Chapter 39: The Ultimate Bait
The Mental Destruction Dungeon—the only known source of the Everlasting Mind Pill. The exact cure needed to fix Sara and Juliana was suddenly dangling right in front of him.
Asher would kill to get that key, let alone giving up some bet, but... he knew the Starfire family. They never offered a gift without a poisoned hook hidden inside.
"I don’t need that." He said, his voice completely steady, burying his desperate desire behind a wall of ice.
"...?!"
This time, Luna was truly stunned, her confident, predatory smile vanishing from her face. When he married the three women, she had spent her time searching for this, mapping out his weaknesses, and finally saw the dungeon as the perfect leash... If he refuses, her goal won’t be achieved, and her intricate web of manipulation would tear.
"What are you saying?!! This dungeon has what you are after! If you are scared because it’s an SSS-RANK, I can help you clear it, and get what you’re after." She said, her voice tightening with rare frustration.
’I figured.’ Asher exhaled, his mind racing through her tactical calculus:
’She plans to give me this because she wants something in return. But what? This pill is only effective if Sara or Juliana takes it; although it won’t fully heal Sara, it can completely cure Juliana... Did she discover something about Juliana, and plans to cure her to later exploit this.’ He thought, his paranoid but entirely justified instincts kicking in. He looked over his shoulder at Juliana, who stood behind him, clutching his jacket like a lifeline.
He will never do anything that will place any of his wives at harm, even if the rewards or gain is for their own good. Asher will never agree to it. His protection was absolute.
"It’s not that, I just don’t need that key..." He shrugged, feigning complete indifference to the miraculous artifact: "As for the twins, I actually need their apology and money... There is nothing you can do about that." He said, forcing the conversation back to the immediate, mundane reality of the dealership bet.
"....?!"
Everyone was stunned, slowly taking a step back from the people. To boldly reject and then dictate terms to an SSS-Rank assassin of the Starfire family was nothing short of suicidal madness.
"Hehehehe... Oh baby brother, you seem to have forgotten something important. If I ask something, no one, not even Father will dare refuse me... I even went to the trouble offering you something, but you are so heartless." Luna cooed, her psychotic edge bleeding back into her tone as she stepped closer.
"What if I am? You said it yourself, you never leave loose ends!" He pointed a finger at her, calling out her blatant hypocrisy:
"There must be a reason you are giving me this, and don’t fucking say it’s because of the Warsaw Twins. They’re simply too insufficient to catch your dogs’ attention, let alone you."
"...?!"
The two twins were stunned. Their massive aristocratic egos sustained a critical hit. Were they that insufficient? To be dismissed as less than the Starfire hunting hounds in front of an entire crowd was the ultimate degradation, but neither dared to speak up and correct him.
"Hahahahaha!!!" Luna burst out laughing, a sharp, manic sound that echoed off the luxury cars, covering one of her eyes with her hand: "Interesting, very interesting... You know I am after something, but you kept refusing me, are you ready for the consequences?"
Asher narrowed his eyes at her words. Going against Luna wasn’t a good idea, even a whole guild won’t go against such a person, but this was already out of control. If she comes after them, he will simply face her. He had the System now; he was no longer the powerless exile.
"I don’t care... The twins should get here and apologize, I don’t have time." He said, crossing his arms on his chest, standing his ground as the immovable object to her unstoppable force.
"Take this then!" She threw a card at him, spinning it through the air like a lethal shuriken, and Asher caught it with two fingers. He stared at the sleek bank card, then looked up at her in confusion.
"That’s five hundred billion, as for the other condition, it should end here." She said, her tone shifting to absolute command, buying out the Warsaw twins’ debt with pocket change.
’Five hundred billion? She wasn’t at the estate company, and we haven’t mentioned anything about this money... How did she know the conditions for the bets... Has she been watching me all this while?’ He clenched the card in his hand, a cold realization washing over him. The Starfire intelligence network was terrifying.
’I have a feeling that if I continue pressing, I will be pushing myself close to the Reaper.’ He exhaled, recognizing that pushing his luck any further today would result in a bloodbath he wasn’t prepared for, and turned to the Manager:
"My card."
"Yes, sir." She quickly rushed forward, practically bowing as she carefully handed him the black card, treating it like a sacred relic.
Asher nodded, keeping his card in his pocket, secretly sending it to his system storage where no assassin could ever pickpocket it: "Prepare all the cars, and meet me in my Villa in three days... Mr. Andrew, let’s go."
With that, he grabbed Juliana, shielding her from Luna’s piercing gaze, and walked out of the dealership. Asher had been with the Starfire family for his whole life; out of all the kids, there was only one he could call a friend; the rest are demons, and he wasn’t ready to wrap himself with any of them.
’Not yet, not now.’ He thought, walking away, he needs to rapidly increase his strength.
Juliana silently let him lead her, feeling the tension vibrating in his grip, while Andrew and his staff quickly followed behind them, eager to escape the dragon’s den.
’What will happen now?’ She thought, glancing back at the terrifying silver-haired woman who had just altered their entire reality.
_
In the dealership, the oppressive atmosphere lingered heavily. Luna turned to the Twin brothers, her red eyes devoid of the playful warmth she had shown her brother: "Follow me upstairs." She said, and vanished again, leaving a gust of wind in her wake.
"...?!"
Caleb and Joshua looked at one another, their faces pale. They had been spared by Asher, only to be claimed by something far, far worse. After some hesitation, swallowing their pride and fear, they rushed towards the stairs like obedient dogs.
’I hope I am safe.’ The manager thought to herself, wiping the cold sweat from her brow as she realized how close she came to angering the apex predators of their world, and gestured for a salesgirl:
"Prepare the car contracts ready, in three days, we will ask Mr. Andrew for his location, then pay him a visit." She instructed, eager to finalize the monumental sale before any more terrifying nobility arrived.
"Understood, Manager."