As the figure appeared, Shin instantly drew the dagger she had been hiding and struck out. Almost at the same moment, everyone realized one thing—
This was no joke.
The masked man was an intruder!
But before anyone could react, Shin's dagger was knocked from her hand, and her entire body was restrained. The man in the eerie mask pressed his arm against her snow-white neck, forcing her to claw at it with her hands.
Gasps spread through the hall. Many guests turned pale, while the members of Hare's House braced themselves for a fight. But when Nicole got a clear look at the figure on stage, a strange sense of familiarity washed over her.
This person... looked familiar?
She had never seen this mask before, but it was close enough. Could this man... be Zane?
She knew about the Masked Fool. Back during the Dead End Hollow incident with Vision Industry, Hare's House had been one of the main players.
Now they were even preparing to go to trial against Perlman.
Nicole remembered Zane fooling around with something similar back at headquarters—it looked almost exactly like this.
And most importantly, both Zane and Shin had been missing. At first, she thought they had other urgent matters and weren't coming, but then Shin appeared out of nowhere.
Shin was here, but Zane was not. The only one standing beside her was this mysterious masked man...
That left little room for doubt.
Nicole tilted her head slightly toward her companions. She saw Anby and Nekomata also looking her way. Their eyes met, and a shared understanding flickered between them.
They weren't the only ones who had figured it out.
"Hey, Nicole! What's going on? Should we... Hey, hey, hey—"
"Quiet, Billy. Just watch."
As Billy was yanked aside by the hair, Anby and Nekomata exchanged glances and slipped back into the corner.
Elsewhere in the hall, several soldiers chose to hold their ground, waiting for the right moment to act. The atmosphere grew taut with tension. And then, on stage...
"Cough... Zane... You're holding too tight, I can't breathe..."
Any tighter, and this would turn into the real thing!
And damn, how could he be this strong?
Her voice was weak, barely audible over the noise of the banquet. Zane didn't seem to hear her.
Shin's face turned pale. With no choice, she let one hand drop, groped for Zane's waist... and twisted hard.
"Hss... you—"
"Loosen up!"
Zane snapped his attention back from the crowd and slackened his grip. Hidden under his hair, a small earpiece glowed faintly. Belle's voice came through.
"Zane, everything's ready on my side. Fairy has linked up all the systems. How's it looking there?"
"Mm. We can begin."
The moment he spoke, all the lights in the banquet hall went out, throwing the room into chaos.
The darkness didn't last long. A beam of light cut through, shining directly on the stage. Everywhere else remained pitch-black.
Zane stood silently in the spotlight. In a corner behind him, Shin gritted her teeth as she pushed herself up from the floor, her face darkening.
There was now a faint footprint on the back of her gown.
That bastard! He actually kicked her. Definitely payback.
Even if he had to get her out quickly, did he really have to go that far? No sense of pity whatsoever!
Glancing around, Shin spotted a faint blue glow guiding her to the "doorway" Zane had prepared for her. She only needed to stall for a short while...
On stage, Zane slowly spread his arms. His black-and-gold hair rippled under the light, and the Fool's mask on his face gleamed with a sinister sheen.
The hall fell utterly silent. Every pair of eyes locked onto him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, forgive my intrusion."
"I interrupted this banquet only to let you watch a performance... a trial, held by the Masked Fool bearing the scales."
He bowed slightly, then straightened. Most of the guests looked bewildered, but a few felt a creeping dread.
From the moment he appeared, people had been trying to escape the hall. But with Ether crystals sealing every exit, no one could get out.
Zane paid them no mind. His voice was calm.
"Klings, senior municipal official of the Fudis District. You once sheltered criminals, leaving innocent victims with no justice... You embezzled public funds meant for construction subsidies, and during a Hollow disaster, you hoarded profits, causing the deaths of two entire investigation teams. The excuse given—was that they lingered behind of their own accord."
As his words echoed, a man hidden in the darkness turned pale. He understood immediately—this was aimed at him. And it was bad. Very bad.
After his long, meticulous indictment, Zane raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
A sharp crack rang through the hall.
Suddenly, people felt hot liquid splash across their faces. Some touched something soft, others felt sticky wetness, still others slipped on what pooled beneath their feet...
The light shifted away from Zane, plunging him into shadow, and fell instead upon a crimson stain spreading across the floor.
The scene was revolting.
From the darkness, Zane's voice rose again.
"Good."
"Now... scream."
The hall erupted in chaos. The powerful stayed composed, but nobles, tycoons, and socialites completely lost their masks of dignity.
The noise, the panic—Zane saw it all.
And so did countless others.
Because at that very moment, the entire city of New Eridu was watching.
Electricity surged wildly in the video store, while Fairy poured her strength into holding everything together.
That's right—the banquet was being broadcast live on every major platform. And with the first trial complete, viewership skyrocketed, spreading uncontrollably.
...
Inside the video store.
"Tch... really..."
Wise stared at the screen, momentarily at a loss for words. Belle tried to lean in for a look, but he blocked her view.
"Kids shouldn't be watching this."
Of course, Belle wasn't going to stop just because he said that. She pushed his hand away and raised her eyes to the screen.
But after only a glance, her face went pale, and she instinctively looked away.