‘Who are you?’
Who could he be?
A man who came out of the labyrinth, and earned the trust of the Five Pillars?
That cannot be all. There must be far more he is hiding.
And moreover.
‘For him to bring out something of that scale, it means he has something he wants.’
That confidence.
He boldly displayed a unique-grade item.
The Throne of Light, where the Sun God once sat.
Whether it came from the labyrinth, or whether he possessed it personally, I don’t know, but his confidence is staggering.
And he showed it here, inside the Empire, not even on his own land.
In front of countless nobles.
There is no way he revealed it simply to show off, nor because he truly wanted a hundred billion gold.
It was his way of saying, “Try bringing out something this thrilling.”
Is this all you have? How disappointing.
Fine. It was very entertaining.
If he showed a treasure of that magnitude, I too must show him something he’ll covet.
What should I reveal?
What object could shake him?
“Ah, and we have newly identified a ‘sinner’. What shall we do?”
Lord Darkan asked.
The man in seat 1 responded with an attitude that asked why such an obvious question was even spoken.
“All sinners must die. That is the rule.”
Sinners. Players.
The rule was that they must all be killed.
***
From the third day onward, the ‘quality’ of the auction items drastically changed.
Weapons and artifacts of legendary-grade and higher poured down like rain.
Even mythic-grade items appeared frequently.
The participants could not keep their mouths closed at the sight of such dazzling treasures.
I was no different.
Among them—
“The next auction item is the ‘Baal Armor’! A suit of armor believed to be related to the ‘Four Evils Baal’, the one who recently overran Delphian! Look at its vicious appearance, as though laden with countless curses! It is truly horrifying!”
······ The Baal Armor had appeared as an auction item.
Through the Sword Immortal’s Journal, I had confirmed the Baal Armor’s location to be somewhere in the Empire.
But definitely not here, not in Darkan Territory.
Something that didn’t exist has now appeared.
Someone must have brought it here to auction.
And that someone is…
‘Number 1.’
The man freely throwing out items of at least legendary-grade.
Unless he looted the Empire’s treasury, no one else could so easily produce such treasures.
‘He reacted to the Throne of Light.’
But he wouldn’t suddenly reveal high-grade items for no reason.
Showing treasures worth more than anyone can afford only serves to raise alarm.
He began moving after seeing the Throne of Light I offered yesterday.
He wanted to bid but wasn’t able to due to the auction’s rules, so he wanted me to “watch” instead?
‘He wants to see which item I react to.’
With treasures of this caliber laid out, I’m bound to be drawn to at least one.
Especially the Baal Armor. It is essential to complete the ‘Baal Set’.
Even if I want to avoid reacting, I can’t.
“Honored guests! The ‘Baal Armor’ is not merely ominous. Our appraisal team has classified it as an ‘Ultimate Mythic’ grade item! Among today’s lineup, we proudly claim it as the greatest of treasures, and it is connected to the ancient being, the ‘Four Evils Baal’, who crushed the Mountain of Trainees and Delphian, so its rarity is beyond question!”
Ultimate Mythic.
And armor related to the Four Evils Baal!
No matter how cursed it may be, seeing such an item in an auction is nearly impossible.
“Ultimate Mythic… isn’t that almost at unique-grade?”
“The Four Evils helped bring down the old Empire…”
“Huh. A treasure of the Four Evils, huh?”
Even the Empire’s nobles could not help but admire it.
The revealed Baal Armor looked nothing like a normal suit of armor.
Black smoke rose endlessly from it like shimmering heat.
It was unsettling at first, but after hearing the auctioneer’s explanation, even the ominousness looked special.
“The starting bid is five hundred million gold! Minimum increase is one hundred million gold! A treasure you will never regret, one only the chosen may possess!”
A starting price of 500 million gold.
Naturally, only a few could participate.
Flutter!
Someone unfolded a fan.
“Esteemed guest number 3! As expected, your discerning eye is extraordinary!”
