The dragon's harem

The vines froze and shattered into splinters of ice and pale mist. His clothes were riddled with holes, but none of the needles managed to punch through his scales. Even if they were created by magic, those needles were nothing better than mundane ones.

The fighter smiled, staring at Gojo’s face. She could see them, two cat-like eyes glaring back at her. They were blue in color, but held a purple spark in the center, burning like a flame.

“I see, a dragon kind.” She took a step forward, dropping her sword. The blade was expensive, so she didn’t want to damage it. Those with a draconic bloodline were known to have skin as hard as stone; slashing and piercing attacks would rarely work against them.

She punched her fists together, making her gauntlets clank. The only option against hard scales is bludgeoning damage.

Gojo noticed her wanting a fist fight, so he approached with a grin on his face.

“You two, stay out of it. I’ll handle him.” The fighter licked her lips. “Come on, dragon boy. Should’ve told us earlier. We wouldn’t have fought.” She approached Gojo, and the two of them stood a foot away from each other.

The fighter woman was tall, matching Gojo in height, but unlike him, she wore heavy armor from the neck down, making her look wider and stronger. Her hair was dark brown, her eyes deep black, and a wide smile covered her face.

“Come on, hit me.” If there is one thing she is confident in, it is her strength and durability. On top of it all, she wore armor. All she needed to do was taunt Gojo and allow the others to sneak attack from the back.

Those with draconic bloodlines were known for being arrogant. So all she had to do was stroke his ego once. “Fist to fist, no magic. Show me what you got.”

Vars, who was in the back, finally spoke. “Gojo, don’t strip her down. She just wants a fight. And you, fighter. Don’t challenge him to a fight like that; he’ll think you’re hitting on him.” He pointed at Gug with his thumb. “Told you before, ask her.”

Gug gave the fighter a thumbs up and smiled.

“Do it!”

It was strange that Vars and Gug didn’t join the fight, but Liliana and her companions won’t press them. If they want to watch, they can. As long as they don’t get in the way.

The fighter laughed. “If he can strip me, then so be it. This armor needs five people to pull its straps off.” She knocked on her chest. “Heaviest gear in the city.”

Her eyes shifted, glaring at Gojo with malice. “Not that I would ever let him.”

Her fist flew like a meteor, smacking Gojo on the face hard enough to cause a shockwave and send a splash of blood flying at the wall. The wooden floor beneath Gojo’s feet cracked, and his head jolted to the side. But he didn’t budge.

Spitting the blood off, he spun his upper torso, throwing a right hook at the fighter’s face, painting the other wall red with blood. She gasped, her head rocking to the side as she stumbled, taking a single step to the side. She then spat out a tooth with shocked face.

“Going for a lady’s face, you ill-mannered goon.” She spun her torso, throwing another punch at Gojo’s face, causing the whole tavern to shake.

Right then, Gojo swung again, and the two started punching each other in the face, over and over, to the point it made everyone in the tavern shiver and take a step back.

Neither Gojo nor the fighter backed down or aimed for anything but the face. She was going for the head in the hope of disorienting him enough to get caught by Liliana’s trap or Mila’s magic. Gojo, on the other hand, just played along.

After just ten seconds, the fighter shook, stumbled back, and groaned, blood seeping out of her mouth and ears. Her entire face was pummeled into a pulp. She couldn’t see how Gojo’s face looked because her eyes were already inflamed and blackened, but she hoped he was at least as hurt as her.

Gojo wasn’t spared the damage as well; he was bleeding from his mouth, slightly bruised, and looking a bit rough, but that was it. All dragons actively use their head in fights to bite or ram their opponents, so their faces were far more durable than anyone could expect.

He swayed for a moment, then wiped the blood from his lips. “I win.”

As the fighter was about to fall, the rogue jumped in, grabbed her, and bolted away. It was time, and the entire tavern fell silent. A ball of green smoke flew in and exploded near Gojo’s face, engulfing him in a toxic cloud. At the same time, countless demonic symbols appeared on the floor, walls, and pillars of the tavern, shining with abyssal power.

Those demonic symbols turned into chains, and they all flew at Gojo to bind him. Mila fell on her knees, drained to the bones. That toxic cloud was her most powerful poison magic; anyone inside it would be paralyzed. She had once used it to bind a cursed Red-Python the size of a small house.

Liliana’s demonic symbols were simple in nature; they seal an area and bind anyone inside, making them weaker and more vulnerable to status effects and damage in general. Since it wasn’t a direct attack, defenses can’t block it. With this combination, Gojo should fall, or so they thought.

Liliana’s vision blurred for a second, and she felt a sharp pain radiate through her back. Her face hit the floor with enough force to punch through, and her legs jolted back, freezing in place. What had happened, she didn’t know, but one thing was clear: her spine was shattered.

The mage, Mila, started gasping for air, crying. Gojo was in the middle of their trap, but the second they activated it, he appeared behind Liliana and knocked her down. That wasn’t teleportation magic; he is moving through space at will.

“What?!” The rogue, who was treating the fighter’s wounds cried out, shocked to see Liliana fall like that. “He is supposed to be dead!”

But in the next second, and before they could keep fighting, the door of the tavern was kicked open and the guards rushed in. What they found was a tattered mess, with no one to answer for it.

Vars sighed. “Shit luck. That’s why I hate humans. Look at this mess.” He was sitting on a boulder, Gug was beside him, staring at the clouds with an aloof face.

Gojo was standing in the middle of the grass field, and the four girls were piled in front of him like corpses.

Vars had teleported them away before they could get in trouble.

Gojo sighed. Things have turned messy quite quickly, maybe he should’ve been a bit more careful… but why would he? It won’t be as fun, besides, he found an interesting girl. He glared at the mage girl, Mila, with a hungry smile. That barrier magic of hers, he’ll learn it.

At that moment, the rogue and the fighter both jumped at him. One swinging a dagger and the other her fist. The two didn’t fall yet, and even if they were teleported away, they’ll take this chance to try and finish the fight. Nothing could fight longer than a spiteful rogue and a relentless fighter, except a raging barbarian.

But, Gojo was done playing around. With a flick of his fingers, the rogue found her lower half encased in ice, unable to move. The fighter rushed in, [Action Surge], and in a second, eight punches flew at Gojo’s face.

He bent down, pulled both his fists back, and threw them forward as open palms at the fighter’s torso, bending her like paper. She flew back, rolled on the ground, groaned once, and fainted.

The fight was over, and Gojo won.