YM778.TV Chapter 25: Auction
Chapter 25: Auction
The auction house was buzzing with people and
had a heavy crowd inside. No reporters or anything related to the media profession were allowed to enter.
Finally, after some time, everyone started to settle down and sat in their respective seats.
The chandelier lights grew dim until there was no light left in the entire auditorium.
It was dark until a broadway light fell upon the stage.
For entertainment, some stand-up comedians came so that they could keep the people busy while the staff would set up the stage.
In the VIP room, the kids of the family leaders were laughing at the jokes of the comedian even Derek who had become a little cold and aloof since he became Rael\'s disciple.
While the kids were laughing and watching the performance with their eyes wide open, Rael was listening to the conversation between the devils and the humans of Derek\'s family.
"Give us the details so that we can sign the contract," Griles ordered the humans in front of him.
The family leader nodded and a grim look came upon his face.
"As you know, recently there has been an influx in the immigrants from other nations because of the opening of the branch of Enforcers that has been newly set up in this country."
The red-haired devil nodded as if he understood, his expressionless face gave a slight look of disdain which the humans did not notice.
"So we need the help of devils who can help us get a boost in power. We will take back our realm from the immigrants and we will make sure that we are never looked down on by other species!"
Ishtar smirked a bit, this was indeed beautiful entertainment for her, humans, and their beliefs.
"Okay then we can sign the contract, state your conditions and we will state ours. The omniverse will be a witness so you will not be cheated." Griles said with an expressionless face.
The Clan leader and the Clan Elders sighed with relief. They were the ones representing a part of the entire human realm. The other human noble families declined to their proposal of starting a revolt so they were alone in this deal.
Derek\'s Family had created an organization which called themselves Shadow because they believe that they are the ruler of the human realm from the shadows.
They had a million high humans under their rule and more than 20 million normal soldiers. With the devils backing them up, they believed that they could take back the human realm.
Although they would lose the right to their soul after their own death, it wouldn\'t be in vain!
"As the representative of entire of 30 million beings, you will lend us your strength and we will give our souls to you... the devils." The Clan Leader said firmly.
"Okay, we don\'t have any problems with the conditions." The red-haired devil nodded.
He did some gestures and touched the forehead of the purple family leader.
"The contract has been signed." He said nonchalantly.
"Are you sure because I don\'t feel any difference and I thought that thunder would crack or something related to that?" A clan elder asked.
The others also nodded and looked at the man and woman with a doubtful gaze.
"No worries, devil power can only be used once, so use it wisely."
The red-haired man said with a calm expression.
The others nodded and looked at each other with joyful but still nervous faces. They would still have to prepare themselves to strike the headquarters of the Enforcer Organization.
Hypocrites, they cared little about the immigrants, in reality, they had been in the shadows for too long, they wanted to take the place of the Government and the King of the Country.
It wouldn\'t be an easy fight for sure!
However, what the humans didn\'t know was that they had been utterly fooled.
There is a reason why there is a saying, \'Never make a contract with a devil\'.
First of all the contract conditions would be set by them, although they would keep their word... the way they set up the contract would benefit them more.
They set the conditions in a way that there would be small flaws in it which makes it easy for them to exploit.
The atmosphere was now awkward, the humans were anxious while the devils were thinking about their own plans.
All of them were in deep thought except Ishtar who was now getting bored of them. If she was back in the celestial realm then she would have simply killed them all for entertainment.
Unfortunately, she was just a clone of the original plus there was a reason to why she had come to the Lower World.
It was to retrieve something too exquisite to remain in the Lower World.
~
I could hear everything that the humans and devils were talking about and felt a bit amused by it.
These pitiful humans had it coming. Devils are a bringer of bad news.
It will be a bit interesting to watch this drama.
I still don\'t understand why someone would be willing to turn into a zombie of their own free will though.
Yes, you read it right, when a human accepts power from a Devil without a sacrifice ritual, they turn into mindless Zombies.
Fools, what\'s the point of power if you are mindless?
I am not sure if humans are sure of the consequences of accepting power.
If I was in their place I would never accept. Seeing how disgusting they become.
The other noble human families from different countries made a good decision by keeping out of this stupid scheme.
Maybe they knew about the Zombie part and wanted to see Derek\'s Family suffer.
At that moment, the lights totally dimmed down leaving the entire auditorium in darkness.
The curtain had also closed, it seemed as if their preparations had almost finished and only the final touches were left.
Slowly the curtains started to draw up, revealing the beautiful empty stage. On the stage, a woman was standing with a mic in her hand.
She was wearing a bunny girl costume and looked very charming. Perfect woman to be the host of the auction.
Short pink hair and fair white skin and pink hair that matched perfectly with her yellow bunny suit.
I looked at her closely and started to laugh in a small voice. Yet another person who was not a human.
Maybe Derek\'s family was right in a way but in the end, they were still doing it for their own benefit.
Humans and their Greed.
Their Greed is unquenchable.
A son will kill a father, a mother will kill a daughter.
Although I am not one to say, after all, I am a hypocrite too however the difference is that I am aware and I don\'t hide behind fake ideals.
She had whiskers beneath her makeup and her ears were protruding out of the cowboy hat she was wearing.
Her glasses shined with brilliance which showed her beautiful cat eyes. Her fluffy tail which was normally coming out was being mistaken as part of her costume.
She tapped her mic twice to check if it was working. When she saw that it was perfectly fine, she gave out a cute smile that could melt any man\'s heart.
Then she spoke in a serene voice,
"Ladies and Gentlemen! May I say that it is of the highest honor for me to be here tonight? All of you are gathered here today for one reason and one reason only, I presume? It is to have the chance to obtain rare and valuable items in this auction!"
