Faint smoke rising from below and people collapsing weakly to the ground.
The stage is blindingly bright, but the light illuminating the outer edges is far too weak.
In the sinking deep darkness, all sorts of shadows swirled chaotically.
This… seems like something’s going wrong.
Almost at the same moment I came to that conclusion, Alice shouted beside me.
“Yuria! Sabrina! Hold your breath for a sec! We’re getting out of here right now!”
Without any hesitation, Alice firmly tucked me and Sabrina under each arm like pieces of luggage.
Though we were being treated like baggage, this was an emergency. No time to worry about such trivial matters.
Even if it looked a bit silly, it was better to escape quickly.
Perhaps thanks to countless past experiences, I managed to stay calm and lightly held my breath alongside Sabrina.
“Hoo!”
“…!”
“I’m going!”
Thud!
Alice took about three steps on the floor for a running start and jumped up with all her might.
Her leg strength is insane. In the blink of an eye, the ceiling was already close enough to touch.
No wonder she can stop a car with pure strength alone, without magic.
Holding two kids under her arms probably felt no different than carrying stuffed dolls.
Plus, all those massive meals she’d been eating must have been to maintain her body.
Thinking about it, I suddenly felt grateful for how she always stuffed herself until her cheeks puffed out.
“I’m… passing through!”
Whoosh!
Alice moved smoothly toward the exit, kicking off the ceiling and walls multiple times without any obstacles.
With one knee bent, she slid through the narrow gap of the already crowded exit.
Wait, she moved so fast and didn’t even brush against anyone?
Such incredible reflexes and physical ability—something someone as clumsy as me could never imitate.
As I hung loosely under her arm, clapping in admiration, I suddenly caught Sabrina’s eyes doing the same.
Hmm, lately, our teamwork feels oddly similar. Am I imagining things?
“Haha… Thanks. For now, I’ll put you down here. There doesn’t seem to be any gas around, so it should be safe to breathe.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you!”
“….”
Huff huff.
Following Alice’s words, I breathed deeply, savoring the fresh outside air.
Of course, it wasn’t exactly warm outside compared to inside—it felt more like entering a building.
“Ahhh! People are collapsing! Poisonous gas!”
“Move! Everyone, move!”
“Don’t block the way! Get out quickly!”
As we regained our composure, it seemed the situation inside had also been assessed.
At the auction exit, utter chaos erupted.
People were collapsing due to the sudden release of gas, losing consciousness.
Instinctively panicking and struggling to survive was only natural.
However, because other exits were blocked for security reasons, people trying to escape the gas ended up pushing and shoving through a single narrow exit.
If Alice hadn’t been with us, we’d likely have been stuck in that crowd, unable to escape.
Thinking about it made me feel a chill.
“Ugh… At this rate, people are going to get hurt!”
Watching the scene unfold, Alice grimaced and muttered to herself.
Indeed, if this continued, people would end up injured not from the gas but from the chaos itself.
Nearby, Pixies stationed for emergencies were trying to control the situation.
But perhaps because there weren’t any influential figures present, the confusion refused to settle.
“Huh, come to think of it… where’s Victor? With his charisma, he’d easily calm things down.”
Glancing around briefly, I soon grew puzzled.
Victor’s distinctive spiky blond hair was nowhere to be seen.
Considering what we discussed earlier at the restaurant, Victor would’ve surely prepared for a situation like this. So why wasn’t he here?
“Victor is top-tier among Pixies. He wouldn’t leave his post carelessly. That means…”
There must be some unavoidable reason Victor couldn’t oversee this Enigma Auction.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t reach any other conclusion.
But noticing the unusual situation didn’t change anything.
The auction exit remained chaotic, and the number of victims kept increasing as time passed.
Perhaps Alice naturally realized this too.
With a serious expression, she took a deep breath, steadied her emotions, then looked at me and Sabrina before speaking earnestly.
“Both of you, try not to wander far from here. And Sabrina, I’ll lend you my terminal. Contact Raven and tell him the situation. Then inform your brother, David.”
“Mm! …Uh, yes! I-I’ll do that!”
Alice spoke to Sabrina with a charismatic, sharp voice.
