Sebastian regained his focus after checking a new notification on his device, immediately shaking off his stunned silence. He did not dilly-dally any longer, swiftly sealing the transaction with an enthusiastic speech. He was over the moon with the results, his expression showing a level of deep respect that looked as though he would gladly even lick their shoes to please the mysterious spenders from VIP room two if they so much as requested it.

Watching the dramatic change in his facial expression, the three sisters felt a collective wave of disgust. "I feel like killing this demon already," Aphryne muttered in a frigid, cold voice.

"Control yourself, little sissy. You will always see and meet people like him who are ready to flatter you just to get what they want, so it would become a major problem if you keep killing all of them," Clementine explained calmly with a big sister smile.

Aphryne exhaled slowly. "I’ll follow your words, big sis." She nodded obediently, refocusing her attention on the main stage events.

Sebastian signaled to a pair of nearby auction assistants, who scurried forward with measured steps to carefully secure the frost-rimed ability scroll. As they exited the platform, the ambient temperature in the grand theater seemed to shift, turning into a heavy, stifling stillness rather than an icy chill. He walked directly to the exact center of the main stage, where a heavy iron containment crate, heavily etched with glowing suppression runic patterns, rose smoothly from a hidden underground lift mechanism.

"We come at last to the final star of our evening," Sebastian announced, his voice dropping to a low, rhythmic hum that echoed professionally. "A mystery wrapped in shadows. We proudly present a rank two Calamity, a rare serpent-type entity of unknown origin. Observe the midnight scales, ladies and gentlemen—they do not merely reflect the ambient light; their natural darkness actively consumes it."

Within the secure iron crate, a massive coil of midnight-black scales shifted slowly with oily grace.

"This extraordinary creature possesses a singular trait that completely defies the natural order: Energy Absorption. Whether it be elemental energy, spiritual pressure, or raw physical force, this serpent drinks it all, refining the captured essence to augment its own terrifying strength. It is a living void, a perfect companion for a master who wishes to possess a force that grows stronger the more its enemies struggle."

He stepped back slowly, his eyes gleaming with a touch of theatrical hunger. Inclining his head slightly, he cast a subtle glance towards the previous winning bidders in VIP room two, his professional composure remaining completely unshaken even as a collective gasp rippled through the gathered audience.

"For this unnamed bringer of ruin, we shall begin at a starting price fully befitting its extreme rarity. The opening bid is set at two hundred rank three primary energy stones. Who among you is brave enough to invite a Calamity into their service?"

The bidding process began immediately with a fierce, competitive roar from the crowd.

Meanwhile, inside the quiet space of VIP room two, Clementine maintained a deeply disappointed expression. "Though this serpent does share some minor similarities in physical appearance with the Accursed Calamity, Nihyssar, in the end, it is absolutely not of his prestigious line. It is just that as a pureblood Calamity, it had somehow managed to comprehend the superior concept of Energy Absorption. As with any absorption-type concept, it is obviously quite strong, which explains its high market value. Also, these common people simply don’t have the needed information, hence their wild assumptions about its true capabilities."

"Then we aren’t going to try and get it?" Auguszta questioned curiously.

"No," Clementine responded with a simple nod, watching quietly as the bidding price rose unstoppably across the theater. "If we want to successfully outbid them, we would have to expand a very good portion of our active resources, enough that you would completely lose your shot at comfortably becoming a Monarch later on. Simply put, I don’t think this simple serpent has that much practical value for us to risk prematurely exposing ourselves, making unwanted powerful enemies, and consuming so much of our resources for nothing."

Now, even the two little sisters fully realized how fierce the bidding process actually was. All thirty of the VIP rooms had actively participated in the competitive bidding for this rare creature; only they were the ones who had remained entirely silent.

"Does that mean all these people came here specifically for the serpent?"

"Looks like it," Clementine replied smoothly.

"What are they planning on doing with it anyways?" Aphryne asked, shifting her attention back onto Clementine once more.

"Obviously, they are going to forcefully contract it by whatever established methods they have available, whether it be a specialized runic ritual, a beast taming ability, or some other binding method. Afterwards, they will either move towards manually awakening its sentience or directly extracting its comprehended concepts through the mechanics of their master-slave contract. There could be many other goals, we don’t know for sure," Clementine shrugged unbothered.

"Ah, is that so," Aphryne nodded slowly, her gaze turning flat, though she clearly couldn’t hide the fact that she didn’t like what she had just heard from her big sister.

"In the Great Link, using calamities as a raw resource to increase one’s personal strength is the absolute norm, so you had better get used to it," Clementine voiced calmly, giving her a steady glance. "You’ll see it everywhere you go in the future. Actually, long before I died and became what I am now, I was also exactly like that. And obviously, there are even some calamities who have fully submitted to the outsiders, just as there are unique outsiders who have also openly sided with the calamities."

"These traitorous bastards must be those who had their consciousness and intelligence awakened by the outsiders, correct, big sis?" Auguszta spat in clear hatred, her expression remaining otherwise blank.

As their private conversation continued, the high-end auction soon came to its official end, with the wealthy guests from VIP room five successfully claiming the final item at the highest recorded price. With the final conclusion also came Sebastian’s long, ardent, and highly passionate closing speech, one clearly practiced to keep the audience fully engaged until the very last second.

Afterwards, the quiet maid whom Ason had informed them about previously entered the room and respectfully guided them toward the secure VIP Hall. Her name was Myra, and she had already been thoroughly informed about the three unique guests beforehand.

After learning of their massive purchase during the auction, she became even more careful around them, to the point that her daily manners appeared almost robotic and overly rigid. Every single movement and word was measured with extreme caution. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

In time, they reached the far end of a wide corridor lined with highly polished stone walls and soft golden lighting. A tall double door stood before them, its dark wooden surface beautifully decorated with elegant silver engravings.

Myra opened it smoothly and led the three respected guests inside.