The dragon's harem

Chapter 489 Rot In Blood

A red rose grew and extended up, forming a pair of lips. ”Master, itʼs been a while.” Loci said with a giggle, ”I see you brought a monster with you,”

”Calling her a monster,” Isdis stared at Loci, ”Arenʼt you a bit rude to her?”

”You might be right, but youʼre wrong,” Loci replied.

Zephyr nodded, ”Unlike you, weʼre all monsters. No matter how human we look.” She then flew around Yuwaku, ”Youʼre only alive around her since me and Arad are keeping her in check. You canʼt even see her properly, can you?”

”No, I canʼt. I barely sense Yuwakuʼs magic.” Isdis looked at the empty air in front of her, sensing a blob of magic that seemed twisted, mixed with Zephyr and Aradʼs mana.

Loci turned to Arad, ”Since sheʼs like this, I suspect you want to give her a dryadʼs body.”

Zephyr flew to Aradʼs shoulder and nodded, ”Make it close to a human,” She smiled, ”We want everyone to be able to see her and not. Well, die.”

”Canʼt she just control it?” Agnar asked, ”If itʼs magic, Iʼm sure she can figure a way to not kill or blind people.”

Zephyr shook her head, ”Thatʼs impossible. It isnʼt magic.” She flew in front of Agnar.

”Imagin walking alone in a ghastly forest, exhausted and drained. Then you come along a vast flower field with a great blossoming tree in the middle, a mythical obsidian dragon sleeping beneath it with fairies dancing under the sunlight like specs of golden light.” She smiled, ”Yuwaku represents that mystical scene. People getting blind or stunned isnʼt because of magic. Itʼs because their brains canʼt handle that image in the form of a single woman. She canʼt do anything about them being too green for her.”

The dryadʼs body would be like a veil, sealing her beauty to protect others. Currently, Arad and Gojo can handle her because of their powerful draconic brain, Zephyr is a great spirit, and Eris is a half-dragon with a strong head.

”Iʼm taking her with me,” Loci said with a smile, wrapping leaves around Yuwaku. ”I will be out of a few hours to make her body. Please be careful.”

”Worry not,” Arad smiled, ”I have a lot of helpers this time.” Flocks of crows, rats, birds, and bugs rushed across the forest, spreading his spies everywhere.

Arad crossed his eyes, worried, ”This is weird. Are those some new monsters?”

He could see an adventurer dragged into the church for healing, his left arm and leg rotting with red fungus. But Loci had already left.

If she didnʼt inform him, it wasnʼt his problem, at least for now. He turned toward the carriages, ”Go rest in my house. Iʼm heading to the guild.”

”Master, Iʼm going with you,” Agnar said with a stern face.

”Youʼre too young for the guild,” Arad replied, but he quickly sighed, seeing the dead-serious stare on the kidʼs face. ^Who am I to object? Heʼs five times older than me.^

”Fine, but stay close. It shouldnʼt be dangerous, I think.” Agnar is a fiery kid. He might end up ticking Nina off and have her break his legs. Like what happened with Abel?

****

Upon approaching the gate, the guards panicked as they saw Arad. ”Open the gate!” One of them screamed.

”Baron Arad is back!” Another cried.

”Youʼre famous here as well,” Agnar stared at Arad.

”Iʼm not. I only lived for a few months.” Arad replied as the gate opened, and they walked inside.

”Itʼs been a while, Arad.” Rowan approached with a smile.

Arad smiled, ”Father Rowan, howʼs Nigel doing?”

”Heʼs doing well, out on a quest right now.” Rowan looked at Agnar, ”Not as good as you. Did you already have a kid in a few months?”

”Iʼm not the father,” Arad replied.

”Iʼm his student. I currently train swordsmanship under him.” Agnar replied.

Arad looked at him, ”You arenʼt going to yell. Iʼm the blade of the capital! Or something like that?”

”Iʼm not!” Agnar gasped, ”We arenʼt in the capital...”

Arad laughed, patting Agnarʼs head, ”Heʼs a great swordsman, helped protect the capital against an undead invasion.”

”If you picked him up,” Rowan smiled, ”Iʼm sure heʼll grow as fast as you did,”

After the brief conversation, Arad and Agnar headed directly to the guild. The moment Arad opened the door, all adventurers stared at him. He could hear the woman in the back cry, ”He has a kid?”

”ARAD!” Alcott called him from the guildʼs tavern, waving his hand with a mug of beer. Beside him, a man in a strange outfit with a pink-haired little girl sitting on his shoulders.

”Thatʼs,” Arad approached, ^The man who stopped the dragonsʼ army, Kayden.^

”Whoʼs the kid?” Alcott asked.

”A talent from the capital,” Arad replied, looking at Agnar, ”Wanted to grow stronger, so he stuck by my side.”

Angar bowed slightly, ”Nice to meet you.”

Alcott stared closely at Agnar, ”Hmmm, I see traces of determination on you. With tattered hands and sharp eyes, youʼre definitely a rough gem.”

CLACK! Kayden stared at Agnar with one eye, and it made him freeze in place, terrified.

”Rakshasaʼs blood, youʼre contracted with that big cat,” Kayden said, drinking his beer. ”You have potential,”

Arad patted Agnarʼs head, ”You got the approval of the two best swordsmen I know. One day, youʼll be a hero.”

”Arad!” Nina waved her hand from the counter, ”Are you ignoring me”?

”Iʼm coming,” He replied and then looked back at Kayden. ^Isnʼt he the one who cut her head off in the past?^

[From what she said before, he was protecting his orphanage from her rage. There is no reason for bad blood between them,] Mom explained, and Arad headed to Nina.

”Itʼs been a while,” He smiled, and she nodded, ”We missed you, and a lot happened.”

”There was this thing,” Arad said, ”I saw an adventurer with a strange rotting wound at the church. Do you know what was that?”

”You saw that?” Nina gasped, ”Apparently, itʼs a new type of monster that causes fungus to grow in blood. It infects the host through wounds and sucks the life out of them. We got to call it Crimson rot.”

”Zuggtmoy,” Kayden said in the back, and everyone stared at him.

”The demon queen of rot and decay, the lady of fungi. Someone must have summoned one of her minions to the world,” He looked back at them, ”Donʼt breathe, donʼt open your eyes or ears, donʼt get hit, and use fire. Defeating them should be easy.”

Kali, the pink-haired girl with Kayden, sighed, ”I should have cleaned the backyard. Didnʼt expect such fungus to grow,”

Some adventurers laughed, ”Whoʼs Zuggtmoy, old man.”

”Arenʼt you drunk?” Only Arad, Alcott, and Nina in the guild knew that Kayden was a problem. Everyone else thought he was only a drunkard.

CLACK! The guildʼs door burst open, Merlin panting as she rushed inside, ”Iʼve found it,” She lifted an ancient, crumbling book. ”That rot, itʼs a trait of an ancient demon called Zuggtmoy. We must be against one of her spawns. But, we know nothing of their weakness.”

The whole guild stared at Kayden, ”You serious,”

”Iʼm not repeating myself,” He went back to drinking, Kali mocking the adventurers with a weird face.