Erza was not the calmest of people - both of them knew that. Once she had her mind set on anything related to violence, it would be a gargantuan task to make her see otherwise.

"Start, already. Are we going to waste time yet again? Just start with it. I better see some products worth my time and money"

Even through the mask, Jellal could see some people become more observant of his actions. They had already begun to doubt him, and that was the first red flag.

Someone could cut the tension in the room with a butter knife, and the auctioneer broke the tension with a generic greeting to the patrons.

Jellal did not pay attention to his words and his eyes shot up when he spotted a middle-aged woman standing behind the auctioneer.

When she whispered in his ear, the auctioneer's smile widened and he drawled on about the women they had procured.

"I will be out soon, Jellal. The girls should be safe in a while"

Jellal subtly observed his surroundings, searching for the perfect exit. What if things did not go as planned? They would need a backup plan.

While he was in his own world, the auctioneer began to introduce Erza.

"The first product we have is a completely illegal one - no papers, no identity, but an absolute beauty!"

The curtains flung open, revealing Erza in a micro bikini that barely covered her nipples.

It took less than a second for most of the men and even a few women to start their catcalling. Every single one's hands grabbed onto their auction paddles, aching to shoot up in the sky.

Jellal had to give it to his woman - she could become a good actress. She pulled off the 'deer caught in a headlight' look like an absolute professional as her eyes frantically ran all over the crowd. Her lips trembled as she stared at the auctioneer who was busy ogling at her, instead of doing his job.

The moment he began the bid, paddles flew up into the air. Voices turned elusive in the absolute cacophony that filled the auditorium.

Erza looked at Jellal who was busy cleaning his fingernails and was in half a mind to yell at him until she felt his magic weaken.

She could partially feel his magical power dissipate towards the exit, and she could almost feel his smile through the repugnant mask covering his face.

Two men slammed the door of the auditorium open and walked in with a towering wheelbarrow each. Erza felt Jellal's magic on both of them, and some of the security guards began to grow weary over time.

She internally smirked as she felt Siegrain and the second of three copies Jellal could make of himself right in front of her.

The copies opened the cloth covering the wheelbarrows, exposing a disgustingly large amount of Jewels.

"I have nine more of these waiting outside. That woman is mine", Jellal dictated as he crossed his legs and looked at everyone in the room.

"What are you looking at? DO I LOOK LIKE A JOKER TO YOU BASTARDS? I'm not stopping you from buying her. If you've got the money, do as you please - if you can"

The last phrase set the tone for the rest of them who stared at the ground. Some of them audibly gulped while some cursed him under their breaths.

Unable to bear the crushing silence, Jellal nodded towards his copies who left the auditorium presumably to get more of those wheelbarrows.

"W...WHAT A PURCHASE! SUCH GENEROSITY! Please come on stage to claim her as your own!"

What kind of auction was this? People would normally collect their bids at the end. This seemed more like a textbook award ceremony, and this worsened Jellal's already feeble plan.

"Stop wasting time and get on with the next one", he waved flippantly before Erza blinked at him twice.

The auctioneer began to stutter, trying to fill the time and convince Jellal to come up at the same time.

Erza's acting prowess was on full display as she sold her character perfectly. Not a single person doubted that the woman standing in front of them was an S-class mage.

The same couldn't be said for Jellal who despite trying his best, was far from the greatest liar known.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Through Jellal's grumbling, the auctioneer began to smile. The moment the former passed him, the man's smile dropped.

Jellal was exceptionally sensitive to magic and aura, and the split second where the auctioneer displayed a murderous aura against him gave enough for Jellal to think of another escape plan.

"They are on to us, Erza"

Through her shivering, Erza nodded and shifted her eyes towards the backstage momentarily. Through the corner of his eye, Jellal spotted some girls running away, dragging each other out, covering their mouths to muffle their sobbing and pain, before he turned his attention back to Erza and grabbed her wrist forcefully.

"There, I've claimed her. Now I'm go-"

"Oh, not so fast, my dear customer"

Jellal turned towards the other man who had a writing quill in his hand. The man offered the quill to Jellal with a knowing smirk on his face.

Jellal frowned through his mask as the aura emitting from the quill was similar to the dark magic he mastered and hated.

"Now it's the time - to brand the slave as your own. All it needs is your blood and it will carve your name on her chest"

Clicking his tongue, Jellal waved it off. Slave marks were some of the hardest dark magic to remove, and even if successful, the recipient would have to step into hell before it is removed from their body. He had seen people lose their lives, some losing their sanity, some their will to live after the process and he would be damned before he would let that anywhere near Erza.

"Meh, I don't need things like that. If she can run away from me, she can do so. That just shows her strength, and I can get many more slaves. I'm not wasting my blood for something as trivial as this"

His arrogant tone continually rubbed the audience on the wrong side, and Jellal prayed for himself to stay in character.

The auctioneer's face dropped and from the corner of his eye, Jellal could see the twinkling of a knife. Fighting would not be a problem, but then he would no longer be able to guarantee the safety of the prisoners.

