"It's Ms. Cake-rckh!" The servant from earlier suddenly gasped, pointing an accusatory finger at Aefia. "She is the betrayer of the night!"
Aefia's mouth hung open wide, as her hands clenched into fists at her sides and she stomped her feet. "For one thing! I am not Ms. Cake-rckh! Save me some dignity! That isn't even a real name!"
Before the woman could say anything else, a laugh echoed from the direction of the stage.
"Hahaha! Ms. Cake-rckh!" Helio chuckled, throwing his head back while thrashing against the cuffs. "I am forever memorizing this."
"Shut up, Sunny Pest!" She snapped back, turning her head at his direction.
"Sunny Pest?!" Helio's laugh cut off sharply as he glared down at her, his cheeks flushing red. "I have a name, you know! And stop picking a fight over my hair!"
"Well if you repeat that absurd name one more time, I'm letting the anti-magic cuffs keep you as a permanent fashion statement!" Aefia shot back over her shoulder, her voice dripping with irritation.
Nada scoffed, shaking her head as she leaned back against the iron bars of her cage. "Focus, you two. We are in the middle of a climax. And Aefia, you begged for this role. So now you better act wisely."
I had almost forgotten... I had so many things inside my mind. Aefia's finger instantly wrapped around the trigger of the pistol. Luckily I also took a bit of that medicine I brought with me. It helped to retain a bit of my focus. I will get a better evaluation when I go back. Something... Feels wrong.
"If you are quite ready yet... I believe the final act of this round is about to start." A voice rang out, silencing everyone. Her head snapped that way.
The auctioneer stepped forward, her fingers slowly lifting her half-mask away from her face.
The plastic fell to the ground uselessly. The woman raised a feet to stomp on it, crushing it with her heels.
"The rules of the 'myth' route were supposed to be absolute," the auctioneer spoke, her voice dropping into an eerie, echoing resonance that vibrated through the floorboards.
"The detective collects the power, the assassin slaughters from the shadows, and the slaves are consumed to balance the board. Yet here you stand... ruining the script with ridiculous aliases and gunpowder."
Then slowly, the hat and the veil fell away too. The face that stared back at her, had orange eyes with straight white hair... But the facial structure...
Was no less... Aefia.
She gulped hard. This is... Bad. The auctioneer has taken my appearance. This is said to be a trick to force people to suspect me out of confusion and incite.
"The script was trash anyway," Aefia said flatly, tossing her empty pistol into the air and catching it by the barrel before slipping it into her belt at her waist. "A corrupt detective abusing role perks? An auctioneer hiding behind NPC meat-shields? It lacked taste."
"You think this is over because you cleared the floor?" The auctioneer's lips curled into a cold, menacing smile as the shadows around the room began to writhe. "The corrupt detective wasn't just a bidder, 'Ms. Cake-rckh'. He was the anchor."
From the upper gallery, the young nobleman slowly rose from his seat. The dark, blooming circle beneath his feet expanded rapidly, spilling over the velvet railing like pitch black oil.
"You broke the count," the nobleman said, loud and clear. "So now you have to face the consequences of your action."
He hoped onto the railing and climbed down just as normally as Aefia had done.
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face as she kept turned her head away from his direction.
Without hesitation, he pulled out his own weapon and held it towards the servants—ending them just like the customers.
Helio stopped thrashing against his cuffs, his eyes widening as the dark magic became visible in his eyes, blooming in thick streaks of black. "Nada... tell me Aefia actually has a plan for this part."
Nada just smirked, crossing her arms. "When she starts using her magic... Look at her feet."
Aefia hadn't moved an inch. Slowly—almost defensively—she reached towards her neck where a small locker rested.
God knows what will happen now that the plot has changed... But I am not backing out of this.
"Hey, Auctioneer," Aefia called out casually, resting her hand on her hip as she finally glanced at the corrupt detective. "You asked how the plot goes in this round, right?"
The auctioneer narrowed her eyes. "What?"
"In this round," Aefia shifted her gaze to the tied up slaves at the corner of the stage. "You will release those slaves just as I say. And I will give you an ending you have never seen in your life."
The auctioneer smirked, raising a hand towards the tied up candidates, and snapped the ropes using just her hand motion. But the cage around Nada and Helio stayed up.
"You are lucky enough that the rules says to keep the slaves in the auction house until the end. And you were lucky that these slaves are your enemies as you had said..." She said.
"But as for your comrades... I remember you made a special request."
"Huh?" Helio blinked, then looked at Nada for explaination. But he froze when he saw that she too was surprised.
What could have possibly happened?
"You said they should be treated like a normal human being and any punishment... You will take it.
"So let's say... Unless you want to break that promise right here—and watch your comrades get battered up—I suggest you prove that you can change the plot first."
Hng! Aefia's head hung low, her fingernails digging into her palms and her teeth catching on her bottom lip. "You are really a hard person to deal with."
The auctioneer folded her arms in satisfaction, looking down smugly at her small form at the base of the stage. "So? Prove that you will change the plot—and I might reconsider."
She let out a deep, bone-wrecking sigh.
"Fine..."
Her fingers flew back to the locket at her neck, and yanked hard until it rip. Then with a flick of her wrist, it extended into her obsidian sword—the lines and seams glowing bright red.
