I took a moment to catch my breath.
This was a sensation I'd never felt before. I wasn't hurt by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt strangely winded on a soul level.
{Apologies, this must have been disorienting for you.} My Zanpakutō spoke. {It was such a rare occurrence that I allowed that man's attempt to 'come inside,' as it were.}
Yeah, I more or less figured out what happened.
Still, a weird feeling.
{Allow me to share the information I learned with you.} He spoke again, and suddenly it was like the memories of their conversation flooded my mind.
How convenient, but I suppose it's to be expected when my Zanpakutō is literally part of my soul.
Doctor Heartless, huh.
The name sounds vaguely familiar, most likely someone with some notoriety around the Clock Tower if I had to make a guess.
[No fair, I wanted to play too. Why didn't you call me and let me come over? Ddraig spoke up inside as well.
{I wasn't playing, Ddraig. I was conversing to acquire pertinent information about the one responsible.}
[Bah, if I showed up, he'd probably have wet himself and told you anything anyways.] Ddraig grumbled.
I rubbed my temples and ignored their argument. I think I finally put a feeling on what I'm experiencing right now. It's like if you stuffed yourself from eating to the point where your stomach bloated, but instead it's my soul.
It's definitely not normal to have someone else just go inside your soul like that. Or, at the very least, that method was not appropriate.
Let's not willingly do that again.
Though, admittedly, I did agree with my Zanpakutō. If I were in his place, I would have definitely done the same thing as him and 'let him in.'
I suppose there's a reason he's my Zanpakutō spirit; we're very alike in a lot of things.
Doing something just because we can, even if it's probably not the most intelligent action to take. Someone knocking on the door to my soul? I would, of course, let them try and come in if there weren't any severe consequences, just to see what would happen.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. At my core, I am an academic. I will happily put myself in harm's way to learn new things, within reason, of course.
Regardless, it was over now.
I sort of refocused now, and I realized I was still holding Doctor Heartless in place. Or, rather, I was now holding his corpse in place because he was most certainly dead.
I glanced down and saw that he was bleeding too, from the same wound that Musu Tengai inflicted on him inside my soul; it also appeared on the outside.
Strange.
"Lord Schweinorg, are you alright?"
Waver's words helped me refocus too. Admittedly, my head was mentally bouncing all over the place regarding what happened. I do have the habit of going off on mental tangents if something grabs my attention, so I was thankful.
"I apologize; I was disoriented for a moment." I let go of the corpse as it thumped against the ground. "And I appear to have dirtied your room."
"That's the least of my concerns." Waver snorted. "I presume this is who is responsible?"
"Doctor Heartless." I nodded. "I only vaguely recognize the name personally."
Waver furrowed his brow. "He was the previous head of the Department of Modern Magecraft Theory."
I raised an eyebrow. "Huh, that might explain his focus on you then." Because that's now Waver's position. "Miss Gray, Miss Yvette, I advise you to turn away for a moment; I'm going to need to mutilate his corpse."
"Y-yes!" Gray nodded, agreeing without hesitation, as she turned away.
Yvette, who was also here, didn't seem to care; she just tilted her head and watched intently.
Well, she was a magus.
I took out my Zanpakutō, and without hesitation, I slashed across his eyes, destroying them. It was gruesome, but it needed to be done. Likewise, I ripped off his shirt and pressed my hand against where his heart should be. A quick structural analysis showed that it was indeed missing, like there was an empty void in its place.
For this, I let my hand become wrapped in my Power of Destruction and pressed it against the 'void' that persisted despite his death.
I finished it off with slapping a talisman over his eyes and one over the newfound hole in his chest courtesy of my bloodline ability.
"Apologies, again." I stood back up straight, brushing myself off.
"I presume it was necessary, Lord Schweinorg?" Waver asked.
"I don't have the tendency to desecrate corpses of people I vehemently hate." I nodded again. "I got some information from him. From what I could gather, he was quite literally missing his heart due to a run-in with faeries in his youth. Likewise, it's almost certain that his own Mystic Eyes come from such an encounter as well. Best to remove those things cleanly; dealing with faeries is never a pleasant experience."
Especially in this world.
You never know if a link to a Faerie here could end up being something detrimental. Who knows if the one responsible comes knocking sometime later because there's still a link?
"Listen to him, Gray. Never mess with those annoying things. Even that flowery bastard wouldn't mess around when they popped up!" I heard Kay give his own thoughts on the matter.
Gray turned around, looking at the bloody scene with a very clearly uncomfortable look. "Mr. Waver, if that wasn't Caules, then where is Caules?"
