"Eight Platinum Coins"
Suddenly, the magical amplifier in VIP Room Two flared to life. A calm, distinctly feminine, and utterly authoritative voice cut through the tension.
The entire auction house froze.
In VIP Room Three, Prince Kaelen's arrogant smile shattered. He nearly dropped his wine glass. Across the hall in VIP Room One, Prince Caspian violently gripped the hilt of his rapier, his knuckles turning white.
"Who...?!" Caspian snarled, staring at the dark, mirrored glass of Room Two.
Both Princes instantly recognized the voice. It was Lady Elara Valmont.
"What is this bitch's problem?!" Kaelen hissed under his breath, his royal composure completely breaking. He slammed his fist against the armrest of his chair.
Caspian was thinking the exact same thing. Elara had just casually raised the bid by two hundred gold coins in a single breath, completely leapfrogging the royal bidding war. She was showing the entire Kingdom that the Valmont family's wealth rivaled that of the Crown itself.
Caspian reached for his communication dial to outbid her, fueled by pure rage.
"Caspian, stop!" Princess Seraphina suddenly grabbed his wrist, her eyes wide with warning. "Do not let your ego blind you!"
"She is making a fool of the Royal Family!" Caspian spat.
"She is the head of the Valmont Family!" Seraphina hissed sharply. "If you insult her or drag her into a petty bidding war, she will take it as a slight against her guild. Need I remind you who supplies the Royal Vanguard with their healing potions? If you anger Elara Valmont, she can cut off our supply lines or triple the prices of our basic military elixirs! You will cripple our army before the war even begins!"
Over in VIP Room Three, Prince Kaelen was having the exact same grim realization. His Solarian Kingdom also relied heavily on the Valmont trade routes for their alchemical supplies. Pissing off the Kingdom's top alchemist over a single auction, no matter how pure the fruits were, was political suicide.
The two Crown Princes, men who believed they ruled the world, were forced to pull their hands away from their dials, utterly paralyzed by the terrifying logistical power of a single alchemist.
"Eight Platinum Coins from VIP Room Two!" the Auctioneer screamed, his voice cracking from the sheer thrill of the unbelievable price. "Do I hear nine?! Do I hear any challengers?!"
The auction hall was dead silent. The Princes had folded. Elara Valmont had conquered the room.
The thunderous applause for Elara Valmont was still echoing outside the enchanted crystal window of VIP Room Seven. Inside the private suite, however, a profound, heavy silence reigned. Zero sat back in his plush velvet armchair, his heavy, Abyssal Steel gauntlets resting on the armrests, his glowing red eyes fixed on the empty stage below.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in the room. It was hushed, respectful, yet carried the innate, powerful resonance of a giant lineage. It came not from the hallway, but from the black pool of shadow at Zero's feet.
"My Lord... Lord Zero," Kaelith whispered from within the Shadow Sanctuary, her voice sounding far away. "The healing accelerated drastically inside your realm. My mana circuits are stable, and the fever has passed. The area feels secure. May I come out?"
Zero glanced around the private suite. "You are indeed fully healed, and the information you have absorbed regarding my power is correct," he thought, confirming that the System's acceleration bonus had worked wonders. "The arrogant humans will indeed pay the price for their hubris. They believe their petty last names and diluted potions make them the strongest race. They have no idea what is coming for them"
He shifted slightly in his chair. "The coast is clear, Kaelith. There are no other high-level beings in this suite, only an invisible barrier separating us from the common hall. You are free to emerge"
At his command, the black puddle of ink on the dark fur rug began to swirl and expand. It defied all logic, spreading outward until it covered nearly half the available floor space.
Then, Kaelith emerged.
She didn't merely step out; she erupted from the darkness. Her massive, heavy midnight-black Clydesdale lower body hit the floor with a heavy THUD, the iron-shod hooves nearly cracking the marble beneath the rug. Her powerful Amazonian upper body rose to its full, towering height, her broad, sun-bronzed shoulders filling the room, nearly touching the high ceiling.
Her long dark mane was wild, and her intense amber eyes locked onto Zero with unshakable loyalty. The stark white bandages still wrapped around her muscular human waist and powerful equine midsection, contrasting sharply with her dark skin and midnight coat. She took a deep breath, savoring the cool air of the cave.
The sound was sharp, terrifying, and completely out of place in the silent room.
Zero slowly turned his armored head toward the darkest corner of the suite, behind his armchair. He had been so focused on the auction and Kaelith's sudden emergence that his Mind had, for the first time, overlooked a simple logistical detail.
Standing near the mahogany drink table, frozen in absolute terror, was Lyra, the VIP Hostess in the dark velvet dress. She was supposed to be waiting silently to refill his wine or take an order.
Lyra's face was as white as a sheet. Her jaw had dropped, and she was shaking so violently that the crystal goblet she was holding slipped from her hand. It fell, shattering silently onto the thick fur rug. She couldn't even scream. Her eyes were fixed on the terrifying, giant Centaur-kin that had just materialized out of thin air from the floor. She had never seen a centaur, let alone one of the mythical giant tribe.
Kaelith instantly noticed the human woman. Her amber eyes narrowed, and she dropped into a defensive stance, taking up nearly all the space in the small room.
