Named Sword, the Clue, and the flaming Being

"Tonight, the Seven Mystic Flowers will auction 100 items," the auctioneer said, smiling lavishly. "Our first item is a map of a newly explored sea route from the One Piece world with a 10% chance to encounter an unclaimed Devil Fruit. The starting bid is 10,000 MCs with a minimum increment of 500 MCs."

The young female attendant came forward and lifted a cloth covering the tray, and all got to see a rolled piece of old, flaky paper. The very first item caught the crowd by surprise, and one after another the biddings came pouring in like a tide.

"Not interested in adventure, my lord?" lady Elenora asked, sloshing wine in her cup.

From the corner of his eyes, Kai saw Viscount Lucas and Item-M engaged deeply in some discussion already. "I am," Kai said, offhandedly. "But I have unique tastes."

The map got sold at 35,000 MC in the end. Kai wasn't surprised at seeing the sheer wealth of these nobles. With the tax they levied on the residents of the 2nd Set, it was just a matter of time before their pockets started to spit gold. And the richest man on the 2nd Set was sitting with him in the same chamber.

Smoke kept thickening in the chamber, and by the time the 20th item got sold, all four of them were drunk enough to have a heaviness in their voices.

"The 21st item on our list is unique, my lords and ladies," the auctioneer proclaimed, as the attendant and Mr. Black Rose brought out a huge tray suspended in the air. "It is a genuine replica of a named Item manufactured by an in-world character (-the crowd stirred with Whats?! and Hows?!-). It looks like a sword, but its use grants the user an Armor, made of one of the most powerful energy crystals known in the Multiverse, Coridite. Let us present, coming straight from the World of He-Man, one half of the Power Sword!"

The silk over the tray flew away, and an exquisite sword lifted itself, floating high in the air. Kai's eyes narrowed, seeing the sword rotating on the vast screen. It looked like a longsword from advanced technology, and there was a distinct red metallic shine to it.

He wanted it.

"The starting bid is 25,000 MCs," the auctioneer said, swishing her thin waist. "Every increment must be at least 1000 MCs."

Not even a minute had passed, and the amount had already reached 50,000 MC. There it lingered for a few seconds, and then, for the first time, someone from the middle section called out.

"51,000 MC."

'This…?' Kai's head snapped downward, looking diagonally at some unknown chamber. He recognized this voice. But with all the events that had happened after his coming to the 4th floor, he had never thought he would meet him ever again.

Kai leaned back and smiled. "Now, where have I heard that voice before?" he mumbled aloud. "Oh, yes. Isn't that the newly ascended Contestant… some Silvas?"

The name caught Viscount Lucas' attention. "You are right, my lord," he said, his voice lacking power. "Granted Presidency to him myself. Not a bad kid, but not special either. It's his fiancee, all are after."

'Fiancee?!' Kai's brows furrowed. 'Wait a minute! He didn't…'

"The Golden Mage they are calling her," lady Elenora said with obvious contempt in her voice. "A natural practitioner of Wandless Magic. The man struck gold on the lower floors, to be honest. What were the chances of encountering someone like her among those filthy worms? Heh!"

Kai sighed and shook his head. The bid had already reached 55,000 MC, and it didn't seem anyone from the middle section could afford a higher amount than that for this Item. So, he nodded at Item-M. "60,000," she called out, shocking both Viscount and his lady wife.

Kai laughed. "Told you, didn't I?" he quipped, winking at Elenora. "Unique tastes."

Once a voice had come out of the topmost section, none from the middle one dared to bid on it any longer, and even the others in the same section held back this time.

For all they knew, it was the Set Lord himself who had bid on it.

"Sold." The sword landed back on the tray, and the girl took it backstage. As the auctioneer carried on, a knock resounded on the chamber's door.

"Enter," Lucas commanded, impatiently.

