Demonic Dragon: Harem System

Albedo advanced through the alley without losing her smile.

The man guarding the entrance pulled a short knife from his waist and walked toward her, clearly believing he was facing an ordinary woman who had made the mistake of following the thief. The others showed no concern. One continued counting the coins while another opened the purse in search of something more valuable.

"You should have kept walking," the first man said.

"I was bored."

He tried to grab her arm.

Albedo caught his wrist before contact and squeezed only hard enough to crush the bones. The man opened his mouth to scream, but she struck his throat with her other hand. The impact caved in his neck and threw him against the alley wall.

His body fell lifeless.

The others finally understood that something was wrong.

The man counting the coins dropped the purse and tried to draw the sword strapped to his back. Albedo crossed the distance before the blade left its sheath. Her hand pierced his chest, broke through bone, and emerged from his back holding part of his spine.

She dropped the body to the ground.

The thief who had robbed the woman immediately retreated while the last two advanced together. One carried a short axe; the other created a small sphere of fire in his palm. They were not merely ordinary criminals. At least one of them possessed some magical training.

The sphere was launched first.

Albedo tilted her head.

The fire passed beside her face and exploded against the stacked crates. Before the caster could prepare another attack, she grabbed his companion by the neck and threw him toward the man.

The two collided.

Albedo appeared over them the next instant and stepped on the chest of the man with the axe. The ground cracked. Ribs pierced his lungs, and the body stopped moving before the other man could push him away.

The fire user tried to crawl.

Albedo grabbed his head by the hair.

"You use magic like a child."

"Wait..."

She slammed his face against the ground.

Once.

The man was still moving.

She struck him again.

By the third time, there was no resistance left.

The thief remained at the back of the alley, staring at the four bodies scattered between him and the exit. His hands trembled so badly that the knife fell to the ground. He tried to retreat, but struck the side door of the warehouse behind him.

Albedo walked toward him.

The white dress remained clean. None of the attacks had come close enough to stain the fabric, and her appearance remained as ordinary as before. Only the smile had disappeared.

The thief fell to his knees.

"I will return everything."

"You will."

"I will never do it again."

"You will not."

He raised his eyes, searching for some sign of mercy.

Albedo crouched in front of him and held his face with one hand.

"Listen carefully, because you are alive only to repeat what I am about to say."

The man nodded quickly.

"If you or any of your friends steal in this city again, I will find you. I will devour your bodies, then search for your families and kill every person who helped you continue doing this."

"My family knows nothing."

"Then keep it that way."

The pressure of her fingers increased against his jaw.

"If you want money that badly, enlist in Asgard’s army. You will receive food, lodging, training, and much better pay than any coin you can take from a distracted woman. If you are too cowardly to fight, find work on the railway, in the mines, or on the farms."

The thief tried to respond, but the hand around his face would not allow it.

Albedo leaned even closer.

"You will tell every criminal you know that this city is not unprotected merely because the guards are not watching. Understood?"

He nodded forcefully.

She released him.

The man fell onto his hands and began breathing rapidly, too afraid to raise his head. Albedo picked up the purse near one of the bodies and checked its contents. There were several silver coins, three gold coins, a small embroidered handkerchief, and a blue ribbon that had probably been meant for the child.

"None of this was worth your lives," she murmured.

Albedo stood and opened a small spatial rupture beside the body. Before stepping through, she looked at the survivor.

"When someone asks what happened, tell the truth."

"Who... who are you?"

She thought for a moment.

"No one."

Albedo crossed the rupture and disappeared.

The main market appeared around her again.

The woman still stood before the same fabric stall, arguing over the price of the ribbon with the merchant while her daughter held her hand. She had not noticed the purse was gone, although she had begun searching for it distractedly with her free hand.

Albedo appeared behind them for less than a second.

She returned the purse to the woman’s belt, repaired the cut strap with magic, and vanished before anyone noticed her presence. The mother found the purse immediately and removed several coins to buy the blue ribbon.

