Chapter 105

Chapter 105
## Chapter 105: Prostrating in Shame

“Lord Darkan. This individual is far more than a simple bodyguard.”

“If he isn’t a guard, then what is he?”

“He is the personal favorite of the Fifth Lord.”

“············.”

“If you were to lay a finger on him by some mistake, the Fifth Lord would not overlook the slight.”

“Overlook? Are you suggesting he would actually launch an offensive against Darkan lands?”

“Precisely.”

“······ Preposterous.”

Lord Darkan’s brow furrowed in irritation.

There was a monumental gap between suspecting a threat and hearing it confirmed so boldly by the opposing party.

Specifically, the claim that this man, who looked like a tribal warrior, was the Fifth Lord’s prized associate.

He possessed intel regarding the White King and the Four Lords, but the Fifth Lord remained a total enigma.

It was evident this man was highly valued, given that the White King himself was willing to serve as his guarantor.

Lord Darkan shifted his gaze toward his personal protector, Pamela.

Guardian Knight Pamela responded with a subtle, apprehensive shake of the head.

‘Even Pamela is unable to measure his depth. This man is certainly no commoner.’

Furthermore, there was the matter of the combat reports.

‘He decimated a berserker from the House of Dersian.’

The accounts he had received were nearly incredible.

A titan wielding the Skull Destroyer—the ultimate martial token of the Giant Tribe—and unleashed devastating sword auras.

Living up to the weapon’s reputation, he had completely crushed the berserker.

Had the Fifth Lord managed to subjugate even the formidable giants?

If that were the case, Hudson’s unwavering confidence in his presence made perfect sense.

At that moment, Hudson drove the point home:

“··· Naturally, even without the Fifth Lord’s intervention, punishing him would be an impossible task.”

“What are you implying?”

“There is not a soul in this realm capable of causing him harm.”

“······.”

Was this mere grandstanding?

But Hudson had stated the man was favored by the Fifth Lord.

That implied even the Fifth Lord could not—or would not—touch him.

In other words.

‘Could this individual actually be the Fifth Lord himself?’

······ It was a possibility.

He didn’t know for sure, but acting recklessly and provoking him would undoubtedly invite catastrophe.

“Hmm. Regardless, there is no legal basis for punishment. It is transparently clear that the Dersian lady initiated the conflict.”

“M-My Lord!!”

“Lady of Dersian. This forum is not meant for masking your errors. On the contrary, by attempting to bury your crime under my authority, aren’t you insulting my personal integrity?”

“Y-You know I never intended such a thing!”

“Intentions aside, you still seem to feel aggrieved. If that is so, I shall resolve this through a public tribunal.”

“······!!!”

“How little do you respect me, the Lord of Darkan, to attempt such a deception? To bring false accusations before my seat? Very well, I shall interpret this as the official stance of the Dersian family.”

“N-No, certainly not! I-I only······!”

A public tribunal.

If such a trial commenced, every resident of the territory and the senior members of the Dersian clan would be witnesses to her shame.

This was Lord Darkan’s direct ultimatum to her house.

Stunned by his aggressive stance, the Dersian lady shook with terror.

“Furthermore, until such time as the trial begins, Isabella, you are under arrest. I will notify your kin of your detention immediately.”

He had stopped using her family name entirely.

Grasping the weight of that omission, the color vanished from the lady’s face.

“M-My Lord!”

“Remove her at once.”

“I beg of you!!”

The guards seized the Dersian lady and dragged her away.

Even as she was hauled off, she shrieked of her innocence, but the lord remained unmoved.

“······ I trust this meets your approval?”

Lord Darkan directed his question not to Hudson, but to me.

It was the lord’s way of demonstrating his maximum cooperation.

However, I signaled my dissent.

“I will settle for nothing less than her prostrating herself before me in apology.”

“······ As you wish. It shall be done.”

A short while later, the Dersian lady was hauled back into my presence, looking like a wreck.

Her cosmetics were ruined by frantic sobbing, and her appearance was completely disheveled.

Clearly, she had never considered that Lord Darkan would abandon her.

Had she realized our connection to the Labyrinth City sooner, she likely wouldn’t have been so defiant.

