The dragon's harem

Later at night, Arad and Jack were going toward Croc’s city. They wanted to grab a drink before ending the day; Arad just like the taste, while Jack really needed something to stop his head from constantly trying to think of a way to draw more eclipse power.

Arad had some surprising information for Jack today, one that he got directly from Lunara, who was now on the moon, living with her moon rabbits.

“Did you know? Half of the moon is always drawn in light from the sun, while the other half is consumed by shadows and darkness.” Arad sat at the bar, and so did Jack beside him.

“And when there is an eclipse, the moon stands between us and the sun, that’s why we’re faced by the dark side.”

Jack thought about it for a while; he already guessed as much. What he needs is direct knowledge on how to control and use the eclipse power, not how the eclipse phenomenon happens.

But then, it clicked in his mind. Amaterasu is a duality god, both evil and good simultaneously. The moon blots out the sun to conjure the eclipse. It masks her radiance from the world. Couldn’t he do the same?

Of course, he can’t, he isn’t as big as the moon. Then what light is he supposed to bloat out? And it was then that it dawned on him, Lydia.

Tsukuyomi blotted his sister’s light to express the eclipse’s influence on the world. People feared it, thinking that it was the herald of doom and the end of the world. Some even thought that the sun got destroyed by it, but that was all just a trick, a sneaky way to sow fear. It was a rogue’s subterfuge.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be fighting against Lydia to find out, but fighting alongside her to get an idea.” He stood, gulped down his massive mug of beer, and cried. “Sorry, Arad. I have to go.”

The bartender looked at Jack speeding away and sighed. “What’s wrong with him? He didn’t even pay.”

“Who knows? He is smarter than you and me.” Arad sipped his mug of black beer, “I’ll pay for him to don’t mind him.”

Arad then looked at his mug, “Drinking alone is boring.” He finished the mug and paid for everything before leaving.

The battle at the Storm Titan’s chasm was still raging on. Gale finally managed to join the fight, but he didn’t seem to have a greater impact than a slightly larger soldier. The king’s power might’ve looked bigger, but the presence of Arad and his wives masked everything.

“Arad.” When someone called him, Arad stopped and looked back. Selica stood there with a basket in her hands. “My lady calls you.” She approached him and gave him a gentle bow. Coupled with her slightly fancy red purple dress, she looked like the daughter of a low-ranking noble heading to some party.

Of course, the beautiful and gentle-looking smile didn’t deceive Arad; he knew exactly what kind of powerhouse Selica was. Taking him out of the picture, she is probably the strongest boxer in the whole city now.

Arad can remember when Jack had to kill a whole gang of goons to save her from getting ambushed and kidnapped, but now, he is more afraid of the goons’ lives than her safety.

“Sena? And, no wonder they didn’t have any elvish Lemon wine or dwarven firewine. How many bottles did you get?” He looked at the heavy basket in her hand.

“Five bottles each, their supply for the weekend. Lady Sena loves her drinks a lot, even though she can’t get drunk.” She smiled, “But what are you doing here?” Her eyes shifted to the bar, “I would’ve said that drinking too much is bad, but knowing you and Mistress, I can’t really tell you off. None of you can get drunk anyway.”

“Speaking of Sena, how is that thing going?”

Selica shrugged, “Mistress contacted her mother and pulled some strings here and there. Just keep in mind, she and her mother don’t get along that well, even if they aren’t on bad terms.” She approached Arad and tried to whisper in his ear, but he was a bit too tall, so she pulled his head down first.

“You’ll still have to make your way to the succubus kingdom in the abyss on your own, or with the help of a shadow dragon or drakaina. But at least Lady Sena managed to make sure that Mira would get treatment when she is there.” She looked around to make sure that no one was around.

“There is one problem, the one who promised to be there wasn’t Gracie, the mother of all life. But it was Gracie, Death itself.”

Arad’s eyes opened wide, “Are you saying that I’m taking Mira to the grim reaper?”

“The goal of all life is death.” Selica shrugged, “Death should be able to make sure neither Mira nor the child dies simply by not taking their lives.” She started walking, prompting Arad to follow her.

“Do you know what Death is like?” Selica asked, and Arad nodded.

“Heard about her in hell. Death is an emotionless maid with knives coming out of the sole of her shoes.”

Selica looked back at him with a confused face. “That is indeed death, but I wasn’t talking about how she looks. I meant how she thinks and acts.”

“That I don’t know, except that she is emotionless,” Arad replied, and Selica shook her head.

“Even death has emotions, it’s just that she can’t show them on her face. Death likes sweet things, cooking, cleaning, and anything having to do with normal housework. It takes her mind away from the constant death and killing. That’s why she poses as a maid.” She shrugged. “I don’t agree with her, but I kinda get it.”

She looked toward the cemetery, “Not just fighters die, old, young, men, women, animals, some die fairly, some die of old age, and some die horrible deaths of pure suffering and misery. Death has to watch all of that, she is the one reaping their souls.”

She remained silent for a while. “I’ve just heard news of a kid who died last week. He went swimming in the swamp and drowned in the mud. It was a slow and painful way to go. I’m sure that death was there to take his soul. Such a thing would take its toll on anyone, even Death herself.”

“So you mean?”

“Death might be quite sensitive. Try not to be rude to her or make any weird comments. The reason she agreed to help is probably because she doesn’t want to see Mira and her child die.”