Ep 97. Auction House
A villain’s life is restless.
Especially if you have a grand dream of creating a Villain Union like me.
First of all, it takes a very long time to simply plan a terrorist attack. And if I’m going to seduce other villains there? Wow, even ten bodies are not enough.
Terrorism is also formidable. It’s also a big problem that our time is limited to daytime because after sunset, the hero with a crazy ability called Shadow Walker immediately can suppress it within minutes into the attack.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that night isn’t the time of villains.
“Gsh…”
A dark street in Seoul
I was waiting for a car in a shadowy place.
And by the appointed time, the headlights came out from the corner.
A black limousine was approaching me.
And the car that stopped in front of me.
There, a man in a suit and a mask that could be used at the masquerade opened the door and bowed to me.
“Hello, customer. Please check.”
Towards the person, I handed a black and gold mixed ticket out of my pocket.
Ticket for VVIP, hard earned by bullying Lee Seola.
The man, who was checking it for a while, bowed politely again toward me as if it had been confirmed.
“Thank you, sir. You’ve been confirmed. Now, please get in.”
Following the man who opened the door in the back of the limousine, I entered.
The inside is covered with red leather.
I got in. Well, it’s so fluffy.
“Then we’ll get going.”
Soon after the man sitting in front of me spoke up, the car began to start quietly.
As I lay down in the car, which was gradually speeding up, the man in front handed me a mask.
“Customer, this is your mask. Please wear it.”
I got the mask that would appear in those dramas with medieval background.
…I understand that everyone is basically hiding their identity anyway, is it worth it?
So the limousine continued to drive along the empty road and began heading somewhere outside of Seoul.
I’ve been looking out the window, just spacing out.
I’m going to an auction house now.
It’s also the world’s first illegal auction house held in Korea.
…I don’t know why this still exists in Korea in this 21st century, but I decided to go with it because this world is a little flawed anyway.
We arrived at an abandoned building in a quiet place after a long run.
And the car went down to a parking lot under the building.
“You can get off.”
I got off the open limousine.
And I followed with the help of the staff.
In front of me, a new scene came into my mind.
Large open spaces, brilliant chandeliers and gold-embroidered wallpaper.
And, a variety of people in colorful masks.
It’s so lively here that I can’t even compare.
I also entered proudly, wearing a mask and a suit.
This is the Excal Auction House, where all kinds of money gather from all over the world.
At the same time, it was also a tragic space where a villain was born at this moment.
And I came to stop it.
‘……’
I moved to the place where the full-fledged auction would take place soon with a determined look.
…Honestly, they called it an excellent thing but after all whoever has a lot of money wins.
*
I found my seat and sat down.
It’s just like a musical theater, with round seats in a dark space, around the stage where the auction will be held in the middle.
I sat in one of the seats, yawning.
When will it start?
“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen.”
Oh, it’s starting now.
The stage was lit up, and the host appeared.
He said something, but I just let it slide. Well, auctions with deep history and tradition, customers with aesthetic eyes on art, and the items that come in today are very precious…
And, finally, the full-scale auction has begun.
“Today’s first item! It’s a candlestick used in the Baroque period, and it’s a very difficult item to get at the moment. We’ll start at $3000!”
“3200! We got 3200! Is there anyone else? 3, 2, 1. It was sold to number 127. Thank you!”
“…It’s a very valuable commodity. It’s a blacklist leaked from the Egyptian government. I’ll take the first try.”
“It’s one of the few rare items in the world right now, with the image of a S-class villain, Kellers, whose records have been wiped out. We’ll start at $10,000!”
And when the stage began, products started selling in earnest.
This was the Excal Auction House, selling all the valuable items that could be sold out of the eyes of the government and associations.
From ancient relics to the government’s latest documents, they seem to sell everything that is roughly paid for, even all kinds of strange things.
And it’s even more amazing that there are people who buy it. Everyone has money left over.
Anyway, these useless things are not my concern.
I sat down and waited calmly. Until I get the goods that I want.
And how much time has passed.
Finally, the thing that I was waiting for came up on stage.
“It’s a ring that Korea’s B-class hero Swardier always wore during his lifetime. We got what he dropped in his last moment. We’ll start at $6,000.”
Okay.
That ring.
I have to steal that ring from here, which is the cause of all the S-class villains’ birth in the original.
When no one knows the value of that yet.
“We have $7000! 7000 dollars, do we have any more?”
“7500! It’s 7500. 8000! We got 8000! Do we have more?”
That’s how the auction house heats up.
And finally, the heavy man over there raised his finger.
“We got 10,000! 10,000! Do we have more? Then we’ll be closing it! 3, 2…”
And the moment the host tried to win the bid.
His eyes widened when he saw something.
“50000..! It’s 50 million!”
The host shouted in excitement at the sudden five-time jump.
The same goes for others who watched indifferently around.
Suddenly wondering who’s the crazy guy, who’s burning money on that seemingly useless thing.
I’m the one who called 50,000 here. Of course.
The real man heats things up.
When I peeked from the side, I could see a man in a suit shaking.
He almost won the bid at first, and in the original, he actually succeeded in winning the bid.
Ryu Jin-taek, president of VK Corporation. And one of the S-class villains in the future.
In the original comic, he realizes the power of the copy ring because he was bored at an auction house, and later on, he uses it to commit all kinds of evil.
And he is a significant obstacle to Lee Seola’s merger and acquisition project with the numerous powers he gained through this.
Of course, since I have this ring, it’s a future that won’t come true anymore.
He joined in because he was bored, but I guess he was a little offended because it got taken away, so he resisted timidly.
“It’s 51,000. 51000!”
Yeah, eat some shits.
“100,000!!! We got 100,000 100,000! You don’t have more? Then, 3, 2, 1… It’s sold for 100,000 won. Thank you!!!!”
When I saw myself burning 100 million won for a ring used by a B-class hero, I felt like people around me were buzzing.
The host seemed to be in a good mood, perhaps because he succeeded in selling it by puffing it up.
I just smiled at the noisy indoor atmosphere.
This is the most valuable thing out of all the things that came out today.
Perhaps if people knew the truth of the ring, it would have gone up by a trillion won in value over a billion. It’s not something you can afford in the first place.
I’m sure everyone here, as the capitals, has essentially hundreds of millions.
Anyway, after finishing my business, I just got up from my seat. There’s nothing more to see now.
After smirking at the guy who was shaking from the side, I came out and picked up the goods first.
A ring looks very normal, with just a purple pearl in the middle.
I came out with the ring wrapped in my pocket with the case.
Phew. One goal was achieved.
….But how do I get home?
***
I somehow got home, fell asleep as soon as I arrived, and the next day.
“Da-in. What the hell is this? Did you go out making a fuss at night?”
Seo-eun asked me, who was wiping the ring in the living room, as if she was very curious.
“The ring of the seal.”
“What?”
“We will do this for the next terrorist attack.”
“……Wait, what the hell is this?”
“You’ll know when you see it.”
Purple pellets embedded in the center of the ring.
I turned it clockwise twice and counterclockwise again.
And at the same time.
The ring glows.
[…Hmm? Who woke me up?]
Inside the ring, a translucent man in knighthood that would have been worn only in the Middle Ages.
“…What is this?”
Surprised Seo-eun and the one in black armor who still looks puzzled.
In that chaotic situation, I only said this calmly.
“Death Knight.”
[Hm? Are you talking about me? That’s not my name, St. Pett…]
“No. Your name is Death Knight from today.”
Death Knight sounds better.
From now on, your name is Desik.