Demonic Dragon: Harem System

Chapter 206: Protector of the Abode of Spirits

"Huh? Where am I?!" Kallamos exclaimed, looking around and seeing only a vast emptiness. She had somehow agreed to help Strax on this journey, but... why was she alone?

"Tsk, visualize your inner space, child," Ouroboros said, and Kallamos imagined that same palace she had once taken Strax to... In the blink of an eye, there she was... in a place at least more comfortable.

"Oh... here I am," she muttered, but quickly shuddered as she looked to her right. Not too far away, in the immeasurable void, stood two other palaces.

Kallamos eyed the two distant palaces cautiously, a chill running down her spine. The void surrounding them felt deeper than before. She had agreed to help Strax, but something felt... incomplete.

"Tsk, don't look like that. They're not your enemies," Ouroboros said, his voice echoing through the mental space. "Those are his inner realms, from his wives. You're in your own space now. Focus."

Kallamos narrowed her eyes, still wary, but knew there was no reason to panic. She felt a strange mix of power and vulnerability, as if what lay before her was beyond her understanding. The palace she had created for herself felt strong, yet distant from what it could have been.

"Why... am I alone?" Kallamos asked, her voice filled with confusion.

"You're not alone," Ouroboros replied, his serpentine presence manifesting beside her. "Strax is connected to you, even if you don't fully realize it. This is the reflection of your bond with him, but also... of your own loneliness. You still don't understand what you are."

Kallamos glanced at Ouroboros, the dragon's eyes gleaming with an odd intensity. There was a palpable tension between them, a divide between the overwhelming power Kallamos possessed and her limited understanding of herself.

'She's going to kill me the moment I try anything against that man, isn't she?'...

"Explain," Kallamos demanded, crossing her arms, her expression attempting to mask the growing insecurity within her. New releases from mvlempy _r.

Ouroboros sighed heavily, as if dealing with an impatient child.

"You acted arrogantly because you don't know what you are," he said. "You died before you could absorb the knowledge of your lineage. Your instinct is to shout to the world how powerful you are, but deep down... you're just a child. Without the understanding of what it means to be a true dragon. Without the memories and wisdom that should have been yours."

Those words pierced Kallamos's mind like a sharp blade. She tried to fight against the truth, but something inside her knew Ouroboros was right. The reason she always felt the need to prove her superiority, to impose her strength on others... was because, deep down, she didn't feel secure.

"I... I'm a child?" she whispered, confusion flooding her.

Ouroboros looked at her, relentless but without malice. "You are. And until you accept that, until you understand the true power and wisdom of your lineage, you will continue to act as one."

The silence that followed was heavy. Kallamos stared at her own hands as if searching for answers. A quiet anger began to bubble up within her, but it wasn't directed at Ouroboros or Strax. It was aimed at herself, at her own ignorance.

"And Strax?" Kallamos asked, trying to shift the conversation to something she could control. "What does he want from me?"

Ouroboros chuckled, a laugh full of secrets. "Strax... he sees more than you think. He doesn't want a slave, Kallamos. He wants a companion. Someone he can shape, someone who can grow alongside him."

Kallamos scoffed. "So, he thinks he can just... take me?"

Ouroboros looked directly into her eyes, challenging her. "You know he can. But he won't force you. He'll seduce you, guide you, and in the end... it will be you who chooses the path."

Those words made Kallamos shudder. The idea of being controlled terrified her, but at the same time, there was a part of her that longed for direction, for someone who could fill her with the knowledge and wisdom she lacked. Strax had opened a door in her mind, one she didn't even know existed, and now she stood before a difficult choice.

"So I'm just... a pawn to him?" Kallamos asked, her tone defensive.

"Stop pestering her, you old hag," Tiamat said, appearing beside Kallamos in her humanoid form, and Ouroboros did the same.

"Tsk, you're such a killjoy, you know?" Ouroboros bit her tongue and looked at the woman. "Ah... alright..." she relented.

"W-What is going on?" Kallamos asked, startled... She couldn't understand...

"That bitch is trying to push you in the opposite direction, just to disappoint the Darling," Tiamat responded.

"Don't trust this possessive woman. Anything she does is to keep other women away from the Darling." Tiamat said. "Come on, I'll teach you a few things." Tiamat grabbed the girl's hand like an irritated mother pulling her daughter along.