"Master!" Kaelith gasped, looking down at Lyra with a mix of fury and genuine worry.
"I... I have failed you! I was so eager to see you that I didn't sense the human's presence! She has witnessed me! She will report you to the Auction House guards and the Royal Knights! I have placed your entire mission in danger! I am so sorry, Lord Zero!"
Kaelith bowed her proud head, her shoulders sagging under the weight of her perceived mistake.
A cold, metallic chuckle escaped Zero's iron mask, vibrating through the small, high-tension room.
"Do not apologize, Kaelith," Zero's distorted, mechanical voice rumbled, utterly devoid of worry. "This insignificant ant's report means nothing"
He turned his glowing red eyes toward the trembling hostess, locking onto her soul with terrifying intensity.
"Who would believe her, Kaelith?" Zero asked, his voice dripping with cold arrogance. "A common hostess claiming that a faceless titan summoned a giant, bandaged Centaur from his own shadow? The guards would lock her away for insanity"
He shifted his gaze back to the giantess, his voice dropping an octave, echoing with a dark, absolute promise of protection.
"Furthermore... I am not some weak, pathetic human who needs to hide. Let them send their Knights. Let them send their Mages. If anyone on this corrupted world dares to lay a single finger on my Vanguard... I will tear them apart and bury them alive in the dirt of their own Kingdom. No one will touch you while I draw breath"
The words hit Kaelith with the force of a battering ram. She stared at the black-armored monolith, her broad chest heaving as she processed his declaration.
She had been a slave for weeks. Cruelty and abuse were all she knew. Since her capture, no male—not even her own father before he died—had ever offered her this kind of absolute, undeniable protection.
What... what is happening to me? Kaelith thought frantically. She could feel a strange, intense heat spreading across her face and neck, realizing that she was actually blushing behind her sun-kissed skin. A warm, intoxicating sense of security flooded her body, pushing away the last vestiges of fear and trauma.
Why do I feel this... happy? Her internal monologue continued, her amber eyes beginning to glisten with emotion. This is the first time... the absolute first time I have ever felt this safe. As if no matter what happens, nothing can ever hurt me as long as I stand next to him. Why is my heart beating so fast? It feels like a war-drum in my chest... thumping so loudly he must be able to hear it.
"Thank you... Lord Zero," Kaelith whispered, a soft, beautiful smile finally touching her fierce lips as she lowered her fist over her heart in a sign of deepest gratitude. "Thank you for protecting me"
Zero stared at her for a moment, sensing her accelerated heart rate and the shift in her emotional state through his empathy-analyzing protocols. He decided to break the tension.
"You have been standing for minutes," Zero noted, motioning to the limited floor space. "Your hooves are crowding the room. Sit down"
Kaelith blinked, pulling herself out of her emotional spiral. She looked around the tight suite, her horse-ears twitching.
"Sit?" she asked, confusion coloring her voice. She gestured to her massive Clydesdale lower body, then at the plush, velvet armchairs that were barely wide enough for a heavy human knight. "My Lord... I am not built for human furniture. If I try to sit on that chair, it will instantly turn to splinters under my weight. And there is no other chair big enough"
She didn't even realize how the situation was about to change.
"I didn't tell you to use the chair," Zero stated calmly. "I told you to sit down"
Kaelith looked at him, then at the thick fur rug on the floor. She realized he wanted her to sit on the ground, but he hadn't given her a specific location. She looked at the high plush velvet chair that Zero occupied, which resembled nothing less than a Demon King's throne.
She didn't sit in a corner or near the far wall. Without a second thought, Kaelith used the last ounce of her remaining strength to fold her massive, heavily muscled front legs.
DHAM!
The tone of horse-muscle and bone hit the floor with a heavy, resonating sound that vibrated through the suite, dwarfing the silent fall of Lyra's shattered wine glass. Kaelith settled down onto the thick fur rug, her heavy equine body resting on the floor.
But she didn't just sit. She oriented her body so that she was resting right beside Zero's velvet chair. Specifically, her powerful Amazonian upper body settled next to Zero's right leg.
Kaelith leaned her massive, dark-maned head near his Abyssal Steel gauntlet. Her powerful shoulders rested directly against his armored knee. She sat on the carpet, looking out over the auction hall, assuming a posture of powerful, beautiful subservience.
From the outside, safe behind the privacy barrier, they formed a terrifying, powerful image. Zero sat high in his velvet chair, a faceless King clad in Abyssal Steel, looking out over his domain. Resting by his legs, on the ground yet clearly his equal in strength and status, was the majestic, giant Centaur-kin, like a terrifying Vanguard—or perhaps even a formidable Queen—who chose to rest at her King's side.
Kaelith's heart was still beating like a war-drum, but as her body settled against his armor, she finally closed her eyes, letting out a deep, contented sigh. For the first time in years, she wasn't alone. She was with her Master.
Freeze-framed in terror in the corner, Lyra could only watch this impossible, intimate, and horrifying sight, praying that they would forget about her existence entirely. Zero ignored the maid and the auction stage below. He simply rested his armored gauntlet near Kaelith's head, sealing the image of a King and his loyal guardian, separated from the rest of the worthless world.