With Lord Darkan having turned his back on her, she was forced to kneel and apologize in the open to prevent the situation from spiraling further.

“I am······ truly sorry······ Please, forgive me······.”

Tears splashed onto the stones beneath her.

Between ragged breaths, the Dersian lady continued.

“I lost my clarity for a moment. I beg you······ please, show mercy······.”

I accepted the gesture, but I had no intention of granting her true absolution just yet.

The real education was only beginning.

“The special auction is now in session!”

Inside a gargantuan, dome-shaped hall packed with the aristocracy.

There, the much-anticipated event finally began.

The Four Evils Subjugation

It was a nightmare of humiliation.

Pure, unadulterated shame.

A level of degradation she had never tasted.

But she had no choice but to endure.

She needed this ‘special auction’ to be a triumph.

* Isabella. As our family’s envoy, work alongside Lord Darkan to ensure the success of this ‘special auction.’ Prove your worth to us.

This was her golden ticket to solidify her standing in the clan.

The results of these proceedings would dictate her future within the House of Dersian.

But it wasn’t just about the logistics.

‘I must be the center of attention.’

The two-week-long event was effectively an extension of the imperial high society.

It was a battlefield where the ‘Imperial Nobility,’ swimming in gold, vied for supremacy against the ‘City Lords’ who came from beyond the borders.

It was the perfect arena to forge alliances with rivals and prepare for future power grabs.

In essence, she needed to become the lead actor and build her own coalition.

Outside support was mandatory if she hoped to win the war for succession.

Possessing the sharp eye required to secure rare artifacts was part of that strategy.

‘······ I cannot afford to challenge Lord Darkan right now.’

The Dersian and Darkan houses were historically linked.

Yet Lord Darkan had drawn a line in the sand.

To him, a mere envoy who wasn’t even the head of the family was expendable.

Kneel, or endure the ruin of a public trial.

If she had resisted, she would have been sent back to her family in chains.

A rival successor would have taken her place at the auction, and she would have rotted away in a locked room.

She couldn’t allow that.

Never.

So she bowed. She pleaded.

‘Representatives of the Labyrinth? They are still just beasts. What wealth could monsters possibly possess?’

As the bidding began, the Dersian lady regained her focus.

The curtain had risen on the grand event.

Those without deep pockets would be relegated to the sidelines.

What kind of capital would creatures from the labyrinth bring?

The opening day was the most vital.

It was the time to measure the competition.

She would demonstrate the meaning of true ‘prosperity’ here.

She would burn the prestige of the Dersian name and her own power into their memories.

The domed auction house was packed with at least five hundred attendees.

To the left sat the masked nobles of the empire and their armed escorts.

To the right were the invited dignitaries from the outside world.

The room was split down the middle.

As if they couldn’t stand the thought of breathing the same air, the division was absolute.

Hudson, Balté, and I were seated on the right—with the outsiders.

Despite the lord’s personal invitation, the seating arrangements were rigid.

‘Rulers of cities. Leaders of massive organizations.’

I scanned the ‘outsiders’ carefully.

Excluding the guards, there were roughly a hundred of them.

Every single one was a city governor or held an equivalent rank.

I had caught glimpses of some during the ‘Darkan Afternoon,’ but most were unfamiliar faces.

‘Players are hiding among them.’

I was certain of it.

There had to be players operating in disguise.

Players playing a role, pretending to belong.

Who were they?

Which of them were masquerading as Pangenians?

‘The Empire is definitely aware that players exist.’

Furthermore.

The Empire was openly hostile toward them.

Back when I played as Wilhelm, I was unable to establish ties with the Empire for that very reason.

Even during the massive expedition, the Empire remained absent. While most factions—even the Goddess Church—contributed what they could, the Empire didn’t even show its face.

Why?

Because they concluded that Wilhelm, the leader of the expedition, was not a Pangenian.

Purely because he wasn’t a native, the Empire refused to assist in the conquest of the demon realm.

They were ruthlessly thorough in their rejection of players.

So, if a player managed to infiltrate the Empire?

‘They would hunt them down.’

They wouldn’t tolerate it.

They would likely employ the Reaper Church or use direct assassination.

