Massacre

Samael smiled inside as he won the bid with the pen. He sat back and let out a sigh of contentment. Now all he had to do was wait for his brand new pen and relax.

As the auction went on, the things presented on the stage got even wilder. They were constantly showcasing items ranging from legendary to some even having a cursed rank. 

It appeared that the pen managed to somehow pass by undetected by the auction house. Samael's interest was only piqued further by the discovery. 

The auction house was full of bids that can make commoners faint. They were bidding on millions of gold coins as if they were pocket change. Even Samael felt ashamed of his savings. 

Most of the people in the VIP rooms were bidding as well. But what caught Samael's attention was that there was still no action for the VVIPs. 

'What could they be waiting for? The auction is nearly done, and yet they're still waiting.' Samael thought. 

Each passing moment, anticipation started filling the room. Samael knew that the item they were waiting for was near. What could that item be? He could only guess. 

Perhaps it was an ancient weapon crafted by a legendary blacksmith or an heirloom that came from a great being. He could only speculate. 

After 10 more minutes of waiting, the host suddenly clapped his hands twice. This was soon followed by dozens of fully-geared guards. Samael's relaxed posture vanished as he sat straight, paying close attention. 

Samael noticed that the guards were very strong based on the aura they were releasing, not to mention that they were wearing armor of epic quality. 

Samael focused his attention on the stage as a finely dressed man brought out the next item. The guards formed a circle around the man as if protecting their very lives. 

The man stood in the middle as the host announced the final item of the auction. "And for the final item of the day.. behold! The core of a fallen deity!

The whole place went quiet after hearing the announcement of the host. They couldn't believe their ears as they all focused on the item inside the box. 

Soon, a thundering voice was heard inside one of the VVIP rooms. 

"25,000,000 million gold coins," the loud voice said.

The whole crowd gasped at the insanely large amount the voice poured out. Even if they worked their whole lives, they wouldn't even be able to reach half that amount. 

"50,000,000 million gold coins." Mikhael announced. 

Samael was shocked, as well, as he never knew or heard of such core. He knew that monsters do drop cores, but not deities! His shock was even more amplified as he heard Mikhael's bid. 

Soon the auction house was filled with bids from the VVIPs. Samael could only watch as the bid went from 50 million gold coins to 550 million gold coins. And there weren't any signs of stopping anytime soon. 

After a few minutes of nonstop betting, the bid finally reached the 1 billion gold mark. The crowd was flabbergasted by the absurd amount the VVIPs were betting. There were even guesses that the VVIPs were royalties and renowned figures in the empire. 

The bid went on and touched the $1.55 billion mark. As Mikhael was about to add another bid, a sudden explosion was heard as the earth shook violently. 

Samael gracefully maintained his balance and got up just fine. After the initial explosion, the auction house suddenly went dark. The lights were destroyed, and now they were blind. 

Fortunately, the VVIP rooms had separate lights. Mikhael didn't even flinch at the earthquake earlier and carefully prevented anyone from being hurt. 

Samael looked at the stage below as he saw dozens of assailants pour inside the auction house. They were all wearing black clothes with weapons strapped on them. Their faces were covered in a porcelain mask without any design on it. 

They swiftly took down the guards as they had the advantage of the dark. Assassins were great at blending into the shadows, as they were trained for it for a long time. 

The guards fell one by one as panic consumed the crowd. The nobles cast random attacks everywhere as fear crept its way through them. The scene can only be described in one word: a massacre. 

Samael knew that the place wasn't safe anymore, so he immediately sprinted towards the doors. However, he couldn't pull it open. 

"Don't waste your energy, Samael. The doors are specifically built to withstand a full-blown attack from a saint. It's even enforced by a magical formation." Mikhael spoke. 

Samael looked at Mikhael for a second before focusing on the door again. It seemed that they were safe inside after all. 

He was about to relax when suddenly a toxic gas exploded inside the room. Samael and the others were caught by surprise, and they immediately activated their auras to push it back.

"Those bastards! They rigged the rooms with toxic gas!" Silvy said.

"Wait.. it can't be." Oscar suddenly said. 

"This isn't just any toxic gas! It's eating our auras and constantly getting fiercer!" Oscar shouted. 

The room was filled with tension as the gas got thicker by the second. Their aura was constantly getting drained, and even Duke Mikhael had drops of sweat forming on his head. 

Samael looked at the door once more, knowing the only way to leave the place alive was to bust it down. 

"I have a plan," Samael said. 

Mikhael and his children looked at Samael as Mikhael spoke.

"What is your plan?" Mikhael said. 

"Before that, I need you guys to keep your mouths shut about what you're about to see." Samael replied. 

He then took a stance as he summoned his divine weapon. The room was suddenly filled with murderous intent as Samael prepared for his attack.