...

"Ah... damn it..." Strax muttered, his body aching more than he'd expected...

[Evolution delayed due to User's body qualities. Accumulate more cultivation to advance your race properly.]

[Race: Dragon (Incomplete)]

"As usual... nothing is ever that easy, is it?" he murmured, reading the messages from the System. Not that he didn't expect something like this, but... it was complicated, much more complicated...

"At least, my time has increased significantly…" he muttered.

[Remaining Lifespan: 1 year, 9 months, 2 weeks, and 21 hours]

He had gained more time, but it wasn't much. In the grand scheme of his life, it only postponed the inevitable. What he needed to do was far from simple, and every decision now had to be calculated with precision.

"I need to evolve... but the cost for that is far greater than I imagined," he thought. "Every second matters now."

He stood up with effort, feeling every muscle and bone protest, but he couldn't afford to stop.

Strax walked down the corridors, his steps echoing as the pain slowly subsided, though the weight of his concerns continued to press down on him.

Finally, he found her, waiting for him as if she already knew he would come.

"You knew that I—" he started to say, but she interrupted him softly, with that sharp look that always intrigued him.

"I know many things, Mister Dragon." She smiled, her eyes gleaming with sharp intelligence.

Strax sighed, recognizing the elven woman's cleverness. "I understand, Miss Elf," he replied with a bitter smile, unable to hide his slight frustration at her always being one step ahead.

Evelyn watched him for a moment, her smile fading slightly, becoming something more melancholic, almost resigned. "So, you've realized, haven't you..." she murmured, also with a bitter smile.

"I wonder how you found out about me." He stared at her, trying to probe the depths of her gaze, but, as always, Evelyn was an enigma. She seemed aware of every detail around her, as if she were part of a grand game whose rules only she knew.

"You've always been observant, Strax. Perhaps more than others. And you've already noticed there's more to this world than meets the eye. The truth is... fate intertwines our paths in ways that aren't always clear at first glance." She stepped forward, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side, thoughtfully. "And I, like you, am caught in this tangle of destinies."

Strax raised an eyebrow, intrigued but unsurprised. He knew Evelyn hid much more than she let on. "That doesn't answer my question," he said with a slight tone of provocation.

Evelyn let out a small laugh, her eyes darkening slightly. "The answer isn't simple, but let's just say... I saw a very interesting future. When I first saw you, I knew something in you was incomplete, just like me." She touched her own chest, indicating a deep connection with what she was about to reveal.

"You carry a burden too, don't you?" Strax asked, more softly this time, sensing they were treading into more personal territory.

Evelyn looked at him for a long moment, her expression softening. "Yes. My past, my responsibilities... all of it brought me to you. And to this moment."

Evelyn kept her gaze locked on Strax, as if weighing the gravity of what she was about to reveal. The silence between them was thick, laden with secrets and stories untold. Finally, she sighed, and her posture shifted slightly, as though bracing herself for a truth she had carried for a long time.

"I never wanted this to be revealed this way, but, considering everything you've already uncovered... I have no choice." She hesitated for a second, her eyes briefly lowering to the floor before meeting Strax's again. "I am the last protector of the Spirit Haven. The one who was meant to be the Elven Queen."

Strax blinked, surprised. This was not what he had expected, and her words resonated deeply. He had always known Evelyn was special, that there was something different about her, but this? This went beyond any of his suspicions. "The Elven Queen?" he repeated, incredulously.

Evelyn nodded slowly. "Yes. It was my destiny, my birthright. The Spirit Haven is a sacred place for the elves, a direct link to the spiritual plane and the World Tree, a sanctuary for ancestral souls and the forces of nature. But the spirits... they abandoned us...

for reasons I do not know." Her eyes filled with deep pain, as if reliving a bitter memory. "I was the last protector, the last to keep the connection to that place alive. That's why I'm here, far from my people, far from the throne that should have been mine."

"So you... were supposed to rule?" Strax asked, still trying to absorb the magnitude of what she was saying.

"Yes," Evelyn replied, with a sad smile. "Well, not exactly, since I left it to my mother, but yes, I was meant to."

"I see, the Sickness," he murmured quickly, and she nodded. "That's why—"

"I don't care," Strax interrupted her immediately.

"W-w-what?" she stammered.