Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Auction Mayhem

A little girl was scared.
Her eyes were covered by a cloth that made it hard to see through.
Her feet and hands were bounded by string, stuck in a seiza position.
She couldn't move, for the loss of sight has struck fear into her.
She was scared, her bear, her grandpa, and her best friend weren't there and she was scared.

CLINK!

She flinched as the floor moved beneath her. The girl's balance shook and she tried to stay still while being tied to not fall over.
She hated falling over, she remembered all the scratches on her knees and hands so she hated it.
The movement beneath her slowly came to a stop but her tension still didn't elevate.

The girl felt the space around her enlarge and the surroundings were filled with chatter. Wows and awes echoed around her and she didn't know what would happen.

"Feast your eyes! A descendant of the Kaguya Family, the most beautiful household in history! But this is no ordinary offspring off from a branch, this is the heir of the main family!"
Gasps were heard, surprised voices of shock echoed in the room and even hurried footsteps were heard.
It was then the little girl realised,
She was going to be auctioned as a slave.
She whimpered silently as the uproar of the attendants covered her cries.

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"What the fuck?! The heir?!"
"How da hell they get someone like that?"
"Nah, fuck that. I'm out of here, never know if the Royal Family gets involved."
"Me too, I'm heading out."
"Ain't she a treat, she even has the slave brand. If she's cheap, I might be able to snatch her up."
"Are you stupid?! Look at all the rich pigs licking their mouths. They are really determined to get her."
Some attendees left, afraid of the consequences that might arise from holding while others just waited around getting ready to enjoy the show. The leftovers were too excited with their brains as dicks and money in their hands. They were ecstatic and wanted to taste the forbidden fruit.
"We'll start this auction with 1 million gold!" the auctioneer shouted, really excited that they managed to get the girl at the last minute. They were confident that she would be sent off before they got into trouble.
"10 million here!
"50!"
"I'll do 100!"
"200!"
The bids started very ferociously, commoners racking up the price to the wealthy's price range and were taken over by the higher prices.
"1 billion!"
"And the gentleman on the left has broken the record for the highest slave purchase! Can we get even higher?"
"2 billion!"
"I'm cutting it higher, 100 billion! Highest I can go!"
"Ha, pathetic! 200 billion!"
"300 billion!"

The higher numbers excited the auctioneer but the same can't be said for the girl.
She was being on full display to all these unknown attendees, watching her like a succulent piece of meat. She could feel it, the gazes of hundred adoring her like an object. It made her sick, but she was overcome with fear. The increase in numbers made her feel more dread, numbers that even rival some of her branch families. She couldn't do anything, even moving without seeing anything scared her.

"1 TRILLION!"
The air stiffened and everyone looked at the rich bidder, who was holding the small paddle.
An endearing blonde mature man sat luxuriously in the front row, jackets glittered with rare gems and endangered hides of fearsome monsters. His large stature was able to hold two sexy ladies on each arm, his hand busily fondling their bodies.
Little whispers echoed as the identity of the rich man was revealed.
"Why is the God of Pride here? I thought he was in North Jewels for a meeting."
"Fuck, he's a God! Don't bid, we don't want to incur his wrath."
"Dammit, if only we had a powerhouse, we could get the courage to bid."
"Don't! Even the wealthy families aren't wanting to get on a God's bad side."

The auctioneer grew very happy, seeing such a huge bid. It was a shame that the competition died but it was still a very outstanding bid.
The little girl grew even into more despair. She had heard those terrible beings, as taught by her family. The majority of them were selfish and thought of themselves as higher species, despite being thrashed around by powerful people like her ancestors. They hold no value to things like mortals and even treat the world like a troublesome chore or a small pest. Most Gods were despicable and she felt the dread of becoming a slave to such a person.

"Thanks to the God of Pride for giving such a generous bid! Are we having any more bidders?" the auctioneer shouted to try and receive more bids but nobody was foolish enough to go against the God.
"Okay," the auctioneer sighed and continued the bid.
"Going once!"
She felt the impact of the mallet nearby, the sound that was going to set her fate.
"Going twice!"
She cried as the second slammed down, but no one cared. They were more excited about the conclusion of one of the most expensive slaves in history.
"Going thrice!"

