Chapter 13: The Auction House (3)

Ancient Gauntlets.

In the original story, these were the equipment used by Luke, one of the Emperor’s swordsmen.

When mana is infused into them, they release shockwaves proportional to the amount of mana infused—a weapon with incredible power. Of course, there’s a minor risk as the user must bear the aftershock of each blast.

Luke tormented the protagonist in numerous ways using these gauntlets in the original story. The reason I’m willing to pay extra to acquire them is to prevent that from happening here.

‘Might as well give them to Evan, too,’ I thought casually as the auction continued. Before I knew it, all items like magical catalysts and artwork had been sold, leaving only one item on the list.

‘A slave, huh.’

In the Empire of Arie, where slavery is legal, slaves are treated much like livestock. Sure, some masters may treat them as humans if they wish, but such cases are rare.

I turned my head slightly and saw Adele’s face twisted in mild disgust. I figured she’d react this way toward slavery. Coming from the modern world, her reaction was natural.

It’s my indifference that’s strange, really.

“Next up, we have this slave,” announced the auctioneer.

A slave with a metal chain around her neck was dragged onto the stage. It was a woman draped in tattered clothing, with jet-black hair and lifeless, black eyes.

I guessed she’d been sold here after failing to pay her debts. While I was thinking this, the auctioneer began explaining the slave in a loud voice.

“She is a descendant of the princess from the Priletcha Kingdom, which was destroyed long ago by the Empire. She has inherited the regenerative trait passed down in the Priletcha royal family.

Not only is she durable, but she also maintains a prime condition at all times—a highly valuable slave. The minimum bid starts at 50 gold.”

As the auctioneer went on, Adele’s expression became more and more sour. Her face looked like she was about to overturn the entire auction hall, but she took a deep breath and held herself back.

‘So, she’s… unbreakable.’

A little thought reveals the implications behind the auctioneer’s words. After all, there are different types of slaves.

-Sigh.

Adele closed her eyes as if she were feeling faint.

“60 gold!”

“80 gold!”

“160 gold!”

The auction hall echoed with the cries of greedy bidders. Were they drawn to her royal bloodline, or was it her regenerative ability that lured them in?

It was something I couldn’t understand.

Nor did I care to.

“The first item has been sold for 400 gold!”

How absurd.

They couldn’t bid over 300 gold for a pair of gauntlets, yet they splurged 400 gold on a valuable slave. The auction hall was still brimming with an inexplicable fervor as they moved on to the next slave.

Most of the slaves brought onto the stage had rare traits or were beautiful women.

And most of them were sold at quite a high price. The lowest winning bid was 300 gold, which says it all.

“Now, here comes the highlight item of the day!”

As soon as the auctioneer’s excited voice rang out, cheers erupted from all sides. The auctioneer chuckled at the reaction and continued his introduction.

“This slave is Princess Arna of the Britannia Kingdom, defeated by the Arie Empire last year. Her worth is beyond words. The minimum bid is set at 400 gold.”

Faced with this shocking sight, Adele closed her eyes tightly and whispered to me.

“Is it always like this here?”

“It seems you forgot that this is my first time here.”

“Oh… right.”

She sighed, leaning back into her chair, and began taking deep breaths again. Meanwhile, the bid for gold was quickly climbing past 700.

Just as the heated bidding continued, the lights illuminating the auction stage suddenly went out. An uneasy silence began to settle over the room.

“P-please, bear with us for a moment. There seems to be some issue…”

Bang!

Before the auctioneer could finish his anxious announcement, a loud crash echoed from above. People started murmuring, seemingly confident in the strength of the protective barrier surrounding the Imperial Auction House.

‘…It’s almost time.’

BOOM!

This time, the sound was far louder, shaking the crowd and causing genuine unease to spread among them. Simultaneously, an ominous creak sounded from the ceiling.

Crack…

Crash!

As the ceiling caved in, a man clad in black armor emerged. He scanned his surroundings briefly before striking the ground with his sword.

