Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 166: Riven and Rae

Her voluptuous chest strained against the fabric with every breath, while her soft, round belly peeked through beneath the coat, unapologetically on display.

Despite looking like she’d crawled out of a lab explosion and straight into a lingerie ad, she moved with purpose, clearly aware of just exactly what she was doing. Her wrenches danced from bolt to hinge with delicate precision, and her eyes glinted with obsessive focus as she studied the deactivated turret.

She was in her element, cheeks flushed, lips parted, and tongue extended in concentration. She looked like a woman falling in love with a circuit board.

”Riven Forjex!” came a sharp voice, slicing through the air like a bureaucratic sword.

The girl froze.

Grace, the chairman’s ever-professional secretary, stormed out from behind the group, heels clicking sharply on the solid pavement. ”You are strictly forbidden from dismantling any of the defensive hardware present in this location, got it?!”

Riven turned slowly, like a child caught with her hand in the honey jar. She blinked at Grace.

Then, she pouted.

It wasn’t small, either: her entire expression collapsed into a sulk so powerful it might’ve collapsed a lesser soul. She huffed loudly, but her wrench-laden arms dropped to her sides in defeat. Her eyes met Grace’s, looking at her as if the woman had just kicked a puppy.

Then, with all the dramatic flair of a heavily disappointed mad scientist, Riven scoffed. Hard.

It was the kind of scoff that carried the weight of crushed dreams, delayed projects, and at least three denied funding proposals. Her head tilted just enough for her long, dark bangs to veil her eyes, and her glossy lips parted with practiced disgust, as if Grace had just personally banned innovation itself.

Kaiden blinked in surprise. His eyebrows crept up as he murmured, ”What a strange woman.”

That declaration of his earned him three synchronized deadpans from his Valkyries once again.

They each had the same thought: ’Says the dude who instantly vibed with the chaotic chick with a 6-pack abs and tanned skin who called him an exhibitionist harem king... Rae is a perfectly normal woman, right, Kai?’

Kaiden scratched his cheek when he felt three pairs of eyes pointedly staring at his back, wondering if he had done something weird, then flinched when Rae elbowed him for a bit too much strength for his current low-level body to withstand without a reaction.

”Meet Riven,” Rae said, proud and greatly amused. ”I’m pretty sure she’s autistic as fuck, though the doctors say she’s just a ’true eccentric.’ Whatever that means. Either way, she’s a real piece of work. Be that as it may, I love her a lot. She’s the best, a real fun girl to be around. And she’s also very strong. I wouldn’t want anyone else to have my back but her.”

That last part made Kaiden’s eyes light up with genuine curiosity, a sharp glint flickering through them. His stance shifted forward instinctively, like a man sniffing out potential in the most unconventional package.

”Oh?” he asked, clearly intrigued. ”Now I really want to see what you two can do.”

Meanwhile, a short distance away, Bastet had remained mostly silent, watching the slow-burn stare-down between Grace and Riven unfold with her usual feline aloofness.

She narrowed her golden eyes and murmured under her breath, ”Humans are very weird creatures... Though...” Her tail flicked as her gaze drifted to Kaiden.

”My master is obviously exceptional. So... not all humans are entirely useless. Maybe it’s just the females. Their intellect seems disproportionately erratic, lacking in comparison to their male counterparts. Perhaps they are solely suited for breeding purposes.”

Nyx, having overheard that, snorted dryly. ”Thanks, feline bestie. I love you, too.”

Bastet didn’t even look her way. She simply shrugged, shoulders languid and posture unbothered, like she had just passed along a universal truth and couldn’t be bothered with emotional baggage.

The Ra-Blessed Felinid wasn’t built for etiquette. It’s not that she couldn’t act like a proper high-class lady if she wanted to, no.

The problem with her attitude stemmed from the fact that she only cared about what Kaiden thought regarding her actions and statements. Whether Nyx and the rest got annoyed didn’t matter in her mind one bit.

Grace and Riven continued their silent staredown, the air between them thick with suppressed sighs and unspoken threats of confiscated tools. The secretary’s gaze was sharp enough to cut glass, and Riven—despite her clear exhaustion and caffeine-fueled constitution—managed to keep eye contact with all the stubbornness of a gremlin guarding her last energy drink.

Finally, Grace adjusted her glasses with a sharp motion and straightened her spine with military precision. With a crisp snap of her fingers, she turned to gesture toward the rear of the group.

From behind the gathering, two men approached, moving with the stoic gait of professionals who’d seen far too much and complained far too little. Both wore matte black security suits fitted with light armor plating and scanning visors on standby.

Agents Hugh and Oren.

Their strides were calm and measured. Both gave Kaiden respectful nods as they stopped at Grace’s side.

”It’s time for us to say goodbye for now,” Grace announced coolly, voice poised and professional despite the chaos that had unfolded around her since the arrival of the new bodyguard pair. ”I’ll be reachable at any any time of the day from the communications room inside the bunker. Should any issues arise—technical, logistical, or behavioral—you are to notify me immediately.”

Her eyes slid back toward Riven, sharp as a scalpel.

”And you... Nothing in the bunker is for you to take apart. If you’re curious about a system, component, relic, or even a doorframe, you are to submit an official request and await approval before so much as breathing on it.”

Riven let out the tiniest whimper of a sigh, her shoulders slumping with the reluctant acceptance of a child told they can’t lick the battery. She hugged her oversized wrench like a plushie.

”...Yes, ma’am,” she muttered with great difficulty, finally accepting defeat. For now.

Grace’s gaze shifted with robotic precision to Rae, her expression not softening an inch. In fact, it only hardened.

”And you. Any destruction of state property, civilian assets, bunker infrastructure, or the possessions of Valhalla’s Sinners will be coming out of your pay. You’re already greatly indebted to the state, Rae. I recommend you stay on your best behavior.”

Rae threw up a casual salute, all grins and teeth, clearly not bothered much about the issues with her monetary compensation.

”Aye-aye, Ma’am. Now, about my previous requisition request?”

She leaned in. ”Y’know, the 80-inch OLED TV, high-end gaming console, and... I believe it was a thousand bags of chips and liters of coke? Every month?”

Grace closed her eyes for a beat, visibly drawing upon the strength of every late-night coffee she’d ever drunk in her life.

”We’re... working on it.”

”Much appreciated, boss lady.”

Grace sighed and finally turned to Kaiden. Her face softened dramatically, as if she was now talking to her best friend, while before, she was forced to speak to a pair of lecherous perverts who kept harassing her on company time.

”You asked for this. Good luck, Mr. Kaiden, Ladies.”