She trembled at the third and soon-to-be final strike. Her throat was dry and hoarse but she still opened her mouth to say her last prayers. She thought of all her friends and family and even wondered if she would ever meet them again. As a last-ditch effort, despite the strong fear that she held inside, she still asked for some miracle.
In a very quiet voice, as though she was only moving her mouth

"Save me...."

"And SOL-"

BOOM!

The whole ceiling of the auction house exploded and the Sun exposed itself into the building. Wooden frames smashed down inside the building and smashed into bidders, killing some in an instant. Chaos ensued and people tried to run away from the destruction, only to find out that the exit doors were covered in a dark transparent barrier, preventing their escape.
Only the God of Pride sat unfazed and stared at the figure that stood close to the auctioneer and his soon-to-be slave.
The young white-haired man stood on stage, donning a black worn-out cloak that covered most of his figure except for his head. He looked at the auctioneer, who was shocked by the collapse of the ceiling and the sudden appearance of the person next to him.
"Who the hell are yo-"

[DEVOUR]

A giant devil-like jaw, made out of some dark liquid, shot out of the man's cloak and chomped on the auctioneer. His upper body was eaten up in an instant and the lower part wobbled a bit before being gulped by [DEVOUR]'s second bite, letting out a burp before returning to the cloak.

"T-Rex, Ollie, you have a feast." the cloaked man shouted and two dogs ran out and dove into the crowd of attendees, growing larger and chopping on anybody. Their claws started a massacre, shredding every corpse into mince meat.

"You are acting very haughty for a mortal to come down and massacre everyone. Have you forgotten that you are standing in front of a god?" the god of Pride stood up from his seat, throwing his ladies into the crowd and showing no concern. He began to channel his law, creating opaque lion heads that covered his two fists. His aura glowed with a golden hue, preparing to beat this mortal a lesson.
But the cloaked person didn't even give him a single glance, instead looking at the bounded girl on stage. He walked toward the girl, making sure his steps are audible to not startle the small lady.
She heard the chaos but was too afraid to move. She felt something move around her [SPACE] but was unable to discern it. The footsteps were getting closer and closer and she felt like her heart was going to jump out of her throat. The steps halted but she felt an intent looking straight at her, it gave her a terrifying feeling.

[LULLABY]

"You're going to be alright, just keep the blindfold on for now and I'll take you home later.
He petted her head, making sure to use gentle motions to not startle her. Initially, she flinched at the touch but slowly calmed down when she hear the soothing voice and the gentle petting.
"Just stay quiet and be still. A crying face doesn't suit a pretty girl like you."

[SHATTER]
The ropes, that bonded the girl, began to disintegrate into dust and allowed the girl to sit in a more comfortable position.

"You have a lot of guts ignoring me, mortal!"
The god of Pride rushed up towards the cloaked man, his dash destroying the flooring and soaring diagonally to the stage. His right arm was channelled with an almighty lion's roar and smashed his fist onto the cloaked figure.

BOOM!

A single pinkie was halting the lion's advance, shattering its whole momentum and killing the lion's figure on the fist.

"WHAT?!"
"Pathetic."
The cloaked figure flicked his pinkie and pushed the god back. The force disrupted his Law of Pride and made him unable to activate it again in such a small time frame. He used his free arm to pull a skeleton knife out of his cloak and casually threw it.

[RICOCHET]

The knife pierced through his left thigh, crippling his left hamstring. The velocity of the knife continued and bounced in the arm, piercing his right biceps. The precise knife continued even faster and broke every major muscle that controlled bodily movements. After the last cut, the knife slotted back into the cloak.
Before the god of Pride could even react, his body gave way and slumped down towards the broken floor. His body immediately went crippled.
A spartan kick delivered onto his face and sent him flying back into the seat, breaking several rows.
"What a weak kitty."
"Feel grateful that you shall face me at my fullest power, mortal!"

The god of Pride decided to use the fullest of his Law of Pride, smothering his soul in the power and lit his entire being. His eyes shone with a bright golden effect and his figure slowly projected a lion that supported his entire power. The Laws exuded a powerful effect on his body, quickly regenerating his crippled muscles.
The god blinked, arriving in front of the cloaked man and sending a furry of fists toward him. His feet didn't move as he blankly watch the fists rain toward him.

