The dragon's harem

Kali looked at Isabelle for a few long seconds, frowned, and then sighed, “I honestly don’t know. She isn’t harmful, but she is dangerous like everyone else is.”

Isabelle smiled, “I won’t bite your faces off, but I’m prone to go off on my own and cause trouble.” She looked at the window with a longing smile, “I did once try to go out and build a whole universe for the abominations and failed. Everyone wanted to just eradicate the abominations, but I wanted to find a way to save them.” She sighed, “Now I only see myself as foolish. They destroyed many universes before, whole worlds built by beings far smarter and more capable than I ever could be. Why did I think I could do it at the time? Even I can’t guess what I was thinking.”

Arad looked at her, sat down, and sighed, “Once before said that someone can be their life’s protagonist, but they aren’t always the hero of their stories. Even if someone or something out there can save them, it wasn’t you, so you can’t blame yourself for failing.”

“You know what’s funny? AO once told me the same thing. That I’m not their hero. He told me that I couldn’t rob Nyar of his role.” She looked at Arad with a smile, “He fights for his people, bringing them survival at the expense of everyone else. To his people, he is a Hero. To us, he is the villain. We’re the same, fighting for survival, and Nyar to us the villain just like we’re villains to him.”

Arad leaned back and looked at the ceiling, “So what? You now want to ask me if I’ll help the abominations if I could? I’ll answer before you even ask. No, the universe comes first. Its people are my priority. AO was right. The abominations are Nyar’s problem, not ours. You tried and failed, and I won’t be repeating the same mistake.”

Isabelle had wished for a different answer, but nothing seemed to have changed. It was the same. The abominations’ track record of ruining everything they came into contact with had cost them all patience from everyone else. No one cares to give them a moment of consideration. Arad might’ve already killed her if Kali wasn’t here vouching for her.

“Fine, I’ve got the gist of everything.” Isabelle looked at Kali, “I want to help, but my abilities are quite limited without my full power. Thanks to you, over a thousand of my fragments are lost around the universe, some dormant, some alive and kicking.” She jumped from her chair and landed in front of Arad.

“A new side-quest for you. Find them all, or at least a hundred, since when you gather that much, I would be powerful enough to sense the location of the missing parts.”

This was Arad’s plan all along, to find creation since Kali thinks the power of the primordial portfolios is necessary to win the war. But since he isn’t the one asking, he should be able to push for something in exchange.

“So? You’d get your power back. What do I get from doing all that work?”

She smiled, giggled, and then looked back at Kali, “Well, if me being all lovey-dovey doesn’t seem to be worth it, so how about I tell you that my power can help you master creation through your void, it can also help fully realize a world to rule?” She flicked her fingers, and her whole body started glowing.

In the blink of an eye, she turned into a large sledgehammer and landed in Arad’s hand, “Technically, both I and Kali are extensions of AO’s power. We’re his weapon and tool. I’m his hammer of creation, and Kali is his spear of destruction.” A voice boomed from the hammer.

Arad swung the hammer. It was heavy, weighing at least several tons, and consumed too much mana to wield, but with a single swing, he was able to morph his mana into anything that he was imagining. What floated in front of him was a block of steel.

“I just looked at the hammer’s head, thought it was made of a block of steel, and a block of steel appeared when I swung the hammer.” He scratched the back of his head, and Isabelle shifted back to her humanoid form. She laid on his massive arm, wrapping her legs and arms around him like she was sitting on the branch of a great tree.

She smiled, “Well, the more fragments you find, the stronger I’ll become, meaning the lighter I can make this hammer form, the lower the mana cost is, and the larger the objects it can create. Get me to my full power, and I’ll be able to forge a world in six days. But even you’ll have to rest after.”

Arad looked at her, “Can you create a living body? For her.” He pointed at Doma, “Well, it took AO centuries to make his first living being, even more to perfect them.”

“So no.” He sighed, and she kicked him in the face. “I didn’t say you couldn’t. You’ll live long enough to make it happen.” She could see the Pricolici blood boiling inside his veins. He won’t be dying of old age.

She jumped from Arad’s arm and landed behind him, looking at Aella and Mira, who stood there, watching everything unfold in silence.

“Don’t you two have anything to say? You’ve been silent this whole time.” Her gaze stopped at Aella, who stood in the front.

“Kali is a goddess. She knows what she is doing. If she didn’t make any move, then I don’t have any reason to act.” Aella looked at her with a smile and then shifted her gaze to Kali, “Isn’t that right? Or should I worry about her?”

Kali shook her head, “No, you don’t need to worry about her. I’ll make sure she understands everything.” She approached Isabelle and wrapped an arm around her neck. “See this elf? Her name is Aella, Arad’s first wife. That only means she came first. All the wives are equal unless the situation forces one to rise above the others. Like, here, while we’re dealing with you, my word as a goddess trumps hers in this specific situation.”

“Your point?” Isabelle lifted an eyebrow.

“You’re smart enough to read the situations on your own. Don’t put yourself above everyone else, or you’ll regret it.” She then looked at Arad. “Don’t chew more than you can bite.”

Mira looked at Isabelle for a few seconds, “Are we really taking her in?”

Kali grabbed Isabelle, “Look! It’s happening. If it was Aella rejecting you, I’d say put her in an embarrassing or a difficult situation, and she’ll give in, like trying to kiss her toes, and she’ll just run away and accept you. But this is Mira. You have to find another way to impress her. Show me what that brain of yours can do.”

Isabelle looked at Mira, and then her body flashed with light. In the blink of an eye, she was in the form of a smaller hammer in Mira’s hand, “Omnitool, I can do anything from hammering nails to cutting wood or forging steel. You can’t create things from nothing but mana like Arad, but as long as you have the basic material, I’ll make it happen.”