Chapter 198: Chapter : 198 : The Bazaar of Bound Desires!

Light swallowed him.

Not blinding—warm. Gold and amber, like sunset poured into glass.

Aiden took one step forward, then another.

“…Okay,” He muttered. “That’s new.”

Lanterns floated in the air, swaying gently as if moved by a breeze that didn’t exist. Silk canopies hung overhead in layered arcs of crimson, indigo, and gold. Incense curled in slow spirals, carrying scents that shifted every breath—sweet, bitter, nostalgic.

The ground beneath his boots wasn’t stone. It was sand.

And the bazaar—

It stretched forever.

Stalls lined up in impossible geometry, paths folding into one another, bridges arching into nothing, platforms suspended over a void of stars.

A vendor laughed somewhere far away.

A child cried.

Coins clinked.

Aiden swallowed. “Umm… you all see this?”

Silence.

“…Girls?” He called, forcing a chuckle. “Come on. Very funny.”

He turned in a slow circle.

No Luna.

No Thristle.

No Nyxion.

No one.

“…Girls?”

Nothing.

His voice echoed wrong, like it was being reflected by something that wasn’t there.

“Okay,” He said louder. “Not funny anymore. Where did you all go?!”

A stall nearby creaked.

A glass bottle rotated on its own, a label drifting into view.

“Yesterday – Open With Care.”

Aiden stepped back. “Nope.”

Another stall displayed rings, each on velvet cushions.

Happiness.

Love.

Forgiveness.

Aiden scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

The system chimed.

—

[WELCOME TO FLOOR III]

—

Aiden snapped his head up. “System. Where are my wives?”

The panel shimmered.

—

[THIS FLOOR IS SPECIALLY DESIGNED TO TEST THE LIMITS OF YOUR BONDS.]

—

“…That wasn’t my question.”

—

[YOUR BONDED BEASTS ARE UNDERGOING THEIR TRIALS WITHIN THE SAME FLOOR, IN PARALLEL DIMENSIONS.]

—

Aiden ran a hand through his hair. “You’re telling me you split us up.”

—

[CORRECT.]

—

“Why.”

—

[BECAUSE BONDS ARE NOT PROVEN WHEN TOGETHER.]

—

“…I don’t like that answer.”

He took a breath. “And my other wives? The non-bonded ones. Are they safe?”

The panel flickered.

—

[YES. ABOUT THAT…]

—

Aiden frowned. “About what?”

—

[THEY ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE FLOOR’S TRIALS.]

—

“…Good.”

—

[HOWEVER.]

—

Aiden clenched his jaw. “However.”

—

The portal spat them out one by one.

Sand crunched under boots. Cold bit through cloth. Night swallowed the horizon.

Auroras stretched across the sky—green, violet, blue—slow rivers of light twisting above an endless desert.

Serica looked around, lips parting. “Where are we?”

Vaara frowned, eyes scanning the dunes. “This doesn’t look like a dungeon.”

Serica smirked, half-turning. “Vaara… so serious. You know that—”

She stopped. Her grin vanished.

Thristle shivered dramatically, wrapping her arms around herself. “This place is freezing. I need my king’s warmth.”

She sniffed and pouted. “My king!” Thinking he was with them.

Selvara clicked her tongue. “Tch.”

Serica straightened, tone dropping. “Girls… our husband isn’t here.”

Silence fell.

All of them turned in unison.

Vegia tightened her grip on her staff. “Luna, Venya and Nyxion aren’t here either.”

Arisha’s hand went to her sword. Her voice was calm, grounded. “Get ready. Something’s coming.”

Thristle blinked. “What?”

The desert answered first.

A cold wind tore across the sand, sharp and wrong, carrying a hiss like metal scraping bone.

Selvara slid forward, mana snapping into shape around her fists. Twin Tekko-Kagi formed with a metallic shriek. “Positions.”

Vaara raised her hands. Water condensed from the air itself, beads gathering, hovering, swirling. “I hate deserts.”

Serica drew her blade. The serpent tattoo along her arm writhed, scales lifting, eyes glowing faintly. “Let’s make this quick.”

Thristle rolled her shoulders and dropped into a martial stance. “I want this over. I want his arms.”

