Chapter 365: Already Ended??
The final night of the Conclave had arrived.
Unlike the previous evening...
Tonight carried an entirely different atmosphere.
The catalogue had officially closed.
Every major transaction had been completed.
Contracts had been signed.
Payments had been verified.
Artifacts had already begun changing hands.
For many guests...
The Conclave was already over.
Those who had no interest in the Grand Auction quietly departed Krause Tower throughout the Evening.
Private helicopters took off from the rooftop.
Luxury cars disappeared through the front gates.
Several representatives left immediately after receiving their purchased items.
There was no reason for them to remain.
The final Grand Auction was no longer about business alone.
It was about prestige.
About influence.
About reputation.
Only the true powerhouses remained.
The auditorium gradually filled with some of the most influential people in the underworld.
Crime syndicate leaders.
Illegal financiers.
Black market collectors.
Political intermediaries.
Arms brokers.
Mercenary representatives.
Unlike the first night...
Very few chose to remain hidden inside private chambers.
The anonymous catalogue was over.
Tonight...
Everyone wanted to be seen.
Every appearance carried meaning.
Every handshake could change the balance of power.
...
Light entered the auditorium alongside Princess Thea.
The moment they stepped inside...
Dozens of eyes turned toward them.
Some curious.
Some cautious.
Some openly hostile.
Others simply wished to catch another glimpse of the mysterious man known only as Light.
Thea smiled faintly.
"You’ve become quite famous."
Light looked around the auditorium.
"I preferred yesterday."
"When everyone stayed inside their rooms."
Thea laughed quietly.
"You chose the wrong event if you dislike attention."
Light simply shook his head.
Tonight...
Johanna stood on the brightly illuminated stage.
Instead of accompanying guests...
She wore the formal attire of the auction host.
The elegant black evening dress suited her perfectly.
Her voice remained calm.
Her posture confident.
Although this was one of the largest auctions of the year...
There wasn’t the slightest trace of nervousness on her face.
She had clearly prepared well.
Light looked toward the stage for a moment before taking his seat.
Not long afterward...
Another familiar figure entered the auditorium.
Senior Nine.
The legendary old assassin walked slowly.
Despite his age...
The surrounding guests instinctively made way for him.
Respect.
Fear.
Or perhaps both.
Senior Nine briefly glanced toward Light.
A faint smile appeared beneath his weathered face.
Light returned the smile.
He quietly murmured,
"Even those old bones are getting weaker."
He watched the elderly man continue walking.
"But..."
"There still isn’t anyone here brave enough to do the things that legend can."
Thea lowered her voice.
"What exactly did you write on that note yesterday?"
Light smiled mysteriously.
"You’ll see."
He leaned back comfortably.
"Consider tonight..."
"The show."
Thea sighed.
"I expected that answer."
Before their conversation continued...
A familiar elderly gentleman slowly approached their row.
Old Krause.
Nearly everyone greeted him respectfully as he walked through the auditorium.
He acknowledged them politely.
Yet...
His eyes remained fixed on only one person.
Light.
When he finally arrived...
Without asking permission...
He simply sat beside him.
Light looked sideways.
"Mr. Krause."
"You’ve already attracted enough attention toward me."
Old Krause smiled innocently.
"I simply like this seat."
He looked toward the stage.
"It gives the best view."
"My granddaughter is hosting tonight."
"I’d like to watch her properly."
Light looked unconvinced.
"But I’m certain that’s the only reason."
Old Krause laughed without answering.
Thea looked toward the stage.
"She looks confident."
Old Krause’s expression softened.
"I’m proud of her."
He then looked toward Thea.
"Princess Thea."
"I wasn’t aware you and Mr. Light were acquainted."
Thea smiled calmly.
"Acquainted?"
"I wouldn’t say we’re close."
"We simply happened to meet before."
"Nothing more."
Old Krause chuckled.
"Even so..."
"If you’ve met before..."
"Then perhaps you already know who hides beneath that mask."
"I’d say that’s close enough."
Thea looked toward Light for a brief moment.
A playful smile appeared.
"If you insist on seeing it that way..."
"I probably do know Mr. Light..."
"A little better than most."
Light smiled beneath the mask.
"Mr. Krause."
"You should stop trying."
"You’re never getting behind this mask."
He tapped the side of it gently.
"Without it..."
"Light doesn’t exist."
Then he looked directly at the old man.
"And honestly..."
"I don’t think your heart could handle seeing my face."
Old Krause burst into laughter.
"Very well."
"I won’t pursue the matter."
His expression became unexpectedly serious.
"I already know what truly matters."
