NOVEL NEXT Chapter 180: Kneel
"Prepare yourself, Noah. The coincidence seems too much of a fluke. I just have this feeling that whatever is happening right now just had something to got to do with that bastard of a creator of this world.
If anything...you could say that:
The world you knew has already ended."
I clenched my jaw.
Yup.
This wasn't just an auction anymore, not if I took the authors antiques into play.
This was war.
And we were right in the front row.
***
I leaned against the glass balcony, arms folded, letting the cool breeze from the mana vents roll across my neck as I tried to calm myself down.
I was wearing a black turtleneck that hugged my torso just enough to show the lean lines of muscle under it.
The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, revealing faint veins due to all the sweat from the tension covering them.
My trousers were charcoal grey, slightly faded, snug but not tight, with enough casual elegance to look both expensive and effortless.
Across from me, Dario was sprawled over the long velvet couch like he owned the damn place, man had ran straight back to the couch for support the moment he flipped back into reality.
His legs were crossed and fingers flipping through a floating display catalogue as he tried to act chill as if nothing happened.
Being the members of this once ruling kingdom and the honour guests because of Grandpa's planned speech, we had access to the catalogue in its original form.
Others would only recieve this 30 minutes from now, but us? We could literally witness the changes happening in the real time due to vip access.
"Bro," Dario grinned, "this private floor's a cheat code. Just the fact that we get a ten percent discount on all our bids only make it better.
It may not seem like a large amount, but with the numbers of some of the items mentioned here, we might as well need it—"
Seraphina, half-curled up with her long dark hair spilling over her shoulder, had already dozed off again beside the mana-lit table, her cute to everything seemed to be sleeping the problem off until it literally disappeas.
The girl's breathing had become steady, in fact, so steady that I almost envied it.
Meanwhile, Erza stood near the edge, gaze sharp, arms crossed, and shoulders tense with half excitement and half fear.
None of us had seen what the war with the Kalki's were like, only the after effects, and that fact only made us more tense about what the actual situation between these two races were.
Erza looked like she was ready to punch the next thing that moved.
Typical, I thought.
Aurelia, on the other hand, was busy applying some kind of mana-laced gloss to her lips while humming a low tune. The girl had charm powers and knew exactly how to weaponize them—almost as scary as her actual magic.
Dario seemed to have lost it, as he ratted his own self out, grinning as he swirled his drink. "I teleported into one of the street merchant's vault last week. Man had more gold than sense. I nicked a ring—sold it for seven figures. Legal? No clue. Worth it? Hell yes."
"Dario…" I sighed.
"Relax, it's gone already," he said, raising his hands as he tried to ignore the talk about the Hollows.
After all, all of us knew that his birth father had lost his life in the final battle between the two races.
His mother was pregnant when the whole thing ended.
The boy had been born fatherless his whole life, I can't imagine what the boy must even be feeling right now because of all this. "Anyway—look at this view!" He spun, arms wide. "You can see the entire auction hall from here!"
Beside the boy on the sofa, Seraphina had curled up nicely, a coat draped over her like a blanket, soft snores escaping from her nose. Girl could literally hex your soul apart with a whisper—and here she was, dozing like a baby.
Aurelia stood next to a table on the side, flipping through the auction brochure herself as she marked every single thing she liked there.
Erza stood silently by the door, arms folded, her presence more like a blade than a person. Calm, but always seconds away from violence.
I had to tell that this quite tension was slowly eating at me, making my mood plummer.
And then…
The door opened.
Or maybe it didn't. Maybe the room just shifted—like the air knew someone important had walked in.
I turned and froze.
An older man stepped in first, tall, shoulders broad, posture straight as a blade. His jaw was carved like old marble. Sharp nose. Green eyes like glass daggers. His black robes looked simple, but there was no mistaking it—they dripped in power.
He didn't need gold or gems. His name alone probably bought kingdoms.
Dario squinted. "Who's the old dude?"
My heart dropped. "Shut up."
"What? I'm just—"
But then she entered.
And even Dario shut the hell up.
Her hair was jet black, wet, tied into a messy bun like she hadn't even bothered to check a mirror.
Strands clung to her cheeks and neck. Her skin was pale. Not sick pale, but moonlight pale—like her blood didn't know how to blush.
A backless black dress hugged her form in all the right ways—nothing too crazy, but just enough to make your brain forget the concept of dignity.
Her boobs weren't huge or anything, just...plump.
Bouncy, even. Like every step she took was in slow motion.
And the way she walked—not trying to look graceful—but ending up that way anyway? It was almost unfair to the world.
But what hit me hardest were the tattoos.
They ran down her arms like ancient scripture, glowing faintly under the chandelier light.
A bracelet clung to her wrist, unlike anything I'd ever seen. Not ornamental. Not magical. Just…unique.
The room went dead silent.
Even Seraphina stirred from her sleep.
Dario was just staring, one of the drinka halfway to his mouth, with eyes wide.
I swallowed. "That's…"
Beautiful.
I didn't even finish the sentence in my mind. That's when it happened.
My system, Damien...he went absolutely, batshit, crazy.
[WARNING: THREAT DETECTED.]
[ALERT: TARGET CLASSIFIED – "SHE'S THAT GIRL"]
[NOAH, YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING IDIOT, GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW.]
My head pounded. Damien, my so called villain making system had never lost it like this.
[SHE'S THAT GIRL. SHE'S THAT GIRL. SHE'S THAT GIRL.]
"Who?!" I hissed under my breath. "What are you even—"
But Damien just kept screaming, glitching, like something in her presence had fried his logic.
Then I saw Erza move.
For the first time since I'd met her, the wild, indifferent war freak lowered her head.
She bowed.
Aurelia stood.
Not gracefully, but urgently. Like she knew something the rest of us didn't.
She crossed the room in a heartbeat, grabbed Dario's sleeve, and yanked him down.
"Kneel," she said, her voice loud and clear.
Even Dario, wide-eyed and frozen, obeyed the girl silently.
"I greet the last King of Jade and his daughter, Princess Sia Daffneer," Aurelia said, her voice respectful and firm.
Princess Sia?
That name echoed in my brain like a ticking time bomb.
And I?
I was still standing.
Looking at her.
Watching her look back at me.
No smile.
No warmth.
Just those unreadable obsidian eyes.
Eyes that looked like they had seen things. Maybe even me—before I ever knew her.
Damien kept shrieking.
[SHE'S THE BEGINNING. SHE'S THE END. SHE'S THE FUCKING LOOP.]
I couldn't breathe.
I didn't know what that meant.
But I knew one thing.
This girl…this Princess…
She would be the death of me.
And I couldn't decide if that scared me...
or if it finally made sense.
***