Back at the guild...

The lounge was lively.

Members of the Clustervayne Guild had gathered, with their voices overlapping as conversations flowed freely.

Some sat in small groups, while others leaned against the railings of the upper level that overlooked the main space.

Lucy and Bettie were there as well, seated among them.

Ethan sat off to the side, leaning back on the couch. He seemed quiet, staring at something no one else could see.

The system’s screen which hovered before him.

[Self-Imposed Objective Complete:

-Take down Edgar Desdemona: +10,000 XP

-Protect Chief Enforcer Roland: +6,000 XP]

Ethan exhaled slowly, reading through the notifications.

These rewards, combined with the experience he had gained from winning the court injunction, coming to his guild’s aid after the attack, and securing an alliance with the King, brought his total to 105,000 XP.

But then another notification appeared.

[You have received a Special Reward]

Ethan’s brow lifted slightly. Now he was curious about what this special reward is, but before that a random thought came to mind.

"Now that I think about it," Ethan said. The screens now disappeared from view as he had subconsciously decided he’d check the special reward later.

The chatter around him dipped slightly as heads turned toward him.

His gaze swept across the room before landing on Percival. "Hey man, you’re sure your guy has no traces leading back?"

Percival gave him a puzzled expression. "C’mon, man. This is a top developer, one of the best from my dad’s company. The guy knows what he’s doing."

Ethan nodded a few times, then raised both arms in mock surrender, with a smile tugging at his lips. "Just making sure, man. Just making sure."

Hayley crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat with a frown. "Still wish we’d caught the others who attacked us here at the guild."

Ethan’s smile widened a bit. "Maybe we will eventually. Or maybe we won’t." He shrugged. "Either way... this already worked out in our favor."

Lucy glanced at Ethan from across the table. "What happens to Edgar now?"

Ethan exhaled. "That part’s mostly in the King’s hands now. But one thing’s certain..."

"It’s not going to end well for him."

A moment of silence passed.

Then Ethan stood, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "Alright," he began. "There’s something else."

He gestured forward with one hand.

"I’d like to introduce a new member."

His eyes turned toward her.

"Elizabeth Moore. Please step forward."

Bettie rose to her feet with a smile. She stepped ahead, positioning herself beside Ethan.

The room broke into light applause, which Ethan allowed it for a moment, before lifting his hand slightly to quiet them.

"She’s joining us part-time..." He paused, then gave her a teasing smile. "For now."

Bettie smiled at the insinuation, that eventually, she’d become a permanent member.

She turned to face them, inclining her head slightly. "Thank you, guys."

More applause followed. Ethan let it settle, then raised a finger. "Give me a second, guys."

Before anyone could respond, he burst into smoke.

A few seconds later, another burst of smoke appeared in the same spot, and Ethan stepped out of it, holding an expensive wine bottle in his hand.

Hayley’s eyes widened immediately, practically lighting up with excitement as though there were stars in them.

Percival had the exact same reaction.

They had both, at different times over the past month, tried to get their hands on that exact bottle from a shelf in Ethan’s study.

And he had refused them every single time.

Ethan held it up slightly, smirking. "To welcome Bettie, and to celebrate our most recent win... we’ll be having this."

Percival shot to his feet, pumping a fist in the air. "Now that’s what I’m talking about!"

Ethan smiled, shook his head, and tossed the bottle across the room.

Percival caught it in one hand and lifted it to his gaze. He grinned wide, then popped the cork with a satisfying thunk.

Cheers erupted around the room.

Glasses were quickly passed around. Percival poured generously. Hayley grabbed hers immediately and took a sip, her eyes closing in satisfaction. "Ohhhh that’s good."

Wilson raised his glass with a smile. "To not dying."

Aliyah snorted. "To barely surviving that ambush."

More laughter followed.

"And to get back at those fuckers when we see them!" Hayley raised.

"Hell yeah!" Percival agreed with a loud yell.

The celebration carried on for a while longer.

And as it did...

Ethan stepped toward Lucy, who had moved slightly away from the main group.

"You took a risk," he said. "Going to Edgar like that."

Lucy turned to him. "I know."

He studied her for a moment with a kind gaze, then asked, "Was it worth it?"

Bettie had already told him what had happened, and how Edgar had summoned Isaac.

Lucy nodded, and a smile formed on her lips. "Yes."

Ethan smiled in return, then gave a nod of his own.

——

Later that night at the manor...

Ethan sat on the floor beside the center table, one arm resting on its edge as he leaned forward. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Sheets of paper with diagrams on them were spread across the surface, overlapping in places.

He sketched steadily, adding another line here, adjusting a curve there.

Hayley sat beside him, with her legs crossed, busy on her arcphone. She had been scrolling through it for the past twenty minutes, occasionally glancing at him as he worked.

At first, when Ethan had begun about two hours ago, she hadn’t known what the sketches were. Just rough outlines, abstract shapes. But now, when she looked again, they had taken on real form.

Humanoid mechas.

The designs were different from the original one Isaac had worked on. There were different variations of the diagrams but when she picked one sheet up;

What she saw was a diagram of a humanoid combat mecha called "Type EV-01." It looked like a sleek, angular armor with a streamlined design built for speed and combat.

"Okay, those look cool," Hayley said, setting her phone down. "What are they?"

Ethan didn’t look up. "Replacements."

"For the original one you guys worked on?" She guessed

"Yeah. We’re changing direction." His pen moved again, adding detail to the chest plating. "New designs."

Hayley tilted her head, studying the sketches more closely. "And what’s the target?"

Ethan’s lips curved. "The military."

That got her attention and she looked at him fully.

"Which means," he continued, still focused on the sketch, "my biggest client is about to be the King."

He paused briefly, his pen hovering over the paper.

"And that... is going to make me a lot of money."

Hayley smiled and shook her head.

A loud blast echoed from outside, but at first, they didn’t react.

This had been going on for a while now. Ishtar was having one of her training sessions with Nina, and this time, Valerie had joined them.

The explosions and impacts had become background noise over the past hour.

But a second later, a scream followed.

It was Valerie’s voice.

Ethan and Hayley glanced at each other with widened eyes then rushed out.

The scene outside was chaos.

Smoke lingered in the air, rising from several cratered holes scattered across the backyard.

Valerie lay on the ground, with her clothes torn in places, and blood streaking across her arms and side.

Ishtar knelt beside her. Her face was pale, her eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears. "I... I didn’t mean to—"

Ethan’s eyes widened, then he blurred forward almost instantly, covering the distance in a second.

—-

A/N: Sorry for late post. I’m on work travel at the moment