Waver looked at her, then snapped his head back at me. "Lord Schweinorg, you wouldn't happen to know…?'
"He was drugged; he's safe back at his home—dorm, or whatever it's called—that he's living at." I informed him.
Waver let out a visible sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Lord Schweinorg, for your assistance. I'm afraid I may not have noticed until it was too late."
"There's no need for that; I had my own selfish motivations." I smiled politely. "And with this, everything should be neatly tied up and settled."
"I wouldn't call it neat, but I'm glad it's over." Waver nodded. "I don't know why he would target me for the theft in the first place."
"That….I honestly don't know. I didn't get quite into his motivations, mostly only derived what happened and how. His Mystic Eyes allowed him to take over someone's vision, and by extension it allowed him to utilize other people's Mystic Eyes."
Waver put his hand on his chin. "That explains many things. Miss Trisha's mystic eyes made her a target, and his knowing about them did too. And the method of assassination, Karabo's…I would guess he may have some sort of retrograde phenomena alteration."
Waver was smart; he immediately started piecing everything together as soon as the last part of the puzzle was provided.
"Would you like me to clean up, or…?" I gestured to the 'mess' I left.
"I appreciate the offer, Lord Schweinorg. However, I believe it would be beneficial for me to bring the corpse back as 'evidence.'"
I nodded, not arguing or even being concerned really.
The fact that his 'family' got raided means they probably needed to at least use the corpse to show that they captured and punished the one responsible. The fact that it was the previous head of the department would alleviate a lot of any whispers or unsavory rumors.
"Well then, I believe my presence here is no longer required. With the matter of the 'assassin' settled, I believe the train ride should be much smoother from here on out, for what little remains. I will be returning to the auction."
"I will stay behind and handle matters here. Once more, I'm in your debt, Lord Schweinorg." Waver said with full politeness.
I gave one last wave of goodbye before I left their compartment.
It felt a little awkward in there as they basically watched me mutilate a man that had looked like their companion a few moments prior.
Oh well.
Admittedly, I let out my own sigh of relief once I got out.
Of course there was more to everything; I would give Waver a proper rundown before the final auction event when there's a bit of a reprieve. He probably needed a little bit to mentally settle things on his end as well. I'm sure he'll ask me plenty of questions later.
For now, I just headed back to Salem and Venelana.
Though, before I got to the auction compartment, I came to a realization.
Morgan essentially used me as a pawn to kill the person who took a shot at her. And she did so while simultaneously getting something she wanted too.
Oh well.
Can't win them all.
I opened up the door back to the larger train car where the auction was happening. Quite a few people looked at me as I walked in, but I was polite and did my best not to make a scene as I slid back into my spot between Venelana and Salem.
"Did you sort everything?" Salem asked me, bringing her hand up to my collar. "You have a smidgen of blood here."
"It's handled; I took care of the would-be assassin." I responded. "Waver was staying behind to handle things on his end."
"Well, it's good that everything is settled now. No more need to worry about it." Venelana smiled.
Yeah, it was a bit of a relief.
Now I can relax and worry about the actual reason I'm here in the first place.
"Did anything interesting show up while I was gone?" I asked either of them.
My hand may or may not have snuck down and squeezed Venalana's thigh.
"A few minor trinkets, nothing worth noting." Salem grunted, clearly unamused. "This one here—" I followed her gaze to the woman standing at the center. "She sells a serpent's eye about the size of a fist that can see through walls."
I rubbed my chin. "Would make an interesting Mystic Code."
"If you desire it, the only bid now is 50,000 of the currency used." Salem shrugged.
I raised my hand. "100,000 pounds." I offered.
Immediately attention was back on me again. I don't think anyone expected me to bid, and I noticed that some people were now interested.
I rolled my eyes as I noticed Morgan looking smug still.
This is her fault; anything I bid on now is going to grab people's attention.
"150,000!"
"200,000!"
A handful of more voices followed suit, and the price jumped immediately to 500,000 pounds. Way overpriced in my opinion for something that's barely holding any mystery to it.
Well, the woman looked pleased as she sold it off, as no one wanted to go any higher.
A nervous-looking man with a bird's nest of hair stood up, clutching a wooden box. "Er—yes, thank you. I've brought a small collection of harpy feathers. Authentic, of course. Very good for sailors or travel talismans. When carried on a watercraft, they are most adept at warding against bad weather."
"Three hundred thousand." A portly gentleman in a green waistcoat raised his paddle without hesitation.
