Even the Fixers and beastfolk were now rampaging under the gas’s influence.

The situation had plunged into utter despair.

Meanwhile, in the wide lobby connected to the auction’s exit, Alice and the Disciplinary Chair continued their battle.

But it wasn’t a fair fight—it was a relentless chase.

The Disciplinary Chair, with her burning magic claws extended, pounced like a wild beast.

And Alice, completely unarmed, was forced into a desperate game of evasion.

"Kyaaaha! Dieee!"

"Ugh…! You’re way too reckless! Just back off already!"

"Krrrk!"

The Disciplinary Chair’s claws shredded through a support pillar like it was paper.

At that exact moment, Alice landed a powerful kick right into her side.

Since her opponent’s movements were as mindless as a wild animal’s, it was the perfect counterattack.

Alice’s raw strength was something else entirely—

She could easily dent a car’s metal frame with her kicks.

Compared to that, the Disciplinary Chair, with her smaller frame, was sent flying backward.

"Kiihihihi… Dieee!"

But she immediately sprang back to her feet, bloodshot eyes locking onto Alice, and charged in again without hesitation.

It was as if the very concept of pain didn’t exist for her.

‘Tch… I’ve never seen a body enhancement this durable. At this rate, my legs are just gonna hurt more than hers. This is seriously annoying.’

Alice quickly deduced the reason behind her opponent’s absurd resilience.

It wasn’t just her raw endurance—it was the sheer strength of her magic reinforcement.

Even if someone lacked natural physical prowess, magic could easily close the gap.

And right now, Alice had no magic and no weapons, putting her at a severe disadvantage.

Seriously, it’s so unfair that I can’t use magic. How am I supposed to live like this?

She took a deep breath, watching the persistent black blur rush toward her once again.

‘The evacuees still haven’t gotten far enough. The gas isn’t spreading anymore, so the Fixers are managing to minimize the damage, but…

If I keep getting tied up here, others might get caught in the crossfire.’

The situation was holding steady—not getting worse, but not getting better either.

Thanks to the early resolution of the bottleneck at the exit, about half of the civilians had already escaped.

And with the Fixers swiftly subduing the rampaging victims, the overall casualties remained low.

More importantly, since the gas had stopped spreading, the number of new victims hadn’t increased.

As a result, the evacuees who had made it out were in better condition than expected.

Still, people kept staggering out of the auction hall in a daze.

If Alice remained occupied with the Disciplinary Chair, the situation could spiral out of control again.

Someone who had barely managed to escape could end up grievously injured by the rampaging girl.

So she made her decision.

Even if it meant taking a risk, she had to end this quickly.

"Kihihi! Blood! Entrails! Screams! Give me anything—!"

"Sorry, but playtime’s over for you!"

Ssssshh… haaaa…

Alice exhaled slowly, deeply.

Then, she spread her feet shoulder-width apart, keeping her entire body loose and relaxed.

What she was recalling now—

Was the combat technique she had learned from watching Raven fight.

A martial art developed by humans who had no magic, specifically to counter supernatural beings.

The Disciplinary Chair screeched and lunged, claws raised high to rip her apart.

But this time—

Instead of dodging, Alice did the complete opposite.

She rushed forward with full force.

"Kyahahaha! Blood, blood!"

Squelch! Splat!

The Disciplinary Chair’s claws dug into Alice’s flesh, and blood splattered into the air.

But the wounds were surprisingly shallow.

Before the claws could fully sink in, Alice had intercepted them with her shoulders and forearms, dampening the impact.

And despite the fresh wounds, she didn’t even flinch.

Instead, she lunged in closer, locking her arms around the airborne Disciplinary Chair’s waist.

This was a high-risk, high-reward maneuver—

A deliberate trade—where she allowed a minor injury in order to create a decisive opening.

A self-sacrificial technique!

"We're going down together!"

"Eeeeh?! Kkghhh!"

BOOOOOOM!

Alice slammed the Disciplinary Chair directly into the ground with full force.

It was a suplex so perfect, it could have been a poster image for a professional wrestling match.

No matter how much magic reinforcement she had, there was no way she could endure an impact of this magnitude.

The girl was left sprawled out on the marble floor, legs twitching weakly before going completely limp.

If it weren’t for her enhanced durability, that impact might have cracked her skull open.

But considering she had tanked Alice’s kicks without issue, she was probably still alive.

Probably.

"Haa… haa… Ugh, that hurts… But I guess I got off easy."

Alice winced, pain radiating from her bleeding shoulder and arms.

But she didn’t have time to rest.

Pushing herself up, she quickly surveyed the scene.

The Disciplinary Chair had been so aggressive that she hadn’t been able to look away for even a second.

She had no idea what was happening elsewhere.

Tearing off a piece of her skirt to use as a bandage, Alice glanced around—

And her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hahaha! You’re so slow! You’re all moving like zombies!"

