Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 609: Ashbound Films

*Click!*

The last light blinked red, then went dark.

A few cameras continued to click for half a second longer, reflexive shutters catching lingering angles before the director’s hand came up in a sharp gesture. "And—cut. That’s a wrap. Good energy. We’ve got it. Ashbound Films are going to take over the world soon."

The tension that had filled the space evaporated almost instantly. Crew members lowered rigs, shoulders loosening as they stepped back from their marks. Someone muttered about framing, another about post-processing, while a tech leaned in to check playback. The artificial intimacy dissolved the moment it was no longer needed, replaced by the familiar hum of work resuming.

Ash, widely known as the S-tier Ashen Knight of the Ashbound guild led by the Ashbound family, moved the instant the word cut landed.

He swung his legs off the bed and stood in one smooth motion, already reaching for the towel and then the armor rack at the side of the room. There was no lingering caressing of his partner, no moment of hesitation. Plates came into his hands, one after another, steel catching the ambient glow of interface light as he began fastening them with efficient motions. The shift was immediate and total, from performer to weapon, from staged closeness to disciplined readiness.

Behind him, the bed was left as it was, sheets rumpled and heat rapidly dissipating.

Brittany lay on her side beneath the tangled covers, bare skin exposed to the cool air of the room. She watched him in silence for a few seconds, eyes following the familiar pattern of his movements, waiting for the moment when he would turn back to her. When it didn’t come, she pushed herself up slightly and reached out, fingers brushing against the edge of his greave.

"Can’t you stay a little longer?" she asked. Her voice carried irritation more than need, the sound of someone who already knew the answer but resented it anyway.

Ash tightened the clasp and reached for his chest piece. "No. We’ve got monsters to slay and points to amass," he said, tone flat and practical. "This was just a lunch break. Stacy and Trisha are already out there working hard."

Her mouth tightened. "I didn’t even get to eat or relax."

"You’ll manage," he replied, sliding the armor into place and sealing it with a muted click. "You’re A-tier, level seventy plus. You’re not fragile enough to die of missing one lunch."

"..." Brittany looked away, jaw setting as she swallowed whatever she’d been about to say. A few seconds passed before she tried again, quieter this time. "You didn’t even kiss me."

"I kissed you during foreplay minutes ago."

"But it was for the cameras! You haven’t kissed me without being filmed in days, if not weeks!"

"You’re imagining things." Ash was already moving, boots thudding softly against the floor as he stepped past the bed toward the far side of the room where the camera crew was reviewing footage. Lights dimmed one by one, lenses capped, cables coiled. He stopped among them without looking back.

"All right. Let’s go over it."

One of the crew scrubbed through footage, pausing and replaying short segments while the others chimed in. The conversation turned technical fast, voices overlapping as they dissected angles, pacing, reactions. The focus drifted, inevitably, toward Brittany. What she could have done better. Where her expressions fell flat. How her timing hurt engagement metrics. Where she failed to hold the camera’s attention long enough.

Ash listened, nodding once or twice. He added his own comments, detached and precise, pointing out missed cues and wasted moments with the same tone he used to criticize battlefield positioning. There was no malice in it, but there was no softness for his supposed girlfriend either. It was efficiency stripped of empathy.

After a while, he glanced back toward the bed. "You catch that? Stacy and Trisha have gotten a bit better. I’m sure you can replicate their metrics with a bit more effort."

Brittany exhaled slowly and nodded. "Yeah... I’ll do better." The words came out tired rather than defensive. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, cleaned her crotch with a wet wipe, and reached for her armor from the rack nearby.

They finished strapping in almost in sync, the last clasps sealing with soft, familiar clicks. Whatever lingered in the room was left behind the moment the studio door slid open.

The corridor beyond was already active. Assistants and technicians flattened themselves against the walls as Ash strode through, Brittany half a step behind him. Soon, they left the guild hall and began sprinting toward the battlefield.

They ran side by side for several seconds before Brittany spoke. "What do you think the Sinners are up to? They’ve been silent for a while."

Ash didn’t slow. "I don’t know. Maybe they’ve given up on the competition. They had no chance from the beginning, so they’re probably preparing to pack their bags after having farmed enough engagement from the event."

He vaulted a broken ridge without effort and continued. "That’s what separates us from them. They’re weak but good entertainers. We’re strong and good entertainers."

Brittany frowned slightly but kept pace.

"They don’t have the budget. They don’t have structure. They’re running on amateur luck. Whatever they feel like filming, they just go with the flow. When hungry, they film a cooking stream. When horny, they fuck. When ready to kill monsters, they fight. There’s no future in that... Just dumb luck."

’Dumb luck...? Isn’t their spontaneousness one of their advantages? Also, why are you speaking with so much certainty when you can’t even watch their adult content?’ Brittany thought inwardly but didn’t interject, as Ash kept going.

"The company projections are clear. ChronosX’s collapse left a massive gap in the market. All it takes is professionals who use metrics, logic, and discipline instead of whatever fuels the Sinners. They’re just lucky newbies riding noise of their strange powers, not their actual skill as entertainers. Once they become old news, they’ll be projected to fade into obscurity."

Brittany hesitated, then said carefully, "Is it really luck?"

He glanced at her, eyes narrowing.

"I agreed with you before," she continued, choosing her words as they dodged a roaming pack of lesser mobs, "but the more I follow the metrics, the less certain I am. They haven’t uploaded adult content in over a week, and their numbers are still rising. Constantly. Meanwhile, we have to pump out content nonstop just to see similar growth. I can’t even eat my meal because it’s time for a porno shoot in the thirty-minute break I get. I can’t get six hours of sleep because we have to film variety content before heading out and before going to bed. We’re exhausting ourselves to match their effortless growth, and I..."

She averted her gaze and looked at her feet. "I can’t even look my father in the eyes... He despises that his little girl went this far for success."

Ash’s snarl was low and sharp, almost animal. "Are you questioning the guild leader’s orders?"

The words hit harder than any shouted command.

’You mean your mother’s,’ Brittany thought, the bitterness flaring and dying just as fast. She swallowed, forced her expression neutral, and shook her head.