"Four hundred." A woman with hair the color of rust countered, her voice cool. She had a dozen rings glittering on her fingers and looked like the sort who'd bid just to irritate someone.
I don't know why; she just gave me that feeling.
I was tempted to bid out of curiosity if nothing else, to see how they 'ward' against me changing the weather on the auction.
"Sold for four hundred," and the rust-haired woman smiled smugly as the feather bundle was passed along.
Next up came a broad-shouldered man with a scar across his cheek. He slapped down a small bronze compass onto his own palm, and it popped open. "Always points to the nearest leyline junction. Tested myself across three continents."
Several heads turned at that. A compass like that wasn't rare, but reliable ones were always in demand. It's always a hassle trying to find where leylines converge, especially in an area you're not familiar with.
"Two million." A young magus with sharp, fox-like eyes called out, too quickly.
"Two-point-five." Another voice—an older man with spectacles perched precariously on his nose.
It climbed to four before the fox-eyed bidder won it, looking rather smug.
The next presenter was a lanky fellow in an embroidered navy coat, his hair slicked back with too much oil. He unfurled a scroll across the podium, revealing a delicate map inked with silver and gold that shimmered faintly in the lamplight.
"A star chart," he announced, his voice nasal but proud. "Egyptian, created sometime between 100 and 200 BCE. It holds Greek influence, indicating it's a post-conquered piece."
A murmur went through the crowd. Several older magi leaned forward, clearly intrigued.
"Three million." A man with an impressively pointed beard started it off.
"Four." Came another, adjusting his pince-nez.
Before it could climb further, a clear young voice cut across the hall. "Five million."
It was Olga Marie. Sitting straighter than before, her cheeks a little flushed, with all the attention now on her.
It made sense that she wanted this; her Magecraft is astrology. Referencing ancient star charts could potentially lead to a breakthrough in their craft. For a measly five million pounds, that's worth the price even if it fails.
Besides, to a family her size, five million was basically pocket change.
"Sold, five million pounds to Miss Animusphere," the man declared with a crisp clap.
She looked very pleased.
Good, happy Olga is the best Olga.
The next person took center stage. Some type of North European descent by the looks of it. A bit smaller than the average Nord, but he was clearly someone who put his body through the wringer to get that kind of shape. He carefully took out and held about two-thirds of a clay pot, and my eyes dilated slightly.
"I have a pot here with the corner of a rune I can't identify. I've sealed it to stop the Mystery from deteriorating. Despite this, the Rune still warps the surroundings' mana around it. I prefer a trade over money, thank you."
That is the corner of a Primordial Death Rune.
I certainly did not expect something like that to appear here. If anyone knew its origins, well, there would certainly be a bidding war going on instantly.
The fact that everyone was silent was telling; I don't even think the owner was expecting much here.
The thing is, even if the complete Rune was on the pot, you couldn't use it fully without going through the proper rituals like I did.
That being said, it could still be very dangerous in the right hands. Even I wouldn't want to be hit correctly with a Primordial Death Rune.
Thankfully, you can't just 'throw' it at someone all casually like that.
Even Scáthach can't just poke you with a Primordial Death Rune and kill you; it takes a bit more than that to actually work.
Regardless.
"I'll offer a piece of Crystallized Mana." I held out my hand, providing a hand-sized piece of Fire Dust.
The room went quiet.
I had almost forgotten how rare Crystallized Mana was here because I have so much of it myself.
It was both rare here and extremely useful.
Less rare than a dragon bone, but it had a much wider range of use, so it was still worth quite a bit of money.
"Deal." The man agreed without hesitation, before anyone came to their senses and tried to outbid me or something like that.
Though, the train room was still eerily quiet as we made the trade.
I didn't care much about the pot itself; I just didn't want someone else to get their hands on it and misuse the rune in some way.
Could be dangerous even as is.
It's best just to nip that in the bud and not have to worry about it. It took minimal effort on my part after all.
I just stored it away in my ring for now; maybe I'll just smash it later, as it's kind of pointless to have.
Whatever.
I watched the next person come up, and it felt like things were winding down for now. There didn't seem to be anyone else very enthused about it either.
A well-dressed gentleman sporting a monocle.
One thing I could say about Magi is that, for the most part, they really did dress well.
He held up a small box, opening it and revealing a necklace. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is what I'm offering for trade tonight."
It was beautiful, to put it mildly. A bit simple in design, but that just lent more to its natural beauty rather than taking away from it. Intertwined silver and gold that didn't make it gaudy at all. And at the center, there was a jewel of some sort, black. It was like the jewel was filled with smoke that twisted and turned every which way under the surface.
