Echoes of the Lost Elf-Chapter 35 - 34 : The Black Market (2)

Historias stared at it, then at the people eagerly placing their bids.

A low, cold voice escaped his lips, barely containing his anger. "We are going to destroy this place."

His companions turned to him in shock.

Leon blinked. "Wait, what? You serious?"

Historias' golden eyes gleamed under the hood. "Do I appear to be in a jesting mood?"

Zephyr rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, no, but you also don't usually jump straight to arson—"

"We're freeing the beasts."

Adriana, nodding as if this was a perfectly reasonable turn of events, clapped her hands together. "Alright, what's the plan?"

Historias folded his arms. "Simple. We sneak backstage, incapacitate the guards, and release all the magical beasts."

Leon waited for more details. When none came, he raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Historias tilted his head slightly. "What were you expecting? Some kind of rocket science?"

Kael sighed. "This is somehow both insane and completely on-brand for us."

Leon grinned. "Yeah, alright, let's cause some chaos."

......

Leon sighed, rolling his shoulders as he approached the two massive guards stationed at the entrance to the backstage area. The one on the left looked like a walking mountain, arms thick as tree trunks, a face permanently stuck in a scowl. The other was just as big but had an oddly blank expression, like his brain had been left behind somewhere.

"Heyyy, man," Leon started, sauntering up like they were old pals. "How's the weather?"

The guards stared at him, confused. The scowling one looked ready to throw him out, but the blank-faced one tilted his head. "Uh... we're indoors?"

Leon snapped his fingers. "Exactly! And yet, doesn't it feel a bit... humid?"

The blank-faced guard blinked. "Now that you mention it... yeah. It does feel kinda warm."

Leon nodded sagely. "You ever wonder why? I mean, what if... what if it's not the air but, like, life itself that's heavy, you know? Like, maybe we're all just trapped in this endless cycle of doing stuff we don't wanna do, pretending we're okay when we're really not?"

The blank-faced guard's eyes widened. "Yo... that's deep."

The scowling guard groaned, clearly regretting his life choices, but the other one? Oh, he was fully invested.

"I mean," Leon continued, arms crossed, "do you even like being a guard?"

The big guy hesitated. "Well... I mean, my mom said I should get a stable job, so..."

"See? You're living her dream, not yours."

Silence.

Then, to everyone's shock, the massive guard sniffled. "I wanted to be a baker." His voice cracked. "I just... I just wanted to make pastries, man."

Leon clapped a hand over his heart like he was deeply moved. "And yet, here you are, standing in front of a shady auction house, stopping people from following their dreams. Isn't that ironic?"

The guard gasped. "It is!" Tears welled up in his eyes. "All I ever wanted was to make the perfect apple pie!"

By now, the scowling guard was just done. He looked like he wanted to strangle both of them. "Seriously, again? Gods, Gregor, pull yourself together!"

But it was too late. Gregor was openly sobbing. Leon, ever the opportunist, pulled him into a dramatic hug, patting his back. "There, there, big guy. Let it all out. Chase your dreams."

As Gregor wailed into his shoulder, Leon subtly looked over and signaled the others. Historias and the rest took the chance and slipped inside.

Kael, watching the whole thing from the shadows, whispered, "Did he just... make a guard cry his way into an existential crisis?"

Adriana nodded. "Impressive, honestly."

Historias sighed, rubbing his temple. "What is wrong with this generation...?"

Meanwhile, Leon grinned as he gave Gregor one last pat on the back. "Listen, buddy. After tonight, go open that bakery. The world needs your apple pie."

Gregor nodded, wiping his tears. "You're right. You're right! I quit!"

The scowling guard groaned. "I hate my job, damn it all I'm also quitting"

And just like that Leon successfully got two brutes to quit their job and follow their dreams.

........

The entire auction house was in absolute chaos. Beasts were rampaging, tables were being flipped, and some poor soul was screaming in the background about how their cursed dagger collection had been stolen by a mischievous Duskrat.

