A blur of kicks, a flash of movement, and inside the sticky fog erupted into survival of the fittest.
Noble guests were sprinting wildly, screaming and shouting.
But a thin whistle cut through the thick slime as three cards sliced past the noble who was on the run, spinning like tiny silver-edged knives. They struck his back in perfect alignment, stopping him mid-stride.
He collapsed forward, then a boy stepped into view.
He had the body frame of a child, barely fourteen. A tilted hat sat on his head, curls falling to hide most of his eyes. Freckles dotted his cheeks, and his face carried a mischievous little smile.
The cards trembled. Then, they were pulled back by an invisible thread; they zipped back toward the boy, snapping neatly back between his fingers.
「 The Joker — Member of the Terrorist group 」
Humming under his breath as he twirled the cards, searching for his next victim.
Behind him, another figure came into the picture, he moved with a slow gentle grace.
A young man in a navy tank top stood over a woman whom he had killed a few moments ago. His blond hair curled softly near the ends, parted neatly with two small clips.
「 The Dancer — Member of the Terrorist group 」
"It seems like we have no luck in finding the Dukes." The Dancer shrugged.
"It's possible they escaped the moment the smoke bomb dropped.
Worry not, friend. If they have already fled. That's fine with us— because we're only here to cause chaos and kill as many as we can!"
He leaned in closer, flying above the ground with a cloud underneath him.
"Master said that us getting into a fight with the stronger meant a challenge."
The Dancer didn't slow down as he moved through the damp fog with a quiet grace. "Yet the dukes have already run away like cowards. And…"
A thin strip of fabric, the decorative hairpiece he wore, fluttered up from his shoulder. It stiffened, folding into a fan, and with a flick of his wrist, he sliced it through the fog.
The mist parted in a clean arc, revealing nothing but more emptiness ahead.
"…looks like we've wiped everyone here."
"There is nothing left for us."
Joker drifted on his small puff of cloud before hopping off. He began to examine around, then took a small portion of the fog and licked it.
"Is it almost time?" He asked.
The fog around them began to fade, revealing the shape of the fortress.
Charred silhouettes were scattered across the ground. Dead bodies were everywhere. The site was silent—empty. There was no sight of any soldiers or guards waiting for them to come into the light.
Upon closer examination, they discovered that the dozen bodies of soldiers and commanders who had been firing moments ago now lay twisted and still.
The dancer's eyes lifted toward the stage.
From afar, it looked like two guards were sprinting toward the exit gate. One of them gripped the queen's arm as she struggled against him.
Like a cat-and-mouse chase, a man pursued them, throwing inanimate objects in a desperate attempt to slow them down.
The stage itself was empty as they approached it, climbing onto it with a low-effort jump.
Then, from the corner, a sharp high kick cut through the cold air.
With quick reflexes, both the dancer and the joker moved at the same instant, dodging as the heel sliced past their faces.
- - -
The moment the kick sliced past them, Joker reacted first.
A grin snapped across his face. "Oh? A fast one! Indeed!"
He flicked his wrist, and a fan of glowing cards burst outward, slicing through the air straight toward the blurry figure. But the man didn't stop— he didn't slow down his speed nor did he flinch back.
Instead, he slipped easily between the cards with a sharp, precise movement, closing the distance between him and Joker in a heartbeat.
Dancer's eyes narrowed. He finally saw the man clearly— that messy dirty blonde hair, that cold icy blue eyes, the execution shackles still hanging loose around his wrists.
"Victor Kane…" he muttered. "He was the one chained beside Cody."
A small smile tugged at Dancer's lips.
"Well, this will be enough to entertain us for a while."
He dashed forward, the hairpiece fabric spiralling into a tight, spinning blade as he swung it toward Victor.
But Victor was already on the move.
He unleashed a rapid flurry of kicks at Joker, each blow came in sharp, relentless, and each one forcing Joker backward. Joker blocked the first two with crossed arms, but the third caught him square in the chest.
He let out a groan. "GAHH—!"
Before Joker could recover his former position, Victor planted his foot on his chest, using him like a springboard. He launched upward, twisting in midair. His heel came down in a turning arc aimed directly at Dancer.
Dancer raised his spinning fabric to block the kick, but the strike exploded against it, sending shockwaves across the stage. Both were thrown back—Dancer sliding in a long drag across the floor. Joker, on the other hand, skidded beside him with his nails gouging the wood as he fought to stop himself.
