The dragon's harem

The morning came, and Arad walked down a seemingly endless staircase. Merlin floated behind him, gliding down as she didn’t want to exhaust herself with the ten-thousand stone steps to the depth of the earth, and her hips were still sore.

Soon they were facing a stupendous steel door, and Arad could already sense the one behind it. Merlin waved her fingers, and the stupidly large door creaked open. Inside, Arad could see Nina chained to the ground and walls.

Nina slowly opened her eyes and looked forward, spotting Arad and Merlin. ^So he is back?^ Her voice rang in Merlin’s head.

^I’ll give him the spell so just…^ But before Merlin could finish talking, Arad’s voice interrupted them.

^No need. I can hear people’s thoughts and project mine to them. It has several setbacks, but nothing I couldn’t manage.^ Arad’s eyes shifted between Merlin and Nina, and he quickly waved his hand.

“Merlin, you can leave. I’ll handle her, shatter the chain, and find how to fix this problem.” Arad cracked his neck, and Merlin disappeared without saying a word.

^Don’t free me. I’ll eat you alive, I know it.^ Her thoughts seemed strained, and peering deep made it clear. Even if she tried her hardest to speak, all that was going through her mind was a pure hunger and thirst for blood. She saw Arad as nothing more than a fatty piece of meat, and even if her conscious mind struggled against that thought, she couldn’t shake it.

“You know…” Arad’s clothes started fading away, “I, too, see my wives as food, I’m a dragon after all. But, unlike you, I can choose to eat other things.” Soon, pieces of leather and hide started appearing on his body.

“Mira tastes the best so far, just one lick and I can tell.” His eyes shifted toward her, “That’s going to change, though. You smell much, much better.”

The chains strained and groaned as Arad approached and knelt in front of Nina, looking straight into her eyes.

“Who is the food, and who is the eater? Who is the prey, and who is the predator? Who is the strong, and who is the weak?” Arad caressed her face in his hands and asked, “Do you think it is wise to think you’re not the one who is about to be eaten?”

Looking deep into Arad’s eyes, Nina could see the endless darkness of the abyss, the call of nothing, whispering to her undying body. She had seen Arad join the guild and slowly grow. He was weak at the start, far weaker than her.

That was a mistake. And a huge one at that.

Arad wasn’t a human, the aloof face glaring at her. Just like she is now, he was a monster, a horror beyond her wildest dreams. She was mad, insane to think he was in danger. Arad was the danger.

On his part, Arad could clearly see Nina’s soul, a massive, radiant flare of pure light and willpower that shines like the bright sun. He had expected to see it corrupted by whatever it was that turned Nina into a hungry monster, but to his surprise, her soul looked far healthier than anyone he had ever seen.

Nina’s radiant soul seemed to seek three primal instincts. The primal instinct to seek food was the first, followed by the stalwart will to survive, then lastly the deep desire to breed and leave an offspring.

If Nina doesn’t have enough food to sustain her body, she won’t survive. If she doesn’t have a safe enough place, then she’ll be in danger and must fight, and if she doesn’t find a mate, then she’ll wait.

The tarrasque’s cycle had now become clear. She wakes up and starts feeding to fulfil the first need. When her belly is full, she seeks a safe place that she can call a safe nest and wait for a mate. But since she was the last of her kind, no one would come, and she’ll end up slumbering until the hunger returns.

Luckily, Nina isn’t the Tarrasque, but a human who carries its blood. Her eating countless massive monsters in days might’ve seemed terrifying, especially with her size.

That’s why she and others assumed that she could eat infinitely and never feel full.

But by looking at her soul, Arad can tell otherwise. Mundane monster flesh isn’t rich enough for the power hiding in her blood and muscles; she needs more than that.

Arad reached forward and patted her head, “Just relax and don’t worry about anything.” He can fix her.

Soon, the chains binding Nina shimmered with light and faded away with a loud bang. Merlin felt the chains shatter, and her face paled, growing dimmer and darker as she got ready to protect the castle. She didn’t even know how to do that. Nina is beneath the castle!

As the chains disappeared, Nina bit the muzzle and shattered it. Silence fell as Arad stood there, wearing just his barbarian clothes.

Nina suddenly disappeared, and the next thing Arad could feel was her foot crashing into his chest, rattling his ribs. Like the first time she kicked him at the guild, he looked to be a second late to block her attack. Key word, looked.

“Damn, you’re heavy.” Arad groaned, and Nina’s glowing golden eyes shifted to look down; her toes were floating just an inch above the solid floor. Arad had lifted her with gravity magic at the last second and killed almost all of the power behind her kick.

He grabbed her by the ankle and teleported away. In the next second, Nina found herself falling with him from above the clouds.

Nina’s eyes burned red, and her whole body flashed with power, her veins bulged and her muscles expanded, her skin taking on a dark red color. Barbarian’s rage, and this one looked especially powerful.

^Well, she is hungry, and I just called her heavy. She must be mad.^ Arad smiled and swung a fist at her face. In the next second, he was missing an arm.

The two hit the sand with enough force to cause an earthquake. As the desert shuddered, Arad looked at the mountain he evolved in with a sad face. The poor thing had cracked in half from their fall.

Several meters away from Arad, Nina was busy munching on his severed arm without a care in the world. Arad stood there with a smile on his face, the severed arm immediately regenerated.

“Mundane flesh might not be enough to fill you. But what about the flesh of a grown void dragon? Saturate to the brim with mana and energy?” Arad looked at her, hoping that she would be satiated with just one arm.