After the oni boy was healed, Morgana turned to the artificer half-vampire, who seemed to be much calmer than before and healed the wounds that marred the woman's knees.
'Seems like they dragged her, and she used her knees to keep her torso from getting too beat up…' she thought as she cast her "shadow mend" skill.
Apart from those around her, other prisoners were present in the back of the room.
They were all villagers kidnapped from the settlements around Kartan and placed in a joint cell to differentiate them from the other prisoners.
Their health was much more compromised than the people she had saved, making her understand that the enslavers treated the villagers like cattle while they treated their "better" slaves like important loot that could be sold for more.
She cast a few healing spells on the villagers to soothe their pain for some time when she heard a couple of guards coming their way. Prompting the trickster to use her "blink" skill and appear right inside her cell like nothing had happened.
Two guards entered the room, holding a conversation, not paying attention to the prisoners around until they stopped in the center.
"Hey, where is Doug?" one of the enslavers asked.
"He said he was coming to check on the slaves, no?" the other replied.
"Uh oh. Do you think he took one of the women somewhere else?"
One of the enslavers glanced at the artificer half-vampire and sneered. "Nah, he must've gone somewhere. Probably had his fun already…"
Morgana looked down to cover her smile when one of the criminals approached her cell.
"So, this is that new neonite that we got delivered out of nowhere?" he asked, looking down at Morgana, who tried her best to contain her laughter.
Calming herself down, she gazed at the man with a solemn smile, making the criminal blush.
"Oi, oi. Don't go falling in love with the slaves now, ya' hear?" said the other man as he grasped his comrade's shoulder.
After coming back to his senses, the men walked around to check the conditions of all the prisoners. Realizing that some of them looked healthier than before, they wondered what could have happened.
"Hmm. They probably got healed so they can sell for more!" said the enslaver.
"Ah, that makes sense!" the other said, justifying their beliefs.
After checking on every single prisoner, the men stood in the center of the room and addressed everyone.
"The event will start shortly. If you disobey or try to do something strange, we will kill you immediately. Got it!?" the man yelled, making the slaves nod silently in response.
A few minutes later, the curtains that separated the dark room from the main stage slid open, pouring some of the light inside the room.
In the audience, there were around fifty people wearing masquerades to hide their identities, as some of the guests were high-ranking officials in the Kartan government.
The first ones to be brought to the stage were the elf siblings, who received a roar of applause from the guests as they admired their beauty.
"So, let's start the auction for this pair of elf siblings with four thousand aetherium!" exclaimed the auctioneer, making the audience rowdier as they raised their boards with numbers.
The price for the siblings kept going up until an incredibly obese man offered sixty thousand for the elves, taking everyone else out of the competition.
The man rubbed his belly and licked his lips while staring down at the siblings from his seat, his devious eyes enough to unsettle the female elf to the verge of tears.
"A pair of elves to defile. How lucky of me…" muttered the fat man.
"And sold! Congratulations, sir. Please pick up your property at the back once the event is over." said the auctioneer as the two guards from the Black Cross took the elves back to their cage.
"Up next, we have a complete family of four! How about we start the auction with six thousand aetherium!?" the auctioneer exclaimed, once again making the audience roar in excitement as they gave their offers.
An older woman offered thirty-thousand for the family with an evil smile, making the other guests stop their bidding.
"And sold to the woman in the back!" the auctioneer exclaimed.
The lady laughed. "I think I'll make those children torture their parents. Oh! Maybe I can have the parents torture their children instead!" she said to her subordinates around her, who shared her giggles.
After the family was brought back to their cage, it was the blood artificer's turn.
"Our next one is a rare specimen. A half-vampire who is also a blood artificer! We'll start the auction at ten thousand!" said the auctioneer with excitement.
The crowd roared as they admired not only the beauty of the half-vampire but her strength too. The auctioneer mentioned that she was level 95 and most likely would have to stay chained as a safety measure.
However, that didn't stop the guests from offering tons of aetherium for the woman.
The fat man offered sixty thousand, commenting on how he had never defiled a half-vampire and was eager to try it out. Nonetheless, other guests were countering his offer with much more significant sums.
In the end, a tall, burly man with black hair and a ponytail dressed in a dark purple suit offered 150,000 aetherium for the woman.
"Mayor, are you sure you want to spend that much on a woman?" said the companion of the mysterious buyer. However, the man didn't speak and simply stared at his new acquisition.
Once she was brought back to the dark room, Morgana was escorted to the main stage.
"Now, we have a surprise new addition to the auction. We just received her today, so we don't know much about her. However, it would have been unprofessional of us to decline such an exquisite specimen!" the host exclaimed.
Morgana slowly walked toward the center of the stage with a soft smile. The guests fell silent at her beautiful presence. Even while chained and wearing slave garments, her unwavering confidence portrayed her as a noble.
The guests murmured with each other, talking about her enticing body and beauty. The women desired to torture her, and the men wished to defile her.
Not a single person in that amphitheater had good intentions for any of the slaves being auctioned, and Morgana could see that in their eyes, devoid of empathy.
However, the man with the purple suit stood alert at the sight of Morgana, silently staring at her as he felt a chill down his spine.