The woman looked amused. "I was wondering what that thing was... But now it all makes sense, doesn't it?"
She raised her own hand, and instantly, purplish circles appeared on the floor surrounding Aefia. From within, came out multiple beast with spikes protruding from their backs and along their arms. They had a horrifying fish-like body and their teeth were razor-sharp.
"Get into contact with one of those sharp needles... You die in thirty minutes. Be wise. There is no cure to this." The auctioneer warned, stepping backward to where the cage rested. The nobleman too, took multiple steps away.
Aefia raised her sword in front of her. "I knew I was mendling with the wrong person..." She muttered under her breath as she raised two fingers to the edge of her blade, dragging them the whole length until they lit on fire.
Without hesitation, she lunged at the first beast that came to view.
Shing! Shung! Shing!
Parts of its body rolled around on the ground in the blink of an eye.
If only I didn't have any leukemia or healing ribs... This would have been easier. But I do have a bit of stolen healing magic in my blood. It should be fine though. She thought to herself, her grip on the sword tightening as she twisted her body and leaped away from an incoming attack.
Spike-covered tails whipped through the air, sending showers of black, venomous needles raining down onto the stage floor.
The obsidian blade cut through the air in a gleaming arc of bright red fire. The second monster split down the middle before its claws could reach her coat, the cauterized halves collapsing into cinders
As she slowly neared the last few, the corrupt detective narrowed his dark eyes in a predatory intention.
Seeing Aefia occupied with the beasts, he raised his gloved hand, the pitch-black magic pooling around his boots suddenly forming into jagged, shadow-cast pikes aimed directly at her exposed side.
"A simple distraction," he purred under his breath, launching the shadow pikes straight toward her ribs.
She didn't even turn her head, though she could hear it approaching.
Actually... She never needed to be worried about her weaknesses.
Shing! Clung! Clatter!
"You should keep an eye on your back too, you know?" A Russian accent filled Aefia's ears.
"And why would I need to?" She replied without taking she eyes and focus off he next beast. She twisted her entire body and leaped onto the beasts back, driving her heel onto the nape of its neck while simultaneously using her extended arm to cut down its throat from the side.
"Because..." Sasha flicked the dark dust off her daggers. "You are not facing just one powerful enemy right now."
"I am aware." Aefia smirked, skidding to a halt as the last of the beast finally scattered away. "For now, leave that nobleman alone. I have plans for him."
Her eyes then drifted up the stage, staring at the woman with her own face. Excellent. Experimental code; HU-0009-HMT. A half mutilated trojan.
"Impressive. You cleared the wave without a single scratch from the venom... But I don't recall letting you bring in another party." She crossed her arms, her brows furrowing as if she were upset about something.
"There was nothing said about not being allowed to have your purchase help you out. I bid twenty million gold for her." She replied flatly. "You seriously don't think that just because you are the owner of this auction house... That no one will ever be able to defy you?"
The woman tilted her head. "So you confess that you were trying to break the rules?"
"Even if I did... You wouldn't have cared because you are too desperate to know what the ending to this round will be. Hasn't it already going interesting? The assassin helping the slave out, and the slave saving the assassin?"
She smirked. "I guess I can't deny with you. Well then? May I add my own touches to this ending too?"
Aefia raised an eyebrow, then her grinned. "Sure. Tell me, and I will carry it out."
The auctioneer raised her head towards the nobleman standing a little far. "That guy over there is being too extra in this round. End him."
Nada smiled inside her cage. "What an exciting turn of events."
"Sasha..." Aefia ordered over her shoulder. "Do whatever you want."
Furious and feeling cornered, the man raised his hand towards the ground. "This isn't how it will end!"
The entire auction house turned into a large forest. Greenery flooded the area and trees made it difficult to know where a clear opening stood.
Followed by it, rocks rose from the mud, blocking the way as he tried to flee.
Instead of panicking, Sasha raised her hands.
"This better work the way I imagined..."
She clapped them together, stringing she fingers together before rubbing her palms together.
"A Sober Calamity..."
Suddenly, from her hands shot out a ripple of magic which reached to her face and head—turning her eyes purple and her hair pitch-black. Her hands slowly extended at the direction the man was fleeing.
The magic extended towards the air around him, spears summoned out of the thine atmosphere—and rained down on him ruthlessly.
They smashed the rocks that were forming, the terrain got uprooted. And the man...
Whatever beast were heading their way too, got turned onto the ground. Aefia watched from over her shoulders.
Sasha's Special Skill. Honestly... She aced it.
Helio watched in astonishment. "I knew she was strong... But I didn't know she was this strong."
Nada didn't say anything this time.
Slowly, Aefia took a step forward to the auctioneer. "Are you satisfied now?" She asked. Behind her, Sasha's hair turned back to platinum blonde, and her eyes sky blue.
The woman tilted her head to the side. "Your experimental number?"
"Do you need it?" She asked.
"Of course..."
Aefia hesitated for a while, then sighed.
"I can't reveal my exact experimental code, but I am branded as 'Sector Two'," she said with a straight face.
A flinch went over the auctioneer's arms. Her expression immediately turning shocked.
"You... Really are a very powerful and treasured wildcard of the faculty..." She whispered under her surprised breath.
*********************
First draft: 14.11.2025
Rewritten: 05.10.2026