Chapter 542: To Damnation And Beyond

In a sea-side port located in the Hellan Kingdom...

"Mistress, it's time to go," Oliver said as he looked at the beautiful Elf that was drinking tea, while staring outside of the room of their inn. "The ship bound for the Central Continent will be leaving in two hours. We should board it now, Mistress."

Celine placed the empty teacup on the table, but she didn't stand up right away. Instead, she glanced at the Parrot Monkey that had accompanied her for many years.

"Oliver, have you ever had the urge to return to the Silvermoon Continent?" Celine asked. 

"No, Mistress," Oliver answered in a heartbeat. "I don't have much attachment to the Silvermoon Continent."

"Oh? I always thought that you wanted to see Grandfather."

"While it's true that I think of him from time to time, I have no intentions of returning to the Silvermoon Continent. Of course, if Mistress wants to go there, I will have no choice but to accompany you on your journey."

Celine smiled wryly as she stood up from her seat. She then took a purple hat, and covered her face with a veil. As a very beautiful elf, she was always in danger of being targeted by people with bad intentions.

Of course, Celine had dealt with several of these people in the past and had sent all of them to the afterlife. 

Two hours later the ship headed for the Central Continent blew its horn to announce its departure. Celine, who was standing at the deck of the ship, looked at the Southern Continent with a sad expression.

"When I first arrived here, I didn't have any expectations," Celine said softly. "I thought that I would be living a dull and monotonous life, but Lady Fate thought otherwise."

Oliver, who was hiding in her shadow, listened attentively. He knew that Celine was feeling emotional, and decided to let her relieve the burdens in her chest.

"Isn't it funny, Oliver? I never imagined that I would have a Disciple in this lifetime." Celine chuckled. "It's quite unfortunate that the Disciple I chose is a troublemaker. He always makes me worry."

"That he is, My Lady. That he is."

"Say, Oliver. Do you think that we made the wrong decision in teaching William the Dark Arts?"

The Parrot Monkey pondered this question seriously. After a few minutes of silence, Oliver said his honest thoughts for Celine to hear.

"I think we made the right decision."

"You think?"

Oliver nodded his head. "If Mistress didn't make William her Disciple, I'm sure that life would have been… boring. While it's true that he has a penchant for trouble, he is also someone that strives to reach greater heights."

Celine nodded in agreement. Although she didn't want to admit it, she was very proud of William. During the war against the Elves, the boy went above and beyond her expectations. 

"I only have one last thing to impart to him before I go and meet Master in the Demon Continent," Celine said. "Oliver, I think it would be best if you stayed by William's side. That way you would be able t-"

"I won't leave you, Mistress." Oliver cut Celine off before she could finish what she wanted to say. 

"William doesn't need me anymore. He's no longer the helpless child that we need to save from time to time. He can already stand on his own. Also, I don't want the Mistress to be lonely. That is why wherever you will go, I will follow."

"Thank you, Oliver." Celine looked at the Southern Continent that was slowly getting farther and farther away. 

She had already said her goodbyes to the people in Lont, and had tied up all loose ends before leaving. Celine didn't know how many years it would take before she returned to the Southern Continent.

The path that she had chosen was a thorny one, and salvation may be out of her reach. Even so, she still wanted to meet William, and her twin sister, Celeste, one last time before seeing her Master in the Demon Continent.

It had been many years since she had seen Celeste. Although the twins didn't know when the prophecy of the Elves would come to pass, Celine felt that it would be happening soon. 

Because of this, she wanted to meet the people that were important to her, before destiny took its hold of her.

"Oliver, if I decided to turn this world upside down, would you still stay by my side?" Celine inquired.

If possible, she didn't want her loyal retainer to be mixed up in the struggles that she would face in the future. Celine would rather choose to be lonely than to see the Parrot Monkey follow her down a path of no return.

"I will, My Lady," Oliver answered. "I will follow you, to Damnation and Beyond."

-----

Inside the Thousand Beast Domain…

A pretty elf sighed in pleasure as sharp fangs sank into her neck. Her Name was Charmaine and she was one of the thirteen Elves that served as William's blood banks.

They were part of the Elven Army that tried to conquer the Hellan Kingdom, and became his spoils of war. All of their memories had been erased by the Undead Lich, and the latter had made sure that they would be loyal to their new Master, William.

Ashe had pleaded with William on their behalf, and the Half-Elf agreed that he would set them free after a few years.

After a few minutes, William retracted his fangs and healed the wounds that he had made on the elf's slender neck. 

"Thank you, Charmaine," William said as he patted her head. "You can now put your clothes back on."

"You're welcome, Master," Charmaine replied as a blush spread across her face. "I will always be here if you need feeding. Don't hesitate to call me anytime."

William nodded his head. He watched as Charmaine wore the maid's uniform that he had bought for her from the Godshop. Once she was properly dressed, she gave William a respectful bow before leaving the room.

After the Elf had left, William closed his eyes and asked the System to take him to the Auction of the Gods.

He currently had 4,450,642 God Points, and he planned to participate in the morning auction to see if there were items that were worth bidding for.

The morning auction was an auction exclusive to the followers of the Gods of the Temple. This is where several candidates like William would auction their goods that they had acquired in their current world.

Naturally, if the quality of these goods passed a certain threshold, it would be automatically sent to the Night Auction where the Gods would be able to bid for it. Just like what happened to William when the System sent the Demigod Sepheron for auction.

"Two hundred Thousand God Points!"

"Two hundred fifty!"

"Four hundred!"

William leaned on his couch as he listened to the bidders raise the price of the items that were auctioned. So far, he hadn't seen anything that caught his fancy. 

'Looks like today is another miss,' William thought as the auctioneer presented the last item to be auctioned.

The beautiful lady who served as the host of the auction smiled at the crowd. 

"The last item to be auctioned is an Exotic-Grade Gauntlet," the lady declared. "Although it is labeled as an Exotic-Grade Weapon, its true rank is Pseudo-Legendary. A weapon that even Heroes from any world would want to have in their possession."

When the cloth that covered the glass casing of the weapon was removed, William instinctively felt that this would be a good gift for Chiffon.

During the battle at the 50th Floor of the Mirage Caverns, Chiffon's gauntlets broke. The gauntlets she used were nothing special, and could be bought from or commissioned by any blacksmith in the Empire.

However, William always wanted to give her something that was more durable and packed a stronger punch.

"The name of this weapon is Titania's Gauntlets," the lady declared. "A gauntlet that had been forged by the Fairy Queen herself. It is slotted with a special gem that allows its wielder to use the Wind Element proficiently even though they may not have the affinity for it."

Gauntlet type weapons were not very popular in the auction because people preferred using swords, spears, axes, and other martial weapons. This was why it was being auctioned in the Morning Auction instead of the Night Auction. 

The auction house hoped that there would be some melee fighters who would be tempted by the Pseudo-Legendary label that they had attached to the weapon. 

After seeing the lackluster response of the audience, the beautiful lady felt anxious. However, she still raised her slender hand, and commenced the start of the bidding. 

"Bidding starts at 500,000 God Points with an increment of 100,000. Bidding starts now!"