Hayashi En and Junpei had just reached the top of the stairs.
The owners of those piercing glares from earlier 'coincidentally' blocked their path.
They were four men dressed in dark, traditional formal kimono and hakama.
In this chaotic underground black market filled with suit-wearing thugs and eccentrically dressed curse users...
Their solemn, old-fashioned attire looked completely out of place, like a group of Showa-era relics who had wandered into a nightclub by mistake.
The leader was a man with a buzz cut and cold, predatory eyes.
As En approached, the man didn't step aside to let him pass; instead, he stared En down with intense hostility.
'Is it this guy...'
The buzz-cut man, Zenin Nobuaki, gritted his teeth inwardly.
He had personally witnessed that 'waste' Maki crush everyone with pure physical strength at the Goodwill Event.
That kind of power, that forbidden radiance that should have belonged to the Heavenly Tyrant, had appeared in a woman who was supposed to rot at the bottom of the clan.
The family had investigated and found that Maki's transformation stemmed from this mysterious merchant named Hayashi En.
'That waste started acting like she owns the world because she got some power, even threatening Lord Naoya's position... The source of it all is this man who doesn't know his place.'
If this weren't the Paradise Pavilion, and if it weren't for the Special Grade cursed object they had to win, he would have loved to draw his blade and cut En down right now.
"Move."
A subordinate standing behind the buzz-cut man suddenly took a step forward, his voice cold and sharp.
He didn't even look at En as he reached out, channeling crude cursed energy, intending to shove En aside like a piece of trash.
However, that hand never even touched En's sleeve.
Crack.
A crisp sound of impact rang out.
The black cane in En's hand, Golden Rule, rose without warning. The tip accurately and lightly tapped the pressure point on the subordinate's wrist.
"Sss!"
The subordinate cried out in pain as his hand instantly went numb. He jerked it back as if he had been electrocuted.
"The path is narrow and the floor is slippery here. It is quite dangerous to get so handsy."
En smiled and retracted his cane, his tone as warm as jade as he adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
"If you were to fall, a fracture would be a small matter compared to the loss of face, wouldn't you agree?"
En looked at these men, feeling quite baffled.
'Are these people insane?'
He had been minding his own business lately; why were they looking at him like he had murdered their parents?
"Hmph, sharp-tongued."
The buzz-cut leader sneered, finally speaking.
"Don't think that just because you gave a monkey a stick, it becomes human. In this world, there are bloodline chasms that an opportunistic merchant like you will never understand."
"Meddling in things that don't concern you will shorten your life."
After those nonsensical words, he waved his hand and led his subordinates past En with their heads held high. He even intentionally released the pressure of a Grade 1 sorcerer's cursed energy, slamming it toward En.
En stood his ground, motionless, like a coastal reef enduring the crashing waves.
He waited until the group had moved far away and entered the opposite private box.
"Boss... what were those guys talking about?"
Junpei asked with a confused look, adjusting his sunglasses.
"Monkeys? Sticks? Did they mistake us for someone else?"
"Who knows."
En shrugged and lightly brushed off some nonexistent dust from his collar.
"Probably some lunatics from a major clan. They like to say incomprehensible things to show off their nobility."
Despite his words, En kept his guard up.
That phrase... 'giving a monkey a stick'?
En narrowed his eyes.
'Since they came looking for trouble and they seem like wealthy clients... that works out perfectly.'
He pushed open the door to his private box and sat elegantly on the red velvet sofa.
"Junpei, the auction might get quite interesting later."
...
Ten minutes later, the auction officially began.
The massive circular venue was packed.
The host was a curse user wearing a clown mask, his voice shrill and manic.
The first few items were repulsive things that didn't interest En at all. He just occasionally observed the activity across the way. The buzz-cut man hadn't made a move yet, clearly waiting for a specific target.
Finally, the last item was pushed onto the stage.
It was a glass display case covered in seals. Inside floated a piece of dried, purplish-black human skin that resembled a mask.
[SPECIAL GRADE CURSED OBJECT: SOUL-RETURNING FACE]
Even through the seal, the overflowing resentment and cursed energy made every sorcerer in the room feel a pang of dread.
"This is our final treasure! The legendary Special Grade cursed object that can bring back the souls of the dead!"
"The starting bid is thirty million yen!"
"Fifty million!"
Almost the moment the host finished speaking, the buzz-cut man in the opposite box raised his paddle.
His voice was loud, carrying a domineering air of certainty as he immediately doubled the price.
Several curse users who had been eager to bid were instantly intimidated by his aura.
"Sixty million!" a figure in black robes from another corner tried to bid.
"Eighty million!" The buzz-cut man raised his paddle again without even blinking.
The crowd erupted in an uproar.
Was this the wealth of an ancient clan? Eighty million yen tossed away like scrap paper?
The buzz-cut man flashed a victor's sneer, his eyes sweeping contemptuously over the room before looking provocatively at En's box.
However.
En didn't even glance at them, idly picking at his fingernails out of boredom.
He never intended to obtain that cursed object through normal means anyway.
With the strength of a Special Grade, one could naturally do as they pleased.
"Congratulations to this gentleman!"
The clown host on stage excitedly struck the gavel.
However, in the next second.
The originally warm lights suddenly turned an eerie scarlet.
Clang—Boom!
Massive iron bars fell without warning, sealing all exits. A layer of dark red Veil instantly rose, enveloping the entire underground space.
"That's..." Junpei stood up abruptly.
On stage, the clown host pulled off his mask, revealing a hideous face covered in scars.
"Thank you all for your generous donations. We'll be taking the money."
He spread his arms, and the curtain behind him fell, revealing countless pairs of glowing red eyes shimmering in the darkness.
"To celebrate the completion of the trade, please... leave your lives behind as well!"
"As sacrifices for our God!"
Roar!
Accompanied by rising growls, hundreds of starving curses surged from the backstage like a tide, pouncing on the panicked wealthy guests.
Screams and the sound of tearing flesh instantly echoed through the hall.
In an instant, the Paradise Pavilion turned from a den of luxury into a slaughterhouse.
At the very center of the chaos.
The buzz-cut man in the opposite box drew the cursed tool at his waist—a long blade. With a flash of light, a Grade 2 curse pouncing on him was sliced in two.
"You think these low-life tactics can trap us?"
He watched the approaching tide of curses. There was no fear in his eyes, only a violent rage that had nowhere to go after being provoked by En.
"Listen up! Kill every single one of these curses!"
His subordinates also drew their blades in unison. Their movements were coordinated and their swordsmanship sharp, clearly the result of rigorous training.
Inside the second-floor box.
En watched the men in kimono slaughtering their way through the crowd below, raising an eyebrow.
"Ho, they're quite skilled. Is that the basis for their arrogance?"
"Boss, what do we do?" Junpei asked nervously. "Should we break out?"
"Break out?"
En set down his wine glass, picked up his black cane, and walked to the railing.
He looked down at the 'valuable clients' who were surrounded but fighting hard, and then at the Soul-Returning Face sitting unguarded in the center of the stage.
A merchant's greed gleamed in his eyes.
"Those people are all walking points."
With that, En took a step forward and leapt directly from the second floor.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]