After Alex left the Crimson Raiders’ headquarters, life quickly returned to its usual rhythm. Brick went back to playing a board game with Anya, Nyaruko, Jinx, and Tina, while Mordecai sprawled out on the couch again with a bottle. Lilith, meanwhile, stayed at the table near the players, lazily leaning on the edge and idly turning a cold can of beer in her hands.

Her thoughts kept circling back to Alex. When Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx first appeared, she hadn’t paid it much attention—she had far more pressing concerns at the time. But before she knew it, the three girls had already become friends with Tina and started causing a level of chaos Pandora hadn’t seen in years.

In such a short time, that quartet had managed to stir up so much trouble that complaints came in one after another: someone was robbed, someone was beaten up, someone was even tied up and dragged to an angry skag. Lilith’s headaches were becoming more frequent, and relief seemed nowhere in sight.

In one of those rare quiet moments, when the girls were fully absorbed in their game, Lilith had decided to figure out who their parents were. But Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx only gave vague answers, always repeating, “It’s a secret.” When she asked more directly—what they could at least share about their family—the girls suddenly burst out, boasting about their father, who, according to them, could do anything, was the most handsome, and the strongest. Lilith had only smirked then, dismissing it as childish fantasy. After all, there was no such thing as a perfect man.

And now… after seeing Alex himself, she was, to put it mildly, shaken. Even when he left to carry out the task she had assigned him as “payment” for watching over his daughters, Lilith couldn’t get him out of her mind. Her Siren powers had even reacted to him—sparking on their own, responding to her emotions. That surprised her even more.

She took a sip of beer and let her eyes wander over Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx, who were still engrossed in the game. One thought kept repeating: what kind of family was this, where the father looked barely older than a young man? In her memory, Alex’s rainbow-colored eyes resurfaced again and again, mesmerizing, making her want to look at them endlessly. Lilith forced herself to push away the intrusive thoughts—after Roland’s death, she had promised herself not to let feelings take control again.

But the memories of Roland always came back. Their paths had split after the first Vault. He had changed: the fight against Atlas, his part in the Robolution, and later—his approval of Handsome Jack’s methods, when Jack orchestrated the execution of scientists on the orbital station. That was when they argued, a quarrel that never found resolution—there simply wasn’t time. Then Jack discovered a path to a new Vault, and everything spiraled. She remembered how she, Roland, Brick, and Mordecai tried to stop him, how they fought the Warrior. And how Roland had fallen into the abyss along with the beast.

Since then, memories only brought pain. Lilith often asked herself: could she have changed something, persuaded Roland, kept him from falling so far? But reason always gave the same answer: no, she couldn’t. He had always been that way—he only needed the push.

“Hey, Lilith!” Brick’s laugh and a friendly shove on her shoulder pulled her out of her thoughts. “Why are you sitting there with that blank stare? Did Alex really make that much of an impression on you?”

“Shut up, Brick,” Lilith rolled her eyes irritably. “I’m thinking about how to make sure Jack doesn’t open another Vault.”

“If you say so,” he chuckled. “But it wasn’t me sitting there with that dreamy look, like I’d just found a new love. Then again… maybe I did. Look at this hammer!” Brick proudly stroked the handle of the weapon Alex had given him. “This isn’t just a hammer. It’s a masterpiece of destructive art!”

Lilith stared at him blankly, watching as the big guy all but purred while caressing his new trophy. And it seemed he had already given it a name—”Lucinda.”

“Gods, why do I have such weird friends…” Lilith muttered, shaking her head.

But then her attention was caught by the sly looks from Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx. The three girls were staring at her as if their devious plan had just succeeded. Lilith frowned, fully aware that these three were far too clever for seven-year-olds. A normal child couldn’t build a homemade bomb out of a refrigerator and a handful of random parts.

She narrowed her eyes.”Spill it,” Lilith said firmly.

“Big sister Lilith, we don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nyaruko drawled casually, answering for all three. “We’re just playing a board game.”

“I might believe that sweet face if it weren’t for all the chaos you’ve caused on Pandora and in Sanctuary,” Lilith replied with a faint smile. “Now confess—what are you plotting this time?”

Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx exchanged glances and immediately linked up telepathically. Their plan was starting to crack. Not even Daddy knew that they had secretly been picking candidates for the role of their new mommy—and Lilith, unfortunately, was already on the list.

