[Chapter 323. Exploitation and Submission]

On the blanket spread across the mist-covered grass outside the entrance to Fog Cliff Castle, Searanox sat with the other four women. Repairing one gear item after another, he threw each piece toward his cargo drone the moment the system restored it to its former self. The items vanished in a pale blue light as the drone stored them away, leaving behind only the faint scent of ozone and the soft hum of machinery.

"Anything of interest you girls want to share or ask about?" Searanox asked, stabbing the next few items with a repair needle.

Sarah looked over at him from her own pile of items, her brow furrowed in concentration. Before she could speak, Carmen asked, "Why did you bring the winged people to the city?"

"What do you think, Carmen? Why would I do that?"

She went quiet for a moment before answering, "Is it because you hope to gain something from them, like information?"

"He probably fucked all of them by now," Vanessa muttered, her voice laced with bitterness yet loud enough for Searanox to hear.

"I can assure you I haven't. I may have thought about it, but I don't see the value in it." He looked at Vanessa, tossing another round of items toward his drone with fluid motion. "Carmen, information is important. The dead cannot tell you what they know. Knowing your enemy warrants going a few extra steps."

"You know that's a lie. You fucked the smaller one. We all know you did! Why am I the only one you won't touch!?"

Searanox took a deep, steadying breath. In a flash of motion, he stood and appeared right behind Vanessa. His arms coiled around her waist, pulling her up and flush against him. Within seconds, Vanessa went from sitting among the items to being pinned against his chest. His hand cupped her armored bosom as he spoke into her ear. His words were too quiet for the others to hear, but judging by Vanessa's flushed face, they had a good understanding of what he had said.

"You three will have to excuse me. I need to speak to Vanessa further away," Searanox said, lifting her fully off the ground and taking a few steps off the blanket.

A basic travel drone materialized before him. Before anyone could protest, Searanox stepped onto the floating disk with Vanessa held tight against him. The women watched the drone ascend until it vanished into the orange morning sky, leaving behind a faint shimmer in the air.

"Do you think he will..." Lana trailed off, playing with a newly repaired piece of armor, the metal cool against her fingertips.

Sarah giggled, letting herself fall backward to gaze up at the sky. "She practically asked for it."

Carmen's face flushed a deep red. She muttered something to herself, her eyes fixed on the spot where the pair had disappeared.

High in the sky aboard the travel drone, Vanessa remained silent, fiddling with the rim of her silver armor plates. All her bravado vanished the moment his voice brushed her ear. "Take off your armor, dear."

Seven flashes of light accompanied his command as seven more travel drones materialized around them. They shifted and wove together like the scales of a colossus, forming a small platform of oval-shaped disks.

"H-here... W-we will f-fall."

His fingers pressed against her breastplate. "Take it off, or I will do it for you." His tone remained sweet, carrying an edge of danger like poisoned honey.

Pale blue light washed over Vanessa as her armor disappeared into her inventory. In the next heartbeat, his fingers dug into her breast, eliciting a soft moan. His lips grazed her neck in a gentle kiss that belied everything she knew about him. Moments later, she found herself lying on the surface of the drones. It was a surreal sensation—resting in the open air, high above the ground, yet feeling safe in his arms while the wind whipped around them.

She turned onto her back, searching his sunglasses. "Why not me until now?"

"I told you many times to come to my chambers and yet you never did," he answered. He placed another kiss on her lips, this one deeper and filled with raw passion.

Vanessa responded with equal intensity, her fingers digging into the fabric of his coat to pull him closer. The wind whipped around them, tousling her fiery red hair and carrying away the soft sounds of their intimacy. Her mind raced with a chaotic mix of fear and exhilaration—of humiliation and a desperate, primal desire to be wanted. The analytical part of her brain screamed that this was manipulation, a calculated move to assert dominance. Her body betrayed those thoughts, arching against his touch as he navigated the curves of her form.

His hands roamed her body with an unhurried confidence that both infuriated and aroused her. He refused to rush; this was a deliberate exploration, a mapping of her vulnerabilities and desires. Every touch and kiss acted as a strategic maneuver in a war she hadn't realized she was fighting.

"You wanted my attention, Vanessa," he murmured against her skin, his breath hot. "You have it. All of it."

The words served as both promise and threat. As he claimed her with absolute possessiveness, she felt a piece of herself shatter. The carefully constructed walls of her ambition and pride crumbled to dust. In his hold, she became a captive being claimed, rewritten in the image of his desire. A terrifying thrill coursed through her at the thought.

As Iris stepped out of the shimmering portal, the warm orange morning sky greeted her. She saw Carmen, Lana, and Sarah sitting on the blanket surrounded by a small mountain of old armor and weapons, poking needles into various items in focused silence.

`So that was what he was getting from the dungeon. To think he found a way to exploit a dungeon in this way...`

She reflected with a mix of grudging respect and concern before noticing Searanox and Vanessa were absent. Her steps toward the blanket were deliberate, her armored boots leaving soft indentations in the grass.

"Where is Searanox?"

Lana and Sarah looked up from their tasks, their movements synchronized like puppets on a string. They turned their gaze toward the horizon where the sky met the grassland.

"He took Vanessa... to talk," Carmen said. Her voice faded into the soft breeze, quiet as a mouse.

"Talk?" Iris asked, her brow furrowing beneath her helmet as she searched the distant, empty sky. "Why take her somewhere else, just to talk?"

The rhetorical question hung in the air for a moment before realization dawned on her, the pieces clicking into place with disturbing clarity.

"Never mind," she added, her voice strained. "When did he take her?"

"A couple minutes ago," Lana answered, her voice small. She held a polished pair of gauntlets up to the cargo drone, and they disappeared in a flash of pale blue light.

Iris sat on the blanket, the worn fabric rustling under her weight. Her helm and gauntlets glowed before vanishing into her storage ring with a chime. Without a word, she grabbed one of the smooth wooden boxes and pulled a needle from the padding. She stabbed the closest item and waited for the system to repair it before holding it up to the drone. She joined the other three in their silent, rhythmic dance of restoration.

Minutes passed in a heavy, awkward silence. The mountain of gear dwindled into a few small piles of weapons and armor. The only sound was the wind whispering over the grasslands, carrying the scent of wildflowers and distant mist, broken only by the occasional clang of metal as someone passed a piece to the drone.

With the last item gone, the drone ascended to hover several meters above them, its metallic surface gleaming in the morning light. The four women sat there with nothing left to do.

"Should we wait here for him to return?" Carmen asked, watching the remaining empty repair kits dissolve into motes of light that danced in the air before vanishing.

Sarah still lay on the blanket, her platinum blonde hair spread out like a halo. She angled her legs and looked up into the sky, tracking the wispy clouds drifting overhead. "You should get comfortable," she said, a faint smirk playing on her lips. "He won't be back for a while. Searanox likes to take his time."

Lana's face flushed deep red. She looked away from the group, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "H-how would you know?" Her eyes darted between the others, her discomfort a stark contrast to Sarah's relaxed posture.

"I know... things," Sarah answered with a sly grin. She rolled onto her side to face them. "You should consider visiting him more often... but I don't mind if you don't."

Vanessa didn't remember how she got her armor back on—only the gentle kiss on her forehead and the hum of the drone as it descended toward the ground. The four women watched the drone touch down before Searanox and Vanessa stepped onto the grass.

Vanessa's fiery red hair was disheveled, small strands clinging to her damp forehead. Her movements remained stiff and robotic as she avoided eye contact with the group. She walked over to the blanket and sat. She kept her back straight and her hands folded in her lap, presenting a mask of composure that failed to reach her eyes.

Searanox stepped behind her and rested a firm hand on her head. "Take a few minutes to rest," he murmured.

She flinched at his touch but refused to pull away, her gaze fixed on the empty space before her.

As Searanox stepped back from the blanket, Iris rose, her silver eyes locked onto him.

"I trust the 'talk' was productive, Searanox?" Her voice stayed level and her expression unreadable, yet the tension in her shoulders betrayed her underlying concern.