"You can't be serious! Are you thinking you can destroy that door?" Silvy said. 

Samael poured all his power into the attack as he used his level 4 [void manipulation] to infuse the purest void energy he could gather. 

The blade turned black with shades of purple and red as it glowed menacingly. Even Mikhael was forced to step back as he knew that getting caught in the attack was suicidal.

Samael breathed out as he sprinted, sending shockwaves everywhere. The Duke and his kids were pushed back a little, but they managed to regain their footing shortly. 

Samael sprinted towards the door with great speed and catapulted himself up. With the momentum he built and the force of gravity, he delivered an ear-shattering blow. 

...

The assailants were clearing out the whole venue and slowly getting rid of the guards. Their plan was to steal the final item of the auction and potentially get rid of the VVIPs above. 

"Boss, we got the item in the bag!" An assassin said

"Good, let's get out of here before the royal guards get here." The assassin with a red mask said

Before they could ditch the place again, a sudden explosion shook the floor once more. The Assassins were forced to take cover as debris flew everywhere. 

The explosion came from one of the VVIP rooms. The Assassins watched the smoke carefully as they waited for their signal. 

Soon, a murderous aura swept through them, sending chills down their spines. They couldn't move or speak; they even forgot to breathe at the moment. 

As fast as the aura came, it also vanished fast. It was as if it were just air passing by. But before the assassins could breathe again, the previous aura was replaced by a more murderous one. 

The aura erupted from the same room. It was so strong that some of the assassins suffered multiple fractures, knocking them out quick. 

The stronger ones were fine, but they were severely restricted, except for the leader. The red-masked assassin stood proud, not even bending a little under the intense pressure. 

The red-masked assassin stared menacingly at the entrance of the room. The red-masked assassin knew very well where that aura came from. How? They once fought on the battlefield, and that fight left the assassin badly wounded, even losing one of his arms. 

The assassin held his left arm tightly as he felt nothing but cold metal. After their encounter, he was forced to use a metal hand inscribed with magic. It was a painful and tormenting process. Even now, he still feels the pain as if it were fresh. 

Mikhael stepped out of the room as a sudden light enveloped the whole auction house. Mikhael used his lightning abilities to make a compressed ball of lightning. 

The whole place was lit up, and dozens of assassins were seen trying to leave the auction house. Mikhael wore a cold glare on his face as he summoned his giant sword. 

Traces of lightning can be seen jumping on the surface of the sword. The same thing can be said about Mikhael. There were arcs of lightning coursing through his body as he waved the greatsword around. 

He then suddenly vanished on his spot with a sonic boom, leaving huge chunks of marble flooring flying in the air. The assailants soon fell one by one, headless. 

The last thing they saw were blinding sparks before falling like a feather. The assailants started panicking as their numbers decreased rapidly. 

The only one remaining calm was the red-masked assassin. The red-masked assassin soon brandished his weapon, which looked like a katana. 

A blood-red energy soon poured out of the blade, and like Mikhael, he also vanished, leaving debris flying. The assassin skillfully dodged the flying debris and made his way toward Mikhael. 

Unfortunately, Mikhael already sensed the danger from afar and parried the barrage of attacks. He then counterattacked, sending lightning projectiles towards the masked assassin. 

The assassin was nimble and agile, so it managed to dodge all the lightning projectiles without trouble. After dodging them, the assassin sent out dozens of throwing knives infused with the blood-red aura. 

Surprisingly, Mikhael was forced to dodge the attacks, and it can be noticed that he was maintaining distance from the red aura. 

Mikhael jumped back twice before twirling and sending electrical trails towards the masked assassin. The assassin used some sort of movement technique that made it blink in and out of thin air. 

In reality, the technique allowed the user to move from side to side so quickly that it made it look like he was glitching. 

Mikhael watched this, and realization struck him. His eye widened, and he stared at the familiar movement technique the assassin was using. 

"It can't be. ", Mikhael said in a lone tone. 

"Oh, but it is," a voice behind him said. 

Mikhael parried the attack by rotating his greatsword infused with lightning. He then used a movement technique called the thunder walk. 

The skill allowed Mikhael to infuse his body with lightning, increasing his overall speed and power by miles. This skill was one of his trump cards that he rarely used as much as possible. 

Right now, Mikhael and the assassin stood in front of each other, slowly moving in a circular motion. as if they were two cats fighting for territory. 

"How are you still alive...? I thought I killed you back then for sure. I saw your dead body burn from my lightning attack." Mikhael said in a cold tone. 

"Oh, no, no, no, I did die back then. I'm not the same person anymore, Mikhael." The assassin said

"Long time no see.. Jeremiah." Mikhael said with a hint of sadness in his eyes.