Demonic Dragon: Harem System

The next day did not dawn calmly.

In fact, what woke most people in Strax's mansion were the loud bangs—sharp, powerful sounds, like thunder breaking through the clouds on a clear morning. The vibration from the explosions shook the windows and tore some tiles from the west side.

In the sky above the outer courtyard, two figures collided with fury and precision. Kali and Cassandra—or rather, the humanoid versions of their draconic bodies—flew in wide circles, exchanging blows that shaped the surrounding landscape.

Kali was still adapting to her form. Her dark, amber-flecked body trembled slightly with each charge, as if she were still absorbing the weight and extent of the new power coursing through her veins. But even unstable, she was already a formidable force. The ground beneath her responded with cracks and tremors whenever she came too close to the earth.

With a sudden movement, she raised her arms and spread her fingers. Below, a stone wall emerged, rising like a giant hand of earth and root, trying to grab Cassandra. Cassandra, however, moved fluidly, spinning in the air, her eyes shining bright blue.

"Too slow!" Cassandra shouted, smiling.

She advanced with brutal speed, her fists wrapped in spiraling fragments of ice. The direct impact with Kali sent a cold shockwave through the sky, covering part of the wall in a crust of ice that cracked and shattered with the residual heat of the living earth.

Cassandra was visibly more comfortable in her form. Her skin had pale tones that glowed like snow in the sun, and her thin wings resembled hand-cut crystals. She hovered elegantly, but her movements were harsh and calculated like a winter storm.

Kali was not intimidated. With a guttural cry, she flapped her wings and dove toward the ground, landing on her knees. The earth around her shook violently. Pillars of stone burst from the surface like teeth, in a circle around where she fell. It was a battlefield now.

At the top of the east tower, Beatrice watched with a cup of coffee in her hands and a scarf on her head, as if watching a long-awaited spectacle. Beside her, Scarlet kept her arms crossed, her eyes attentive to every movement.

"Kali is improving," said Scarlet.

"Yes. She's loosening up more. Her body is almost accepting her completely," replied Beatrice, before taking a sip. "But she still has a lot to learn."

In the inner courtyard, Samira collected some medicinal plants in small glass jars. Next to her, Xenovia helped Monica organize scrolls and relics recovered from the last expedition to the Crater of Whispers.

Nyx, silent, sat on the railing of a balcony, watching the fight without visible emotion. Now in her new body, wearing a black tunic adorned with silver chains and dark eye makeup, she just listened, felt... and processed. Around her, the magical aura oscillated, contained but alive. The seal still pulsed, like a reminder in her flesh.

Strax walked down a corridor with three books under his arm, without even looking up at the sky.

"Let them break whatever they want," he muttered. "As long as they don't break themselves."

The sky, meanwhile, seemed to burn with the intensity of the combat. Cassandra advanced again, this time creating ice stakes that flew behind her like spears. Kali reacted by pulling up a wall of earth that moved like a shield.

They were testing each other, shaping each other, getting to know each other—and the world around them responded to the rhythm of this rebirth.

And it was still only the beginning of the day...

A few minutes later... The sky shook again—but this time not from Cassandra's punch or Kali's scream.

The clouds parted in a crimson tear, and from above emerged a colossal, serpentine figure, undulating across the firmament with brutal majesty.

Strax, in his true form.

A red dragon of enormous proportions, his serpentine body seemed to stretch between the nearby mountains and the open sky above the city. Its scales glowed like living embers, pulsing with the heat of ancient furnaces. Long, curved horns emerged from its skull like ornate spears, and its eyes—two bloody suns—watched the world with a consciousness as old as time.

With a deep roar that shook the rooftops and caused Cassandra and Kali to instinctively pause in their combat, Strax began to descend. His body shrank, his draconic contours shrinking into spirals of hot light and smoke until, amid a whirlwind of energy, his human form touched the courtyard floor with a thud.

The dust danced around him for a few moments, then dissipated.

"Always dramatic..." Monica murmured, raising an eyebrow without moving from the bench where she was leaning.

