The dragon's harem

It was later that day, Arad sat at the castle’s walls, looking at the city below as thousands of people gathered once again to witness another ceremony. This time, it was Merida’s turn, and everyone was only talking about what kind of clothes she would come out in. She was by far the most famous clothes designer in the entire empire.

Everyone is expecting her to come out wearing something fancy, strange even. But with Arad knowing what she was wearing, he was almost certain that they’d be surprised. Merida had decided on what she should represent for the empire, and that is what the people will see.

They won’t be happy and might end up horrified. This was Merida’s decision, and it was her response to not being able to stand up and fight alongside Arad. This was her will, and demonic arrogance to defy fate and set herself on the path of dominance and power.

While many of the other wives were against it, Arad himself didn’t mind. Merida herself wasn’t going to be in harm’s way, but the people might start seeing her in a different way. Right now, many see her as a passionate clothes designer, but very few know of her violent side.

Arad stood and looked at the guards standing around him. They knew what Merida was going to do; everyone in the castle already knew, and there were some nobles who were informed beforehand.

”What do you think?” Arad asked, and one of the guards approached. ”It isn’t the job of a guard to criticize the queen’s actions.”

Arad smiled, ”It’s the job of citizens to judge those actions.” He looked back at the guards. ”How do you think the people would react?”

”Every kingdom has to have one... but they usually aren’t a part of the royalty; it’s a dirty job after all.” The guard looked back at the castle. ”But I doubt that matters here. It’ll sow fear and respect.”

Arad smiled as he walked past the guards. ”Then I have to go and greet her.” As he disappeared, the guards all gasped for air.

The air was already tense enough, but having the emperor sitting on the wall during their watch was horrifying. But what terrified them the most was when he asked them about their opinion on Merida, for a moment there, they thought they were going to be the first on her list.

In an hour or so, Merida would make her march, and the entire empire would have a second monster after Eris. She might not be at the same scale, but she is still a far more harrowing monster than any mortal could fathom.

Inside the castle, Merida stood staring at a mirror, looking directly at her glowing green eyes, long black hair, and burning glare. The maids behind her looked unbothered, yet they knew what was going to be announced.

”Merida, the blade of Whitehold. This is the final day that title would mean anything.” She mumbled and then looked back at the maids. ”What do you think?”

One of the maids returned the look with a sharp stare. ”You refused the peace portfolio and even the four seasons. Do you think going this route is better?”

Merida smiled. ”I’m not compatible with either of them, so trying to twist myself to gain their power is a bad idea. Besides, the others might need them.” She took the leather coat and wore it. ”It won’t be easier, but I’d much prefer not having to deal with a portfolio whispering into my mind.”

Lifting her fist up, she could see strands of golden divine magic sparking between her fingers. ”Besides, I got Kali’s divine magic.”

Looking at the maids, she approached and patted one of them on the shoulder. ”Do not worry. Everything should be fine.” She then walked past them and headed out. As she walked through the hallways, all of the maids she passed by gave her a bow, and when she exited through the door of the private quarters, all of the guards in the royal castle paled as they saw her walk by unguarded and unprotected.

The news are true; she is really going to take the front on her own. What she wore looked more like what a war general would wear. The cargo pants, the armored shirt, the black coat made of draconic scales, the shoulder pads, and even her build.

She looked both human and monstrous, to the point that just getting closer to her felt suffocating. One of the guards looked directly at her, and for a second, he felt a cold shiver run down his back as she lifted her foot to take a single step forward.

When Merida’s black boots hit the ground, it was as if the entire world plunged into darkness for the poor guard. All of his body drowned in numbness, and his limbs felt heavier than steel as the air around him vibrated violently. It felt as if he had been encased in stone and was electrocuted at the same time, and the only thing he could think about was to run away.

It wasn’t just him; everyone who stood in Merida’s path felt the same thing. It was like seeing a titanic, meat-grinding, bloodied saw flying at your face. It was pure instinct telling them to run, and so, even the rats and bugs hiding in the walls and garden fled in swarms.

