Chương 24: “Top Dog”

Another figure appeared on the stage, this one was still wearing the same pale faceless mask as all the others. He moved quickly across the platform and leaned close to the auctioneer's ear, whispering something. The auctioneer straightened his posture, shifting from a showman to administrator.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, his voice carrying a note of apology, "we must pause for a moment. Several rooms have expressed concerns regarding the recent bid. As per our establishment's policies, Moon will be required to provide proof of funds before we may continue." A jump from 2, 500 to 4, 500 gold pieces was aggressive enough to raise eyebrows. In underground auctions where anonymity was paramount, such displays of wealth could easily be bluffs.

The auction house needed to protect itself, and more importantly, protect the other bidders from wasting their time. Footsteps approached her door. Knock, knock, knock.

"Enter," Celestia said without turning around. The door opened and three figures stepped into her balcony; a woman flanked by two men, all wearing the same smooth white masks. The men positioned themselves by the entrance, but the woman moved towards Celestia.

"Honored guest," she began, her voice professionally courteous, "we apologize for this interruption. However, we must respectfully request that you provide proof of your ability to complete payment, should you win the—" Celestia didn't bother to respond with words. Instead, she reached into the hidden pocket of her dress and withdrew the small box she'd prepared. She set it on the table, opened it with a soft click, and spilled its contents. Gems, rings, and necklaces spilled out in a glittering cascade.

"Excuse me," the woman said quickly, moving next to the table. She picked up one of the rings that had a small diamond adorning it, and produced a small jeweler's loupe from her pocket. She held the ring up to the light, squinting through the magnifying lens. A few seconds passed, and the woman gasped, one that she tried unsuccessfully to suppress.

"M-Miss," she stammered, her professional composure cracking, "I-I duly apologize for this inconsiderate action from us. This was… we should not have—""Hmm," Celestia acknowledged. The woman carefully placed the diamond ring back on the table. Her hands were trembling slightly. She took a step back, then another, before turning toward the door with obvious haste.

"Again, our deepest apologies," she said as she hurried out, the two men following immediately behind her. The door closed with a soft click. Celestia leaned back in her chair, her expression unchanged behind her mask. Knock, knock.

'Another one? What was it this time?'

"Enter." The door opened again. This time, only a single figure stepped through, another masked attendant. Male, based on his build and the way he carried himself.

"Excuse me, Moon," he said with a slight bow, "another room has sent a message for you." He crossed the room and placed a folded piece of paper on the table, careful not to touch anything. Then he turned and left without another word. Celestia picked up the paper and unfolded it. —Moon, allow me to introduce myself. I represent Eclipse, and I believe we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. The elemental egg is a matter of importance to me, as I have been searching for such an item for quite some time.

I propose a compromise: do not raise the next bid and allow me to secure the egg, and I will owe you a favor. Surely this is more valuable than a single egg, no matter how rare. Celestia read it twice, and then she scoffed. She reached over and rang the silver bell on the table. Within seconds, there was a knock and the same masked man entered.

"How may I assist you?" he asked.

"Send this message to Eclipse," Celestia said. She raised her hand, made a fist, and extended her middle finger. The man stood very still for a moment, clearly taken aback by the blunt response. But professionals were professionals.

"Will that be all?" he asked, his tone unchanged.

"Yes," Celestia replied.

"That will be all." The man bowed and left. Celestia turned her attention back to the auction floor below. Down on the stage, the auctioneer had received some kind of signal. His posture straightened, and he raised his hands to address the unseen audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, his voice carrying the smooth confidence of a man who'd just received very good news, "we have confirmed that Moon is indeed capable of fulfilling payment. We thank you for your patience, and we shall now continue from where we left off." He gestured toward the elemental egg, still resting on its cushion. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"The bid stands at 4, 500 gold pieces. Moon at 4, 500. Do I hear—" A paddle rose from Eclipse's balcony.

"Eclipse at 4, 510!" Celestia's lips curved slightly behind her mask. Her message clearly hadn't reached Eclipse yet. They probably thought that she'd accept the offer. How quaint. She picked up the paddle marked 500 and raised it. The auctioneer's voice rang out immediately, carrying a note of genuine excitement.

"Moon at 5, 010! 5, 010 gold pieces for this exceptional elemental egg!" He paused, waiting if there was another bid.

"5, 010 gold pieces. Going once… Going twice… Sold!" The auctioneer brought his hand down with a theatrical flourish.

"To Moon, for 5, 010 gold pieces! This is the highest bid we have ever received for a single elemental egg in this establishment's history! We dearly hope that Moon succeeds with the bonding contract." Yes, the contract. Simply purchasing the egg didn't guarantee anything. The real challenge came afterward when she would need to bond with whatever elemental spirit resided within. The bonding was purely dependent on affinity and compatibility.

Some people spent fortunes acquiring elemental eggs only to fail the bond entirely. But that was a problem for later. For now, she still had to acquire what she came for. The auction continued. After the elemental egg, a steady procession of items came and went across the stage, but Celestia only raised her paddle twice. The first was for a jar of Silverpetal Ointment, a topical cream refined from a flower that only bloomed inside the Tower.

