Chapter 231: Star, the Star Auction (6)

Chapter 231: Star, the Star Auction (6)

‘Who is he?’ Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes.

Judging from the man’s divine class that Chang-Sun sensed, he seemed to be a demon duke or a grand demon duke. However, that was all Chang-Sun could tell due to his mask.

「W-wait...!」

Chang-Sun noticed Simon Magus’ voice trembling. From that alone, he sensed a variety of emotions, including confusion, shock, and...

‘Fear,” Chang-Sun thought.

Simon was the first demon king and the one who started gnosticism. Peter the Apostle, who had performed many miracles in the <Saha World>, was his rival. Even so, Simon still felt fear now.

‘He recognized [Peter’s Key] right away too.’

Chang-Sun always had his golden key under his top just in case someone could recognize it. However, even Heoju and the other Celestials couldn’t immediately identify it since it looked like a useless Rank C item. Unlike them, the man in front of Chang-Sun noticed the golden key right away.

「He-he’s the great...!」Simon muttered in awe as Minerva and Mars stood between Chang-Sun and the man with black hair, hiding Chang-Sun.

“Just walk away,” Minerva said, acting especially belligerent. Her eyes emitted golden light that the flashy mask couldn’t hide.

Recognizing Minerva, the puppy-masked man with black hair smirked. “Hahaha, I was wondering who you all were... but it was you?”

Although he sounded friendly, his voice faintly held madness.

“And the war maniac is here too? This is a funny combination. Have you gotten closer now?” The man chuckled.

Mars snorted. “Why would I try to get close with this woman? I’m here for my apostle.”

“Apostle? You?” The black-haired man tilted his head and then turned to look at Chang-Sun with interest. “The famous mad dog has an apostle... This is interesting! He even has Peter’s keepsake.”

The black-haired man’s red eyes gleamed wickedly again as he asked, “Who in the world are you?”

The black-haired man seemed about to do something to Chang-Sun any minute now, so Minerva and Mars stayed on alert, grabbing their weapon handles. Chang-Sun couldn’t sit still either, so he started circulating his <Dusk Lightning> energy inside him. As tension slowly filled the hallway, Mercury slammed the end of his staff on the floor.

Thud!

A shockwave spread, disrupting the subtle tension.

The black-haired man glared at Mercury, who nonchalantly pointed upward with his chin as he asked, “Uriel has been scowling at us for quite some time now. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

The black-haired man, Minerva, and Mars also looked up, finding a seraph[1] with three sets of splendid wings scowling at them from the balustrade on the fourth floor.

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ is keeping an eye on the people who are causing a disturbance!]

The seraph was Uriel, known to be a clairvoyant. He could see everything that was going happening on the ground and was even ready to fly down to the floor if anything happened. The auction house was the most important building of the <Star Grave>, so causing a commotion inside it was strictly prohibited. Not even the powerful <L’Infernal> demon was an exception to that rule.

Discontented, the black-haired man crossed his arms and quietly snorted. The belligerent air around him was dissipating.

“I’ll talk to you again later, human,” the black-haired man said as he headed to the other room.

Chang-Sun quietly watched the man’s back, for some reason having a strong feeling that this confrontation wouldn’t be the last of it.

* * *

The black-haired man entered the room, finding another man already on the sofa. While the black-haired man was in formal clothes, the other person was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with watermelon and mango patterns, shorts, and slippers.

“What took you so long?” the man with a Hawaiian shirt asked. He was drinking a cup of lemonade with a straw and a lemon slice on top. Unlike the black-haired man, who looked wicked and decadent, he looked very carefree.

The black-haired man looked at him and frowned in discontentment. A ruler of the <L’Infernal> should have dignity, but Satan, the carefree man, had none of it. After Baal’s death, Satan had become one of the Seven Deadly Sin Monarchs—the rulers of <L’Infernal>—and the holder of the divine rank of Ira.

“You knew, didn’t you?” The black-haired man asked.

“What are you talking about?” Satan said.

“Peter.”

“Well, I’m still not sure what you’re talking about!” Satan answered dramatically.

The black-haired man was certain that Satan held the divine rank of Ira because he had an exceptional talent for making people furious as hell.

“I met the person who seems to possess [Peter’s Key] on my way over here.”

“Wow! Is that so? That’s really good for you, man. You’ve been looking for it for a really long time, haven’t you?” Satan clapped and acted so dramatically that anyone could have seen he was lying.

“You were the one who suggested that I come here.”

“Come on, that’s not true. I recommended this place because you grumbled about needing soldiers for your army. Am I wrong? I didn’t lie, you knowww!” Satan smirked.

The black-haired man just narrowed his eyes in response. Although the people who knew him would have become scared if they saw him, Satan wasn’t fazed at all. Annoyed, the black-haired man eventually sat down next to Satan, who smiled enigmatically as he looked at the man.

