Maybe he gave the boy too much credit. The fame got to his head, and he thought the world was his playground.

"…This damned brat takes after his mother far too well; the resemblance is uncanny. Alert the Awakened Association," the President decreed at last. "They are to prepare a squad. Their mission: capture Kaiden Grey and his accomplices."

"Yes, sir!" The assistants bowed, turning to leave.

But then a voice came from the stream.

Calypso's lips moved.

"Oh, right. Thanks for the reminder. Tell us about the underground facility."

She smiled wider.

Elise, on the other hand, had her eyes widen into giant saucers. "W-what facility?! Stop this nonsense!"

The demoness reached out and pinched a tooth between two fingers. Elise bit down on her hand with every single iota of strength she could muster, but the demoness didn't even flinch.

Then, she pulled.

Elise screamed.

…

"Underground facility…?" the president whispered.

The assistants froze.

"Mr. President?" one asked carefully.

The president raised a hand. "Wait."

"But sir! If we don't act right now, the public will think we're weak!"

His gaze stayed locked on the screen.

His lips curled upwards in amusement, mixed with hope. The truth was that aside from what Nyx and Alexandra said, the government had been struggling to find proof of Maximilian's crimes, not to mention that of his supposed accomplices.

They were currently busy digging through ChronosX company records, but things weren't looking as good as he wanted them to. He boldly made an announcement before the public, riding the potent wave of the government's success in containing most dungeons that broke within a week.

He thought that if he used the public's outrage that came from Alexandra's video to show that not only can he protect the citizens from monsters, but monsters in human skin as well, then his position would surely be solidified.

But the truth was that Alexandra and Nyx claimed to have signed many papers that Maximilian used to blackmail them. But the papers were nowhere to be found. There was no audio evidence, no camera footage, nothing.

Thus, the President was in a bind. If, after the tearful video that Alexandra released, Maximilian managed to walk free, then the President's reputation would suffer.

Why?

Because the public did not care if Maximilian was declared innocent.

In their minds, he was already a horrible criminal. It was a done and dusted case. Now he just had to be brought to justice. Which was where the President came in, thinking it would be a simple job. But Maximilian and his many cronies in the government made the investigation harder than he ever expected.

Thus, this sudden mention of an underground facility felt like an olive branch that was extended to him.

"You damned brat," he whispered. "You better give me something good within the next few seconds or I swear…"

A sharp, unhinged grin spread across his face.

Because Kaiden Grey had just placed a knife to his own throat.

Either he dragged out secrets that could somehow convince the President…

Or he would fall.

Publicly.

Seconds stretched.

Inside the mansion, Calypso and Bastet worked with the casual cruelty of predators at play.

Calypso's smile never left her face as she pinched, peeled, and toyed with Elise's fingernails, each tiny tear punctuated by a soft, delighted hum.

Bastet moved with the efficient brutality of a desert sovereign: a fingertip pushed until bone-white cracks spidered across Elise's knuckles.

The pain was precise, professional, meant to unmake a person's composure enough to burn through defense and break them.

It was in this moment that everyone understood; neither of the monster girls held empathy for humanity, not like others did. Bastet showed signs of caring, signs of embracing the culture and people. But clearly, she felt nothing, no empathy, no guilt as she tortured the old woman.

Calypso was even more clear about her utmost lack of guilt, smiling as the sadistic beauty that she was.

Elise's voice shredded the air. She begged, swore, cursed, and promised anything. Then, she tried bargaining, offering them riches beyond imagination.

The monster-girls answered with pain she never knew was possible to be felt with the human body. It was always Elise who did the torturing; never in her life had the woman ever dared to think she'd find herself on the receiving end.

Furthermore, the cold glint in the eyes of the two women, paired with the dark gaze of Kaiden, who was simply standing by and letting them work her, made the woman's fear reach new levels.

Being tortured by these monsters was far more dreadful than if a human did it. At least Elise knew how to bargain with humans; she understood their nature, their needs, their weaknesses.

But these… These were just sadistic creatures reveling in her suffering.

Tens of thousands watched, soon about to reach 6 digits. Thousands were spamming their shock in comments, and in the Oval Office, the President's assistants paced like trapped birds. Every second that squeezed past tightened the noose around the President's decision.

If Elise produced nothing, Kaiden's public spectacle would look like lawlessness pure and simple, an audacious challenge to state authority.

If she produced truth, real, verifiable evidence, the President's hand would be forced; siding with Kaiden could be turned into a masterstroke of political theatre.

The president's jaw worked. His face was an instrument of patience stretched thin. He tasted risk. He tasted opportunity.

Inside the room, the torture continued: precise, efficient, and utterly without mercy.

Elise's eyes were wild, popping with salt from all her crying. She stammered. She tried to protect names, to hold out, but the dam finally broke.

"Okay! Okay…" she rasped, begging from the depths of her soul. "I'll tell you everything! Just stop it! Please, stop!"

Calypso's smile widened; Bastet's expression was flat as a knife. They paused only long enough to watch the confession begin.

Elise gasped for air and spat out the words in a jerking rush, each fragment of information tumbling over the next:

"It's connected to my private study… Pulling the right book will lead you there. ChronosX Subterranean Annex, New Avalon Port…"

The tanned felinid looked at her master with eyes that were sparkling with pride as she asked, "And what will we find there?"

"Evidence… and people… So many people…"

"Good. You're coming with us," Kaiden decreed. Calypso lifted the woman, and the group began moving toward the private study.

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