A thunderous rumbling could be heard from all around the district, accompanied by a sudden flash of light…
Once the Patrolling Lights had completely dispersed, the ice hat was now sitting atop Mel's head as she continued to hold the suffocating Snapper by his neck.
Wolf, after realizing neither him nor Snapper had fallen victim to the effects of the ice hat, could only stand in petrification while glancing wide-eyed at Mel, who mockingly smirked at him.
"How lucky… It appears the both of you were unaffected. However, I am not sure whether the same can be said about the other two."
Wolf, aware of the rules that Jude mentioned before the game started, had begun to picture May and Amber's current condition, failing to hide his anxious expression.
This is all my fault, isn't it? Wolf thought to himself. If I hadn't lost control earlier, I would've been able to focus on reaching the hat. Now Amber or May could be…
Just as Wolf began to clench his fists in frustration, he focused on Snapper, who had been trying to get his attention by constantly flexing his fingers.
Confused and still crestfallen over their defeat, Wolf was unable to interpret the message that Snapper was trying to convey.
"I pity you, Wolf."
Mel tightened her grip around Snapper's neck, causing a low groan to leak from his depleting breath.
"It's unfortunate, but I'm afraid you and your friends never stood a chance from the beginning."
"What are you saying?" Wolf replied, hiding his focus on Snapper's hand, which was rapidly opening and closing.
"To put it simply: you are all just far too weak… It's quite pathetic, honestly."
Mel's words reverberated inside Wolf's mind before sinking down to his chest, wrapping around his heart and weighing it down into his stomach.
"Don't feel too offended by my words, Wolf. It's only natural that things have turned out this way. My master is someone who has never experienced defea—"
"Shut up!"
Wolf, whose body began to quiver with anger, completely silenced Mel. He gritted his teeth and clenched the handle of his dagger tightly.
Mel, who concentrated on Wolf more seriously, was stunned by his sudden change in emotion.
Wolf had even surprised himself by his sudden outburst, but once he quickly calmed down, he took a glance at his dagger, finally able to realize the meaning behind Snapper's gesture.
"You're right Mel… Right now, I'm probably not strong enough to defeat you, and I'm definitely nowhere near Jude's level. But I've just remembered something..."
"Oh? And what would that be?" she probed.
"I might be 'weak', but unfortunately that term doesn't apply to the man you're currently holding."
Mel quickly shifted her gaze to Snapper, who remained suspended in the air under the restraint of her grasp.
But Wolf immediately took advantage of this distraction, and with a swing of his arm, he sent his dagger flying into Snappers hand.
"WHAT—!!?"
In that moment, Snapper didn't hesitate to stab the blade right into the side of Mel's bare neck.
"Aghhh!!!!"
Wailing in agony, she fell back, releasing the tenacious hold she had on Snapper.
He fell to the ground, coughing repeatedly while gasping for air.
"Snapper!" Wolf cried to him as he made his way over to his side.
Snapper reached into his pocket and retrieved another health elixir, which he devoured in seconds before tossing the empty container away.
"Snapper, are you alright?" Wolf asked while attempting to help him get back on his feet.
But just as he was able to stand, Snapper brushed Wolf's hand away and grabbed him by the collar, pulling his face closer toward him.
"Snap—"
"Keep your head in the game, dammit!" Snapper glared into Wolf's eyes in frustration. "You think you're weak just because some crazy princess said so, huh? So then tell me: who the hell was it that took down Vince's crew all on their own, cuz it sure as hell wasn't Amber, and it definitely wasn't me!"
Snapper could see the glint of self-pity within Wolf's eyes, and he was aware that their current situation had taken a mental toll on him, so he softened his expression ever so slightly.
"You're strong, Wolf. Don't let the words of that dumb bitch mess with your head." A grin began to form on Snapper's face, "And besides, I wouldn't have begged you to form a party with me if I thought you were some weak piece of trash."
Wolf felt stunned for a moment, surprised by how reassuring Snapper's words were.
He took a deep breath, clearing the redundant thoughts that clouded his mind.
"Thank you, Snapper," he said as he gently pulled Snapper's arms away, releasing his jacket from under his grasp.
Snapper noticed something different about Wolf in that moment; his sorrowful expression had morphed into a frightening calmness that he knew he had seen somewhere before.
This feeling… it's the same as when we fought… when he was about to use that card…
Clank!
Wolf quickly turned to face Mel as he heard the sound of a dagger hitting the ground.
The wound inflicted by Snapper seemed to have struck her vitals, as blood gushed out ferociously despite her efforts to hide it behind her hand.
"How cruel… To harm a noble princess in such a fiendish manner..." She spoke weakly, failing to hide the twisted contortions of her face, which reacted to the ruthless agony she continuously experienced.
"I was aiming for the head," Snapper remorselessly responded while pressing a finger against the side of his head. "It's so damn big, I'm still tryna figure out how the hell I missed it."
"Tch, you're like an annoying little insect, aren't you?" Mel shifted to a more malicious tone, her crimson eyes inflamed with pure hatred.
"Easy, princess. You're not the first girl to stare at me like that, ya know."
Mel, resuming a fighting stance, extended the arm that held her dark blade, waiting patiently for an attack.
Snapper turned to his teammate, who was silently focusing all of his attention toward Mel.
"Wolf, we're gonna have to obtain the next ice hat no matter what. I hope you understand what I mean by this."
Snapper, who felt no kind of intimacy toward Mel, was prepared to do what was necessary in order to stop her from getting in their way.
After obtaining the hat, it was clear that Mel had now been forced to play defensively since she could no longer enter the zone of the next spawn point. Her only goal as of this moment was to prevent them from reaching it no matter what.
