CHAPTER 480: FRANTIC HUMANS, CHILL MONSTERS

Kaiden yanked on a pauldron strap that refused to sit straight. Luna tried to help, but her fingers kept slipping because Aria kept tugging at her own bracers and bumping into them. Nyx dragged a crate across the floor with one arm while tightening her belt with the other and also using [Telekinesis] to grab her helmet. Alice darted between all of them, passing potions she wasn’t sure anyone had actually asked for.

Boots thudded. Metal snapped into place. Someone - Luna - swore every five seconds.

The Abyssal Palace felt too small for five frantic humans prepping for a fight.

"Aria, your greaves are backwards," Kaiden said.

"I know!" Aria tried to kick them off and nearly clocked Luna in the knee.

Nyx checked the edge of her dagger on her thumb, then grabbed Kaiden’s collar to straighten it. "You are very agitated, Kai."

"Yeah, I mean... We’re being invaded."

Alice dropped a potion because she bumped into something on the ground, squeaked, caught it with her foot, then dropped a second one. That elixir shattered. "Who put this here?!" she demanded.

"You did," Luna said.

"I did not!"

"You did," everyone said.

"Ah, wait! This is my ’Big Bro Top Secret Relics #4’ collection!" The girl dropped the other potion as well to check if her most valuable items remained safe and sound after being bumped into.

Then all five froze. And for once, not because the little sister said something insane and incredibly questionable once again.

A wet crunch rolled through the chamber.

Kaiden turned his head. So did the others.

Bastet sat on one of the expensive couches like she owned it. One leg crossed over the other, juicy thigh showcased perfectly. She dunked a cookie into a cup of milk and bit into it with zero urgency.

Next to her, Calypso flipped a human fashion magazine, tapping the page with her long nail.

The contrast to how they, the five humans, were frantic while these two were just... doing whatever they felt like hurt Kaiden’s brain. The sharp difference was hard to accept on a sheer logical level.

Bastet leaned closer to Calypso and pointed at an especially skimpy outfit. She, too, used her tail to do so. "This one suits you, it’s the sort of thing a slut like you would enjoy. Black goes well with your red skin to boot. A match made in hell."

Calypso lifted her eyes slowly. She didn’t even turn her head at first. Then she let it drift sideways and took in the sight of Bastet’s exposed tummy, sun-kissed shoulders, upper part of cleavage, and long legs not one bit hidden.

The catwoman had significantly more skin than cloth.

"Sweetie," Calypso mused, "I dress like a virtuous woman compared to you."

Bastet took another cookie, bit it, and spoke around the crumbs. "I am dressed properly." The felinid gestured at herself with her tail and explained, "This is a fashion statement about my origins. Look, it’s even full of glitter and gold, showcasing my elevated status as the pharaoh of the desert."

"So you’re saying that you originate from a people of sluts? What kind of a queen puts herself on display like this? When I first saw you, I thought I could rent you for a night. At a bargain price at that."

Bastet slowly lifted her head from the magazine.

Their eyes locked.

Yellow slit eyes met yellow demon eyes. Both sharp. Both daring the other to blink first. The air felt tight, like two predators sizing each other up over the same kill. Bastet’s fingers curled on the cookie. Calypso’s smile sharpened just enough to irritate.

The stare dragged on.

Then Calypso broke it with a playful kiss blown right at Bastet’s face.

A vein twitched on Bastet’s forehead. Her jaw flexed once. Then, with visible effort, she pulled her gaze away and returned to the magazine as if Calypso were beneath notice.

She tapped a new page with her tail, munching on a newly dunked cookie. "Look at this one. It’s even more fitting for a woman of your ilk. It even has a hole at the bottom for your tail."

Calypso stared at the picture for three whole seconds. "I might not know much about human fashion, but even I have a strong feeling that hole is not for a tail."

"Maybe we can buy it for Nyx," Bastet purred. "She’d love it."

Calypso’s head jerked up instantly. "Wait, she already...?"

"Yeah," Bastet replied, casual as if discussing groceries. "Offered it up on a silver platter."

Calypso slapped a hand to her mouth with her eyes widening. "No way! Tell me more."

"It’s on the channel. You can watch it."

"Oh. Okay." Calypso nodded, already reaching for it in her mental library.

Bastet took another bite. "By the way, Luna shoved a dildo up Nyx’s butt before it even began. There was a lot of drama about it."

Calypso choked on air. "Why are you spoiling me?! Shut your trap!"

Their legs shifted at the same time, thighs stacking over thighs in a lazy tangle, both settling deeper into their seats with the ease of two women lounging at a spa instead of a war room. However, the tension was rising between the two - once again.

Calypso began grumbling under her breath, "I swear you cat-women have zero shame."

Bastet swirled her cookie in the milk again. "Says the demoness who started drooling when she thought she could watch another woman have anal sex with her lover."

Calypso shrugged her shoulders, feeling nothing was wrong. "It’s called tactical research, kitty. How can I provide Darling with a superior butt fuck experience if I don’t know what I’m dealing with?"

Having said her piece and beginning to stream the aforementioned content despite being in the living room, the demoness reached over and stole a cookie from Bastet’s plate. She sputtered at once. "Why are you eating this garbage? You’re a cat. You should be eating meat like proper women. We need the energy to sire strong offspring."

Aria looked as if she saw ghosts. "Why are you two so calm?"

Both monster girls looked up at the same moment.

They smiled with the smug confidence of queens lounging on their thrones.

"What do you mean? We’re the dungeon bosses. We wait in the final destination for the worthy challengers."

"..."

"... Oh."

The realization hit the humans all at once.

They had geared up like they were supposed to storm the attackers.

But Kaiden built the dungeon to protect them, not so that he had to run out every time someone came without an invitation and fight. The layout, the traps, the system prompts... it all encouraged him to sit tight and let invaders come to him.

Kaiden blinked.

Hold on.

"I never checked the Abyssal Lord’s Throne benefits," he muttered to himself. "It mentioned something about giving me buffs. Almost like... like I’m the final boss."

The worry in his chest eased a little as the idea clicked.

He still had to read the rest of what the system gave him during the assimilation, too.

Kaiden stood to check it out.

Time to see what his throne and his new powers were actually capable of, while also observing the progress of the invaders.