[ZEROTH BREAK]

He separated the god's stance with a single swipe from his arms, the god's arms fell into disarray and felt his power nearly going out of control and had to quickly dispel the effects.
Through that opening, a circular kick slammed onto the god's head, pummelling him to the wooden flooring.
Splinters flew everywhere and the god tried to pick himself up before being ruthlessly kicked in the stomach and sent back to the seats.

"So this what gods are? Can't believe They thought giving their Blessings was a good idea to such incompetent beings?"
"SILENCE MORTAL! FOR YOU HAVE INCURRED THE PRIDE OF THIS GOD!"
The god of Pride got up and decided to burn his soul to fight this puny mortal to the fullest. He had never felt so humiliated and wanted to make sure this man will descend into Hell!
"BE GRATEFUL FOR YOU SHALL HEAR THE TRUE NAME OF A GOD!"

When the god said 'True Name', the remaining surviving attendees went into a panic and tried to run away even more desperate. The Great Dane, one of the two dogs, relished seeing his food taking the effort to run. The cloaked man didn't even seem to care about the declaration, only mumbling that his ears were starting to hurt.

"BEAR WITNESS TO YOUR FALL, MORTAL! I AM [LEONARDO], GOD OF PRIDE!"

Within the instance of hearing the name, all the bidders fainted with some of them having blood seep out of their eyes. The Great Dane was disappointed that his food no longer ran but still found a still meal as the best meal.
The cloaked man was still standing, seemly unaffected by the True Name while the little blindfolded girl was still puzzled by the quieter atmosphere.

"W-w-w-what! How are you still alive?!"
The god of Pride kneeled after exerting a lot of strength and even burning a bit of his soul but was more astonished about the mortal taking a full blow of his True Name.

"You call that a True Name? Hahaha."
The cloaked man chuckled before turning to the little girl and saying, in all seriousness,
"Little girl. If you don't want to die, cover your ears."
The little girl immediately did as she was told and quickly covered her ear, pressing her hands on her head quite hard, she looked like a sideways pancake.
'That's adorable,' the man chuckled before blinking in front of the shocked god.

"Let me tell you something funny."

You are reading story Hololive: The Chief Manager at novel35.com

"..."
The god of Pride didn't reply and only looked at the pair of piercing red eyes of the cloaked man. He tried to manipulate his Laws, only for them to disintegrate as he was too exhausted to maintain the form.
The man lowered down, bringing his mouth closer to the god's ears.

"Î̸̡̨̺̞̗̩͙̠̗̖͉͊̓̋̈̈́͝ ̸̧̨͙̩̫̂̾͐̽̎̄̐̕Ā̷̻̞̫͔̺̝̜̞͆̅͒́̚M̷̠̬͌̾͐ ̷̧̛̦̼̻̙̕[̵̛͎̰̋͛̀̐͊̄̈͆̊̚͘Ň̷̪̟̰̜̜̓̀̍͂̅́̌̂̆̔͘Ư̴̡̢̢͕͖̥͈̝̮̳̮̹͔̓̿̓͌̈́͗̕Ĺ̶̛̙̯̻͙̖̙̭͐͌̊̋̓̾͐͘͝͠L̸̢̰̲͔̳͙̗̔̉͜]̴̢̧̺̳̱̱͇̑̏͂͋͐̏̂̀͛͘͠"

The god broke down, black viscous liquid started to seep out of his ears. Underneath his skin, his veins became more visible as they became more black. His eyes unfocused but desperately tried to look at the man, before being inked into completely black and his kneeling posture slouched down. Black blood seeped out of his mouth as his skin colouration became more black.
The body of the god became pitch black with none of his features being identifiable.

SNAP!

With a snap of the fingers from the cloaked man, the body of the god began to flake into dust and not leaving a piece of the physical material behind.

'Damn, didn't get the body. The soul will just do,' the man thought as he collected his loot into [INVENTORY] and watched as his dogs munched on the bodies.
"Leave some for me."
"Yes, Chief! This is one of the best feasts I had in a while."
"Good to hear."

