"Huh, looks like they are challenging me or trying to provoke me," Gabriel said.
Lucifer glanced at her from behind his mask, eyes narrowing.
"You better not fall for provocation," he whispered, as if only Gabriel could hear.
"85 million," she said calmly.
The hall, which had been noisy a moment ago, fell into sudden silence. Several heads turned at once toward Gabriel. Their expressions mixed shock with disbelief.
Lucifer exhaled softly behind his black mask; he knew that once Gabriel opened her mouth, nothing could stop her.
"Huh, you bid this high just for a small jade... Hahaha!" mocked the Gidax man in the front row.
Gabriel did not answer. She leaned back casually in her seat, one leg crossed over the other. Behind her clown mask, a faint smile appeared.
"I can feel a tremendous energy aura just by looking at it. Do not regret letting me take it easily. 85 million is still far too cheap for this precious item."
Her voice was flat, yet full of certainty. A few participants whispered to each other, weighing her words. Lucifer looked down, half resigned and half admiring her cunning.
"Gaby, what exactly are you planning?" he murmured softly.
"100 million," said the Gidax man.
"120 million," called the vampire woman.
"130 million," came from the Ogre.
"140 million," replied the Werewolf.
"160 million," came from the group wearing ghost masks.
"200 million," the Gidax man shouted again with a tone of triumph.
There was no sound. Everyone fell quiet, waiting for Gabriel's reaction.
"Is anyone brave enough to bid higher than 200 million?" the auctioneer called.
Silence.
Gabriel leaned slightly forward, her fingers tapping the table slowly.
"I did say there was a huge energy aura, but extracting it is not easy. Whoops... seems I forgot to mention that, right?"
The Gidax man's face changed instantly. "You! How dare you deceive me!" he shouted, a vein throbbing in his neck.
"S-sold at 200 million to Mister Gidax!" the flustered auctioneer announced.
The Gidax man froze, his face pale as if he had just swallowed poison. Gabriel simply watched him from behind her mask, her shoulder trembling slightly as she fought to contain her laughter.
---
"The fourth item is the Golden Skull," the auctioneer announced once the tension settled down.
"What we know is that this object is a key, but we do not know what lies behind it. We will start the bidding at 50 million. Please offer your best price."
All participants remained silent.
The golden skull gleamed under the crystal lights, its reflection dancing on the walls of the hall. Gabriel rubbed her chin slowly, her eyes tracing the object with deep interest.
For a moment, Lucifer caught a faint illusion, two black horns emerging above Gabriel's head, as if revealing her hidden demonic side.
"51 million," Gabriel said flatly.
The participants exchanged cautious glances, none of them willing to step further. They were still traumatized by how easily they were manipulated in the previous round.
Lucifer watched her from the side. In silence, he surrendered.
"I decided to hand over control to her."
"Sold at 51 million to Miss clown mask!"
Gabriel slowly stood up and extended her hand toward Lucifer. Her movements were calm, almost theatrical.
"Show me the golden skull's eyes you showed yesterday," she said.
Lucifer opened his storage space. His hand retrieved two radiant red-golden jewels glowing gently.
Every gaze was drawn toward them.
"Fortunately, no one bid higher," Gabriel said quietly, staring at the golden skull as though it was a living entity.
"Look, I have the skull's eyes to complete the key. And I know exactly where the location is."
"Ga... Gaby, why are you..." Lucifer whispered.
Gabriel pressed her index finger to the lips of her mask. Lucifer swallowed his question. The faces around them darkened, filled with anger, jealousy, and suspicion.
"I feel like I am going to face big problems after this auction ends."
"Seriously, Sis Gaby is exactly like Mom," Enatur whispered, almost inaudibly.
---
A group of large muscled orcs entered the room, pushing something covered by a large dusty cloth. The cloth swayed heavily every time they pulled it to the center of the stage.
"I wonder what they brought," Enatur said.
When the cloth was lifted, the shimmer reflected off the massive silver bones. The hall erupted with gasps of amazement.
"The complete bones of a dragon," the auctioneer announced proudly. "It is said that if refined, these bones contain a massive concentration of energy."
The crowd turned loud. Several participants almost stood from their seats.
"How did they manage to find it?" Enatur stared in awe.
"The price we offer is 8 billion. Please offer your highest bid."
Gabriel did not blink. Her gaze was deep and focused, as if she was seeing something invisible to the naked eye. Lucifer glanced at her, fully understanding what that look meant: Gabriel was reading something beyond reality.
"What kind of energy can we gain from it?" the Ogre asked.
"Of course, energy that can let you attain level-up and evolution," the auctioneer quickly replied.
"You should know what will happen if you get it, right?"
"What the auctioneer said is half true, half false," Gabriel replied loudly.
"It is true that whoever gets it will benefit greatly from level-up and evolution, but only if successful. However, if you fail, the risk of permanent disability cannot be avoided, and it is even worse than death."
