Everyone left except Maximus, who went to the payment office to pay for the book he had bought and take his share of the scrolls sale; he felt someone following him all the way without showing himself, Maximus did not pay attention to this because the stalker is unable to threaten him in any way.

He arrived at the office and found the same person who was in the morning, the employee recognized him and started checking the account papers and extracted one of them from that huge block of papers.

'You came back, sir, the scrolls you offered were sold for 1,426 gold coins, after deducting 10 percent commission leaving you 1,284 gold coins. Need something else?'

'I had bought some things under the number 213.'

'Total purchases are estimated at 540 gold coins. How will you pay?'

Maximus pointed to the first paper the employee was carrying.

'Deduct the amount from the profits I made.'

After a few calculations and settling the paperwork necessary to transfer the belongings, the clerk handed a receipt to Maximus and pointed to one of the offices in the long hallway on his right. The storage office where the items offered at auction are stored waiting for their new owners.

"What does he want from following me? Are they trying to rob me or what?"

The heavenly magician smiled an unobtrusive side smile on his way to that office. There has been no reaction so far from that person. He is just watching, it is a really annoying feeling to keep some eyes around you like this. Maximus showed the receipt to the guards of the storage office and was allowed in. He got what he bought after signing some documents and putting them in his dimensional storage.

Maximus was aware of where he was but did not want to enlarge the problem because of a misunderstanding.

"Let's lure him into an empty hallway, he'll regret it if his intentions are bad."

After a few laps and going up a staircase here and down there, it was an empty portico in the literal sense that this part of the building does not open on the first day of the auction.

'You can show yourself.'

Among the shadows, a woman dressed in black and a charming face stepped towards Maximus trying to show her goodwill. Neither her face nor her actions suggest it, Maximus remained silent, waiting for either a proper explanation or she would pay the price.

"What is this smell? Well done, girl. Goodwill."

A very special perfume scent but Maximus recognized it, a scent of an aphrodisiac mixed with hypnotic powder. She was trying to rob him by luring him and then stealing his things and running away. Maximus pretended to be influenced by the powder in order to make her relax her defenses and get closer.

'Well done, handsome, come to me, my dear.'

Changing her tone of voice to a sexy tone, Maximus felt disgust but ran her play. She began to touch his face with one hand while her other hand searched his pockets. As soon as she put her hand in his pocket, he grabbed, strangled and lifted her into the air. She tried to escape his grip but failed.

"What should I do? How can I escape his grasp?"

Her body began to turn into a shadow, changing its shape to escape the grip of Maximus. What she did not know was the abilities of her target, she thought he was just a powerful magician and knew nothing about what he was hiding.

His left arm, which was holding her, turned black, turning only part of his body into a shadow and this surprised the woman.

'Who sent you? What was your goal?'

She did not even respond to his words, she wanted to break free and escape as quickly as she could. The pressure on her neck increased and Maximus almost broke it. She pulled out of a hidden pocket a poisoned dagger and tried to stab Maximus in the neck. The dagger broke as soon as it touched his skin like an iron wall. Maximus, who have acted with some tolerance, changed his mind, lifted her up and then slammed her to the ground, she could not bear the shock and lost consciousness.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

'If you don't tell me your will, I'll force you to.'

He violently broke into her consciousness, indifferent to any damage it might cause to her mind. He did not care about it as he would kill her eventually. He searched her mind and found who sent her: the head of one of the organizations famous for assassinations and major thefts, especially from auctions. Its target was not Maximus himself, but the owner of the previously sold book of chemistry. The funny thing is that the head of that organization was present at the auction and did not participate even once. He recorded a list of attendees and what each of them had bought in order to organize their operations later.

He put her inside his subconscious mind, tied her to a stone pillar with magic chains, and then returned to the meeting room where the agreed meeting would take place.

.........

The doors opened wide until they hit the wall, making a loud noise that caught everyone's attention. They all stared at Maximus, who advanced toward the middle of the room.

A huge room with a high ceiling and a magic lamp of enormous size, a sphere as white as snow, as shining as crystal and illuminated as the sun, suspended by four thick steel chains.

The room itself was in the form of a half circle, with empty space at the center and the rest ten rows of terraces. Each row contained between twenty and forty tables.

The meeting room of the auction had a second name: the 'Continental Parliament'. A room that hosts official meetings between countries to discuss the continent's problems and find appropriate solutions to them.

'It seems that everyone was waiting for me. I apologize for being late, as I was busy dealing with some insects. Some of them are still to deal with and that's what I'm going to do now.'

'Wasn't it sufficient what you did before? We were silent before but we will not be silent now.'

Maximus raised his head towards the source of the boastful voice. One of the arrogant people who do not know their whereabouts after thinking he was under the protection of the group but it was stupid of him.

Maximus stared at him with a fatal look; the target felt suffocated and had difficulty breathing, as if he had been stabbed in the chest with a knife.

'You weren't concerned with the previous talk but it seems like you want to volunteer. Also, do you think others would intervene to save a dog that is only good at barking?'

That young man who thought the world was in his side swallowed with difficulty.

'The arrogance of the strong is tyranny, but the arrogance of the weak is his doom.'

Maximus clapped and that young woman who had previously tried to rob him appeared. Maximus turned back to the audience.

'I think at least some of you know who this insect that I just caught is. Try to guess what she did.'

There was a terrible silence in the hall; even those who were called the powerful of the continent did not dare to intervene for fear of harming themselves. Maximus interrupted that twenty-second silence with a clear threat.

'No answer? I will answer myself. This insect tried to seduce me and rob me before she even knew who I am. After I caught her red-handed, she tried to stab me with a poisoned dagger. What should I do with her?'

Faint whispering sounds were audible among the audience. Some of them questioned her identity and others were waiting for the consequences of her failed attempt.

Maximus burst out laughing hysterically without warning.

The assassin woke up but continued acting that she was asleep, thinking she would not be revealed. Maximus approached her and pointed his finger at her while raising his other hand towards the audiences as if it were just a play.

'This is what happens to anyone who tries to do something stupid again.'

The heavenly sorcerer took out the broken poisoned dagger with which she had previously tried to stab him, checked its edge and then stabbed her in her right thigh until there was nothing visible of the half-broken blade.

'Aaaaaah.'

The girl pinned to the rock pillar screamed at a great pain, caused by a poisoned stab wound, the poison that was on the dagger was not ordinary. A special type of poison that kills slowly over the course of minutes, causing an unbearable pain, the victims may die of pain before the poison kills them.

'Isn't that a bit too much. Don't be so harsh on a girl.'

No one in the audience could bear to witness the torture that had just begun and uttered a few words claiming humanity.

Maximus turned to the direction where this man was and suddenly began to applause.

'Good, good. We had the pretenders of courage and now the callers of humanity. If you do not want to be here by her side, shut your useless mouth and watch in silence. If I hear another word, who knows what will happen to you.'

The atmosphere has become unbearably tense, what was supposed to be just a random accident might turn into a disaster...