The cloaked man walked back to the girl, seeing her diligently covering her ear and tensing her lips.
He approached and petted her head, before using his other free hand to slowly remove her blindfold.
The girl's eyes were finally free and she was greeted with a destroyed auction house and piles of bodies in the seat. She was scared by the sight and immediately clutched his cloak. He sighed and took off his coat, covering her petite body to make her more secure.
She calmed down a bit after receiving the cloak and her brown eyes looked into his red eyes, staring at him for quite some time and then realised she was being rude and averted her gaze.

"Um, thank you...?" the little girl tried to thank her rescuer as a way to break the silence from the intense gazing.
"Chief. You can just call me Chief."
"Ah, thank you, Chief-san. My name is Tokino Sora."
"Pleasure to meet you, Sora. You remember why you are here?"
"Umm...I do not remember much. I just went to a bakery with my friend to eat some new treats and next thing I knew, I was bounded and blindfolded..."
"I see, luckily they didn't do anything life-threatening to you."
"Really?"
"Yes, I scanned your body. You should be fine."
"....um, thank you, Chief-san" Sora blushed as she thought of a man scanning her body.
"Do you know where you live?"
"Um, the Kaguya Estate."
"Oh, you're that old hag's heir."
"....Hag?"
"Nothing, I'll take you back home."
"Ah, is that okay?"
"It'll be fine."
"I can not burden you anymore. You already did so much."
"You can't even move your legs."

Sora looked down and saw her legs trembling, unable to move from the experience of such a traumatising event.
"...Then I will reluctantly accept your help."
"Don't be bothered by it, I can't leave a pretty girl by herself."
"...I do not deserve such flattery."
"Hahaha."
"Please Chief-san, you teasing me too much."

She was about to beg Chief to cease his teasing when her body slumped and she was barely able to support herself. Chief quickly bent down to stabilise her balance.
"Ah, you're too tired." -Chief
"?" Sora was puzzled as she was getting sleepy.
"Of course, you would get tired after dealing with such a tiring event. Get some rest and I'll take you home."
"But-"
"Don't worry. You'll be fine. Go to sleep."
Sora tiredly looked at Chief's red eyes for a bit before nodding and went to sleep.

[WHAT A CAREFREE GIRL]
"Of course, it's Tokino Sora."
[I DON'T SEE ANY MEMORIES OF MASTER MEETING THIS INDIVIDUAL]
"I'll unlock a few of Earth's memories, you can look at them later. I need to mask this aura of hers.
[HER AURA?]
"Yes, it looks appetising to these lower gods who need more power. She has a bit of Law inside her. Can you look through my [INVENTORY: DISGUISE FOLDER]."

[I'LL PRESENT THE LIST, MASTER].
A screen, only visible to Chief and his companions, popped up and showed his extensive collection. Chief started to look through an appropriate item for Sora.
[I RECOMMEND MASTER TO LESSEN HIS COLLECTION]
"Zip it, if I have infinite space, I will use it to the fullest."
[BUT YOU CAN'T FILL IT]
"That's why I collect so I can test the limits."
[...]
"...Don't question my collection"
[YES MASTER!]

Chief managed to find two suitable items:

[CRADLE STARPIN]
[SECOND HEAVEN'S EMOTION FEATHER]

He grabbed the two items and used [COMBINE] to create a neat feathered hairpin. He softly attached them to Sora's left side of her hair.
"Wow, their synergy is abnormal. Way too strong, I need to study more combination."
[DON'T WORRY MASTER. YOU HAVE A LOT OF COPIES.]
"....I know, I know I am a hoarder. No need to rub it in."
[MY APOLOGIES, MASTER!]
"Let's bring her back to her home."
Chief petted the sleeping Sora and her lips curled into a smile in response to the comforting touch.

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Tokino Sora woke up and saw the familiar ceiling of her room. She slowly got up and saw herself lying on her usual bed and saw her attendant slumping on the side of the bed. The attendant looked very tired and Sora cautiously tried to hop out of the bed without alerting her friend.
However, her movements did not go undetected and the attendant immediately woke up and caught Sora trying to move out.

