Divine Milking System-Chapter 88 | The Extraction Tax Comes Due

I raised my hand. "Before we go again, can I grab my spear from the armory?"

Misato turned. Stared at me like I’d just announced I’d forgotten how to breathe. "You don’t have your weapon."

"It’s back in the training hall. I didn’t think we’d need—"

"You didn’t think." Misato’s voice went flat. Dead. The kind of flat that comes before something extremely violent. "You showed up to a combat simulation without a weapon."

Belle spoke up from behind me. "I need my crossbow too."

Misato’s eyes went wide. "Both of you? Both of you showed up unprepared?"

I rubbed the back of my head. "It was late. We were—"

"What could have possibly been so important that you forgot basic equipment protocol?" Misato crossed her arms. Her lime green ponytail swayed as she moved. "Gates don’t wait for you to remember your gear. Monsters don’t pause while you run back to grab your favorite toy."

Belle put on her best innocent face. Big eyes. Slight tilt of the head. "I’m just a girl."

Misato’s eye twitched.

"I’m just a girl who forgot her crossbow because I was distracted by homework and trying to optimize my sleep schedule and—"

"Stop talking." Misato pinched the bridge of her nose. "Both of you. Stop talking immediately."

Sato’s voice crackled through the speakers. "There should be standard-issue equipment in the back storage. Spears, crossbows, basic loadout. You’ll need to calibrate them with your suits but it’s doable."

"Fine." Misato pointed toward the far wall. "Back storage. Both of you. Five minutes. If you’re not back here in five minutes I’m running the simulation without you and letting the Crawlers eat your corpses."

I started walking. Belle fell into step beside me.

The silence between us felt like a physical thing. Heavy. Suffocating. The kind of silence that happens after someone royally fucks up and everyone knows it.

The storage room was tucked behind the observation booth. Small. Concrete walls. Racks of weapons organized by type. Spears on the left. Crossbows on the right. Everything else in between.

The door clicked shut behind us.

We were alone.

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Nothing came out.

Belle walked past me toward the crossbow rack. She grabbed the first one that looked close to her preferred weight. Checked the draw. Tested the sight. All without looking at me.

"Belle."

"Don’t."

"I should have told you everything upfront. The whole process. I thought—"

"You thought what?" She turned. Those amber-brown eyes that usually sparkled with calculation now just burned. "You thought I wouldn’t notice? You thought getting me off three times would make me forget the entire point of the deal?"

"That’s not—"

"I feel like shit, Jace." She set the crossbow down hard. "Like complete shit. I’m tired. I’m drowsy. My body feels like I ran a marathon while someone sucked all the energy out through a straw. And you know why?"

I did know why. The extraction tax. The same thing that hit Naomi yesterday. The twelve-hour drain period where the body compensates for what was taken.

Belle continued. "I came to your apartment because you promised me a buff. A real, measurable enhancement that would help me survive gates. And instead I got great sex and absolutely nothing useful."

"My ability—"

"I don’t care what your ability says." She grabbed the crossbow again. Started calibrating it with her tactical suit. The holographic interface synced with the weapon. "I care that I trusted you to be honest and you weren’t."

"I was distracted. The taste was—"

"Oh, my milk was so good you forgot the entire reason I was there?" She laughed. Sharp. Bitter. "That makes it so much better."

I grabbed a spear from the rack. Standard academy issue. Carbon fiber shaft. Mana-conductive tip. It felt lighter than Tsukishima’s training spears.

Belle moved to the ammunition section. Loading bolts into tactical pouches. Her movements were sharp. Angry. Each bolt slapped into place with unnecessary force.

"I’m sorry."

"You already said that."

"I mean it."

"I know you do." She didn’t look at me. "That’s the problem. You’re genuinely sorry. You didn’t mean to fuck up. It just happened because you got too into it and forgot I’m a person with needs instead of just a convenient essence source."

That hit harder than it should have.

"You’re not just an essence source."

"Then what am I?" She finally looked at me. "Your girlfriend? No, that’s Naomi. Your friend? Friends don’t lie by omission. Your teammate? Teammates don’t use each other."

"It’s complicated."

"Everything with you is complicated." She finished loading the bolts. "You know what’s not complicated? I needed help. You offered help. I accepted under specific terms. You failed to deliver. That’s simple."

I synced my spear with my suit. The interface lit up with optimal grip points and thrust angles.

"The next time we do this—"

"There won’t be a next time." Belle slung the crossbow over her shoulder. "Not until you prove you can actually follow through on your promises."

"You still need the buff."

"And you still need essence." She walked toward the door. Stopped with her hand on the handle. "But I’m not letting you touch me again until you can guarantee the full transfer. No distractions. No getting lost in how good it tastes. No forgetting that I’m giving you something and expecting something real in return."

"Fair."

"Also." She turned back. "You owe Naomi an apology that’s about ten times bigger than mine. I came into this knowing what you are. She fell for you thinking you were just some struggling lottery kid who needed help."

"I care about Naomi."

"I know. That’s why it’s worse." Belle opened the door. "She’s out there right now pretending everything’s fine while watching you deal with the consequences of sleeping with someone else. And the worst part? She agreed to let it happen because she understands you need essence to survive. But understanding doesn’t make it hurt less."

The door swung open. Misato’s voice echoed from the main chamber.

"Time’s up! Get back here or I’m starting without you!"

Belle walked out without another word.

I stood there for a second. Staring at the wall of weapons. Processing.

Belle was right. I’d fucked up with her. I’d hurt Naomi. And I was about to walk back out there and pretend everything was fine while running a simulation that required perfect teamwork.

This was fine. Everything was fine. I just had to survive a D-rank scenario with twice as many monsters while my two main squad members actively hated me.

Easy.

I grabbed an extra knife from the rack. Synced it with my suit. Strapped it to my thigh.

Then I walked out into the dome.

Misato stood in the center with her arms crossed. "You’re late."

"By thirty seconds."

"Late is late." She looked at my spear. Belle’s crossbow. "At least you’re armed now. Positions. Same formation. Monroe center. Everyone else on perimeter."

I moved to my spot. Naomi shifted to my left without looking at me. Belle took position at my right rear. Jordan stumbled to his place on my right.

The concrete floor started to flicker.

"D-rank scenario," Sato’s voice announced. "Twenty-five Hollow Crawlers. Increased aggression. Environmental hazards enabled. Time limit: seven minutes."