Erick's fist struck his own face. Aiming for the arm Fox had around his neck, it vanished into smoke before the blow landed.
A massive explosion erupted on Erick's face, creating a thick black cloud from the impact.
"Ha, ha, ha!" Fox cackled like a hyena. "Take that, idiot!"
The smoke, more of a pale gray, began to dissipate over Erick's clothes, drifting into the air.
As the whitish smoke cleared, Willy Fox's figure emerged: the lanky man with a crumpled top hat and a malicious grin. He eyed Erick sharply, scratching his elongated chin.
Erick dropped to his knees, his face still shrouded in black smoke from the earlier explosion.
"You thought it'd be that easy, kid?" Fox mocked, pulling a knife from his waist.
Wasting no time, Fox moved to finish the job. Though Erick seemed to have punched himself, Fox wasn't taking chances…
But as the knife aimed for Erick's face, Fox felt his arm halt mid-strike.
Erick's hand gripped it tightly, stopping the blade.
"You really thought that'd hurt me?" Erick said, coughing slightly.
Slowly, he rose, forcing Fox to his knees by twisting his wrist.
The knife clattered to the floor, sliding out of sight.
"The naive one here is you," Erick said as the black smoke cleared, revealing his face smudged with soot.
"C-come on, Erick, don't be like that," Fox pleaded, wincing from the pain in his wrist under Erick's grip.
Fox let out a nervous laugh.
"Don't you remember our good times?" he said, even more anxiously.
Erick's scowl deepened, tightening his grip, making Fox scream in agony.
"Tell me where he is," Erick said without hesitation.
The small office was a dim, gloomy space with little light. The oil lamps' glow had never been fainter. From the open door, Fox heard an eerie silence…
The casino had never been so quiet in all his years as its owner. Not a single soul remained alive—just him and Erick.
"I said, tell me where that damned rat is!" Erick roared, now slamming his other hand into Fox's face.
Fox spat blood from the blow, trembling. He swore that hit would be the end.
The mere thought that any of Erick's attacks could blow him to pieces left the crime magnate even more rattled.
Erick repeated himself, sounding even harsher.
"O-okay, okay!" Fox stammered.
He'd planned it long ago… He had all the cards on the table. Igor had come with an unusual offer: hire his thugs for an unusual job.
But that plan failed, and the consequences stood before Fox, wielding fists that detonated like dynamite.
"I don't know exactly where Igor is…" Fox confessed, his voice dripping with cowardice.
"Then you're useless," Erick concluded instantly.
"Wait, wait!" Fox shouted, raising a hand to shield his face. "I know who can lead you to him!"
Erick eyed him suspiciously.
"You've got one shot… Speak," he said coldly.
"My boys tailed him after the meetings Igor set up with them. While he was planning, well… you know, your assassination," Fox said before Erick kicked him in the stomach.
"Fine… bad choice of words," Fox groaned in pain.
The crime magnate broke into a cold sweat. 'One hit,' Fox thought incessantly, 'one hit from this guy, and it's over.'
Wasting no time, Fox spoke, avoiding Erick's eyes, staring at the floor.
"Igor was meeting with members of House Moon," Fox finally spilled.
"House Moon?" Erick said, incredulous.
"I swear!" Fox exclaimed, still looking down. "That's what my boys reported!"
Erick kept his iron grip on Fox's wrist. One wrong move, and it'd be dislocated in a second.
In his desperation, the crime magnate played his final hand. His last strategy…
"R-right! You can't kill me," Fox said, as if struck by divine revelation.
Erick looked at him, baffled, nearly throwing an explosive punch just to shut him up.
"Thanks to me, your pathetic House is back on its feet, moron!" Fox said with brazen audacity, bursting into loud laughter.
Erick couldn't hide his disgust.
This time, Mako's younger brother grabbed Fox by the collar, lifting him slowly.
"S-so I'm an investor in your lousy House, kid. I suggest you put me down," Fox spat, flailing for his life.
"Investor? Last time we talked, you barely wanted to do business with us…" Erick muttered to himself. "Speak!"
Erick seemed like a ticking bomb. Fox gritted his teeth, fearing for his life deep in his heart.
"Mako! Mako came to talk to me… We didn't part on the best terms at our first meeting, but he came around!" Fox said, trying to save his skin.
Erick's crimson eyes widened.
"Yeah! Now I'm an investor in your House. Thanks to me, that place has been packed with new staff since Mako's been at the Royal Court. You should thank me! So… mind putting me down?" Fox finished.
Erick stared with those neon-red eyes, glowing as if they might erupt any moment.
Without a word, Erick hurled Fox toward his desk.
Fox took a brutal hit to his back, collapsing as the desk toppled from the impact.
"Scum like you…!" Erick said, stalking toward Fox.
Fox couldn't stand. Erick grabbed his clothes again, lifting him.
"Wait, wait!" Fox screamed. "You still need me to find Igor!"
Erick wasn't listening. Blinded by rage and pride, he cared about one thing.
Ruthlessly, he seized Fox's face with an open palm, squeezing.
"Trash like you… shouldn't associate with us," Erick said cruelly, devoid of humanity. "That damned Mako, making deals while eyeing a Royal Court position."
Fox trembled in fear, feeling death's icy breath on his neck.
Tears streamed from the crime magnate's eyes.
"Please… you still need me," were Fox's final words.
Erick, still gripping Fox's face, opened his palm and, with his fingertips, delivered a light tap. A small, concentrated explosion sparked from his fingers…
Small explosions, yes, but deadly precise.
Erick Sol, in his relentless hunt for vengeance against the traitor Igor, not only wiped out every man under Willy Fox but also the crime magnate himself and his entire organization.