Anya furiously insisted it was still too early to reveal anything: Lilith hadn’t yet fully fallen under their father’s charm. Jinx, on the other hand, demanded they “drop the bomb” right away and outright declare that Lilith had to become their mom. Nyaruko, as usual, took the neutral stance—she wanted the chaos to grow naturally until the truth burst out at the most unexpected moment.

From the outside, it looked bizarre: the trio were gesturing animatedly without uttering a sound. Lilith, watching them with a stony expression, became even more convinced—they were up to something again. Official source is n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net

“And how long are you going to wave your arms around and gawk at each other?” she asked calmly.

“Ahem,” Anya was the first to speak. “Big sister, as my daddy would say: ‘You can’t live in the past. What’s done can’t be undone. You have to look forward, because only there awaits joy, new encounters, and adventure.’ If you keep looking back, you’ll miss where the light of the future is leading.”

With those words, she raised a finger, perfectly mimicking Alex’s manner.

Lilith froze. Hearing something like that from a seven-year-old girl was… shocking. Even Mordecai, who had been dozing on the couch, dropped his bottle and crashed to the floor. Brick and Tina paused over the board game and stared at Anya. Meanwhile, Nyaruko and Jinx nodded solemnly, as if confirming a great truth. They really had inherited parts of their father’s memory, and it made them far too smart for their age.

For Lilith, those words were like an explosion in her head. She had no idea that Anya was simply distracting her—in the exact same way Alex did. Say something wise or absurdly foolish, and the other person would lose track of the conversation. His daughters had clearly inherited that trick.

Under the table, Anya smirked proudly and gave a high-five to Nyaruko and Jinx. Lilith noticed the gesture and sighed heavily—those three had outmaneuvered her again.

“Fine, I’ll pretend I didn’t see that,” she said wearily. “But tell me, will your father actually handle this job? You’ve said so much about him that it’s hard to tell what’s true and what’s just exaggeration.”

“Uh-huh, Daddy’s super strong. This’ll be nothing for him,” Jinx said proudly, puffing out her chest.

“That’s not what I meant. I forgot to tell him that after the train attack, Hyperion will definitely send reinforcements,” Lilith pointed out.

“Oh, that’s what you mean, big sister,” Anya nodded. “Then we can just check what Daddy’s doing right now.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Brick raised a brow.

“Well…” Nyaruko drawled, tapping her chin with a finger. “Daddy made a flying fairy-drone at Mommy’s request. She’s always with him, and the moms can keep an eye on what he’s up to.”

“And why would your moms need to keep an eye on him?” Tina asked curiously.

“Mom Alcina, Mom Brunhilde, Mom Gloria, and Mom Hephaestus said Daddy likes to cause too many problems when he works alone. So he made the drone, Navi,” Anya explained with a serious tone.

“I don’t even want to know how many moms you have,” Lilith muttered, more and more convinced that Alex was no ordinary man. “But what do you mean by ’causes problems’?”

“Um…” Anya thought for a moment and started ticking off her fingers. “Mommy Gloria told us Daddy once broke into a building to steal something and blew up an entire floor. Then he hacked the system, and for days the building had a message plastered across it that made the news. Then he broke in again, blew up another floor, and kidnapped the director. He disguised himself as different people, fought, attacked, escaped the police… Then he blew up a mountain. An island. An underground lab. Half a city. Then an entire city…”

The further Anya went with her list, the darker Lilith’s expression became. The picture was clear: every one of Alex’s jobs ended with an explosion. Brick and Tina burst out laughing at her “list of achievements,” while Mordecai even cracked a satisfied grin — now he was genuinely curious how the mission Lilith had given Alex would turn out.

“That’s enough,” Lilith finally cut Anya off. “I get it — your father leaves nothing but ashes behind. But how do we connect to this drone? Or is access restricted to just your mothers?”

“One second!” Jinx perked up, hopping off her chair. “I’ll hook it up, easy!”

She darted to the wall where a large system display was mounted. Before Lilith could stop her, the girl yanked several cables from the panel and jammed them straight into her phone. A few quick swipes across the screen — and the guild’s interface opened, ready to sync with Navi, the fairy-drone that always followed Alex.

The screen flickered several times, then showed a loading symbol with a huge letter V. That was the family’s master-access seal — every one of Alex’s daughters had priority clearance in the guild system.