Lady Dersian entered again.
For two days straight, I remained in seat 2, and Lady Dersian in seat 3.
Not intentional.
I simply bought every item worth its price and ended up in seat 2.
‘Even when items are sold, number 1 remains indifferent. He doesn’t care.’
Throughout the earlier auctions, number 1 still had not moved.
He acted as though he didn’t care if items were sold.
“Are there no more bids? The Baal Armor is worth easily over one billion gold. And according to our long-term records, the ‘Armaments of the Four Evils’ are connected to the ‘Source of the Four Evils’. Are you not curious? Do you not wish to know where they came from?”
I am curious. I do want to know.
But 600 million gold is a heavy burden even for nobles of the Empire.
How many would bring that much gold to spend?
At most five.
… One of them being me.
“Aaaah…!!!”
Then it happened.
A man suddenly shot up from his seat, staring into the air as if terrified.
He looked sickly pale, sweating as though possessed by madness.
He was one of the invited outsiders seated to the right.
Despite everyone staring, he screamed.
“Re, reaper! Spare me! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything, so please, let me live!”
What nonsense was he suddenly spouting?
…A reaper?
The man then pointed at another person in the seats.
“Number 53, that bastard! He’s also a ‘player’! He hid behind a mask but I’m sure! So please—!”
Thud!
Roll—
The man’s severed head suddenly rolled across the floor.
I frowned internally.
I couldn’t tell what had cut him.
No presence, no warning, nothing.
No one even showed killing intent.
He was simply cut.
As though an invisible reaper had sliced him cleanly with a scythe.
“Wh-what?”
“What is happening?”
People panicked.
Especially the invited outsiders.
But the Empire’s nobles and the auctioneer remained indifferent.
A man had died, yet they didn’t even look at him.
As though he were filth.
And then—
‘…They’re smiling?’
······ They covered their mouths, hiding their smiles.
As if what had happened was familiar.
As if they were excited about what was to come.
Ding!
Ding-ding!
Soon, black-hooded figures entered the auction hall.
Their hoods pulled low, wearing ‘silver fox masks’.
Each of them had a ‘black bell’ at their waist.
The same bell the Silver Fox Masked Swordsman in the Abyss Labyrinth carried.
They surrounded the corpse, holding up their bells and pressing their palms together.
Ding-ling-ling-ling-ling-ling-ling!
They shook the bells nonstop while scattering a strange white powder.
At the same time—
“Huuh…!”
“H-his appearance is changing!”
······ The beheaded man’s appearance began to change.
His face, his body, even his clothes.
He became a completely different person.
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
So was Hudson.
The corpse had transformed into an Earthling.
A blond foreigner.
On his white T-shirt, the English words “I’m Champion” were printed alongside his own face.
An Earthling with extreme self-love.
And he was dead, his head severed.
A gruesome sight.
“He is a ‘sinner’.”
“A ‘sinner’.”
“A ‘sinner’.”
The black-hooded figures all spoke in unison.
Then—
Ding!
Another figure wearing a silver fox mask emerged.
He reached his hand toward the corpse.
At that moment—
Crackle! Crack-crack-crackle!
Lightning swirled from his palm, then morphed into the jaws of a fierce beast and devoured the corpse.
After finishing the “incineration”, they withdrew from the hall.
“We will temporarily pause the auction.”
“Wait, you need to give us a proper explanation. Otherwise, we won’t stay here any longer!”
“That is impossible, honored guest.”
When one invited guest protested, the auctioneer coldly shook his head.
“Impossible?”
“Once a ‘sinner’ appears within the territory, no one may leave. Disinfection must be conducted. After all invited guests are verified as ‘normal’, you may leave.”
“I am not a sinner.”
“Yes, but these are the rules. We ask for your understanding.”
“Bullshit! I’ve never heard of such a rule!”
“Whether you refuse or not, it cannot be helped. By now, all warps within the territory have been ‘disabled’.”
