Nero strode forward without hesitation, his footsteps echoing through the auction hall like the toll of a funeral bell.
The air itself seemed to bend around him.
With a simple flick of his wrist, the glowing sigils that bound the woman shattered into countless motes of light, dissolving into nothingness.
The crowd stared in disbelief. For a heartbeat, silence reigned—then the air turned cold.
A suffocating killing intent flooded the place, heavy and absolute.
It pressed down on every living being, making hearts pound and lungs strain.
Men who had been sneering moments ago now trembled like leaves in a storm.
The weight of that aura was so immense that it felt as though the world itself had turned against them.
"W–Who is this senior?!" someone gasped, voice breaking.
But before anyone could speak further, the pressure around them surged a thousandfold.
BOOM!
The ground cracked. Dust rose. Dozens of men were hurled to their knees by sheer force.
