Explode
Leon pulled out a cigarette.
He pinched the tip between his lips and lit it in the same motion. Sharp smoke filled his lungs.
"Good."
He said it while watching the white-haired girl, finally claimed by a winning bidder, being dragged off somewhere.
The plan was proceeding as scheduled.
Only now, a sense of satisfaction would be added to it.
Helping stir up excitement for something already thrilling was a good thing, no doubt.
"······."
Thinking that way to suppress his emotions, Leon slowly exhaled the smoke.
Through the lazily drifting haze, the "merchandise" on stage kept cycling past.
Girls, occasionally boys. Beautiful faces. Hair and eyes and skin of mysterious colors. Unique demi-humans of both sexes.
Such things appeared now and then, trembling, then withdrawing, over and over. Numbers and madness whirled in a dizzying exchange.
"Hss······."
Leon's head was starting to throb. His heart pounded beyond control. A red tinge began to edge into his vision.
The voice ringing in his ears was loud. Irritating. He wanted to go down right then and slice open the man's vocal cords, tear his mouth apart.
Just then.
"Master."
Aria stroked Leon's back. Her eyes looked at him with worry.
And strangely, Leon felt his breathing ease.
"······."
As he calmed a little, he realized his body had been leaning far forward without him noticing.
Leon nodded to Aria and settled back against the chair.
How much time passed after that?
At last.
"There it is. Aria, get ready."
"Yes."
Leon rose and pulled out a subspace pouch.
Aria, holding a subspace storage box of her own, took out several potion bottles, handed some to him, and drank some herself. Then she chanted spells, casting several magics on herself and Leon.
After that, the two of them changed clothes, wrapped their faces tightly in masks and hoods, and checked their weapons.
All the while, Ivan's voice continued.
A large golden cage was wheeled onto the stage.
Inside, a living creature rested with its eyes gently closed.
It was a small bird.
Its feathers looked as if flame itself had been transferred onto them. They flickered and swayed in real time like a burning fire. Yellow, orange, red — shifting colors from moment to moment.
Its body was sleek, its head sharp. The feathers that occasionally rose formed beautiful ornaments that added to its elegance.
Even sitting still with its wings folded, a grand presence and an inexplicable pressure radiated from it. From that tiny bird.
— ······.
It was already the moment when bids should have been pouring in, yet the hall remained quiet. Everyone was staring at the bird, entranced.
That was how captivating it was. The bird possessed an alluring form that seized a person's gaze in an instant and drew them in.
Slowly.
A warlike tension seemed to settle over the entire auction house. A strange heat circulated through the hall like fevered breath.
— I want it.
That simple phrase filled everyone's minds. Possessiveness surged.
Ivan smiled slyly and said,
Those words became the spark, and desire began to erupt.
Ivan's mouth rattled off numbers like a machine gun. The cavernous hall hummed and resonated. Dark silhouettes visible through the room glass stirred and writhed.
Pouring greed. Amid the hot desires of humans.
— ······.
Flash!
The bird's closed eyes opened, and luminous golden eyes rose into view.
The frenzied feast of numbers gradually faded.
A bead of sweat rolled down Ivan's forehead. The force in his voice had drained away, leaving it hollow.
"······."
Leon stepped up to the glass and placed his hand on it. It was warm. The thick plate glass had heated up.
Gooooooo······
A strange stillness hung over the hall. It felt as if someone had seized the soaring atmosphere and yanked it down.
People felt an indescribable oppression, an ominous sense that something was wrong. It sealed their mouths and kept them silent.
A grand aura gradually saturated the space.
People's chests tightened. The air they breathed was scorching, and sweat seeped from every pore of their bodies.
Ivan stopped the mouth that had been running all day. He was visibly agitated, his limbs twitching.
His gaze remained fixed on the center of the stage.
— ······.
Inside the iron cage, the bird's lower eyelids had dropped differently than before. Thanks to that, the mysterious golden eyes hidden within were fully revealed.
It was a mystical eye structure that could never belong to an ordinary bird.
Not only the cornea but the pupil as well was golden. A reddish iris floated like a ring, dividing the boundary between cornea and pupil.
The bird turned its head this way and that like a person, surveying its surroundings. A soft glow of light scattered in time with its movements.
Those who met its gaze felt a strange pressure. Ordinary people who hadn't trained their bodies even felt a faint headache.
······And then.
The bird's wings began to unfurl.
Kuuuuuuuuu-!
As if flames themselves were rising, an even stronger heat and aura wave spread outward.
Heat haze rose around the bird's body, warping the empty air.
Hwaaaaaaaaak-!
With its wings fully spread, the bird's appearance was incomparable to before.
Every feather burned twice as fiercely as before, and the radiance was bright enough to defy the descending spotlight.
Clang — the voice amplifier Ivan had been holding fell with a loud noise. His face flushed deep red, he landed hard on his rear.
— G-Guards! Guards!
Ivan scrambled backward on all fours, calling for support.
The flames the bird was producing kept growing larger. So did the high-temperature shockwaves.
Its body, which had been no larger than an adult's palm, swelled until it filled the cage completely. The iron bars melted into soft slag, dripping molten metal.
Tick, tick, crackle.
As the heat rose, sparks flew up through the air, painting the vast underground space red.
The next moment.
———!!!
A tearing cry burst from the bird's beak. A cry that deafened the ears and sent a chill down the spine.
Gooooooo!
Its chest blazed a deep crimson. A terrible power condensed and concentrated.
As if on the verge of explosion.
Leon murmured coolly.
In an instant, the bird's body swelled dozens of times over. The tiny form grew massive enough to fill the entire stage.
At the same time, an enormous fire aura erupted.
Flames swallowed the area, dyeing the whole world scarlet. Light and heat as if a sun had fallen onto the spot.
The marble that formed the floor melted, belching smoke. The wood had already vanished without a trace of form.
Naturally, no nearby living creature of bone and flesh could survive.
Ivan, of course, and the dozen or so Full Moon security forces who had been approaching were thoroughly roasted. Only ash remained where they had stood.
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!
A storm of blazing fire raged in all directions, burning everything around. The cavern, large as a sports field, filled with flame.
Under that formidable fire aura, the magic circles burned away. The several layers of top-grade magic circles enveloping the auction house were gradually torn apart.
As the barrier arrays covering the rooms peeled away, the sight of visitors scrambling to evacuate came into view.
Amid that chaos and catastrophe, Leon drew his sword. The blade reflected the red firelight this way and that.
Shraaak!
He cut away the glass that had become a red semi-solid, soft and yielding from the heat.
Puhwaaaaaak-!
Immediately a fierce fire-wind poured over his entire body. Terrifying heat that would cause second-degree burns or worse on contact.
But preparations had already been made to some degree.
He had downed three bottles each of various potions with effects like fire resistance and high-temperature tolerance. Aria had also layered protective magic of similar efficacy on them. And the clothes they had just changed into were fireproof gear.
It would have been hard to prepare more thoroughly than this. Even so, the fire aura's power was tremendous.
Already sweat was flowing and his skin was heating up. With every breath, it felt as if his insides were cooking.
"Nice and warm."
Of course, not a shred of fear showed in Leon's eyes above the mask. He drew mana up from his dantian and pushed back the fire aura.
Kuhwaaaaaa!
Below, a massive fire bird was visible. Every time it thrashed its wings, flames poured out like a tidal wave.
The auction house collapsing in flames, and the passageway visible below the stage, also came into view.
That was the place.
What was there to hesitate about?
"Let's go."
"Yes."
Taat-!
Leon and Aria leaped down into the storm of fire.