Demonic Pornstar System

Maximilian scrolled through the post with slow movements. He muttered to himself, almost dismissively. "Pretty standard… whining about defamation. Claiming justice will be served in the courts."

He leaned back in his plush sofa, cigar smoke curling lazily around his face. Of course, they'll sue. He knew that already, having practically invited it with the last move. None of them was one bit scared of the courts.

Courts were meant to hold the poor responsible, to force them into line, to remind them of their place. For the powerful, though… the court was merely another tool, another ally. The judges were friends, the verdicts having already fallen in their favor before the opening statements were read.

The other leaders nodded in agreement, murmuring similarly. This was expected. Calculated. Nothing to rattle them.

Then Maximilian's eyes widened. A flicker of something unanticipated crossed his gaze. The final lines…

To our supporters, know this: we are not cowards. We are not fragile. We are not so easily intimidated.

Valhalla's Sinners will not bow.

Our next stream goes live soon. We'll see you there.

He blinked once, twice. Then he exchanged a glance with Harold Veyne. Anton Krieger. Elise Dupré. Lionel Hawke. The silence in the room felt almost tangible before…

"Bahaha!"

They erupted into laughter.

"They'll do what?" Harold wheezed between two bursts. "Go live? After everything we've thrown at them?"

Anton slapped his knee. "They'll be downvoted into oblivion. Their chats will be flooded with haters. It'll be the shitfest of the century."

Elise's lips curled in a dangerous grin. "This reeks of desperation. You'll see them begging their viewers for a second chance. Groveling and floundering, doing anything to reverse the course."

Maximilian's own laughter rolled through the lounge like a tide. He clasped his hands together with the cigar still glowing between his fingers. "Glorious," he said. "We'll watch it together. Every second. This… this is going to be exquisite. I can't wait to see that boy finally lose control of the future."

The others leaned in eagerly, glasses in hand, predatory eyes gleaming. The air of triumph and decadence was suddenly charged with anticipation. Maximilian's grin stretched wide, a predator on the verge of the hunt, as he prepared to watch the Sinners' next move unfold.

They each navigated their media platforms in their minds to their stream, which was only seconds away from going live.

As the seconds stretched, their old hearts began pounding. This was an important move for ChronosX as well. The conference they published had garnered even more attention than they believed; many eyes were not only on the response of Valhalla's Sinners but also on ChronosX in general. People who didn't care one bit about the awakened porn industry were now keenly watching the developments as well. If played well, ChronosX could use the publicity to expand its reach even further.

Finally, after what felt like an entire minute but in reality was only five seconds, the feed went live.

The first thing Maximilian heard made him freeze mid-chuckle:

"Cheers!"

Glasses clinked together.

The camera angle immediately revealed Luna's POV, who was sitting in front of Kaiden. On either side of him, Aria and Bastet lounged close as usual, their bodies leaning gently toward him in comfortable intimacy. The way their bodies practically begged to be as close to his as possible served as the starkest of contrasts to the lifeless body language of the playthings around the ChronosX leaders.

Nyx, the final girl of the squad, was sprawled casually next to Luna. Her free arm was even draped over the purple-haired girl's back, much to her annoyance.

All of them wore bathing robes. The fabric clung to their bodies in the right places while the relaxed fit emphasized their natural charm. Behind them, the muted steam of a Japanese onsen curled lazily into the room, but they remained outside the water, sitting together in a cozy atmosphere. The whole setting radiated cheerfulness and quiet, indulgent camaraderie.

"Huh?" Maximilian gasped, leaning forward instinctively. Even though the feed was sent straight to his mind, and he wouldn't see things better by moving his face.

The other shareholders mirrored his confusion, brows furrowing, mouths half-open. "What… what is this?" Harold muttered. "Have they gone insane, or what?"

"Yeah. The pressure must have broken them. They're supposed to be groveling, guess in their desperation they dug their heads into the sand or something."

But it was anything but the beginning they had expected.

Aria's hands wrapped possessively around Kaiden's as she guided his limb to her chest, where she hugged it close as if it were her most precious gem that had to be protected at all costs.

The Moon Valkyrie was smiling radiantly as she delivered the answer to the numerous viewers who asked the same questions as Maximilian and his allies had. "We haven't had the chance to do a group celebration of the undead dungeon clear just yet! I'm so happy we finally got to it!"

"You girls are just slow. Kai and I have already celebrated our victory," Nyx grinned.

"What do you mean?" Aria asked confusedly.

"What do you call him going wild in my poor little back door if not a celebration worthy of the occasion?"

The shameless response that made many women yelp in fright at its absurdity had quite the resounding effect on the Moon Valkyrie.

She gritted her teeth together as her expression turned extremely dark. "The two of us still haven't spoken about that. I have a lot to say."

"I'm all ears, princess bestie."

As the silver-haired beauty stared a dagger at the pink-haired curvy girl who sported a devilish grin, enjoying that she was finally the one who 'got ahead' instead of it being the others, Bastet, the Ra-blessed Felinid, who had her tanned skin glowing in the onsen light, tilted her head to the side until she rested it on Kaiden's shoulder. "I am not particularly knowledgeable about human festivities, Master, but I always welcome the celebration of a successful annihilation of the undead."

She sniffed the champagne curiously, letting out a soft, resonant purr. "I have never encountered anything quite like this."

The lounge fell silent for a long beat. Maximilian's hand tightened around his cigar, the ember glowing brighter as a vein of disbelief ran through him. Glasses clinked and laughter bubbled from the stream. They were smiling, save for Aria, cheerful, full of warmth, and utterly unshaken by the pressure of what should've crippled them. Not a hint of despair. Not a trace of submission.

Maximilian's smug, confident smile faltered.

…

Author: I apologize for missing the upload yesterday. My other novel needed my attention as I'm racing to hit 25,000 privilege unlocks (see progress by going to Featured -> Win-win -> Classic). I also felt that the dungeon arc was too draggy and I'm not happy with its overall quality. As an apology for these two factors, I'm reducing next month's privilege to 499 (699 right now.)

Thanks for all the support!