The dragon's harem

After just an hour of testing, Arad managed to shapeshift into a titanic form of his humanoid body without using size magic. It wasn’t that hard, just the same as before, but bigger, larger, denser and stronger.

Malina looked at Arad for a long time, inspecting his body and power. He was far more of an immense existence than she had ever expected. If she had known of his power before approaching him, she would’ve most likely backed away and left, trying to get out of his way. There was no way a drakaina like her had any chance with him. She was just far too weak compared to him.

But here she is now, wondering how she managed to secure a chance with him.

Arad’s powerful body oozed more magic than she ever thought was allowed to exist.

“And they wanted me to kill you. That was a fool’s errand. Even if I managed to strike you with my best attacks, I doubt you’ll die.” She shook her head, and Arad smiled, “How much damage can you do to me?”

“I would probably blow a hole in your chest with enough preparation, but you should be able to regenerate from it.” She lifted her head, “I might not have that much raw power, but I’ve got one deadly attack that I can use.”

Arad remained silent for a while and nodded, “Indeed, I’ve been defeated by many strange things, like an arrow from one of my wives. She technically managed to kill me.”

Malina froze. One of Arad’s wives could kill him. That looked like a mere fantasy.

“She killed you?”

Arad laughed, “We’ll, she did. But I doubt she could do it now. I’ve grown much stronger. But another of my wives could still kill me now and with ease.”

Malina burst laughing, “You must be joking! What could harm you? You’re basically stronger than most lesser gods. Are you, by any chance, married to Amaterasu or something?”

Arad nodded, “Yeah, The Demonic Goddess of Destruction, Kali.”

The conversation died there. Malina’s mind halted, and her mouth froze, unable to process the fact that Arad wasn’t lying. Kali wasn’t an evil goddess, so the metallic dragons didn’t have a problem with her, but her power was nothing but terrifying. What could be more destructive than destruction incarnate?

“Kali? The Goddess of Orphans and Destruction?” Malina gasped and her mouth opened and closed on its own, as if she was trying to say something, but the thoughts kept leaving her tongue.

“Wait! How is that possible? Is that goddess taking on husbands now? I’m sure Bahamut would have informed us of such a drastic change in the balance of the world.”

Arad lifted an eyebrow, “What husbands? She is one of my wives now, like Claug and the others.”

Malina looked down with a pale face, “So even if someone managed, and with a big miracle, to push you to death’s door, Kali would come flying with enough malice to burn the whole world to ash.”

“She already destroyed it once.” Arad replied and Malina couldn’t keep up anymore.

“I give up. If Kali is your wife, I can understand why Tyal is just a concubine, in fact, I’m surprised she isn’t just a lowly consort.” She looked at Arad for a long while and then smiled.

“The fight between us, can we put it on hold for now?” She shook her head, “I thought you’d be as strong as greatwyrm. If that was the case, then I would’ve still lost to you, but not before leaving a massive and painful wound that would earn me some respect. But now, I bet that fight would be just embarrassing for me.”

Arad leaned forward, “It’s not about strength. It’s about trying your best.”

Soon, the two flew back to the Storm Titan’s capital and Malina was still in shock from the new revelations.

Arad was far stronger than she had ever expected, his wives were just as dangerously powerful, and her existence among them wouldn’t be as high as she expected.

As they landed inside the guest room, Claug looked at them and smiled. “You’re back?”

Arad nodded and stretched his arms. He wasn’t used to this Titan body yet. Enlarging a human body with size magic was one thing, and having this body is a whole different experience. He felt heavier, stronger, and denser.

Claug approached Malina and sniffed her. It looked weird, but neither Arad nor Malina were bothered because they knew what Claug was doing, they were both dragons.

“I guess you two didn’t do anything, what a disappointment. I was ready to start some drama over it.” She shrugged with a disappointed sigh.

“You really want us to fight?” Malina glared at her and Claug smiled, “Why not? A bit of tension is always good, keep us competitive.”

Malina looked at Arad with a troubled face. “Arad, what is her problem?”

“Claug spied on many nobles, watching their lives through the years. She finds royal drama and intrigue quite entertaining.” He approached the bed and dropped on it beside Alice.

“You two are a chromatic and a metallic drakainas, your kinds are at war with centuries of blood feud and hatred. She wants a bit of interesting back-and-forth game of wits.” Arad shook his head, “You can play along with her if you want, but keep one thing in mind.”

Claug smiled in the back, “To not take things too far, and to always remember to stop when you order us to.”

Malina smiled, “So you can say sensible things as well.”

Arad closed his eyes as the two kept arguing, and he shifted some of his attention back to the castle at Alina. His vampire paladins have returned with interesting results.

Tens of groups had managed to eliminate several demonic cults, and almost all of the paladins survived without getting badly injured. Now, they all lined up on a massive hill far away from the castle as Arad looked at them.

Bloodied hair, dented armor, and several injured vampire nuns. Even with their powerful regeneration, the demonic hoards seem to have managed to leave quite the scars on his followers. Usually, Zia would be the one delivering a speech to bolster their morale, but now that she still sleeps, Arad was the one to take on that role.

The vampire nuns and paladins couldn’t believe that their Blood Lord himself was the one standing before them.