A white-armored guard of the royal police force brought in the same tray, and placed it on the table, before backing out. Kai noticed the smoke escaping the chamber from the opening and frowned. His hand went to the sword on the tray, and with the faintest touch, it vanished in his Inventory.

The auction kept going on, and by the time it reached the 50th Item, the distance between Viscount and Item-M had lessened considerably. The man was almost leaning over her, and Item-M kept refilling his glass with whiskey and lighting the cigars. On his side, Kai's hand lifted and his fingers rubbed on Elenora's earlobes, feeling their softness. She looked at him, her mouth pressed hard, but said nothing except for taking a large gulp of her wine.

'Viscount Lucas lusts for women like dogs for bones,' Kai recalled the data on the 6th-floor Contestant. 'He has a strong taste for cigars and whiskeys from the 3rd Set or above, as he loathes everything from the 2nd Set. In his manor, Viscount Lucas holds weeks-long orgies, inviting other nobles, and the entire event is managed by his wife, lady Elenora. Unknown to the public, she is the strongest among the husband and wife, and her signature Skill is based on a powerful mutant, Storm.'

Kai's entire plan was based on these points.

'When we meet them,' Kai had told Item-M, 'they would either think of us as genuine 4th-floor Contestants or stronger Contestants descended here from the top floors. Given that their Stats would be restricted, it wouldn't be easy to tell the difference. We would have to woo them before they could sense something wrong. Wealth and beauty. Remember, these are our weapons today. Seven Mystic Flowers has some of the most potent whiskeys and cigars from the upper floors. It says so in the data as well. Then, you would have to get him heavily drunk and keep lighting cigars for him. I want the smoke in the room as thick as possible. Leave Elenora to me. I know women like her.'

He hadn't told Item-M the reason for the smoke in the chamber, but she would soon come to know, Kai thought.

"Now, for the swordsmen amongst us," the auctioneer said, making Kai almost jump, "the 61st item is not a replica and not an Item forged by Contestants. It is… a Named Item."

There was an eerie silence in the entire hall, and only Viscount Lucas was foolish enough to still chuckle at Item-M's unimpressive jokes. Kai's fingers had stopped rubbing Elenora's ears, and her eyes were so fixated on the screen that she had scarcely noticed it.

A new tray came floating on the stage, covered in black silk. The moment it neared the auctioneer, the cover flapped itself aside, letting all see the Item placed majestically over a folded black cloth.

It was a Katana with a red sheath, and over its red hilt, written in black with white background, were tiny incomprehensible markings that looked like a combination of Chinese and Runic characters.

"From the World of Akame ga kill! One-Cut Killer: Murasame!"

The auctioneer then briefly talked about the sword's background, avoiding the sword's capabilities, and started the bid with an initial amount of 100,000 MCs.

Kai had only one word ringing inside his head. Beautiful! At this moment, there was nothing more beautiful in his eyes than the sword.

"I will have it," he declared slowly, leaning back, and pulling Elenora towards him. "Some things are too beautiful to not taste them at least once."

Lady Elenora, for the first time, smiled and brought her face near him. Her lips tasted of rich wine to Kai, and her tongue was like a fresh cut of meat, juicy and warm. It was brief, but when they parted, her hands were on his thigh.

On the other side, Item-M had straightened. The Viscount kept trying to touch her, but she was over three times his age and many times more cunning. All his attempts got parried here and there eloquently. She had heard Kai's command, and it was on her to bid for the Item. This time, they didn't wait for the others.

"200,000," she said, doubling the amount instantaneously.

"250,000." A voice from a nearby chamber in the same section as them rang out. Another 6th-floor Contestant, it seemed.

"300,000," Item-M said casually, and the hall became silent, awkward smiles lingering on all faces. Who could in their right mind compare to the wealth of a Set Lord? Nobody knew that the Set Lord and his wife weren't the only Contestants in the chamber.

But the same voice persisted. "320,000."

"400,000." Item-M declared as if she could do this all day.

