"It isn’t the aura that’s the problem, Midnight," Barbosa sneered, stepping closer until he was looking down at the bound dragon girl. He reached out, his gloved hand gripping her chin and forcing her to look up. "It’s your spine. Or lack of one. You were supposed to be the Ruby Eyed’s finest thief, and here you are, tied up like a common farm animal by a man who spends his days smelling of garlic and cheap spices."

"I... I wasn’t..." Midnight’s voice broke. She looked around the hall, seeing the mocking smirks of her former guildmates. The people she had bled for, scouted for, and shared rations with were now looking at her like she was a stain on the marble floor.

"You’re a liability now," Barbosa whispered, his voice cold enough to frost the air. "The Ruby Eyed Guild doesn’t keep failures, and we certainly don’t keep prisoners."

He reached out, his fingers hooking into the leather strap on her shoulder where the guild’s crimson insignia sat. With a violent jerk, he ripped it away. The metal pins tore through her skin, drawing a line of bright, dragon-kin blood that dripped onto the floor.

Midnight let out a strangled cry, her tail curling tightly around her legs as she slumped.

"You’re kicked, Midnight," Barbosa announced, his voice booming through the hall. "Stripped of rank and stripped of protection, you’re a stray, here and in real life and since you’re so fond of this cook..." Barbosa raised his heavy, plated boot, his muscles tensing for a kick that would have shattered her ribs. "You can crawl after him like the snake you are!"

THUD.

The sound wasn’t a kick landing on flesh. It was the sound of a mountain moving.

Liam had moved so fast that the steam trailing from his shoulders hadn’t even caught up to him. His boot caught Barbosa’s shin mid-swing, meeting the impact with the solid, immovable force of a Vanguard. Barbosa’s leg rebounded as if he’d kicked a stone pillar, his balance shattered.

"Your form is sloppy, Barbosa," Liam rumbled. The heat was rolling off him now, a thick white fog that began to obscure the two men. "You lean too far onto your leading leg, you’re wide open for a counter sweep."

"You... you low-level trash!" Barbosa roared, reaching for the hilt of his greatsword.

Liam didn’t wait. He stepped into the man’s guard, his hand shooting out to catch Barbosa by the throat. He lifted the guild leader an inch off the floor, his grip like an iron vice. The [Dragon-Slayer’s Aura] flared to its absolute limit, a terrifying, predatory pressure that made the surrounding Ruby Eyed members collapse to their knees, gasping for air they couldn’t find.

"She’s not trash," Liam said, his voice a low, dangerous vibration that shook the rafters. "She’s a member of my logistics team, and until she pays off the debt she owes my kitchen, she belongs to our party. If you touch her again, I’ll stop being ’just a cook’ and start treating you like a side of beef."

Liam tossed him aside like a bag of spoiled grain. Barbosa crashed into his elite guard, a tangled mess of polished armour and bruised egos.

Liam turned his back on them, looking down at the trembling Midnight. He tapped his UI, sending a prompt that flickered in front of her tear-blurred vision.

[SYSTEM PROMPT: PARTY INVITATION]

Leader: Elizabeth

Role: infiltrator (Provisional)

Accept? [YES] / [NO]

With trembling fingers, Midnight hit [YES].

The moment the link was established, the crushing weight of the aura vanished. The suffocating pressure that had made her want to kneel was replaced by a warm, grounding sensation, a "Safe Zone" tethered directly to Liam. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, her sapphire hair falling over her face as she realised she could finally breathe again.

Elizabeth stepped forward, her expression softening. She reached down, helping Midnight to her feet. "It takes a while to get used to his brand of madness," she murmured.

To Midnight’s surprise, Noir and Saffron walked up too. The Cheetah woman and Tiger woman, who had been glaring at her minutes ago, now looked at her with a strange, sisterly pity.

"Your arm is bleeding," Noir said, her ears flicking as she pulled a small bandage from her pouch. "That Barbosa is a coward. Attacking someone while they’re bound..."

Liam stood in the centre of the hall, his eyes tracking the Ruby Eyed guards as they scrambled to help Barbosa. Internally, his mind was a fortress of quiet, analytical thought, a habit born from a life of privilege he rarely discussed.

[Liam POV]

Damn, Liam thought, I’m still a virgin back in reality, well also in VR land. I spent my time obsessing over the molecular structure of sauces and the biomechanics of a perfect squat. I was preparing for a world that never challenged me. Now, these ’Alpha’ instincts are taking over like some kind of virus. Is it the gear? Or is it that beast wolf thing?

[Tool Tip: Combat Synchronicity]

Jealousy-Driven DPS: If a female party member sees a "Rival" (e.g., a Fox-kin mooing at a Cat-kin) getting closer to the Chef, their Attack Speed increases by 15% due to pure, unadulterated spite.

The "Protective Circle": Any mob attempting to strike the Chef while the Fan Club is active will be met with 300% increased Aggro from the female members.

Flavour Text: "Don’t touch the face, we need that for the stream."

[Liam’s Internal Logic]:

The Taro bread was a bit dry. I’ll add more honey next time.

Barbosa has a 12-second cooldown on his ’Intimidate’ skill. I can exploit that later.

Midnight’s tail is a high-sensitivity organ. I should be careful not to actually use it as a tow rope.

[Goddess Hestia’s Note]: "HE’S FEEDING THE WHOLE GUILD! Liam, you’re becoming a legend! Look at Barbosa’s face, it’s the colour of a rotten beet! Keep up the ’Heroic Ignorance’, the fans are already betting on who gets to share your tent in the dungeon!"