Apolo abruptly opened his eyes and stared in bewilderment at the table covered with food scraps strewn everywhere. With a grimace of discomfort from an unusually strong headache, the young man rose from the chair where he had been sitting to realize that he was completely naked.

—Who was the lunatic who dared to undress me while I was sleeping?...—Murmured Apolo in a low voice, clutching his head. He didn't remember ever having a hangover in his life, but apparently, this day was a big exception to the rule.

Looking around, Apolo discovered that the entire room was a mess, with food on the floor, barrels everywhere, and the smell of urine incredibly strong. He could even smell the scent of excrement from some miscreant who had used the plants as a personal toilet, causing the poor and innocent plants to wither.

—What filthy drunkards did I hire as servants...—Complained Apolo, feeling nauseous due to the disgusting smell in the room; the odor was truly unbearable, even for someone like him who had dealt with rotten corpses more than his fair share.

With effort, Apolo walked to the door in search of some fresh air, but on the way, he encountered a drunkard sleeping under a table filled with potted plants, leaving the young noble completely frozen. Apolo could only see the man's leg, but due to the lack of pants, he deduced instantly that the scoundrel was also naked. In an attempt to extract the name of the unfortunate soul who had stripped them while they slept, Apolo pulled the drunkard's leg to get him out from under the table and wake him up.

It was then that the expression of annoyance on the young noble's face turned into one of terror because he discovered that the naked man's skin was as dry as a raisin. Upon seeing such an oddity, Apolo slapped the man immediately in an attempt to rouse him, but the desiccated man did not wake up. With trembling hands, the young man placed his fingers on the man's neck, realizing the cruel truth: He was dead!

—What the hell happened last night, did I kill him? But his skin looks burned, not aged. This can't have been my fault...—Murmured Apolo, bewildered, as he looked at the corpse with concern. It was then that the young man's eyes widened; he had remembered something of vital importance: Zoe was also at the party!

—Zoe! Come out, Zoe!—Apolo shouted desperately as if he had realized that his child had been kidnapped. However, the creature did not appear, making the young noble nervous.

Worried about the lack of response, Apolo ran violently toward the main door, horrified to see more and more servants lying naked on the floor as he approached. All the servants seemed to be in the same state: with pink, dry skin, as if they had been slowly burned to death and had lost all the water from their bodies.

—Zoe! Show yourself for the love of my ancestors!—Apolo shouted desperately as tears began to well up in his eyes. Nevertheless, no matter how much he shouted, the creature did not appear anywhere. At this point, Apolo feared the worst: his precious ancient Gururi had died along with the servants.

Finally, the young man reached the door and tried to open it, but instead, he only managed to slam his face into the door, realizing that it was locked. There was only one master key to open or close absolutely all the doors of the mansion, so, submerged in a state of absolute despair, Apolo searched his body for the golden staff, but then the young man remembered that he was completely naked.

As if a spark filled with hope ignited in his heart, the young man's eyes suddenly shone: He had remembered something important! Apolo desperately rushed to the table where he had been drinking and eating last night, as if it held his last hope, to find that his black toga was lying on the floor just beneath the table where the chair he had awakened in stood. Without wasting any time and containing his desperation, Apolo hurriedly tried to put on the toga, managing to wear it in a disheveled manner. Then, the young man closed his eyes as if he feared to see the result of what he was about to do and shouted at the top of his lungs:

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—Zoe! Come here immediately!

—He's got his clothes all wrong, sir!—Zoe commented from behind Apolo.

Apolo opened his eyes and turned around violently to see the green fetus looking at him with little brightness in its eyes. Immediately, tears streamed down Apolo's face as the young nobleman ran and embraced the little creature as if his kidnapped daughter had been rescued from vile wrongdoers. Ignoring the foul smell and mucus emanating from Gururi's body, Apolo continued to hug Zoe while crying on her tiny shoulders.

—I almost died, almost lost you, but my ancestors kindly protected you from the wrath of fate! Never scare me like this again, little fetus!—Apolo cried out desperately while weeping like he had never done in his life, finally understanding that the problem was that Zoe had failed to recognize him without his toga on; unfortunately, Gururis were not exactly the smartest creatures in the world.

—As you command, master—Zoe said as some mucus oozed from her nostrils and stained Apolo; apparently, she enjoyed being hugged.

—What the hell happened last night, why did you lock the door, and where is my staff?—Apolo asked immediately, ceasing to cry abruptly and becoming more serious than ever.

—They stole your staff and locked the door to kill everyone. I tried to get them to tell me where they hid it, but they wouldn't tell me!—Zoe squealed, waving the little cane in her hand from one place to another as she spoke. The cane was stained with a strange substance, but Apolo could tell it was the blood of the two pink Gururis.

—So, those bastards learned to teleport: Did they attack you?—Apolo asked, inspecting Zoe's body from top to bottom, but she didn't seem to have a scratch.

—Yes, but I had the almighty little cane on my side, so they couldn't get me!—Zoe cheered, raising the little cane above her head with both hands, looking at it as if it were an ancient weapon.

—I'm glad they're still too stupid to figure out how to abuse your trust: Remember to be clever, Zoe, or they'll kill you!—Apolo commented, looking around the room suspiciously, feeling more insecure than ever—Where are the two pink Gururis?

—I locked them back in their room, Master—Zoe replied triumphantly waving her little cane.

—That's good. Do you remember how they killed all the servants? It seems like they put them in a boiling pot of water until they died—Apolo asked, ignoring the question of why the pink Gururis didn't just teleport again to escape the room where Zoe had locked them.

—I think they died because of the mist, I don't know, unfortunately one of the pink Gururis distracted me while the other closed all the doors in this room. I took too long to realize their plan, and when I returned, I noticed that no one was breathing except for you—Zoe replied expressionlessly. Apparently, the Gururi was sad about what had happened, but unfortunately, her lack of emotions didn't help much in telling the story.

—That's scary. If it weren't for the fact that I tolerate the temperature better than others, I might have died...—Apolo said, realizing the issue. The young man actually trained every day by inhaling crystal dust, so he probably only felt a bit uncomfortable with the killer mist. However, unfortunately, Apolo couldn't remember that, as it seemed he had drunk too much alcohol last night and had quite a few mental gaps about what really happened—Did anyone survive?

—All the servants are dead, I'm afraid. The room is a giant maze of furniture and plants; even without the mist, it could be difficult for the servants to find their way out, especially if they were completely drunk—Zoe explained the big problem with the entire party going wrong. If the room hadn't been bursting with randomly placed furniture and plants, at least the servants who were uncomfortable might have escaped before the room was locked, or they could have returned to inform Apolo of the abnormality of the situation without getting lost in the middle of the mist.

—Did my cousin survive at least?—Apolo asked with concern, remembering that just last night they were celebrating the farewell party of his most loyal servants.

—I'm afraid Mateo was one of the first to die. A piece of furniture fell on him while he was trying to force his way out, or at least that's what it seems happened...—Zoe replied so expressionlessly that instead of helping console Apolo, she further darkened his soul.