Wolf calmly began to respond. "Once the next round begins, she's going to do everything she can to defend from outside the zone, which means we'll be at an advantage. But it's better for us to focus on taking her down during the intermission phase before the hat spawns again. That way she won't be able to stop us from reaching it, right?"
Snapper grinned at Wolf proudly.
"Now you're starting to use that brain of yours. I know you said she was your friend and all, but that same Mel you knew isn't the same person in front of you… so you understand what needs to be done, right?"
Wolf plainly understood what Snapper meant when he said this. There was only one way to make sure they could claim victory in the next round with significantly less hindrances…
"We have to end her… Right here, right now."
"Glad to know we're on the same page. Now listen up, I just thought of an awesome plan."
Snapper wrapped his arm around Wolf, pulling his ear close.
Once Wolf understood the plan, he confirmed with a nod before they both reached an arm out toward one another, firmly gripping the other person's hand.
A handshake? What are they planning this time? Mel thought as she readied herself in anticipation.
However, before she could fully regain her focus, Wolf bolted forward, immediately circling behind her.
Snapper then dashed toward Mel, forcing her to focus all of her attention toward him instead.
"Planning to attack from both sides? Clever, but unfortunately, I've already encountered such blatant tactics before."
During Mel's rigorous swordsmanship training back at the Melanargia kingdom, she practiced duels against two or more opponents at once, so she was more than prepared for a scenario like this.
"Oh? Wanna bet?"
Snapper, after reaching into his pocket, swung his arm and opened his palm simultaneously, revealing a cluster of tiny black balls that were fast-approaching.
"Hmph, child's play."
Mel, albeit surprised, reacted to the attack with zero effort, cutting through each of the balls with one slash of her blade.
"What!?"
But once her blade made contact with the balls, they each erupted into a cloud of smoke, causing Mel to back away instinctively.
No! she thought upon realizing the blunder she had made.
Before she could even turn to face Wolf, she had already received an unfettered blow to the jaw, causing her to stumble backward for a moment.
The impact of the attack caused the tiny smoke bombs hidden in Wolf's fist to erupt.
As Mel was in the process of regaining her balance, Snapper seized this opportunity, utilizing the smoke to disguise his next attack.
With his arms stretched through it, he swiftly took hold of Mel's head and pulled it down toward a flying knee that also emerged from the smoke.
"Ack!"
Wailing in agony Mel couldn't help but stumble backwards once more, but this time, she wouldn't let herself repeat the same mistake.
Quickly regaining her focus, she slashed at the space behind her, causing the smoke to disperse.
However, Wolf had premeditated an evasive maneuver, assuming that Mel wouldn't be fooled twice by the same sucker punch.
What? How did he–!?
Wolf, who had ducked his body behind the smoke, sprung upward, blowing away Mel's thoughts with a powerful uppercut to the chin.
Her body collapsed onto the ground, and her head dropped right beside Snapper's boots.
"H-How could I have been defeated…" She slurred disappointedly as her 'Blackening' ability began to fade once again, returning her appearance to its golden state.
"I call it 'Pass the Princess'. How's that for a blatant tactic, your highness?" Snapper mocked, as Mel's consciousness began to slip due to the accumulation of injuries she suffered, coupled with her lack of stamina.
Meanwhile, Wolf retrieved his dagger from the ground before swinging it loosely, allowing the blood stains to disperse from the blade and splatter in a red cluster across the ground.
He slowly began to approach Mel, who he saw was laying helplessly on the ground beside Snapper.
Seeing Mel in her normal state flooded his mind with memories he shared with her at the Collectors Station.
Although they were short and moderate, they were still the memories of a person he considered a friend, meaning they held significant value no matter how few they were.
Wolf gazed over at Mel's unmoving body, which appeared to be unconscious and vulnerable. Snapper then noticed that Wolf's right hand, which grasped the handle of his dagger, began to quiver.
"Breathe."
"Huh?"
Wolf responded to Snapper in confusion.
"You need to breathe, Wolf."
Upon noticing that his own hand had been trembling uncontrollably, Wolf closed his eyes before deeply inhaling and exhaling.
"Think about what's at stake here. If you don't do this, she'll just keep coming back to make things harder for us. It's either us or them."
… Snapper's right. Wolf went over the situation again in his mind.
Mel, in her current state, could no longer pose a threat to the two due to the amount of damage her body had sustained.
However, if left alone, there's no telling whether or not she'll recover and go after them again. Not to mention, Wolf's stamina had just about depleted during the closing of their battle. It would be wise to end things here as soon as possible.
In order to finish things quickly, the best method would have been a stab to the chest, however, that area was commodiously guarded by Mel's armor. Instead, Wolf positioned himself on top of her, watching as blood continued to gush out of her neck wound.
This is… the only way...
Taking one last glance at Mel's guiltless face that had been bloodied during their battle, he steeled his resolve, raising his dagger into the air to prepare for a large swing that would slash her throat open.
But half way into the execution, he abruptly paused.
"What are you—"
Before the puzzled Snapper could even question Wolf's actions, he saw a fearful expression on his face, an expression unlike any other.
"Wolf…?"
"N-no…" Wolf's face was painted with gloom and sheer dread.
There was an emptiness in his eyes that made it seem like his focus was somewhere beyond the scene that was currently unfolding before him.
"Not again…"
Wolf's body began to tremble as he gazed at Mel, whose appearance was unchanged. However, he saw something–something that overwhelmed him with a deep sense of fear.
"Wolf…? What's going on with you?" In Wolf's untampered ears, Snapper's voice became a muffled echo, followed by a silent ring.
Snapper was unable to comprehend the events that were currently unfolding. From his perspective, it seemed almost like something was possessing Wolf's body, preventing him from moving.
But the case was not that simple; Wolf's mind had become ruptured, and only the image of a small silhouette could be seen within it, standing and watching him silently.
Who are you…?