Victor stood between them, utterly unmoved. His long coat rippled behind him as the lingering shockwave stirred the air, dust drifting from the ground. A few thin scratches marked his cheek, but he didn't bother wiping them away; his eyes remained distant, carrying a solemn expression.
Dancer didn't waste a second to get back up as he rose first. He unfurled from his skid with that strange, fluid artistry style of his, one hand gliding along his visible ribs as he turned. He settled back onto his feet with an effortless grace as he held the hairpiece behind his back.
On the contrary, Joker let out small growls as he pushed himself up more violently, nails still embedded in the gouged floorboards.
Before either could re-engage, a scream cut through the stage, echoing as she burst into view.
Anny cried as she scrambled up the stairs to the stage, her shoes slapping hard against the wood. Tears steamed down her face as she ran straight toward them.
Victor's head snapped behind him. Then, Dancers followed.
They remained silent as Anny cried. "MOM! MOM!"
"MOMM!" She cried, her voice cracking.
Victor's posture shifted toward the far end of the center.
Through the haze of dust and the settled fog, Cody was locked in a desperate fight against the two guards. His fists and feet blurred, bursts of magic sparking with every strike. Behind him, Mei was chained upright beside the only burning torch.
Her body was trembling, her knees folded beneath her as she tried to free herself. Her eyes were darting between the fight happening in front of her and the cuffs.
She could barely hear her daughter's desperate screams.
Dancer and Joker took matters in a flash, they quickly exchanged a single look, a headnod while Victor wasn't paying attention. However, he caught on to their tactics instantly.
Before Dancer or Joker could launch, he lunged—tackling Anny and sweeping her into his arms as he began to sprint in the opposite direction.
Anny caught on. She thrashed wildly, tiny fists pounding against him.
"What the hell are you doing, Victor! Let me down! Let me down!"
She pushed Victor but nothing happened. "My mom is that way! Let me down!"
"LET GO OF ME! I WANT MY MOM!"
Victor replied sharply. "Don't you see the danger you're putting yourself into? Do you want to die? You can't save your mom. Do you understand?"
Anny froze mid-struggle.
Victor's tone did not soften.
"You can't save the queen."
"Do you understand the words that are coming from my mouth?"
"You want to end up being everyone's burden? Is that what you're trying to achieve?"
"You're—Useless here."
Anny's teeth sank into his shoulder.
Victor hissed, grip faltering. The pain made him loosen his hold just enough for her to slip free.
Anny hit the ground hard, palms scraping, but she didn't stop. She scrambled up and bolted toward the center stage, tears blurring her vision.
She barely made it three steps in before she saw them—Dancer and Joker already mid-air, descending on her like twin shadows.
Her body froze completely. She squeezed her eyes shut, shielding her head with her hands, letting out a raw scream.
Before anything happened, a bolt of thunder slammed down onto the stage, exploding between her and the attackers. The floor cracked in a jagged line, wood splintering as the entire platform tore into two halves. Light and sound swallowed everything.
Anny slowly opened her eyes.
The stage beneath her feet had been split clean in two, a jagged canyon of smoking wood separating her from the attackers. On the opposite side, Dancer and Joker stood brushing dust from their clothes. Dancer's eyebrows narrowed, locking eyes with Anny.
Victor approached the stage slowly from the far end, watching the chaos unfold with a grim, calculating stare.
Then the air ignited.
A blazing streak of lightning tore across the gap, swallowing both attackers in a single violent sweep. The flash was so bright it carved their silhouette into smoke.
From the haze, a figure emerged—closer now, his boots scrapping against the fractured floor.
Zack's sword crackled with lightning, the blade glowing white-hot as he swung in a spiral movement. The strike cleaved straight through Joker's card mid-air, slicing it in half before continuing its path toward Joker's neck.
The moment the tip of the blade touched Joker's throat, he vanished.
Only his hat remained, fluttering to the ground with a soft flop.
Dancer did not hesitate to dive in. He swept his fabric up over half his face, the cloth shimmering as frost bloomed across.
[ Where my dance falls, let winter awaken—full bloom petals of frost, unfold and sharpen. Skill Unlocked ]
「 Icy petals 」
Snowflake patterns crystallized along the weave, transforming it into a razor-edged, icy fan.
[ Cold breath of winter, gather and bind—form in my hand and cut like ice. ]
He spun into a lunge, the fan striking in a straight, precise line.
Victor jumped forward, intercepting him and sliding between them with his cuffs raised. The metal flared as Dancer's frozen fan slammed into it, shards of ice exploding outward. Victor braced behind the cuffs, using them as a shield while the impact pushed him back across the broken stage.