Both the warrior and the demon-shaped orb were conscious, but neither could move a muscle.
Acting on instinct, Mako lunged with a right hook.
The same hand that had sent his brother flying in a moment of surprise now slammed into the wall.
'What?' thought Mako, heir to the House of the Sun, staring as his fist punched through the wood, leaving a gaping hole. 'I could've sworn…!'
A cloud of smoke was dissipating around him. As he yanked his fist from the wall and turned, the gray haze zipped across the room to the far end.
From that smoke emerged Fox.
His laughter echoed in everyone's minds.
Polifemo was the most alarmed of all.
'Mako, you idiot!' Polifemo thought. 'Even if you're physically stronger now, we still don't know what you need to trigger your power…'
In the desperate straits of their proud House, the Sols had to take a gamble.
"Without a system," Fox drawled, puffing calmly on his pipe as he leaned against the wall, mocking the powerless Mako, "you're nothing in this world. Took me a while to learn that, you know."
Mako knew it all too well. Though Polifemo had come to guide him, one thing was crystal clear.
"Without spending resources," Mako replied.
"You're nothing," Fox finished.
No matter what powers you had, Mako needed to figure out what activated them. Otherwise… it was all pointless.
That wasn't the only problem. Mako and every noble knew itMako knew it all too well. They were, after all, the elite of this world in every sense.
To have a system, you needed to make a contract—and pay a price.
'What am I supposed to give up?' Mako wondered as he felt his muscles slowly paralyzing.
Was it all going to end like this?
Without a chance… no, worse, with a second chance squandered.
Mako felt the end closing in again.
That same helplessness returned. The helplessness of a life without a chance to fight, a life in shackles, under the guillotine.
Now paralyzed, Mako's muscles were tense and immobile.
Rage consumed him.
"Spare us the theatrics, will you?" Fox said with a cynical smirk.
With everyone frozen—two on the floor and Mako standing—Fox reveled in his victory.
"If systems could be triggered by anger or something so basic, the rules of the game would've changed ages ago, Lord Mako," Fox continued, puffing on his pipe.
Slowly, savoring every second, Fox drew a dagger from his belt.
The end had come. Fate had arrived.
"Nothing personal, kiddos. Just business," the vile Fox concluded his wicked monologue.
To ensure Mako was completely subdued, wary that the smoke's effect might not be enough, Fox took another deep drag from his pipe.
Pay a high price.
Polifemo's words echoed in Mako's head. A riddle without an answer.
"Yeah… getting angry… doesn't cut it," Mako began, his teeth clenched tight.
Awakening his system had made him physically stronger, able to resist longer than his companions.
"But… I…"
Fox, with a bored expression, exhaled a plume of smoke toward the ceiling, confident he didn't need it.
"How pathetic," Fox sneered. "Is it too cliché that I'm dragging this out? I mean, it's fun, you know? Watching you squirm. I could explain my system, my ability, the history of this casino, and you'd still be standing there, stuck like a statue."
Fox toyed with the dagger, tossing it up and catching it by the handle before it could hit the floor… or Ana or Polifemo.
Just then, the door to the dingy office swung open.
It was one of Fox's goons.
"I said no interruptions while I'm handling business!" Willy Fox roared.
The goon swallowed hard, unnerved by both his boss's shout and the scene before him.
"S-Sorry, boss, it's an urgent message from…" the goon stammered, tripping over his words.
"Out!" Fox bellowed. "Damn useless idiots! I don't care, get lost!"
The goon, not daring to face his boss's wrath while he brandished a knife, slammed the door shut and bolted.
"Those morons…" Fox muttered under his breath. "Give 'em one order, and they don't listen."
Willy Fox, the underworld magnate of Calandria, turned his gaze to his three victims: Ana, Polifemo, and Mako.
All three were still unable to move a single muscle.
Fox flashed his long, sinister grin. He adjusted his crooked top hat, brushed off his suit, and locked eyes with Mako.
Then, with vile intent, he hurled the dagger at Mako's exposed chest.
Ana, watching from the floor, wanted to scream, but it was futile.
Like a well-aimed dart, the dagger flew straight for its target.
Straight for the heart.
It was the end.
"I…" Mako began, blood trickling from his mouth as his voice broke.
Still muttering, his teeth clenched like a hydraulic press from the muscle paralysis, Mako's world began to darken once more.
"I… already… paid!" Mako declared before collapsing to the floor.
His body hit the wood with a heavy thud.
Fox stood silent for a moment, then let out the most piercing laugh of all.
"To think the House of the Sun rests on this fool! Ha, ha, ha!"
It was over. Without a doubt.
The end of everything.
Fox kept laughing, with all three utterly defeated.
But then, a door creaked open.
"Huh?" Fox growled. "I told everyone not to bother me until my business was done! How many times do I have to say it…?"
Fox's face went pale, as if he'd seen a ghost.
Ana, Polifemo, and Mako appeared in the doorway.
When Fox glanced at the floor, he saw only a bloodstain—no trace of his kill.