as if they had been violently hacked into the wall and floor near David formed unmistakably.

At a glance, it was hard to believe that this was the result of a mere black leather whip.

However, it was perhaps to be expected. Her whip was an artifact from this world.

‘Was it a snake that bites flesh? I’ve heard it’s one of the ego weapons with a will… This is seriously ridiculous. What kind of whip is that strong?!’

If she were an ordinary person, they would have been immediately dismembered or left unable to fight due to a broken bone from an attack of such ferocity.

But perhaps because David was inherently robust as a bear beastman,

despite bleeding from Lexi’s merciless attacks, he crossed his arms and slammed his knuckles together, shouting,

“Shock!”

“Ugh!?”

Boom!

The shockwave that shot out from between David’s knuckles enveloped Lexi.

It was a storm of powerful force that felt as if it was tearing the very fabric of space, and Lexi could only be swept away by the unexpected strike.

‘That’s… David’s Circuit Magic!’

I couldn’t help but admire David’s show of strength.

Circuit Magic.

This was a unique method of magic usage that only a few beings from another race employed in this world.

Simply put, it felt like modifying the body in a special way to make it a sort of biological artifact.

David lacked the magical capacity, but he was an incredibly talented beastman in terms of magical talent.

Thus, he could use Circuit Magic to inscribe magic onto his body and gloves, allowing him to manipulate magic freely.

Of course, Circuit Magic was simply a unique approach, and it wasn’t actually a very good method.

It prioritized efficiency so much that compared to existing magical methods, it lacked output by a considerable margin.

To put it roughly, it was like making a slingshot out of melted guns while everyone else was using rifles and cannons.

If the existing magic hadn’t been constrained by the environment of Earth, where magical energy in the atmosphere was sparse, this method would have been impossible to develop.

“Ah, ahaha! Magic without a precursor of magical energy…! What? You’re a Circuit Mage! It’s been a long time since I’ve been properly caught off guard!”

And perhaps that flaw was becoming evident.

Despite taking a shockwave that caught her entirely by surprise, it didn’t seem like Lexi had received significant damage, only her hair getting ruffled.

Instead, by slightly provoking her who had looked rather bored, the danger level just escalated.

‘It seems David won’t be able to manage it….’

After all, David wasn’t someone who had learned how to fight properly.

He was just a pure romanticist who wanted to reclaim his childhood friend.

In contrast, Lexi was a level 99 fixer who had fought fiercely in wars against beings of another race for years.

Before even considering physical capabilities, their levels of combat experience were entirely different.

“Kugh…! Then I shall attack until you fall!”

“You idiot! There’s no way I’d fall for the same trick twice!”

And this apprehension became reality in an instant.

Just as David fired a shockwave, Lexi gracefully dodged it, gliding along the floor before swinging her whip with reckless abandon.

Once, twice, thrice, four times…. Due to Lexi’s naturally overwhelming defensive capability, David seemed to be slowly reaching his limit as he silently endured.

“Kugh… my leg….”

His clothes were already in tatters, and blood dripped from the rents in his garments.

Eventually, it seemed his strength had left one of his legs, leading him to his knees.

Naturally, standing there immobile made David nothing more than a powerless prey to Lexi.

She strengthened her wrist and constricted his arms and legs with her whip, tightening around his neck as well.

“I got you! Now then… let’s hear a scream from the bear beastman!”

No matter how sturdy David was compared to an ordinary beastman, the intense bind made it impossible for him to escape.

Lexi pulled the whip sharply before hastening towards David, as if to finish him off.

If it continued like this, David would surely fall prey to Lexi!

I mentally prepared myself to have no choice but to use psychokinesis when, suddenly, Sabrina, who had been fidgeting like an anxious kitten wanting to jump in, couldn’t hold back anymore and leaped down from the ceiling.

“O-Don’t bully my big brother!”

“…Huh?”

“What….”

From Sabrina’s small but tightly clenched fist, green mana began to seep out.

And with all her might, her fist struck the ground.

Boom!

Her hidden aces struck the floor, creating a small crater as it kicked up a cloud of dust.

Targeting the opening where serious damage could have been inflicted, that sudden arrival caused Lexi to frown and fall back.

In what could only be described as the fleeting moment of a heartwarming sibling reunion.

With David visibly fatigued by Lexi’s unending assaults, he spoke toward Sabrina.

“Sabrina, how did you… get here?”

“Haek, haek…! You were… doing something reckless… so… I came to save you!”

“Didn’t I clearly tell you to go home? This place is far too dangerous for you. You could die!”

Of course, this was very bad news for David.

For his sister, who was terrified of this unacceptable plan that couldn’t guarantee success, to involve herself out of concern, he must have been losing his mind with anxiety.

But against such David, Sabrina, forcing a smile on her face, replied calmly.

“You foolish big brother. It’s not that I’m doing it because I can, but because I have to. Reina-unnie is precious to me, but so is you, big brother David!”

Her heart was like a flame.

David’s unwavering will, inheriting the burning passion from Reina, was being passed down to the delicate little Sabrina.

If there was something that absolutely had to be done, it was the kind of resolve that wouldn’t yield or compromise, simply moving forward.

Sabrina had developed the will to overcome the reality she had been given to protect what was precious to her!

“Ha, this isn’t an elementary school play or anything…. Is that your little sister? Then, if I take care of her, you’ll give up voluntarily, right?”

“…Kugh.”

But reality was often harsh and cold, unlike ideals.

The current situation was one where Sabrina’s involvement wouldn’t change anything at all.

In fact, having used up every bit of her meager mana with that last strike, her appearance held no real significance.

All she had managed was to buy a few seconds. Nothing more, nothing less.

But that few seconds merely served to alter David’s fate.

Well done, Sabrina.

Thinking that, I suppressed the tension that naturally rose in my chest and jumped down from the ceiling.

“Huh? You’re… the kid who knows Jin?”

“…”

Right now, I was in a white dress shirt and long formal pants after having taken off my jacket and vest.

But it seemed that I could only be recognized by my fox mask and my tied-up snowy white hair.

Lexi looked at me as if to say, “Why are you coming out now?” with eyes wide open.

Well, this was the important part.

Now was the time to make my final gamble, having watched the situation and agonized over the decision many times.

It was time to create the only breakthrough that would lead David to a happy ending.