Without knowing how, Fox watched as the person he'd just killed walked through the door again.
His trembling hand guided the pipe to his lips for a long drag of that toxic smoke, shaking off the initial shock.
Polifemo was the first of the trio to act, now wise to the tricks of this scoundrel.
He hurled himself forward, slamming his ball-shaped body into Fox's face. Taking advantage of Fox's disorientation, he knocked the pipe and its contents to the floor.
Fox retaliated with a brutal punch to Polifemo's eye, sending him flying back.
Ana and Mako didn't hold back.
Using her armor, Ana charged at Fox, shoving him to the ground with a shoulder tackle, while Mako dove for the dagger and pipe on the floor.
Ana's blow landed square in Fox's chest, forcing him to exhale the last of the smoke in his lungs as he hit the ground.
"Damn it…" Fox groaned, sprawled out.
"Kryyyya!" Polifemo screeched from a corner of the room, his eye red and teary from the hit. "You bastard! Without that pipe, you're nothing. Didn't anyone tell you smoking kills?"
Ana and Mako covered their noses and stepped back from Fox, wary of the lingering smoke that had escaped his mouth.
Both aimed their weapons at him—Mako with the dagger that had "killed" him moments ago, and Ana with her sword.
"Now I get it," Mako said, more to himself than to anyone else in the room.
Mako had realized his power let him rewind time…
His face shifted to one of newfound confidence as he continued, "We're still a great House. You'd be wise to make deals with us."
Fox grimaced and spat to the side before speaking.
"You're delusional, kid."
Defeated, the old fox still wanted the last laugh.
"Without investors, it's only a matter of time before your savings dry up. This is just… a sneak preview of the inevitable."
Polifemo, now able to see again, wiped his teary eye and started watching the door to ensure no one caught them off guard.
Mako's anger flared with every word from that snake.
"You're in no position to talk," Mako shot back, gripping the dagger tightly.
"Ha!" Fox cackled. "You caught me off guard. You won. But you're still miles from the finish line."
Fox's vile smirk faded, replaced by a more serious expression.
The casino magnate fixed Mako with a deathly stare and said, "Times are changing, Lord Mako. You think you're ahead because of your grand legacy as the House of the Sun, but plenty of other Houses, nobles, and people like me are on the rise."
Mako understood what that meant.
"We're alone," he concluded.
At those words, Fox couldn't help but twist his face into a macabre grin, bursting into laughter.
"Let's go," Mako said firmly.
"What?" Ana and Polifemo said in unison as Fox's laughter stopped.
"Fox isn't an investor anymore. Killing him would do more harm than good. Our reputation's hanging by a thread," Mako said, never taking his eyes off Fox.
Mako's conclusion was spot-on. Never in his life had he needed to worry about the future of his House. Without a system, he'd been nothing more than a figurehead for investors who were increasingly turning their backs on Erick.
At least, that's how it used to be.
"No one else will meet with us. Look how low we had to stoop just to…" Polifemo tried to reason, but Ana caught Mako's meaning instantly.
"We can't waste more time here," she said.
Mako turned to Ana, his eyes glowing with that strange light that had caught Erick so off guard.
"We're going to show these gamblers we'll still come out on top, even if it's by a hair."
◇◆◇
Meanwhile, at the Mansion of the House of the Sun…
In a study, Erick was packing up his things.
Igor, the House's last remaining butler, entered curiously with a silver tray bearing a steaming cup of tea.
"Master Erick…" the perpetually hunched man said timidly.
"I'm no longer master of anything, Igor," Erick replied coldly, eyeing the papers detailing the House's expenses.
"But, sir…"
"Shut it, you wretched rat. Nothing matters anymore. I don't know why I'm even looking at these papers. They're not my problem now."
"You're abandoning us?" Igor asked as Erick took the tea from the tray.
Erick inhaled the tea's aroma for a moment.
"You're bold when it suits you, vermin. No. I won't abandon what I've fought for all these years," Erick confessed.
He took a delicate sip of the tea, elegantly setting the cup aside before continuing, "No matter the cost, I'll pay whatever price it takes to make this House shine again."
Igor trembled with fear at those words.
"But now, you're no longer…" Igor began, only to feel Erick's crimson eyes pierce him with a murderous glare. "I mean, Mako is still the firstborn of the House, the Law protects him, my lord!"
Igor nearly threw himself to the floor, begging for mercy.
Erick looked at him with disgust.
"You're right," Erick said, gazing at a portrait of their late parents on the wall. "But I won't rely on scraps. Now that this House has its firstborn handling the important matters, I can turn to other means."
"You don't mean…" Igor said, dreading the worst.
"Quiet and get out, Igor," Erick replied coldly to the butler. "And when Mako returns… tell him not to look for me."
Igor bowed and vanished into the shadows with his silver tray.
Erick paused after the butler's exit.
"No. It's not enough," he continued, his crimson eyes fixed on the massive painting of his deceased parents. "It's not enough to restore the glory of the past. This House will shine brighter than ever."