Harem Overlord: I ALWAYS Finish Quick!
Chapter 127 Archfiend's Essence

Regaining his focus, Ryan looked into Timmy's eyes again and saw the same blank look he had seen that day on Tina.

'This sick bastard must pay. Getting justice and freeing that man shall be my first act at solving the tumor festering inside this planet for too long,' Ryan swore, clenching his fists.

As the bid was over for Timmy, Ryan couldn't free Timmy the legal way. 'But there's always the illegal one.'

Ryan put that thought aside as he continued watching the auction.

The auctioneer pushed her hair off her face and looked at the audience. "You all are going to love this next piece. [Necklace of Charm] gives the wearer better appeal to anyone they desire," the auctioneer said, pointing to the model wearing a necklace as she crossed the stage.

"Now, tell me what you see. Isn't it the most beautiful image you've ever seen?"

"Oh, I love her blonde hair!" a woman shouted.

"What do you mean? She has red hair, my favorite," another barked.

"Red hair, what are you on about? She has black hair, just like my wife," a fat woman shouted.

"Either way she's nice and petite, just like I like them," a woman in front of Ryan added.

"Petite?" another lady asked. "She's not petite. She is a delicious amazon lady!"

The auctioneer laughed. "You see what I mean? Now watch as she takes the necklace off."

A medium size brunette appeared as the model lifted the necklace over her neck. The audience gasped and clapped.

"As you can see, wearing the [Necklace of Charm] makes the wearer instantly appeal to the viewer's deepest desire."

"Now, who wants to start the bid? Let's start it at…"

As the audience fell into a bidding frenzy, Ryan leaned back in his chair, uninterested.

'They can have the necklace. I am extraordinary, just as I am. Why would I want to change my looks for someone else's taste when I am perfect,' Ryan thought, grinning.

Loud applause thundered around the room as an excited audience member jumped up and down, screaming, "It's me! I won!

A short, squatty old lady raced to the stage to try to grab her necklace.

Ryan chuckled. 'I feel sorry for whoever she meets!'

The auctioneer laughed. "Let's keep up these bids. This next item is the [Water Breath Pill]. The pill allows the user to breathe underwater for 30 minutes. One lucky audience member will take home a pack of 12 today! Let's start the bidding war!"

Ryan sat back and watched as the auction continued to put forth item after item, nothing much catching his fancy.

A few items later, a mask appeared on the stage that caught Ryan's eye.

"Now, the next item," the auctioneer said. "This is a novelty item, but its uses are boundless! [Gender Neutral Mask] is a mask that will never have you discriminated against, as no one can tell what your gender is in the first place!

A gorgeous model walked onto the stage, holding a mask. As Ryan leaned forward to take a closer look at her… *Cough* the mask, she suddenly placed the mask on her face and… 'That's what I need,' Ryan thought, seeing the girl appear as genderless as a doll rather than the exquisite female she once had been.

"Does she still look like a girl?"

"I don't think so."

"But she doesn't look like a boy, either!"

"I can't tell what she is!"

When the auctioneer called, "Let's bid!"

Ryan was the first to bid and started at 3 Heavenly Credits, meaning he had few competitors. After three rounds of offers, Ryan secured the mask for a total of 5.25 Heavenly Credits.

"Perfect," he said, leaning back, "this will come in handy."

"Now for the final item you've all been waiting for!" the auctioneer said. "I'm sure most of our patrons here today are here for this marvelous item, and we've sure heard speculation," chuckled the auctioneer.

"So without further ado, let me present [Archfiend's Essence]!

"This, my friends, is the ultrarare Archfiend's Essence, an extremely valuable geode. When opened, one can access the essence of a primordial being, which has traveled lightyears from outside our solar system to arrive here. When ingested, this essence will strengthen your race rank by a whole level up to C-Rank!"

The auctioneer couldn't bang her gavel hard enough to quiet the audience.

Suddenly, loud whistles and sharp cries filled the air. The guards surrounding the room's edges blew high, piercing whistles to silence the audience.

"Sorry about that," the auctioneer said, apologizing. "But we can't manage an auction with all of this noise. So now that everything has quieted down, we're going to take preliminary bids on this item, and we will start with the highest bid after a moment."

===

Ryan sat in his chair, mouth open, chest heaving. 'What is this feeling?'

As the auctioneer brought the [Archfiend's Essence] onto the stage, Ryan felt a calling deep within his soul for the mysterious geode.

It almost felt like some other being was calling for him to reach out and snatch it and feed it.

'This can't be… Yoko?'

===

Still trapped inside her egg, Yoko was currently engaged in a plight unlike any a being of her status had ever endured.

"You stupid mutt, do you know who I am!" Yoko roared, screaming at Volf.

"Get your stupid mouth off my egg!"

'Since when can uncooked omelets talk?' Volf wondered as he tried munching on the raw yet appetizing egg once more.

"What even are you? You're not a wolf beast! You might as well be a dog for all your manners! Hey! Hey! Don't do that! Stop it!"

As Yoko tried unsuccessfully to get Volf to stop nibbling on her shell, she reached her tolerance limit and was about to fry Volf into minced meat when suddenly she felt a radiating heat within her chest.

'This sensation, it can't be!' Yoko stopped paying attention to the hungry mutt and focused on the feeling from her link to Ryan.

'My connection with Master is weak, and though I can't talk with him, there's no mistaking that aura… that's Archfiend's essence! How on earth is it on this small world?!'

'I have to get this for myself. It won't be helpful to someone like Ryan, but for me, it's invaluable.'

Yoko calmed her mind from the heat radiating off of Volf's maw and focused on sending Ryan a signal of desire for the object. 'Hopefully, he understands.'

===

"The results are in! The preliminary bid is 75 Heavenly Credits from bidder 39!" the announcer shouted. "Do I hear 80?"

"80 Credits!" a voice yelled from across the room.

"85 credits!" a shout from behind Ryan wrang.

"90 credits!" the first person responded.

"95 credits!" was the reply.

"Do I hear 100 credits?" the auctioneer said.

"100 credits?" the auctioneer asked, looking to either bidder.

"We've got this in the bag. Our master will reward us heavily," Rory whispered to Albert.

"Thank goodness, since Master only gave us 100 Heavenly Credits," Albert said, wiping sweat from his brow.

"100 Credits!" a voice boomed, causing Albert and Rory to look at each other in surprise and horror.

Turning, the pair looked at a cloaked figure heading toward the stage as the announcer yelled, "Going once, going twice, sold!"

"Isn't that the same man who bought the mask?" Rory asked, looking at Albert.

Albert nodded solemnly, "It appears we'll have to go with plan B."