Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Enigma Auction Scramble (2)
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Faint smoke billowed up from below, and people collapsed limply to the floor.
The stage was dazzlingly bright, but the light illuminating the area beyond it was far too dim.
In the sinking, deep darkness, all sorts of shadows mingled chaotically.
This… It seems something is going very wrong.
Almost as soon as I reached that conclusion, Alice, who was beside me, shouted.
“Yuria! Sabrina! Hold your breath! We're getting out of here right now!”
Without a moment's hesitation, Alice tucked me and Sabrina firmly under each of her arms.
It felt like being treated like a sack of luggage, but this was a clear emergency. It wasn't the time to worry about such trivial things.
It was better to escape quickly, even if we looked a little ridiculous.
Perhaps thanks to the countless experiences I’d had, I didn't lose my composure. I quietly took a shallow breath along with Sabrina.
“*Hahh!*”
“…!”
“Here we go!”
*Thud!*
Taking about three running steps, Alice leaped powerfully into the air.
Her leg strength was incredible. I blinked once, and the ceiling was already right in front of us.
I guess that’s what you’d expect from someone with the monstrous strength to stop a car with her bare hands, no magic involved.
To her, carrying two kids under her arms was probably no different than carrying cotton dolls.
Besides, all the massive meals she’d eaten until now must have been to maintain this physique.
Thinking about it, I felt a newfound sense of gratitude for the girl who always stuffed her cheeks until they were puffed out.
“Coming… through!”
*Swoosh!*
Kicking off the ceiling and walls several times, Alice made her way to the exit without obstruction.
She bent one knee and slid through a gap in the crowd that was already starting to form at the exit.
Wait, she moved that fast without even brushing against a single person?
Such incredible reflexes. It was a feat I, with my pathetic physical abilities, couldn't even dream of imitating.
As I was thinking this, dangling from her side and clapping my hands,
I suddenly made eye contact with Sabrina, who was clapping with a similar air.
Hmm, I feel like we’ve been on the same wavelength lately. Or is it just my imagination?
“Haha… thanks. Okay, I’ll put you down here. It looks like this area is clear of the gas, so you should be fine to breathe.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you!”
“…”
*Hah, hah.*
Following Alice’s words, I took deep breaths, savoring the fresh outside air.
Of course, since it was warmer outside the auction hall than inside, it felt more like stepping into a room than going outdoors.
“Aaaah! Someone collapsed! It’s poison gas!”
“Move! Get out of the way!”
“Stop blocking the way and get out!”
While we were composing ourselves, it seemed the people inside had also grasped the situation.
The exit of the auction hall was a scene of utter pandemonium.
It was no surprise, since people were losing consciousness and collapsing from the gas that had suddenly been released.
It was only natural for them to instinctively sense the danger and struggle to survive.
However, since the other entrances had been blocked for security, the people trying to escape the gas were caught in a commotion, pushing and shoving each other at the single narrow exit.
If it hadn't been for Alice, we probably would have been trapped, unable to get out, the exit blocked by that crowd.
The thought made my head spin a little.
“Ugh… People are going to get hurt at this rate!”
Alice, who was watching the situation, muttered as her face twisted in distress.
Indeed, if this continued, it seemed more likely that people would be injured in the chaos rather than by the gas.
There were Fixers stationed nearby for emergencies, and they seemed to be trying to control the situation.
But perhaps because there was no one particularly famous or influential among them, the chaos didn't subside easily.
‘Huh, now that I think about it… where’s Victor? With his charisma, he should be able to calm this situation down in no time.’
But as I glanced around, I quickly grew suspicious.
The spiky blond hair that should have stood out was nowhere to be seen.
Considering what we talked about in the restaurant earlier, Victor would have surely been prepared for a situation like this. So why?
‘Victor is a top-tier Fixer, the best of the best. He’s not the type to be caught off guard or to leave his post for some absurd reason. Which means…’
There must be a reason why Victor is unable to protect the Enigma Auction.
No matter how I thought about it, that was the only conclusion I could reach.
But just because I realized something was amiss didn't mean anything changed.
The auction exit was still a scene of chaos, and the number of victims only continued to grow with time.
Perhaps Alice had naturally noticed this as well.
Looking serious, she took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions.
She looked at me once, then at Sabrina, and spoke gravely.
“Both of you, stay close if you can. And Sabrina, I’m lending you my terminal. Report the situation to Raven. After that, contact your brother, David.”
“Okay! …I mean, yes! I-I’ll do that!”
Alice conveyed her instructions to Sabrina in a sharp, charismatic voice.