Amidst the madness, the host of the auction—a pompous-looking man with a curled mustache and an oversized purple coat—was losing his mind. He slammed his fists on the podium. "HOW THE HELL DID ALL THESE BEASTS ESCAPE?!"

A panicked assistant, drenched in sweat, rushed over. "S-Sir! There were intruders! They destroyed all the cages!"

The host's face turned an unhealthy shade of red. "WHAT?! Who let intruders in? What were the guards doing?!"

The assistant gulped. "Uh... w-well, sir, about that..."

"Spit it out!"

The assistant awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "So... um... it turns out the guards... quit."

The host blinked. "...Quit?"

"Y-Yeah... they just... suddenly resigned."

A vein bulged in the host's forehead. "AND WHY, PRAY TELL, WOULD THEY JUST SUDDENLY QUIT DURING AN ACTIVE AUCTION?!"

The assistant nervously shuffled through his notes. "Uh... well, one of them said he always wanted to be a painter, so he left to 'capture the beauty of the world on canvas.' Another said he wanted to become a poet and compose ballads about his childhood pet turtle."

The host's eye twitched. "And the rest?"

The assistant coughed. "They, uh... decided to open a bakery together."

Silence.

Complete. Utter. Silence.

The host stared at him, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. "...A bakery?"

"Y-Yes, sir. They said, and I quote, 'I'm tired of cracking skulls. It's time to start cracking eggs.'"

The host slowly dragged a hand down his face. "Are you telling me... that we lost thousands of gold worth of magical beasts... because my guards got inspired and decided to bake bread?!"

The assistant nodded weakly.

The host inhaled deeply. He was about to scream bloody murder—but before he could, a massive explosion shook the building as a Flarewing Wyvern crashed through a wall, sending debris flying everywhere.

The host gave up. He just slumped against the podium, rubbing his temples. "...I hate my job."

........

The auction house was pure bedlam.

Guards were tripping over themselves trying to wrangle the magical beasts, merchants were screaming about their lost profits, and buyers were either running for their lives or desperately trying to grab whatever valuable items they could before bolting.

One unfortunate noble had a Flamehorn Toad stuck to his face, its fiery saliva singeing his expensive velvet cloak.

Another group of shady-looking individuals was fist-fighting over a cursed grimoire, completely ignoring the pack of Moonfang Wolves sprinting past them.

Meanwhile, Historias was methodically destroying the remaining cages with a lazy flick of his fingers, sending out precise mana blades to snap the locks. The moment he freed a particularly feisty Stormwing Falcon, it took off at high speed, slamming into a chandelier and sending it crashing onto a table of illegal potions. The explosion that followed sent a wave of pink smoke billowing across the hall.

Historias didn't even flinch. He just sighed. "That's going to be someone's problem. Not mine."

Just then he heard a voice, " Meow"

The Nywraith he had put down earlier was still following him, its bright, intelligent eyes staring at him as if judging his life choices.

It climbed up to his knees as if saying 'Pick me'

"cute", he thought.

Then Zephyr came sprinting past, laughing hysterically while being chased by a very angry Ironhide Boar. "HISTORIAS, STOP PLAYING AT THE CAT AND HELP ME!"

Historias blinked. "That seems like a you problem."

Leon yelped as the boar nearly clipped him, then threw himself over a toppled cage. "WHAT KIND OF FRIENDSHIP IS THIS?!"

"The sacrificing kind, where you are currently the sacrifice." Historias replied, casually side-stepping a rogue Spectral Serpent slithering past him.

Zephyr was in the corner, using his wind magic to blow open more cages, while Adriana was...

Historias glanced over.

She was cheering.

"YES! RUN, MY MAGICAL BRETHREN! BE FREE!"

She was way too into this.

Kael, standing beside her, looked exasperated. "Why do I feel like we're the villains here?"

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Before anyone could respond, the entire building shook again as a Thunderbeast—a massive, six-legged feline wreathed in lightning—roared and tore through a wall, sending bricks flying everywhere.

Historias let out a small chuckle. "Well, that escalated quickly."

.............

POWER STONES please !!!

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