Demonic Dragon: Harem System

The corridors of the elves' palace were long, carved from greenish marble with golden veins that pulsed gently with ancient mana. Enchanted vines flowed down the columns as if they breathed with the palace itself, and tall stained glass windows let the sunlight in in prismatic beams, coloring the floor with soft hues.

Strax walked with firm steps, his cloak swaying behind him like a living shadow. Even there, in one of the most sacred places in ancient elven civilization, his presence stood out - a dragon in a man's body, carrying an aura that made the walls whisper stories to the echoes.

He wasn't there to revere anyone.

He was behind Frieren and Evelyn.

At the end of the corridor, a living wooden door pulsed slowly as if it had a heart of its own. Tall, imposing, with carvings in ancient elven that danced in the light, it indicated the entrance to one of the most protected halls in the kingdom.

Strax approached, but was stopped before he could take the final step.

Two elven knights crossed their spears in front of the door, their golden eyes gleaming steadily. Their armor shone like liquid silver, adorned with golden leaves and runes that denoted decades - perhaps centuries - of training.

"Entry forbidden." said the first guard, her voice as firm and serene as the surface of a windless lake.

"A royal meeting is taking place. Between the former queen and the current queen," added the second, her golden eyes fixed on Strax's without a trace of hesitation.

Strax stopped, without an aggressive gesture, but there was something in his posture that made it clear: he was not someone who dealt well with unnecessary obstructions.

For a brief moment, the runner seemed to hold his breath.

Then he spoke, his voice coming out low, slurred, almost polite - but carried with an ancient weight that made the living wood of the walls creak discreetly.

"Get Frieren and Evelyn. Now."

The two guards kept their spears crossed. And that's when he lost patience.

Strax took a step forward. Just one. But his aura released like an invisible wave, hot and dense like the breath of a volcano in contained eruption. The air around him crackled. The runes on the walls flickered. The enchanted flowers that adorned the ceiling dried up instantly.

The knights took a step back, instinctively - their lungs failing them for a moment, their eyes going wide as Strax's mana enveloped their bodies like an invisible, crushing hand.

"I don't have time to be treated like a trespasser every time I set foot in this realm." he said, his voice now low, but cutting like cold steel. "I'm being polite for the last time."

The two fell to their knees, trying to breathe, their spears rattling in their hands. Even protected by elven enchantments, they weren't prepared for the weight of a draconic will unleashed without filters.

That's when the door opened by itself with a deafening bang, as if the palace itself had decided to intervene.

"Don't blame them, Strax," said Frieren from inside the room, his voice soft but firm.

Strax's aura immediately retracted, like a storm obeying a divine command. The two guards gasped, breaking out in a cold sweat, but alive.

"They were just following protocol," added Frieren, appearing at the entrance with his cloak floating like mist.

Strax raised an eyebrow. "Protocol doesn't hold up in the face of a bigger problem."

Frieren sighed, giving him room to enter. Evelyn was already watching him inside with a half-smile and eyes bright with anticipation.

"Come on. We have bodies to create." said Evelyn, crossing her arms with a half smile. "That's what you wanted, right?"

Strax just nodded and walked forward, past the two guards still kneeling, ignoring them completely.

As he entered the throne room, he was met with a disconcerting emptiness. No court, no council, no symbol of pomp or royalty - just the great throne carved from living crystal in the center of the silent chamber, where Frieren and Evelyn awaited him.

The soft light filtering through the enchanted windows seemed to amplify the absence of movement, as if time itself was waiting for his decision.

Evelyn walked over to the throne and let herself fall back with a weary sigh, crossing one leg over the other. Her eyes, now darker, stared at him with a mixture of challenge and curiosity.

"So... what's it going to be this time?" he asked, resting his chin on his hand. "You've already made me bring two dragons. And now you want more?"

She laughed softly, without humor.

"My energy isn't infinite, Strax. Creating perfect receptacles for entities of that level... is starting to take its toll on me."

Strax didn't reply immediately. He took a few more steps, the echo of his boots filling the emptiness of the room, and then stopped, staring at the throne as if he were in front of an altar.

"Two? No." Strax corrected with a subtle arch of his eyebrow and a half-smile. "Now it's a dragon... and a succubus."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a half-embarrassed, half-amused smile.

"It wasn't enough to turn my mother into a succubus... now you want another one?" she said, trying to sound casual, but the blush on her cheeks betrayed her.

Strax replied with the typical calmness of someone who gets a kick out of other people's discomfort.

"Oh, no. I've never even touched that one." he said, with an almost innocent tone. "I just want to see what it's like in person. Pure curiosity."

Frieren, until then silent, gave him an icy stare, sharp as an elven blade.

"You've never touched me either." she said, her voice firm, but with a tension that was hard to disguise.

Her body reacted despite her anger - a slight tingling between her legs that irritated her deeply. "That bastard... he teases like he's in a game."

Strax just glanced around, unhurriedly, and let out a teasing smile.

"Ah... it is." The silence that followed seemed denser than it should have been.

Evelyn let out a soft sigh, crossing her legs as she leaned on the arm of the throne, her gaze fixed on Strax with a mixture of pragmatism and provocation.

"Before you start ordering me around like I'm your personal summoner..." she said, her voice slurred and sharp like a silver dagger "...I need to remind you of something."

Strax raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. It was clear that she wasn't finished yet.

"I can work with natural spirits, arcane spirits, even some elemental spirits." she continued, gesturing slightly with one hand, causing small particles of mana to swirl in the air like golden dust "But demonic spirits? That's your area, not mine."

She then uncrossed her legs, leaning forward slightly with her eyes locked on his.

"You'll have to do the ritual yourself. I can teach you the process, but I can't conduct the energy. It's not compatible with my soul."

Strax remained silent for a moment, analyzing. He had expected some kind of limitation - Evelyn was powerful, but she was also a sorceress with elven blood. The kind of mana he manipulated... that was another story.

"So you're going to teach me?"

Evelyn gave a slight smile, one corner of her mouth curving up with a hint of amusement.

"Of course. It'll be fun watching you sweat it out with a transmutation circle and unstable runes for the first time." she said with a challenging tone "And look... if you get it wrong, you could blow up half the palace."

"Good. I was getting bored with these walls." Strax replied with a nonchalant smile.

"Typical." muttered Frieren, still at the back of the room with her arms crossed. She tried to keep her face impassive, but the exchange of barbs between the two made her visibly irritated - or perhaps uncomfortable for more? internal reasons.

"I'll need three receptacles," said Strax, returning to objectivity. "One for Kallamus and one for Lithara."

'I'll look after Nyx when I get back to Vorah...'