"I believe you’re a good person."
"That’s enough for me."
He looked toward Johanna on the stage.
"I simply don’t want my granddaughter becoming the victim of someone’s schemes."
Beside them...
Thea suddenly coughed.
She immediately remembered the previous day’s lunch.
How effortlessly Light had manipulated Johanna into revealing information without her even realizing it.
Light noticed the reaction but chose to remain silent.
The auction lights gradually dimmed.
A spotlight illuminated the stage.
Johanna stepped forward confidently.
"Ladies and gentlemen..."
"Welcome."
"The final Grand Auction will now begin."
A wave of applause spread throughout the auditorium.
The first item appeared.
Then the second.
Then the third.
As expected...
None of the articles matched the extraordinary value of the catalogue’s rarest treasures.
Even so...
The bidding remained fierce.
Not because every item deserved enormous prices.
But because prestige itself carried value.
Still...
No one present had reached their position through foolish spending.
They competed aggressively.
But they also knew where to stop.
Nobody wished to become the evening’s laughingstock by wildly overpaying simply to impress others.
The auction progressed steadily.
Fourth item.
Fifth.
Sixth.
Then...
Johanna’s expression became noticeably more formal.
She looked toward the audience.
"Our seventh article of the evening..."
"The final five preserved vials..."
"Of the extinct pharmaceutical compound..."
She paused briefly.
"X2Gen."
For the first time that evening...
Light immediately looked up.
His eyes narrowed beneath the white mask.
X2Gen...
He knew that name all too well.
Months earlier...
After helping the Snow Clan reclaim their crown from the Barbarians...
He had personally ensured every known sample of X2Gen was destroyed.
He had believed the nightmare had ended.
Light quietly sighed.
"The world is too large."
"There are holes everywhere."
"No matter how carefully you clean..."
"Something always slips through."
Beside him...
Thea slowly turned.
"Is that..."
"The same drug I’m thinking about?"
Light nodded.
"Yes."
"The one capable of manipulating a woman’s consciousness."
His voice became colder.
"It should never have existed."
Thea’s expression darkened.
"Damn..."
"I hate things like this."
Light looked at her.
Once again...
He saw that familiar anger.
Not ordinary disgust.
Not simple hatred.
Something deeper.
Something personal.
For a brief moment...
It felt almost like an old wound had been reopened.
He quietly asked,
"You alright?"
Thea remained silent for several seconds.
Then she slowly inhaled before forcing a calm expression.
"I’m fine."
Light didn’t press further.
On the stage...
Johanna continued reading.
"This article is presented by..."
"Mr. Nakayama."
"According to the seller..."
"These are the final preserved vials in existence."
Thea muttered under her breath,
"Damn that old man."
Light glanced toward her.
"You know him too?"
She nodded without hesitation.
"Unfortunately."
"He’s a notorious womanizer."
Her expression showed clear contempt.
Light looked back toward the display.
"If someone buys those samples..."
"And successfully researches them..."
"That drug could return to the market."
The thought alone made the atmosphere around them noticeably heavier.
Thea clenched her jaw.
"I don’t want those vials falling into the wrong hands."
On the stage...
Johanna looked toward the audience one final time.
"The opening bid..."
"Five million dollars."
The auditorium fell silent.
Every eye shifted toward the first bid waiting to appear on the massive display.
The opening bid appeared almost immediately.
Five million.
Eight million.
Twelve million.
The price climbed with frightening speed.
No one in the auditorium seemed surprised.
Everyone understood what the five remaining vials represented.
Whoever possessed them would not simply own a forbidden drug.
They would possess the opportunity to recreate an entire black market.
Light kept his eyes on the stage.
Then, without looking away, he quietly spoke.
"Mr. Krause."
The old man turned toward him.
"Yes?"
Light’s voice remained calm.
"Does your granddaughter know anything about that drug?"
Old Krause’s expression changed.
His eyes slowly lowered.
"...No."
"She doesn’t."
Light remained silent for a few seconds before speaking again.
"What an irony."
The old man listened quietly.
"A young woman..."
"Is standing on that stage..."
"Helping auction something that has ruined the lives of countless women."
His words carried no anger.
Only disappointment.
"You once asked me why I believed your family traditions were wrong."
He looked directly at the old man.
"This..."
"Is exactly why."
Old Krause didn’t interrupt.
Light continued.
"You were cheated."
"Not by your enemies."
"But by your own father."
The words struck harder than any accusation.
"He taught you rules."
"He never taught you right from wrong."
"He built a cage around you."
"And convinced you that it was duty."
Light’s gaze shifted toward Johanna.
"So you followed those rules."