The loading finished, and before the image appeared, Alex’s voice filled the speakers:

“Wise men say, only fools rush in… But I can’t help falling in love with you. Shall I stay? Would it be a sin, if I can’t help falling in love with you? Like a river flows, surely to the sea… Darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be. Take my hand, take my whole life too… For I can’t help falling in love with you…”

The room fell into silence. Even without a picture, his voice was so pure and melodic that everyone momentarily forgot to breathe. Lilith in particular felt her heart clench painfully — the song was clearly about love. And it was sung by the very same Alex she had already begun to consider a walking disaster and an avatar of chaos.

“He sings well, I’ll give him that… but where’s the damn picture?” Brick muttered, glancing at Jinx, who frowned at her phone.

“Hmm, weird… Your system is ancient! Nothing makes sense here,” Jinx grumbled, tugging at her hair.

“A little outdated hardware’s no big deal,” Mordecai said lazily, leaning on the table.

“Ah, I see the problem!” Jinx suddenly lit up. “I mixed everything up. This goes here, this goes there… and this one we tape down.”

A few sharp motions, some quick twists of electrical tape — and finally the screen flared to life.

The sight was… bizarre. Alex was dancing wildly around a bonfire, singing like no one else existed. Nearby lay tied-up stalkers, some of them literally hacked to pieces. On sticks over the fire, chunks of their flesh were roasting, sizzling appetizingly.

“…Is he seriously planning to eat that?!” Lilith blurted out, rubbing her eyes as if hoping it was a hallucination. “That stuff is poisonous! You need to stop him before he takes even a bite!”

“No poison can harm Daddy,” Nyaruko replied carelessly.

“…Fine, I’ll take your word for it,” Lilith sighed, though her frown deepened. “But why is he so close to the preserve? Can you message him to stop the train somewhere else?”

“Don’t worry,” Anya said seriously, raising a finger just like her father. “Daddy always knows what he’s doing. Even if reinforcements arrive — he’ll handle it.”

Lilith just shook her head and turned back to the screen. Alex was still spinning and singing around the bonfire, verse after verse. Her eyes lingered on his figure, and without realizing it, she flushed slightly. Her heartbeat stumbled, and her hair flickered with faint firelight — the powers of the siren betraying her emotions.

Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx exchanged discreet glances and nodded in perfect sync. Everything was going according to plan. Their scheme was simple: first, brag about how amazing their daddy was, then show him in action… and the potential new mommy would already be hooked.

If the rest of Alex’s wives had known what those three little gremlins were up to, they would’ve sighed, tried to talk them out of it… and then accepted it. For the girls, it all made perfect sense: the more mommies — the more sisters. And the more sisters — the more chaos and fun!

Meanwhile, Alex kept dancing around the bonfire, singing while he waited for the Hyperion freight train. It wouldn’t be long before it arrived, so he could afford this bizarre pastime. As for the tied-up stalkers lying nearby, Alex paid them no mind — he’d already used some of them as ingredients for his meal.

Finally, he stopped and looked at the meat slowly charring over the fire. By now it should have been ready. He walked up to the fire and sat down on a rock he had dragged over as a makeshift chair. Taking a stick with the roasted flesh skewered on it, he frowned. Even after cooking, it looked suspicious, and the smell wasn’t any more appetizing.

Two voices argued inside him. One said, “Don’t even think about eating that trash. It reeks worse than a Night City dumpster.” The other countered, “You’ll be fine. Even if it’s poisonous, your body can handle it without issue.”

“Alright… whatever happens, happens,” Alex muttered, finally deciding to taste the stalker meat.

As soon as he brought it to his mouth, the stench was so vile he had to hold his breath. The first bite unleashed a wave of revolting flavors unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Struggling not to vomit right then and there, Alex forced the chunk down.

“That was… just awful,” he groaned, grimacing. “Good thing my stomach can handle poison… Maybe with some spices it’ll be better?”

The disgust frozen on his face was enough to make the girls back home immediately abandon any thought of tasting stalker meat themselves. Even Lilith, Brick, Mordecai, and Tina, who were watching the feed, exchanged stunned looks. But Alex was already pulling out a fistful of spices, sprinkling them generously over the meat before taking another bite.

The result didn’t change. Grimacing again, Alex tossed the stick aside and kicked the rest of the roasting meat off the ledge.

“What a load of crap…” he muttered.

Still, he had no intention of releasing the captured stalkers. Pulling several Pokéballs from his inventory, Alex hurled them at the creatures. They glowed and vanished inside.

“Perfect. A new Pokémon caught,” he smirked, holding up one of the spheres.

The Pokéball went back into his inventory — later, he’d hand it over to Red and White, the two android girls who would definitely want to dissect the stalkers and figure out which fluid in their bodies was responsible for camouflage.

