CHAPTER 287: PROFIT ON LOSS

Chapter 287 – Profit on Loss

He sipped his coffee like a man who had already accepted the market crash of his privacy. And that was when his system flared, the faint ripple of green-gold text across his vision.

[Morning, sir.]

[I detected a new trace for your bounty.]

Lux froze mid-step on the marble stair. He lowered his cup slowly. "...Spill."

[Source: Celestial Realm. Aurealis, Crown District.]

[Last trace: the park where you were attacked and dragged into Limbo.]

Lux stopped, halfway through another sip. His brow furrowed, thoughts calculating instantly. "So the owner of the bounty... it was that seraph I killed?"

[Negative.]

[Closer. Someone near.]

He stood there, coffee cooling in his hand, his mind running scenarios faster than stock tickers on InfernalNet. Celestials weren’t subtle. If a bounty thread connected to Aurealis—the heart of the upper realm, the Crown District specifically—that meant someone high-ranking. Someone with reach. Someone with enough wealth or pride to keep pushing chips onto the table against him even after his last... execution.

Lux’s lips curved, though his eyes stayed cold. "Interesting."

He flicked his fingers. "Corvus."

The raven appeared in less than a second—except not the bird form. No, today Corvus manifested straight into his humanoid shell, lanky and pale. He perched on the armrest of a sofa like a hacker too wired to stand, eyes glimmering faint neon. His whole aura screamed caffeine overdose with a death wish.

"Boss," Corvus drawled, smirk sharp as a crow’s beak. "You look like a mess. Bet you had a good time last night."

Lux downed another sip of coffee before replying. "I did." His tone was flat, deliberate, edged with something heavier. "But that’s not the case."

Corvus grinned wider. "I know."

Lux sank into the sofa opposite, posture deceptively casual. Behind them, Lyra stood in the dining room overseeing a small platoon of servants preparing breakfast. The clinking of silver, the hiss of pans, the smell of butter and broth filled the air.

Corvus twisted to glance back at her, one eyebrow arched. "Hey. I need an Americano. Sixteen shots."

Lyra didn’t even flinch, but her mouth twitched in mild disbelief. "Sixteen, birdie? You sure?"

"Yeah," Corvus said without hesitation. "The brain’s gotta fly faster than angels today."

Lyra inclined her head, already gesturing for one of her puppet-servants to start. "Very well."

Lux’s lips curled faintly. "You’ll burn through your system before the caffeine even metabolizes."

Corvus shot him a lopsided grin. "So will you, boss. Different currency."

Lux waved his hand, dismissing the banter. "Explain your investigation. Celestial realm. Aurealis. Crown District."

The raven-demon leaned forward. "Alright. Let’s talk money. And murder."

Corvus flicked his hand, conjuring a data-thread projection in the air, half code, half celestial script, lines of golden-white tangled with ink-dark corruption.

"Aurealis is the gilded cage," Corvus began. "Crown District sits at the very center. Politicians, aristocrats, seraph families—everything polished until you choke on the shine. They run their economy like Heaven’s stock market. Controlled inflations, divine subsidies, trades brokered in blessings instead of bonds."

He zoomed the projection, showing the glimmering spires of Aurealis, a city of white marble and eternal dawn.

"Your bounty thread—" he gestured, the glyphs shifting into a crimson thread laced through the streets—"popped up right where you got ambushed. But the trace doesn’t end with that seraph you gutted. It branches. And the next node? Someone close. Someone still alive."

Lux leaned back, sipping slowly. His mind ticked like an adding machine. ’So not the soldier. The sponsor.’

Corvus continued, words sharp and fast, like a trader listing market risks at high volume. "Cross-referencing gave me two hits. First: Seraphim Kaelis, minor warlord family, too loud to be smart. But his accounts are small-fry. Big talk, little wallet."

He swiped, dismissing the name.

"Second hit..." His grin sharpened. "Archon-level. A seat-holder in Aurealis’ Crown Council. Not public. Masked behind front foundations. But the money trail reeks of him. Seraph Aelius."

Lux’s brows arched slightly. "Aelius." He rolled the name like a coin between his teeth. "Old family. Old money."

Corvus nodded. "Exactly. Investments in celestial armaments. Holdings in the Aurealis vault system. And connections... with certain Limbo brokers."

Lux’s eyes narrowed. "So he didn’t just want me dead for sport. He wanted to trade me."

"And take over all your contracts," Corvus tapped his temple. "That’s the read. He’s betting against you on both sides. Kill the incubus, sell the corpse, take over the soul, short the stock of Greed while he’s at it."

Lux chuckled, dark and amused. "Classic. Play both sides of the ledger. Profit on loss. Profit on profit."

Corvus tilted his head. "Question is—what do you want me to do? Expose the bastard? Leak it to InfernalNet? Or... push the trade myself?"

Lux’s smirk was sharp as glass. "Neither. Yet."

He swirled the last sip of coffee, staring at the dark liquid. His voice dipped lower, intimate, like a man whispering over a deal that could topple empires.

"We don’t short a seraph like Aelius. Not in public. Not yet. First we gather more. Let him think he’s winning. Then?"

His smirk widened. "We bankrupt him. Entirely."

Corvus laughed, feathers ruffling. "I love when you talk ruin." He tilted his head, eyes narrowing with sharp curiosity. "But tell me, boss—do you just want to bankrupt him?"

Lux chuckled, the sound low, dangerous, and far too amused for the topic at hand. "Of course not. I need to kill him too." He leaned forward, eyes flaring as if he could already see Aelius choking on his own arrogance. "But..." Lux’s grin sharpened, "I still want my bounty money."

Corvus blinked, then burst out laughing, nearly spilling his sixteen-shot Americano. "Wait—you’re telling me you actually want to take your own bounty?"

Lux shrugged, casual as if he was discussing quarterly reports. "Why not? I can fake my death. Collect the payout. Then kill the one who paid for it." He leaned back, sipping his coffee again. "Double profits. Only a fool leaves money on the table."

Corvus clutched his mug, eyes glinting with manic delight. "Boss... only you would think of cashing out your own assassination."