300 million Sacred Light Coins…

Converted to the Human United Kingdom’s currency, that amounts to 600 million gold coins. And this is just the starting bid—truly an astronomical price.

However, to be honest, what really interests and concerns Violet is not just the orb itself, but the indifference of the Bright Light Saintess beside her, who seems to be paying no attention to it.

As the auctioneer previously mentioned, demons are the number one enemy of the Holy Empire and the Goddess Church. Let alone in a city like the Sacred Star City or even less notable areas, any item related to demons would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar and would be met with the full efforts of the temple to eliminate it.

This is a near-extreme, no-cost attitude of cutting everything related to demons, ensuring complete purification.

While it can be vaguely guessed that this might be a situation orchestrated by the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild and the Bright Light Saintess to serve their respective needs, it would be false to say that Miss Violet isn’t curious about the underlying reasons.

Seemingly anticipating such thoughts, the diviner sitting beside Miss Fox merely “watched” the scene below, gently stroking his beard as he explained.

“Hehe, Miss Dawn is probably wondering whether the 【Bewitching Orb】 is as magical as advertised and why our Spirit Veil Merchant Guild dares to auction this item, which contradicts the teachings of the Goddess and could be classified as a ‘Taboo’, in public.”

Miss White Fox glanced at the Bright Light Saintess beside her, who remained seated with a calm demeanor, smiling and acknowledging Miss White Fox’s gaze. Unable to contain her curiosity, Violet responded honestly.

“That’s right. So, is there something special about it? Or is it actually a counterfeit?”

“The 【Bewitching Orb】… is indeed real. Our Spirit Veil Merchant Guild would never tarnish our reputation with a fake. However, the two points I mentioned can actually be explained with one answer.”

The diviner slightly lowered his head. It seemed that the black cloth covering his eyes did not prevent him from truly seeing where he needed to look, and he calmly continued.

“The 【Bewitching Orb】 is… incomplete.”

“?”

Before Miss Fox could ask further, this usually reticent old man broke from his usual pattern and voluntarily provided an explanation.

“The true 【Bewitching Orb】 is indeed one of the King of Corruption’s prized treasures, possessing a soul-stirring power beyond imagination. However, this item was shattered into two pieces a long time ago during a battle between the King of Corruption and a certain powerful figure. The part we hold is only one half.”

“The relationship between the two pieces is similar to that of a chemical material and its catalyst. Just as the catalyst without its main component is essentially worthless, and the material without its catalyst can only exert a fraction of its potential, this fragment, even if it falls into the wrong hands, will not cause a great upheaval.”

“Uh… So, in the end, isn’t this just selling a counterfeit?”

In response to the Fox Girl’s blunt remark, the diviner merely stroked his beard and smiled.

“How is it a counterfeit? This is indeed the 【Bewitching Orb】 from the King of Corruption, and it truly possesses the terrifying power to disrupt minds. Our Spirit Veil Merchant Guild has not lied in the description. Besides, does Miss Dawn really think that such information could deceive the top forces from around the world present here?”

“Hmm? Oh…”

Violet was not slow-witted, she quickly understood the reasoning and motives behind this with just a hint from the diviner.

The bidding below had surged to 700 million Sacred Light Coins in a very short time, and was rapidly approaching the 1 billion mark. The individuals or organizations capable of participating in such high-stakes bidding were at least state-level forces, with the possibility of one or two powerful beings from unknown origins, surpassing even higher levels.

Given these bidders’ intelligence capabilities, they likely already knew that the 【Bewitching Orb】 being auctioned today was only half of the complete item. Yet they still flocked to it and competed fiercely, and the reason was clear.

What they were after was the “possibility”—the possibility of obtaining the complete, authentic 【Bewitching Orb】.

It’s similar to assembling a treasure map. While a single piece might seem worthless on its own, the potential rewards of completing the entire map can drive even the wealthiest individuals to fight over it.

Naturally, this leads to another question:

“Are there already clues about the whereabouts of the other half?”

This time, it was not the diviner but the Bright Light Saintess, who was silently observing the frenzied bidding below, who answered Violet.

“Although the exact location has not been confirmed, reliable information indicates that the other half of the 【Bewitching Orb】 is currently within the Holy Empire and is likely in the eastern region near the Angel City.”

A golden shimmer seemed to flash through Yuna’s clear, translucent blue eyes.

“Recently, there have been increasing demonic disturbances in the Holy Empire. I’m sure you’ve heard about it, Miss Dawn? What do you think those demons suddenly appearing in the east are after?”

“Is that so…”

Hmm… Could the 【Bewitching Orb】 be so powerful that demons from another world would go to such lengths to invade and obtain it?

It’s hard to judge from so far away, and it’s unclear what the complete item’s level of equipment might be. But considering that the Four Demon Lords are said to possess god-like powers, and that they cannot even personally enter this world, it’s not unimaginable.

Amid the conversation, the bidding below had indeed surpassed 1 billion Sacred Light Coins. The bidders seemed to be frenzied, and in the face of insufficient funds, they began adding various valuable items like magic crystal ores, as if they were determined to spare no expense to win.

This is truly absurd…

Miss Violet was stunned. With 1 billion Sacred Light Coins being such an astronomically high amount, she could barely form a clear concept of its value.

To put it into perspective, a top-tier, peak-level purple magic weapon, which is said to be priceless and can be used by ordinary legendary-level fighters until their death, is generally worth around 10 million Human United Kingdom gold coins, with a fluctuation of up to two or three times that amount at most.

Uh, so 1 billion would be equivalent to how many of those?

Although she wasn’t sure of the exact annual tax revenue of the Holy Empire, it was likely at least in the billions. If the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild were to sell such items every day, they truly would be as rich as a nation, and that’s no exaggeration.

As she pondered this boundlessly, Violet suddenly sensed something unusual.

Wait, something doesn’t seem right?

Listening to the increasingly outrageous bids and collaterals below, with shouting that almost suggested selling off everything including family, and noticing the auctioneer’s deliberate avoidance of looking at the hazy pink-glowing orb beside him…

Miss White Fox’s silver-blue eyes behind her mask gradually narrowed.

Understanding the competitive drive to pursue that possibility made sense, but were these people being a bit too fanatical?