Chapter 95: Massive Event Starts - Mega Slane Auction Begins

At the twelfth stroke of the noon bell, the iron doors of the grand hall groaned open.

Kōya stood beneath the gilded entrance arch, measuring the black-stone colossus rising four stories above the mud of the market district.

Gold leaf gleamed along the fluted cornices, and thirty-foot silk banners streamed from the upper viewing balconies, displaying the crests of merchant syndicates, high noble houses, and demonic organizations that had paid a small fortune for a seat under the dome.

Enchanted halberds and broadswords hummed with pale lethal runes at every choke point. The guards stationed along the steps wore plate etched with defensive warding arrays, and their flat, unblinking eyes marked them as veteran killers.

Every stone and spell in the perimeter was engineered to protect the territory’s most lucrative commodity: people.

Beside Kōya’s left elbow, Lyra held her leather satchel pressed tight against her ribs like a buckler. Above the collar of her blue wool dress, the new silver pendant rested against the hollow of her throat.

Half a pace behind them stood the old innkeeper, tugging at the collar of his Sunday tunic. Over morning tea, the old man had refused to let them walk into the central exchange alone.

"You lack the context for how that building operates," he had told Kōya across the taproom table. "I’ve lived in its shadow for forty years. I know the floor rules, and I know what the high-bloods look like when they’re hunting for an excuse to start a bloodbath."

Now, with his young daughter locked safely inside their cellar quarters with a week of bread and water, the old man squinted up at the towering black archway. "This is the largest, deadliest gathering of the year."

"You’ve been inside before?" Kōya asked.

"Down in the standing stalls, once or twice," the innkeeper said with a dry, tired laugh. "I run a tavern, boy. Nobody invites men like me onto the carpets."

Lyra turned toward the double line of runed halberds at the doors. "Where do we go?"

The innkeeper pointed a gnarled finger at Kōya’s coat pocket. "Show the gate captain your pit iron."

Kōya drew out the heavy octagonal token from the qualification brawl.

Stepping forward from the colonnade, a scarred captain in gilded half-plate took the black iron disc and turned it over in his gauntlet. His eyes flicked up to Kōya’s scarred jaw, dropped to Lyra’s dress, and returned to the serial rune etched into the metal.

"Qualified combatant from the lower ring?" the captain asked, his brusque tone shifting to grudging professional respect.

"Yes," Kōya said.

The captain handed the token back and stepped aside with a sharp wave of his mailed hand. "Restricted entrance granted. Second arch on the left."

Thick inner doors of carved mahogany swung inward on oiled hinges, and Kōya walked across the threshold into the belly of the hall.

Perfumed rosewater, spiced wine, and warm beeswax hit his nose first, layered thick over the faint metallic tang of oiled iron. A low, polite murmur rolled across the vast vaulted amphitheater, replacing the hoarse screaming and stamped boots of the underground fighting pits. Hundreds of cultured conversations overlapped at once across the tiered seating.

Silk-clad syndicate factors compared wholesale margins while sipping vintage red from crystal goblets. High nobles spoke in quiet, tight circles while their armored house-guards stood at parade rest behind their chairs. Demon envoys in dark court velvet glided between the human delegations, trading bows and quiet assurances, while high-priced mercenaries occupied the reinforced benches flanking the side exits.

Buyers carried wax-sealed credit scrolls under their arms; stewards lugged velvet sacks heavy with gold crowns; wealthier brokers wore humming spatial rings and arcane containment rods at their belts to transport their acquisitions.

Every coin and title in the eastern provinces had gathered under one roof to trade in human flesh.

Lyra faced the gilded chandeliers and tiered crimson carpets, her pale face tightening in revulsion. "This is worse than the street cages."

Kōya traced the same line across the spotless marble floor. Out in the muddy market squares, the trade was ugly, loud, and raw. Here under the dome, the syndicates had scrubbed the blood off the stones, dressed the handlers in tailored livery, and turned the sale of human lives into an afternoon social season.

High above the velvet curtains of the center stage, a resonant brass bell chimed once.

Across the amphitheater, the polite chatter died down into an expectant hush.

A tall master of ceremonies in an impeccably tailored black coat strolled out into the convergence of the overhead spotlights, spreading his gloved hands with a practiced smile.

"Welcome, honored lords, syndicate directors, and esteemed guests, to this year’s Mega Slave Auction."

Polite, gloved applause pattered across the tiers. Kōya stood motionless by the second-tier rail, his face carved from stone.

"For generations," the announcer’s amplified voice rolled through the hall, "the Slane Territory has brought together the finest merchants, noble houses, pit champions, and discerning collectors from across the realm."

Collectors. Kōya’s jaw tightened until his back teeth ground together.

"Today, our distinguished patrons will have the opportunity to acquire rare bloodlines, tested combatants, skilled artisans, arcane affinities, and other high-value individuals."

Individuals. A clean, civilized label for prisoners in neck-irons.

Behind the announcer, the velvet stage curtains parted as two liveried handlers rolled out the first iron cage on greased casters.

Inside the bars stood a gaunt young man with bruised wrists bound in rune-locked manacles.

"Our opening lot," the announcer said, "is a trained swordsman from the northern marches, vetted in our own lower rings."

Paddles rose across the lower floor before the sentence finished, and glowing amber numerals flickered to life on the massive arcane display board suspended above the proscenium arch.

"Thirty silver!"

"Forty!"

"Fifty!"

A rotund merchant in the front row lifted two fingers. "Seventy!"

"Seventy silver from the gentleman in the front stall!"

As the numbers climbed on the board, Kōya kept his attention on the prisoner inside the cage.

The young swordsman kept his chin lowered, staring straight down at the polished oak floorboards between his bare feet until the hammer fell, the audience clapped politely, and the handlers wheeled his cage back into the dark behind the curtain.

A second cage rolled out, holding a trembling apprentice mage.