S-Rank Harem: I Became My Character with Extra Control Skill

After verifying with their own eyes that the immense earth dragon had truly died decapitated, a deep collective sigh of relief escaped the girls’ lungs.

Mira’s immense headless body lay motionless on the dark blood-stained snow, marking the end of a battle that had pushed them to the limits of their physical and magical capabilities.

The system’s blue screens finished fading into the cold air, confirming the experience rewards they had obtained for taking down a monster of such an absurd rank.

While Alicia and Karol tried to catch their breath by leaning on each other, Mirian walked a few steps through the snow, shaking the tension from her arms.

The blonde archer approached the group’s assassin for a high-five for the victory, but stopped dead in her tracks, tilting her head with great curiosity.

Mirian narrowed her eyes and stared intently at her demon companion’s hands.

”Hey, Beatrice...” Mirian called out, lowering her bow completely. ”Why are your hands looking so strange?”

Beatrice, who until that moment remained focused on evaluating the perimeter out of pure spy habit, seemed not to have noticed her own condition.

The black-haired demon raised both hands to face level and widened her eyes in surprise.

Her hands, from her fingertips to just above her wrists, were completely covered in what appeared to be a deep, dark aura.

It was not simple smoke or magical fog. It was a darkness so dense and pure that it seemed to absorb the scarce light around it, behaving like a liquid shadow clinging to her living skin.

Mirian looked at her with indisputable astonishment, taking a step back on instinct before the heavy, unsettling energy emanating from that darkness.

”This is...” Beatrice murmured, unable to find the right words to describe what she felt upon seeing that magic.

Karol, hearing the commotion, quickly approached with her staff in hand.

The blue-haired mage leaned forward, analyzing the strange shadowy substance very closely with her sharp eyes expert in the flow of mana.

”It is the elemental manifestation of darkness, is it not?” Karol said with a voice laden with astonishment and fascination. ”This is the legendary Demon King Factor.”

Karol straightened up and looked Beatrice in the eyes. ”I really cannot believe you have it.”

Alicia, who had just returned to her normal human form, approached alongside Mirian.

”Demon King Factor?” Alicia and Mirian asked in unison, looking completely lost at the unusual term.

Beatrice moved her hands, opening and closing her fingers, trying to dispel the dark aura from her skin as if it were simple dust.

But the dense darkness did not disappear. It moved in perfect synchrony with her, reacting to her deepest will.

”This is extremely strange,” Beatrice commented, frowning as she examined her own magic.

”I feel as if this darkness were a natural extension of my own fingers, as if it had always been a part of me. I had studied a lot about this. But I did not imagine it feeling this warm...”

”This truly is a surprise,” Karol said, smiling with great excitement.

”But what exactly does all this mean? I still do not understand anything,” Mirian asked, scratching her head impatiently.

Karol placed her hand on her chin, thinking for a few seconds about the most appropriate words to explain such a complex and ancient concept to her combat companions.

”It means, in simple terms, that Beatrice is a candidate to become a Demon King,” Karol explained with total seriousness, letting the weight of her words fall upon the group.

The cold wind blew, but none of the girls moved.

”The youngest demon currently existing in the world capable of manifesting the element of physical darkness is precisely one of the demon king Rohan’s children. And as we know, Beatrice originally comes from those same lands. Talent certainly abounds over there.”

Karol took a step forward, closing the distance with the surprised assassin, and placed both hands on her shoulders in a very friendly manner.

”It is a good thing you are on our side now and are loyal to Ryan,” Karol said, letting out a small laugh of relief.

”I honestly cannot even imagine the massive problems it would be for us to have to deal with more enemy demon kings in the future.”

”Eh? Wait a moment, stop right there,” Mirian intervened, her eyes wide open.

”Did Beatrice really just become a Demon King?” Mirian asked with genuine astonishment and a bit of panic.

”No, of course I did not become a king overnight, dummy,” Beatrice grumbled, rolling her eyes at the blonde archer’s absurd conclusion.

”Let’s see, let me explain it better, demonic politics is not that simple,” Karol clarified, taking the floor as the group’s magic instructor.

”Having this dark aura means that, in the distant future, she might be able to reach that level. I mean, besides the other natural elements like fire, water, or earth, there is the primordial element of darkness. That is exactly the same destructive element used by the first and original Demon King thousands of years ago.”

Karol pointed at Beatrice’s shadowy hands. ”But developing darkness is a very, very rare talent. For that very reason, those who manage to possess it or awaken it are usually considered completely fit to be kings. In fact, ancient rules dictate that only they can claim that title.”

”Alright, I heard you, but now I understand even less about how that works in a fight,” Mirian questioned, crossing her arms, failing to grasp the aura’s tactical utility.

”Let me explain it in a practical way. I used this same analogy with Ryan before when I met him,” Beatrice intervened, taking control of the explanation with her usual serene tone.

”Watch very closely.”

Beatrice focused her mana. In a matter of a second, she created five small spheres of pure fire floating right above the palm of her right hand.

Those burning little orange balls orbited over her skin like tiny suns, illuminating her companions’ faces in the middle of the plaza.

”Place your hand near the spheres, Mirian,” Beatrice ordered.

Mirian hesitated for a moment, but slowly brought her hand close to the floating fire.

”It burns a lot,” Mirian said, quickly withdrawing her hand upon feeling the intense heat burning her skin.

”Yes, that is normal under the rules of elemental manifestation,” Beatrice explained with total calm. ”Even I myself feel its heat, and I would severely burn my hand if the fire were to touch my skin. But...”