It was no accident that the Reaper Church’s main temple was located within imperial borders.

Perhaps.

‘There must be player detection measures in place. They might even be active in this room.’

With such a large gathering of outsiders.

It was logical to assume some were trying to slip through the cracks.

They had vetted the invitations, but the Empire’s attention to detail was legendary.

There was no room for error.

This place was toxic for players.

Yet, I was convinced they were here for a specific reason.

‘···If Hudson’s intelligence is accurate, a Master is in attendance.’

At least one.

Likely two or more.

Players, including a Master, were present.

Hudson had traced the trade routes of artifacts sold in the Master’s stronghold, ‘Ruin City.’

Since most were traded in the Golden City Arcana, there hadn’t been much to find initially.

However, he discovered that Masters were aggressively hoarding gold.

They had intentionally suppressed artifact prices while setting aggressive payment windows just before this ‘special auction.’

‘It’s probably those individuals.’

The Masters’ identities had been exposed several times before.

They were all the ‘descended vessels’ of the Seven Heroes, excluding myself.

Even though they wore masks, making it hard to see features, certain traits were unmistakable.

【★★】

Their power levels.

2-star Transcenders!

And the woman at his side was the same.

【★】

A 1-star Transcender.

Legitimate Transcenders who had officially absorbed a Goddess Star.

Both were undoubtedly players.

‘The Master hasn’t spotted me yet.’

In contrast, I had already identified him.

Knowing who your enemy is before they know you makes all the difference.

It meant I held the initiative.

One of the Speakers, the Master, was a participant in this auction.

Master.

How should I handle that snake?

‘If only Serengeti were here······.’

With Serengeti’s help, I could have systematically eliminated them through stealth and ambush.

Together, we could have taken down a 2-star Transcender.

But I was alone.

Taking out a Master by myself would be a monumental task.

I shook the thought away.

That didn’t mean I was out of options.

‘I just need to funnel resources into the creation of the Radiant Throne of Light.’

There were plenty of paths to victory.

This auction featured specialized items, and I had more than enough capital to secure the materials I needed.

In any case.

‘The Master’s presence suggests other players might be hiding here as well.’

I doubted those two were the only ones.

There were surely more.

Players unknown to even their own kind.

Someone perfectly disguised as a Pangenian was lurking.

Identifying them without revealing my own identity was just as vital as defeating the Master.

“Honored guests, we present our first item! A member of the ‘Cold Flame Tribe’! A scion of the mythical clan that burned eternally in the ancient northern wastes!”

As the auctioneer in formal attire bowed and made the introduction, assistants rolled out a glass display.

Inside the case, an androgynous child with flickering blue flames atop its head sat curled up.

The child was covered in dark bruises, as if recently beaten.

Blood dripped from its scalp.

Even as a luxury item, they hadn’t bothered to tend to its wounds.

I reached out and subtly tapped Hudson’s back where it wouldn’t be noticed.

-Do not react, no matter what happens.

This was the Empire, and this crowd viewed slavery as the natural order.

Slavery was far more prevalent in Pangenia than many realized.

Only players—people from Earth—would feel pity for them.

Why start the bidding with a severely injured slave?

The auctioneer scanned the audience with a predatory gaze.

He seemed particularly focused on the ‘outsiders’ section.

Was this man a human ‘player detector’?

“Opening bid is one million gold! We begin at one million. Bidding increments of five hundred thousand. Guests who wish to participate, please signal with your provided ‘fans’!”

The room went quiet.

A slave as the opener.

Even if it was a legendary bloodline, the condition was abysmal.

It was a gamble whether it would even survive the night, regardless of the cost of upkeep.

“Cold Flame Tribe?”

“Legendary? More like trash.”

“A frail body, and it’s a mute, isn’t it?”

“I’ve never seen one of those survive more than a year after purchase.”

No matter how much wealth one displayed, if you lacked ‘discernment,’ you were viewed with contempt.

Despite the auctioneer’s theatricality, the general opinion of the ‘Cold Flame Tribe’ was poor.

At that moment, Hudson raised his fan for the first time.

“Guest 55! A bid of one million gold!”

55 was Hudson’s number.

Was he buying out of compassion?

No, that wasn’t the play.