Her usual soft demeanor vanished, replaced by an overwhelming presence.
It was so intense that Sabrina flinched and nodded repeatedly.
Maybe her momentarily startled look was cute.
Removing her figurative mask, Alice smiled gently at me and Sabrina.
Then she dashed toward the exit, shouting loudly enough to hurt ears.
“Everyone, STOP!”
Ultimately, sound is created by vibrating vocal cords, which act like muscles.
With vocal cords as strong as her arms, Alice produced a booming voice akin to using a megaphone.
It was a powerful stimulus that even those lost in fear and confusion couldn’t ignore.
Gathering everyone’s attention, she calmly raised one arm high and called out loudly.
“Calm down! Pushing recklessly will only slow things down! Follow the Pixies’ guidance and evacuate orderly! Everyone can escape safely!”
“Uh, no… Who are you to give orders…?”
“This is an order from Victor, the Double Number Pixie tasked with protecting everyone here. If you don’t comply, we’ll have no choice but to knock you out to save you.”
Alice lied effortlessly, her unwavering gaze fixed on the tangled crowd at the exit.
Her eyes conveyed a fierce determination: if anyone interfered, she’d break their arms and legs if necessary to save them.
Those who initially resisted her intervention hesitantly began following her instructions.
Some had seen Victor in the hotel earlier, and other Pixies working to minimize damage quickly supported her, guiding people outside.
Phew, at least a disaster at the exit seems unlikely now.
As I quietly watched Alice raising her voice, Sabrina furrowed her brows while contacting Raven.
“Yuria, what should we do? Raven isn’t answering. Something must’ve happened!”
“…!”
What? He’s not answering now?
I told him to contact us if anything urgent came up! This IS urgent!
I crossed my arms, pondering over Raven’s mysterious situation.
Victor’s missing, and now Raven too. Looks like my sense of impending trouble hasn’t failed me.
We need to inform David and Raine about this.
I gestured to Sabrina to contact David, forming bear ears above my head.
Fortunately, she understood immediately and started messaging David.
“Huh? Big brother isn’t answering either?”
“….”
But David also didn’t respond to Sabrina’s message.
Raven alone might be understandable, but David too?
David, who went on a date with Raine, shouldn’t suddenly become unreachable.
Feeling uneasy, I quickly pulled out Echo and bluntly asked a question.
‘Echo, is this hotel under communication interference?’
[Yes. A powerful jamming signal currently fills the hotel. Any electronic device relying on signals likely won’t work.]
Jamming signal, huh…
Just minutes ago, electronic auction devices were functioning perfectly.
The signal must have spread around the same time suspicious smoke appeared in the auction hall.
That explains why we can’t contact Raven or David.
It also makes sense why no external support has arrived amidst this chaos.
Heh, but they have no idea we have Echo, immune to such jamming signals.
Smirking inwardly at whoever caused this mess, I prepared to send a message via Echo.
But suddenly, my hand froze mid-message.
I belatedly realized I couldn’t include any meaningful content in the mail.
‘I can’t explain needing help due to some curse. Sending a meaningless email won’t help—they won’t know where we are.’
This was a headache.
Seems like I’m under some sort of communication-blocking curse.
Even if I sent a message through Echo, breaking through the jamming signal, it wouldn’t convey anything.
Worse, revealing Echo’s unhackable nature might cause misunderstandings.
Then… the best thing to do in this situation…
Clutching Echo tightly, I continued pondering deeply.
Unfortunately, there was no time for leisurely thoughts.
Suddenly, commotion erupted again near the exit Alice was managing.
“Ahhhh! My shouuuulder!”
“Kyaaah! Someone just stabbed someone!”
“Grr! Calm down, please calm down!”
What’s happening now?
Turning my head sharply, I saw Alice restraining someone thrashing violently.
Something must’ve caused another disturbance over there.
As Sabrina and I anxiously watched the chaos, Alice choked the struggling person unconscious and urgently shouted to the nearby Pixies.
“Be careful not to inhale the gas! If you breathe too much, you’ll lose your mind and attack those around you!”
That news was truly shocking.