"SORA-SAMA!" the attendant dove into Sora's bed and hugged her tightly around the waist, "I WAS SO WORRIED! I'M SO GLAD YOU ARE SAFE, SORA-SAMA. I SHOULD HAVE W-W-WW-ENT INTO THE STORE WITH YOU A-AA-AND, HIC, A-A-A-AND-"
"It was alright, A-chan. I am fine now."
"NO! THEY KIDNAPPED YOU AND TRIED TO SELL YOU IN THAT AUCTION!"
"But I am fine and right here."
"..."

"I'm also glad that you are safe."
A little plushie bear crawled up from the side and jumped on the bed.
"Ankimoch!" Sora went forward and hugged her bear lovely.
"Kaguya-sama....I would like to learn to bodyguard!" A-chan shouted as she saw the plushie bear.
"...May I ask why? I only had you as an attendant for Sora-chan." -Kaguya Ankimoch
"Because I was not able to protect Sora-sama, so I wish to be a bodyguard so I can protect her." -A-chan
"Huh, why A-chan? It was not your fault. I was just a little careless." -Sora
"Yes, it was, Sora-sama. If I was trained, I would have prevented this from happening."
"I will enrol you into the same course as the household guards, do not force yourself too hard, is that understand?"
"Thank you for your generosity, Kaguya-sama."

Ankimoch signalled A-chan to leave the room to sort out her schedule and to talk to Sora privately. She made sure to seal the area off with barriers to prevent any private information from leaking out. However, she still felt a prickling aura.
"Now, what is that on your hair, Sora-chan?" -Kaguya Ankimoch.
Despite the messy bed hair, Sora had a little hairpin of a hollowed star and two vibrant pink feathers on her hair.
"Huh, what is it?" -Sora was confused and moved her hands around her hair to see what was wrong.
"Allow me to get it."

The plushie bear leaned forward and used her fuzzy paws to try and tug off the accessory, only for it to not budge. It wouldn't move, no matter how much she tried to tug it and it didn't seem to hurt Sora's hair. Only the hairpin seemed to stay in place.
"Um, Ankimoch, seems like it's too hard for you, let me get it." and she casually took the hairpin off.
"Wow, Ankimoch, look. It's so pretty! Did you give it to me?" Sora shrieked as she was marvelled by the beauty hairpin and inspected the bright pink feathers.
"No, we found it on you."
"Oh?"
"When that person arrived, you had it on your hair. I tried to remove it because it might be a tracking device but it would not come off. Well, until now."
"Wait," Sora tried to jump out of the bed, "Where is he? Is he here?"
"No," the bear pushed Sora back to bed, "You need rest and he has already left."

Sora went gloomy and slumped back to her pillow, fixing the hairpin back into her hair. It felt comfortable being there. Her feathers slowly had a purple hue near the base.
"....Did he say where he went?"
"No," Ankimoch replied, while being very concerned by this unusual behaviour, "Why do you want to know?"
"...I wanted to thank him."
"...No."
"But he saved m-"
"Do not pursue that man!"

Sora was shocked by Ankimoch's outburst. The bear realised her overreaction and quickly calmed herself down.
"Do not think about going close to him."
"Why?"
"...He killed a God, the God of Pride. Some strong mortals would find that a simple task. However, he killed a god's body and soul and left nothing on the scene. Do you know what that means?"
"...No."
"That means that he is a God or even stronger."
"...So?"
"What do mean so?"
"He saved me and even killed a God, I do not see anything wrong with me thanking such a gesture."
"He is dangerous!"
"If he was dangerous, he would have killed me."
"...Do not approach him, he might have left you for some ulterior motives."
"No.
"No?"
"He had no such motives when saving me."
"How could you tell?"
"I looked into his eyes."

Sora's eyes changed a purple hue and looked at the bear's fake eyes.
"I stared a bit and saw that he merely acted like tossing the trash."
"...I thought you did not want to learn the Kaguya Techniques."
"My interest in it does not correlate to my daily use for learning the meanings behind people's actions."
"...Do you really want to meet him?"
"Yes, I want to thank him for saving me."
"...Okay, I will help my descendent then."
"Ankimoch?"
"You will learn the Kaguya Techniques and I will teach you how to track him using that hairpin that I think he gave you."
"Really?!" Sora jumped and was very excited. Her feathers were back to the bright pink. She pulled the bear close to her embrace and hugged her tightly.
"Yes, why are excited?"
"HUH? Um....I have to go to the restroom quick, Ankimoch. My apologies." Sora found an excuse and quickly walked away.