Arad was standing beside the castle’s gate, waiting for her to arrive, but she took her time, slowly walking out of the castle. As she was taking her sweet time, the people outside the castle, everyone in the capital, could already feel her oppressive aura, and many of them had already fallen to their knees, gasping for air.

The queen showing up today won’t be a gentle and benevolent one. She is the whip, the iron hammer of the empire. They expected Merida to come out with a fancy clothes show, but what they ended up getting was the appearance of the most horrifying of their queens.

One of the Amaterasu’s nuns found herself on the ground, gasping for air as sweat drenched her whole body. She looked up toward the castle and could clearly notice the horrifying, demonic shadow engulfing the entire place. But that wasn’t the strange part; the one that surprised her was that there was as much divinity as there was demonic magic, which was the only reason such power could show in the mortal world.

Usually, the mortal world rejects demon lords by measuring their demonic magic and blocking anything that has above a certain value or quality of demonic power. That is why weaker demons find it easier to enter the mortal world than higher demons.

So, how could Merida display such power without getting rejected? The answer was the divine magic of destruction that helped bring her total power to 0.

When Merida took a single step toward the gate, instead of walking out, she jumped and landed atop the gates with Arad following her shortly after.

”You can still back away.” Arad spoke, and she smiled. ”No, this is the way forward.”

As she glared down, every man, woman, child, animal, and monster anywhere near the capital was forced to kneel by her demonic presence.

”I am Merida, the once called Blade of Whitehold.” Her voice boomed across the entire region. ”I was once of noble birth, but that is a thing I already discarded ages ago.”

”Today, I shall be known as Merida, the Blade of Orion. I am the emperor’s guard dog and the empire hunting hound. I am not the judge, I am not the jury, I am the executioner. I do not ask questions; I take lives.” The pressure coming from her grew even stronger, and the people found themselves face-first to the ground.

Inside Abel’s elephant trunk, a demon woman was about to get to her job when she felt Merida’s aura, and the moment she fell to the ground with the customer, the terrified man asked with a pale face. ”What is this?”

She growled. ”This presence... You lot got a bad one among them.” She looked at the customer with a worried face. ”She is a demon lord who became a divine paladin... she is the dog you train to hunt wolves.”

”I don’t understand, a demon lord? Is she evil?” As the man growled, she giggled. ”Is the aggressive dog you keep a vile being? No, they are a monster to strangers, but a gentle pup to your kids. That woman is the same as the empire. Get on her bad side, and she’ll bite your face off; be a good citizen, and she’ll bite your enemies’ faces.”

”To... to think the emperor would be with a demon lord...” As the man growled, the demoness forced herself to move and kicked him in the face. ”Who are you to criticize him? You’ve been here with me more than ten times. You got a normal demoness to have fun with, and your emperor is a far greater man than you are, so he gets a demon lord.”

The man punched her on the leg, trying to get her foot away from his face. ”You’re one thing, but I cannot imagine her as anything but... a horrifying monster.”

”You’re...” But before she could reply, Merida’s voice boomed again.

”I’ll also be maintaining peace between the demons and mortals. Of course, by killing anyone who starts trouble.” She then went silent for a second before speaking again.

”And to those who dare question my loyalty to the emperor. My loyalty is measured by corpses, not words. Feel free to come argue if you want.”

As Merida finished speaking, a flock of over a thousand flying demons blocked the sky as they flew toward the castle and dropped a mountain of corpses into the main yard. Rogue demon cults, rebels, bandits, outlaws, corrupt nobles, and even foreign spies. Everyone who was on the empire’s kill-list that she could find was hunted down by her demons and brought to the castle.

Arad looked at the pile and chuckled, ”You really hunted them all.”

Merida was kneeling behind him. ”Of course. My Emperor, you cannot rule an empire, let alone one that spans across multiple planets and dimensions, with just goodness. You need both the carrot and the stick.”

”And you’ll be the stick?”

”No, I’ll be the whip, the iron fist, and the merciless executioner blade.”