Arisha drew steel, stance perfect. Vegia lifted her wand, the gem flaring.

The sand exploded.

A shape clawed its way free—human-sized, hunched, plated in black chitin. A scorpion’s body twisted into something wrong and upright. Its limbs were too long, its claws hooked and serrated. Veins like living shadows pulsed beneath its armor, glowing faintly black-red. Ragged wing-like membranes tore open behind it, dripping sand.

Its face split into a jagged grin of layered mandibles.

Thristle stared. “Huh?”

The air rang.

—

[AS YOU ALL ARE NOT ACCOUNTED BY THE SYSTEM, YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN THIS SMALL TRAINING AREA UNTIL THE FLOOR IS CLEARED BY THE ACCOUNTED ONES.]

—

Thristle growled. “Is she serious?”

Serica rolled her neck. “Seems like it.”

The monster screamed and charged.

Arisha moved first. “Engage!”

The scorpion lunged, claws slamming down where Thristle had been a heartbeat earlier.

Thristle pivoted, heel snapping up into its joint. “Missed!”

Chitin cracked—but didn’t break.

The tail whipped.

Serica shouted. “DOWN!”

Vaara slammed her palm forward. Water hardened instantly into a translucent wall. The stinger hit with a thunderous crack, venom splashing and hissing as it froze on contact.

Vaara gritted her teeth. “That thing is strong!”

Selvara vanished in a blur, reappearing at the creature’s flank. Her tekko-kagi raked across its side, sparks flying. “Armor’s dense!”

The monster spun, wings snapping outward, blasting sand in a blinding wave.

Vegia planted her staff. “Barrier—now!”

A dome of mana flared, deflecting the sandstorm as the scorpion smashed into it again and again.

Arisha leapt, blade flashing. She carved a clean line across the creature’s neck.

Black ichor sprayed.

It didn’t fall.

It laughed.

A wet, grinding sound.

Thristle clicked her tongue. “I hate that laugh.”

Serica dashed in, blade weaving, striking tendons, joints, eyes. “Hey ugly! Over here!”

The monster turned, claws snapping.

Vaara raised both hands. Water spiraled, compressing, then launched like spears. They punched into the creature’s chest, bursting through chitin.

It screeched and slammed its wings, taking to the air.

Selvara cursed. “It flies!”

Arisha pointed. “Bring it down!”

Vegia raised her wand high. “Binding pulse!”

Chains of light snapped upward, wrapping around the wings. The monster crashed into the sand with a bone-shaking impact.

Thristle was already moving.

She sprinted, jumped, spun—

Her heel slammed into the creature’s head.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

“Stay. Down.”

The monster’s tail whipped blindly.

Serica slid under it, slicing upward. “You’re not getting away from us!”

The stinger shattered.

The creature roared, black veins flaring violently.

Vaara gasped. “It’s charging something!”

The ground trembled.

Sand began to melt into glass beneath it.

Arisha barked. “Finish it! Now!”

Selvara crossed her arms, tekko-kagi glowing. “Then don’t blink.”

She vanished.

Reappeared above the monster.

Drove both weapons straight down into its skull.

At the same time—

Vaara slammed her hands together. “Pressure break!”

Water compressed to a point and detonated inside the creature’s chest.

Serica followed through, blade flashing like a serpent strike.

She severed the head.

The body spasmed.

Cracked.

Collapsed into ash and glass shards.

Silence.

Wind sighed across the dunes.

Thristle exhaled hard. “Finally.”

She straightened and immediately pouted. “I want to be in his arms. Now.”

Serica wiped her blade clean. “Same. I’m done playing babysitter for a system that can’t count wives properly.”

Vaara relaxed, water dispersing. “Next time, I want him here. I fight better when I can feel him.”

Selvara scoffed, turning away. “Tch. You’re all noisy.”

Vegia lowered her staff, smiling faintly. “But effective.”

Arisha sheathed her sword. “Stay sharp. If there’s one, there may be more.”

Thristle cracked her knuckles. “Let them come. I’ll punch them and then punch the system.”

Serica laughed. “That’s the spirit.”

The sand was still settling when the air rang again.

—

[FIRST WAVE COMPLETE]

[SECOND WAVE STARTS… NOW.]

