Rodus's interest was piqued.
Lothar's unshakable confidence intrigued him deeply.
Technically speaking, clients weren't allowed to preview—let alone take—any auction items before the official bidding began.
After all, this was a business. If every patron leveraged their backing to bypass the rules, what would be the point of even having an auction house?
How would he trade the auction items for things that might interest collectors?
That said, everyone here was an adult. Rules weren't unbreakable—they were negotiable. The only question was whether Lothar had the kind of bargaining chip that could justify a little flexibility.
If the rules say no, it just ans your offer isn't good enough.
"The auction's about to begin," Lothar said smoothly. "I imagine, King Gafa, you wouldn't want this grand event disrupted by those filthy, low-born rebels, would you?"
Zora, standing quietly off to the side, darkened at Lothar's choice of words.
"What are you suggesting?" Rodus asked, his tone careful.
"Jennifer. One of the rebel leaders of Gafa." Lothar raised the slim datachip between his fingers.
"This contains evidence of her appearance in the capital—along with details on her accomplice. I give you this, and in return, you hand over the SM-404 chanical component. Deal?"
The night before, Woz had copied all surveillance footage of Ego's eting with Jennifer onto that chip for Lothar to use as leverage.
"Jennifer?"
Rodus's brow furrowed at the na. She was that slick apprentice from the Tuskari clan—the one trained by that stubborn old fox. She'd always managed to stay just slippery enough, weaving in and out of the cities of Gafa without getting caught.
He hadn't expected her to be bold—or foolish—enough to show up in the capital at a ti like this.
"And it's not just her," Lothar added, the smirk on his lips deepening. "She's working with soone else. From the way she spoke, it sounded like her partner isn't even from Gafa."
Lothar didn't know what so-called "rules set by the Collector" Jennifer was referring to, but that didn't stop him from twisting it to his advantage. After all, he wasn't lying.
His father had taught him: to rise to power, you must learn to exploit every tool at your disposal.
Rodus arched a brow thoughtfully, then pressed a finger to his communicator:
"Remove the SM-404 chanical component from the auction list and bring it to ."
"At once, my King," ca the instant reply.
"Then let's begin," Rodus said, eyes settling once more on Lothar.
"Woz."
Without hesitation, Lothar gestured for Woz to play the datachip's contents.
The massive holoscreen lit up at once—Ego's unmistakable face dominating the display. At his side stood Jennifer, draped in a striking crimson gown.
"This man is called Ego. He's Jennifer's accomplice," Lothar said, and Woz paused the footage imdiately, pulling up Ego's na and associated data onscreen.
Zora, still quietly standing aside, felt her ears grow hot.
She didn't understand how the King and Mr. Lothar could watch this kind of video so nonchalantly.
Was this the composure of true power?
In her heart, a tiny Zora cheered her real self on.
"Damn it!"
The footage cut out abruptly with Ego's snarled curse, plunging the room into an awkward silence.
Lothar didn't bother to say anything else. Once he had the chanical component, he could finally bring that sycophantic flatterer back to life.
Rodus, anwhile, was fixated on Ego. In his centuries of rule, he had never heard that na before.
And the man's unshakable confidence in the footage had caught his attention.
Rodus never underestimated unknown threats.
As for Zora—she was simply too mortified to speak.
The silence only broke when the chanical component arrived.
SM-404. The device resembled a chanical arm, and it imdiately caught Lothar's eye.
"This is what you wanted. On behalf of Gafa, I thank you for the intel, Lothar," Rodus said solemnly.
Having secured the component ahead of the auction, Lothar turned it over in his hands with satisfaction, then nodded and followed Zora out of the Gafa Command Center.
"Everyone, assemble."
Only after Lothar left did Rodus's expression shift to one of grim resolve. He summoned the remaining Gafa generals to analyze the footage Lothar had provided.
They needed to determine Ego's potential threat level—and uncover Jennifer's true objective.
So, as the war-weary commanders gathered in haste, Rodus played the footage again.
They huddled around it, scrutinizing every fra for clues about Ego's explosive power... and soon, a flurry of debates erupted.
anwhile, in a quiet estate sowhere on Gafa, King Rodus arrived at a secluded manor where he knew the Collector would be.
A nervous slave opened the door and bowed deeply.
"Welco, my King."
"Where's the Collector?"
"What business brings you here, Rodus?" ca a raspy voice from within.
The Collector appeared slowly, stepping forward with deliberate grace, his boots crunching softly over his newest 'toy.'
His stark white hair frad an aged, enigmatic face. His black leather armor was trimd with fur from so rare, possibly extinct beast.
He was one of the oldest and most elusive beings in the cosmos—the Collector, a godlike entity who had persisted since the birth of the universe.
"The Tuskari clan has violated the tripartite accord we made," Rodus said gravely. "They brought in a third-party force from beyond Gafa. I ca to inform you."
As the Collector andered through the garden, Rodus detailed Ego's appearance and handed over the video.
He had already made nurous copies of the one Lothar gave him.
"A third party?" The Collector's tone was skeptical.
"Yes. The man's na is Ego."
"What did you say?" the Collector asked sharply, his expression darkening.
"His na is Ego."
Raising the chip, the Collector signaled his slaves, who instantly began playing the footage.
As the scene unfolded and Jennifer stepped aside to reveal Ego's face—
—a shadow swept down from the sky.
A black steed touched down in the estate courtyard, its rider bearing a badge from Odin himself.
"I am Hela, Goddess of Death from Asgard," ca a commanding voice.
"Who among you is the Collector?"
Dismounting in a blur of shadowy grace, Hela's dark hair billowed like a war banner. Her presence was nothing short of divine.
And then—
"Ugh. Disgusting."
The first thing she saw was the Collector and Rodus huddled together... watching Ego's footage.
Her face imdiately twisted into a sneer of sheer disgust.
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]
Reviews
All reviews (0)