The dragon's harem

Agnar had impressive regeneration, but the wounds inflicted upon him by Poppy never stopped bleeding, which was probably due to her deadly poison. His bones worked hard to keep making more blood at a devilish speed, but they were broken and battered, resulting in the kid slowly dying.

His regeneration alone wasn’t going to save his life; it was only going to delay his death. But for a devil, that wasn’t the end. He could transform into his Rakshasa form and recover, and even if he were to die, he would just resurrect in hell.

He wasn’t worried, but still, his mother was horrified enough that she lost consciousness. For all she knew, her two children massacred each other and destroyed the entire alley alongside their house. It was a traumatizing experience, especially since she now knew just how much violence her kid was getting himself mixed into. Before, she just thought of him going around with the soldier, shooting a monster or two from afar, taking a bit of risk, but being ultimately safe.

But now, she had seen firsthand that her kid wasn’t a kid anymore, but a fighter capable of so much that it won’t be strange if he could single-handedly butcher an entire town.

The mother and Agnar were taken away by Arad as the soldiers and clerics rushed in to heal the injured people and assess the situation. Poppy was no longer just a scarecrow, but a credible threat that could strike at any moment and without warning.

“How are they doing?” Arad asked as he sat on a chair beside the wall. Agnar and his mother were on separate beds, both getting tended to by powerful healers. Sara healed Agnar since she was more knowledgeable about devils, and Merlin checked the mother for brain damage.

“It seems that Poppy can somehow control and modify brains. That is how she is hopping from one body to another, and that is the same method she used to inject memories into Agnar’s mother.” She looked at Arad. “But this also gives us a clue on how she went insane.”

Arad lifted an eyebrow. “Does that matter? We’re taking her down anyway. Of course, if knowing how she went insane would help us counter her, then it’s useful.”

Merlin nodded. “I don’t know if it will help us or not, but understanding the enemy is a good way to see if we can solve this peacefully.” She looked at Agnar’s mother.

“To modify memories like this, and to be able to change an entire brain to match hers and possess people… There is a good possibility that she has to either see or keep all of the memories and thoughts of those she targets.” Her eyes sparked, “Wait, that does make more sense than I thought.”

Having come into a new theory, she rushed to check on Agnar’s body, and then a smile engulfed her face. “That’s why Poppy only targets kids as her hosts, to avoid overload. Kids are young, and by nature have mailable undeveloped brains, fewer memories to worry about, and mostly a positive outlook on life that can be easily twisted.”

Arad stood, “So, you’re saying that she started fine, became a pricolici and life was good, until she started testing her brain manipulation power, and…”

Merlin nodded. “She is a witch, so my best guess is that she used bandits, thugs, or hunted monsters to test her powers, which led her ego to be poisoned by their memories and will. She isn’t the Poppy Alcott and his friend knew, she is a horrid amalgamation of the memories of multiple people all fighting for her sanity.”

The more they knew about Poppy, the stranger her situation looked, and the more monstrous her nature seemed to be. At first, they thought she had just gone mad after losing control of her Pricolici power, but then they suspected that she still had a will, and now they found she was a mind-controlling witch with a possibly broken psyche.

“She is still dangerous. But we’ll keep her situation in mind. Our main objective would be to act upon each situation. If she proves an immediate danger, then killing her takes priority.” Arad scratched the back of his head.

“So, what are your orders?” Merlin stood, and Arad shook his face. “Same as before. Kill on sight if there are people she can harm nearby, if there is no one around and capturing her is possible, I want her tied and thrown into my stomach where I can make sure she doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

He left, and Merlin went back to trying to cure Agnar’s mother from whatever memories Poppy had injected into her. Sara, who was in the room, busy focusing on healing Agnar, finally spoke now that Arad had left.

“That was risky. If Poppy managed to control Agnar, the entire city might’ve ended up in flames.” Sara looked at Merlin.

“You think she can use his powers?” Merlin asked, and Sara shook her head. “No, I’m saying that Maharaja might’ve come in person to deal with Poppy, and she would end up killing all of her hosts at once.”

“The Queen of the Hunt, the god-eating Black Jaguar.” Merlin sighed. “I bet her nose is really good.”

At that moment, Agnar opened his eyes and sat up. His entire body was healed by Sara, and he even regenerated his lost arm. But he could still clearly remember the whole fight. What terrified him the most wasn’t Poppy herself; it was that an attack happened right at his house, the place he considered to be safe.

“Arad suggested that you and your parents move into the castle where I can keep a tab on your minds.” Merlin looked at him, “That way we can be sure that your parents won’t be brainwashed again.”

Agnar looked at her, took a deep breath, and sighed. “The moment I find that brat again, I’ll skin her alive.” He jumped from the bed, looked at Sara, and gave her a gentle bow. “Lady Sara, thank you for healing me.”

She smiled and shook her head. “No need to thank me. Besides, Merlin is the one who is doing most of the work.” She looked back. “I don’t think cleaning those false memories is easy.”

Merlin spoke from beside his mother. “Don’t worry, I’m working on it. She might suffer from a chronic headache for a few days afterward, but she’ll be fine.” She scratched her chin, “It’ll feel like a prolonged hangover for her.”

“Lady Merlin…” As Agnar approached, she lifted one hand. “Don’t thank me yet. Instead, tell me about that monster Poppy what is she?”

“A little girl, shorter than me, looked like any other girl from the city. But her ginger hair burned like flames, her eyes were deep blue and bright, and her skin was so pale you could see the veins under it.” He looked at his arm. “But I don’t believe that is her true form, but just the humanoid one. She could partially transform her limbs into massive, clawed arms similar to those of bats, but they were hairy.”

“She is a pricolici after all, a mixture between vampires and werewolves.” Merlin nodded, and Agnar seemed to start thinking.

“But… she moved like Master Alcott, it was like… they trained together. I only survived that long because her moves seemed familiar to me.” He added, and Merlin looked a bit sad.

“So, she still had those skills ingrained in her.” She sighed. “This might be more similar to the Poppy I knew.” She leaned back on her chair and looked at Agnar. “Alcott did pick her up from the streets one time.”

“Master Alcott… how was he in the past? How did he meet Poppy?” As Agnar asked, Merlin sighed. “Well, that’s a long story.”