Sitting down on the edge of the cliff, Alex lit a cigarette and stared at the road, mulling over the upcoming operation. Once he finished smoking, he jumped down, landing right on one of the stalkers. Bones and flesh crunched wetly under his boots. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Alex scraped the mess off on the grass.

At last, he reached the railroad. Standing by the tracks, he wondered how to stop the train without damaging it: the braking distance was far too long, and no ready solution came to mind. In the end, he settled on the simplest method.

Moving to the side, Alex hid behind a jagged rock and waited. About ten minutes later, the rumble of an approaching train echoed through the tunnel. Peeking out, he saw the freight barreling forward at tremendous speed. Time to act.

Alex pulled a katana with black sheaths and a golden hilt from his inventory. He decided not to put on the white mask — there was no point in hiding his face. With a slow, measured step, he walked onto the tracks and stood directly in front of the train. He loosened his neck with a light motion, the air snapping with the sound of his joints.

Meanwhile, back at the Scarlet Raiders’ headquarters, Lilith, Brick, and Mordecai continued watching the live feed.

“What is he planning? He can’t be trying to stop the train head-on?!” Lilith exclaimed, turning sharply to Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx.

“We don’t know,” Anya said innocently, shrugging and smiling. “But if Daddy’s doing it, that means everything’s under control.”

“Looks like he’s starting…” Brick muttered, nudging Lilith in the shoulder. “But why is there fire around him?”

Lilith tore her gaze away from the three girls and focused back on the large screen. Her eyes widened as she saw flames erupt around Alex and a fiery breath escape his mouth.

Could it be that my siren powers are somehow reacting to him?.. — the thought crossed Lilith’s mind. But she quickly dismissed it: Alex wasn’t a siren and didn’t possess their gifts. And yet… they were far too similar.

Her interest in what was happening only deepened.

The Hyperion train burst out of the tunnel at breakneck speed. At that same moment, Alex surged forward, leaving fiery trails along the rails. Within seconds, he had leapt above the first carriage. A swing of his katana produced a ring of fire that sliced the car in half. The emergency braking system engaged: the train screeched to a halt.

Alex landed on the split carriage, listening to the brakes squeal. When the train finally came to a stop, he jumped down.

At that same moment, four exhausted, dust-covered people climbed to the second floor of the Scarlet Raiders’ headquarters. This was the new group of Dungeon Seekers: Maya, Zer0, Axton, and Salvador. They had come to report on their mission but instead stumbled upon Lilith, Brick, and Mordecai, glued to the screen.

“Didn’t expect you to be so absorbed in watching a movie,” Maya said with a smirk as she approached.

“This isn’t a movie,” Brick shook his head. “It’s the father of Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx. Lilith assigned him to stop the Hyperion train.”

“Wait…” Salvador squinted. “You’re telling me that this guy on the screen is the dad of these little hellions?!”

“Something like that,” Brick grinned. “And you’ve got to admit, they weren’t lying when they said their dad is the most handsome.”

“Hm… he really does look hot. In every sense of the word,” Maya noted, squinting at the screen.

“Obviously!” Jinx snorted, sticking her tongue out. “We told you our daddy is the coolest! You just didn’t believe us!”

“And who would believe a kid’s nonsense?” Salvador waved his hand irritably. “Especially when you kept going on about him being the most handsome too.”

“That’s envy, Salvador,” Maya shot back. “He’s cooler and better looking than you. No wonder you’re mad.”

Salvador just rolled his eyes but returned to watching. Curiosity had won over his annoyance.

Meanwhile, on the screen, Hyperion soldiers and combat Loaders began pouring out of the train cars. Alex drew his katana, gripping it with both hands, and swung it to the side. He took a deep breath, and the flames around him flared even brighter.

Before the enemies could open fire, Alex surged forward. A silhouette of a fiery dragon appeared behind his blade, and with each step, he cleaved his foes in two. Soldiers and robots fell before they could even react.

At the nearby Hyperion Reserve, the alarm went off. Reinforcements rushed toward the stopped train but arrived to find only heaps of bodies and burning wreckage: half of the troops were already gone.

Lilith and the others watched, completely absorbed. Especially Zer0: he nodded in sync with Alex’s movements, various emojis flashing across his mask to reflect his excitement.

“Lilith,” Axton called, pulling her attention from the screen. “There wasn’t a key to the Dungeon on the train. But we found this.”

He placed a strange energy core on the table.

