Demonic Dragon: Harem System

Strax stepped forward, his eyebrows furrowed tightly, his hand instinctively reaching for Apocalypse's head, which was panting after running so hard.

"Calm down, girl. Breathe." His voice was firm but low, an anchor in the midst of panic. He rested a hand on her head, stroking it and feeling the tremor.

His gaze rose and met Mercedes's. "Speak slowly. Tell me what happened in Eldoria."

Mercedes swallowed hard, drawing in a sharp breath, and nodded. The sweat on her forehead mingled with small splatters of dried blood. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before speaking:

"Eldoria... was attacked. Three demons. They came from the north, still unexplained. No one sensed them coming until they were already inside the walls. Fast. Powerful."

Strax narrowed his eyes. "Demons...?"

[They are not from the underworld.]

Hades' message appeared quickly, 'So they are from the nation of demons...'.

Mercedes shook her head, trembling. "I don't know. One of them had skin made of cracked glass, reflecting everything around it... the other, a woman, floated and spoke in tongues that bent the air. The third... just walked. And everything around him died."

Scarlet, now serious as an omen, crossed her arms. "High-ranking demons... Probably Royal Guards. Demons aren't that strong."

"And Yennifer?" Strax asked, that was what mattered now... Cristine's sister.

"She was in Eldoria finishing what Rogue asked her to do... Destroy that shadow guild that they both served..." She paused briefly, "When the demons appeared, she stayed behind with a group we formed with those who wanted to serve us..." She sighed, "All 120 men died almost immediately... so she sent the civilians away, holding them back alone when the mages' shields failed." Mercedes paused, her eyes now moist.

"I... arrived too late. I found her lying next to the fountain, blood in her ears. Her aura was... unstable. As if her core was collapsing."

Strax cursed under his breath. His fist clenched. Scarlet, beside him, was already mentally reciting coordinates and transport spells.

"Is she alive?" he asked again, more firmly.

Mercedes nodded. "Yes. But barely. We brought her back. She's in the Temple of Thal-Vor, the clerics of Lumen are trying to stabilize her core, but... they say that if the bond between her and the mana itself breaks completely, there won't even be a body left."

The silence that followed was heavy as stone.

Strax did not hesitate. "Apocalypse, rest," he said, stroking the mare's head, and turned his face in one direction. "CRISTINE!" He shouted so loudly that all of Vorah heard him.

The earth seemed to hold its breath after Strax's cry. For a moment, everything in Vorah fell silent—the birds fell silent, the wind ceased. And then, a sound cut through the air.

Footsteps. Fast. Determined.

Cristine came running from the west tower, where she was training the recruits. Her battle cloak billowed like a living shadow behind her, and her eyes—fierce and alert—scanned everything around her until they landed on Strax.

"Strax? What is it?!" Her voice was sharp, breathless from running, but ready. Always ready.

He stared at her for a second, saying nothing. His silence hurt more than words. Then he just took a step forward.

"It's Yennifer."

Cristine stopped.

It was as if time had split in two.

Her eyes lost focus for an instant—just an instant—but it was enough to reveal the impact. Her left hand trembled slightly before clenching into a fist. She advanced toward Mercedes in the blink of an eye.

"What happened to her?" It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

Mercedes hesitated, guilt dripping down her dirty face. She repeated her answer, almost like a lament: "Three demons... High Rank. They attacked Eldoria. Yennifer stayed behind to protect the civilians. Alone. She's alive... but her core has collapsed. She's in the Temple of Thal-Vor. The clerics say that—"

Cristine was already turning away before the sentence was finished.

"Then why are we standing here?" she growled, already activating the displacement circle attached to the chain on her wrist. "Let's go."

Strax grabbed her arm before she could complete the gesture.

"Wait. We can't go in like this. If her mana bond is unstable, any intense magical presence could aggravate the rupture."

Cristine slowly turned her face, her gaze like molten iron. "She's my sister."

"I know," Strax said, firm but with visible pain in his eyes. "But if we go in the wrong way, we could kill her before we even get close."

Scarlet approached, her voice calm. "Dragon mana doesn't cause distortions or anything like that, you can go ahead. Just put a layer of mana over Cristine and everything will be fine."

Cristine nodded. But her eyes... wouldn't leave the ground. The dried blood on Mercedes' boots. Her sister's name echoing in her mind.

"If she dies..." Her voice faltered for a second. But then it returned, like tempered steel. "If she dies, I swear by Lumen that I will burn every damn demon throne until there's not a brick left. Not one."

"Relax," Strax said in a softer voice than usual, taking one last look at Apocalypse before turning to Mercedes. "It's not your fault. You did what you could. Now rest... and give Apocalypse some carrots. I entrusted her to you—so take good care of her."

Mercedes nodded silently, her eyes downcast, but there was a small glimmer of relief there—the kind that only comes when a huge weight is shared, even if only for a moment.

Strax then turned and approached Cristine, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

"She's still alive." That was all he said, but the strength contained in those words held more than promises — it held hope.

Cristine didn't respond. She just kept her eyes fixed on the horizon, where the sun was beginning to dip into the shadows of the smoke.

Strax took a step back. "Lumen is twenty-five minutes from Vorah on horseback... northeast. But with my speed..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

With a powerful leap, his body rose, and in midair, the transformation was almost instantaneous: black scales with steel reflections covered his body like a storm taking shape. His wings spread, immense, and the impact of the air currents made the dust dance around him.

Strax, the Dragon of Vorah, hovered for a moment—an imposing shadow among the clouds.

"We'll be there in three," he roared, his deep voice reverberating through the soul of the listener.

Then he lowered himself, one of his wings unfolding gently like a living bridge, each membrane as stiff as steel and as flexible as silk. A clear gesture.

"Are you coming?"

Cristine looked at the creature before her—not with fear, but with the same familiarity one might look at an old ally. Without hesitation, she climbed onto the wing, her steps quick and sure, and settled herself on the dragon's back, her fingers gripping the base of the scales.

"We'll bring her back," she murmured, almost to herself.