Chapter 174 – Pertinax Auction House (3)

The figures wearing raven masks spread out in a crane wing formation. Beneath the shadows of their hoods, bloodshot eyes gleamed.

The House of Order, Auditore, had stormed the Pertinax auction house.

However, Pertinax IX had known this would happen for some time.

There had been whispers in the underworld that the “shadows” were snooping around the city of Geodam.

In that world, rumors spread quickly.

At first, IX had attempted to bribe Auditore by sending an envoy.

That envoy returned without a body, only a head. A clear answer—there would be no negotiation.

He knew that house was full of lunatics, but that rejection had been brutally final.

If that was their answer, then there was no choice but to switch strategies. Better to respond with violence than lose sleep over anxiety.

Pertinax IX decided to hire mercenaries.

But ordinary thugs wouldn’t be enough against Auditore. If he was going to spend money, it had to be on real professionals.

So he contacted the Villain Union.

And surprisingly, they accepted the proposal immediately.

They even sent some of their most infamous villains as mercenaries.

Such quick acceptance had been unexpected.

IX had thought they would haggle at least once. But the deal was sealed instantly.

Even though the Alliance demanded an enormous sum, IX paid without hesitation.

He later learned that the Alliance was also having trouble with Auditore.

Thanks to the elder Cladi, the organization was under relentless siege.

Auditore was gradually eroding the Alliance’s power.

Even the Vendetta squad, which had been sent to capture the traitor Choi Seol-ah, was completely wiped out.

They could barely recover the bodies.

The corpses were shredded, evidence that a single individual had massacred them.

So, amidst the crumbling of their structure, a partnership with the auction house had become an appealing offer for the Alliance.

Both parties benefited. The auction gained solid backing.

The Alliance gained a limitless cash flow.

And now, the perfect moment to show off that close alliance had arrived.

Boom!

Dozens of villain mercenaries burst through the auction house doors.

The mercenary leader, Ken, scanned the place with sharp eyes. He didn’t need a detailed explanation—he’d already gotten the report over radio.

“Damn… I was just enjoying dinner, and they had to ruin my night.”

Ptuh.

He spat on the floor and crushed it under his boot. Narrowing his eyes, he looked ahead.

There, calmly seated in the middle of the auction hall, was the man with the raven mask. That had to be the Auditore patriarch, Altair.

He’d heard the rumors, but seeing him in person made it clear why he was called the deadliest assassin. Even from a distance, his murderous aura was so thick it scratched at the throat.

‘This won’t end peacefully.’

Ken masked his emotions and gave instructions to his subordinates.

“Stick to the plan. We’ve got numbers on our side, but don’t get cocky. Focus on the smaller ravens. That ‘Raven’s Blessing’ of theirs is a real pain.”

The subordinates nodded and made a gesture by touching index finger to thumb—ready for battle.

“Mr. IX, as agreed with your higher-ups, we’ll do our part. But we’re not responsible for the customers. If they die, it’s not our problem. Understood?”

Pertinax IX fell silent. If a battle broke out, the attendees would undoubtedly get involved. Most would die. Ensuring not a single death was almost impossible. In that case…

Pressing his eyelids tightly shut, Pertinax IX replied with a dry voice:

“I’d rather none of them leave alive. No customers, no shadows.”

Ken let out a laugh.

“Looks like I underestimated you, Mr. IX. Right, if someone survives, rumors will spread that Pertinax is working with the Alliance. Better to kill everyone and blame it all on Auditore, huh?”

“If you’re saying it plainly… yes, that’s the idea.”

“Very fitting for someone who carved out a spot in the underworld. If you’re going to do something dirty, leave no trace. I was going to charge extra, but I like your attitude. Consider the customer cleanup a free service.”

Ken bared his teeth in a savage grin. IX responded with a smile of his own. Between the two, the air darkened with sheer malice.

And just as Ken was about to shout orders to his men—

Swish—Thud.

His temple struck the floor of the stage. Gravity had acted from the side, like he’d been laid down on a couch.

…What just happened?

The confusion didn’t last long. In his field of vision, a headless body was spraying blood like a fountain. Ken realized that body was his.

His pupils, beginning to dull, slowly moved. A young woman stood over him, shaking the blood from her sword. Her eyes were so vacant, they looked like those of a dead fish.

That was when he felt the searing pain in his neck. The pain arrived late, like a crashing wave.

Ken groaned inwardly. But the sound never left his mouth.

The assassin muttered with her glassy, lifeless eyes.

“After this is over… I can go back to the academy.”

Chloe reversed her grip and, with all her strength, drove the blade into Ken’s head.

Thud. It sounded like piercing a pumpkin—and darkness swallowed his vision completely.

***

Following Chloe’s lead, the assassins placed their hands on their sword hilts and simultaneously activated the [Raven’s Blessing].

