HEX: Aspect Of The Void

The audience was in a frenzy, they all admired the beautiful wings that originally sat behind Talia's back.

"They're pretty, your wings..." I commented, looking to her direction.

She blushed, turning her face so I couldn't see. What a childish reaction.

"I can see why those guys betrayed you for them" I added.

She kept quiet, but had a disturbed look on her face.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

"Are you really going to get it... For me?" She asked suddenly.

Why is she asking me this? Is she suddenly beginning to doubt me... My capabilities? I have to say, I am honestly disappointed. She has such little faith in me?

"I-It feels so unbelievable... Like I'm dreaming. You already told me you will get it, and I still believe your words... It's just that, this feels so unreal" She said, sobbing.

Urgh, tears? For real? Well, I can't say I'm all that thrilled by her mushy attitude, but it cleared my earlier notion. She does trust and believe me, she is just finding it difficult to come to terms with reality. I guess she still has little self worth in her eyes. It's one thing if she feels inferior to me, but for her to carry it, even in little matters like this. That's a problem.

"You should have a bit more confidence in yourself" I told her, before facing my front to fully concentrate on the auction.

Her eyes looked at me with a happy and surprised look. She nodded her head rapidly, slapped her cheeks and then faced the stage as well. Good, I saw all that with my enhanced vision, which allows me to see things I'm not looking at directly.

"We'll begin our bid from..." The auctioneer began

Everyone held their breath, a moment of suspense ensued.

"5 Million coins!" He announced.

Immediately, people started bidding crazily for the wings. In my mind I played the event which would have taken place if I didn't obtain Root and have the ancient coins and Imperius Auction House on my side. I clearly remember the Membership price for Premium was 50 Million. And now the mere starting price of Talia's wings is equivalent to 10 percent of that amount. These people have crazy money to spend. I'm really happy I decided to find Root, my beloved ring.

That said, only the Premium members will be bidding at this point. The regular and special members can only watch. There's no surprise there. If they had that much money in the first place, they would have gotten Premium Membership. Other than exclusive bidding rights on some items, Premium Members and above have some closed bidding events, with only them in attendance. This is the advantage of Premium and Royal membership.

"103 Million" A person bid.

"121 Million" Another said.

I just sighed. This has gone on for too long. In order not to waste anyone's time, lets put this to a close. Julius told me the estimated value of the wings is 2,000 ancient coins. An ancient coin is currently equivalent to a million regular coins.That gives me 2 billion coins in my disposal for this auction.

I'm not a big fan of waste. I mean, spending so much money on something that originally belongs to someone who belongs to me. That just means I'm buying a property I'm naturally entitled to. However, since I have enough at my disposal, plus for the sake of good relations with Imperius Auction House and beyond, I'll participate this time.

"500 million" I bid.

Everyone was surprised by my rash bid. I just increased the bar at a remarkable rate. No one was bidding again. I'm certain its for two major reasons. One, they simply do not have enough money to compete with the likes of myself. For me to bid 500 million, I have more in store, I'm sure they all know that. The second reason is simply because I am of Royal Membership, and while my identity is hidden, there is the general assumption that I'm a Royal. No one in the room would dare to bid so seriously against a Royal.

"600 Million" A buzz, followed by a voice was heard.

I recognize that voice. It's... Of course it makes sense. The only one who will oppose me, one of Royal membership, is another Royal. The Royal who obtained the two Elves, he also wants the wings? How laughable. Well, he must have very deep pockets. Let's see how far they run.

"1 Billion" I raised the stakes.

I'm not one for bidding little by little to minimize cost. I prefer having an undisputed and overwhelming win. Now then, let's see if our Royal can keep up.

"1 Billion, 100 Million." He said, after a while of silence.

"1.5 Billion" I said immediately.

"O-One Billion, 550 Million" He croaked.

Okay, now I know he's reaching his limits. Let's kick things up a notch shall we?

"2 Billion" I declared.

The crowd let out noises of shock and surprise. Even among the rich, 2 Billion is a lot. Certainly, not the kind of money one spends on Fairy Wings, which, while are very special and potent, are simply not worth that price.

The Royal remained silent for a while. Just for amusement sake, I decided to use my enhanced vision to see his face and reaction. It was just as I expected.

He was biting his nails and looking really frustrated and angry. I can tell he doesn't have enough funds to continue. I guess that's a wrap. Time to end this...

"2.1 Billion coins" He spoke up surprisingly.

He's bluffing. He doesn't have the money, at least not anymore. After all he recklessly bought two Elf beauties at the price of 100 million each. He also purchased other items as well. The only reason he's doing this is to spite me. By raising the price, I'll have to bid higher and he'll bid higher again until I've lost a lot of money meaninglessly. However...

"How foolish" I smiled to myself.

Fools like this need to be disciplined.

Suddenly, there was an intercom announcement in the room. I don't know how the voice was projected, probably another Relic, but Julius announced in the auction.

"Sir Forbio, that's enough. As a measure against intentionally puffing of the prices of the items for certain reasons, we request for your Bank Statements and the capacity of your Coin Cards. Both are below 2 Billion. With all due respect, do not bid any longer when you have no means to back your bids. It reflects badly on the other Royals." Julius said.

"Well then, you may continue." He stated, before the intercom disconnected.

Well, I expected that. For such a prestigious company, they would have certain measures concerning the handling of problems in bidding.

"Y-You bastard! Come and say that to my face. I dare you. Do you know how much i..." He rambled.

"It doesn't matter anyway..." I said to myself.

Looks like I'll have to shut this idiot up myself. Sorry Julius, I'm going over the budget a tiny bit.

"What's the matter Royal? Cat got your tongue? Come on... Say something, hahahaha"

"5 Billion coins" I finally said.

"W-What?" He blurted out in surprise.

I smiled. It was checkmate. When Julius spoke, it was already his Check.

"And so I announce this Auction sale officially over!

After no other resistance, I obtained my items. Most people get their properties at various people responsible for giving their goods. However, I'm headed off to... Julius's office. I smiled.

"Let's go Talia, time to get your wings!" I said to as we walked.

"Yeah!" She smiled.

Finally, this long chapter is closed. Moving onto the next phase will be done after this. To destroy everything, I'll need to carry out my grand plan. Of course, first things first.

"Now than, time to obtain my slave and fairy wings" I smiled.