Aya realized too late that camouflage was useless. In a palace filled with nocturnal predators, a fox could never truly hide—especially not from those with "night-eyes."
"Maybe I should have brought the Hope Coin with me... maybe my luck wouldn't be this rotten," she grumbled, her heart racing as the guests began to close in.
From the shadows of the second-floor balcony, a man watched her with a drink in one hand. "How stupid," he muttered, though he had anticipated her arrival. With a sudden flick of his wrist, he shattered a nearby window. The sound of exploding glass drew every eye in the room away from Aya for a split second.
"What happened?"
"Who broke the glass?"
Before the crowd could recover, a man in a Dog Mask appeared at Aya's side.
"Wh-who are you?" Aya squeaked, startled by his sudden presence.
"Stupid. You should have just stayed put," the man whispered.
Aya's eyes widened. That voice... "Ficky?"
"DON'T LET HER GET AWAY! CATCH HER DEAD OR ALIVE! RIP HER TAILS OFF IF YOU HAVE TO!" a voice bellowed from the ballroom below. The mob was charging up the stairs.
"We're leaving," Ficky said. He scooped Aya up and leapt with explosive power, nearly hitting the golden ceiling before landing in a momentarily quiet corridor. But their peace didn't last; guests were pouring in from every direction, surrounding them in a massive ambush.
"Tch. This is why I hate crowds," Ficky hissed, exhaling a long, weary breath.
"You hate crowds? I never knew that!" Aya remarked, clinging to him.
"Be quiet. The 'Murderer' must have been caught by now. We just need to wait for the hundreds of coins to fall," Ficky said, looking up expectantly.
"Hundreds?" Aya asked, her eyes sparkling. But when Ficky offered a vague "Maybe," her excitement died.
Typical Ficky, she thought.
The guests began to transform. Some removed their masks to reveal predatory faces, while an owl-creature began a piercing, magical song.
"Cover your ears!" Ficky barked.
Aya quickly slapped her hands over the sides of her face. "Ugh! It's still so loud! It hurts!"
"Idiot! Your ears are on top of your head!" Ficky shouted.
Blushing, Aya moved her hands to cover her furry fox ears. But the sound was too sharp. Blood began to trickle from their ears as the sonic vibration rattled their skulls.
CRASH!
Another window shattered, and a body was hurled through the air, landing right in front of them. It was a man with long, rabbit-like ears, groaning in agony.
"Perfect. The Murderer is here," Ficky grinned, pinning the man down with his boot.
"Hey! You're hurting him!" Aya cried.
"Why should I care? The mission is done." Ficky's smirk was dark and terrifying.
"Ficky, the coins... they haven't dropped yet," Aya noted, peering at the ceiling.
As if on cue, the guests—now in full beast mode—unleashed a barrage of elemental magic. Fire, water, and earth flew wildly.
Ficky dodged them effortlessly, while Aya used the dwarf's vine magic to create a shield.
"Do I have to kill him for the coins to drop?" Ficky wondered aloud, his eyes turning cold.
"I'M NOT THE MURDERER!" the blue-skinned man shrieked. "You have the wrong person!"
But the moment the denial left his lips, a rain of gold began to fall from the ceiling.
"Ficky! Look!" Aya patted his shoulder. A shower of coins! Their faces brightened—the long, dangerous night was finally paying off.
"If you're not the murderer, then why did the coins drop?" Ficky taunted.
But then, something went wrong. A strange sound echoed from above. As the coins fell, they began to warp. Some shattered like glass; others folded and crumpled as if they were made of cheap paper.
"What?! Who's doing this?" Ficky roared.
"Ficky, what's happening to them?"
Ficky dove through the crowd, snatching the coins out of the air before they could hit the ground. He stood back, his face contorted in rage.
"There were twelve! Why are only four of them real?!"
They had been cheated. The "Hope" they had fought for was a hollow, mangled lie.