The Broken Halo

Simon was actually not expecting to find anything that would be of use to him in the auction, but the next item proved him wrong.

(Few minutes prior)

“Our next item is somewhat special.”

The elderly Frostborn auctioneer smiled faintly as he spoke, and though his tone remained calm and professional like before, Simon still noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere of the auction hall.

It was not one of excitement and not of greed either, but of curiosity.

That was what spread through the hall this time.

Two demonesses walked onto the stage while carrying a dark silver box together. The box itself was not large, yet both demonesses carried it carefully like they were afraid of dropping it.

The moment Simon saw the runes engraved across the surface of the box, his eyes narrowed slightly.

’Preservation runes. What could be inside?’

The box was placed carefully on the pedestal at the center of the stage. Faint cold mist leaked from its edges, and the old Frostborn rested his palm on the lid for a brief second before finally opening it.

Click

The hall became quieter.

Inside the box was a vial.

A simple transparent vial no larger than a human finger, yet the blood inside immediately drew everyone’s attention.

It was dark crimson. Maybe even too crimson.

And Simon also noticed that the blood almost looked alive.

It moved slowly inside the vial despite the fact that the old Frostborn wasn’t shaking it. Occasionally, bubbles formed within the blood before disappearing again, almost like the thing was breathing.

Simon unconsciously straightened slightly in his seat.

’What in the world is this?’

The old Frostborn lifted the vial carefully.

“This,” he said calmly, “is the blood essence extracted from an adult Crimson Abyss Hydra.”

A few murmurs immediately spread across the auction hall afterward.

Simon’s eyes widened in disbelief.

’A hydra? A hydra’s blood?’

’That’s literally one of the best blood essence I can devour to get a regenerative skill.’

’If I have that, I won’t be worried about so many injuries in the future anymore.’

Hydras were infamous throughout the demon realm because of their absurd vitality. They were difficult to kill, irritating to fight, and terrifying in prolonged battles.

As long as their demon heart remained intact, they could continue regenerating injuries endlessly.

Lost limbs.

Destroyed flesh.

Crushed organs.

Hydras simply regenerated.

Simon had faced a hydra in his past life, and it left a long lasting impression on him.

He couldn’t believe his luck that he’d find the blood essence of a rare hydra.

’And a crimson abyss hydra is even rarer.’ Simon could not help but grin with greed in his eyes.

The old Frostborn continued speaking while rotating the vial slightly beneath the light.

“The Crimson Abyss Hydra this blood was extracted from was a Greater Calamity Beast that lived deep within the Northern Crimson Sea.”

“Three Greater Demons and seventeen Archfiends died during the hunt.”

The atmosphere shifted slightly afterward.

Some demons who previously looked uninterested immediately became attentive.

Simon remained silent while observing the blood.

The old Frostborn smiled faintly after noticing the reactions of the crowd.

He raised the vial slightly.

“When consumed normally, this blood acts as an extremely powerful healing elixir. Lesser Demons, Fiends, Archfiends, and Greater Demons would benefit greatly from it. Even Minor Demon Lords might be healed of some injuries.”

“It can heal severe physical injuries, repair damaged flesh and organs, and permanently increase the physical abilities of demons beneath the Greater Demon rank.”

The auction hall became more interested afterward, though not to the level of the Winter Monkey.

Healing treasures were valuable.

Very valuable.

Especially in the demon realm where fights happened constantly.

Still…

This wasn’t something that would make noble clans lose their minds.

It was basically a one time use item, and for many of these rich nobles, they had healing items like the Hydra’s blood.

Unlike Simon who had Devour and could gain the regenerative ability of a Hydra, they couldn’t.

Therefore it wasn’t so appealing to many of them.

But Simon?

Simon quietly stared at the vial while his thoughts rapidly moved.

He needed it.

No…

That wasn’t accurate.

He really needed it.

However, another thought suddenly appeared in his mind.

Money.

His lips could not help but twitch slightly.

’Right… I only have about five hundred thousand worth of low grade hell stones as my personal money. It’s definitely not going to be enough to purchase it.’

And he was proven right with the auctioneer’s next words.

“The starting bid is five hundred thousand low grade hell stones.”

Simon’s lips twitched again.

’If I use the five million hell stones to buy the Hydra’s blood, the clan and Vexa are going to lose their shit.’

’But… that’s not a problem at all.’

Simon quietly leaned back in his seat while staring at the vial.

Honestly…

The situation wasn’t even that complicated.

If he successfully killed Lucien, then the problem solved itself.

Lucien was the son of House Mercer’s leader.

There was absolutely no way someone like that would be poor.

His spatial ring alone would probably contain enough wealth to crush ordinary clans.

So if Simon spent the five million now…

He would simply take the money back later.

From Lucien’s corpse.

Or by force depending on the circumstances.

The more Simon thought about it, the more reasonable the idea became.

’See? No problem at all.’

The bidding war started and brought Simon out of his train of thoughts.

“One point one million!”

“One point three million!”

“One point five million!”

Compared to the Winter Monkey, the atmosphere was calmer. The bids increased steadily rather than explosively.

Many demons clearly viewed the hydra blood as useful but not life changing.

Simon remained silent for now.

“One point eight million!”

“Two million!”

The price climbed steadily.

And unsurprisingly, Lucien finally joined the bidding.

“Two point two million.”

His calm voice echoed from the private booth.

Simon instinctively glanced upward.

Simon was a little bit surprised, but for some reason, he had a feeling that Lucien was not so interested in the Hydra’s blood.

’If I’m right, then good.’

That meant Lucien probably wouldn’t fight too hard for this.

Another demon immediately shouted afterward.

“Two point four million!”

Lucien responded calmly.

“Two point six million.”

Simon finally spoke.

“Two point eight million.”

Several demons turned toward him afterward with strange expressions.

Simon ignored them completely.

His gaze remained fixed on the vial. That blood was too useful for him to give up easily.

Lucien became silent for a moment before he placed another bid.

“Two point nine million.”

Simon didn’t even hesitate.

“Three million.”

The auction hall became quieter afterward.

Many looked at Simon strangely, and they could not help but wonder why he was paying so much for the Hydra’s blood.

Three million low grade hell stones was a lot of money, and it wasn’t worth it in their eyes.

Unless…

Some began to wonder if Simon needed for something else.

Even the old Frostborn seemed to believe the bidding war was ending since three million low grade hell stones was already higher than he expected.

“Three million low grade hell stones going once.”

Simon quietly watched the stage.

He could already feel the vial entering his hands.

“Going twice…”

And then…

“Three hundred and fifty thousand intermediate grade hell stones.”

Silence.

Complete silence descended across the auction hall.

Simon’s expression froze.

Slowly…

Very slowly…

He turned his head toward the private booth where the voice came from.

Another private booth.

Another fucking private booth.

Simon’s lips twitched violently.

’Who wants to die?’