Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 708: Nyx’s Revenge

Henrik’s mouth closed.

”He’s a great fighter.” She exhaled through her nose. ”But since the Maximilian Vice fiasco, it’s been clear that he’s an even greater manipulator of the narrative. That video wasn’t made by three crying women but by someone who knows exactly how the public reacts and built every frame to trigger it. We cannot make hasty mistakes here. That is precisely what he wants.”

The New Dawn calls were still coming in. Three artifacts lined up on the table, screens lighting up in rotation, none of them answered.

”Get me Delphine, the legal team, and the Association liaison,” she said. ”Now.”

Henrik reached for his artifact with fingers that fumbled the gesture. Two New Dawn missed calls sat on his screen. He swiped past them.

...

The recording studio was quiet except for the sound of Brittany crying.

She hadn’t stopped. The cameras were off and the broadcast was live and climbing the rankings at a speed that Kaiden could track in real time through his interface, but Brittany was still curled against Alexandra’s shoulder with her face pressed into the fabric of her maid outfit, and Trisha was still gripping her hand. Neither of them had moved since the last frame cut to black.

Kaiden knew that some would scrutinize this scene due to the obvious conflict of interest - these girls, his former enemies, were now sheltered by him and his allies and were speaking out against his enemies.

However, the funny part was that neither Kaiden nor anyone else had instructed them on what to say. All of it was genuine, not a performance. That was the part that mattered.

He knew how easy it was to sway the public. They didn’t need airtight logic or perfect stories. They needed emotions and sentiments they could get behind, and what these three gave them were exactly that.

A large organization with power and resources, preying on young women.

The script wrote itself.

Kaiden stood off to the side with his arms crossed and his back against the wall, watching the three of them with an expression that gave nothing away.

Luna was beside him, close enough that her shoulder touched his arm, her eyes fixed on the scene with the wary attention of a woman who hadn’t forgotten that those two had been trying to ruin her and her family’s rate of progression mere hours ago. Calypso’s tail flicked lazily behind her, her gaze lingering on Alexandra with a softness she’d deny if anyone mentioned it. The others had found their own positions around the room.

Talia stood near the door with her arms at her sides and her posture perfectly composed, the kind of stillness that came from running a guild long enough to know when silence was worth more than commentary. Beside her, Tessa had her hands in her jacket pockets and was rocking on her heels with the restless energy of someone who wanted to say twelve things and was trying to pick which one first.

Kaiden published the video the moment the final frame rendered. No delay. No review cycle. The content was clean, the legal clearance was confirmed, and every second between now and the first million views was a second wasted.

His interface lit up.

The comment section detonated.

- TwoGirlsOneChrono: WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH

- NyxedMyGPA: im literally shaking rn those poor girls oh my god

- AwakenedSimp99: bro the ashbound guild is COOKED. like crispy charcoal COOKED.

- PixelValkyrie: new dawn??? NEW DAWN WAS IN ON IT??? hold on let me get my keyboard out

- [Mod] Lady Leia: Okay listen up. What we just watched is EXACTLY what happened with Maximilian Vice. Another organization preying on women. Another group of powerful people treating girls like numbers on a spreadsheet. Us girls need to BAND TOGETHER and demand our governors and Association representatives DO SOMETHING. I am TIRED of watching this happen. Tag your local representatives. Tag every sponsor still attached to Ashbound. Make noise. They want our silence? They’re not getting it!!!

The fangirls mobilized beneath her comment like an army that had been waiting for a general. Angry emojis flooded the feed. Screenshots of Ashbound sponsor logos started appearing with red X marks over them. Someone had already started a hashtag.

Kaiden watched the chaos unfold and chuckled.

Leia was in her element right now. The woman had the organizational instincts of a wartime logistics officer and the fury of someone who took every injustice against him or his lovers as a personal offense. He made a mental note that when their discussed first meetup finally happened, that woman deserved to order whatever she wanted off the menu.

Movement on the studio floor pulled his attention back.

Luna was already walking toward Alexandra. Calypso was half a step behind her, and Aria followed without a word. They converged on her with the quiet coordination of women who’d already decided among themselves who was checking on whom.

”Hey,” Luna said, and her voice was softer than most people ever heard it. She crouched in front of Alexandra and put a hand on her knee. ”You okay?”

Alexandra looked up from between Brittany and Trisha. Her eyes were red and her smile was watery and she nodded in the way people nod when they’re not okay but they’re going to be.

”Yeah,” she said. ”Just a bit overwhelmed.”

Calypso reached past Luna and tucked a strand of hair behind Alexandra’s ear. ”You did beautifully.”

Bastet appeared beside them. Her hand found Alexandra’s shoulder and squeezed once, her ears twitching as she studied the blonde’s face with the focused attention of someone running a medical assessment.

”Are you okay?” Bastet asked.

”I’m okay.”

”Good.” Bastet’s ears flattened. ”Then pray tell, what was that about Aria and the Monster Girl Skirt?”

Alexandra’s watery smile froze.

”Oh yeah!” Calypso’s head snapped toward the maid outfit. Her fingers were already moving, pinching the hem of the skirt and tugging it outward to inspect the stitching. ”Let me see what she did. I knew that thread count looked different!”

”Cali, don’t lift my skirt!”

”I’m not lifting it, I’m examining it. There’s a difference.”

”There is not a difference when your hand is right there and lifting it!”