Hello everyone, a new work has been released! If you find it appealing, kindly take a moment to check it out and consider adding it to your library.. [Ashes of God And Devil]
*****
{Chapter: 198: Reason and Instinct}
A refined woman couldn't allow herself to show pettiness in front of a man like Dex. Especially not when she was still vying for his favor.
Instead, she leaned in gracefully, the swell of her ample chest brushing ever so lightly against his arm, her scent teasing his senses with notes of exotic jasmine and something darker beneath. She smiled sweetly, voice smooth as velvet, and asked, "We've been the ones buying everything up until now... don't you want to treat yourself a little?"
Her question was laced with subtle innuendo, the tilt of her eyes inviting more than just a response.
The clinger—her rival—immediately perked up, straightening her back with a faint bounce of her breasts, and looked up at Dex with curiosity gleaming in her gaze. She nuzzled against him like a spoiled kitten, brushing her lips against his neck as if tasting the salt of his skin. "Mm… yes, Master Dex," she murmured with deliberate sultriness, "don't you want something of your own to play with?"
Dex gave a faint chuckle, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement.
"I will," he replied coolly, "but the thing meant for me hasn't shown up yet."
His voice was calm, assured, dripping with confidence that came from a place beyond wealth or charm. It was something primal—something that made both women silently shiver with desire.
To him, everything offered so far was little more than decorative trinkets. Pretty, yes, but meaningless. His intuition—one honed by the instincts of something not quite human—told him that something more… suitable would soon arrive.
Hearing this, the women quieted down, nodding obediently like well-trained pets, and sat closely on either side of him. Occasionally, one would peel a fruit—something juicy and ripe—and place it between his lips with a gentle smile, their fingers brushing against his lips just long enough to linger.
Dex was content.
He liked women who knew how to behave—women who spoke less and served more.
Time passed until the next item arrived: a palm-sized piece of corroded copper, rough and ancient, covered in centuries of rust. It was presented with ceremonial gravitas, carried with velvet gloves and reverent silence.
Dex's eyes glinted with sharp interest.
It was subtle, but he could feel it—the echoes of a once-great power slumbering beneath the corrosion. The residual energy clung to it like whispers of a forgotten god. While others in the room looked on with confusion, he could sense the artifact's dormant might… like an ember buried under ash, still capable of igniting a blaze.
The auction hall filled with murmurs.
"What's that supposed to be?"
"Just some scrap metal?"
"It's worthless. Probably a gimmick…"
The host, sensing the tension, raised a hand and addressed the crowd. "I know many of you may be wondering why a piece of rusted debris is being shown, but allow me to clarify: this was discovered by a legendary adventurer deep within a ruined sanctum, buried thousands of meters beneath the surface in a compartment shielded by formidable magic. Even now, despite the erosion of time, it cannot be scratched—even by demigods. According to multiple experts, this may be a fragment of a divine artifact from the ancient era."
The word divine sent ripples through the crowd.
Interest spiked momentarily, even among the more jaded bidders. But it faded just as quickly.
If it truly were a divine weapon, why auction it off? Surely it would be studied in secret or hoarded away. And the host's own phrasing—"collection value"—was a subtle disclaimer. It might be nothing more than a curio with an impressive backstory.
Within the viewing halls, civilians and spectators stirred with awe and awe alone. But among the seasoned bidders? Disappointment and disinterest.
"To spend one hundred thousand gold coins on a hunk of metal?" someone scoffed.
"It's a scam."
"Looks like a rusty plate."
Then Dex's voice rang out, calm and clear.
"110,000 gold coins."
It was like a splash of cold water. Heads turned. Even his two women perked up, one sliding her hand across his thigh in subtle arousal as if his wealth—and willingness to spend it—only deepened her attraction.
A nearby middle-aged bidder hesitated, then raised his hand. "115,000."
Dex didn't flinch.
"120,000."
The number rolled off his tongue like pocket change. There wasn't the slightest tremor of hesitation in his tone, no sign of concern.