—

Vegia’s eyes widened. “HUH? So fast?!”

Selvara clicked her tongue. “They really don’t want to give us a break.”

Thristle rolled her neck, fists tightening. “Good. The faster we finish, the faster I get back into my king’s arms.”

Vaara exhaled slowly, cold mist leaving her lips. “The sand… it’s moving again.”

It wasn’t subtle this time.

The desert heaved.

Dunes collapsed inward as if something massive was swimming beneath the surface.

The sand split open in five places at once—violent eruptions, black veins glowing under the moonlight.

One claw punched out.

Then another.

Then wings—ragged, shadowy membranes—tore free from the sand.

Five monsters emerged.

Each one humanoid in shape, but unmistakably scorpion-born. Black chitin plated their bodies like living armor. Long, segmented tails curled over their backs, stingers dripping a dark ichor that hissed when it hit the sand.

Their faces were elongated, mandibles split into jagged smiles, eyes glowing dull crimson.

The black veins pulsed across their bodies, slower than before—less intense.

Arisha narrowed her eyes. “Same type. Weaker resonance.”

Vegia nodded, staff humming. “Same level… maybe lower.”

Thristle cracked a grin. “Perfect.”

The five monsters screamed in unison and charged.

Serica stepped forward, blade sliding into position. “Formation. Don’t let them surround us.”

Vaara lifted both hands, water condensing instantly in the freezing air. “I’ll control the field.”

The first scorpion lunged at Thristle, claws snapping.

She didn’t dodge.

She met it.

Her fist slammed straight into its face with a sharp, explosive crack. “Too slow!”

The monster staggered back, chitin fractured.

Selvara flashed past her in a blur, tekko-kagi tearing into its legs. “Armor’s thinner than the first one!”

Arisha took the second head-on, blade dancing. Steel rang as she severed a claw, then drove her sword into its chest. “They bleed easier.”

Black ichor sprayed.

The third monster leapt—wings flaring—aiming for Vegia.

Vaara snapped her fingers. “Down.”

A whip of frozen water wrapped around its wings mid-air, yanking it down and smashing it into the sand.

Serica was already there.

Her snake tattoo surged, scales glowing as her blade carved a clean arc. “Don’t touch my support.”

The head rolled.

Three left.

Thristle bounced on her toes, eyes blazing. “I’ll take two!”

She dashed forward, weaving between twin stinger strikes. One heel crushed a knee joint.

An elbow smashed a mandible. She spun, kicked off a monster’s chest, and drove her knee into the second one’s skull.

“I swear,” She growled, “if my king were here, this would already be over.”

Selvara snorted, ripping her weapons free from another corpse. “Focus.”

The remaining two regrouped, circling, tails raised.

Vegia slammed her staff down. “Restrain!”

Golden runes flared beneath the monsters’ feet, locking them in place.

Vaara raised her hands higher, sweat forming on her brow. Water gathered into dense spheres, spinning violently. “I just want this done. I want his arms. His warmth.”

She thrust forward.

The water bullets punched straight through both monsters’ torsos.

They screeched—but didn’t fall.

Serica cursed. “Persistent little—!”

The monsters strained, breaking free of the runes, charging together.

Arisha stepped between them and Vegia without hesitation. Her blade flashed twice.

Two clean, decisive strikes.

Both heads hit the sand.

Silence returned.

Five bodies lay scattered, already dissolving into sand.

Thristle straightened, brushing sand off her arms. “That’s it? Second wave already done?”

Serica rested her sword on her shoulder. “Told you they were weaker.”

Vaara exhaled shakily, lowering her hands. “Still… I hate being here without him.”

Vegia looked up at the auroras, uneasy. “This floor is separating us on purpose.”

Selvara crossed her arms. “Then we break whatever comes next faster.”

Arisha nodded once. “Stay alert. If there’s a third wave—”

The sand shifted again.

Thristle groaned. “You just had to say it.”

All six women reset their stances, eyes sharp, breathing steady—unshaken, united.

Serica smirked. “Let’s finish this already.”

Vaara whispered under her breath. “Wait for us…”

The auroras flickered brighter overhead as the desert prepared its next answer.

—

END OF Chapter : 198 : THE BAZAAR OF BOUND DESIRES!

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