Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 806: Dilemma

Vespera’s crimson eyes locked onto his across the narrow passage, her shadow lattice still immobilizing three formidable opponents against the dark floor. With effortless grace, the signature of the Shadow Monarch, her attention shifted to him while simultaneously managing the ongoing battle.

"The magma flow is destabilizing," Kaiden reported through their communication channel, his voice steady as his blade pierced a Wraithstride's throat. He understood that panic was contagious, and the conflict at the gate showed no signs of abating. "A ravenous entity is draining the river. They've advanced beyond the spiral path and are nearing the burrow tunnel that leads into the Mire. According to the sensors, they're poised to capture half the territory..."

Scarlet’s head whipped around from the heavyweight creature she was subduing. "I'll go! That area is under my jurisdiction!"

"The magma is nearly depleted already," Vespera's voice, remarkably calm, cut through the cacophony of the Cavern without raising its volume. "By the time you reach it, the channel will be solid rock, and the enemy will be entering a poison-infused biome. Your fire abilities neutralize toxic gases. You would inadvertently strengthen the Mire’s defenses more effectively than the enemy."

Processing Vespera's logic while deflecting a heavyweight's attack with a shield of intense heat, Scarlet's shoulders sagged slightly. "...Damn it."

"I will handle it," Vespera declared with unwavering certainty. Her shadow tendrils initiated the transfer sequence, preparing to hand over the three immobilized heavyweights to Scarlet's control.

Yet, her gaze lingered on Kaiden for a moment longer than necessary, revealing a flicker of vulnerability the Shadow Monarch rarely exposed beneath her composed exterior. She was about to depart, leaving her children in a perilous battle where victory was not guaranteed. The weight of this decision was momentarily etched at the corners of her eyes before her face resettled into its customary stoicism.

Kaiden met her gaze, and a silent understanding passed between them. She gleaned the reassurance she needed from his expression, and the woman who emerged from that exchange was the complete Shadow Monarch, her earlier hesitation vanished.

The shadow lattice seamlessly released the three heavyweights, transferring their aggression to Scarlet's fiery perimeter in under two seconds. The Flame Monarch effortlessly absorbed the sudden onslaught, her flames erupting outward to fill the void left by the shadows along the chokehold. Vespera turned from Kaiden to Scarlet, her tone cool and direct.

"If you dare to falter while I am away..."

"Relax! I might be a bit of a battle junkie, but I'd never let the kids get hurt on my watch!" Scarlet retorted with a gruff laugh amidst the shimmering heat haze, catching a second heavyweight's charge with both palms ablaze. "You know me! That's why you brought me here."

Kiddos.

Six spines stiffened simultaneously throughout the chokehold. Aria's subsequent crescent strike landed with more force than required, Luna's Stormblade flared with exceptional brilliance against the Wraithstride she was bisecting, and Calypso's axe descended upon the nearest monster with unnecessary power. Even in this dire moment, after all they had endured, they recognized themselves as someone's precious children, now left in the care of a sitter.

Vespera vanished into the stone without another word, her form dissolving into shadow and flowing through the rock towards Path B, pursuing the enemy column that had breached her son's initial defenses.

The dynamics of the chokehold shifted instantly.

The shadow lattice, which had been interwoven with every surface since the battle commenced, withdrew with its mistress, exposing raw abyssal stone beneath Scarlet's expanding fiery domain. The Flame Monarch's protective aura widened to compensate for the gap, heat replacing shadow, but the coverage was less refined, more conspicuous. The difference was palpable against their skin the moment three more Wraithstrides burst through the gate at a run. Scarlet intercepted the lead attacker with a blast of pure furnace, incinerating it mid-stride. She then spun sharply, driving a heavyweight back two meters before it could exploit the opening left by the shadows.

She was exerting herself now, the carefree swagger from earlier replaced by focused intensity as one woman shouldered the defensive burden previously shared by two Monarchs.

Nyx spoke, her voice calm and measured as her spatial barrier deflected a fragment of debris from Aria's firing trajectory. This was the strategic tone she adopted only when her calculations were complete and the outcome was grim.

"Even as a huge fan of Scarlet, I have to admit, that mother-in-law is hands down the most amazing woman alive."

"What the—!" a disgruntled bellow erupted from the cone of fire at the forefront.

"..." Nyx, forcing herself through the desecration she was involved in, pressed on. "But she cannot sustain it by herself, Kai. The column stretches for kilometers, comprising hundreds of bodies. If your mother commits entirely to the front line and even one runner bypasses her, a swift entity that penetrates deeply enough into the Verdant, then the Ground Held will fall below twenty-five percent, and Phase One will conclude in their favor."

She evaded a Wraithstride’s lunge, shifting sideways into the cavern wall without even glancing at it. "They do not need to reach the Core. They require seventy-five percent of the passage, and we've already reached forty-seven percent."

’She is correct,’ Kaiden could not help but concede internally.

His mother was the most formidable warrior he had ever witnessed in action, and under ordinary circumstances, that would have been the definitive end to their discussion.

However, the insignificant brat that had drained his entire magma river and swelled unnaturally while Melty struggled to contain it did not constitute ordinary circumstances. That was a species for which no one possessed a strategy guide, and who could anticipate what other tricks the Claimant possessed?

Vespera would be entering a biome entirely unfamiliar to her, confronting adversaries she had never encountered before. If even a single peculiar monster employed a tactic she failed to anticipate while her focus was fixed on the front of the column, the phase would be lost.

Nyx regarded him, her hands maintaining the defensive perimeter.

"The responsibility should fall upon you. Alice in Conduit grants you a level of perception unmatched by any of us, and you possess sufficient strength now to contribute meaningfully to her battle, not merely observe it."

"No." Kaiden deflected a claw with his right blade, thrusting the left through the chest behind it. "Alice and I are..." He refrained from vocalizing it, yet everyone present was aware. He and his younger sister were the linchpins holding the group together.

There was a valid reason they had always fought as a cohesive unit. Without Kaiden, the formation would consist of a single brawler in Calypso, a speedster in Luna, and three mages relegated to the back lines. The entire balance would be irrevocably shattered, not to mention the myriad of other advantages brought to the table by the brother-sister pair.

"Proceed, Kai."