The dragon's harem

As Arad stood above Susanoo’s broken corpse, Shuten screamed in the back. She was both worried about Arad and her father’s remains. Susanoo had long since died, but his portfolio was never claimed by anyone else, so it still retained his will.

That meant that with enough believers and sacrifices, he could be fully resurrected. And of course, Shuten had tried that many times, but her father’s soul refused to come back to life. He wanted to remain dead and relax with his lovers in the heavens.

It was unpleasant to watch her father’s corpse move and fight, like a zombie forced to keep grinding its flesh in battle even after death.

“Is it over?” She looked at Arad, then threw a glance at her father’s ashes, hoping that they would stay dead.

He slowly turned, looked at her, then at what little was left from Susanoo’s corpse, just a pile of ashes at his feet. What Susanoo lacked now to face Arad was a creative and functioning will. It didn’t matter how powerful or broken his abilities were, if he couldn’t change and adapt them to Arad’s counters fast enough, he’ll lose.

Arad was certain that Susanoo would’ve dominated the fight if he were alive, but now, this felt like fighting a really powerful doll. Which led Arad to smile as he could finally understand the true nature of the eight forked serpent’s power.

Gulp! The snake gulped, and Susanoo fully regenerated in the blink of an eye. He and Arad stood face to face, each glaring at the other with a smile.

“The battle is over.” Amaterasu smiled, “Arad won.”

Ibaraki looked at her and asked with a puzzled face. “But Susanoo hadn’t showed the full extend of the serpent’s powers yet.”

Amaterasu took a step forward and looked at Arad’s back with an amused grin. “He had already seen beyond that power.”

Arad took a step forward and grabbed Susanoo by the neck. “Let’s end this.”

Susanoo, being Amaterasu’s younger brother, is the god of cosmic storms and nebulae. He is the space dust, and he is the asteroid belts. And the serpent, even though Arad didn’t know his name, he could already guess how its power worked.

The Serpent, the eight forked serpent, Yamata no Orochi, is a fragment of the world serpent Jörmungandr, and he is also called Ouroboros. A titanic snake of ancient power and authority that eats its own tail to quell its power and maintain balance.

It doesn’t grant infinite power, but instead, it recycles and reuses whatever power it has. The same way it can only grow longer by eating its own tail, the serpent’s power allows it to reuse whatever energy it wasted while maintaining balance.

Doma had already taught Arad how to recycle his own mana to reduce the overall cost of spells ages ago, and this seemed like a very similar concept.

“You stand on a fragile balance, little snake. What if I broke it?” Arad channeled his magic into the serpent. He wasn’t trying to harm or control it; instead, he gave it power, mana, and divine magic. Like a rock thrown into a washing machine, the moment Arad’s energy landed inside the serpent, it threw all of its power out of balance, causing it to almost instantly explode.

A mountain of flames and ash rose above the clouds, and from that hell, Arad walked out carrying the Blade of Solace in his hand. The fight was over. As he approached, the two demon lords took a few steps back.

“He won!” Ibaraki gasped, and Shuten could only stare at Arad with a pale and terrified face. “What did you do? Why did he just explode?”

Arad looked at the Blade of Solace in his hand and smiled. “Well, I just threw his power out of balance and let it draw go berserk.” He looked at Amaterasu. “I bet you defeated him in the same way.”

Amaterasu smiled. “That is how Susanoo managed to defeat the serpent, and it is also how I killed my brother when he lost his way.” She walked toward the two demon lords and patted them on the shoulders. “I brought Arad here because I knew he would be able to defeat him. And even if he failed, I would’ve stepped in myself.”

“It is time that Susanoo’s soul could fully rest, and his power be given to someone else.”

Arad stared at her for a second, then asked. “Why now?”

“Of course, since I took control of the universe again. I can kill Nyar on my own, but I won’t be able to maintain the universe after the fight, and it’ll freeze to death. That is why I need all the power I could get.” She grinned. “Lydia is already powerful enough to play her role; all that is left is to get Jack up to speed.”

Arad closed his eyes and looked inside his stomach. He could see it there, Susanoo’s portfolio, a massive Nebula of Stardust. “Now, where is that snake?” Looking around inside his stomach, Arad quickly found the serpent coiled beneath his dark soul, regenerating and healing from its wounds.

“I got them both.” He looked at the Blade of Solace in his hand. “Now, what to do with this sword?” He asked, and Amaterasu shrugged. “I would prefer it if you gave them all to Jack, the portfolio, the serpent, and the blade, but I know it’ll be hard for him to control, so first, just give him the portfolio.”

Arad looked at everything inside his soul, and then smiled. “But… the serpent allows the user to perfectly and efficiently use their power to the point it seems infinite; won’t it help Jack control the portfolio better?”

“That would solely depend on his skill, intelligence, and cunning.” She turned around, looked at the old lady for a second, then flicked her fingers, returning them to the cave beneath Oe’s Mountain.

“Shuten, Ibaraki, you two answer back to Kali. Your mission here is done. Arad, get that portfolio to Jack, and Lunara, maybe escort those two and make sure they reach Kali.” Amaterasu lifted the old lady. “For me, I’ll get her back home, and then pay a few shrines around here a visit. I should be back at the church by morning.”

“Got it.” Arad sighed, scratched the back of his head, and then teleported away with everyone. Shuten and Ibaraki appeared inside Kali’s heaven with Lunara, and Arad himself appeared in the middle of the capital’s streets, standing just a few meters away from Jack’s house.

“Jack!” Arad only called once, found a bench, and took a seat. A few minutes later, Jack walked out of his house wearing a nightgown. “It’s rare for you to visit at such an hour.” Jack smiled. “Saved my poor back.”

Arad returned the smile and leaned back. “I’ve just been fighting a dead god, and honestly, I’m beaten up.” He then looked at him. “Anyway, I got a portfolio and some power from that god, and Amaterasu wanted you to have them.”

Jack blinked a few times, then scratched the back of his head. “I would normally be happy, but I can’t help but feel like it’s a bad thing, since Amaterasu wants me to have them.”

Arad stood, and faced Jack. “So? What to have it?”

“We can’t say no to Amaterasu, can we?” Jack shrugged, and Arad laughed, “Of course we can. If you don’t want the power, I’ll keep in it stock. If Amaterasu complains, I’ll just beat her down.”

Jack smiled. “You know what? I’ll carry that power, and take it if Lydia thinks it’s a good idea.” He extended his hand to Arad. “Let’s see where this would lead us.”

Arad shook Jack’s hand. “Very well, this is all of it.”

From Arad’s soul, a burning spark of divine magic rushed out and merged with Jack’s soul, perfectly taking residence there. The portfolio rested inside Jack’s soul, and the serpent took the form of a tattoo that extended from his right to his left arm.

When their hands parted, the Blade of Solace remained in Jack’s hand. “And, this is the weapon that God used. His name was Susanoo, Amaterasu’s younger brother.”