CHAPTER 77: CHAPTER 77: AUCTION [1]

A sudden explosion came from behind.

Attracting the attention of all the guards ahead, but unable to make Kael’s group turn their heads to look.

The destructive power of that explosion was terrifying.

Because all the guards in the back had been annihilated.

Even if some of them were still alive, they were definitely severely injured.

"..."

Kael closed his eyes, not daring to imagine what had happened.

From the moment Erza said that, he understood Darwin’s intentions.

...As expected, Kael had not been mistaken.

Darwin was a hero.

A person worthy of being admired and known by many.

But the problem now was... was this prince okay?

Although he didn’t know what kind of relationship they had, he could be sure that they were very close.

Right now, Erza Dicathen was in the lead, so no one could see his expression.

Kael wanted to ask the prince, but decided not to.

This wasn’t a good time.

"...Are you thinking that I’m sad?"

As if reading his mind, Erza suddenly spoke up.

"Indeed, I was sad, but that was only at first."

"..."

"A king cannot let himself be bothered by other emotions. A king who only knows how to cry is not worthy of being a king."

Erza accelerated, charging towards the nearest soldier.

Then, he slashed at the man’s neck.

It was a beautiful slash, as if it had been executed by someone who had swung his sword a billion times.

Even Kael recognized its magnificence.

"Everyone! Darwin sacrificed himself to give us an opportunity! And we can’t miss this chance!"

Another guard fell to the prince’s sword.

And only now could he see his entire face.

"...As expected."

Kael muttered, and at the same time, killed a fool who tried to rush towards him.

Erza was tightly pursed, his eyes filled with anger and hatred.

The relationship between humans was truly wonderful.

***

"60!"

"61!"

"And 62!"

The battle came to an end.

Indeed, just like Kaede had said before, they were completely capable of defeating all the guards in front and surviving.

But...

Everyone stopped, turning towards the direction of the explosion that had just appeared.

The place was still covered in a poisonous black smoke.

No one could see what had happened inside that smoke.

However, everyone understood one thing:

In order to achieve this result, a life was forced to be sacrificed.

"..."

Erza Dicathen looked in that direction thoughtfully.

"Hold on to your grief."

Kael placed his hand on the prince’s shoulder.

"...Yeah."

If he hadn’t done so, Erza would have probably stood there until evening.

And then, they continued their journey.

Everyone understood that they were not allowed to mention what had happened just now again.

And so, Darwin became a thing of the past.

***

1st floor, the auction area.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! It is my honor to welcome everyone today, and to be the MC of today’s auction!"

The MC glanced down below.

There, all the participants were wearing masks.

They were all nobles, so they couldn’t reveal their identities.

The nobles below shook their wine glasses in their hands, smiling politely at the others.

Looking forward to today’s auction.

But at that moment, a guard ran up, then whispered into the MC’s ear:

"Bad news. I just heard that all the slaves from the 30th to the 100th floors have escaped."

"What? You guys still haven’t solved that problem?"

The MC frowned.

"Is this how you guys do business? Where are all the guards? Are they all dead?"

Being cursed and humiliated so badly, the guard still tried to restrain himself.

"Then are we still holding this auction?"

"Idiot! Of course we are!"

"..."

"All the participants have spent their precious time to come here. And if we suddenly announce the cancellation now, do you know how much prestige we will lose?"

"In that case, what should we do now?"

"Idiot! Think! Although it’s a pity, today we can only use the slaves who haven’t escaped yet."

Then, the guard ran away.

"Tsk."

The MC clicked his tongue in annoyance, but quickly regained his professional smile like before.

"Then everyone, now, I would like to begin today’s auction! And as usual, prepare a lot of money!"

***

Just like that, the auction went smoothly.

Or at least for the first 30 minutes.

A lot of slaves were sold at high prices, and as the MC of today’s auction, he couldn’t help but chuckle in his heart.

Today was truly a great day!

If he could, he would take off his clothes and dance a tango right here, right now.

However, as always, at the moment when everyone thought everything was perfect, an unexpected event would always occur.

And this time was no exception.

While the participants were pausing and chatting with each other, a guard hurriedly ran onto the stage.

"Hm?"

The MC raised his eyebrows when he saw him.

It wasn’t because he felt uncomfortable being interrupted, but because... he had never seen this guard before.

’Never mind, he must be a new recruit here.’

With that thought in mind, the MC decided to immediately remove his feelings of doubt.

"Sir, something’s wrong!"

The guard stopped in front of the MC, panting.

"What? What’s going on this time? Don’t tell me that all the slaves escaped, and now they’re trying to stage a rebellion."

"No, that’s not the problem."

The MC tilted his head.

"Then what’s the problem?"

With great effort, the guard forced himself to stop panting.

"I can’t say it with my mouth. It’s best if you see it with your own eyes."

The MC frowned.

Then, he glanced at his watch.

There were still about 5 minutes left before the auction continued.

"Tsk. Hurry up."

"Yes, sir!"

Without delay, the two of them started walking towards the back of the stage.

"..."

But, for some reason, the deeper they went, the more an ominous premonition rose in his heart.

"So what exactly are you talking about?"

"..."

The guard paused, but did not reply.

Then, his sapphire eyes slowly moved to the MC’s face.

"Hey, are you deaf? Tell me, I don’t have much time."

He was starting to lose patience, but it seemed like the guard didn’t even bother to take him seriously.

Without wasting any more time, Kael opened his mouth:

"Kill him, Hans."

All of a sudden, the MC felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Huh? Who is Hans? What are you talking about?"

He asked.

But unfortunately, he would never get an answer.

Because the next moment, without warning, a hand appeared from the darkness, then covered the MC’s mouth.

He could no longer call for help.

His eyes widened, glaring straight at Kael.

They contained anger, helplessness, confusion, hatred, and vengeance.

Yet, he still remained expressionless.

And then...

Thud.

Something cold yet painful pierced his chest.

Drip... Drip...

Blood began to flow.

A man who did dirty work in the dark, unable to be exposed to the light, now died in this place...

"What an irony."