Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

The bidding war for the five bottles did not go past 7400 as the bidders quickly remembered that there were more bottles to be sold.

"7400 going once, going twice, going thrice, Sold!" Lucile announced and the five bottles were separated from the ones in the box to be packaged and ready for the one who had won them.

The worker who had wheeled out the box had a rune slab in hand on which he recorded who won what.

Lucile took notice of the worker and the recording work but she did not pause her auction... She quickly auctioned seven pill bottles at an initial price of Eight thousand Blue gems.

The acute bidders could quickly tell that the price had been jacked up on the back of the success of the first batch and they were right.

The bidding began and the seven bottles sold for 9000 Blue gems and Lucile furrowed her brows.

There had barely been any enthusiasm from the gathered bunch.

In fact, the reason the seven bottles had sold for nine thousand was that the first one to bid had raised it so high at the get-go and they had done so to dissuade the others without picking up on the fact that the majority had decided to wait things out.

There were a thousand bottles and only twelve had so far been auctioned so the gathered bidders decided they could just hold off placing a quick bid since there was more than enough to go around.

They would all eventually get one.

Watching them, Lucile knew what was going through their heads but it hardly mattered and she continued with the auction while occasionally increasing the initial prices to drive the eventual prices up.

There was no loss and the profits were soaring through the roof and the more pill bottles were sold, the more desperate those who were yet to get any of the bottles were with their bids.

It was at that moment that Lucile really had fun with the auction.

The manner in which she increased the starting bids was much more exaggerated as she played on their desperation to not leave empty-handed.

She saw it as a way to get back at them for how relaxed they had been earlier.

Arya was out of the Harem space and taking a break from production, not because she was stressed but rather because she wanted to watch the auction.

She got quite a kick from seeing Lucile play with them and earn more from the pills and the manner in which the bidders clamored for a bottle made it even clearer just how much of an epidemic the Nirvana pills were likely to cause.

In the Harem space, Seventy days had passed since Hal introduced her to Irma who had proceeded to invite all of her female apprentices into the Harem space.

Only females because they were the only ones Hal allowed inside the Harem space.

Irma got them all to agree to her terms and they were paid with what she was paid... Alchemical experience and a Spiritual sense improving technique that was paramount to their growth as Alchemists.

Anyway, production was going well and Irma was feeling her block already melting away.

Arya stayed outside the Harem space all through the Auction with the tail-end being the most entertaining.

There were five pill bottles and Lucile proclaimed that she would auction all five separately to give all those who were yet to get a bottle the chance to get their hands on one.

The bidding war then really heated up...

Anxiety dominated and a single bottle of the final five went for no less than seven thousand blue gems.

The very last one was sold for twenty thousand blue gems and the one who got it had an almost crazy look on his face at the end.

When Lucile finally announced "Sold", the man had jubilated which was a bit merited as many others were going to be leaving empty-handed unlike him.

He felt the twenty thousand was very worth it and he was not going to be sharing his pills.

"And that concludes the Auction," Lucile said with a gracious smile and Arya chuckled as she watched it all.

"Incredible," she said just as the curtain closed on the Trade fair.

***

The Dystopian Continent...

The Devil Tribe Territory...

The dignitaries of the other ruling powers of the Continent had been in the Devil Tribe for three days now and barely anything had been agreed upon.

The other ruling powers had been informed in-depth as to what the situation was and who the Sapphirine Prince was.

Concerns had been brought up, mostly questioning just how trustworthy he was, but the Devil Tribe hardly paid the concerns any heed as they revealed that they already suspected possible foul play and had things under control.

The Council of ruling powers (The heads of the ruling powers) met via a conference of rune slates that projected images because none of them wished to leave their homes.

During the meeting, the heads of the other ruling powers grilled Elenor, and annoyed as she was by the questioning, she calmly replied to them.

She told them she had a hold on a connection the Sapphirine Prince had in the Devil Tribe-ruled Segment and she was using it to ascertain his loyalty.

She revealed to them that she was on the lookout and right now, they were left safe enough for an invasion of the Haron continent.