Ankimoch dismissed Sora's unusual behaviour and thought back to the auction scene.
No one saw the man, as he massacred everyone that didn't leave earlier. There were no witnesses and all the bodies were cleaned up. It couldn't have been a single man's job yet no one else wanted to take the claim, not even terrorist groups, as they can't possibly kill a God. When Ankimoch arrived at the scene in person, she felt the intense auras of a battle between two Gods and wanted to use [PAST SIGHT] to see the battle, only to be forbidden by her Law.
It was the first time the Law reacted so strongly, effectively disabling the skill outright, and warned the bear that she would die if she looked. It even told her that 4 other Gods perished from the exact same actions and their souls were nowhere to be found.
The plushie bear looked up in the sky and pondered,
'Who is he? I wonder if she has his name.'

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{Little Segment}

"Can I have a minute of your time, Sora?"
A prince charming with his blonde hair and his arrogant entourage of similar like-minded nobles went to visit Tokino Sora and her servant during her tea time at the school. Luckily, A-chan made sure there was only one chair to prevent anyone from sharing the table with her lady.
"Please use honorifics, Your Highness. We are not close enough." -Sora
"Right, my apologies, Sora-sama. I am glad to see you in good health after the incident, is there anything I can help with?"
"Thank you, I am very fine now and do not wish to inconvenience Your Highness from normal congratulations."
"I have learnt that someone had saved you from the incident."
"Indeed, why has His Highness brought up this topic?"
"It was my subordinate, very skilled and I am very pleased to hear that he save you."

"Is that so?" Sora asked, while very excited that there was a lead on the man, made sure to hide her facial expressions and observed the prince's eyes. Seeing that she was willing to continue the conversation, the prince was very excited to answer the Kaguya's heir
"May I ask for this subordinate's name?"
"Ah, his identity is a secret for the meantime."
"That is a pity, I wish to get to know him better."
The prince smirked on hearing the response, very pleased that he was able to listen to her more and hopefully make her attracted to him.
"I do wish to see his beautiful hair, again." -Sora
"He takes exceptional care, after all, he is my subordinate. All of my subordinates must follow my hairstyle, Sora-sama."
"I see."

Sora still wore the same polite smile but her eyes flashed a dangerous red. Her feathers on her hairpin faded to deep red. Her aura intensified to an unsettling degree.
She looked deep into his eyes and the prince was quite startled by the sudden change of demeanour around Sora.
"Umm, Sora-sama?"

[TRUTH]

In an instant, the prince and all of his entourage kneeled on the floor. They didn't even have time to move their bodies as their motor controls were overtaken and they had all drawn their weapons to their throats.
The prince was sweating buckets after realising he was pointing his sword to his throat.

"How dare you lie about him?!"
"Wait, Sora-sama, I have a good explanation. Please, just let me live."
"Silence! Lying in front of Kaguya Family, I am disappointed with His Highness."

Sora released the ability and all people had their bodies under their control. Most of the entourage immediately retreated, afraid of incurring more of Sora's wrath while the prince was in a more pathetic state. He bent down even lower and begged Sora with his sword on the side.
"I just wanted to be with you, Sora! You are so beautiful and even the heir of the Kaguya Family. As the Crown Prince of the Omozaki Empire, we will be the perfect king and queen."

"....Would you kill a God for me?"
"Huh?"
"I asked, Your Highness. Can you redeem yourself and kill a God?"
"A GOD?! Impossible, no one can kill a God!"
"...Then you failed."
Sora simply said and walked away with A-chan right behind her, ignoring the whimpering prince on the floor.

"Your instructions, Sora-sama?" A-chan asked.
"....We do not need such a person on the throne. The third prince might be a better choice." -Sora
"That will be arranged."
"Thanks, A-chan..."
"....Are you perhaps under the weather?"
"...Yes, I got too excited hearing the news relating to him."
"I am confident Sora-sama will perfect the technique."
"Thank you, A-chan. That means a lot to me."
"You'll be only saying 'thank you', right, Sora-sama?"
"? Yes?"
"....."