According to the auctioneer, regular application over several weeks could gradually improve the clarity and texture of one's skin. Since most attendees of this acution were interested in weapons, artistic collections, and creatures, A jar of glorified moisturizer didn't excite them. Celestia acquired it for 120 gold pieces without contest. The second was a small bottle of spirit blossom perfume oil, another Tower-derived rarity with no combat application but said to produce a fragrance lasting an entire month.

She won it for 90 gold. Several more items came and went. A staff carved from petrified elder wood coupled with a codex of forbidden sigils that three balconies fought over viciously. Celestia leaned back in her chair and sipped from the wine the attendants had provided in the meanwhile. The evening had been relatively productive. The elemental egg alone made this venture worthwhile, and the beauty products were a pleasant bonus. But when the auctioneer's voice took on a different flair, she knew it was time.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, and there was a deliberate pause a showman uses when he knows what comes next will raise the bar, "we find ourselves approaching the final moment of tonight's proceedings." He clasped his hands behind his back and swept his gaze across the darkened balconies.

"As is our tradition, we have saved our most exceptional offering for last. A once-in-a-generation acquisition, presented exclusively for our most esteemed patrons." He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. From the side of the stage, two masked assistants wheeled out a large object draped in black cloth. The assistants pulled the cloth away, and a murmur rippled through the auction hall. Inside an iron cage, sitting on the cold metal floor with her knees drawn to her chest, was a young teen girl.

Her skin was pale and mottled with bruises in varying fades. Her clothes, if they could be called that, were little more than rags that barely preserved her modesty. But what drew everyone's attention were the horns. Two dark, curved ram horns emerged from either side of her temples and arced forward, curling inward until they nearly met at the center of her forehead. The horns formed a shape unmistakably like a halo. Black hair reached her shoulders, partially obscuring her face.

Her eyes were open, but there was nothing behind them; just a hollow emptiness.

"A marvel, ladies and gentlemen! A true marvel!" The auctioneer's voice swelled with theatrical grandeur. He gestured toward the cage with a flourish.

"What you see before you is a half-blooded demon, captured alive and verified by three independent appraisers!"

'A demon…' Celestia's grip tightened around the stem of her wine glass. Yes, slavery was legal in this world. The Empire permitted the ownership of slaves under a codified set of laws. Owners were legally obligated to provide basic sustenance and shelter. A slave's life was to be guaranteed; killing one's own slave or allowing them to die without sanctioned cause was, in theory, a punishable offense. But demons were different.

During the Great Demon War that had ravaged the continent, entire cities were burned to ash and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians perished. The scars of that conflict still ran deep through the Orthodox faction. In its aftermath, the Empire had issued an absolute decree: all demons, regardless of age or circumstance, were to be killed on sight. The sentiment had solidified over the decades into something between law and religion. To most citizens of the Empire, demons were not people.

They were simply monsters wearing human faces. And so, a half-blood like the one in that cage occupied a grotesque gray area. However… Celestia set down her wine glass carefully. What no one in this entire world yet understood was the truth of this girl's blood. The horns, the pale skin, the faintly otherworldly features that everyone here interpreted as demonic heritage were not demonic at all. Just as there were demons and devils in Tower of the End, there were also angels.

Divine beings of immense power who had largely withdrawn from the mortal realm. A fallen angel's child, especially one who was a half-blood, was virtually indistinguishable from a half-demon to anyone who didn't know what to look for. Celestia didn't know the details of the girl's past, what the specific chain of tragedies that had led her from wherever she'd been born that caused her to be here now, on the floor of a cage in an underground auction house. But she knew what would become of her.

In the original story, this girl would be purchased tonight by someone who saw her as nothing more than an object. Eventually, she would be thrown away into the Tower when her owner was tired of her. And there, abandoned in the darkness, she would survive. She would feed on whatever she could find. She would grow, and the emptiness in those hollow eyes would slowly fill with something far worse. Rage.

The girl who sat broken in that cage would one day become the boss of the fifth arc, an entity of terrifying power who decided that since everyone saw her as a monster, then she would become one worthy of their fear. Her wrath would consume entire floors of the Tower before Arthur and his companions could stop her. The Starving Angel. The Wandering Immortal. Paimon.

"With an initial starting bid of 5, 000 gold coi—" The auctioneer's voice cut off. Celestia had already raised the 1, 000-denomination paddle five times in rapid succession before the auctioneer could even finish his sentence. A stunned beat of silence passed.

"M-Moon," the auctioneer stammered. Celestia lowered her paddle and leaned back in her chair.

'A child should be protected.' The auctioneer, still shaken by the speed of the transaction, cleared his throat and raised his hand.

"10, 000 gold pieces to Moon. Going once…"

'A child should be loved.'

"Going twice..." There was a glimpse of grief in her eyes.

"Sold!"