“I’ve never seen anything like it…” Lilith frowned. “What did you find out?”

“Nothing,” Maya sighed. “We tried to hack the terminal, but it was empty. We suspect Hyperion is testing new cores for their robots. So we grabbed it.”

“Maybe it’ll come in handy,” Lilith said thoughtfully. “Our old core is at the end of its life. With this one, the shields will last longer.”

Everyone agreed. No one suspected that this was part of Handsome Jack’s plan. He had planted the core in advance to finally crush the Sanctuary’s inhabitants. The Seekers trusted Angel, unaware that she had no choice — Jack held her on a leash, forcing her to obey his orders.

When the quartet went to install the new core, Lilith, Brick, and Mordecai turned back to the screen. Around the train, piles of corpses and metallic debris were already mounting. Brick clenched his fists, feeling a tingling in his muscles — he himself wanted to rush into battle alongside Alex.

Then a mocking voice echoed across the Sanctuary:

“One, two! Hope you can hear me. This is Handsome Jack! I think it’s time to reveal a little secret. Angel… works for me.”

A cold, lifeless voice followed:

“Jack. I’m disabling the Sanctuary’s shields.”

Lilith, Brick, and Mordecai immediately sensed something was wrong when they heard Handsome Jack’s familiar voice. Without hesitation, they ran out onto the balcony. Tilting their heads toward the sky, all three saw in horror that the energy shield protecting the Sanctuary from Hyperion’s orbital bombardment had gone dark. The next second, projectiles shot from the station circling Pandora, hurtling straight toward the city.

“Skooter! Launch the Sanctuary into the air immediately. I have a plan. I hope it works!” Lilith shouted over the loudspeaker, realizing time was almost up.

“Lilith, I’m not sure this will work! I haven’t checked everything yet. We either take off… or blow up!” Skooter replied nervously, fully aware of the madness Lilith was initiating.

“Then make sure the city takes off, not blows apart! Girls, grab all the Eridium you can find in the warehouse. Brick, Mordecai, handle the evacuation — get people into the bunkers! If we’re lucky, we’ll survive, and my plan will work!” Lilith commanded with rapid-fire orders.

Everyone immediately sprang into action.

Tina, Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx rushed to the warehouse where Lilith stored the Eridium supplies. While Tina fumbled with the locks on the crates, Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx exchanged quick glances. Each of them had the same thought: if they helped save the people, Daddy would definitely praise them.

Squinting, Nyaruko looked up at the sky, where deadly projectiles were flying. No one noticed as she began redirecting them, making them explode near the city instead of hitting it directly. Jinx ran to Skooter to assist him and get the system working, while Anya pulled a purple crystal from her bag, indistinguishable from Eridium ore, to give Lilith an even greater energy boost.

Grabbing a whole pile of Eridium, Anya and Tina hurried to the city center, where Lilith was already channeling her power into the city’s core. Seeing Anya and Tina approaching, Lilith interrupted the energy flow and turned around.

“This is the first time I’m using this much Eridium… So hold on tight. It’s going to get rough,” she warned, her eyes blazing with fire.

Anya and Tina clutched the railings, their eyes fixed on Lilith.

Meanwhile, Skooter ran around the control panel, frantically adjusting wires and the gravity system, trying to make it work. Jinx quietly amplified the process with her powers, while Nyaruko continued redirecting the projectiles so that no one would notice her intervention.

“Lilith! I’m ready. Launching!” Skooter shouted.

“Go! We don’t have time!” Lilith yelled back.

Skooter slammed the launch lever.

At that moment, the Sanctuary shook, the ground cracked beneath their feet, and the entire city began to slowly rise into the air. The bombardment didn’t stop, even as the city lifted off the ground.

“And that’s all you’re capable of? A flying city? Pathetic! You really think you can escape just because you’re in the sky? How could I ever lose to such idiots?” the voice of Not-Handsсome Jack boomed over the loudspeakers across the city.

“Because they have Me! See you, loser!” Lilith shouted, grinning widely and pouring the last of her energy into the core.

At that instant, the entire city blazed with a blinding purple light. The explosion of brightness engulfed the Sanctuary completely. When the radiance subsided, a gigantic hole yawned where the city had been, and it had vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, on the orbital station, Jack sat silently in his office, staring at the monitor showing the emptiness left behind after the city’s teleportation. His face was expressionless, only his fingers tapping methodically on the desk.

“Interesting,” he muttered, shutting off the broadcast.

To be continued…

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep