The owner of the store pulled down one of the Axes that were hung on the wall, which seemed to serve as a decoration. Since he couldn't just display a cursed weapon in his store, it was located in a safe place, far away from the browsing of his regular customers.
A moment later, a hidden passage opened.
"Follow me, Young Master," the owner said with a complicated look on his face.
"Okay." Lux nodded and followed the owner inside the hidden passage.
Originally, the owner didn't intend to sell the Cursed Weapon to anyone.
However, since Lux told him that a Cursed Weapon was still a weapon, and it was inside the store, it was meant to be sold as well.
The owner made sure to remind Lux that these kinds of weapons were very dangerous because they could potentially harm their wielders. He added that the weapon inside his store was sealed, and only a Saint could unseal it.
Lux then insisted that since he was able to sense that the weapon existed, it must be fated to become his. The owner was unable to counter this logic, and in the end, the Half-Elf was able to make him agree to sell the weapon to him.
"Here it is, Young Master," the owner said. "Inside that sealed box is a Cursed Weapon with the name, Hellfire Halberd. It's a type of Halberd that releases an intense flame, coating its entire body in it.
"Its wielder would also be set ablaze and will never be able to let go of it until they turn to ashes. This weapon was crafted by a Grandmaster Blacksmith who wished to avenge his wife that had been murdered by a Saint.
"He succeeded in his goal, but unfortunately, after wielding such a powerful weapon, his body was burned to ashes. Some say that the Blacksmith's Soul was trapped inside the weapon he wielded to curse those who wish to use it for their own goals."
Lux smiled after hearing the Merchant's story and looked at the sealed box that was covered by dozens of talismans.
"I'll buy this weapon," Lux stated. "How much is it?"
"Five… no, Ten Million Gold Coins," the owner replied. "And it must be paid in cash."
The owner was reluctant to sell the Cursed Weapon to anyone, so he decided to double the price and scare Lux from buying it.
Unfortunately for him, Lux was loaded with money. Some of his Draconium Ores were passed to Bentley and had been taken to the Auction Houses in the latter's Kingdom, allowing the Half-Elf to earn over a hundred million gold coins.
"Okay. Here you go." Lux casually handed a storage ring to the store owner, which contained the amount of money that he quoted.
"O-One moment please," the owner stuttered. "Let me verify if it has the right amount."
Less than five minutes later the owner verified that the storage ring indeed had ten million gold coins in it, which made him look at Lux in a new light.
He didn't expect the Highlander to be carrying such a large amount of money on his person. If it were to be known, it would be more than enough to make all the thieves in the Kingdom of Agartha target him.
"I have received the payment in full," the owner stated. "Please, take this receipt of the item. Also, as I said earlier, the Cursed Weapon is currently sealed. Only a Saint will be able to unseal it."
"Understood," Lux replied. "Thank you for selling it to me."
An hour later, the Half-Elf left the store with a smile on his face.
Not only did he purchase the Cursed Weapon, but he also got some other items that were imbued with great abilities, which were perfect for his Transmutation [EX] skill.
Lux didn't go back to the Inn where his Master was staying directly. Instead, he went to the backstreets of the City of El Hazard to do more shopping.
Seeing him take a detour, the people who had been waiting for him to exit the shop all moved at the same time.
Darren, who had introduced himself to Lux as someone who wished to join his guild, didn't back down and followed the rest of the Bounty Hunters, who were after the bounty on the Half-Elf's head.
After nearly half an hour of walking, Lux entered the slums of El Hazard, where the most notorious people of the city lived.
The Bounty Hunters who were following the Half-Elf were overjoyed by this development, thinking that this would make things easier for them.
There was not a single City Guard patrolling the Slums of El Hazard, so crime was quite rampant in this area. It was a dog-eat-dog place, where only the most vicious of them all survived.
"I'll take him out before the others do," one of the Bounty Hunters said as he peeked down the alley, looking at Lux's back in the distance. "You follow me right away, understood?"