"I am currently in the midst of excavating underwater ruins, and this was one of the items I managed to salvage. It's most certainly cursed; I would not suggest anyone wearing it, but it's estimated to date back at least three thousand years. I'm offering to trade it for a means to stay underwater for an extended amount of time that does not rely upon magical means or intricate technology."
Hmm, a peculiar desire.
"I'll offer a stone that allows you to breathe underwater if you keep it in your mouth." Someone raised their hand.
The man shook his head. "I apologize; allow me to clarify. The ruins I'm excavating are also cursed, which disallows magical means and seems to run counter to advanced technology, causing any devices we use to malfunction. A mystic code or natural oddity such as that would not work."
The person just frowned and retrieved their offer.
Hmm, that makes sense, I suppose.
"Would it be remiss of me to say that this seems perfectly your style, Salem?" I asked.
Salem's lips curled up slightly. "You would be correct. I admit I was quite fond of this trinket at first look."
I raised my hand. "I have a potion that can allow you to breathe underwater for about thirty minutes; I have provided quite a few of them."
The man perked up, then seemingly pondered my question. "I am unsure of how the curses in the area would react to such a method."
I just nodded, expecting such an answer. A potion is a whole different paradigm compared to a spell or Mystic Code.
Without seeing the structure of the curses myself, I couldn't answer either.
"The offer is on the table." I said simply.
"What about a drink that will allow you to grow gills without any negative side effects?" Venelana asked, raising her hand.
I raised an eyebrow, shooting her a look.
She met my gaze, moving her hand up to cover her mouth as she giggled lightly. "Perhaps I want to purchase it for her?"
Betrayal!
Even Salem looked amused.
"No negative side effects, you say?" The man questioned.
"Other than having gills, which become a permanent addition." Venelana nodded, taking out a bottle of wine again. "There's the bonus of it being a wonderful drink as well." She said with a smile.
Which, to a Magi, suddenly having gills is pretty much nothing. And it would probably be fairly easy to remove once you're finished.
"I'll accept this offer." The man stated.
Venelana got up and traded the bottle to the man for the necklace.
She then walked up to Salem. "May I?"
"Please." Salem gave her permission.
Venelana sent me a little grin as she went up behind Salem and carefully brushed her hair to the side as she put the necklace around Salem's neck.
"It's beautiful, thank you." Salem spoke.
"My pleasure~"
They're intentionally teasing me.
I rolled my eyes as Salem gave me a little smirk.
Once Venelana sat back down on my other side, she leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"I presume the curse isn't harmful?" I asked.
"It's simply draining my life force." Salem replied dismissively. And surprisingly, she copied Venelana, leaning over and kissing my other cheek. "Thank you, my lover. I know it was a gift from you."
I heard Venelana giggle from the other side.
Ah, well, there goes my heart suddenly beating faster.
After several minutes, no one stood up until the auctioneer took center stage.
"It appears that no one else wishes to step forward." She looked around. "Then I will hereby conclude this portion of the auction. We will reconvene here in—" She pulled her sleeve down to see her watch. "-- three hours. Thank you everyone for participating thus far. I look forward to seeing you all again in a few hours."
And like that, the first round of auctioning ends.
It was fun.
I look forward to the main event.
"As a gift to everyone, I will give you all a sneak peek of the main item up for auction later tonight."
Was she wanting to drum up even more hype for it?
As she said that, the door opened, and the conductor walked in. He was holding a glass case, and inside the glass case on a pillow were two eyeballs.
He walked to the center of the room, and I nearly stood up as I finally saw them.
Two eyes that looked like they were made of glass. The pupils were a strange mix of purple and white and in the shape of a singular line. Not quite a slit like some animalistic eyes, but more oval? Less sharp, softer edges that almost look round, giving them a very uncanny vibe.
"As many of you have heard, I'd like to introduce you to the main event for this evening to give you all an idea of what you're competing for. We have verified, with our reputation at stake, that these eyes are, in fact, Rainbow ranked. They are named –Mystic Eyes of Providence."
I wasn't sure when I first came here.
Gramps emphasized the eyes a bit and how illusive the rumor was.
And of course, the name was…grandiose.
Morgan also admitted that she's the one who supplied them too.
{Wilhelm.} My Zanpakutō spoke up. {You need to acquire those eyes no matter what.}
And I was in complete agreement.
[Line Break]
A/N
Auction wrapping up in one or two chapters.
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty fi you can't use the above under the same name.
We have a new Kunou Chapter up over here, and a PHO chapter if you're interested, along with a couple Arachne chapters.
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