"Very well, have it then," the voice snapped and gave up.

When nobody raised their voices for a long time, even after the continuous urges of the auctioneer, they finally proclaimed the Item was sold. Once again the doors opened, and the guard left behind a tray on the table. Kai had to control his emotions like never before to not unsheathe the sword there and then, and instead sent the sword to his Inventory.

"Did you feel it, my lord?" Elenora asked, sharply. "The sword is cursed, I think. I felt an incredible baleful aura before it disappeared."

'What's she on about?!' Kai thought, but didn't deign to reply.

Now, things became quiet in their chamber. They kept drinking, smoking, and giggling, while the auction continued with one item after another. But all failed to catch Kai's eyes. Elenora kept rubbing her hands on his thigh, almost leaning on Kai, and he knew even the Viscount had drunk enough whiskey to not look at him and his wife anymore.

Even if the Chunin had looked at them, he couldn't have seen anything, for the thick smoke of dozens of cigars, made of magical herbs, was curling all over the chamber, blurring the sight.

Amidst these unimpressive, but sensual moments, Kai blew out another puff of smoke. But this puff was different. It was longer than the others and was more silver than white. When Kai stopped, the white curls in the room had a distinct tinge of silver in them. This silver smoke churned and glided towards the side of Viscount and Item-M.

And, little by little, with every next breath, it entered the drunk, and full of lust, Viscount's nostrils.

There was no ill intention, and no hint of any evil, about this silver smoke.

At least, not right now.

'Well,' Kai guffawed inwardly. 'Selene's Perception is high enough for a 6th-floor Contestant with restricted Stats.'

"The 83rd item on our list is one of those that keep coming up once a decade," the auctioneer said, giggling, as the attending girl brought out a small tray with a scroll placed on it. "Let me introduce my lords and ladies to the Clue. A fresh Clue to the whereabouts of the-one-who-returned. Let's start it with 25,000 MC."

The smile of victory left Kai's face, and his mind roared with the High Priest's words. 'The most important object in this auction is a Clue,' he had told Kai. And though Kai did not trust the faceless man, was there any harm in buying an item openly auctioned by such a prestigious organization?

To Kai's surprise, none bid for this Clue, and he couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. In his haste of making preparations, he had even forgotten to consult Item-M regarding this. And Kai dare not use his Telepathy within the chamber, lest the defenses fire up automatically. He did not know what charms they had placed on the walls surrounding him.

"25,100," he said, finally giving up on his voice. 'Let Arlen lose his sleep over it,' he thought, amusingly. A wave of laughter washed over the crowd, but none scorn aloud. The auctioneer smiled wryly and declared the Clue as sold.

"I didn't know you were interested in myths and fables, my lord," Elenora quipped, her thumb rubbing against his manhood. "So, you too are looking for the-one-who-returned."

This was the first time Kai was hearing of it, and thus, he latched onto it like an iron hook into a fish's mouth. "Oh!" he exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "You know about it too?"

She giggled coquettishly. "Of course!" she answered. "All Contestants must have spent a part of their lives following the Clues blindly, I think. I was one of them too, once. The-one-who-returned… That's quite an infamous name among the top Contestants, but an even more loathed lesser-known name is, The Cartoonist! The myth says that there was once a Contestant who had teleported to the Graveyard of Kings as the Initiation Mission and returned. This Contestant not only survived but also got an Ability, so powerful that even Kings feared it. So, upon knowing about it, they tried to kill this Contestant. It was then all traces of the Contestant vanished. Some say the Cartoonist is dead, killed centuries ago. But, now and then, these clues keep surfacing like messages brought by tides to the distant beaches. It's been over 1000 years, but no one had found anything substantial."

Kai felt incredibly conflicted by all this, and when the guard left the item on the table, he put it in his MRB absentmindedly. If he were to believe what Item-M had told him, then Elenora was right, he thought. Even he felt a deep terror thinking about the Graveyard of Kings when he recalled the tales told to him by Item-M.