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*
Applause thundered in enthusiasm at the cute girl\'s ardent introduction.
"If everyone in the audience would now kindly turn to face the back room at the very top, we have a few exceedingly important figures that have decided to bless us with their presence. Please join me in welcoming the King and Queen of Valencia!"
The auctioneer was the first to flick out her tail and bow to show respect.
The audience immediately followed suit, lowering themselves respectfully in a bow but not kneeling.
Most did it to show their courtesy. Royals had a lot of influence but they no longer governed their country.
Since Valencia had become a democratic country allowing all species, they had their own government.
The King and Queen, in response, stepped out towards the window which was opposite ours and waved their arms slowly in a practiced motion.
"Next, the one that made this whole event possible. Please give a big round of applause for one of the most ancient and noble families, Yellow!!!"
The auctioneer\'s introduction was followed by another round of applause as the Clan Elders stepped up near the window smiling toward everyone and giving a slight wave.
The auctioneer couldn\'t possibly say Shadow because it was an illegal organization that controlled the country from the shadows.
I remained seated, looking down below at the crowds of people who were supposed to be lower species.
Another thing I had learned about humans was that how much ever ugly and sinful beings they were, they all had one thing in common and that was the aptitude to adapt.
Humans are evolving beings, although their evolution is very leisurely and exceedingly slow, they would become a high species eventually.
From monkeys to what they are now, their evolution is inspiring, the entire species procreating until they create a perfect one.
Although it would take them eons and eons to finally become a species to be recognized by the other species.
Opposite our window was the window of the King and Queen, I was getting peculiar vibes from them so I turned towards the king and queen and started to study them.
The King didn\'t look overly handsome by human standards and looked quite decent, he had a brown undercut which showed that even though he was a king, he was a human first. The Queen had short blonde hair and smooth skin.
One thing I learned about humans was that never judge them by their looks, especially women. The makeup videos I saw on UTube in my previous life shocked me quite a bit.
Despite the stoic expression the King was carrying, he didn\'t have a domineering demeanor. He had a charismatic and strong presence. Surprisingly he had vibes of mana coming from his dantian.
Turning my gaze over to the Queen, something caught my eye that I didn\'t really notice at first. Strapped to the backside of her dress was a white wand.
She was trying to hide her mana but it could never escape me, which meant she was either carrying an artifact that could hide it.
Just like how I was observing they were also observing us.
Even if they tried to observe me they would not find anything because of the difference in our strengths.
I could most probably kill them like plucking flowers from a field.
Humans are very weak.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The first thing up for the auction is....!!"
From the side of the stage, a person came with a rolling table with the item on it covered with a purple silky-looking cloth.
The auctioneer snatched the cloth away from the table and announced at the top of her voice.
"The painting by one of the most anonymous and mysterious artists of medieval times! The painting is widely known throughout the world as!!!!
Liberator of the First Men!"
As soon as the auctioneer announced the painting, people\'s faces became aghast. There were murmurs among the crowd and everyone was excited.
"The painting \'Liberator of the First Men\' is based on the Tayangens who plundered entire nations and were later all killed by the Westero King, Robstark! He freed them from their sins by gifting them death."
The audience clapped a bit and there was a burst of whispers. Derek who was near me had a shocked expression on his face.
"What up with that expression on your face?" I asked him because his reaction was a bit funny.
"From childhood, I have always liked to paint unfortunately I sucked at it but I always liked to see different paintings. One of the most famous paintings was this one!" Derek exclaimed.
I nodded my head while sighing, I agreed with him, the painting was for sure a good one. It had a profound deeper meaning and good artwork.
If only the painter was a fairy then he could paint with spiritual energy and the painting would be even better.
"The bidding starts at 50 million credits!" The auctioneer announced.
Everyone went into a frenzy and started to bid on the painting.
"53 million!"
"54 million!\'
"55 million!"
"57 million!"
"70 million!"
After the 70 million bid everyone calmed down and nobody bid anymore.
"70 million is the bid, any higher?" The auctioneer asked.
Suddenly a bid came exhilarating everyone!
"85 million!"
I turned my gaze towards the voice and noticed that the voice was of Derek\'s father. I warmly smiled and said to Derek.
"Your father sure knows how to flaunt!"
Derek nodded but his expression of melancholy. Seeing that I did not want to ask him about his problems, I already had a speculation.
He said that he liked paintings, he must have liked them because of his dead mother and his father who is still not able to forget his wife\'s death and is stuck upon it buying them in her remembrance.
"Let go of the past and look forward to the future,"
I muttered still gazing at the crowd.
Derek\'s eyes widened, and his lips curled into a bitter smile. Closing his eyes, he opened it once again but time with a better conviction.
Am I a tsundere?
I do not like humans but Derek is a rare exception. He is hardworking and respects me a lot. He makes me quite proud to be his master.
Three hours had already passed, and I saw countless rare items.
Some made me disdain while some items interested me slightly.
Many of them were exquisite items. Some of the items were from other realms and were all sold out at a high price.
Derek asked me numerous times if I wanted to bid on any item. He said that he would buy any item I wanted.
Although I felt grateful for his devotion, no item caught my interest.
In the middle of my thinking, I got startled by the sudden voice change of the auctioneer, her expression turned serious and her voice changed tone.
"The next item is the second-last item of the day!"
The table came rolling on its wheels, pushed by a man behind it.
The auctioneer snatched the cloth away from the item.
I leaned closer, genuine shock plastered my face almost wanting to make me laugh similar to a madman.
"Finally an intriguing item!"
~
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