New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Silence enveloped the room in a blanket of discomfort.

Both sides stared at each other, trying to gauge what the other’s intentions were.

“Speak, then. Miss Levesque. What is it you don’t want, enough to visit me in my humble abode? Without being invited.”

Alex’s words became sharp, toward the last sentence, as he tried to make her understand she was unwelcome.

“Come, now. Don’t be like that, young man. I can go where I please in this city. I practically own it. Your home is hardly an exception to this.”

The sound of teeth scraping together could be heard in the quiet after Constantine’s sentence.

“Nonetheless, I do have a reason for coming by. I believe the words I left for the receptionist were enough to say what that is.”

Alex looked at her with a glare.

“What dungeon? If there was a dungeon I shouldn’t have been in, then why even let it open? That sounds like a you problem, not a me problem.”

Constantine clicked her tongue at the young man’s arrogance.

“The dungeon portal you and your friends travelled through was an anomaly, and shouldn’t have opened. It was a bug in the programming. I want whatever you have gained from it to be relinquished to my mods. The sooner the better.”

Astaroth scoffed at her words.

“Chairwoman Levesque. You and I both know that saying words like bugs and glitches, don’t apply to New Eden. I felt your scan. You can hardly lie to me, as you saw through me as well. Be truthful, or be gone.”

Constantine’s assistant jumped up, pouncing toward Alex.

“You rude little—”

But her words got interrupted, as was her movement, when an invisible hand grabbed her, locking her in place. And before her face, a burning hand had been ready to receive her.

Looking up the arm of said hand, the assistant saw Kary’s glaring eyes. There was no hesitation in them.

“Sit down, or I will ruin your well-maintained face, lady,” Kary spat, her words seething with anger.

Constantine pulled back her hand, and with the movement, the invisible grasp on her assistant pulled her back as well. Once the suited woman was back on her ass, Constantine’s smile disappeared.

“It would seem you are much more aware than I had thought. I did not aim my scan at your partner, so I was unaware you were both awakened. Good for you. But it changes nothing in the power dynamic here. You will obey, player Astaroth.”

Alex let his mana start to seep out of him, as he mentally reached for his soul companions. He still only had access to White, Morpheus, and a few of the demons inside Solomon’s ring.

But he thought they were enough, should he need to take her on.

Alex could feel the mana radiating from her, but her body itself didn’t seem augmented by it. Contrary to his.

“Listen. If the dungeon was a ‘bug’, like you said. Then I am not to blame for what we got, and neither are my friends. Therefore, we do not owe it to you to give back our rewards. I think that is only fair for a lack of ‘programming’ on your side, don’t you agree?”

It was Constantine’s turn to clench her jaw and grind her teeth.

“No. You listen. I don’t think you understand the situation here. You are not in a position to say no. I can deny you access to the game forever, with a simple call. Do you want that to happen to you and your friends?”

Alex scoffed at her.

“If you could deny us access, you would have led with that. You are just lying out of your ass. I’ve had enough. If you came just to threaten me, you might as well leave. I am unimpressed.”

Alex rose from the sofa, stepped toward them, and pointed at the elevator doors.

“The exit is that way. Same way you came in.”

As he said this, Constantine waved her hand, and he felt an invisible force grapple him. She grinned at him, almost sadistically.

Kary burst into action, igniting her arms, ready to set the woman ablaze, but with a wave of her other hand, Constantine locked her in place as well.

“I told you. You are misunderstanding the power dynamics at play here. But you didn’t want to listen.”

Constantine rose to her feet and started walking toward the balcony doors. And as she did, Alex’s body floated backward as well.

Constantine’s assistant punched Kary while she passed next to her on her way to open the glass doors.

“I heard you could fly. I wonder if that’s true. Huh. I guess there is only one way to find out. I’m not sure of the range of my magic, so I hope it breaks before you smack into the ground. That would be a terrible outcome.”

Saying this, Constantine flung Alex’s immobile body over the railing of his balcony and watched him fall.

“Noooo!!!” Kary cried out in horror.

*Whack!*

A strong hook to the temple from Constantine’s assistant knocked her unconscious.

“Shut up, bitch. I think I should ruin your face for threatening to ruin mine.”

Constantine released her magic grasp on Kary, who was out cold, and clicked her tongue.

“Never mind your sadistic tendencies. We have other things to do. You can come back when you are alone. I have no interest in seeing you at work.”

Saying this, Constantine felt her magic bindings over Alexander snap, and she smiled.

‘Let’s hope he has enough time to break his fall. It would be a tragedy to lose an able body before the great reveal.’

She turned around to leave, but a burst of magic in front of her interrupted her momentum.

In a puff of black fire, a human figure appeared, with long horns and a swanky suit.

The black eyes and red irises were a dead giveaway of what this entity was.

“A demon?! On this side already? Impossible!” Constantine screamed, waving her hand to bind the entity.

Gaius had told her about these abominations that had to be kept at by inside New Eden. She knew they were the enemy.

But as her magic took hold, it immediately broke.

“You thought you could throw me off my balcony? Big mistake.”

Constantine’s eyes widened at the words.

“You? Ho—”

Before she could finish her question, Alexander’s hand clasped her throat and blocked the air from escaping, cutting her off.

“My turn.”