The helicopter hummed through the clouds on the return trip, but the silence inside was different now.
Verosika leaned back in her seat, eyes half-lidded, replaying every moment his honesty, his steadiness, the way he listened. She hated how much it warmed her.
Malerion, meanwhile, shifted his focus.
Because the moment they stepped back into Sin Rouge, the quiet gravity of Pride Ring vanished.
Ouroboros was waiting.
And Ouroboros had changed.
Over the past year the same year Verosika and Malerion drifted closer the organization had grown deeper roots than anyone suspected.
Not as a gang or a cartel.
As an infrastructure.
Quill
Mapped their influence like a mathematician carving a kingdom.
Dreg
Forged enforcers until every fighter in the core squad reached low Overlord tier in raw strength.
Dreg himself pushed firmly into mid tier Overlord.
Rafe
Expanded the political network with surgical precision, reading Ring wide reactions like weather patterns.
Doona
Ran finances with terrifying efficiency, pumping clean, untraceable money through Lust, Wrath, and Envy.
Liza
Monitored loyalty, emotions, behavioral shifts a one woman intelligence filter.
Skit & Bit
Handled rapid operations: sabotage, courier missions, intel retrieval, infiltration.
Ouroboros wasn't just surviving.
It was becoming inevitable.
By the end of the year, Ouroboros controlled:
1 SIN ROUGE HQ (Lust Ring)
The heart.
Hidden beneath neon and noise.
Quill's engineering masterpiece.
Dreg commands combat here.
2 WRATH OUTPOST (2nd Ring)
Carved into volcanic stone and industrial ruins.
Disguised as a mercenary camp.
Perfect for:
high intensity training
weapon stockpiles
controlling wrath driven gangs
This is where Dreg's people become monsters.
3 ENVY HUB (6th Ring)
Not violent informational.
A spy tower hidden within Envy's dense trade markets.
Connected to:
rumor brokers
whisper networks
corrupted nobles
debt collectors
Wrath and envy fed Ouroboros more data than gold ever could.
The Ouroboros sigil a serpent devouring its tail began appearing quietly on encrypted ledgers, black market permits, loyalty tokens.
Self renewing, feeding, protecting.
As Malerion and Verosika stepped out of the helicopter close to sin rouge still quiet from their almost crossed line in Pride the inner circle waited.
Dreg: arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Quill: three tablets open, data streaming.
Rafe: flipping through political forecasts.
Doona: holding profit reports thicker than a spellbook.
Liza: watching Verosika with amused suspicion.
Skit & Bit: vibrating with excitement as always.
Malerion straightened.
"Status."
Dreg:
"Wrath expansion complete.
Four minor gangs absorbed.
Two dissolved.
Zero casualties."
His voice carried pride he didn't usually show.
Quill:
"Envy hub is stable.
Their market believes we're a phantom accounting network.
Perfect camouflage."
Rafe:
"Pride Ring is still panicking over Paimon. Even after more than a year
Everyone is distracted.
No one is looking downwards toward us. Exactly as planned."
Doona:
"Ouroboros revenue hit a new peak.
We can fund three new bases if needed."
Liza:
"Loyalty reports stable.
Fear level low.
Respect level… unusually high."
She eyed Verosika, smirking.
"…Also, she's glowing. Did something happen?"
Verosika nearly choked.
"Shut up."
Malerion nodded slowly.
Everything was aligning.
Controlled.
Efficient.
Balanced.
Just as Ouroboros should be.
Verosika crossed her arms, pretending she wasn't impressed.
"…You weren't exaggerating," she murmured. "You're really building something vast."
Malerion glanced at her steady, unreadable but warm.
"I told you. Understanding me takes time."
She smirked.
"Lucky for you… I'm patient. Sometimes."
Their eyes met for a moment too long.
Dreg cleared his throat loudly, breaking the moment:
"Boss. Wrath Outpost has a situation. Small, but needs your attention."
Malerion nodded.
The moment broke soft, but intact.
There would be more moments.
Just not now.
He turned to his people.
"Ouroboros moves."
And the inner circle moved with him