Demonic Dragon: Harem System

The blood trickling down Scathach's shoulder evaporated in black clouds, like smoke carried by the wind. Her body hung in Strax's hand, but her eyes… her eyes were still the same: steady, uneasy, assessing him as if testing the ferocity of a caged beast.

Suddenly, the silence was broken.

Crimson runes surged beneath her skin, like living tattoos. They ignited one by one, in ancient, complex patterns that pulsed to the rhythm of a heart that simply refused to give in. The ancient scars on her body glowed, responding to the runes like conduits, spreading the energy up her mangled arm.

Strax narrowed his eyes, his hand tightening its grip on her neck.

But then came the sound.

Tissue rearranging, bones snapping, muscles stitching themselves back together into new flesh. Scathach's lost arm began to rebuild itself before everyone's eyes—fibers sprouting like tree roots, bones growing and aligning, skin closing over everything. In seconds, what had been a brutal amputation was now just another memory.

And her smile, stained with blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, only widened.

"Beautiful." Her voice was hoarse but firm, like iron being hammered. "Straight, true… worthy of a dragon."

The runes around her body still glowed, pulsing like embers about to ignite the air.

With a movement as natural as breathing, she relaxed her newly formed arm and flexed it, as if displaying the insolence of regeneration. The glow of the runes slowly faded, leaving only a faint scar of something that no longer mattered.

"But do you really think you can kill me like this?" She tilted her head, her red eyes flashing with defiance. "Try again."

Scarlet took a step back, for the first time without a smile, watching the scene with a dry throat. The heat of Scathach's energy rivaled Strax's demonic fury, and the beach was already beginning to crack beneath their feet, black lines spreading across the sand as if the world could no longer support the two of them in the same space.

Scathach held out her newly healed hand and pressed it against Strax's arm, which held her by the neck. It wasn't an attempt to escape. It was a provocation.

"Show me, son," she whispered, her teeth bared in a beastly half-smile. "If your hatred is enough."

Her aura exploded like a storm, a whirlwind of crimson energy that crashed in waves across the island.

Up above, Daniela clapped her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide.

"She... she regenerated as if it were nothing..."

Frieren clenched her fists, sweat dripping down her temples.

"No. This isn't ordinary regeneration. This is primal magic. She's using her entire body as a living rune."

Strax didn't flinch. The fire in his eyes only grew. His hand split her neck with brutal force, until the sound of bones cracking echoed.

But Scathach didn't look away.

She laughed. A low, defiant laugh.

"So? You're going to kill me?"

Scathach's laugh reverberated like steel being forged, deep, vibrant, filled with an almost maternal contempt.

Strax opened wider. The dry sound of vertebrae giving way filled the air, and for an instant her neck actually snapped under his force. Her head lolled to the side, as if dead.

But then the runes glowed again.

A crack—crack! —and the bones mend. The flesh twisted in a grotesque yet fascinating movement, until the neck was back in place. Scathach slowly straightened her head, her eyes burning bright red.

And smiled.

"Are you selling?" she whispered, her voice guttural, as if coming from deep within the earth. "No matter how many times I try, I don't want to."

The energy around her exploded in crimson bursts, forcing even Strax to dig his heels into the ground to resist. The sand dissolved into glass under the pressure, and the sea rebounded as if fleeing the scene.

Scarlet gasped, finally dropping a mask of insouciance.

"Strax…!" Her voice trembled, but she didn't dare approach.

Up above, Daniela commented:

"Let go of her, idiot!" But not even her own voice could break through the wall of energy that grew around them.

Scathach slowly brought her newly healed hand to his and placed it on his face, as if caressing a wayward child. The touch was warm, almost affectionate, but the aura that accompanied it burned like lava.

"You inherited the chaos. You carry the fury." Her eyes narrowed, glowing like eternal embers. "But something is still missing."

Strax roared, his teeth bared in hatred. "Shut up!"

He lifted the tallest extravagance and, with a brutal movement, slammed it into the ground. The impact opened a crater that swallowed half the beach, fragments of rock shaking like blueprints. The earth shook, and the waves crashed violently against the shore.

For an instant, there was only dust, silence, and the sound of Strax's breathing, panting, overcome by instinct.

But then, from the smoking ruins, laughter came again.

Soft at first, then growing until it echoed like thunder.

Scathach emerged from the crater, intact. No marks, no wounds. Just her body pulsing with living runes, each line glowing like rivers of fire beneath her skin.

"Try again." She wrapped her arms around her, spreading them in a gesture of defiance. "If this is all you have, you will never be more than a shadow."

Strax's heart hammered, blood roaring in her ears. His draconic form burned beneath his skin, begging to be released. But he knew: if he gave in completely, he might never return.

And for the first time since arriving, Scathach looked truly serious. Her eyes burned, no longer with provocation, but with anticipation.

"I want to see how far you'll go, Strax." Her voice was like a subdued thunderclap, deep, powerful. "I want to see if you're worthy of being my enemy... or my—"

"You've lost all respect you had, now be still and fight," Strax said, drawing his sword... Zani... The Dragonslayer.

The sound of metal slicing through the air made the island shudder.

The blade of Zani, the Dragonslayer, glowed as it emerged from its sheath, its presence sparking reality itself. It was a sword made to destroy the impossible, forged with blood, runes, and hatred. The mere fact of its existence was an insult to any draconic being—and before Scathach, a weapon seemed to vibrate in ecstasy, as if begging for blood.

Strax thrust it out firmly, its greenish-black edge reflecting the sunlight, and for the first time his fury seemed to align with a clear focus. It wasn't the dragon roaring now. It was the warrior.

"You've lost all respect I had," he said, his voice low, but so important it rumbled like thunder. "Now shut up... and lute."

Scathach's smile widened, even more savage. Her red eyes flashed at the sight of the sword.

"Ah... so that's it." Her voice sounded almost reverent.

She ran her tongue over her teeth, like a predator savoring the promise of battle.

"This will be fun." Incandescent runes spread across the ground around Scathach, forming a circle that burned like magma. Her body leaned slightly, in a fighting stance, and for the first time since the confrontation began, she seemed… excited.

The air grew heavy, unbreathable. The waves receded for miles, revealing the ocean floor, as if nature itself were retreating from the issues at hand.

Up above, Daniela was enveloped by the sight of the sword.

"He… he's actually using the Zani…"

Frieren closed her eyes, the runes on her fingers trembling.

"So he's decided. It's not just instinct anymore. He's seeing this through to the end."

Bellatrix, uneasy but fascinated. "This is going to be complicated…"

Strax swung the blade in an arc, and each movement left streaks of energy in the air, black and green lines that cut through the light like scars. His gaze never left Scathach.

Scathach, in turn, took a step forward. The ground gave way beneath her feet, as if it could no longer contain her.

"Come, son." Her voice was pure tentativeness and defiance. "Show me if you can wield this sword... or if you will be just another dragon crushed beneath my power."