"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last item we will be presenting today." The auctioneer said with a smile.

The assistant slowly walked out on the stage, but unlike the previous few times, she wasn't pushing a trolley. But carrying a chain.

Yes, a chain.

Everyone looked curiously at the other end of the chain which was slowly being pulled out of the back stage and finally, a beautiful delicate hand emerged.

The next sight immediately made people drew in a cool breath. A beautiful girl in a red-colored hood, dressed in a beautiful but slightly revealing gown emerged from the backstage. Her facial features immediately captivated the hearts of the onlookers.

….

Max quietly stared at the girl with wide eyes. He could feel it. This sensation was familiar. Never in his wildest imagination did he thought of a possibility like this.

'Red Hood….this feeling…'

'Are you serious….'

It was her.

The Fifth one!

She was beautiful. In fact, she was only second to the true form of Sera which Max had encountered once. But right now, Max didn't have time to worry about this.

'How in the hell did she end up like that?'

Max thought as he stared at her. Her face looked calm, extremely serene and Max could feel a gloomy and sad aura around her. Her eyes were still like a pond.

'I don't like the look in her eyes….' Max thought with a troubled expression.

"She is beautiful!! Damn! I wonder how much she would sell for."

Lear's voice immediately brought Max out of his thoughts and back to reality.

'Not good!! I can't allow this to happen!' Max knew how filthy this contracted slave industry was. He couldn't let this happen.

"What's wrong with you? Are you charmed?" Lear asked with a smug face.

"How much money have you still got?" Max slowly turned his head before asking with a serious look on his face.

"Don't tell me you are serious?"The smile on Lear's face immediately vanished. He hated people like this the most.

" It's not like you think it is." Max calmly replied.

"What the f*ck is it then?" Lear calmly replied; his eyes clearly giving out a disgusted look.

"I know her! Ok!! Just give me the money. I will repay you later…..Right, you wanted the Iron Clay ore? I was the one who auctioned it. So if you want it, you better help me out."

Lear looked at Max with a doubtful look. He only had 10 million zen left. Even though he said 50 million last time, it still wasn't his limit. He was just testing out whether the person was willing or not.If not, taking out all his money would be a waste.

….

"The starting bid for the contract is around 600000 as it is almost a 60 year contract with a full time working hour." The auctioneer announced.

"700000!"

"800000!"

"1 million!"

"1.2 million zen!"

….

The auction had already begun and Max was starting to lose his patience with Lear. He waved his hand and two chunks of Iron Clay fell from mid air, right on to Lear's foot.

"F*ck! Damn, it hurts!!" Lear screamed as he held his feet tightly.

"Just give me the money. You can see for yourself whether I am lying or not. Besides, I am still the best choice if you consider the types of people bidding for her." Max said seriously.

Lear gave him the card with a frown on his face and spoke, "It only has 10 million zen."

'It's enough…' Max noticed that the bid was still around 5 million zen and only a few people were left bidding. With this 10 million and the 25 million he got from selling the ore, he could definitely get her out of here.

"8 million zen!...anyone else wants to bid...if not, this contract would be sold..with a 1….2.." The auctioneer began the count.

Max looked at the bid and a smile appeared on his face. He raised his cards and brought the bid even higher.

"10 million zen!"

"Anyone else….this beautiful employee can be yours, Ladies and gentlemen. Her presence alone will make any business go popular overnight." The auctioneer began to spew nonsense.

No one here was obviously buying her for that purpose. These people were rich to begin with. But he couldn't obviously say such stuff openly.

'Idiots! She is the one of the five chosen to protect the world!! You f*ckers, do you even know what you are doing!!!' Max literally wanted to scream his thoughts out, but managed to hold himself back.

There was no further bid and the auctioneer finally began to count.

"1…"

"2…"

A smile stretched on Max's face and he could feel a relief. He couldn't imagine the consequences of her being sold to the well being of humanity.

But, it seems that he was too early to make a judgement.

A voice like thunder, struck the hall and the color on Max's face faded away.

"50 million zen!"

It came from the opposite lobby. It was that man from before.

….

5 minutes later…..

"Let's go...it was just a girl. Besides, I hate those people who don't fight and just succumb to contracts like that. They don't even deserve my pity." Lead calmly said.

Max knew it too. A slave contract without consent was almost impossible. The person must have agreed to it and it wasn't an unknown fact of what actually happened in the industry. So people who signed it were already aware of the fact and ready for it, unless they were forced or illegally sold.

But was that enough of a reason for Max to abandon her.

No! It wasn't.

'I don't care. I will still bring her with me. I want to hear it from her very own mouth.'

'What happened to her?'

'Whether she wants to carry this duty or not?'

'If not, I won't force her. She would only end up being a burden, but if she is in trouble and needs any help…..'

Max suddenly got up from his seat and looked towards Lear, "You can go back. I have got some work to do."

As he walked towards the door, Lear grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't try to do something foolish. Did you realise that the person was sitting in a VIP room? Do you want to kill someone of my status? Are you tired of living?" Lear asked in a grim voice.

Max shook his head. He could already tell that the guy was not someone ordinary. The lady who spoke to him earlier was definitely terrifying and the guy still clearly showed a blatant anger on his face. In the end, he did not argue back. He seemed to know the identity of the lady.

The fact that he could recognise the terrifying lady and still show that expression meant he had someone powerful backing him up.

But…..

"Even if it was God, I will still kill him. I can't let anything happen to her."

Max's sentence left Lear dumbfounded. He couldn't understand how someone could be bewitched to this level.

'We are a group of five. Just like the fingers. If we won't care for each other, who will?' Max's thoughts were calm.

Even before the five had met each other, a strong bond had already formed between them.

A comrade whom they could always depend upon.