CHAPTER 54: FOUND VICTIM.

As planned, the group had gone along with the plan Ash had set for them.

While Kelvin and Terra made their way through the front door using the pass key, Ash and Echidna passed through the tunnel, a separate one leading to the Underground Yabor.

Once Kelvin and Terra had made their way inside, they were sure to sit at the very back of the event, where they could get a good look at the crowd.

It was just as Terra had informed them. It wasn’t just wealthy nobles; some of the people there seemed like they could barely afford to eat.

She had mentioned how they would be willing to use their life savings just to purchase a slave here and trade them to another shady organization.

At the end of the day, it was all business.

The hall was a grotesque mockery of elegance. Gilded carvings of angels and mythical beasts decorated the cavern walls, their golden faces illuminated by flickering, expensive mana-crystals.

The air was thick with the cloying scents of high-end perfume, sweet wine, and the unmistakable, acrid tang of sweat and fear.

Kelvin’s upper lip curled in disgust.

He was used to noble gatherings, but this was a perversion at its highest level.

From what he could see, most of the people gathered here had hidden their faces behind masks, so unless you knew them personally, it would be quite hard to tell them apart.

"Honestly..." he muttered, his hand instinctively gripping the hilt of a blade hidden under his coat.

"I know what you are thinking, but Mr. Ash already told us the plan; don’t mess it up," Terra whispered back, her eyes never stopping, scanning every face, every shadow. "Keep your head down and look bored. Bored people belong here. The excited ones are the new buyers, and they get watched."

Kelvin forced his shoulders to relax, adopting the languid, arrogant posture of a minor noble looking for a new toy.

On stage, a man with oiled-back hair and a smile that didn’t reach his eyes clapped his hands.

"And now, our first lot of the evening! A fine specimen from the northern beast tribes. Strong back, fully docile, and already broken for hard labor!"

A cage was wheeled out, containing a hulking, wolf-like beast-man, his fur matted and his eyes dead. The bidding started, a dull, monotonous exchange of numbers that sealed the man’s fate.

None of the men in the audience seemed interested in the wolf-beast man; they were clearly there for the women, which was obvious.

As for the women in the crowd, they were more than happy to have such a strong wolf-man work for them. They had already begun reaching for their cards, ready to start their bidding.

"7000 eres!"

"10,000 ERES!!!"

They began calling their prices, each getting higher than the last.

Meanwhile, twenty feet below the opulent floor, the stench was unimaginable.

"Ugh," Echidna’s voice was a cheerful whisper in the suffocating dark. "It smells like regret and poor drainage. Eh, or is it regret and money, I can’t tell."

Ash ignored her, moving with a silence that was more terrifying than the dark itself.

Ever since they made their way into the tunnel, she had not stopped running her mouth. If he ignored her, maybe she would finally shut up.

The sewer tunnel was slick with filth, but it was their highway.

Terra’s information had been perfect. He could hear the muffled sounds of the auctioneer’s voice echoing through the stone above them.

Echidna, for her part, moved with a disturbing, cat-like grace, her excitement a tangible thing in the oppressive air. The smile on her face was something Ash, despite being in front of her, could easily sense.

They reached a rusted, iron-rung ladder leading up to a heavy metal grate.

Ash didn’t hesitate.

He ascended slowly, making sure he didn’t make any noise so as not to attract any unwanted attention. He tested the grate—it was heavy but loose.

He pushed, lifting it a careful inch.

He was in.

He emerged into a network of dark, dusty rafters high above the auction hall.

The ceiling was a spiderweb of support beams and forgotten scaffolding, a perfect perch for a predator. Below him, the scene was laid out like a feast.

He saw the stage, the cages, and the rows of attendees. He saw Kelvin and Terra at the back, perfectly in position.

Echidna slithered up beside him, her eyes wide with glee. "My, my," she breathed, her voice a purr. "So many sheep. Where is our target? It’s hard to make anyone out with this poor lighting."

Ash paid her no mind. His gaze was scanning the entire room.

He was counting.

Twelve guards on the main floor, two at every exit. Four guards on the upper balconies. At least fifty guests, maybe more in the private boxes. All potential collateral.

