The dragon's harem

Chapter 1148: A Bard In Hell

Isdis looked around with a worried face. ”Maharaja…” Her eyes stopped at Selena. The woman was tall, muscular, with a lustrous pale skin riddled with scars. Her silky short hair didnʼt even sway with the wind coming from the window, and her yellow eyes glowed in the shadows, burning with disturbing intellect.

”If you found him, then… why didnʼt you call Mira?” Isdis has already figured out that something happened.

Matildaʼs eyes turned toward Maharaja, ”Lady Maharaja can explain it better.”

”Selena is enough.” She took a step out of the shadows, and Isdis could instantly feel a shiver run down her spine. She felt weak, small, vulnerable, and as terrified as a small deer in front of a massive tiger. Selena was, in fact, a black Jaguar.

”There is this devilish fiend called Hellbat. They are massive night predators who dwell in the ninth layer of hell, the lowest one, and the most deadly. A fool seems to have made a contract with a devil, bought a newborn one, and raised it here in the mortal world.” She waved her hand, and a projection of the beast showed up.

The massive, ugly black bat was more than a hundred meters long and had a wingspan of over two hundred. Their shape was identical to that of a normal bat, except for the two massive black horns on its head and the blood red lines all over its body.

”The war Miraʼs father fought in collided with the house of the wizard that owned the bat, and the thing was set loose. It killed tens of thousands of people, but thanks to the batʼs psychic and sonic abilities, none remembered it.”

Selena sighed, ”Except for one spiteful man who holds grudges for life.” She looked at the bat and pointed at its maw. From that mouth, it can produce a shriek that affects the minds of mortals. It scrambles their brains and makes them willingly approach the monster; It also wipes out all traces of sense and reason.

”Miraʼs father wasnʼt affected like most people. He lost his memories and was compelled to seek the bat… but his spite was so strong that he tried to kill it.” Selena sighed, ”The bat ended up chasing a mindless bard trying to kill for all of those years. On his way, Miraʼs father managed to party with two angels who were supposed to hunt the bat, and their journey lasted several years.”

”So, where is he now? Dead?” Isdis asked, her face pale with worry. Selena shook her head, ”Close. The bat found a way back to hell, and the fool jumped after it alongside the two angels.” She sighed with an exhausted frown.

”In hell, the bat is much, much stronger. It killed the two angels, who were then banished back to heaven, and Miraʼs father also died. This happened just an hour after they jumped into hell. And now the man is bound to hell, to the ninth layer as a sinner.”

Selena looked at Isdis, ”I managed to track him to the ninth layer of hell, but now I have to go outside the universe to fight the abominations. You might not know, but a lot of people got injured recently.” A frown appeared on her face, ”For that… youʼll have to go drag him on your own. To free him from hell, you need to find, break his chains, and drag him out of hell under a divine blessing.”

From her pocket, Selena produced four fangs. She opened her mouth, and her fangs were missing. ”Those are mine, and as long as I donʼt grow them back, those fangs will protect you from hellʼs deadly energy.”

She said, ”The bat is alive, but donʼt try to find it. Form a party of four people, go to hell, and drag the fool out.” She stood to leave and then stopped, ”Ah… Matilda has to be one of the four. If you take her with you, the Rakshasa would help you without much… prejudice.”

Selena then stepped into the shadows and faded away.

Matilda looked at Isdis, ”Thatʼs the short story. The details might take hours to explain.”

Isdis looked at the fangs, picked one, and threw it to Matilda. ”So youʼre going. I wouldʼve said Arad will go, but he isnʼt here. Give me time and Iʼll put on a powerful party.”

”What about Mira and Mother Lyla?” There was no easy or safe way to break the news to them. Lylaʼs husband and Miraʼs father isnʼt just dead, but he is somewhat alive, chained in the ninth layer of hell.

”Iʼll find a way to tell them. You rest for now.” Isdis now had more work to do.

****

Far away in the brown and black Hamada desert, inside a lone rocky mountain, a change was starting to happen. The lustrous green ores that the egg rested on started to lose their ghostly glimmer, and the egg grew a bit larger.

[Arad Orion: Congratulations.]

Arad opened his eyes alone in a vast black landscape with a voice ringing in his head. He blinked and looked at his hands. ”Who is there?” For a moment, no one replied; he thought it was a dream, but all of this felt a bit too real.

The voice then replied.

[Aria, The Collective Consciousness. I am the one who manages the system, and I am here to inform you of the details of your role as a Void Knight.]

From the pure darkness of the void, a pale woman wearing a single white robe descended. Her long silver hair, glowing blue eyes, and massive white wings glimmered with light.

”That was a sub-class, right? Iʼm a draconic mage. And, wasnʼt that supposed to unlock when Iʼm an adult?” He lifted an eyebrow, a bit confused, but he could already make sense of things now.

[Youʼre becoming an adult dragon now. Draconic Mage is a class, but Void Knight is a job, an actual job.] Her eyes finally moved and looked at him. [All adult dragons are enlisted to fight the abominations in outer space, the same way human knights are enlisted to fight monsters in forests.]

Arad looked at her for a moment, remembering how his brother wasnʼt enlisted and didnʼt want to say anything. He wonʼt rat him out as they probably forgot him.

”So? What will happen now? Youʼll teleport me into outer space?”

[Arad Orion, Gojo Orion, you two brothers are a special case. Neither of you will be sent to war. But since your power already surpasses the system, Iʼll take it away.]

Arad blinked twice, ”We wonʼt… wait… I need my constellations! At least leave Gemini and Virgo.” If he lost those… Doma is going to suffer a bit.

[Donʼt worry. Iʼll take the system where I grant you power, but Iʼll leave one where it displays your power. Youʼre an adult and can sustain powers like that with your own soul.]