In a nearby stall, an assassin lurked.
'C'mon, just a few meters' His hand grasped the magical token with expectation. As soon as he squeezed it, the Water Lord's Nephew would be turned into a sieve!
His body would soon be shredded by countless wind blades… with the same mana signature as the Windborn Lord's troops! The chaos that'd ensue would be glorious!
"Hehe, I drank so much! It sure was— AH?!" The youngster's face suddenly filled with dread, his mighty Dragon instantly shriveling from the stress.
"Woo!"
"Woo! Woo!"
"Woo! Woo! Woo!"
Tons of foxes barged into the toilets.
But their presence wasn't the problem. No, it was the faintly glowing gems they held in their mouth… Record Crystals?! They were aimed straight at his Dragon too!
"W-What the fuck?!"
"Woo!" (We're official photographs!)
The foxes happily boasted. To them, this new role was a source of pride: they had been chosen to capture the magnificence of the Masquerade! How awesome was that?!
They had even entered a Photo contest with one another, trying to get the best shots possible… and that's why they had come!
"Woo!" (Where's the Dragon?! We'll record it!)
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtTheir eyes gleamed enthusiastically, some even going "GAOOO!" as they tried their best to imitate the mythical being. The youngster was left shell-shocked.
Dragon? What Dragon?! Draining the Dragon was an expression! They wanted to snap pics of his D… — SHIVER! — How would he face anyone after this?!
"Nooo! Get out. Leave me alone!" As he heard the CLICK of the recording magic operating, he felt his soul about to leave him. No, he couldn't accept this! "TCH— You don't leave me any choice!"
With a mighty roar, he lunged at the fluffy creatures. The latter had no idea what they had done wrong as they were genuinely just doing their job!
"Woo!" (Record everything! We'll find the Dragon Eventually!)
A wise fox proposed the best plan ever, and a flurry of CLICKS followed as they recorded EVERYTHING! As for the poor bloke trying to save the last shreds of his dignity? Denied!
— WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! —
The sound of water tentacles trying to whip foxes kept resonating, but they didn't stop! Somehow, their waists looked even more flexible than the stream! How?!
Click! Click! Click! The mischievous foxes were unstoppable, a force of nature one could say, every of their dodge causing more distress to the youngster.
"H-How are these bloody things so fast?!"
It wasn't that he was weak… it was just the foxes that had trained their evasive skills. After all, this was nothing compared to their Shaving God of a master!
But the youngster wasn't the only one despairing. A certain assassin hidden in the nearby stall was about to lose his goddamn mind. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck! What the hell is this?!"
Those foxes were the fucking worst!
1. Messed with his trap
2. Spooked his mark
3. And they recorded the whole process to boot! Wasn't this just adding insult to injury?! He had to force himself not to go out there and bash their brains in.
But just as he struggled to keep his dark thoughts down… CLANG! The stall's door was suddenly slammed open, a furry head popping inside.
"Woo!" (That's not a dragon. Meh, whatever!)
— CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! —
The sound of the recording crystal activating felt like an explosion. It was putting nails in the assassin's coffin. They now had pics of the trap, him, and the would-be victim! FUCK!
That's when his assassin's training kicked in! Contrary to his boiling anger, his face became a mask of gentleness and compassion.
"Say, little fox, won't you give me that recording stone? You see, there's such a thing as privacy and—"
"Woo!" (Don't care!)
A beat after answering, the little one was already rushing outward.
The assassin gave chase. He HAD to get this recording! Yet, merely a second after coming out of the stall, he realized his error.
— CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!-CLICK!—
There were so many recording crystals, and now he had to destroy them all! Otherwise, their whole scheme would get busted even if he managed to accomplish the mission!
He felt like crying. Why was committing murder and framing another for it so hard?! Since when had life in Dawn City become this freaking horrible?!
But he was suddenly awakened by a resolute voice.
"I know how you feel, brother, fuck those foxes! Let's work together and catch those bastards! Alone we're weak, but together we're strong. Let's do this!"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"S-sure…" The assassin weakly answered back.
He felt like coughing blood as he was forced to work with his mark… to catch the evidence of him attempting an assassination in the first place! What kind of poetic irony was this?!
That's when his training as an assassin kicked in once more. As they say: do everything for the mission, no matter how lowly and horrendous it feels.
Thus began a crazy game of cat and mouse…. Or rather fox and two very unlikely "allies".
The fluffy creatures happily ran, enjoying every single second of it, to the pursuers' dismay. They were trying to murder them… yet they treated this as a game?!
But that was just the beginning…
"Oh crap! They're about to reach the Main Hall! We can't allow anyone to view those recordings!" Both thundered at once for entirely different reasons.
Sadly for the humans, the foxes were pros at this game!
Soon, it was too late, as they met the other guests.
"Ah? What are you guys doing?"
"Chasing the foxes?!"
Admit that the foxes had evidence/nudes of them? NEVER! The two humans looked at one another, sharing a pained smile as they blurted. "Playing Tag!"
Then before anyone could react, foxes and pursuers were gone. This left many baffled, yet they didn't overthink it. Well, all but a few assassins in the room.
"W-what the fuck happened?! Was he… running with the mark?! Why?!" Had he given up on the mission? Then again, he had looked truly desperate back there.
Silently, a bunch of assassins excused themselves. It was time to hunt foxes… and answers! Perhaps they could murder the mark while at it, right?
Meanwhile, a certain baby was getting ready for phase two…