Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 608: New Reality

Vaelira’s gaze dropped to the side, thoughts grinding slowly through fatigue and fear. "... I don’t know," she admitted. "There were dozens of us who entered the dungeon. It could have been anyone."

Silence followed.

Then Kaiden gave a single nod, accepting the answer for what it was.

"Very well."

The room settled again, the wards humming steadily as the moment passed, leaving Vaelira staring at the ceiling with a new understanding etched deep into her bones.

The room settled again, the wards humming steadily as the moment passed, leaving Vaelira staring at the ceiling with a new understanding etched deep into her bones.

Kaiden rose from the chair in one smooth motion, the decision already made.

"Our business here is done," he said flatly. "You will stay in this bed until you return to full health. After that, you will seek out every one of my girls and offer a sincere apology. No excuses. No justifications." His gaze pinned her in place. "Then you will return to the battlefield. I intend to win this competition, and you will help me do so."

The words were not a threat. They were instructions.

Vaelira’s lips twitched as the meaning finally settled in, whole and undeniable. This was her place now. Not an equal. Not an adversary. An asset under terms she did not get to negotiate. A faint, wry curve touched her mouth as the last illusion of leverage crumbled, and with it, the last remnants of who she had been.

"I understand," she said, the answer coming easily now that resistance had nowhere left to stand.

Kaiden turned away, offering no farewells.

But he had taken only a single step when she moved. Pain flared hot and sharp down her arm as she forced it to lift, fingers trembling as they brushed cloth. For a heartbeat, she hesitated, then closed her hand around the back of his shirt.

The contact was light.

Kaiden stopped.

Slowly, he looked back over his shoulder.

Vaelira couldn’t meet his eyes. Her grip tightened reflexively as if she might lose courage if she let go, yet her gaze stayed fixed on the bedsheets, on anything but him. Her voice came out hoarse, stripped bare.

"Just... one question."

"Say it," Kaiden replied, his tone firm and unmoved.

The words made her shudder. She swallowed, breath hitching once before she forced it out.

"I need to understand...! What makes your lovers so much better than me?"

For a moment, he simply looked at her.

Then he scoffed.

He stepped forward, the movement pulling his shirt free from her weak fingers without effort, her hand falling back to the bed as if it no longer belonged to her. He didn’t turn around again. He didn’t slow.

"Everything."

The door closed behind him with a final click.

Vaelira lay there in silence, the weight of the room pressing down on her more heavily than any restraint ever had. Her arm throbbed where she’d reached for him. Her chest felt hollow, collapsed inward, as the truth settled fully at last. She did not speak. She did not move.

She only stared at the door and watched the last of him disappear, knowing, without question, exactly where she stood now.

"I am done for, aren’t I...?" she whispered with a tear rolling down her cheek, feeling full of regret.

...

The door shut behind Kaiden with a muted finality.

The corridor beyond was dimmer, lit by softly glowing runes embedded in the stone walls. Runewoven craftsmanship, precise and disciplined. At the far end, he immediately registered the presence of Talia’s elites. Three figures stood at intervals, weapons lowered but ready, their stances casual only to the untrained eye. No one would be overhearing what had happened in this corridor.

Tessa was exactly where he’d left her.

She sat on the floor against the wall, both knees drawn up, arms wrapped around herself. Her shoulder was still pressed where it had struck the stone earlier, and though she was in a more than fine health to move, she clearly hadn’t done so. The choice he’d forced on her still hung in the air, unresolved in her chest even if it had been answered aloud.

She looked up when she sensed him.

Their eyes met for half a second before she dropped her gaze again, shame and relief twisting together so tightly it hurt to breathe. Vaelira or him. She had chosen him. And now she had to live with what that said about her as a guild leader.

Talia stood a few steps away from Tessa, arms crossed, posture rigid. Her expression was controlled, but there was no mistaking the sharp focus in her eyes as she studied Kaiden’s face the moment he emerged.

She already knew enough, brought up to speed by Tessa while Kaiden was inside the room with Vaelira.

"Did you..." Talia began.

Kaiden didn’t let her finish.

He stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Her elites flinched, but Talia gestured for them to calm down instantly.

The contact was brief but firm.

"Talia of Runewoven," he said evenly. "You’ve been a great ally to me all this time. I hope to continue our partnership for a long time."

That was all.

No explanation. No justification. No reassurance.

He withdrew his hand and began walking away.

As Kaiden walked past her, his gaze didn’t flicker toward Tessa. Not even once.

That hurt more than if he had spoken rudely to her again.

The sound of his footsteps faded down the corridor, steady and unhurried, until the runes swallowed them completely.

Only then did Tessa’s composure finally crack.

Her hands clenched into the fabric at her knees as her vision blurred, emotions crashing in all at once. Guilt for betraying a guildmate, relief that it at least satiated his hateful heart, and the echo of his words from earlier, cutting and precise.

’Incompetent.’

She bit down hard on her lip, shoulders trembling as a tear slipped free and traced a silent line down her cheek.

Talia studied her for a long moment, taking in the way Tessa’s shoulders shook, the way her breath hitched despite her effort to stay quiet. Then she lowered herself to one knee beside her.

"It’s going to be okay," Talia said at last, her voice calm, grounded, carrying the weight of someone who had already made peace with the decision. "You did the right thing. We already talked about this. We agreed we would be loyal to Kaiden. That girl forced your hand, despite the many warnings she received from you."

She reached out, resting a hand on Tessa’s arm, firm and steady. "And you made the right choice."

Tessa’s head dipped further, her grip tightening on her clothes as another breath shuddered out of her. "I know..." she whispered, the words barely audible. "I know that’s what I had to do. But it still hurts."

"..." Talia leaned in then and wrapped her arms around her old friend, pulling her into a solid, grounding embrace. Tessa stiffened for a heartbeat before finally sagging into it, the last of her composure giving way as she pressed her forehead against Talia’s shoulder. No more words were needed. The corridor remained silent, guarded, sealed off from the world as the choice settled.

...

Kaiden walked through the familiar threshold of his private wing before the door slid shut behind him. The tension he’d carried with him since hearing what Vaelira had said about Alexandra finally bled away, replaced by something sharper, cleaner.

Anticipation.

The space opened up before him, and the presence of the women waiting inside was felt. His lips curved upward before he even spoke, a genuine grin breaking through the cold authority he’d worn until now.

His gaze swept across them, loving and proud.

"Are you ready, my beautiful angels?" he asked, voice rich with confidence and promise. "It’s time we test out our new powers and overtake the competition."

He took another step forward, presence filling the room effortlessly.

"It’s time to declare to the world, once and for all," Kaiden continued, eyes gleaming, "that Valhalla’s Sinners are officially so much more than mere entertainers. We are here to take over."

The door sealed behind him with a soft click.

And the game truly began.