“Um, nothing at all sir Rio.” Julius smiled nervously.

“We just had a little accident here, nothing too serious…” He rubbed his hands together and calmed himself.

I loosened my face and smiled at the small man. I am not with my ‘Rio’ alias outfit. I’m sure Julius is surprised by my bold appearance in the Auction House in my normal look, considering the scene I caused the last time.

“Is that so?” I said.

“Yes sir.” He nodded.

It’s funny how this man is lying to me after experiencing in our last encounter that I can see through his ruse. But since he appears to be shaken, it’s only natural that he isn’t thinking straight and being his usual calculative self.

“How does it feel, Julius, to realize you’re no longer in control of the situation?” I asked myself.

“S-So, sir… What brings you here? What can I help you with?” He asked me with a forced smile.

What a shameless man. He’s still trying to curry my favor, pathetic. It’s fine though, everything is proceeding smoothly on my end.

“Would you like us to take this meeting to the Special Guest Lounge or my office. This place is currently a mess sir, unsuitable for a man of your caliber ” He said still trying to butter me up.

“It’s fine, I won’t be staying long.” I told him coldly.

His face dropped to that of disappointment.

“I’ll be starting a little venture and I require a large amount of coins. So I’ll be withdrawing some of my money from my account” I told him.

Julius gulped as I told him this. With trembling lips he asked me…

“How much”

I smiled.

“2 Trillion should be enough… For now” I said.

He nearly choked on the numbers I said. Of course, compared to the money I possess in the Imperius Auction House, 2 Trillion is certainly little. But…

“S-Sir, I’m sorry but we do not currently have that amount present with us. If we have a little bit of time, then maybe..” He tried to explain.

What a fool. Does he think I don’t know about the whole black market shady deals he has been up to, or that the money isn’t connected to Imperius but him directly. I am certainly aware of how much he has currently made, and yes, it is above two trillion.

But, there’s no need to rush this game. I have done what I came here to do.

“I don’t expect you to have it immediately. I’ll be back in 12 hours time. Have it by then, no excuses” I said.

“12… 12 hours? But that is…” Julius weakly protested.

Yes I know, that is when the action begins. The Black Market Rulers and even the Apostles, plus, my own little mechanism I have in place. But, as of now he has no other cards he can play or excuses he can give.

I glared at him and immediately he shut his mouth. I walked away from him, and headed toward the exit. Before getting there, I paused and looked back at him.

“I’m currently in search of two of my slaves. Have you seen any of them?” I asked.

“Uh? No… no I haven’t…” He said to me in confusion.

“Oh? I see. Fair enough. I trust your words.” I smiled to him.

“Y-Yeah…” He muttered nervously.

“After all… We are friends” I said and walked away, leaving the messy hall.

Julius’ face twitched as he made a disturbed and anxious look.

The staff, who were the only ones present in the hall looked at their boss with strange looks, wondering what was going on with him.

“What are you all looking at?!” He yelled at them.

They shook at his words.

“You imbeciles! Continue your work this instance. You aren’t paid to slack off, are you?” He fumed.

They hurriedly dispersed and continued their duties. Cleaning the mess and ensuring no one else would come into the Auction House in meantime.

A sign was placed at the entrance of the huge building which read:

“Currently Closed”

They also locked all entrances and quickly fixed the mess that was all round the reception hall.

Julius walked away to his office in agonizing thought.

“What was that just now?!” He asked himself.

“Why is this happening? Why now?! I’m so close to being the richest and most influential person around. I’m so close to achieving phenomenal wealth. Why is everything crumbling down now?”

“I thought lady luck was…” He groaned.

Then suddenly his eyes widened and a little beam of hope lit up there.

“No, it’s not the end. I still have time” He said to himself.

“I can… I can still make it. I have 12 hours don’t I? I can easily gather up all the Ancient coins and money I have with me in that time. Using some of the Relics we have prepared for auction, I can make my escape. Yes!”

“I’ll move to the Southern Continent. I have some old friends there, plus there are lots who will be interested in MY ancient coins.” He smiled widely at himself.

“Yes… Yes! After I’m done here, I’ll just go home to get some of my personal effects and I’ll be on my way.”

He quickly ran to his office to make preparations. He slammed the door to his office shut as he placed his hand on the wall, and the brick there pressed further down, indicating a hidden mechanism. The wall beside him parted ways, showing a hidden entrance to somewhere. He quickly entered and pressed the wall within the secret passage, closing the walls.

Lights automatically appeared, brought by luminous stones which littered the cave-like structure.

“Almost there” He muttered as he hurriedly walked through the passageway.

Getting closer to the end of the passage, golden light shone at the end corner, indicating something glowed there.

He finally turned as he got to the end of the passage and there it lay, the Ancient coins.

“My precious!” He smiled with greed lit in his eyes.

The treasure coins glowed with bright golden radiance, drawing Julius’ attention to them.

“You’re all mine”

“Arpazia’s mirror” Julius said, bringing out a mirror from his pocket.

The mirror shone brightly, making Julius close his eyes as a result. Finally the light dimmed and when he opened his eyes, the coins had vanished.

” Hahahaha!” He laughed.

“With this Relic I can trap anything within it as long as they are not living. I’ll be making my escape now!”

He grinned widely as he ran quicky, leaving his secret room.

He went to the treasure room of the Auction House and used his mirror to steal the items of his choice.

After this, he finally ran to the exit of the Auction House, one only accessible to the staff.

“S-Sir?!” The guard stationed there asked in surprise as he saw Julius frantically run towards the exit.

“Out of my way!” Julius yelled.

The guard was taken aback, but let him pass. After all, he was his boss.

Julius exited the building and hurriedly ran to his house.

“Hahahaha! I’m home free” He laughed as he ran, the wind brushing on his face and the people staring strangely at him.

He didn’t care. He wouldn’t be seeing their faces anymore anyway. He might as well just go wild and unleash his true self hidden behind his calm facade.

It didn’t take long for him to get to his house. It was a luxurious apartment, a storey building with a good compound and lush garden.

He payed none of these any kind as he dashed into his compound and quickly unlocked the door of his house.

“It’s the company’s house anyway! What do I care!” He muttered to himself.

With the money he currently possessed, he could afford hundreds if not thousands of the same house.

“I’ll just get my personal effects then I’m out of here!” He said.

As soon as he opened the door he was stopped dead on his tracks.

“W-What is the meaning of this…?!” He asked aloud.

In his living room, the parlor, lay both Talia and Shamac, wounds all over their body, tied up and unconscious.

“These are…”

Julius knew Instinctively…. He was in big trouble.