Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 731: Best Moderator

— 44xStorm: THE HALO WAS A PERSON??? THE HALO WAS A PERSON THIS ENTIRE TIME???

— BastetThrone: Alice Ashborn. The Light That Destroys. She has been sitting on top of Kai’s head since the competition started and we had no idea. We are so stupid!

— VesperaFearless: The 20th member. That’s the 20th member. 19 registered fighters and everyone kept asking who number 20 was. Also I need 10 seasons of Ashborn Family Drama RIGHT NOW! These three together are the best!

Everything else turned illegible. A flood of thousands of messages every second transformed the chat into a raging torrent of text impossible for any human eyes to track.

Emilia swept her gaze over the interface. Three quick mental taps switched the chat from public to exclusive membership mode, with entry locked behind one Chronos.

One Chronos. A hundred dollars just to send a message.

The chat fell silent for precisely two seconds.

Subscription alerts then started flooding the screen.

They surged like a tidal wave. One chime sounded, followed by another, then three together, then ten at once, until the separate tones fused into an endless hum. Every chime equaled a Chronos. Every one meant a hundred dollars.

Emilia fixed her eyes on the counter surging upward in real time. Five hundred. One thousand. It kept rising without stop.

From her spot on the floor, Leia burst into laughter.

"Emilia," she gasped out. "You absolute capitalist. You did not just lock the chat behind a paywall right in the middle of the greatest live stream event in Awakened history."

"I didn’t plan this!" Heat flooded Emilia’s cheeks. She clapped both hands over them. "The chat was flying by too quickly! Moderation was impossible! All I wanted was to actually read it!"

"Mhm." Leia nodded in mock agreement.

"Check out that counter," Sarah pointed out. Her wild laughter had calmed to a steadier chuckle. "Emi, you’ve hit four thousand subscribers already. Four hundred thousand dollars."

"I was just doing my job!"

Emilia kept her hands clamped to her burning cheeks.

Then she dropped them.

"Seven thousand," she murmured softly. Her tone had shifted entirely.

"Emi?" Sarah queried.

"Seven hundred thousand dollars." Emilia straightened her spine against the cabinet. "All in mere seconds."

"Oh no," Leia groaned. "She’s crunching the numbers."

"I just earned Kai seven hundred thousand dollars. Wait, a million already," Emilia declared, her blush lingering but all shame vanished. "While you were hacking up your own spit, you vile woman. And you laughed until you fumbled a Nutella jar, Princeless."

The line went dead quiet.

"I think," Emilia went on, her voice crisp and composed, "that says it all about which of Kai’s moderators brings in the most value..."

"You absolute bitch," Leia chuckled with profound, honest admiration.

"..." Sarah wasn’t amused. A deep growl mimicking Vespera’s echoed from the speaker. "Emilia..."

Emilia’s smile appeared. Tiny and tight-lipped. She maintained it as both friends unleashed curses over the phone.

The chimes kept pouring in.

Then Leia halted abruptly.

"Wait." Her laughter died instantly. "Hold up. Sarah."

"What?"

"Vespera Ashborn just revealed she’s Kai’s mother. Alice Ashborn blasted off his head in tears and screams. Emilia passed out. I choked until I nearly croaked." Leia paused. "And you? You commented on subscribers."

"I was in shock."

"No, you weren’t. Your shock felt genuine... You spilled the Nutella, you shattered the fragments. But... My instincts sniff out a devious woman. A deceiver!"

"We’re hundreds of miles apart. You can’t smell a thing, and even if you could, I don’t ’smell like a nasty woman!’"

"Sarah."

"...Haah." Sarah let out a long, relieved breath.

"Okay... It’s done. Thank god," she said. "At last. No more faking it."

Emilia blinked. "What?"

"I knew." Sarah grew bubbly. "I’ve known for weeks. I told you about meeting the sinners, but I skipped a detail... I encountered Alice too. She smashed through a door, leaped onto Kai’s lap, called him big brother, attempted a mouth kiss. Aria almost killed her for it. I witnessed the chaos."

Total silence gripped the call.

"WEEKS?!" Leia shrieked.

"Weeks," Sarah affirmed.

"You absolute traitor!" Leia’s screech pierced like breaking crystal. "We talk on the phone daily! I’ve been losing my mind over that halo! You knew the whole time?! Bitch, I hate you!!! And today you let me rant about the cuck theory, where Kai banged Vespera—when you knew she’s his MOM!"

"I wasn’t allowed to tell you!"

"Yeah? You said zilch! I was deep into it, Sarah! Furiously rubbing my little sister!"

"She was," Emilia sighed in pure torment. "I heard the steady, slick noises and the creepy heavy breaths."

"I figured it was classic Leia, and the wet sounds were you watering plants!" Sarah smacked her forehead.

"You could call it tending my flower...? My dripping flower?" Leia suggested slyly.

"Shut it!" Sarah pleaded. "Keeping quiet was tough, but I powered through!"

"Wait, why complain at all?" Leia’s tone flipped. "With Vespera as his mom confirmed, those fanfics will burn even hotter—"

"Leia!"

"So, Nutella Goblin," Emilia cut in. Her voice hit the chilliest note they’d ever heard. "Care to explain?"

"Yeah, sure..." Sarah sighed deeply. "I got warned in no uncertain terms: spill a word to anyone, and I’d make an enemy of Vespera Ashborn! Skinned alive! That’s likely the nicest fate!"

"...Okay, but—"

"I’d get skinned, Emilia! Skinned! You want me risking that for the Horny One to quit diddling to mom-son fanfic smut?!"

"For the record, I didn’t know their relation!" Leia objected. Yet her plea rang hollow after her prior words.

"I would’ve spilled if possible," Sarah said, brushing off Leia. "I swear. But she’s sheer nightmare fuel. I’ve glanced behind me for weeks."

A brief lull.

"The woman," Emilia stated deliberately, "now hugged by Kai live on stream. Eyes shut. Smiling."

All three glanced at the broadcast.

Vespera Ashborn remained nestled to her son’s chest, head tucked under his chin, a faint smile gracing her lips. The room glowed bright and cozy. She resembled a mom savoring her embrace.

"...Same person we’re discussing?" Leia wondered.

"I can’t hug the Shadow Monarch like that!" Sarah exploded. "Sure, I could technically try, but she wouldn’t melt that way! Kai alone turns her gooey; us mere mortals can’t!"

"..." Emilia faced her interface again, mustering bravery to post her own message.

— [MOD] Kaiden’s Wife: Kai... Can you maybe tell us how all of this happened? I’m still shaking a little... I never ever would have guessed you were an Ashborn! Why Grey and not Ashborn? Why were you hiding this from us? If it’s okay, we would really love to hear the full story...

"Look at this shameless bitch. Typing all cutesy on purpose, I know it!" Leia jeered from the floor.

"Yeah! How come you don’t go full turbo innocent sub-girl when chatting with us?" Sarah challenged.

Emilia stayed mute, blocking her friends completely as she waited with flushed cheeks, praying Kaiden would spot her message—even without answering.

Her wish came true. Kaiden eyed the chat and grinned.

"Fair question, internet wife. Yeah, it’s time."