The carriage door slowly opened.
The first thing Simon saw was cold mist.
A visible white just escaped from the inside of the carriage and spread into the air the moment the door opened.
Then...
A figure slowly stepped out.
The surroundings seemed to become colder immediately afterward.
Lucien Mercer finally revealed himself.
Simon narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed the Frostborn prodigy carefully.
Lucien looked young.
Perhaps around twenty years old by human standards.
He possessed pale skin that was so flawless to the point that it almost looked unnatural beneath the falling snow, and his silver-white hair reached slightly below his neck.
His face was calm and refined.
Too refined.
Like a noble that had never experienced hardship before.
Yet strangely enough...
There was no arrogance on his face.
Only composure.
His icy blue eyes resembled frozen glass, and whenever he slowly exhaled, visible cold mist escaped from his lips despite the fact that other Frostborns around him were not releasing such mist.
Even the temperature around him seemed lower than the surroundings.
The guards around the carriage unconsciously straightened their postures after he appeared.
Not because Lucien ordered them to.
But because of instinct.
Simon quietly observed his movements.
It was smooth, controlled, and contained no unnecessary motion.
Even the way Lucien stepped onto the snowy ground was stable and perfectly balanced.
’So he’s not a spoiled brat... Hmmm.’
It was a little bit disappointing, but Simon expected this, so he wasn’t surprised at all.
The crowd around the carriage became quieter after Lucien appeared.
Some Frostborns looked at him with admiration.
Others with pride.
Even several demon merchants and nobles from other races greeted him respectfully.
"Young Master Lucien."
"It’s an honor seeing you again."
"I heard your ice affinity has reached a terrifying level."
Lucien calmly acknowledged everyone with slight nods while maintaining the same composed expression.
He neither looked overly friendly nor arrogant.
He simply acted as though such treatment was normal.
And perhaps it was.
As Lucien walked, Simon’s brows could not help but narrow when he noticed something.
At first glance, Lucien’s aura was that of a Supreme Archfiend.
But something felt wrong.
’It’s... being suppressed?’
It felt somewhat similar to how powerful demons intentionally suppressed their cultivation.
Simon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Then...
He activated Hollow Sky Eyes.
The world before Simon instantly changed.
Lucien’s body became partially transparent in Simon’s vision while demonic energy pathways appeared faintly beneath his skin.
The way he saw Lucien and the other demons was now in black and white.
The moment Simon saw Lucien’s demonic heart and the black flame in it, his expression beneath his mask changed slightly.
’A Half-Step Greater Demon?’
Simon immediately suppressed the change in his expression.
Lucien was not a Supreme Archfiend.
He was a Half-Step Greater Demon.
The same rank as Vexa and the others.
’Interesting. Very interesting.’
Simon slowly lowered his gaze while pretending not to stare any longer.
His mind rapidly began moving.
Did the Grey Pact genuinely not know Lucien’s true cultivation?
Or did they intentionally hide it from him?
Neither possibility was good.
Especially the second one.
If Lucien was truly a Half-Step Greater Demon, then the difficulty of this mission had increased.
A Half-Step Greater Demon with Frostborn bloodline, dual affinities, powerful artifacts, and other potential defensive and offensive measures.
This was no longer a simple assassination mission.
Lucien suddenly turned his head slightly.
His icy eyes swept across the surroundings calmly before briefly landing on Simon.
Only for a moment.
Yet Simon instantly felt a faint chill run across his spine.
Not killing intent.
Not hostility either.
It simply felt like Lucien’s instincts had noticed him briefly.
The two looked at each other for less than a second before Lucien looked away calmly and continued walking toward the auction house entrance.
Simon quietly watched him.
’So he has sharp senses too. Or maybe it was a mistake?’
’Sigh.’
’Luckily for me, I didn’t release any killing intent or hostility of sort.’
’But his sharp senses is going to be a problem.’
That was troublesome.
Very troublesome.
Meanwhile, the guards around Lucien quickly cleared a path for him.
The security around the auction house became even stricter after Lucien’s arrival.
Additional guards appeared near the entrances while several hidden aura fluctuations revealed themselves briefly atop nearby buildings.
Clearly...
House Mercer was taking no chances.
"Looks like the prodigy arrived earlier than expected." Vexa quietly said through the Grave Mark.
Simon did not reply immediately.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
The mission briefing was wrong.
Or incomplete.
And he hated incomplete information.
The Grey Pact soon separated from Simon naturally and blended into the crowded auction district like ordinary merchants.
Meanwhile, Simon walked toward the auction house entrance alone.
The closer he got, the more oppressive the security became.
Two heavily armored guards stopped him before he could enter.
"Invitation token."
Simon calmly brought out the token Vexa gave him.
The guards inspected it carefully before one of them activated another chaos array near the entrance.
This array was far more complicated than the ones outside the city gates.
Dark blue light swept across Simon slowly.
He immediately felt the array scanning his appearance, his aura, and most importantly his heart rank.
Fortunately, the appearance-altering earring remained effective.
And he was a Fiend, so he met the requirements for the heart rank.
The guard then looked at Simon again.
"Wealth verification."
Simon calmly brought out the spatial ring Vexa prepared beforehand.
The guard inspected it briefly before nodding.
There were more than enough hell stones inside.
The minimum requirement for entry was one million low grade hell stones or one hundred thousand intermediate grade hell stones.
Vexa had given him five million low grade hell stones.
Only wealthy demons could participate in the Winter Moon Auction.
After several more seconds of inspection, the guards finally stepped aside.
"You may enter."
Simon calmly walked into the auction house.
The inside was even more luxurious than the outside.
Blue crystals illuminated the massive hall beautifully while hundreds of demons filled the seats below.
Some seats were ordinary.
Others were clearly reserved for nobles and important guests.
Simon quietly observed everything while heading toward his assigned seat.
Then his eyes suddenly narrowed slightly.
Above the auction hall...
There were several private boxes.
And one of them had already opened.
Lucien calmly entered one of the private boxes alongside several guards before disappearing from sight.
Simon’s expression gradually became colder.
’Private boxes?’
That was not part of the plan.
If Lucien remained inside a private box protected by the arrays he could see, assassinating him would become far more difficult than expected.
At that exact moment...
An elderly Frostborn suddenly walked onto the auction stage.
The entire auction hall gradually became quieter.
Then the old Frostborn smiled faintly and spread his arms.
"Welcome everyone..."
"To this year’s Winter Moon Auction."