Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 674: Pattern

A single mishap could pass as misfortune. But a second one revealed an undeniable pattern.

New Dawn possessed no logical motive for showing up here. They held a commanding lead by far. Their proven method of steadily accumulating points in the intermediate zones had propelled them to victory, carried out with perfect precision across eighteen straight days. Shifting away from that tactic to chase the identical elite beasts as a team languishing in fifth made not a shred of tactical wisdom.

Except if the true aim lay beyond mere points. Except if the intent centered on obstruction.

His father had commanded the New Dawn novice team to trail him closely, blocking Kaiden from claiming any practical advanced takedowns in the northern territory while reaping those triumphs for their own additional gains.

This mirrored the precise style of calculated blockade that Magnus Ashborn had forged throughout his professional path.

<I’m going to kill him!>

Alice's voice burst into his thoughts with such intense wrath that it blurred his sight momentarily.

<That wretched, feeble, domineering scum! Unable to defeat you outright, he dispatches his lackeys to snatch your victories?! I'll raze his guild headquarters to ashes! I'll->

<Alice.>

<Don't 'Alice' me, big brother! I'm seething!>

<I understand. You're far from alone in this. Still, we need to halt.>

The radiant circle over his head throbbed fiercely, golden radiance seeping past the shadows before she regained dominance over it. Her breaths echoed harshly in his mind, fierce and scorching with the sort of fury born solely from familial disloyalty.

She came to a stop.

Luna's hands trembled by her hips, Storm flickering wildly over her fingers in erratic bursts. Calypso's tail stood stiff, her smile vanished, supplanted by exposed fangs that signaled no trace of amusement. Aria had settled next to him, her face displaying the chilliest demeanor Kaiden had witnessed. Nyx's typical playfulness had evaporated.

Even Bastet's poise had fractured. The Pharaoh's golden gaze locked onto the elevated plain where Mariana's group was breaking down their prey, the calm detachment absent. In its place lingered the expression of a ruler whose domain had been breached.

Fury gripped them all.

"Everyone." Kaiden spoke softly, in the identical manner he employed when reminding Vaelira of her position.

The women pivoted to face him.

And went still.

Kaiden Grey burned with anger. Not the icy, deliberate ire from the clash with Magnus. Not the scornful disregard he'd directed at Ash. This rage ran deeper, rooted in the strain of his neck cords and the pallor of his gripped fists.

He appeared more enraged than any among them. What rendered it savagely intense was the evident restraint he imposed upon it. Each sinew in his frame acted as a restraint, with the force beyond it craving carnage.

Luna had never witnessed him in such a state.

None had.

"The stream is over."

With those words, the transmission ceased. The chat, the audience, the highlights, the interaction stats—all faded into nothingness.

Kaiden Grey prioritized his role as an awakened warrior above all. He had forever placed being an awakened warrior first. All else—the broadcasts, the media, the mature persona that catapulted him to fame, wealth, and the means to reach his current stature—served merely as pathways. Pathways he relished. Pathways for which he felt thankful. Yet pathways all the same.

His life's ambition remained unaltered. Ascend to the summit. Emerge as the mightiest. Safeguard his cherished ones so completely that no force in existence could wrest them away.

The lenses deactivated. The genuine confrontation commenced.

"New Dawn has declared war on us," he stated firmly. "Magnus deploys his guild's full novice initiative to cripple us."

"There’s a high-tier scout following us. Has been for a while. Talia’s people tried to flush them out and couldn’t." His eyes sharpened.

"Now I understand why. It’s not some operative from Ashbound... It’s a New Dawn rogue, almost certainly one of their best, someone my father lent to the rookie track specifically for this purpose. That scout has been feeding our position, our route, and our target selection to Mariana and Chinedu in real time. They knew where we were going before we got there because someone was watching us choose."

The women absorbed his words quietly, fully aware this represented the probable truth.

"Ash is a tool. They must’ve offered him the help of this rogue back when he started trying to hunt our targets. But now the rest of New Dawn’s rookie squad is doing the same."

His jaw clenched.

"I didn’t think Ash had it in him to use a monster battle to ’accidentally’ hurt us if we tried to contest a kill. He’s a showman, and such an act, even if not leading to legal consequences, would hurt his stream. But Mariana and Chinedu’s fighters are different. If my father gave the order, those squads will engineer situations where a stray attack or a ’misdirected’ ability clips one of us during a contested engagement. Friendly fire in a monster fight is nearly impossible to prove as intentional. The Association would chalk it up to the chaos of combat."

He regarded each one in turn.

"We cannot contest them for kills. It’s too dangerous."

A thick quiet descended afterward.

"Then what should we do, Kai?" Aria's tone came out soft. The tranquil grin had disappeared. "Should we give up and go back to farming lower level monsters?"

"I’m afraid that’s not an option," Bastet snarled.

"Yep." Luna's hands balled up beside her. "They’ll just do the same thing there. Fucking clowns."

"Exactly." Kaiden inclined his head. "If we drop south, they follow. The scout tracks us, the squads intercept our targets, and we spend the rest of the competition watching other people kill our monsters at every level bracket. South, north, it doesn’t matter. As long as that rogue is on us, they’ll always be one step ahead."

He cleared the display.

"So we must do something else. Or we pack our bags."

A sly, wicked spark ignited in Kaiden’s gaze. A scheme had already taken shape in his mind.

...

Author: Has the competition gone on for too long? It’s a major arc with a lot of other stuff happening, it’s not like Kaiden and co spent all these Chapters killing monsters. But I understand if it has been dragging for you. If that’s the case, then I bring good news. Very soon, the arc will end. It’ll go with a very big bang. Everything will be different afterward.