I left Raizen alone and climbed the stairs.
Did they say they would be waiting on the rooftop?
Reaching the top, I realized the staircase led not to the ground but to the roof. As I had suspected, the Abyss Auction was being held in a high-rise building.
A fierce gust of wind hit me the moment I opened the door. It was the kind of wind you would expect atop a high mountain.
"Oh..."
The structure was the top of a magic tower. It didn't look like a typical tower, and I couldn't be certain whether it stood in the capital. At this height, fog enveloped the surrounding area. Even Fiery Golden Eyes failed to pierce through it easily, indicating this was no ordinary fog.
The rooftop offered no railings. One wrong step in this wind could send someone plummeting into the void. At the very edge, where danger was absolute, the Iron-Blooded Lord stood unmoved. The wind whipped around him, yet his feet remained planted as if rooted to the stone. Only his cloak, meant to conceal his identity, fluttered lightly in the breeze, oddly in harmony with the rooftop's eerie atmosphere.
He peered into the dense fog and spoke slowly. "Are you done talking?"
"Yes."
As I approached, Maxim stepped back, silently signaling for the two of us to speak alone. A faint flush of embarrassment crossed his face. He had likely tried to persuade the Iron-Blooded Lord during my conversation with Raizen, but it had failed.
I cut straight to the point. "Please forgive Raizen."
"I will do so."
"Huh?" I tilted my head at the unexpected response.
"If he isn't actually auctioning a demon, taking his life would be excessive," the Iron-Blooded Lord said in his typical indifferent tone. It sounded reassuring at first, but coming from him, it carried a strange weight.
I muttered, "Clearly, you have a different perspective."
"Nevertheless, Raizen disrupted the order of the capital. Punishment is inevitable."
"Punishment?" I repeated.
"I plan to sever his right arm and educate him thoroughly at home for three years."
"Hah."
Why did this insane family have such an obsession with severing arms?
In my case, it had only been the tendons, but the way he declared that he would completely sever Raizen's arm showed that dealing with demons was treated as a far graver crime than selling the family's treasure sword.
Besides, educating him at home for three years? He called it education, but in truth it meant keeping him locked inside the mansion for three years. Granted, Raizen would live in comfort, but for someone like him, that comfort would be no different from a prison. More than that, Raizen was useful. I had no intention of letting him waste away for three years.
"That is too much." I turned to the Iron-Blooded Lord. "He didn't actually sell a demon, did he? Raizen is still young. Can't you overlook this as a youthful mistake?"
"He is old enough to take responsibility. From an early age, he was taught to avoid the church and demons. Yet he knowingly used a demon as bait. His actions were careless, inadequate, reckless. If things had gone wrong, the church could have become involved. He deserves punishment," the Iron-Blooded Lord said.
"It isn't deserved," I shot back.
His gaze shifted to me. Beneath those dark purple eyes, a flicker of emotion stirred.
As expected, it is hard to convince him with words. If so, I had no choice. It felt wasteful, but I would have to use this as compensation for stopping the demon king's descent.
I was about to speak when the Iron-Blooded Lord cut me off. "If Raizen goes unpunished, there will be a flaw in the very existence of the Iron-Blooded Lord."
"How so?"
He explained, "The church has begun to reveal itself in earnest. You know this better than anyone. At such a time, my role becomes even more critical. I must be a deterrent, a figure the church fears above all. What happens if I compromise here? What happens if rumors spread that Raizen Badniker, who tried to sell a demon, escaped punishment?
"They will say the Iron-Blooded Lord goes soft when it comes to his own family. That will be seen as weakness, and weakness will erode my very existence. My enemies will no longer fear me. The worms who held back from dealing with the church out of fear will think, What if ?"
His indifferent gaze settled on me. "That is something I cannot allow."
I fell silent. He was usually so quiet that I hadn't expected him to consider matters like this.
His words were not excessive. They were reasonable, given what he represented to the empire, and above all, to the church. People said the Iron-Blooded Lord was heartless, cold, without blood or tears. It was fortunate that his fangs had turned only toward the church.
Yet for the first time, I felt I wasn't facing the Iron-Blooded Lord, but the man called Delac. Without this moment, I would never have felt it, not even as his son. No one else would ever notice, and he would never allow them to.
Suddenly, he seemed unsteady, as if standing on the edge. Perhaps he didn't want to live this way, but had been forced into it.
"I disagree." I pushed aside my intrusive thoughts. "Please hear me out and follow my plan. Then the image of the Iron-Blooded Lord will remain untarnished."
"Plan?"
"It isn't much. If you can endure a little embarrassment, everything will end on a positive note." I hadn't intended to be so open about the plan, but I felt this approach would serve the current Iron-Blooded Lord better.
"Go on," he said.
"Can I call Raizen first? I need to ask him something as well."
The Iron-Blooded Lord nodded, and I quickly brought Raizen up the stairs. Studying his face, I asked, "Do you have any goat-type beastfolk among your subordinates?"
"Goat beastfolk? Why?"
