The sound of shattering glass filled the air, quickly followed by a cold, high-pitched laugh echoing again from above, all the while the Collector’s eyes glittering maliciously as they watched Chie being dragged away by Ronzonius through the shadows.

  "Tch, of course she'd pick him to save her...how utterly predictable"

  The Collector paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought...until finally, they tilted their head to one side and asked with a chillingly cold purr—"...Or did he pick her...?"

  The words hung heavily in the air for a moment, a cold, sinister silence falling over the entire room as the Collector considered its own question carefully…

  They tapped their fingers idly for a moment before slowly crossing their arms, eyes narrowing as a cold smile curved over their lips.

  "Hm...how intriguing indeed."

  The Collector's amusement faded into something sharper, something calculating.

  "Ronzonius…" it mused, the name tasting like a puzzle piece clicking into place. "Ohhh, I see now." Its grin widened unnaturally again as realization dawned. "This isn’t just some random escape then…is it? He’s planning something."

  Its fingers twitched with excitement before suddenly curling inward like claws, as if imagining wrapping them around someone’s throat already.

  “And that makes this so much more fun.”

  Ronzonius barely had time to react before the Collector's hand slammed into his face out of nowhere with bone-crushing force, his head snapping back violently as blood instantly began trickling from his nose.

  He staggered slightly but managed to keep his grip on Chie before gently letting go, coughing once before turning toward them again; eyes now darkened with a rare flicker of anger beneath that usual lazy smirk of his…

  Chie gasped in surprise as Ronzonius staggered back from the Collector's blow, eyes widening as she saw the blood trickling down his face again. But before she could say anything, Ronzonius turned to face her instead, that lazy smirk now twisted into something sharper, more dangerous.

  She could practically feel the anger radiating off him now…and it made her heart race for some reason.

  His eyes met hers sharply, but his voice was still low and drawl-like, although the irritation was hard to miss now. "You okay, shrimpy?"

  Chie swallowed hard before nodding slowly, shaken from the unexpected attack. "Yeah...yeah, I'm alright," she managed to reply, her voice still quivering.

  She'd seen Ronzonius angry before, but this was different somehow; almost like the anger was masking something else...something deeper.

  His eyes searched her face for a moment longer, almost as if he was sizing her up. "You sure?" He pressed, his tone now more gentle...almost protective.

  Chie's breath hitched slightly at his tone. She could feel her heart fluttering in her chest again, dammit, how did he always affect her like this?

  She forced herself to nod again, trying to steady her voice before speaking once more.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "Y–yeah, I said I'm fine," she replied stubbornly, managing a weak smirk. "Don't worry about me…and stop calling me that, jackass."

  The Collector watched them both with cold, glittering eyes, clearly irritated by the fact that they'd been distracted before.

  "Now, back to the matter at hand…"

  Both Ronzonius and Chie tensed further in response as the Collector began to pace back and forth slowly like a caged tiger; eyes still sharp and fixed on both them like a predator sizing up its prey.

  "You think I haven't figured out what you two are scheming, hm?"

  Chie's heart skipped a beat at the Collector's words. Oh god, had they figured it out already? How much did they know? She could feel her palms growing a bit clammy as the Collector continued pacing, but she did her best to remain outwardly calm.

  Beside her, Ronzonius' smirk never wavered however, although there was tension visible in his shoulders now as he also focused on the Collector. His stance was almost defensive, as if he was ready to spring forward to protect Chie at any moment if necessary.

  "That's right. I'm here to free my friend's friends, as cheesy as that sounds.”

  The Collector laughed, a sharp, unnatural sound that echoed through the chamber like glass shattering.

  "Your friend's friends?" They repeated mockingly, tilting their head in amusement before suddenly stopping mid-pace and turning to face them both fully again; eyes glowing brighter now with something predatory. "Ohhhh…you mean those pathetic little rats from outside? The ones I've been collecting one by one for weeks?"

  Their voice dripped with cruel delight as they watched Ronzonius' expression darken slightly at mention of others being taken.

  Then, they leaned forward slightly and whispered:

  "...Too late."

  Ronzonius stiffened at the Collector's cruel words and taunting tone, his hands clenching into fists at his sides as he forced himself to stay composed.

  He knew the Collector was just trying to rile them both up…but dammit, it was working.

  He took a deep breath, eyes narrowing slightly before speaking:

  "They're not rats," he hissed back, unable to keep the protective edge from his voice as he glanced at the trapped Alice, Juniper, and Noel in the glass jars, then back to the Collector. "They're my homies.”

  The Collector chuckled softly, that same bone-chilling sound that made Chie shiver again involuntarily.

  "Aww, how cute…you care about your little 'homies', they mocked, making air quotations at the last word like they were talking about a group of rodents instead of real people, "You're all in such a hurry to save them...it's so adorable, it makes me sick."

  Ronzonius could practically feel his irritation rising like a wave inside of him, every word that came out of the Collector's cold, mocking mouth only making it worse.

  But right now, he knew it was better to bite his tongue. So instead, he forced himself to take a breath and instead replied with a cool:

  "At least I have people I care about, unlike someone I know who's just a bitter, lonely bastard with no friends. Catch this—"

  Ronzonius threw a ball of aura at the Collector, enveloping them in a bright flash that began to eat at the very fabric of its being, particle by particle.

  The Collector shrieked, a high, ear-piercing sound that echoed through the chamber as Ronzonius’ aura began dissolving them at a rapid rate.

  "YOU—!" Their voice warped unnaturally in rage before they suddenly lunged forward with claw-like fingers aimed straight for Ronzonius' throat, only to freeze mid-motion as an ominous crack split the air around them.

  A massive chandelier (which had clearly been weakened from all previous battles) suddenly collapsed downward right on top of where both were standing moments ago...forcing everyone involved into immediate evasive action.

  Chie barely managed to dodge behind some nearby rubble while watching everything unfold, eyes wide with shock but also relief seeing this new distraction buy time needed…

  Ronzonius twisted away fast enough, but not without shooting one last smug smirk toward his enemy over his shoulder first: "...Whoops."

  Meanwhile…the Collector was now buried under debris…moving slightly but too injured to do anything about it.

  Chie exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding as she stood up and dusted herself off, watching as the Collector tried (and failed) to break free from beneath the debris, then glancing over at Ronzonius who was still standing a few feet away.

  After another tense silence, Ronzonius turned to face her, that cheeky smirk still plastered across his face, although a hint of fatigue was now visible around the edges as well.

  She rolled her eyes at him once again, but this time there was no real annoyance in the gesture as she retorted back:

  "Showoff…”