EP 4. Paradise - Special Mission! Infiltration Operation! (2)
"This next item is a young female elf freshly captured from the forest."
The auctioneer shouted.
As the auction's atmosphere heated up, the items being peddled grew progressively more sinister.
"She's a half-breed, but as you can see, her ears are nicely pointed—a sure sign of strong elven blood. And on top of that, she's a virgin. To the lucky buyer, we'll throw in a complimentary slave collar. Bidding starts at 1000G!"
Men in masks, seated around the room, shot their hands up one after another, calling out bids.
The price skyrocketed, surpassing five times the starting bid in less than a minute.
And with it, the despair and terror on the face of the half-elf slave being sold deepened.
"Kuh… these filthy bastards…."
Lena clenched her fists, trembling with rage.
"5500G. We've got 5500G. No higher bids? Going once for 5500G. Counting down."
The auctioneer raised his right hand high and began folding his fingers one by one.
"Sold for 5500G. Congratulations! Settlement and handover will be handled inside."
The half-elf slave screamed in some unintelligible tongue, thrashing wildly, but armed guards dragged her off by force.
"Now for the next item… oh, this one's a real gem. An ancient grimoire of black magic, long thought lost after being banned as a forbidden text, paired with shards of a mirror infused with powerful magic!"
The auctioneer brought out a leather pouch, set it on the table, and unfurled it to display the contents.
"Lena…!"
I whipped around to her in shock.
"…Yeah, no doubt about it. That's the item we lost."
Lena nodded.
"For any skeptics out there, we've got a certificate of authenticity, personally verified and stamped by a renowned appraiser. Right here. Buyers get this cert plus a full refund guarantee if it's ever proven fake. Starting bid, 1000G, same as before!"
The auctioneer waved the papers high for all to see.
As the bidding climbed, Lena glanced around cautiously before finally raising her hand.
"6000G."
The auctioneer's eyes locked onto her immediately.
"6000G! A big spender, folks. Anyone higher?!"
He started folding his fingers.
"5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Sold for 6000G! Congratulations."
The auctioneer clapped.
A nearby guard bundled the pouch and carried it offstage.
Soon after, a Ruby Eye operative approached our seats.
"We'll assist with payment inside. If you want to bid on more, wait here."
"No. Lead the way."
Lena replied.
"Understood."
We followed the man out of the hall.
He led us to a separate room, guarded by a massive iron door and walled in thick alloy on all sides.
It felt like stepping into a giant vault.
"Here it is."
The man pointed to an ornate gold-inlaid box.
Inside lay the book and mirror shards from before, neatly arranged—complete with the certificate and guarantee.
"How will you pay?"
"We'll issue a promissory note."
Lena said.
The man smirked and shook his head.
"Sorry, ma'am. We only accept cash or goods."
"I see."
Lena glanced around the room.
Two armed guards and this guy. Easy pickings.
"…Ria."
"Got it."
We exchanged a quick nod, then charged in unison, knocking out the guards.
"Wha—?!"
The man flinched and reached into his clothes—hiding something, no doubt.
I lunged forward and kicked his hand away.
"Gahk!"
He staggered, dropping what looked like some kind of magic tool.
"Damn you… you think you can pull this shit and walk away?!"
He snarled a threat.
"Shut up, trash."
Lena glared down at him coldly and stomped hard on his crotch.
"Gaaahk…!"
Foam bubbled from his mouth as he collapsed in a heap.
Not dead, probably.
Lena could be scary as hell sometimes.
"Let's get out of here fast. They might hear the commotion."
"Right."
We grabbed the box and bolted, but alarms blared the moment we stepped out.
"What the hell?!"
"No idea. Maybe the box had a trap…?"
Footsteps pounded toward us from all sides.
"Over there! Alarm's from that direction!"
"Run!"
Lena yelled urgently.
We sprinted blindly the opposite way.
"This just takes us deeper in, doesn't it?!"
I shouted as we ran.
"Don't know! Just gotta shake 'em…!"
We burst through a long corridor into a wide-open room—a lobby connecting other chambers, by the looks of it.
"Looks like we've stumbled into the heart of their base…."
Lena said tensely.
"Guheheh. Knew you'd come."
A man emerged from the shadows ahead.
He was massively obese—short for his bulk, with fat bulging out front, back, and sides.
"That stench of vile black magic… you're a demon, aren't you?"
Lena growled, glaring.
Sure enough, a foul reek wafted from him even from afar.
Black magic? Maybe. Or just never washing—his greasy hair clung to his scalp, and filth nestled in his layered rolls of fat.
"Guhehehehe… sharp instincts, heretic inquisitor."
"How do you know who I am?"
Wariness flashed across Lena's face.
"Curious? Fair enough. Guhehehehe. Everything in Wilhelm and Uta was our Cult of Chaos's doing. Your meddling ruined it, though."
The man grinned disgustingly.
"Cult of Chaos…?"
Lena looked like she'd never heard of it.
"Our goal? Spread evil and chaos across the world. We failed in Uta, but I—the Third Apostle of the God of Chaos, Baalzebub—am different."
Another Apostle of the God of Chaos, huh.
"So you're in league with that succubus."
Lena's voice turned ice-cold.
"Guhehehe. Sorta, but that sadistic bitch and I didn't get along. Loved her pretty face, but her temper was too wild. Snobbish is fine in moderation, but overdone? Ruins the flavor. Shame she croaked—I was gonna make her mine someday."
"Don't care about your filthy thoughts. But perfect. Now I get to pay back the humiliation from Uta."
Lena fixed Baalzebub with a murderous glare.
Her killing intent sent chills down my spine too.
Guess Uta hit her harder than I thought.
Baalzebub's smug demeanor faltered a bit.
"G… guhehehe… feisty one. Means your backdoor's your weak spot, eh?"
"Shut your mouth! [Holy Sword]!"
Holy Sword
Lena's face flushed red as she charged, swinging her blade of light.
But her strike was blocked by some invisible barrier.
"Guheheh… you didn't think I'd face you unprepared, did you?"
A staff had appeared in Baalzebub's hand.
"Tch, a barrier…."
Lena clicked her tongue.
"Told you—I knew you'd come. Guhehehehe…."
"Coward. No guts for a fair fight?"
"Guhehe. What's wrong with a villain being sneaky? Backdoor weakling."
Baalzebub mockingly crooked his finger and made a stirring motion.
"You bastard… I'll kill you!"
"Think you can?"
Ruby Eye goons poured in from behind, swelling their numbers until they surrounded us completely.
"Don't interfere!"
Lena roared and slashed into the thugs.
The overconfident goons, banking on their numbers, realized too late they faced something deadly—shock rippled across their faces.
It was like watching a feral beast rampage through a crowd, carving a path to escape.
Come to think of it, Lena was seriously strong.
I'd kinda forgotten amid her recent downtime.
"Lena!"
Snapping out of it, I spotted a goon sneaking up behind her and yelled.
"Ugh?!"
"Hah!"
I sprinted full tilt and kicked the ambusher hard in the back.
He screamed and tumbled far away.
"Thanks, Ria."
"No prob."
I snatched the weapon he'd dropped.
More thugs flooded in from the halls, filling the room and tightening the encirclement.
Lena and I stood back-to-back, glaring at them.
"…And here we are again."
Lena sighed, muttering like it was a complaint.
"But this is what we're best at, right?"
"True enough."
She smirked at my words.
We locked eyes for a split second, then charged the enemy together.
"Haaah!"
"Hyah!"