Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 704: Executive Meeting

The air in the Ashbound guild command center was thick, smelling faintly of stale coffee and premium stationery.

Maeve Ashbound sat hunched over a desk littered with financial reports; these papers had been revised so many times that the margins appeared to have been ravaged by a swarm of angry, red-inked insects.

Across from her sat two men. Henrik Ashbound, the guild’s CFO, looked ashen, displaying the weary posture of a man who realized that no amount of recalculation would fix their dismal bottom line. Gabriel Ashbound, who oversaw sponsorship, kept fidgeting with his spectacles as if to give his tremulous hands something to do.

A holographic screen floated above the table, broadcasting the guild's current standing: Suspended. The amber text hung in the air, a glowing mark of failure that refused to vanish.

"Three sponsors have invoked their exit clauses," Henrik stated, his eyes darting across a manifest only he could see. "Titan Gear, ArcLight Dynamics, and Verdant Solutions. That represents a total annual loss of forty million Chronos. Two others requested emergency audit meetings; in my experience, that is just a polite way of saying the exact same thing."

"Politeness is coming at a steep price," Maeve muttered. "They’ll stall during the review phase before ultimately quitting, and their current contracts force us to honor all project obligations. We’re funneling capital to partners who have already decided to desert us."

"Indeed."

Maeve’s jaw tightened, though she quickly regained her composure.

Her own flesh and blood had caused this catastrophe. Her reckless, S-tier son had shrieked death threats on a live feed broadcast to over a million viewers, earned a stint in holding for attempted murder, and equipped every rival, detractor, and vulture-like reporter with enough ammunition to destroy the Ashbound name. The suspension alone could have been managed; the legal fees were a minor inconvenience; and even the loss of sponsors, while painful, was something their reserves could weather.

But the combination was lethal. Each issue fueled the next while the public's perception spiraled out of her control. It was a form of reputational decay that money could not treat. It intimidated future investors, caused prospective talent to look elsewhere, and drew the unwanted attention of the Association’s governance board.

Furthermore, she was paralyzed. She could manage the books and dictate the spin, but she could not scrub the world’s memory of the footage. She could not silence his screams. Nor could she undo the tragedy of the girl who had perished in that basin.

"Gabriel," she prompted, turning to the sponsorship director. "What is the timeline for our new pitches?"

"We have feelers out to six different firms," Gabriel replied, adjusting his glasses yet again. "Three local, three global. But I must be frank, Maeve. Our pitch deck is currently toxic. Every potential partner opens with questions about the arrest and follows up with inquiries regarding his legal clearance. Unless we provide a concrete date, we are trying to sell a hollow brand."

"Then we shall provide them with a date."

"Do we actually have one?"

"We will." Maeve pulled a document from the defense team toward her. "The arbitration hearing is set for next week. The Association’s case is weaker than they want to admit. Ash was engaged in active combat, and his target was an enemy combatant who had already brandished weapons and slain his teammate. We have enough gray area to argue for 'excessive force.' That results in a fine and a suspension, not a prison sentence."

Henrik and Gabriel locked eyes for a brief moment, assuming she hadn't noticed.

She had.

"If there is something you wish to share, speak up."

Henrik cleared his voice. "The legal strategy is solid. It will be costly, but I agree we can clear Ash eventually. The issue is the public perception. Even if the Association downgrades the charge, the recording remains. He’s caught on video threatening a man. That clip repeats endlessly whenever a potential partner googles his name."

"He’s also been filmed with his cock and balls out—it makes no difference."

"Being an awakened pornstar is a far cry from bawling for your mother after being cuffed, sister. You know it. Kaiden’s business model works because he never makes those types of mistakes. We don’t even know if he has a family. He’s just a lethal, awakened powerhouse who seduces attractive women and fights legendary duels while radiating massive charisma."

"The public has a short memory!" Maeve hissed, irritated by the comparison between Ash and Kaiden. "Winners are always forgiven. Once Ash returns to the arena, the narrative will shift from 'arrested fighter' to 'controversial champion.' The sponsors will scurry back the moment the revenue starts trending up again."

She chose to believe this. She had to, because the alternative meant acknowledging that her son had caused irreparable ruin. Maeve Ashbound was not a woman who dealt in unsolvable problems.

She returned to the financial projections, marking adjustments with her red pen, her cursive script neat and calculated.

At that exact moment, all three phones began to ring.

These were no ordinary mobiles, but specialized artifacts—communication relays built for guild executives that allowed for secure, encrypted channels. These lines reached out to intelligence assets and media monitors that standard networks couldn't touch. All three devices emitted a synchronized, high-priority alert that bypassed silent mode.

Henrik checked his device; his expression shifted to horror. Gabriel looked at his, and his face mirrored that same shift.

Maeve tapped her own artifact. The voice on the line belonged to Delphine, her media liaison, a woman whose stoicism had survived seventeen years of crisis management without a single crack.

It cracked now.

"Valhalla’s Sinners just dropped a new video. You have to see this immediately."

Maeve silenced the device and accessed her neural interface. A holographic display bloomed in her focus, visible only to her. It took three seconds to locate the clip, which was already climbing the charts of every awakened media platform like a wildfire through dry brush.

The title was stark.

Used and Abused