Suddenly, the area between his brows prickled with a burning sensation.

Kai rubbed it and then concentrated on Elenora.

Somehow, the burning sensation returned, now fiercer than before. 'What's going on?' He thought incredulously. 'Has the Golduck's mind gem matured so early?'

Kai took a deep breath, controlled his emotions, and focused on the task at hand.

And in one instance of madness, the pain and burning sensation shot through the roof.

"Ugh!" Kai cried, slipping off the sofa. Item-M came running for him, almost obliterating the table in between them.

"What… what happened?" Elenora asked, a horrifying expression on her face. "I… My lord, are you OK?"

Even the drunk Viscount came to see, walking sluggishly.

Kai somehow pushed himself to his feet, defying the pain and burning sensation. "It's a condition," he lied. "It flares up from time to time. Take me outside. Viscount Lucas, my lady, please excuse us for a moment. We will be back shortly."

Both husband and wife silently nodded, and Item-M took Kai out of the smoke-filled chamber. Outside, four guards from the royal police force were stationed, with two on either side of the doors.

They all eyed Kai and Item-M menacingly, seeing them leaving the chamber.

Even with the spot between his eyebrows boiling, Kai had enough awareness to know that he must do something about it. He made Item-M pause, and then looked at the guards. "We are going out for a moment," Kai said, remembering a certain white-skinned man with a ringed purple eye. "Our guests are important to Us. See that they have enough wine to idle away the rest of the auction. Let's go." [AN: here Kai is imitating the royal "we"]

Kai and Item-M slowly walked away, and behind them, the guards' knees buckled before they fell to one knee in Kai's direction simultaneously.

The flower commandos didn't stop them as they went out of the City Hall, and now, Kai could scarcely hold back a roar.

-/Take me… out of the capital,/- he told her telepathically. -/As far… as you can. We are done here./-

Item-M's face had become hard. She took Kai to the hired carriage and took him to the city's outskirts. Once the carriage had gone back, two enormous wings unfurled on her back, and she took Kai to the air.

Kai was clutching his head, a searing heat coursing through the same spot as if lava was kissing him. By the time Item-M distanced from the capital considerably, Kai was already flailing his arms and legs. This was a pain he had never felt before.

Unable to keep herself and Kai in the sky, she landed on a grassy mound.

"Ah!" Kai cried, rolling on his back. Standing over him, Item-M kept calling out to him, three different colored capsules in her hand.

But nothing seemed to be enough. At this moment, aside from the pain and heat, nothing else existed for Kai.

And then, with an unheard boom, a dull, sickly yellow-colored drop came out from the spot between his brows. Kai lifted his head to look at it, his eyes bloodshot, and Item-M backed away, now thoroughly horror-struck, for it was the Soul-Blood Drop that could never come back out of a slave's master.

It was ridiculous! Impossible!

Kai's eyes landed on the Soul-Blood drop, and like seeing from a lens, he saw something beyond it. A place, full of towering flames, burning mountains, and men and women crying, roaring, as their bodies burned. And amidst all these flames stood a many-horned Being of incomprehensible size. Thick pillars of flames were spouting out of this figure, burning the oblivion.

Suddenly, the figure's head snapped, and it looked in Kai's direction, into his eyes.

A thick, hoarse, menacing, and evil voice reached Kai's ears from some distant dimension.

—I… SEE… YOU!—

The Soul-Blood drop sizzled, following the words, and half of it vaporized. The rest returned, rushing for the spot between Kai's eyebrows, and disappeared.

All became black in his eyes instantaneously.

The three words still rang in the back of his mind, and in the darkness of sleep, huge flames kept appearing and disappearing, trying to take some hideous form from unknown origins.

**********

AN: Because of financial issues, I might take an indefinite break from writing. It's not confirmed yet, though. Any info on it will be shared beforehand. Thank you.