Chapter 165: New Bodyguards
Author: Pics on discord
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With great curiosity, they walked to the front door to welcome the newcomers in.
The door swung open with a loud creak, but the voice that burst through was even louder.
"Hey, hey, hey! Is this where the famous harem I gotta protect with my life resides?!"
The question hit like a thunderclap, echoing through the hall and instantly killing any and all formality. The girl who shouted it strolled in with a swagger that matched her volume, each step practically radiating chaotic energy.
She was a vision of bold contrast: sun-kissed bronze skin gleaming under the warm indoor lighting, toned muscles on full display under a white, sleeveless, high-necked top that looked just fancy enough to be inappropriate for combat. Yet somehow, it worked. The intricate lace patterns at her chest were as distracting as they were elegant, while her chiseled abs stood as strong hints at the sheer physicality behind that flamboyant attitude of hers.
Her snow-white hair, cut in a short bob at shoulder-length with uneven bangs, framed a devilish grin and a pair of golden eyes that glittered with mischief. She was gorgeous in a way that could stop traffic, but carried herself with all the restraint of a grenade rolling down a church aisle.
She popped a hip and scanned the room with a cocky tilt of her head, until her gaze landed squarely on Kaiden.
She didn't just look at him. She drank him in.
"Well, well, well," she said, lips stretching into a sharp grin. "You've gotta be the guy, huh? The one every horny chick is raving about online… The harem king with a flair for exhibitionism…"
Kaiden flashed her a confident grin, matching her energy with surprising ease. "I might just be that guy," he replied, stepping forward and extending a hand.
Without missing a beat, Rae slapped her palm into his with a loud smack, their fingers locking tight in a firm, solid handshake that felt more like the start of a dare than a greeting. Neither of them blinked, neither of them backed off. It was respect at first squeeze.
The three Valkyries stood off to the side, arms crossed before their chests or hanging limp by their sides, all of them watching the unfolding scene with dry expressions.
"…He likes her a lot," Nyx muttered, squinting.
"Of course he does…" Aria sighed. "This gal seems at least as chaotic as Miss Chaos Gremlin herself…"
"Imma be ignoring that one for your sake, Princess…" Luna hissed before adding her findings with an amused expression. "It feels like he found a best buddy. They clicked instantly."
They weren't wrong. The way Kaiden's eyes lit up told them everything: they all recognized the spark of a man who'd just met someone with the same brand of chaos in their bloodstream.
Rae grinned widely, never letting go of his hand. "Name's Rae. I pride myself on being the chaos of the battlefield. Point me at something, and I'll make it stop existing."
Kaiden's grin widened. "Can't wait to see you in action."
At that, Rae finally let go of his hand, stepping back with a cackling laugh. "Oh, you won't have to wait long, boss man. Keep making headlines like this, and I'll be busy saving your ass every other hour."
She then jabbed a thumb at his chest. "Scratch that… The one headline you've already made has blown half the world's mind. You already have numerous enemies."
Kaiden laughed wryly at that, rubbing the back of his neck. "Then I guess we'll be in your hands for a while… at least until we can catch up and protect ourselves properly."
After he said those words, his curiosity shifted.
Kaiden peeked easily over Rae's head, given that the bronze-skinned firecracker didn't even graze his shoulder, even if she tiptoed. The moment his gaze shifted, Rae's ever-confident grin twitched.
"Rude…" she muttered with a roll of her eyes. "You just gonna look over a girl's head like I'm not even here, huh?"
Kaiden smirked but didn't answer.
Rae clicked her tongue and turned halfway, glancing around. "Riven's not the type to hide shyly from people. If she's not here, she probably-"
"Got distracted, didn't she?" Kaiden finished, already walking. He knew perfectly well how curious this location was, and based on Grace's words, these two should be very strong bodyguards who lack lacking in professional attitude. Getting distracted by a high-tier artifact was exactly something a new guard might do.
With a collective shrug, the group stepped out through the wide doorway of the high-tech bunker, boots clinking against the plated steel before they hit the gravel path outside.
And sure enough…
A few feet away stood a girl hauling a backpack so comically oversized that it made standard dungeon aides look like they were on a field trip. Towering above her like a mechanical tortoise shell, the pack was lined with reinforced casing, clamps, folded limbs, mechanical arms, and god-knows-what-else.
But she wasn't done: dragging behind her were two floating platforms stacked with parts, half-assembled contraptions, glowing cores, and what might've been a coffee maker wired into a plasma cutter.
The woman herself stood in front of a small, inactive turret dome embedded into the outer wall of the bunker, her attention locked onto the device like it had whispered secrets to her.
She looked like a rogue scientist caught red-handed, wrenches in hand, mid-tinker.
Her glasses had slipped slightly down the bridge of her nose, shadowing a pair of sharp, intelligent eyes surrounded by dark circles that made it painfully clear: this was a woman who hadn't slept properly in days, possibly weeks. The only thing keeping her vertical was a cocktail of absurdly high Vitality stats and so much caffeine it probably counted as a blood type.
Her appearance was just as eccentric as the rest of the woman, as she wore nothing above the waist but a white lab coat that was unbuttoned and lazily thrown on over a matching set of black lace underwear that clung snugly to her plush, full figure.