* * *

“Gosh, we couldn’t have run into a worse person.” Mercury shook his head.

“Hmph! He can’t mess with my apostle anyway.”

“Are you going to fight him?”

“If needed!” Mars shouted like a general.

The audience repeatedly raised their signs.

『The competition is fiercer than I expected. Yes, we’ll continue with the price of ten billion Karmas, and the price will increase by a billion. Eleven billion. Twelve billion. Can we get fifteen billion?』

As the price soared, the spectators who participated without giving much thought to it soon gave up. The competition now only revolved around the VVIPs on the second and third floors. The man wearing red clothes and the woman with a blue hat raised their signs most eagerly.

‘Are they Imhotep and Mayahuel?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

Imhotep was a Celestial of agriculture[3] who oversaw the concept of good harvests, while Mayahuel symbolized fertility. Few Celestials were richer than them. Although the host was quickly increasing the price, Chang-Sun wasn’t fazed. In fact, he was smiling.

‘I want it.’ Chang-Sun’s eyes turned sharp.

Just like he did with [Balmung], he strongly desired to get his hands on the [Chunjun Sword], but he had to control himself since Kali’s priests would show up soon.

『The auction is heating up! We have thirty billion! Thirty-one billion? Do we have thirty-one billion...?!』

『One hundred billion.』

The host stopped when he heard someone speak from the third floor. Imhotep and Mayahuel, who had been trying to obtain the [Chunjun Sword] using any means, turned their heads toward the source, and their eyes widened. At the same time, the uproarious hall quieted down, almost as if someone had thrown a wet blanket. Even the Ruling Celestial of a <Society> would be shocked if they heard that bid.

Agares, who was wearing a puppy mask in VVIP Room 1, looked down upon the people outside the window. He was now speaking through the loudspeaker inside his room.

『D-did you say... one hundred billion Karma?』the host asked.

Agares replied,『Why? Is there a problem?』

『N-no, not at all. Then... is there... anyone else?』

The eloquent host creaked like a malfunctioning robot, and Imhotep and Mayahuel quickly exchanged glances. Although it was difficult to read each other’s faces due to their masks, it seemed they had successfully agreed to work together and defeat Agares first.

『We now have one hundred and ten billion from the lower floor. Is there anyone—!』

When the host continued the auction, Agares quickly said, 『Two hundred billion.』

『Two hundred and ten billion...!』

Imhotep and Mayahuel tried again, but Agares simply raised the price once more.

『Four hundred billion.』

With how things were turning out, Imhotep and Mayahuel couldn’t fight back anymore. Every time they raised their signs, Agares multiplied the price, silencing them.

『Is there... anyone else? 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 0. The [Chunjun Sword] has been sold at the price of four hundred billion Karmas!』

Thud, thud, thud!

The hall remained quiet even after the host swung the gavel three times with his shaky hand. However, Agares just lightly snorted and turned away as if his victory was guaranteed from the start.

‘He’s really throwing money in the air,’ Chang-Sun thought, wondering if this was how Choi Bu-Yong used to feel before.

“Ha...!”

“I heard about him being crazy. It seems the rumors are true.”

“I actually envy him for being able to spend that much money at once.”

Minerva and the other two Celestials chuckled dryly and bitterly, but Chang-Sun didn’t get carried along and just focused on the stage because he had a feeling that the very reason why he was here would show up soon.

『Master,』the Elfin Root said, its voice shaking.

‘Hold on, Elfin. I’ll bring your friends soon.’

『Yes, sir. Thank you,』the Elfin answered.

Meanwhile, the host wrapped up the auction of [Chunjun Sword]. introduce the next item.

『That bidding war was really intense and fist-clenching, wasn’t it? It was sold at the highest price in the entire history of the <Star Auction>. I’m sure that the current item will also live up to your expectations. I present to you, the priests of the ‘Goddess of Massacre and Destruction’!』

Tap, tap...

As the host presented the next item, about twenty tied-up Gray Elves came up the stage, each of them sharing similar looks to the Elfin. They seemed devoid of emotions apart from their silent rage.

『We normally would have auctioned off the current item one by one, but the seller of the current item was very adamant about selling them in a set. Hence, I beg everyone’s understanding regarding this matter. Now then, let the auction be—!』

The moment the host tried to announce the start of the auction, Chang-Sun pressed the button for the loudspeaker and said,『Five hundred billion.』

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Every spectator turned their head.

1. A rank of an angel. ☜

2. A demon that appears in several grimoires. ☜

3. He is actually an Egyptian god of architecture and engineering. He became deified after his death, but he also made many contributions to Egyptian agriculture. ☜