KA-BOOM!

An aura-infused slash carved deep cracks into the floor, causing it to tremble. At last, panic took over, and people scattered, screaming and scrambling to escape. The man, unfazed, began cutting them down mercilessly.

Splat!

“...What the…”

Blood spurted out in front of me, painting the ceiling crimson. The auction house descended into chaos, an unexpected massacre unfolding before my eyes.

I clenched my fists, stirring the mana within me as I fixed my gaze on him.

Whoosh!

Slice.

I knew the man wearing that black helmet. In the original story, he made his debut this exact way, attempting to kill Adele.

His name was Luke von Schpenheim.

Once the second prince, now one of the Emperor’s swords. He was also destined to acquire those ancient gauntlets I’d spoken of.

***

“...What the…”

People screamed and pounded on the doors, but for some reason, the doors wouldn’t budge, and the man in the black helmet continued slaughtering them without hesitation.

Why…?

Lily, who’d been seated beside me, stood there in shock, staring blankly. I shook my head, snapped out of my stupor, and got to my feet.

At that moment, his eyes—cold and void beneath the helmet—met mine. The emptiness in those eyes, combined with his sheer bloodlust, sent chills down my spine.

I’d never seen eyes so unsettling.

Without pause, he charged at me, swinging his sword. Before I could react, or even cast a shield spell, he was already upon me.

Slash.

“…What…?”

At that moment, Lily threw herself in front of me, taking the man’s sword strike in my place. Without a single word, she died in my arms, holding me close.

Her face, with eyes closed, looked strangely peaceful. Was that just my imagination?

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

The sound of a clock echoed in my ears. It was the familiar hallucination I heard whenever my desire to go back in time reached its peak.

‘…Again.’

I turned back time. I had to, somehow, prevent Lily’s death.

“Ugh…”

A stabbing pain surged through my body, making me grimace. Then, the sound of a loud crash from somewhere nearby.

Bang!

That sound.

It was the noise of that man attempting to break into the Imperial Auction House. I quickly got up and sprinted toward the auction hall’s doors. I ignored the stares of the others as I ran.

Click-click.

The doors were locked. Why are they still locked at this moment? Before I could find an answer, another loud noise reached me.

BOOM!

The crowd began murmuring again at the sound.

Crack…

As the barrier shattered, screams filled the hall.

Crash!

The ceiling gave way, and the man dropped down once again. He raised his sword high.

Whoosh!

He began rampaging through the crowd, swinging his sword without any clear purpose, killing indiscriminately.

Eventually, his eyes met mine. With an aura-infused slash, he aimed directly at me. And once again, Lily intervened, taking the hit meant for me and dying in my place.

‘…Again.’

Time rewound.

The save point was just before the man breached the auction hall, as before.

“Hah…”

The familiar, excruciating pain spread through my body. The more I repeated this, the worse the pain became. And as the pain grew, so did the difficulty of the situation. This agony dulled my thoughts each time I returned.

I had to end this as soon as possible.

‘I have to save Lily.’

I couldn’t let her die in my place again. I had to think of a way. Why couldn’t Abel, an Archmage, prevent Lily’s death?

Despite the searing pain clouding my mind, I forced myself to think it through.

After a long moment, I pieced together a possible answer.

Abel had tried to protect me from the man’s attack. He hadn’t anticipated that Lily would step in to block the attack meant for me.

Bang!

The man in black armor dropped from the ceiling with a deafening crash, slaughtering people just as before. His eyes, now wild, finally found mine.

Shiver.

With a bone-chilling intent to kill, he charged at me. At the same time, Lily started moving towards me. If my deduction was correct, there was only one way out of this.

Whoosh!

I grabbed Lily’s arm and pulled her back, shielding her with my own body as I stepped forward. I steeled myself against the killing intent that pricked at my skin and fixed my gaze on the man’s blade.

CLANG!

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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