The middle-aged man looked again at the corroded fragment. He furrowed his brow. He glanced at Dex.
Then he exhaled.
"…Forget it."
With that, the bidding ended.
The item was Dex's.
He leaned back in his chair, unbothered by the many eyes watching him. His girls leaned closer, one pressing her breast lightly against his side, the other whispering against his ear, "Mmm… you really are mysterious, my lord… I wonder what you're going to do with that hard, ancient piece…"
Her voice was dripping with suggestive honey, each syllable a tease, and her tongue flicked against his earlobe in a daring brush.
Dex chuckled and let his hand wander lazily over her thigh, caressing through silk and lace.
For him, this was just the beginning.
---
The copper fragment was brought forward with great care, placed before Dex like some ancient relic recovered from a forbidden crypt. His fingers brushed across its jagged surface, where flaking rust mingled with the faint, dark smear of dried blood. Beneath his fingertips, he felt something strange—grooves that seemed almost deliberate, like runes weathered by time or the veins of some once-living being frozen in agony.
Beside him, Bella leaned in close, her ample chest subtly pressing against his arm as her glossy lips parted with curiosity. "Do you know what this is?" she asked, her breath warm against his skin, eyes glimmering like a cat toying with a secret. "Is it really a fragment of a divine artifact?"
Her voice carried an alluring lilt, as if hoping Dex's answer would be whispered against her neck.
She wasn't just intrigued by the artifact. No, she was watching him. Watching the way he looked at it. The way he handled it like something precious. Her mind wandered—what if he touched her the same way?
Yet, even in her curiosity, Bella knew how to restrain herself. Raised in refinement, she knew when not to press too hard, even if she was practically purring with anticipation.
In her opinion, though—divine artifact or not—this thing had long since lost its light. At most, it was a symbol, a remnant of faded glory. Something fit for decoration in a noble's hall, not the battlefield.
Dex didn't even look at her as he passed a pouch of gold to the maid with casual ease. "Maybe it was once divine," he replied, voice low and careless. "But it's too far gone to repair. So no—what matters now is not what it was, but what still lingers. There's only a bit of value left… residual."
"Residual value?" Bella tilted her head, biting her lower lip slightly as she passed the artifact to him with both hands, her fingers brushing his ever so slightly. The contact sparked a small thrill through her, one she didn't show, but he could feel.
She wanted to ask more. So badly. But her instincts warned her otherwise.
After all, Dex was no ordinary man. There was something dangerous behind that calm—something wild and bottomless. Asking the wrong question might make her more than just wet—it might get her killed.
Dex ignored her inner struggle entirely.
He studied the rusted copper shard more carefully now, turning it slowly in his hands. His expression remained unreadable, but his eyes—his eyes gleamed with a predator's interest. He hadn't been lying earlier. He really didn't know what this thing once was.
But his senses told him something else.
There was a soul inside it. Half-dead… but still whispering.
Lifting the artifact to his face, Dex inhaled slowly, deeply—like a sommelier savoring the scent of vintage wine.
Beyond the tang of copper and age, there was a strange, almost intoxicating aroma. A sweetness. A allure. It was delicate and violent all at once, like perfume on a murderess's blade.
His pupils narrowed.
'A high-quality soul…'
He licked his lips slowly, sensually, as his mind registered what he'd just inhaled.
'And not just any soul… This one is filled with resentment—pure, ancient resentment. Like aged meat marinated in wrath.'
It was exquisite.
Compared to this, the souls he had consumed in the past were like ash and sawdust.
His appetite stirred.
His stomach tightened with hunger. A growl rumbled inside him—not audible, but felt—as if something deep in his gut had started to salivate.
All the while, the two women beside him watched his expression transform, the heat rising between their thighs despite themselves. There was something raw, something darkly sensual in the way he handled that relic—like
he was undressing a lover with his thoughts.
*****
Hello everyone, a new work has been released! If you find it appealing, kindly take a moment to check it out and consider adding it to your library.. [Ashes of God And Devil]