She made it clear to the other rulers that this was not an all-out war but a way to know more about the enemy and should the invasion be successful and knowledge of how it had been done hidden from the Humans of the Human continent, they can dedicate the next year to a more structured attacking plan.

A few invasions every few months to keep the humans on their toes and keep them guessing, confused, and disorganized while they (The Dystopians) worked on really taking the fight to them.

"It's perfect," Elenor said as she stared at the other rulers on the holographic screen.

"So you say," said the gruff voice of Dogroth, the king of the Dragon clan and ruler of their segment of the Devil tribe.

Dogroth had an air of arrogance about him... The arrogance could be thickly felt even via the screen.

Elenor could feel it but she was used to feeling it and did not allow herself to be bothered as she spoke with a smile, 

"You sound disbelieving

"Because I AM disbelieving. I find the idea of the Devil tribe doing proper planning to be... Unrealistic. 

Your kind is more about charging into battle and, what are the words?, ah yes, 'winging it'" Dogroth said in a deep and pompous tone.

Elenor smirked,

"The jabs are getting old. Besides, 'My Kind' did well in planning when we forced you three to share your triple rulership with us to make it a quad." she said.

"Let's be civil," said Alvina, the Queen of the Phoenix Clan.

She had a dignified air about her with a refined pride that made it seem as though she believed she was better than the others but saw no reason to make mention of it as it should be clear to them already.

It was a bit of a contrast to Dogroth's Dragon pride which was the type to proclaim whenever the chance.

Elenor rolled her eyes at Alvira's words just as the fourth member he the council hissed with excitement,

"How could I not love the energy? The ever-present readiness to do battle... Wonderful to see" said Orlon, the chief of the serpent tribe. He gestured with his hands quite a lot as he spoke.

"Shut up," Elenor said with a particular dislike for the Serpent chief.

Elenor believed Orlon to be spineless and the reason the possibility of an alliance between the Dragon and Phoenix was looking ever more likely.

Orlon, and by extension, the serpent tribe, was more about going with the flow and doing their best to not upset the balance.

Despite his power, Orlon did not seem interested in conflict even though he had no qualms about instigating one between others.

Just like his peers though, Orlon had his plans and of course, wished to be at the very top of the hierarchy but was quieter with his and his tribe's plans while acting like a fan for the other three.

With the other two (Dragon and Pheonix clans) there was more clarity in their planning but with Orlon and the serpent tribe, it was unknown just when (if ever) they would choose to strike.

"Are you taking part or not?" Elenor asked with exasperation.

"I can't speak for the others but my Pheonix clan will be taking part," Alvira said.

"My Dragon clan will take part as well," Dogroth said deeply.

"My serpent tribe won't miss this opportunity to wreak havoc," Orlon said with a smile not seeming to have taken Elenor's dismissal to heart at all.

"Then contact your dignitaries so that they can stop being difficult and allow themselves to be brought into our established strategies," Elenor said and prepared to break the connection.

"Wait, where is this Sapphirine Prince fellow?" Dogroth asked.

"He returned to the Devil tribe yesterday and should still be on the premises, why?" Eleanor asked with a raised brow.

"I would like to meet him," Dogroth said.

"As will I," Alvira said.

"I'll check if I can get him here," Elenor said with a sigh before retrieving a communication talisman from her spatial ring.

...

Meanwhile,

"Mmm... Ohhh, I should not be doing this" Phaedra moaned with her eyes closed and her fingers tangled in black nightmarish-hued hair while sensuous lips pressed against her neck.

She was in a deserted corridor with her back pressed against the wall and the hot body of the Sapphirine Prince against hers.

He parted her legs and ground his thigh against her pussy while she humped herself on him.

Hal took his lips off her neck and smirked as he stared into her eyes,

"You can push me away," he said but it was clear he could hear just how impossible that sounded.

Sure enough,

"Nah, I'm too far gone already," Phaedra said before grabbing his face to mash their lips in an ardent and adulterous kiss.