"I need one for the plan," I replied, then laid out the details.
Raizen's expression changed as he listened, and by the time I finished, he burst out laughing. "The trading company's trust will hit rock bottom."
"If you dislike it, you can always have one of your arms cut off and spend three years locked away," I shot back.
"That's a bit much..." Raizen shook his head, visibly unnerved. For someone as free-spirited as him, three years in chains was no different from a death sentence.
"I'll go along with your plan," Raizen said. "But unfortunately, none of my subordinates are goats."
"Really?" With so many beastfolk under him, I had assumed at least one would be. So things wouldn't be as simple as I had thought.
I was considering the remaining options when Raizen added an odd remark. "I mean, among my subordinates."
"What do you mean?"
Raizen's gaze shifted toward the Sky-Destroying Sword.
Maxim scratched his head, wearing a puzzled look. "So you know?"
"There are many gifted people under me," Raizen said. "Naturally, I've kept that information to myself."
Maxim gave a strained smile. "Is that so?"
I couldn't hold back. "Don't tell me...?"
Maxim nodded. "That's right. I'm also a beastfolk."
It felt like a sudden twist, though in truth it wasn't. Maxim's willingness to cooperate with the Iron-Blooded Lord probably stemmed from the beastfolk at this Abyss Auction.
I turned to him. "Forgive me for asking, but are you sturdy enough?"
Maxim looked baffled.
***
There wasn't much time left before the auction ended, so I gathered Raizen, Haro, Zial, and the beastfolk we had defeated earlier to explain the plan.
"Let's go with the idea that the demon being auctioned went berserk and escaped. Sir Maxim will take on the role of the demon," I said.
"With some transformation and makeup, he could look similar to the one in the picture, but... if they look closely, won't they notice the difference?" one subordinate asked.
"It's fine. Sir Maxim will make his entrance by crashing through the ceiling. The dust will be a natural distraction," I assured them.
They still looked uneasy, so I pressed them. "Now, now. We don't have time. Get to your positions quickly."
"Then what will we use as the signal?" another asked.
"Sir Maxim crashing through the stage ceiling will be the signal," I answered flatly.
"I'm the one signaling the start. I understand." Maxim nodded once before slipping quietly up to the ceiling above the stage.
I wondered how such a massive figure could move so silently.
Wolf, Raizen's right-hand man, stared blankly at the sight, still struggling to make sense of the situation.
I clapped sharply in front of the beastfolk. "Wake up. Your role is the most important. Once chaos breaks out, you'll be in for a rude awakening. You can't afford to be dazed already."
"Yes..."
"Do you understand the plan clearly?"
"I understand, but... about the first stage." Wolf hesitated.
"The first stage, Chaos?"
The operation had three stages: Chaos, Destruction, and Oblivion.
"Yes." Wolf nodded, though his expression showed clear distaste for the names. "How are you going to create the most important one—chaos?"
"Isn't having the demon escape enough to create chaos?" I asked, puzzled.
"That's hard to say. They might think it's just an act," Wolf replied.
"An act? Do you often stage things like this?"
Wolf smiled bitterly. "Our master enjoys theatrics. If I remember correctly, he's used the crashing-through-the-ceiling entrance twice already."
I sighed. That sounded exactly like something Raizen would do.
After a moment's thought, I said, "Then let's stir things up as the instigators."
Wolf frowned at the wording. "Instigators?"
"Shout something like, The demon has escaped! or It's dangerous, run! Raise a commotion like that."
"Understood."
Wolf passed the order to the other beastfolk while I fixed my gaze on the stage. The auction was nearing its end. The next step was the demon's exhibition.
Maxim should appear around this time... The thought had barely formed when the ceiling gave way with a thunderous crash.
Splintered wood rained down as startled cries and sharp screams cut through the hall. Out of the dust and darkness, Maxim emerged, disguised as the demon.
Oh, the quality of their work is way better than I expected. The makeup team must have gone all out. Even through the haze, the flash in his eyes looks truly sinister , I marveled.
At the same time, shouts erupted from every corner.
"D-demon!"
"The demon has escaped!"
"Everyone must run!"
Just as planned, the instigators spread the alarm. Yet Wolf's concern proved valid. While a few guests bolted halfway out of their chairs, most remained seated. The higher their rank, the less they moved.
There was no sense of crisis. What would happen if a real demon escaped?
Of course, Maxim was playing the role of a demon and wouldn't really harm them.
What should I do? The question gnawed at me until an idea struck.
"The Iron-Blooded Lord is here!" I hollered.
The instant my voice echoed through the auction hall, the reaction was explosive. Gasps rippled across the crowd, followed by a rising chorus of voices.
"W-what?"
"The Iron-Blooded Lord? The Iron-Blooded Lord has appeared?!"
"Spare me!"
"O-out of the way! I have to live!"
In an instant, chaos consumed the auction house. Chairs scraped and toppled as everyone leapt to their feet and surged toward the exits.
I watched them for a moment with a hollow feeling in my chest.
Father, what the hell are you...?