Her usual soft, pliable aura had completely vanished, leaving only a formidable presence.
It was so sharp that Sabrina, startled, nodded her head repeatedly.
However, maybe she found Sabrina’s momentarily intimidated look to be cute.
Whipping the mask from her face, she gave me and Sabrina a bright smile.
Then she sprinted toward the exit and shouted to the crowd in a voice so loud it was almost deafening.
“Everyone, stooooop!”
In the end, a voice is just a sound wave created by the vibration of the muscles called vocal cords.
With vocal cords as strong as her arms, Alice produced a roar as if she were using a megaphone.
It was a stimulus so powerful that even those lost in fear and confusion couldn't help but flinch.
Having captured everyone's attention, she calmly raised one arm high and shouted.
“Please calm down! If you just push and shove, you’ll only slow things down! Follow the Fixers’ guidance and exit in an orderly fashion! Everyone can get out safely!”
“W-Who do you think you are, giving orders like….”
“These are the orders of the double-numbered Fixer, Victor, to protect everyone in this auction. If you do not comply, I will have no choice but to save you, even if it means knocking you unconscious.”
Alice blurted out the lie without batting an eye.
With unwavering eyes, she stared intently at the chaotically entangled crowd at the exit.
Perhaps her gaze conveyed her will to save them, even if it meant breaking their arms and legs should they get in the way.
Those who were about to protest the sudden outside intervention began to hesitantly follow her instructions.
After all, some people had actually seen Victor in the hotel.
And the other Fixers, who had been trying to minimize the damage from the start, quickly joined in, guiding people outside.
Phew, at this rate, there won't be a disaster at the exit, at least.
As I watched the situation, silently observing Alice as she raised her voice,
Sabrina, who was trying to contact Raven beside me, furrowed her brow in trouble.
“Yuria, what do I do? Mr. Raven isn’t answering. Something must have happened!”
“…!”
He's not answering at a time like this?
He told me to call if anything urgent happened. This is urgent!
I crossed my arms and pondered Raven’s unknown situation for a moment.
No Victor, and no Raven. Looks like my premonition of an incident wasn't wrong.
Then, I need to get this news to David and Reine.
I formed round bear ears above my head, gesturing for her to contact David's side.
Fortunately, Sabrina seemed to understand immediately and started trying to contact David.
“Oh, huh? My brother, too…?”
“…”
But David also didn't answer Sabrina's call.
Raven not answering is one thing, but David too?
There's no way David, who went on a date with just Reine, would suddenly be unable to take a call.
Feeling something was off, I quickly pulled Echo from my pocket and asked it a question.
‘Echo, is this hotel… are communications being jammed?’
[ Yes. Powerful jamming waves are currently filling the hotel. It is likely that all electronic devices that use radio waves are unusable. ]
Jamming waves, huh…
Just a few minutes ago, we were using the electronic auction devices without any problems.
It seems the waves started spreading around the same time the suspicious smoke began to fill the auction hall.
So that's the reason we can't contact Raven and David.
It also explains why no outside support has arrived during this chaos.
Hmph, but they probably have no idea that I have Echo, which is unaffected by such jamming waves.
I sneered inwardly at the perpetrators of this chaos and was about to send a message with Echo.
But my hand, about to send the message, suddenly froze.
I belatedly realized that I couldn't actually write anything in the message.
‘Because of this curse, or whatever it is, I can’t convey a message asking for help. Sending a meaningless message would be pointless; they wouldn't even know where we are.’
It was a real headache.
It seems I really do have some kind of communication-blocking curse.
Even if I sent a message through the jamming waves, it wouldn't serve as communication.
Worse, the existence of Echo, which ignores hacking, might lead to some strange misunderstandings.
So… the best thing I can do in this situation is…
I gripped Echo tightly in my hand, lost in thought.
Unfortunately, however, there was no time for such leisurely contemplation.
A sudden disturbance erupted from the exit that Alice was controlling.
“Aaaargh! M-My shoulder!”
“Kyaaah! S-Someone was just stabbed!”
“Kuh! Calm down, please calm down!”
What's happening all of a sudden?
Whipping my head around, my eyes caught the back of Alice as she forcefully restrained a struggling person.
Is there some kind of commotion over there?
As I watched the disturbance uneasily with Sabrina,
Alice soon choked the struggling person unconscious, then shouted urgently to the nearby Fixers.
“Be careful not to inhale the gas! If you breathe in too much, you’ll lose your reason and attack those around you!”
That was, to say the least, shocking news.