"Without ever questioning them."
"Because no one had shown you another path."
He paused.
"And by the time you finally learned the difference..."
"You had already committed enough evil..."
"That turning back no longer seemed possible."
Silence settled between them.
Old Krause slowly closed his eyes.
He looked exhausted.
Not physically.
But emotionally.
After a long moment...
He quietly whispered,
"I hope..."
His voice trembled slightly.
"I hope you take her away from this curse..."
"Mr. Light."
Thea looked toward the elderly man.
She had always known him as one of the most influential figures in the underground world.
Respected.
Feared.
Unshakable.
Yet sitting beside them...
He looked like an old man who had lost himself many years ago.
The bidding continued climbing.
Twenty-five million.
Twenty-eight million.
Thirty million.
The auditorium remained tense.
Thea glanced nervously at the display.
"It’s getting out of hand."
She looked toward Light.
"What should we do?"
Light simply smiled.
Without another word...
He picked up his tablet.
One tap.
The bid was submitted.
On the stage...
Johanna received the notification.
She hesitated.
She looked at the screen once more to confirm she hadn’t misread it.
Then she slowly stepped back toward the microphone.
"Umm..."
A brief silence filled the auditorium.
"The latest bid..."
She swallowed lightly.
"Seventy-seven million dollars..."
"...From Mr. Light."
The auditorium froze.
For a full second...
No one reacted.
Then whispers exploded throughout the hall.
"What?"
"Seventy-seven million?"
"Has he gone insane?"
"That’s more than double the previous bid."
"He disappeared for eleven years..."
"And casually throws around seventy-seven million dollars?"
"What kind of background does he have?"
"There has to be an enormous organization backing him."
"No ordinary man has that much liquid cash."
The entire auditorium stared toward the white mask.
Even Old Krause remained speechless.
Beside him...
Thea slowly turned.
She looked at Light as if questioning whether she had heard correctly.
"Are you crazy?"
"Seventy-seven million?"
She pointed toward the display.
"What are you even going to do with those vials?"
Light answered without hesitation.
"You’ll take them."
Thea blinked.
"...Me?"
He nodded.
"Burn them."
"Don’t let them ever reappear."
She stared at him.
For several moments...
She couldn’t find any words.
Old Krause suddenly laughed quietly.
"You truly never stop surprising me..."
"Mr. Light."
Thea slowly smiled.
"You know..."
"If someone were patient..."
"They could earn several times that amount by bringing X2Gen back onto the market."
She wasn’t tempting him.
She was merely stating a fact.
Light looked toward the stage.
"Profit?"
He softly repeated the word.
Then he smiled.
"What’s the point of making money..."
"If I can’t look my own mother in the eyes afterward?"
Silence followed.
No one argued.
No one questioned him.
Thea quietly looked down.
Old Krause slowly closed his eyes.
Even the whispers throughout the auditorium gradually disappeared.
For a brief moment...
The noisy underworld fell strangely quiet.
The auction continued.
No one challenged the bid.
The hammer eventually struck.
The final preserved vials of X2Gen belonged to Mr. Light.
Or more accurately...
To the fire that would erase them forever.
The atmosphere slowly settled again.
Guests prepared themselves for the final presentation of the night.
Old Krause checked the time.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"It’s time."
Light looked toward him.
"The person you’ve been waiting for..."
"Is about to appear."
On the stage...
Johanna straightened the cards in her hand.
She smiled toward the audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen..."
"We have now reached..."
"The final article of tonight’s Grand Auction."
The lights dimmed slightly.
"This item..."
She paused for effect.
"...Will be presented personally by its owner."
She looked toward the entrance.
"Please welcome..."
"Mr. Anzo Fischer."
The audience immediately turned.
Old Krause smiled with anticipation.
Several influential guests adjusted themselves in their seats.
Everyone expected the man to make a dramatic entrance.
One second passed.
Nothing.
Two seconds.
Still nothing.
Confused whispers began spreading.
"Personally?"
"So where is he?"
"Why hasn’t he entered?"
Johanna frowned slightly.
She glanced toward the backstage staff.
No response.
Even Old Krause’s smile slowly disappeared.
A trace of confusion appeared on his face.
Thea didn’t look toward the entrance.
Instead...
She quietly turned toward Light.
Across the auditorium...
Senior Nine calmly folded his arms.
His expression remained completely indifferent.
As though he had already expected this outcome.
Light slowly looked upward.
A faint smile appeared beneath the white mask.
Then he quietly stood.
"It’s time to go."
He looked toward the stage one final time.
"The auction..."
He smiled.
"...Has already ended."