Chapter 244: Released

Words : 1087 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

"Hhkssss!!" Bastet hissed and yelped at once. But Luna didn’t let go, having no mercy in her heart to give. She looked down instead. Whispered softly—so softly that only she could hear it. "... I’m so glad to have met her." ... Three Days Later Elysia released the girls from care, officially declaring them "battle-ready with mild restrictions." Just like that, the team was whole again. A little over ten days had passed since the vampire battle, meaning there was less than a week left to clear the dungeon before Talia and her guild would be marked as incapable. That was the exact reason why a meeting was called where Talia and Diaz, her guild’s sole representative in the clear, Tessa and her four guild members, and Valhalla’s Sinners sat down to talk. Talia had elected to bar her guild’s higher management from attending despite the meeting’s clear importance. She wanted it to feel less like corporate negotiations and more like old friends solving a shared problem. Having a bunch of stiff suits around would’ve killed the vibe. Though, to be fair, the fact that she hated most of the management also might’ve played the smallest of roles in the decision. Only the smallest, however. ... The venue was beautiful. An awakened-owned koi garden restaurant, nestled between two dungeon-scarred mountainsides, with crystalline streams running under wooden walkways and blooming pink lotuses decorating the whole garden. Talia had reserved the entire estate for this single meeting. At the heart of the garden stood a large, round table inlaid with mana-etched lotus motifs. Its surface was practically sagging with the weight of monster sashimi, fried slime chitin tempura, spectral root salads, and bottles of chilled dungeon grape wine, aged in voidwood barrels for a velvet finish. A veritable feast for any awakened. But it wasn’t just generosity on display. The extravagance made one thing very clear: Talia was desperate. And she would do whatever it took to make Kaiden’s group return to the dungeon, fast. ... Talia stood at the table with a polite smile, arms loosely crossed behind her back. Dressed in a sleek white combat-blazer, she had opted for neat professionalism without sacrificing charm. Beside her stood Diaz, sharp as ever in a navy-black reinforced vest and gloves, with his hood pulled low and daggers strapped neatly across his hips. The second to arrive were Tessa and her team. Their arrival was simple: no frills, just a reinforced combat van that looked like it had been welded together by someone with both anxiety and caffeine in their bloodstream. After all, Nova Circuit was a struggling guild as well. The vehicle growled to a stop, and out stepped the black-haired leader flanked by her four guild members, all dressed cleanly in suits and dresses. Sasha snorted as she scanned the empty seats around the table. "The hospital residents are still not here? What, have they finally decided to shoot porn full-time?" Jack clicked his tongue while leaning against the koi bridge rail. "Wouldn’t surprise me. They got slapped with reality very hard this time around, as for once, not even the wonder boy made a miracle that allowed them all to go unscathed." "So you’re saying they did indeed decide to pursue a career in the sheets?" Sasha giggled with a tone full of mockery. "I don’t know why you two sound so condescending, to be honest. They’ll become billionaires by having the time of their lives free of worry and the usual awakened problems..." Leon, the usually silent swordsman, finally spoke up. "While we’ll be constantly risking our lives to have a chance at making a decent living. It’s likely we’ll die before hitting retirement age." His tone lacked the venom of his teammates. It was flat, factual, and maybe just a little tired. "Have you seen the drama going on within their fandom? They’ve been radio silent for over eleven days now. The fans are freaking out. Especially after someone leaked those pictures of Kaiden running out with Nyx impaled in his arms and the cat monster carrying Aria’s armless body." "Shut up, dude." Jack’s scoff came fast, his jaw clenching hard enough to make a vein twitch in his neck. "I’d rather die than lower myself to uploading such videos of myself," Sasha muttered with her arms crossing under her chest. However, the way she said it felt more like a desperate defense than a proud declaration. But her eyes betrayed her. They moved toward the garden entrance again and again. Toward the guards. The wine. The silk tablecloth. The bounty of the feast. The breathtaking floral landscape had been reserved to win their favor once again. And, of course, the weighty silence that hung in the air. All of these were reminders that while she was still just a low-level archer, the women she thought of as loose sluts not only were deeply in love with a man, so much so they happily accepted openly being in a harem, but also had an incredibly bright future ahead of them, full of promising opportunities. One by one, the women stepped out first. Luna emerged in a storm-purple suit dress. Aria followed in a silver gown, effortlessly making professional supermodels look second-rate. Then came Nyx. Her pink dress was bold without being loud, split high at the thigh and paired with a matte-black jacket slung off one shoulder. Her confident smirk did more damage than any dagger, at least as far as Sasha was concerned. Bastet came last in a gold cocktail dress that hugged her heavenly figure tightly. Then came Kaiden, being a gentleman who gave priority to his ladies. Suit tailored to his form, black with crimson lining. Flanking them at a distance, Riven and Rae stepped out as well. Sasha fell silent. Jack looked like he had just swallowed a whole basket of lemons. Seething jealousy. As for what the infamous Artificer Twins had been up to recently? Their job was strictly human-centric. They weren’t backup for dungeon crawls. Which was precisely why they’d been absent these last few days. Instead of idle waiting, the twins had used the downtime to clear a separate dungeon run of their own, leveling up, gathering materials, and proving themselves as more than watchdogs. That was also why they hadn’t visited the hospital during Aria and Nyx’s recovery. They had their own war to fight, and fought it well. And just as such, the meeting began. Sinners and Seekers. Friends and rivals. And one table overflowing with delicious tension.

Chapter 244: Released

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