The dragon's harem

Chapter 952: Triple Expansion

When two expansions clash, they get layered based on affinity and type, for example, Aradʼs void might get filled with a red dragonʼs flames, allowing the two to exist at the same time. But when three powerful expansions clash, the strongest one would dominate as the mana present would hit the maximum density allowed in the air.

[Elemental Expansion: Bone Yard] As Alaric crosses his arms, a storm of bones explodes from his forearms aiming to blast both Lydia and Lunara away to give himself an opening to kill Eris. This expansion was cone-shaped instead of a spherical one, mainly because Alaric wanted to conserve energy and create an opening instead of defeating his targets or getting an advantage.

[Elemental Expansion: Moon Rain] Lunaraʼs slashes fell from the moon as quickly as they could, aiming only at Alaric. If she could wound him enough, Arad is bound to take back control.

She canʼt spare any slashes for Lydia, every slash is a chance at waking Arad up, and she was going to roll the dice as many times as she could. Lydia shouldnʼt be a foe, Lunara knew that well and that she was attacking from a misunderstanding. She hoped that Arad would help clear that once he woke up, but she had no guarantee that she would survive a direct hit from Lydiaʼs coming expansion.

[Divine Expansion:..] Lydia glared at them, the sun burning hot behind her back. It was at that moment that the two demon lords knew true fear and realized how bad the situation was for them. It wasnʼt a matter of surviving the attack or getting killed. It was a matter of whether their souls would even remain intact from the coming attack. At the last second, they could see a ghostly silhouette of Amaterasu sitting on the sun behind Lydia, pointing at them with the sharp nail of her big right toe and carrying a sadistic smile on her face.

It wasnʼt just divine magic that was coming out of Lydia, but a massive wave of cursed magic came rampaging at the same time, sparking from her body in a wave of black and golden light.

[...Solar Expansion]

As Amaterasuʼs divine and cursed magic radiated from Lydiaʼs body into violent solar winds, flapping like wings, Lydiaʼs soul shrunk smaller and smaller, increasing the sharpness and frequency of the solar wind blasts and flaps. The two demon lords were instantly engulfed in the dazzling flash, the two were like pieces of paper before an exploding fireball, and neither of them seemed to have the ability to resist the simultaneous assault of both divine and cursed magic. It was like rapidly heating and cooling a piece of metal to destroy it, it works and works far too well.

Lunara who was aiming only at Alaric ended up getting charred into a piece of charcoal, while her moon slashes severed his right arm.

Lydiaʼs expansion hit Alaricʼs bones and evaporated them instantly, creating an explosion that blasted him back at tremendous speed. Half burned and with his expansion shattered, he had taken too much damage, and Arad was already waking up. Lydia had effectively one-shot him and Lunara at the same time with her expansion, he had to admit, she was the most horrifying being that he had faced in centuries, a monster paladin that didnʼt even seem human.

Alaric looked at Lydia falling from the sky; she had exerted so much power that her body finally gave up. She had achieved her goal after all, Lunara was a charred corpse falling to the ground, and he got damaged enough that Arad was about to take control in less than five seconds.

Alaric ground his teeth, wishing he had the time to finish Lydia off, such a danger shouldnʼt be left alive, but alas, he was flying away from her. The demon lord smiled, he was flying away from the monster Lydia, and toward the city, he had especially angled his bones so the explosion would send him straight to Erisʼs room.

^Great paladin, sorry, I canʼt finish you off with my own hands. Itʼs a shame.^ Even with how powerful Lydia is, she is no match for a demon lordʼs cunning. ^Iʼll finish off that woman Eris instead and steal her divine core.^

Lydiaʼs body fell onto a tree that broke her fall, and the swampʼs mud helped cushion her fall even further. Drenched in the dirt, the unconscious Lydia lay motionless as a large werebear approached her, droll dripping from his large open maw.

”For...my...lord...” He growled, lifting his claw, ready to swing at her neck. Alaric said he wonʼt be finishing Lydia himself; heʼll be leaving her to one of his minions. Weakened and in her current state, she should be an easy target.

”Yo...who do you think youʼre attacking?” A voice came from the forest and the werebearʼs arm stopped in its tracks, he looked toward the voice and saw a bloodied Jack glaring at him with a large smile.

Jackʼs white eyes shifted into eclipse-like black ones as darkness burst from his body, swallowing the whole area. The confused werebear found himself standing alone in the darkness, unable to utter a single voice. In his mouth, he could taste the rusty flavor of iron. BANG! As the light returned, Jack blasted the werebearʼs brain with a cannon shell in the throat. He stood beside Lydia and looked at her with a worried gaze. ”Again?” His eyes then shifted toward the dead werebear, ”Hands off my wife.”

At that moment, the ground shook as a massive blast emerged not too far away from Jack and Lydia, it was strong enough to knock him down. ”Damn it, whatʼs going on?!” He looked back, ”Hurry!” He yelled at the murder paladins who had just finished killing all of the lycanthropic cultists who were transformed by Alaric, those rampaging wild beasts were a danger to anything alive.

Alaric flew at the church and burst through the window, swinging his claw toward Erisʼs neck. She was fast asleep thanks to the churchʼs magic, and even if she was awake, she couldnʼt fight back in her weakened condition.

A fraction of a second before his claw could pierce Erisʼs chest, a large charred foot flew right above his head, landing a hair strand beside Eris on her bed. The charcoal-black Lunara flew in, snatching Eris out of his way.

Alaricʼs claw pierced her torso, and the demon lord gasped, ”Lunara! You could still move?” He couldnʼt believe his eyes, with how weakened she was and the injury inflicted from taking Lydiaʼs expansion head-on, she shouldʼve been dead.

While carrying Eris in one arm, Lunara grabbed Alaricʼs claw with her other hand to prevent him from escaping. She lifted her other foot and was about to strike. The dying rabbit in the wolfʼs jaw strikes back, defending a nest that would never belong to her.

Lunara swung her foot down, smacking Alaricʼs head as hard as she could, shaking his very soul.

The lycanthropic transformation started shifting back, and Arad slowly returned to normal, finding himself standing with his whole arm plunged into a dying Lunara with the unconscious Eris in her arm.

Arad stared at her with a passive face his purple eyes frozen in time. For a second, a dark flame could be seen burning inside, growing larger and larger until the veins on his pupils bulged red with rage.