Whoosh—

Every member of Auditore vanished, as if melting into the air. In the next instant, they struck from blind angles the enemies couldn’t perceive.

It was a one-sided massacre. Auditore swept through their enemies like a storm. Death screams erupted from all directions.

Aaaaaaaagh!

The assassins’ blades relentlessly targeted the villains’ hands. Fingers were severed like chopsticks.

Before they could even scream, another blade would pierce them from the opposite side, slicing through flesh.

The assassins moved as one, tearing through their victims without mercy. They peeled skin like wrapping paper.

One of the villains vomited a mess of intestines onto the floor. The assassin decapitated him without hesitation.

To the spectators, it looked like livestock being slaughtered. This wasn’t combat—it was execution.

Brutal as it was, it was necessary. A villain’s vitality far surpassed that of a human.

That’s why they only moved on to the next target once the previous one was absolutely confirmed dead.

Since the Night of the Purge, Auditore had studied villains meticulously, analyzing how to confront them—and now, they put that knowledge to use, minimizing cost while maximizing destruction.

‘…Wow.’

I couldn’t help but mutter. Without lifting a finger, the villains were being cut to pieces.

To someone like me, used to the front lines, the scene was almost boring. The strength of the Auditore family had grown overwhelmingly.

Especially Chloe. I didn’t know what kind of training she went through over break, but her power had skyrocketed. Every swing of her sword split villains like paper.

‘Once Chloe’s back at the academy, I’ll have to be more careful.’

…Before long, the enemy had been completely annihilated. All that remained were reddish stains on the floor—evidence of their futile resistance.

“Th-this is impossible… it can’t be…!”

Pertinax IX’s face was pale as a corpse. His knees hit the stage with a thud. He ripped off his clown mask and vomited.

It was too much for his mind to endure.

While the clown stared at his vomit in horror, Kang Geom-Ma calmly approached.

The hooded assassins surrounded him, as if guarding their leader. He looked like the patriarch of a murder of crows.

Kang Geom-Ma crouched before the defeated IX, locking eyes with the man trembling like a leaf.

“Sir, do you want us to extract any information? With just one order, your shadow will make him talk—whatever the cost.”

Altair asked respectfully. Kang Geom-Ma’s role as Auditore’s leader wasn’t over yet.

After a brief pause, Kang Geom-Ma shook his head.

“I don’t want you to dirty your hands any further over this filth. There’s nothing worth learning. Execute him immediately.”

“W-wait! Lord of Auditore, please!”

The clown desperately clutched at Kang Geom-Ma’s pants, smashing his forehead into his own vomit as he begged.

“Money! I’ll give you all you want! Or better—take this entire Pertinax auction house! With the full member registry! Please…!”

“The member information? I already have all of it.”

“…?”

IX looked up instinctively. Kang Geom-Ma held up his smartphone.

On the screen were all the personal records of Pertinax’s members.

“N-no… it can’t be…”

IX fell into even greater panic than when his mercenaries were slaughtered. He couldn’t fathom how that information—protected by multiple security barriers—had ended up in the hands of his enemy.

Even Altair seemed genuinely surprised. That data was out of reach, even for Auditore’s intelligence network.

Kang Geom-Ma stood and looked toward the audience.

Everyone was still seated, tense. Corrupt and depraved, hidden behind masks, they were carefully assessing the situation.

Not one of them had died. Naturally, mere participation in the auction wasn’t enough reason to kill them.

I smirked. Auditore was still a house of order.

But I’m not Auditore. I may not be able to kill them—but I can rip their masks off.

During the battle, I’d asked Ryozo to hack into the venue’s network. I remembered her saying sher could help remotely.

She’d complained about the overly complicated security, but soon sent me the full data dump.

‘Ryozo’s hacking skills keep improving day by day.’

I handed the smartphone to Altair with a command.

“There’s the identity of everyone present. Publish this data and the auction details in the media.”

“Ah… understood.”

Altair nodded, looking uneasy. I returned to the clown. I stood over him as he lay sprawled on the ground.

“Pertinax IX. I know you didn’t just traffic monsters and demons. You were also selling people behind the scenes.”

“……!”

IX’s expression asked how the hell I knew that.

To me, it was no surprise. That part was covered in the story of Miracle Blessing M.

IX muttered with hollow eyes.

“How much did you investigate…? How could you even know that…?”

With that, all his crimes were exposed. There was no room for mercy. Summary execution was fully justified.

“I’ll handle this one.”

Altair raised his blade and, without hesitation, severed his head. Thud. The clown’s head rolled off the stage.

Altair clicked his tongue while wiping the blood from his sword. Though he’d wanted to torture him more, there were too many witnesses. Instead, he planned to eliminate all his accomplices.

Altair turned his head. Amid the chaos, Kang Geom-Ma was already unshackling the young dragon girl.

“First you execute the guilty, then you save the innocent…”

Altair shivered.

It had been decades since he last felt this way.