The dragon's harem

Isdis’s presence was divine; the moment the people saw her face, they could feel their skin freezing as if they were thrown into the cold snow. Her cold face, faintly glowing skin, radiant blue eyes, long and silky blond hair, and azure and golden dress. It didn’t take a genius to see that she was no longer human.

”Great People of the Empire, I am Isdis Lior Ruris, former princess of Ruris, current Queen of Orion, and the Divine Deity of Everlasting Peace.” She looked down at them. ”That last part, I didn’t expect to stand in front of you as a Divine on this day. It was quite the surprise.”

When the people looked at her cold eyes, even though she didn’t bear any emotions on her beautiful face, they still felt as if she was glaring down at them. Her gaze was not human, but that of something else. Those who looked at her eyes couldn’t look away, and those who heard her voice couldn’t get it out of their minds. Every word she spoke was burned into their minds, and even with how terrifying her gaze was, no one wanted to leave.

”As Brother explained days ago, the Emperor, alongside Queen Merida, had faced a nightmarish horror that was even capable of killing the divine goddess of peace, and they were victorious in their battle, which took place in the abyss, the land of abhorrent demons.” She then glared down at them for real this time.

”Of course, the emperor didn’t take the portfolio of peace from the fallen goddess, and neither did I become the goddess at that time. It was much later, when I reached my limit facing the endless invading army of the orcs, after the blast that you all must have heard.” She looked at her own hand. ”My body was broken; my soul had started fading, but Queen Eris was there for me. To survive, to recover and grow, I had to fight her, and fight her I did.”

She smiled, ”When our fight reached a peak, the divine portfolio of peace acknowledged me as its master, and I became a new divine through combat.” She looked at them with a smile. ”My first task as the divine of peace was to enforce peace upon the current invasion, to force both us and the orcs to bow down to the serenity of stability and stillness.” She swung her arm. ”That’s what I achieved. The orc’s invasion had come to an end just as quickly as it started, and we’re now in the process of establishing everlasting peace.”

Charlie, who was still there, waved his hand. ”Oh, what if they aren’t that keen on peace?”

At that moment, the sky turned black, the sun faded away, and the entire capital shook as the darkness emerging from the castle swallowed everything. Two radiant purple eyes flashed in the shadows, and when Arad stepped out, everyone could feel a different kind of oppressive pressure than the divine presence of Isdis.

”Then I’ll have to deal with them.”

The Emperor had become even bigger, and his presence was already far denser than anyone could remember. This wasn’t just a hero; this was someone who surpassed all of that. A man who stands against the horrors that even the gods fear.

Arms as big as the trunks of trees, and legs that far surpassed the thickness of mountains. Clad in obsidian armor, he stood beside Isdis like a towering spire of pure darkness. One look at Arad’s face, and everyone could imagine the appalling destruction he could bring down upon those who stand against him.

The people of the mortal world already understood well that to defeat monsters, you have to become an even bigger and scarier monster. They knew that Arad was a nightmarish horror that would make even gods cry, but that didn’t bother them at all, because he was their monster.

They loved Arad a lot, and it wasn’t just admiration, it wasn’t fear, and it wasn’t respect. It was pure, human passion for pure power, weaponry, and destruction. They boasted about who had the biggest army, who had the most S-rankers, and who had the most S-rank weapons and artifacts, but now, Arad had become the existence they boasted about.

Conversations usually start like this: ”That kingdom has an army in the hundreds of thousands, countless A-rank weapons and seven S-rankers, without mentioning the sacred treasures and artifacts.” And end back at the same point. ”But can they survive the emperor, though? It doesn’t matter if you have a big army; in fact, the bigger, the better. He can blow them all at once.”

People even dug up information about that one time in the half-angels’ kingdom where Jemima unleashed her divine punishment on Arad, only for him to punch back to the heavens. And that had quickly started a massive wave of people arguing about what gods Arad can defeat and which ones he can’t.

That is why when Arad said he’d deal with them, the people believed him, especially those who had been saved by him before. This five-meter-tall giant wasn’t just their Emperor; he was their guardian, their protector, and their dark lord who could stand to horrors that even the gods couldn’t face.

Arad reached down with his hand, and Isdis jumped into his arm. She could walk, but they decided that he would carry her like a princess in the parade. And unlike everyone else, Isdis, as cold as she was, had prepared the craziest and loudest parade of everyone so far. She had bards, musicians, and singers spread all around the city, free food, beer, and even military showcases outside the walls.

She wanted the people to eat, drink, sing, and dance... As a bard, entertainment was at the forefront of her policy, and it worked just too well with her Control Portfolio, since happy and satisfied people are easier to control. Even her peace portfolio couldn’t argue, as only a peaceful kingdom could focus that many resources on entertainment and the happiness of its people.

The smartest of the nobles understood Isdis’s strategy at once, and they were already on board. The happy people benefited them as well, and so they fully supported Isdis’s parade, even going as far as to open their mansions and offer food, drink, and music to whoever walked through the door.

Standing with Isdis by his side in the city’s plaza, Arad watched as she walked to one of the tables to snatch some roasted meat and give the bards a few stern pieces of advice regarding their play. It was very rare for a member of royalty to show up in front of the people, and it was even rarer for them to freely interact with the common people with no guards or rules.

But... while everyone gathered around Isdis to speak to her, to get her advice, and get noticed by her. Arad himself was left all alone. It wasn’t like the people were afraid of him; they just didn’t know how to approach him, what to say, or how to even look at him.

The cracks had already started to show, and Arad could notice them. A rift was already starting to form between him and the mortals of this world, a rift that didn’t even exist between the gods and mortals.

”Oh, my...” At that moment, an old lady approached Arad. She was old, too old, barely able to walk and with a hunched back. Each step she took felt harder than the one before, and her eyes were already blind. ”You... haven’t eaten anything, right?”

Arad looked at her for a second. ”Yeah, I was just sitting here.” Without even moving a muscle, he used gravity magic to pull a chair from one of the tables for the old lady to sit on. ”You can tell?”

She giggled, ”Well, I might be blind... but I can ask people.” She slowly turned her head toward Arad’s voice. ”To me, you look like a black blur, a dark void.” She smiled, ”Even so... you gotta eat. They roasted a few lambs; I’m sure you’d love them.”