His eyes scanned the most opulent, curtained-off balconies, the ones reserved for the true power players.

"And now, my esteemed guests!" the auctioneer’s voice boomed, reaching the rafters. "The moment you have been waiting for! A truly rare prize, a jewel of the forest... a high-grade, pure-blooded Elf!"

A collective, greedy gasp rose from the crowd. Ash’s entire body went rigid. He watched as Aisha was led onto the stage. She was prepared, bathed, perfumed, and dressed in humiliating silks designed to highlight her "value."

He grunted angrily, his grip squeezing around the beams.

But they hadn’t broken her.

She didn’t tremble, nor did she have tears running down her cheeks.

Her head was high, and her silver eyes were like chips of ice as she scanned the crowd.

She understood that she wasn’t a victim, and also that Ash must be somewhere close already. As such, she didn’t panic.

But what truly bothered her was the fact that random, leering strangers got to look at her dressed in such a provocative way, before her master could ever do so.

It truly saddened her, so much so that she used her arm to cover her cleavage, a small, futile gesture of defiance.

She hid her face as much as she could, not just from shame, but from rage. If they were to see the expression on her face, they would know how badly she wanted to kill them all.

The bidding exploded instantly.

"30,000 eres!"

"120,000 eres!"

Ash fought to ignore the bidding.

His eyes were still on the balconies.

He was looking for the man who wasn’t bidding, the man who was just watching, the man who owned the entire show.

And then he found him.

In the largest, most central VIP box, a mountain of a man in garish, sweat-stained silks was leaning over the railing.

He was laughing, a piece of roasted meat in one hand as he gestured lewdly at Aisha on the stage.

That was him. That was Hapia.

And he wasn’t alone. Ash’s blood boiled with a cold anger at the sight of the man.

Images of Aisha’s trauma, of her mother’s dismemberment, began to play in his head once more—a constant reminder of the rage he felt when he first saw the trauma quest.

There were two figures beside Hapia, heavily armored, with weapons at their sides. Bodyguards. And not just any bodyguards; their posture, the way they held themselves, spoke of seasoned, professional killers.

Ash narrowed his eyes. This was going to be more complicated than he thought; there was no way he was going to kill Hapia without making a huge scene.

"Tsk!" He clicked his tongue frustratedly.

With his fingers gestured like a gun, he aimed his demonic aura at Hapia, considering sniping him from several feet away. Killing him from this distance should be very easy to do. And yet—

’Sigh. I shouldn’t be the one to do this.’

Ash slowly lowered his hand, then turned his gaze towards Aisha, who was still on the stage, receiving multiple huge bids from different people.

Many of the people bidding on her seemed as though they were willing to fight just for the chance to get her for themselves.

She didn’t want any of them. All she wanted was her master, Ash.

"Now, now, ladies and gentlemen!" the auctioneer shouted, his voice practically salivating. "Let’s calm down a bit, shall we? We still have a long way to go, and I’m sure our lovely Elf here wouldn’t want to see you all fighting over her just yet."

His words, instead of calming the crowd, only seemed to egg them on further.

The bids grew even more frantic, the numbers climbing at an astonishing rate.

Ash’s jaw tightened. He knew he couldn’t let this continue. He had to act, and he had to act now.

"Echidna," he whispered, his voice low and dangerous. "Are you ready?"

Echidna’s smile widened, a predatory gleam in her eyes. "Always." She leaned in closer, hovering right behind him while pointing at each and every person in the crowd.

"I can tell what you are thinking, and I can do exactly just that. I am willing to kill every single person here. Just give me the word, and I’ll do so."

...

[A/N]

This is an apology, first, I am sorry about the current low-quality Chapter; even I noticed it. I can’t really say much other than i am truly sorry; every penny you spend should be worth it.

I admit, at some point i barely knew how to move forward with the story since i don;t know how to put this arc through, that said, i have learned, and I will further improve it from here.

Secondly, i applogize for the main character as well. I noticed a lot of complaints about the mc, and it’s true. I will work towards it, even if i have to work myself to death.