Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 1081: Global Announcement

Kaiden settled lower against the pillows and drew Yunohana down with him, pulling the sheet over them. She rested her cheek on his shoulder as he began answering her questions, his hand moving gently along her back.

"So, let the tale begin..."

The early missions led to questions about his skills, then about the girls who had been beside him through it all. Sometimes Kaiden summoned another description by thought and made it visible to her, letting Yunohana read while she lay warm against him.

Other times, he summoned his very own recordings, shot through the [Harem Vision] skill. These uncensored tapes have never seen the light of day, for Kaiden had too many secrets to hide.

But not tonight.

He enjoyed her reactions far too much to hurry. A little gasp would have her propping herself up to inspect the window, and a soft "Hehe..." would follow when his explanation gave her fresh reason to tease him. Between questions, she would settle against his chest again, smiling to herself.

By the time Kaiden closed the last window, her questions were coming more slowly. Yunohana traced lazy circles over his chest, content to lie there turning his answers over in her mind while he held her.

"I keep coming back to Taigi’s people," she murmured. "How you might find others who could become Dungeon-Born."

"I want to know what makes someone qualify before I start offering people a new life."

She eased onto an elbow to look at him, and Kaiden took the hand resting on his chest into his own. Her thumb moved over his fingers as she considered the land he had opened around the settlement.

"You have land now, and those wonderful facilities. Someone who could never awaken might become a craftsperson there, using their work to grow stronger. I would very much like to see what they could make."

"And I’ve got enough points left to expand if we need to."

"Then perhaps it is time to consider who might live there."

Her suggestion brought the settlement back to him. He had spent much of the evening making certain an army would struggle to reach it. Beyond those defenses, he had left fields and clearings for a little more than a hundred people.

He imagined new homes spreading beyond the settlement, their residents learning to use the foundry and planting their first crop. The dungeon would reward their work with strength they could never have gained on Earth.

He liked the thought far more than he had expected.

"I want it to be a home for people who don’t fight too," he said.

"Naturally. Someone has to make the things your fighters use. And feed them, if your supper was representative."

Kaiden spanked her round butt, making the flesh ripple sensually. "That was mostly Luna."

"...You held out your plate for more," she mused, electing to ignore that he spanked her just now.

Yunohana settled back against Kaiden, their joined hands resting on the sheet.

...

As evening fell over a converted school outside Denver, Milo carried his dinner tray to the end of a long table.

The other children were already talking about a game they would play before bed. He listened while he ate, hoping someone would ask him to join without making him ask first.

"Would you like an apple for later, Milo?"

Mrs. Weller stood beside him with the fruit bowl. She had been one of the school’s teachers before the classrooms became bedrooms, and she still remembered which children preferred apples to oranges.

"Can I take it back with me?"

"Of course. Would you like some company?"

He looked toward the children gathering by the doors. They were choosing teams already.

"Maybe tomorrow."

"Alright. I’ll be along later to see how you’re doing."

Milo thanked her and took the apple. By the time he had put away his tray, the others were running toward the gym, their shoes squeaking over the floor.

He followed the quieter corridor to the classroom where he slept.

His bed stood beneath a display of pictures painted by children who had attended the school. One showed a yellow house with a smiling family outside it. Whoever painted it had given the father enormous hands, big enough to hold everyone else’s.

Milo put the apple beside his pillow and sat down.

He missed his parents so much that hearing other children complain about theirs made him angry. His mother could fuss over his coat forever if she wanted, and his father could ask about every problem on his homework. Milo would answer properly this time.

The dungeon break had taken both of them. By the time the defenders reached their street, the monsters had torn through the houses, and Milo had been carried out of the wreckage by a man whose armor felt colder than the rain.

He had asked the man where his mother was, then where his father was, repeating the questions until the man carrying him began to cry.

Now there was a bed for him here, dinner every evening, and Mrs. Weller checking whether he had enough socks. He was grateful to her. Sometimes he wanted to tell his mother how kind she was, and the thought would leave him aching all over again.

He wanted to tell his father about the other boys too, about being picked last when they played and how he had finally scored a goal yesterday. His father would have wanted every detail, even the boring ones.

Milo had been getting through whole days with things to tell them.

Then bedtime came, and he had to keep everything to himself.

"Mom..."

The word escaped before he could stop it. He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes, embarrassed despite the empty room, then pulled his legs onto the bed.

The apple remained beside his pillow. He would eat it later.

For now, he summoned the media platform with a thought and looked for something to watch until Mrs. Weller came back.

He usually watched combat clips. It helped to see the monsters lose, especially when the people fighting them came home afterward.

Tonight, a live broadcast from Valhalla’s Sinners appeared among the featured streams.

Milo knew that name.

Kaiden Grey had been all over the clips from Japan. Milo had watched him come out of a gate carrying his sister, with his family rushing toward them. He remembered how tightly they had held each other when everyone was safe.

He opened the broadcast.

Kaiden sat on dark stone steps with green trees behind him. He was speaking to someone outside the view, smiling before turning back toward the person sharing their feed.

"Morning, everyone. Or evening, depending on where you are. Thanks for joining us. There’s something I’d like to talk about before we head out today."

Milo leaned back against his pillow. Over the man’s shoulder, leaves stirred beneath a bright sky.

"The mana apocalypse shook all of our lives up one way or another. Some of us gained superhuman strength and riches beyond imagination, while others lost everything." Kaiden spoke with grave seriousness. "Your homes, your livelihood, even your loved ones... All taken by the phenomenon that invaded our planet a decade ago."

Milo sat up, wanting to hear what the man had to say to children whose parents were gone.

"I can’t give you your old lives back. I’m afraid no one ever will. But a chance to start again..."

He smiled warmly. "Now that... That might not be impossible.."