Investing In My Four Crippled Yandere Wives Get 1000x Returns
Chapter 21|What He’d Throw Himself Into

Chapter 21: 21|What He’d Throw Himself Into

The B-rank rift sat nestled within a collapsed subway network beneath the city’s industrial district, its violet tear pulsing ominously above cracked concrete and rusted rail lines. Myria’s briefing had been thorough as always — Iron Maw Serpents, territorial and aggressive, capable of burrowing through solid rock, considerably more dangerous than anything Fallen Crown had faced in their first month of operation.

"Vivian, you’re cleared for direct engagement this time," Myria said, tablet displaying the finalized formation. "Sound-based tracking should compensate for the tunnel visibility issues that kept you sidelined during the E-rank dive."

Vivian rolled her shoulders, a fierce, eager grin spreading across her face. "Finally. I was starting to feel like decorative furniture."

"Stay close to Allen regardless," Myria warned. "Serpents this size can strike from angles even your hearing might not catch in time within an enclosed tunnel system."

They descended into the collapsed tunnels an hour later, headlamps cutting narrow beams through oppressive darkness, the air thick with the metallic tang of dungeon mana and old rust. The first serpent announced itself with a bone-rattling roar that echoed through the confined space, easily eight meters of armored coils bursting from a collapsed section of tunnel wall.

The fight that followed tested every ounce of coordination they’d built over the past month — Irene’s flames forcing the serpent’s retreat whenever it attempted to burrow for cover, Everlyn’s roots anchoring themselves into the cracked concrete to slow its movements, Allen’s Ashfall Talons finding gaps in its armored scales with brutal, fire-infused precision.

It was the second serpent, emerging without warning from a side tunnel while the party’s attention remained fixed on the first, that nearly ended everything.

Allen caught the shift in the air a half-second before Vivian’s own enhanced hearing registered the threat — the serpent striking from an angle designed specifically to exploit her blind spot, jaws wide, aimed directly for where she stood positioned slightly ahead of the main formation.

He didn’t think. He moved.

The impact caught him across the ribs rather than Vivian, serpent fangs grazing armor rather than flesh by the narrowest margin, the force still enough to send him crashing hard against the tunnel wall, breath driven from his lungs in a single agonized gasp.

"ALLEN!" Vivian’s voice cracked with raw panic, unlike anything he’d heard from her before, already moving with brutal, precise fury, striking the serpent’s exposed underside with a series of rapid, lethal strikes that dropped it before it could recover for a second attack.

She was at his side instantly, hands running frantically over his ribs, checking for injuries with the same precision she brought to everything, though her usual composure had entirely shattered.

"I’m fine," Allen managed, wheezing slightly. "Bruised, not broken. The armor held."

"You could have let it hit me," Vivian said, voice tight and shaking. "I would have heard it in time to counter properly. You didn’t need to—"

"I wasn’t going to risk ’would have,’" Allen cut in, meeting her wide, panicked eyes despite the ache in his ribs. "Not when I could do something about it."

Vivian stared at him for a long moment, something raw and overwhelmed flickering behind her usual calm composure, before she pulled him into a fierce, tight embrace, careful of his injured ribs but unwilling to let go regardless.

"Don’t do that again," she said, voice muffled against his shoulder. "I don’t— I can’t lose someone else to a fight I couldn’t prevent. Not you."

"I’ll be more careful," Allen promised quietly, arms wrapping gently around her despite the protest of bruised ribs. "But I won’t promise I won’t do it again, Vivian. Not when it’s you."

[Investment Detected: Milestone — "Host risked personal safety to protect dependent from mortal danger."]

[Sincerity: Extreme. Emotional Impact: Extreme.]

[Reward Generated: +1,200 Investment Points.]

[Bonus Condition Met: Protective Instinct Threshold reached — new reward category unlocked: "Guardian’s Return."]

[Multiplier Applied: x1 → Total Reward: 1,200 Investment Points.]

[Reward Manifestation: Passive Ability Acquisition]

[New Ability: "Guardian’s Instinct" (Rare) — Host gains passive precognitive awareness of lethal threats directed at registered dependents within a 20-meter radius.]

Allen absorbed the new notification with a mixture of relief and grim understanding. ’So that’s how I caught the strike before she did. The system’s not just rewarding kindness anymore. It’s actively making me better at protecting them.’

"You’re doing that thing again," Vivian murmured against his shoulder, still not quite releasing him. "Going quiet and thoughtful. What did the system give you this time?"

"Something that means I’ll catch the next one faster," Allen said simply.

Vivian finally pulled back slightly, enough to study his face with her usual uncanny precision, though the earlier panic had settled into something softer, more grateful. "Good," she said quietly. "Because I meant what I said. I can’t lose you too."

"Too?" Allen asked gently, catching the word.

Vivian’s expression flickered, old grief surfacing briefly behind her composed exterior. "My old handler," she admitted quietly. "The one who trained me from childhood. Died on a mission I wasn’t cleared to accompany him on. First person I ever let myself actually trust completely." Her hand found his, fingers lacing together with quiet, deliberate intention. "I promised myself I wouldn’t make that mistake again. Then you happened, and apparently promises to yourself are considerably easier to make than to keep."

"I’m not going anywhere," Allen said, echoing the same promise he’d made weeks ago, meaning it just as completely now.

Vivian’s answering smile was small, but genuine, some of the day’s earlier terror finally bleeding out of her shoulders. "You’d better not. I’ve grown rather fond of having someone around who’s annoyingly, predictably steady."

Behind them, Myria’s voice crackled through the comm bead, tinged with residual worry despite its clipped efficiency. "If you two are quite finished, we still have a dungeon core to reach. Though I’ll admit, watching you nearly get yourself killed for Vivian’s sake was... reassuring, in its own terrifying way."

"Reassuring?" Allen asked, wincing as he pushed himself upright, ribs still aching fiercely.

"It confirmed something I’d already suspected," Myria said simply. "That you’d do the same for any of us, without hesitation, regardless of cost."

Allen glanced around at Vivian’s still-lingering worry, thought of Irene’s fierce protectiveness and Everlyn’s quiet steadiness waiting further down the tunnel, and felt the truth of Myria’s words settle firmly into place.

"Every time," he confirmed. "No exceptions."