“…What?”
All warps were disabled?
Only someone who wanted to sink into the abyss would make such an extreme move.
They planned to root out sinners and complete “disinfection” no matter what.
Everyone naturally looked toward someone.
The dying man’s final words.
There is one more player, one more sinner.
Number 53.
……Master.
The auctioneer spoke.
“Until the auction resumes, we kindly ask all guests to wait in the banquet hall.”
***
In the banquet hall, everyone avoided number 53.
Naturally.
No one wanted to be near someone accused of being a sinner.
The Master was frozen.
Because the warps had indeed been shut down.
There was nowhere to run.
Even though he was a 2-star transcendence, this was Darkan Territory. Countless powerful individuals were here, including Guardian Knight Pamel.
‘Those black-hooded, silver-fox-masked individuals… if they carry black bells, they must be members of the Reaper Church.’
But I had no interest in the Master right now.
There was simply too much to think about.
The sudden intrusion of the Reaper Church.
All of them were transcendents.
‘They bore the Clover (♣) emblem.’
Lady Dersian’s berserker had the Spade (♠) emblem.
Even among transcendents, the emblems differ.
And it seemed their strength followed the order of playing cards:
Clover (♣), Heart (♥), Diamond (◆), Spade (♠).
‘Those who wear fox masks must be transcendents with these emblems.’
There must be a standard.
Another mystery arose.
‘The Silver Fox Mask that appeared afterward.’
The one who incinerated the corpse.
He was a 2-star transcendent.
Just like the one I met in the Abyss Labyrinth.
But he was not the same person.
‘A transcendent with a star and the Spade emblem.’
This was something I had never seen.
【Lv.★♠】
A star transcendent who then reached 2-star transcendence.
The Empire had clearly found a method to transcend using a system other than stars.
But something else gnawed at me strongly.
That skill I saw when he incinerated the body.
‘That skill, without a doubt…’
No, it shouldn’t be possible, but how could I fail to recognize a “unique skill”?
The one and only unique skill in existence, the spell obtained when the Thunder Archmage transcended: ‘Thunder Lion’.
‘Thunder Lion is the unique skill of Thunder God’s Descent.’
… My character, Alt, Thunder God’s Descent.
A transcended grand mage capable of freely controlling lightning magic.
But how is this possible?
A 1-star transcendent had become 2-star.
And instead of a star emblem, he bore another symbol, and had become an executor of the Reaper Church.
If judged only by that, he seems like a different person.
But a ‘unique skill’ cannot exist twice.
There is only one in the entire world.
If someone already has it, no one else can.
“Hey! I was only invited here!”
“If I knew this would happen, I’d never have come!”
“What tyranny is this from the Empire?!”
People roared.
This auction had never been pure.
Perhaps they invited people specifically suspected of being ‘players’.
If so, Hudson had also been targeted.
“If you’re not a sinner, then prove it.”
“Just thinking of sharing the same space with filthy sinners makes me sick.”
The Empire nobles stood far away.
Their faces twisted in disgust.
But how could one prove one is not a player?
If they stayed still, they’d be “judged” however the Empire liked.
We had no idea what standards they used to determine guilt.
Then—
Tap.
-Hey… where are you going?
Ignoring Hudson’s gaze asking that question, I walked toward the center.
“Do not come near.”
“Suspicious individuals should keep their distance!”
The closer I got, the more twisted the Empire nobles’ expressions became.
I didn’t care.
There was only one person I cared about.
–Oh? Why are you reconnecting something I already severed?
Number 1.
I approached him directly, linking the “Line of Golden Rule” with him again, and he looked at me with interest.
I took out “that”.
–An Imperial badge? What do you expect me to do with that?
The badge I received from the Silver Fox Mask in the Abyss Labyrinth.
He asked what the point of showing it was.
But this was no ordinary Imperial badge.
The moment he examined it closely, his eyes trembled slightly.
–Hmm? Wait. This emblem is definitely…!
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