The room froze instantly. All gazes shifted toward her, full of hesitation and fear.
"Are you trying to trick us again?" the vampire woman shouted from the left row.
"Believe it or not, that is up to you," Gabriel answered leisurely.
"Dragon race holds a very massive and powerful energy. Even if refined, your body will not be able to withstand the full energy of refined dragon bones. If it reaches limit-over... everything will be meaningless." she continued.
Cold sweat trickled down the auctioneer's temple. He saw the participants begin to hesitate, their lips sealed tightly. Every calculation of value was replaced by fear.
"8.02 billion, I offer for these dragon bones," Gabriel said.
Several people stared at her in disbelief.
"Miss clown mask, you said earlier that it is extremely risky. So why are you bidding for this item?" the Werewolf asked suspiciously.
"I simply want to display it in my house," Gabriel replied lightly. "I really like collecting antique items."
"10 billion. I am also interested in displaying it in my mansion's lobby," the Gidax man said with a wide grin.
Lucifer almost raised his bid, but Gabriel shook her head slowly.
"10 billion, sold to Mister Gidax!"
Lucifer only exhaled.
"I have no idea what she is planning... I just follow the flow she creates."
"With this, the auction has ended. We thank all gentlemen and ladies for your participation."
The participants and audience clapped thunderously. The cheers of the spectators blended with the roar inside the hall.
---
After the auction ended, the atmosphere in the transaction room felt much quieter than before. The participants waited for their turn with stiff expressions. Lucifer and his group stood on the right side of the room, the Golden Skull now in their possession.
"Take out the skull's gem eyes. I am curious what its true form will look like once they are installed," Gabriel whispered.
Lucifer stared at her for a moment, then nodded and opened his storage space. The two gemstones floated slowly from the dark space, glowing like sacred flames.
The eyes were inserted, releasing a radiant glow from the Golden Skull that spread throughout the room. A heavy aura pressed on everyone there, some even stepping back in fear.
"Amazing..." someone murmured.
After the transaction was completed, they left the building and headed toward the mysterious cave in the Sheirra mountains.
Lucifer drove the rented car. The city lights slowly disappeared in the rearview mirror, replaced by cold air and the forest on both sides of the highway. The leaves swayed in the mountain wind.
"Sis Gaby, why are we not removing our cloaks and masks?" Enatur asked.
"Just do as I say. We are heading to that mysterious cave now," Gabriel replied without turning her head.
Once the car stopped in the parking area, they jumped out and continued their journey through the giant trees. Their trunks towered up to eighty meters high.
"Lucifer, stop!" Gabriel's voice echoed in their heads through telepathy.
They immediately halted on a large branch.
"Gabriel, what is it? Why did we stop so suddenly?" Lucifer asked.
Gabriel stood at the edge of the branch, the wind blowing her cloak so that it fluttered like black wings.
"Isn't it about time you all show yourselves?" she shouted into the darkness.
Heavy footsteps echoed from every direction. From behind the fog emerged the Ogre man, the Gidax man, the Vampire woman, and the Werewolf man. All stared sharply.
Lucifer lifted his chin slightly. "So it was true."
"You two, if you do not want to get hurt, hand over all the auction items to us," the Gidax man said arrogantly.
"As for the Golden Skull, you will have to bring us to the place," the Ogre man added with a coarse laugh.
"Maybe we will share a little profit with you... hahaha!" he continued.
They were now surrounded from every direction. The night air grew tense, and the aura of magic crept between the trees.
They simply stared at their enemies. Four auction participants stood on the branch in front of Lucifer's group.
Enatur frowned. "Yeah, I expected they would show up, Sis Gaby."
Gabriel nodded with a cold smile behind her clown mask.
Enatur swallowed unconsciously, his body tensing reflexively, but his eyes did not look away.
The Werewolf man licked his teeth. The Vampire woman's fangs reflected the moonlight. The Ogre man's eyes shone bright yellow. The Gidax man licked his long black claws.
---
Meanwhile, in the now silent auction building, the auctioneer handed some documents to a girl in a hooded black cloak. She wore a plain white face mask, let us call her the White Mask Girl.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss. These are the proceeds from the sale of all items you auctioned. The figures have already been deducted by our auction commission," he said politely.
"Good work," the soft voice came from behind the mask. "However, the target's movement is not according to my expectations."
The auctioneer bowed. "My apologies if there were shortcomings in our auction."
"No problem. Either way, everything happened according to my plan. Until we meet again."
The girl turned around. The wind swirled around her, and her body began to fade, turning into dust particles swept by the night air.
The masked girl reappeared on the edge of a skyscraper rooftop. Her black cloak fluttered in the night wind. Her eyes swept across the entire view of the city.
"Let us see how far you will grow, Enatur Vermillion."