The Seminar, The Black Auction
"What is the matter, Student Ariel?"
"Ah, well..."
Ariel blinked blankly at the strange message floating before her eyes. Rubbing them briskly, she stared into empty space once more.
"...?"
The message had vanished, melting away like snow under the sun.
"...It's nothing."
Assuming her frayed nerves from recent days were making her see things, she tilted her head and brushed it aside.
"...When exactly were you invited here?" Oh Ji-seok asked, studying her with an odd, searching look.
"Y-Yesterday. To be honest, I'm not really sure why myself, but..."
"Well, the reason doesn't matter." His gaze sharpened without warning, turning piercing and cold. "Turn back, Student Ariel."
"Excuse me?"
"This is no place for a student."
"What do you mean by that...?"
Until now, Oh Ji-seok had always treated her with patience and warmth. Yet the look in his eyes at this moment was utterly glacial.
"I-I received an official invitation too," Ariel stammered, flustered by the sudden chill radiating from him. "I have every right to be here..."
"You have no idea what might unfold in this place."
"...Pardon?"
"This place is crawling with the Grotesques I told you about."
"..."
"It is far too dangerous for you."
Hearing his explanation, Ariel's expression clouded over.
"Are you saying a place packed with heroes is dangerous?"
It defied reason. Even granting that Grotesques might be present, the International Hero Seminar was a grand gathering of top-ranking heroes and elite figures from all over the world. If any monsters dared to show their faces, they would surely be overwhelmed in an instant. And that was far from the only doubt weighing on her mind.
"Besides, Professor... you chose Lumia as your assistant."
"..."
"As your companion to a place you claim is so perilous."
Oh Ji-seok's brow knitted into a deep scowl. "Lumia is an entirely different matter."
"Still—"
"I will explain the details later. For now, we must—"
Vzzzzzt...
The surrounding air began to thrum with a violent tremor.
"Ah?!"
Before she could react, space itself twisted and bent, warping their surroundings into a dizzying vortex. The sudden spatial dislocation threw Ariel completely off balance, sending her stumbling forward.
"...Rank 4. The Concept of Transition."
Catching Ariel in a steady, gentle embrace before she could hit the ground, Oh Ji-seok murmured beneath his breath. By the time the world stabilized, a grand banquet hall entrance adorned with lavish opulence had materialized right before their eyes.
"Yup~ That'd be me!"
While Ariel looked around in a daze, a woman sauntered toward them, beaming with cheerful familiarity. Oh Ji-seok's face, on the other hand, remained set like stone.
"For security reasons, we rigged the invitations as transition mediums," she explained breezily. "Thanks to that, not even the attendees have any clue where this venue actually is."
The Rank 4 Hero, Transfer.
Her authority was the Concept of Transition—an immense spatial ability that allowed her to instantly teleport herself, or anyone touching a designated medium, to any coordinate of her choosing.
"So, would you like to unpack your luggage first? Or would you prefer to head straight into the banquet hall?" Meeting Oh Ji-seok's unblinking stare, Transfer tilted her head with a refreshing, playful smile.
"Is leaving early out of the question?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Due to security protocols, you see..."
"Haaah." A quiet, heavy sigh escaped Oh Ji-seok's lips.
"Ah?"
"Stay close to me," he whispered, clasping Ariel's hand tightly in his own. "We are surrounded by enemies on all sides."
With those words, he draped an arm securely around her shoulders and began guiding her forward.
"My, my. You certainly dote on your assistant, Professor."
"...You know who I am?" Oh Ji-seok halted in his tracks at Transfer's amused drawl.
"Of course."
"..."
"I know the identity of every single person attending."
Her sly, knowing smile met Oh Ji-seok's dry, unyielding gaze for a fleeting second.
"My assistant is already inside."
"Oh, really?"
"It seems your intelligence didn't stretch that far."
When Oh Ji-seok pointed out the discrepancy in a flat, emotionless voice, Transfer simply nodded in cheerful concession.
"Well, mistakes happen, don't they? I can't be expected to memorize every little detail! That sort of thing is Rank 5's specialty, anyway."
"..."
"Which is precisely why we hand out nametags! So people without eidetic memory can tell who's who at a single glance. It also serves as proof of your identity, so please keep it around your neck at all times during the seminar!"
Skillfully brushing off an exchange that could easily have turned frosty, she handed over a lanyard nametag and extended her hand for a handshake. "Here's one for your companion as well. Have a wonderful day!"
Keeping his eyes fixed on her, Oh Ji-seok took her hand in a brief grip, then tucked Ariel firmly against his side as he headed straight into the banquet hall.
"...Yes, Mr. Chairman. He just went inside."
A moment later, after confirming that Oh Ji-seok had entered the venue, Transfer lightly brushed her ear and began whispering in a hushed tone.
"How does Trauma seem to me?" She tilted her head, her brow furrowing slightly. "Well, one thing's for certain—he's definitely not ordinary."
It had only been a fleeting handshake, yet for some reason, an eerie, numbing chill was still tingling deep within her lower abdomen.
"We'd better stay on our toes."
"Professor...?"
"What is it?"
"C-Could we... put a little space between us?"
Practically folded into Oh Ji-seok's side as she matched his stride, Ariel asked in a faint, trembling voice.
"Why?"
"W-We're way too close. People are giving us strange looks..."
Ever since his arm had wrapped around her shoulders, a peculiar sensation had been fluttering incessantly in her chest. Having never experienced anything like it before, she had no name for it, but instinct warned her that she had to break away before it overwhelmed her.
