Demonic Dragon: Harem System

The walk to the Solar Hall was silent, but nothing about it was calm.

The air around Strax still seemed to reverberate with the echoes of the miracle he had performed. Each step sounded muffled, as if the echoes of the world had fallen silent to listen to him pass. Even the soldiers guarding the golden gates of the north hill made way without a word. No orders were given. Only silence and wide eyes.

Cristine and Yennifer walked beside him. Cristine with a frown and her eyes alert for any sign of weakness. Yennifer, completely silent, but with her hands ready to draw any weapon the situation demanded.

The Solar Hall rose up in translucent columns of enchanted glass, sparkling with natural light even at night. It was the ceremonial and political center of Eldoria, and rarely received visitors without warning. That night, however, the doors were open. As if they were already waiting for him.

Inside, a wide staircase led to a half-moon platform. Behind it, golden curtains fluttered slightly in the enchanted breeze that circulated the room. And there, seated on a modest throne, more like an advisor's chair than a royal seat, was the Regent of Eldoria.

He rose slowly when he saw Strax enter.

He was a tall man with a serene bearing, dark skin marked by fine lines of age and wisdom. His pale golden eyes seemed to have seen much pain, but they carried a glimmer of restrained hope. He wore no crown, only a silver chain with a medallion of the Sun of Eldoria hanging over his chest.

"Strax Vorah," he said in a calm, deep voice. "On behalf of Eldoria... thank you."

Strax stopped a few feet away from him. He did not bow, but stood firm, even though the pain was still gnawing at his insides.

"No thanks are necessary, I just did what I had to do."

The Regent smiled with a slight nod of understanding.

"Even so, you have given this city something it had lost: faith. Hope." He gestured with his hand. "Please, sit down. You too, ladies."

Cristine and Yennifer looked at each other before accepting. Strax remained standing.

"I prefer to stay like this." He couldn't sit down; his body was healing, and sitting could affect the blood circulation that managed his body's regeneration.

The Regent nodded. He picked up a small silver object on the table—a rigid sphere marked with ancient runes—and turned it. A magical field rose around the platform: a transparent dome that muffled sound. Absolute privacy.

"I did not request this audience merely to express my gratitude," said the Regent, now in a darker tone. "There is something you need to know. Something you may already have sensed."

Strax narrowed his eyes. The pain in his chest throbbed more intensely. The stretched soul, the vibration he had felt...

"The demons," he said, before the Regent could continue.

The man raised his eyebrows, impressed.

"Three of them. Naturally, they must be three, given the power they displayed. Probably all of them were over a thousand years old."

Cristine leaned forward. "Wait... are you saying that today's attack..."

"...was just a rehearsal," the Regent finished. "The demons manifested themselves. Fragments of them, at least. Probably what we faced... wasn't the whole thing. It was a shadow cast by something bigger. Something that is still preparing itself."

Yennifer crossed her arms. "Did you know this before?"

"No. However, at least I know that Lilith was not behind this incident. Lilith is colossally afraid of Strax's father," he hesitated for a moment, which surprised everyone. "But I don't think this was a coincidence... it was planned."

Strax straightened up, despite the pain. "Planned, huh?"

The Regent nodded slowly at Strax's observation.

"Yes. The attack began brutally, but meticulously. The city's magical defenses were disabled with surgical precision. The Tower of Mages was the first to fall. Not with brute force, but with knowledge... Someone knew exactly where to strike."

Strax clenched his fists. Regeneration was still slowly stitching his muscles together inside, and the slightest movement made his soul protest, but he remained motionless. His mind, however, was spinning like gears under pressure.

"Did you manage to keep records of what you faced?" he asked.

The Regent gestured. A servant in the corner of the room approached, handing him a small grimoire with a burnt cover. It was old, partially restored with preservation spells. He opened it and turned the cover toward Strax. Images had been drawn by surviving mages, depicting three silhouettes of pure darkness—one resembling a hooded priest, another a winged figure with long claws and flaming eyes, and the last... a disfigured figure with curved horns and a body surrounded by a living mist.

"We call them The Three Abyssal, just for identification," said the Regent. "Names? We don't have any. Nor do we have precise origins. Only what was recorded by one of the arcanists before the Tower collapsed." He turned another page. "According to her, the three arrived together, but did not act as a group. Each manifested at a different point in the city, as if testing reactions, measuring local forces."

Cristine scanned the grimoire. "They knew where to strike... and they knew what they wanted. It wasn't a power grab. It was an experiment."

Yennifer frowned. "What were they looking for?"

The Regent lowered his eyes. "We have no idea. After all, nothing was taken."

The silence stretched on for a few seconds. It was Cristine who broke the weight of speculation.

"So they weren't after an artifact. Nor a prisoner. Not even total destruction." She crossed her arms, her eyes sharp. "What does that leave? A message?"

Strax finally looked up from the grimoire. "Or no greater purpose. Maybe they just wanted to remind the world that they exist."

"I find that option difficult to believe. Maybe they're taking precautions?" Cristine commented.

"No, that wouldn't make sense. They attacked a city near the Duchy of Vorah, which means they knew what they were getting into..." Yennifer said and looked at the Regent... "They acted on their own, since the Demon Queen Lilith is afraid of Albert Vorah... the real question is... Why?"