The girl smiled.

Albedo watched the scene from the top of a tower several blocks away. The wind moved her simple dress and black hair while she sat on the edge, her legs hanging over the city.

Her boredom had lessened slightly.

"You killed four."

Frieren appeared behind her without making a sound.

Albedo was not startled. She merely looked over her shoulder and noticed the books, metal box, and crystal the elf still carried.

"Did something happen?"

"No."

"Then why were you looking for me?"

Frieren approached the edge and observed the market below.

"I need help with an experiment."

Albedo released a small sigh.

"I knew you had not come merely to talk."

"I do not usually climb towers to talk."

"You should try. It is less boring than watching crystals blink."

Frieren ignored the provocation and placed the metal box on the ground. The object had several sealed runes over its lid, all designed to prevent energy from escaping.

"Because you are a demoness, you are the best person to help me."

Albedo looked at the box.

"Lithara is also a demoness."

"I know."

"She is a succubus and a queen. She probably understands more about demonic structures than I do."

Frieren nodded.

"Lithara is more complicated."

Albedo turned completely toward her.

"Complicated how?"

"She talks too much, turns every simple question into a story about Strax, and tries to seduce the instruments when she gets bored."

Albedo remained silent for several seconds.

"That happened?"

"Twice."

"Why did she try to seduce an instrument?"

"According to her, the crystal was pulsing provocatively."

Albedo closed her eyes and breathed slowly.

Frieren continued with the same indifferent expression.

"You are simpler. That is an advantage."

"I do not know whether that was a compliment."

"It was an assessment."

Albedo accepted the answer with a short movement. She stood from the edge of the tower and dusted off the back of her dress, although there was no dust there.

"What happened?"

Frieren looked toward the city below before answering.

"I am trying to create artificial demons."

Albedo became still.

The wind crossed the tower between them, moving the loose pages of one of the books. The demoness looked back toward the sealed box, now much more interested in what was inside.

"Repeat that."

"I want to create artificial demons."

"Why?"

"Because the adaptive creatures proved it is possible to develop organisms capable of absorbing different structures without depending on natural reproduction. The network used a crude, unstable, and destructive method, but the principle worked."

Albedo narrowed her eyes.

"You want to copy the desert network?"

"No."

Frieren knelt in front of the box and touched one of the runes. The first layer dissolved, revealing smaller marks beneath the lid.

"I want to do the opposite. The network created weapons without identity, constructed to respond to stimuli. I want to produce a stable demonic form, with its own core, controlled consciousness, and the capacity to grow."

"Controlled consciousness?"

"Not absolute obedience. That would create only another weapon. I want to discover whether an artificial soul can develop will without collapsing."

Albedo did not like how calmly Frieren described it.

"And where do I come in?"

"I need to understand how a natural demonic structure reacts when instinct, mana, and soul are separated. Books describe the process, but they were written by humans who captured demons and cut them open."

"And you want to cut me open?"

"Not completely."

Albedo stared at Frieren.

The elf raised her eyes.

"That was a joke."

"You do not know how to joke."

"I am learning."

Albedo pointed toward the box.

"What is inside?"

Frieren dissolved the final rune.

The lid opened several centimeters, releasing a thin stream of dark smoke. Inside was a small red core suspended between threads of mana, incomplete flesh, and crystalline fragments. The structure pulsed slowly, like a heart that had not yet decided whether it was alive.

Albedo immediately felt the nature of it.

It was demonic.

But it was not.

The energy imitated her race without possessing the depth, hunger, or natural aggression of a true demon. It resembled a word written by someone who knew every letter but had never heard the correct pronunciation.

"You already started," Albedo said.

"I started three days ago."

"Is it alive?"

"Not yet."

"Does it have a soul?"

"Not yet."

Albedo looked at Frieren again.

"And you want me to help put one inside it?"

Frieren closed the lid of the box.

"I want you to help me decide whether we should."

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