Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 524: New Announcement

The crowd reacted instantly to the announcement.

Conversations cut off mid-sentence.

For a moment, the entire staging hall felt like it held its breath before the awakened community mobilized with the familiar efficiency of people who lived one dungeon breach away from disaster.

Kaiden and his girls moved with the flow as the open-air staging hall transformed from loose clusters of gossiping awakened into a shifting, purposeful tide of bodies converging toward the central briefing zone.

A tall metal stand, half podium, half observation platform, rose near the heart of the staging hall where the ground had been reinforced with runic anchors to prevent structural collapse under thousands of mana signatures.

Perched atop the platform stood a woman in Awakened Association attire, but not the sleek black combat armor most field agents wore, instead the pristine formal suit that marked her as upper management. The same one Grace tended to wear.

Her posture was straight as a lance, and her calm expression remained perfectly unshaken despite the sheer number of eyes now focused entirely on her.

Awakened streamed in from every direction. Most gathered directly around the staging floor, forming a broad semicircle. Others remained in their guild halls, carved into the sheer rock walls of the mountain range.

Even those farther away paused in mid-training or mid-meal to angle themselves toward the speakers. Within minutes, thousands of awakened had gathered. Some were curious, some tense, some already bracing themselves for what a sudden briefing always implied.

Only when the rumble of shuffling feet settled into near silence did the woman lift her voice.

”Thank you for your swift assembly,” she began. Her tone was measured and professional, carrying easily through the amplifying runes embedded into the stand. ”As many of you are aware, this mountain range, where monsters from multiple dungeons converge for a reason that is being studied as we speak, has remained active for over a week now. Despite multiple incursions and routine suppression efforts, the zone has not been stabilized or cleared. In fact, the number of monsters is reported to have grown since awakened activity began in the area.”

The murmuring in the crowd remained polite, restrained. Any awakened who knew how to read her phrasing understood the subtext: People have been happily farming the anomaly but not making meaningful progress toward its elimination.

”But,” she continued smoothly, ”given the strategic importance of this region, our desire to understand what drives this occurrence, and the increasing risk factors associated with prolonged instability, the Association believes it is prudent to encourage a more proactive approach.”

She chose her words carefully, with no trace of accusation, no edge of frustration. Instead, she wrapped the message in diplomatic phrasing that conveyed urgency without insulting any guilds or individuals benefitting from the current situation. High-ranking awakened politics required exactly that kind of velvet-wrapped iron.

A ripple of conversation spread through the crowd, a soft hum of speculation. Kaiden crossed his arms and listened, Aria leaning subtly against his shoulder while Luna and Bastet scanned the area with attention.

The woman’s gaze swept the gathering once more before she added, ”The Association is not the only party that believes a shift in protocol is necessary.”

With that statement, she stepped back from the podium.

This was not a retreat but more like making space.

The crowd immediately reacted. A wave of confusion passed through the ranks as necks craned and whispers flared.

”Why’d she move back?”

”Who’s going to speak now?”

”There’s no one else on the podium.”

The silence lingered longer than anyone expected.

The Association representative had stepped aside as if making way for someone, yet no one else appeared. The gathered awakened shifted uneasily, glancing around as the quiet stretched thin.

A few Guild officers murmured to each other, voices low and uncertain, but even those conversations died out as the weight of anticipation sank in. The entire mountainside staging hall stilled beneath the open sky, thousands of awakened growing tense with collective expectation.

The tension snapped when someone in the distance shouted, ”Look! Above!”

Every head tilted upward as one.

High above the mountain basin, barely more than a speck against the sky, a dot hung motionless in the air. It was far too steady to be debris or a bird.

For a long breath, no one knew what to make of it, but the dot began to descend, slow at first, then faster, taking on a shape that sent trained instincts roaring alive.

People straightened. Several reached for weapons. Others raised defensive spells around their bodies. A descending unidentified figure was almost never good news in a location swarming with monsters.

But as the figure drew closer, the tension sharpened into shock.

The silhouette wasn’t monstrous.

It was distinctly humanoid, armored, and controlled in descent.

Sunlight brushed across an expensive plate design, which was sleek, reinforced, and tailored with the kind of aesthetics only the highest-ranking awakened ever wore. A greatsword rested across his back, so large it looked like it belonged on a siege mount rather than a human, yet he wore it without strain.

He fell in a straight line, posture perfect.

A few murmurs broke through.

”That... no way.”

”Is it him?”

”Shit. It is him.”

Moments later, he struck the ground in front of the podium with a thunderous impact that blasted dust outward and sent a shockwave rippling through the hall.

People closest to the stage staggered back. A few journalists holding recording devices were knocked to the floor with startled yelps, with multiple breaking their expensive gear. The podium, however, did not even crack. Its defensive runes blazed to life, anchors igniting under the strain, stabilizing it with an audible hum.

When the dust thinned, he stood there as if nothing had happened.

Magnus Ashborn.

Helmetless. Broad-shouldered. Expression unreadable. His presence alone carried the kind of pressure that made even a veteran awakened straighten instinctively. The man wasn’t just strong; he was a benchmark. One of the modern titans who wielded both personal power and incredible political influence. His mere appearance at a briefing was enough to silence the entire mountainside.

”My name is Magnus Ashborn,” he declared with his voice carrying across the hall. ”It’s my honor to introduce a competition jointly designed by the Awakened Association and New Dawn.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd. A competition? Here? Now? Designed by him?

As the many reactions sounded, his gaze locked onto a single person in the sea of thousands.

Kaiden Grey.

The shift in the atmosphere was instant. Magnus’s expression stayed perfectly flat, but Kaiden felt the weight behind those eyes. The scrutiny, the intention, the challenge.

This development was too perfectly timed with their arrival. The ”competition” wasn’t a coincidence.

It had Magnus Ashborn’s fingerprints all over it.