"Look! They're scattering like deer when they spot a predator out to prey on them all!" shouted the man, who was wearing nothing but boxer shorts and a crown, before bursting into laughter—Ugh, he seems to have a personality just like Gilles's; it's sickening.
"Caesar, look ahead," said the man dressed head to toe in gold, pointing at us as we each held our weapons. "They don't seem to be the deer you imagined,"
"Where? Where? Where?" He looked around, even though we were right in front of him; the man beside him was holding his head and turning it towards us. "Oh? Hmm… I feel like I recognise that face. Any ideas, Midas?"
The man, who turned out to be called Midas, narrowed his eyes—trying to see us more clearly. "Hey, you blue-eyed girl!" He was clearly calling me before releasing his hand from Caesar's head.
"What is it, Goldie?" I looked up, and as I heard that, Caesar laughed whilst Midas stared at me like a bold little ant daring to defy him.
"Is your name Alice?" The question took the three of us by surprise; we exchanged glances before refocusing on those two oddballs. "Seems like it—she's exactly as described, too exactly actually. Don't you ever change your clothes?" He shouted, even though he'd have been heard speaking normally.
He was deliberately shouting so that others nearby could hear and brand me as someone who was filthy—that was my assumption, and if it were true, I'd strangle him to death. "How did you know?" I asked. It was really bothering me until I suddenly realised something—the thing I'd said at the restaurant earlier.
"You're one of Mother's favourite Fables, aren't you?" Midas confirmed, whilst Caesar beside him paused for a moment, as if the name rang a bell.
"Mother…? Oh! You mean the old woman who was killed by Rip—" I had every reason to finish them off on the spot; I flicked those cards, and the symbol in the centre of each card instantly transformed, causing roots to shoot out from within, ready to bind them and eventually shatter their bodies.
Yet, with utter nonchalance, Midas's bare hands emitted a golden glow until gloves formed on both his hands. Midas casually touched the two green roots and felt their rough texture. Instantly, the roots stopped moving and slowly changed colour, shifting from their natural green to a gleaming golden hue—the roots had become what so many people love most—gold.
WHOOSH
Arrows rained down relentlessly on the nearly naked man—TWANG-CLINK—the arrows bounced off Caesar's skin, and at the sight of this, he burst out laughing. "That tickles!" I glanced behind me and saw Romeo, who'd already put on a blue mask before dashing off; his speed was incredible, and before I realised it, he was right in front of Caesar and his mask quickly turned red.
His hand shot out and landed on Caesar's stomach; yet even from a distance, I could see him seeming to grimace in pain before leaping backwards as his mask turned blue again. "It's as if I'd struck a very hard suit of armour," said Romeo before rubbing the palm of his hand. "No mistake about it, they've got Everafter just like us."
Gloves that could turn anything into gold and invisible armour—he'd probably be just as irritating and difficult to fight as Gilles. "Before we finish them off, they should at least know the name of the man who killed them, shouldn't they?" said the portly man; from his voice, I could sense a powerful sense of arrogance.
"My name is Caesar Kingsley The Pride, and you'd best praise me now whilst you're still alive," I didn't care about his name but I was intrigued by the title after it; Robin had once told me that Gilles introduced himself with the title "The Death."
"Midas Nikolaos, The Greed." After hearing the introduction from the man with the golden appearance, I immediately realised a pattern. "We are from the Seven Sins."
That was the pattern I'd realised—their titles were taken from the names of the seven deadly sins—but if that was their team, did that mean they weren't from The False Epilogue?
My head was so full of questions it felt like it would burst; I shook my head slightly and refocused my attention on the two of them again. "Do you have any connection to The False Epilogue!?" Robin asked, beating me to it.
They fell silent for a moment as if weighing whether to answer or not, but it was only Midas who hesitated; Caesar looked utterly bewildered as to why he even had to consider it. "Yes!" said the man with the crown without hesitation, and true to his title—he was brimming with pride. "Just imagine that The False Epilogue is your long-dead Mother, and we are the Fables she put to work," I clenched my fists tightly; I couldn't bear the way he said it so nonchalantly.
From my deck, I drew a sword whose blade was a flame before I darted forward, propelled by the wind from the cards I'd stuck to my shoes—the blade was already drawn, pointed at Caesar's neck. "What is your reason for killing Mother?" I asked, and if he tried to boast, his head would be severed from his body.
"So that no one would interfere with what we were about to do, of course." My hunch was correct; I glanced aside and saw Midas almost touching my skin with that gauntlet—I quickly leapt back.
I nearly turned into a golden statue—nimbly, I threw the sword, and Midas caught it straight away; the hilt turned to gold, whilst the flaming blade vanished instantly. I glanced over and saw Caesar sweating, the result of the flames that had been so close to him moments before. "Let's finish them off now, Caesar." said Midas before taking a fighting stance.
I had to quickly come up with a plan to at least get out of here—but before I'd had time to finish thinking, I saw something being thrown between us.
Without warning, smoke billowed out and began to obscure our vision. "Alice, Robin, and a masked bloke! Fall back!" A woman's voice rang out; it was a voice I hadn't heard before—but we followed her instructions anyway and I had my card ready in case it was a trap.
We ran until we were out of the smoke; ahead of us we saw a woman with a soft, curvaceous figure; she was much taller than me. She ran, her thick green hair blowing in the wind; she looked back and her green eyes—matching her hair—met my diamond-like eyes.
Winks
She winked at me, leaving me bewildered and taken aback—I didn't even recognise the woman in front of me at all. "Was she just flirting with me?" Even so, I could feel that I could trust this woman.