Coco's Betrayal
The thought of what the hell is this? vanished almost instantly. Anyone could see it was the door to a vault. It gleamed with a polished shine straight out of an animation, the kind of intricate design that screamed complexity at first glance. Not wanting to risk touching it, I kept my distance and examined the entrance with my eyes alone. A panel that looked like it needed a passcode and a heavy dial that had to be turned by hand caught my attention. On top of that, all sorts of extra mechanisms were plastered across it, making the whole thing look anything but easy to open. The palm scanner and iris recognition devices that seemed ripped from a movie or cartoon made me let out a dry, helpless laugh.
The sheer arrogance and overwhelming presence of the thing made me kill my curiosity. I turned around, ready to retrace my steps and leave. That is, until I heard the commotion.
If I hadn't seen the group rushing in from afar, I might have actually left. Auction house staff were frantically pushing carts loaded with display cases I'd seen earlier, while a horde of warlocks in black robes chased right behind them. The moment I realized getting tangled up in this would mean I wouldn't get out cleanly, I scanned my surroundings for an escape route. There wasn't one.
"Haah... Fuck it. I don't know anymore."
The place I hurriedly ducked into while searching for a way out was a tall metal cabinet standing in the hallway. It seemed meant for cleaning supplies; inside, mops and bottles of disinfectant were scattered haphazardly. I shoved aside the tools that kept bumping into my feet, hid my body safely before the noisy crowd arrived, and carefully peeked through a gap in the cabinet to observe the situation outside.
What was happening beyond the cabinet had escalated into a hair-trigger standoff in an instant.
The man who spoke was plump, dressed in a suit, and adorned with a sparkling brooch on his chest, various rings on every finger, and a peculiar monocle. The aura of wealth radiating from him made it clear he was the owner of the auction house.
Despite the attitude of the man who appeared to be the leader of the warlocks, the auction house owner shouted back at the noisy intruders. His cheeks glistened with a healthy sheen, and his expensive suit did nothing to hide his plump figure—in fact, it only emphasized his opulence.
Having seized the momentum, the owner began slowly backing away while fiddling with his glittering rings.
At the man's command, two massive beastmen stepped forward to block the warlocks. The cat-beastman named Coco—the one who had explained the auction house's systems to me earlier—began pushing a cart and following the owner.
"Understood."
"Grrrrrr..."
"Grrraaawr—!"
A sinister-looking staff emerged from within a warlock's robe, while sharp claws extended from the fingertips of the two muscular beastmen. The two sides immediately clashed. While the beastmen and warlocks fought in the long corridor, the auction house owner struggled to drag the heavy cart all the way to the vault.
"C-Coming!"
Coco dragged her own cart over and placed it beside her employer.
The owner, dragging his heavy body toward the vault entrance, wiped his sweat-soaked palm on his pants before beginning to unlock the mechanisms one by one.
After barely managing to input the passcode with his slippery fingers, the owner completed the iris scan and glanced back.
The thunderous roar of a beast told him things weren't going well. Gritting his teeth, the owner used his trembling hands to release the final lock.
"What?"
The owner, noticing his employee's voice sounded different than usual, quickly turned his head. There stood the cat-beastman staring at him with an utterly expressionless face.
Whoosh—
A small gust of wind brushed past his ear, and the owner immediately collapsed from the intense pain radiating from his arm, rolling sideways. As he fell, he saw the beastman's eyes looking down at him as if he were nothing more than an insect.
"Ugh. So noisy."
Coco picked at her ear in annoyance, twirling the oddly shaped blade at her fingertip before flicking it with a sharp motion. A thin spray of blood arced through the air and splattered against the wall. The auction house owner screamed as he took several more strikes, then collapsed with a thud, unconscious.
Watching the entire scene unfold from my hiding spot, I thought to myself that something had gone very, very wrong.
"So, is the security completely disabled?"
"Who knows. At least that's what the old man said."
Her long tail flicked through the air as it snatched the blade from her fingertips with a whoosh. It seemed she could do with her tail what others did with their hands; the soft-looking appendage deftly hooked the blade and began spinning it in circles.
Peeking through the small gap at the top of the cabinet, I realized Coco had been a traitor from the start. The warlocks, having already dealt with the two large beastmen, now stood with her in front of the vault. One of them let out a sigh.
"Hm?"
In short, it was a matter of money. The leader of the warlocks sighed and kicked the auction house owner, who was sprawled on the floor. The man groaned—still alive—and twitched. The leader irritably kicked him again, shoving him into the corner.
"Yes, sir."
Coco picked up the auction house owner's severed arm and pressed it against the recognition panel. A low hum echoed from the vault, followed by a heavy clunk. Coco's face lit up with anticipation as she placed her hand on the handle.
And at that exact moment—
"Huh?"
At the voice that suddenly rang out from thin air, everyone in front of the vault turned toward the source. The owner of the voice had appeared without anyone noticing and now stood right beside the warlock leader.
The instant the warlock tried to cast a spell, his hand exploded completely. The figure was wrapped in a full robe and wore a mask. Even the voice was distorted, producing a strange, grating sound. Yes—it was the very mage who had saved me from those thugs earlier.
...I don't think I'm getting out of this one.
As the atmosphere grew increasingly strange, I let out a quiet sigh from inside the cabinet.