Finally, though, on the top of her head were two massive horns sprouting from her skull and poking through the holes in the cage. They were rigid, black, and demonic, to say the least, and as she glared at the crowd uncontrollably, most likely feeling an immense wave of fear, she unleashed a pressure that knocked out the guards cautiously standing around her cage.
Everybody else felt the wave of pressure, causing their spines to almost shiver out of their backs. But, instead of intimidating the crowd, this only excited them more as this was the real deal. The actual real deal.
"And as a surprise! For such an amazing event! We will live cut her horns! Watch her fall from grace right before your very eyes! Watch her lose pounds upon pounds of her power! SHE WILL BE NOTHING! AND YOU WILL BE EVERYTHING! SO! WHAT DO YOU ALL WANT!? DON'T YOU WANT THIS WOMAN?! A LOYAL SLAVE, EVEN WHEN FALLEN FROM GRACE, STILL AS STRONG AS YOUR DEMON LORD!? AS STRONG AS A FUCKING GOD KILLER!?"
And then, all of a sudden, a black figure with a sleek smile appeared at the center of the stage, glancing down at the woman who only got angrier upon seeing him.
"I, Beelzebub, will be doing the honors. Thank you very much."
The appearance of the demon lord was to be expected. This event seemed so large that I wouldn't be surprised if even more demon lords were lurking around, just suppressing to the point we couldn't even detect them. Something like that would be well within their capabilities, and boy, was I nervous as the man glanced over the crowd.
His eyes almost seemed to be concave as they landed on me and Aisa, his grin only widening as we gripped the armrests of our seats. I clenched my muscles, ready to defend myself if something were to happen. Still, in the end, he was just teasing and eventually looked away, redirecting his eyesight down at the oh-so-important empress that was the craze as of now.
Everybody in the room was tense. The man standing above, watching over his precious product, sitting right next to an untrustworthy demon lord, was nervous. It was plastered all over his face. His teeth were clenched, and his pupils quivered as he glared down below, making sure the demon lord felt every last bit of his agonizing nerves.
"Fuck… should we try and buy her?" I muttered to myself as I felt like whoever buys her would become the enemy of so many people that it just wouldn't be worth the price anymore, not just inside the city but outside of the city as well. There were probably people here that weren't from this city but, due to their deep pockets, were able to bribe their way in and infiltrate this massive auction that only got more massive with each passing second. It was incredibly dangerous.
"Okay, everybody, make sure to watch closely. This is the best part," Beelzebub unleashed a chilling smile upon the audience before summoning a black blade that tore right through the metal bars and slashed into the woman's horns, tearing them apart.
She screamed in agony and terror as her source of power disappeared in an instant. Tears flowed from her face as she saw the masses of keratin or whatever made up the horns of a demon lord. I knew mine were made from Miasma, yet the horns of a demon lord or greater seemed different, especially since they didn't just disintegrate upon being detached.
If you were really able to collect the horns of other demons, then the black market and trading of this hellish underworld would definitely, without a shred of doubt in my mind, be way more brutal than what it is now.
Miasma is a material that is precious to demons, and you could almost call it its source of power, yet for some reason, demon lords were exceptions to this. It was almost as if their horns were made of something entirely different, solidifying upon their apotheosis. I could only assume it was some kind of keratin, but… "Keratin doesn't unleash flames like that…." I lightly chuckled, seeing the decapitated horns engulfed in a dark fire.
[Side Quest has been revealed]
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[Side Quest: Acquire the Horns of An Arch Demon]
[Description: The chance to acquire the horns of an extremely powerful being has appeared. Are you willing to take the risk to obtain them, or are you going to get scared and push them away? It's entirely up to you, and there will be no risk to this quest, but if you acquire these horns, something good might happen to you.]
[Reward: [???]
[Penalty Upon Failure: None]
[Time Left: One Day]
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My eyes widened at the sight of a side quest, and I suddenly felt a bit more intrigued with this situation. I mean, I wasn't about to waste such a precious moment as the horns of an Arch Demon… is that what they are? Anyways, they seem to be extremely powerful. I mean, this could be my chance to break through yet another level before being able to class up, only enhancing the stats of my next evolution.
"We have to obtain those things… I don't know why, but we must obtain them," Aisa muttered, her smile widening without her even noticing. She was as excited as me about these events, and as the auctioneer continued to speak, we only got more intrigued.
"And! As an added bonus to acquiring this lady, I will have you know that not only will you have a servant equivalent to that of a Demon Lord, but also these horns! Melt them! Eat them! Do whatever you want with them! They hold the power of an Arch Demon! Now, the bidding starts at 250 Thousand Gold! We will make no exceptions!"
The auction house probably thought this starting price was a bit too high, but almost immediately, demons began to raise their signs eagerly. Although, this did seem a bit suspicious to me… the entire situation. Especially with the fact that there is no penalty with my side quest could either mean this is just so unforgettable… or I'll just straight up die a useless death.
Despite the system fucking me over so many times, there have been points where it has helped me avoid death. Whether this was through adapting my situation or granting me a quest that could help me out. Even though it gave out various quest where the penalty was death, that was due to the fact that the quest and topic were necessary, and dying there was something actually possible.
"On the other hand… this just seems like a trap. Hmmmm… Fuck, do I risk it?" I groaned as this would be so much easier to debate if I could actually see the reward I was getting. But that would make this situation too easy to judge, and of course, the system wouldn't want such convenience for me. "Son of a bitch…"
As I continued to murmur to myself, I saw Aisa was getting impatient. She was wondering when I was going to join the spur, but I held myself back. I spent most of my capital on that evolutionary material, so if the price went any higher than another 1 billion gold, I would have no chance.
And lo and behold, the price skyrocketed way past 1 billion and to a collective 1.6 billion gold. It was an insane price that many had to team up for even to meet the requirements. This event was just that fucking big that enemies had to truce for now, and allies teamed up together and spent their collective bank on this.
"You aren't going to join in?" Aisa tapped her foot rapidly against the ground. "It's getting juicy, so you should just announce another one billion or something… you have that, right?"
"Who do you think I am? I'm not going into debt for that thing… but I will acquire it later. We'll have some fun after this show," I smiled, allowing Aisa to rest easy as she sunk back into her chair and closed her eyes. She was utterly unamused by the skirmishes and arguments immediately bursting out in the hall.
Beezlebub generally reacted the same, bored by the reaction of the people, and just left the stage, nowhere to be seen again, as he entered a swirling dark portal. Maybe he was going to visit Cy… nah, he would never do such a kind thing for somebody as lowly as Cy. That man is way too arrogant to care about his little host or whatever.
As soon as the woman and her horns had been sold, I looked down at the stage to catch one last glimpse of this arch-demon who had fallen from her demonic grace. Despite being freed from her cage, she just sat there, her mind seemingly going blank as she continuously muttered a few words over and over again. They were in a different language I was unfamiliar with, but it was clear to hear she was unwell.