She wore a light tunic, her brown hair tied in a loose bun. On her lap lay a book of ancient chronicles that she didn't even pretend to be reading. Around her, a subtle peace reigned, broken only by the immense shadow cast by the now-transformed dragon.

Strax took a deep breath and walked over to her. He sat down beside her with a sigh and ran his hands through his hair, still tousled from the transformation.

"How are things?" he asked, his voice hoarse but calm.

"In order," she replied, closing the book gently. "The girls are keeping themselves busy. Cassandra and Kali are testing their limits... perhaps more than they should. The city..." she gestured with her head, indicating beyond the mansion walls, "is slowly being rebuilt. The engineers finished the support pillars earlier today."

Strax nodded, but his eyes were distant.

"I've mapped the entire region to the north, south, and beyond the eastern rift. No trace. No sign of the dragons' escape."

Monica turned slowly to him, analyzing his expression.

"Are you thinking about Caelum?"

"It's already decided," he replied. "Scarlet, Tiamat, and Ouroboros will go with me. Nothing more."

"And are you sure that going with just them is the best thing?" she asked, with calm but firm subtlety. "Leave Cassandra, Kali, Beatrice, Xenovia... all here? You know they'll insist on going, Strax. Especially after everything that's happened lately."

He looked ahead, following with his eyes a bird flying over the horizon, newly cleared by the midday light.

"Precisely because of that," he said. "It's less risky. Scarlet can handle anything now that her body is completely healed. Tiamat knows a lot about dragons, and Ouroboros is unpredictable enough to keep enemies on their toes. As for the others..."

"...they're still getting used to their new bodies," Monica finished, as if she already knew the answer.

Strax didn't respond, just nodded his head.

"Cassandra thinks she's ready, but she still hesitates before unleashing a full blow. Kali... well, she can lift a mountain with her hands, but I doubt she could withstand the impact of real combat in Caelum. There are still gaps in the bonds between them and their new draconic bodies. If they overload now, they may never recover."

Monica slowly crossed her legs, resting her arm on the back of the bench and turning to face him.

"What about you? Will you be able to avoid overloading them? Or will you try to carry everything yourself again?"

Strax laughed with a hint of sarcasm, but did not answer immediately. The wind blew between them, carrying the scent of warm earth and distant ashes.

Then he turned. He looked at her with a softer gaze, as if at that moment he could take off the armor he wore inside.

"Probably not." He smiled sideways. "But you know that if I have to die somewhere... it will be meaningful."

Monica looked at him for a few seconds, then shook her head in a gesture of serene resignation.

"Be careful, then."

Strax approached her, leaning in until their faces were inches apart. The kiss he gave her was light, but full of deep affection—the kind of gesture that only exists between two people who understand each other even in silence.

"I can't promise anything," he whispered, with a lazy smile.

She smiled back, her eyes half-open, and leaned back on the bench again.

"And I didn't expect you to."

The sky was still clear, but there was something in the air—a silent tension, as if the world were holding its breath waiting for what Strax would find in Caelum.

Strax still stared at the sky for long seconds after the kiss, his eyes fixed on some point beyond the blue, where Caelum hovered like an inevitable destination. The breeze passed, carrying the distant scent of newly born vegetation mixed with the subtle smell of magical smoke... And then, a new explosion.

It wasn't the deep, dry sound of rocks being lifted or ice shattering. No. This was different—higher pitched, more disordered. The magical energy rumbled through the air like uneven thunder, and the ground beneath them vibrated subtly.

Strax turned his face toward the courtyard with a weary smile. Another column of earth had risen uncontrollably, this time striking what appeared to be one of the temporary structures that housed the builders' tools. Shards flew everywhere, and immediately afterward, the sound of ice crashing against wood resounded like muffled thunder.

Cassandra and Kali were excited again.

"Hah..." Strax snorted, slowly getting up. "I better stop this training before these two demolish the entire city and the reconstruction goes to hell."

Monica just looked up at him with a restrained smile.

"Good luck. You'll need it."