"Do it. I don't mind"

Jellal turned towards Erza with a confused look and saw the faint blush on her cheeks.

This woman! He could no longer say no, as she pitifully looked at him, thrusting her chest forward.

"At least the girls will be safe. It's not like a random person is doing this to me - it's you. I don't mind if it is you"

Cursing out internally, Jellal took the quill and ran it through his palm like a knife. The wound hurt much, much more than that of a simple laceration. It was burning his blood as he felt the dark magic course through his veins.

"Now pour your blood over her chest. The branding should be complete"

Taking a deep breath, he dragged his bleeding hand towards Erza who flashed him a momentary smile before wincing in pain.

A blood red coloured pattern formed itself on her chest, mimicking a slightly larger version of Jellal's eye mark.

Rather than a very small circular mark that he saw in some of the modestly clad staff, Erza's mark grew to a slightly larger extent, going diagonally up to the early curves of her breasts. It looked similar to that of a gazelle patterned over an ancient language and the auctioneer began to growl behind him.

"Why...does the mark say 'Jellal Fernandes'? Should I know something, my dear customer?"

Jellal scrunched his face before turning towards the auctioneer. The other man snapped his fingers and an entire security platoon rushed towards the stage.

"I was a bit cautious. While Mr. Wolf was a bit...eccentric, he was never rude to any of us - even at his absolute worst. We tried to play along because some situations can change people - and we assumed today to be one of the worst days in his life"

The platoon circled Jellal, raising various weapons against him, and the auctioneer stepped forward.

"It was until we found his naked corpse in a nearby godown, filled with a powerful magic trail. One that I could sense in you, and one that I confirmed with the wound on your hand. Do you have anything to say, Mr. Fernandes?"

The auctioneer sneered at Jellal who slowly raised his hands and began to mumble under his breath.

"Now, Erza!"

It had not been a fraction of a second since Erza heard the telepathic message, but that was enough for her to break out of that poor binding and yank the hairpin from hair.

The guards did not have enough time to react and she pressed it twice.

The room turned into a shade of pitch black. Not a single person could see what was going on before a flash of light shot up from the cynosure of the black aura.

"Fetch", Jellal growled as the light spread through the enclosure and slammed itself into everyone in the room.

Erza felt like a train had hit her in the face as she stumbled momentarily only to notice everyone chained with magic that seemed to burn at a searing shade of blue.

She felt like her head could split at any moment before she turned towards Jellal who grabbed her hand and shot out of the place with Meteor, bursting through the wall and leaving the place like a heap of dust.

In the flashing moment, Erza could see the girls running away at a safe distance and smiled before Jellal set the two of them down near an abandoned lake.

The man held his chest, spitting blood onto the ground before Erza hovered around him, releasing some of her protective magic around him.

"As powerful as it is, Dark magic does have its limitations", he groaned out as he dropped into her lap. Erza glared at him and opened her mouth to let out a tirade before he placed a finger on her mouth.

"Before you ask or yell, it is just magic overflow. I will be fine in a few minutes"

Requipping into her black-coloured sleeveless top and shorts, she wiped the remnants of blood from his chin before Jellal traced her lips with his thumb.

"How the hell do you grow prettier by the day, Scarlet?"

Erza's brain was overheating - Jellal was drunk on magic, and while it was a rare sight, drunk Jellal was exceptionally affectionate and handsy.

"I...I don't know", she mewled and Jellal deftly got behind her, wrapping his arms around her, rubbing his nose against her swan-like neck.

"Does it hurt?", he whispered as his fingers traveled over the branding on her chest. Erza shook her head before leaning back against him, taking a firm seat on his lap.

"No", she replied instantly and turned around. Before he knew what had happened, Erza had her legs locked tightly around his waist.

With a teasing look on his face, Jellal buried his face into her chest, covering her branding with his slobber, kisses, and bites before Erza grabbed his hair, pulling his face back to make him face her own.

"I order you to let me go"

Erza stifled her laughter as Jellal looked at her like a lost puppy. He looked so easy to tease and she jumped at the opportunity.

"I refuse", she smirked before the sign began to glow. She gasped out loud and stared straight up. Jellal shot up towards her, grabbing her waist tightly.

Her breathing grew heavy for a couple of seconds before she stared down with a massive blush on her face.

"Refusing is not that bad every once in a while", she mewled. Jellal was a bit too drunk on magic to understand the euphemism and focused on her mark.

"The mark looks like a gazelle - you look even prettier"

"Shut up, dummy", Erza blushed before kissing him. As much of a glass cannon she was, her pride wouldn't let her get pushed around so early.

"Will it hurt me if I refuse your order?", she asked as she ran her finger over the mark.

"I don't know", Jellal rubbed his eyes as he could feel his magic power drop down to a tractable level. Erza pouted as she saw the drunken innocence from his eyes slip away.

"Let's go back home"

Erza's soothing voice sent shivers down his spine and he looked back up to see the most serene expression on her face. Even if things did not go as he had planned, Jellal was happy that the smile he treasured did not fade from her face.

"Yeah...let's go back"