"Losing your mind means you're just an animal acting on instinct! No matter how many of you there are, you're no threat!"

"Aaaah! Just pass out already! P-please, just faint!"

The sight before her—

Was a group of less than ten Fixers effortlessly handling three times as many berserk attackers.

They weren’t famous or high-ranked, but they were skilled professionals.

And without the gas impairing them, subduing these mindless aggressors was an easy task.

One Fixer, a bearded man with notably fluid movements, knocked out an opponent with a swift blow from his staff.

Then, glancing at Alice, he smirked.

"Oh? Looks like you wrapped things up on your end. Uh… what was your name again?"

"Ah, I'm Alice."

"Ah, Miss Alice! That roar of yours earlier was truly helpful. Shamefully, I was so shaken by the sudden turn of events that I too was caught up in the confusion… but thanks to you, I snapped out of it. Leave this area to us and focus on getting your wounds treated!"

"T-thank you. I'll trust you with this."

If even someone as strong as the Disciplinary Chair had lost control, then the gas was undeniably lethal—even to Fixers.

No wonder the lower-ranked Fixers had been thrown into disarray, unable to do anything but get caught up in the disaster.

Even the strongest person would be helpless if they were suddenly thrown into deep water without warning.

Evacuating as quickly as possible had been their best option under the circumstances.

But Alice’s commanding voice had snapped them out of their daze—

And once the dangerous gas had settled to the ground, they were finally able to fight properly.

In a way, Alice had helped them just as much as they had helped her.

Perhaps feeling the sincerity of their gratitude, Alice gave a firm nod to the bearded man before tightly wrapping the cloth around her bleeding shoulder and arm, stemming the flow.

‘She should be fine for now… Ah, wait. What about Sabrina and Yuria? Did they manage to contact anyone? Could they have gotten caught in the gas—?’

Now that she had a brief moment to breathe, Alice glanced around while adjusting her makeshift bandage.

Only then did she remember asking Sabrina to contact Raven.

Come to think of it, quite some time had passed.

And yet, Raven was still nowhere to be seen.

Did something happen on his side, too?

With that thought, Alice turned her gaze to the distance, spotting Sabrina standing anxiously—Yuria hiding behind her.

She was about to approach them when—

A sudden scream erupted from the auction’s exit.

"Urgh…! What the hell are these guys?!"

"Khak! Th-these aren’t just mindless berserkers…!"

"Kyaaah! Guhk—!"

What’s going on?!

Alice snapped her head toward the commotion—only to be shocked by what she saw.

The Fixers, who had been effortlessly subduing the berserk victims just moments ago, were now injured and sprawled across the floor.

Standing before them—

Was a group of people who looked completely unaffected by the gas.

They weren’t rampaging.

They were perfectly sane.

And Alice immediately knew what they were.

‘Soldiers?’

The thought had barely formed when—

A deafening explosion shook the hotel.

And from the thick auction walls—

A familiar girl came crashing through the debris.

Dust covered her pale lavender hair, her small frame battered and bloodied.

She was none other than Alice’s childhood friend—

The one who had won the Orb at the auction—

Yanagi Tamamo.

"Gahk! Khh… Tag team fights are such cheating…."

"T-Tamamo?!"

"Oh… Alice-chan? Didn't think I'd run into you… here…."

Tamamo grimaced, weakly pressing a hand to the ground as if struggling to lift herself up.

Alice immediately slid over to support her.

None of this made sense.

The Tamamo Alice knew was a genius.

A magician capable of calculating and reversing an opponent’s spells in real time, rendering them useless.

Very few people in the world should have been capable of leaving her in such a wrecked state.

Had she really been inside the gas-filled auction this whole time?

What the hell happened?!

Confused and unsettled, Alice tightened her grip on Tamamo and urgently asked,

"What happened?! What’s with all these injuries?!"

Tamamo, breathing heavily, forced out a weak whisper.

"Alice… this place… is dangerous… You have to… run…!"

"What are you talking about—?!"

Alice was visibly shaken by Tamamo’s distress.

First, there was the sudden appearance of a group of soldiers near the exit.

And now, Tamamo had been thrown out like a ragdoll, looking half-dead.

How was she supposed to make sense of this?!

But before she could ask anything else—

A pair of unfamiliar voices rang out from the ruined wall Tamamo had crashed through.

"Kyaaha! Think you can run? …Wait, what? Why’s there no smoke outside? Huh?! No way! By now, the whole hotel should be overflowing with rage gas!"

"Vita, this is a serious matter. Mor-Tay will punish you for this. I will sell you out."

"Verita, seriously?! You’d actually do that to me?!"

Stepping out from the broken wall—

Were two girls.

Their names were Vita and Verita.

Twin sisters.

And members of the Seven Sins Guard, an elite unit of the Beastfolk Liberation Army, infamous for being monsters among monsters.