A raspy, and almost disemboweled voice answered him from behind.
"Okay."
After hearing the confirmation of his 'partner', the Bounty Hunter stepped out of his hiding place and was about to launch a sneak attack on the Half-Elf's back, when something grabbed his shoulder in a firm grip.
"What's the problem man?" the Bounty Hunter asked in annoyance before turning around. "If we dilly dally, others will get him before we d—"
The man wasn't able to finish his words because a shadowy hand covered his lips, and a purple blade pierced his chest, killing him almost instantly.
The Bounty Hunter, whose vision was slowly fading away, looked at the Shadowy Figure in front of him, and the black coffin floating behind its back.
"Take him," the Shadowy Figure said before casually throwing the Bounty Hunter towards the Coffin, who happily opened its lid to store their latest victim.
A moment later, the two disappeared as they resumed their hunt.
Darren, who had been following Lux for quite some time, noticed something strange in the surroundings.
There had been dozens of Bounty Hunters that were trailing behind Lux earlier. Now, he could only see a few of them.
'Did they back out after knowing that I'm also competing for the Bounty on the Highlander's head?' Darren thought.
This idea only lasted for a few seconds before the Bounty Hunter shook his head. They were all professionals, and once they took a Man-Hunt-Order, they wouldn't back away so easily, even if they were competing with other Bounty Hunters.
The other Bounty Hunters who were following Lux also noticed this oddity.
But unlike Darren, they didn't think too much about it and simply focused their attention on the Half-Elf, whom they believed was currently encircled by dozens of Bounty Hunters with nowhere to run.
When Lux made a wrong turn and ended up in an alley with a dead end, the Bounty Hunters knew that the time was ripe and immediately launched an all-out attack on their target.
Four Bounty Hunters immediately ran towards the alley, the sight of which caused Darren to curse inwardly.
'That's Alcapone.' Darren clicked his tongue in annoyance. 'I didn't think that such a High-Ranking Bounty Hunter would join this manhunt operation.'
Alcapone was an A-Ranker and one of the Highest Ranking Bounty Hunters in El Hazard. Darren was only a C-Ranker at the moment, so it was impossible for him to overpower the famous Bounty Hunter by himself.
Alcapone's Bounty Hunter team was called Scarface. Just like other Bounty Hunters, they used all kinds of means in order to complete their mission.
Darren was feeling down because he thought that he had a chance to be the one to capture Lux and, in turn, claim the bounty of five million gold coins.
He had even laid the groundwork to 'join' Lux's guild in order to become closer to him before he went for the Coup De Grace.
Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who dared to accept the mission, and the result ended in an all-out battle between his fellow Bounty Hunters.
While Darren was lamenting his bad luck, he saw Lux come out of the alley unscathed with a clueless look on his face as he continued to wander the Slums of El Hazard.
Darren and the five remaining Bounty Hunters glanced at each other before nodding at the same time.
When Lux had left the scene, they hurriedly went to the alley where Alcapone and his team had gone to capture the Half-Elf.
However, what greeted them was only an eerie silence.
There were no signs of a struggle, blood, or anything that would serve as evidence that Alcapone and his team had entered the alley.
This made the High-Rankers feel that something wasn't right, so they decided to back away from the scene.
As one of the Bounty Hunters was planning to leave, he bumped into someone behind his back which made him flinch.
"Where do you think you're going?" A raspy and disemboweled voice reached everyone's ears, making all of them unsheathe their weapons.
"M-Monster!" one of the Bounty Hunters exclaimed when they noticed that the apparition that was standing in front of them wasn't a person, but a Shadow Monster.
A moment later, a scuffle broke out and screams reverberated from that alley, spreading to the slums.
Some of the people who lived in the surrounding area heard this, but they paid no mind.
For them, this was an everyday occurrence, and they just thought that some poor souls had wandered into their territory, never to be seen ever again.