"...Then we'll just hold hands."
"Pardon?"
Though Oh Ji-seok seemed to yield by slipping his arm from her shoulder, he immediately took her hand, his fingers firmly lacing with hers.
"Um, excuse me..." Ariel began, an embarrassed flush rising to her cheeks as she tried to voice a complaint, only for her breath to hitch in her throat.
"...Whoa."
The dazzling panorama of the seminar in full swing broke across her vision.
Celebrated heroes whose faces were recognized worldwide mingled in lavish clusters, accompanied by countless sidekicks who added luster to their mentors' prestige. Display booths exhibited state-of-the-art support items forged with bleeding-edge technology far beyond the reach of ordinary civilians, alongside mystical weapons crafted from the harvested hearts of subjugated magical beasts. And then, standing in solemn majesty, were the statues honoring the heroes who had fallen in the line of duty—the memorial dedicated to the Fallen Stars.
"..."
Overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the gathering, Ariel drank in the spectacle in stunned silence until her eyes suddenly locked onto a single point.
...Unnie.
There, at the very front of the hall honoring the Fallen Stars, stood a bronze statue unveiled only days ago: Justia.
Did I make the right choice?
The statue captured that beloved, nostalgic figure mid-strike, punching forward with the radiant, confident grin she had worn into every battle. Gazing upon it, Ariel sank into deep contemplation.
Can I truly become a hero who surpasses Unnie?
If Justia were standing before her right now, she would have replied without a second of hesitation: Of course you can. That was simply who Justia was. But in Ariel's life today, there was no one left to speak those words to her.
No one—except for one man.
"Professor, I..."
Unconsciously squeezing his hand tighter, Ariel parted her lips to speak, but the words faltered into silence.
What is Professor thinking right now?
For the past week, Professor Oh Ji-seok had poured every ounce of his effort into guiding her. Yet today, for reasons she couldn't fathom, he treated her with nothing but freezing detachment. The blunt insistence that she wasn't his assistant, the urgent demand that she turn around and leave at once—it all replayed in her head, prickling like needles.
Am I... nothing more than a hindrance to you?
The unuttered question lingered heavily in her throat.
Or am I...
"Are you Professor Oh Ji-seok?"
At that exact moment, a man stepped out to block their path.
"By order of the Association Chairman, I have been instructed to escort you to the VIP section."
Dressed in a sharp black suit, the man delivered the message in a subdued, formal tone.
"However... is the young lady beside you part of your company?"
As Oh Ji-seok narrowed his eyes with cautious skepticism, the suited man tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over Ariel with polite scrutiny.
"No. We merely ran into each other by chance."
With that, Oh Ji-seok let go of Ariel's hand and stepped aside.
"Is that so? Some of our guests bring two or more assistants, you see."
"You are mistaken."
Ariel watched his back with a bitter, sinking feeling as he stepped forward to follow the man. But just as he passed, a razor-sharp whisper brushed against her ear.
"Student Ariel. Go straight to your room in the guest quarters."
"What?"
"Quickly. There is no time."
Before she could even ask what he meant, he shoved her lightly away.
"I will send someone who can protect you shortly."
"Wait..."
In that fleeting heartbeat, an inexplicable dread seized Ariel's chest, screaming at her that she had to grab his hand again—that she couldn't let him go.
"Wait a moment...!"
Yet by the time she found her footing, Oh Ji-seok had already vanished into the crowd alongside the suited man.
"...What in the world is going on?"
Several hours had passed.
"Just what could possibly be happening...?"
Having retreated to Oh Ji-seok's assigned quarters just as instructed, Ariel lay sprawled across the bed, muttering in sheer frustration.
"It's already evening. Why hasn't he come back...?"
At first, she had intended to obey his orders without fuss. But after waiting alone in this silent room for hours on end, her patience had frayed down to the absolute limit.
Should I go out and look for him?
The thought crossed her mind, only for her to shake her head vigorously and slump back against the mattress.
It's not like I'd be any help anyway...
Wallowing in gloomy self-doubt as she rolled across the bed, she hesitated for a moment before fishing into her pocket and pulling out her smartphone.
"...Let's see what people are saying these days."
Though she had cut back considerably of late, searching her own name online was still a stubborn habit whenever her self-worth plummeted.
"Huh?"
Her eyes went wide as she typed her name into the search bar.
"Why isn't the internet working?"
The signal indicator was lit in a solid, unmoving red—completely dead.
"Calls aren't going through either?"
Staring at the screen in disbelief as her call immediately failed, Ariel scratched her head and pushed herself up from the bed.
"What on earth is happening out there...?"
Guided by the man in the black suit, I arrived at a secret gathering of masked elites.
"—Sold for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars! The crystalline heart of former Rank 24, Jewelia!"
To be frank, I had anticipated this much.
"—Now, for our next lot, ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be astounded!"
Behind the curtain of a global seminar where half the attendees were heroes and the other half were Grotesques, I knew full well that such vile atrocities festered in the dark. My intention had been to play along with the atmosphere just enough to blend in and infiltrate their inner circle.
"—None other than the biological younger sister of Justia!"
Except these bastards...
"—Wouldn't you love to feast your eyes upon 'weapons' and 'Mysteries' forged from the one and only flesh and blood of the world's strongest hero?!"
...just crossed the single line I could never, ever tolerate.
"—The instant the gavel falls, we will carve the heart straight from her chest in the guest quarters and begin crafting on the spot! The entire procedure will be broadcast live to our distinguished guests—"
I am going to slaughter every single one of you pieces of trash.