The entire auction hall was left in a fearful silence as they watched the soul of the Demonic Thrall be approached by the same dark outline from before, which reached out its hand and grabbed the soul's shoulder.
Immediately, the angry and vicious expression of the ethereal Demonic Thrall vanished, as terror and trauma appeared on his face slowly, growing until it occupied his entire visage. He trembled so strongly, that even the outline behind him was moved a little.
He did not dare turn his head around, for acknowledging what was behind him was also acknowledging his now inevitable fate. However, whether he chose to look or not didn't change anything.
In the next second, his soul roared in even more agony than before, a high-pitched shriek that made more than a few ears bleed in pain. The already translucent form of his soul became thinner and thinner, his struggles in trying to flee useless as he was eventually devoured fully.
This time, there was the sound of crunching noises, and the VIP room's glass became opaque before the crowd could see the entire soul disappear.
The entire auction floor was silent until the crunching noises stopped and a large gulp was heard, then a satisfied sigh. After that, the silence persisted for another five minutes as everyone who sat in their respective seats collectively felt like their nice and comfy chair was nothing more but a fancy chopping board for an invisible butcher.
Deia, who had been smiling with amusement from beginning to end, suddenly spoke up. "Right, how ugly that was. That fellow was devoured by our people for trying to attack me and ruin the auction, and I hope no one else decided to follow his example, okay?"
Deia giggled loudly. "After all, we need some people to continue to bidding, right?"
Her joke did not make anyone laugh, but that was not the intention. It was a message, to make it fully clear to those visiting that the auctions in this city were inviolable. Firstly, they could negate all attacks from assailants.
Secondly, they had the ability to kill the assailant… permanently. Even a Demonic Thrall who had at least been at the Master stage had easily been dealt with, much less those of other factions.
Thirdly, and most importantly, the auction house, no the city… no, the real master behind the city, did not care about the aftermath of such an act!
This, more than those facts that came before, terrified the powerhouses in the VIP rooms!
"Now, the auction finale shall begin for the bottles of Lunar Dew! Each bottle will be sold at 10,000,000 Supreme Coins with a minimum increment of 100,000! Bidding, Start!" Deia called out with a bow.
Immediately, those who were interested shook off their fear as they bid silently. Those who lacked the means either enjoyed the sight of the ever-growing numbers on the screen or loaned their money upwards to the bigger powers in exchange for favors or benefits outside of the city.
However, the heated atmosphere one would expect at the end of an auction simply wasn't there. It had nothing to do with it being a silent auction, but the air had turned cold and the room resembled more that of a funeral ground, where all the bidders were solemn and grave.
Still, this did not stop the furious climb for the most valuable item in the world. At this point, the bid had reached 76,900,000 Supreme Coins and did not look like it would stop here.
At the same time, as more and more time passed, more people were becoming lively. The desire for the Lunar Dew and what it could be used for overcame their shock and fear at the proceedings so far.
More and more people began shifting in their seat, curious to see who would win and how much would be dumped on this legendary item. Exchanges with the Guard Androids picked up crazily as well, everyone going all in at this point.
Soon, the final bid came out as 123,600,000 Supreme Coins. After this, the shadow in the hearts of many buyers mostly disappeared as they got ready for the next bidding war for the second bottle.
In the end, all remaining 9 bottles surpassed the hundreds of millions. Their prices kept climbing exponentially until the last bottle was feverishly bought at more than a billion Supreme Coins.
And this, brought an end to the auction.
It had many ups and downs, but the items sold were truly very good. Many were looking forward to the less expensive ones that could hit the shops so they could use them to make finished goods and make a good profit.
Some too were hoping the final goods would show up later so they could get a chance to get some for themselves or their clans/factions. All in all, many left the auction house with mixed feelings, their hearts unable to settle.
As for those who successfully bid, they received an update from Martin that made their faces glow with joy. Apparently, the Auction House was willing to let them use a private portal located in the building to reach their destination straight away after they received their goods.
This was great for many, as once they were back at their strongholds, no one would be able to touch them. Not only that, but even if the other powers were able to knuckle down the buyers from their ability to appear directly in their own safehouses, they wouldn't know who specifically bought what.
That was the most important thing for them.
Darius took his five Apprentices back to the mage tower, telling them to spend the rest of the day off in lieu of their passed exams. The five fellows were a bit speechless after what they had just seen, and didn't have the mood to go out and play.
Rather, they returned to their rooms to digest their experiences and make plans for their future after seeing the true nature of the world… but only one aspect of it, of course.
As for Darius, he changed his attire into something more formal, his Branded Servants following suit. The trio then appeared in the inner section of the city, standing on a platform that projected their images across the entire city.
