Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem

Quinlan raised his finger. His breath came admirably steady despite the exhaustion weighing down his limbs. The incantation was already at the tip of his tongue when three voices broke out in perfect chorus.

"Don't exert yourself!" Ayame, Aurora, and Jasmine cried together. "Dummy!" Jasmine added for bonus effect.

Blossom, sitting pressed against him like a loyal hound on his side that wasn't occupied by the yandere Hexwitch, tilted her head up and gazed at him with begging puppy eyes. Her ears drooped low while her fluffy tail curled around his hip as if to hold him in place. "Master…"

But Quinlan only smiled in response to their worries. The three human women were forced to notice how his lips tugged upward into that infuriatingly confident curve they knew him for.

A bragging declaration was coming from their man; they all felt it.

"I recover quickly, keeping me exhausted for long is a herculean task. My girls should know that better than anyone."

Jasmine blinked, confused. "… What?"

Her innocent mind stalled, and the words were not clicking. That was until she glanced at Blossom, who was practically purring as she licked at his cheeks like a pet hungry for her master's affection.

Then she looked toward Aurora and Ayame, whose flushed pink cheeks betrayed volumes more than their silence.

The Tyrant of Commerce's face lit up with understanding. "Oh! Oh…"

She looked scandalized. "If you can make that kind of joke, then you're clearly not in any serious danger."

Quinlan's chuckle was low and warm. "I can make sex jokes even while at death's door, Jasmine."

Before the woman could chide him further for his lacking manners, his eyes sharpened, and his voice cut through the homely atmosphere.

"[Awaken]."

A rush of spectral light bled from the Soul Reaper, twisting and coalescing until the shape of a short woman materialized before them. Her outline solidified, becoming a familiar mask hiding her face, daggers at her hips, her body slim but lethal enough to feel danger just by a look.

The Ascendants' breath caught as one at the sight.

Jasmine was the first to break the silence. Her voice trembled, eyes wide. "I-isn't that?! She's one of the Scarlet Lilies!"

The air seemed to freeze with that truth.

But it lasted a shorter while than one might expect. After all, the women present already knew just what kind of a man they were dealing with.

Ayame and Lucille exchanged a glance, and in their gazes, shock flashed only briefly before giving way to smirks that curved in perfect sync.

"He really did something outrageous…" Ayame murmured with incredible pride glowing behind her cool eyes.

Lucille snorted. "Our Quinnie just had to one-up our expectations. And here I was thinking he's desperately running for his life."

"Hey, you know the rules. Only my mothers can use that name."

Quinlan's words were ignored by all present, save for a few amused giggles, especially coming from the Slutty Foxy, who's been using the nickname together with Vex from time to time.

The worst he would do was give her a rough plowing at night, so she considered it a win-win situation.

Serika, always hungry for glorious battles, flashed him a big, flashy grin, letting her gorgeous green eyes shine brightly. "I can't wait to hear this one. Whatever went down up there… it must've been a hell of a fight to end like this."

That was when Vex, still leaning against Quinlan, giggled despite the exhaustion still pulling at her. "It's going to be one amazing pillow talk, that's for sure…" Her red eyes glinted with amusement. "But you know who isn't laughing? Lilith and the rest of the wrinkly bitches. I bet she's beyond devastated right now. The Scarlet Lilies aren't just colleagues, they're famous for treating each other as a close-knit family."

She tilted her head, and a wolfish, far too sly smile emerged on her delicate lips. "Some even think of them as a large group of lovers."

Jasmine was quick to join in. Truth be told, she used to look up to the women; for all intents and purposes, they were akin to heroes of humanity, protecting entire cities from monster hordes at times. But the brunette's opinion did a complete 180 as soon as the group was set on ruining her newfound family.

"When I lived in Braedon, I heard a lot of lewd girls who dreamed of joining the group - at least at night - call them Lilith's Lilies."

Aurora's brows shot up hearing that. She also lived in Braedon before meeting Quinlan, but her focus has been on mastering the art of Alchemy. Collecting rumors wasn't her forte. "Is that true?"

Vex shrugged, though her sly smile never left her face. "I honestly doubt it. There exists no proof in all the centuries they've been together."

Her smile softened as she looked at her sister-wives. "I think they're more like sworn sisters… basically like us."

Then her gaze moved toward Quinlan and flashed him a gorgeous smile, "Just without a man tying them together."

The gossipy mood hung between the girls, all of whom were suddenly quite interested in the juicy rumors - after all, the Scarlet Lilies were nationwide celebrities, and it wasn't like they had YouTube and iPads while growing up. Listening to tales about these famous women was something they all did.

Clearly, they were ready to continue the gossiping for quite a long time, which was why Quinlan's voice sounded. It addressed none of them.

"Do you have something to comment on the topic?"

Every head turned to him, dumbfounded. They saw his gaze linger on Scar, who was standing silently, obediently. His soul summons didn't speak, making them wonder if he suffered a concussion.

"It is an unfounded rumor, master."

The girls froze. Wide eyes, parted lips, and then a ripple of squeaks, gasps, and muffled laughter broke out. It was brief, but undeniably cute.

Before the shock could settle further, a stir of movement drew Quinlan's attention downward. Black Fang shifted in his arms with her lashes fluttering open. Her voice was soft but also rough with fatigue.

"… You didn't wait."

He blinked, noting how the more he interacted with the woman, the less and less she was acting the lifeless robot and more and more like… well, a woman. A quirky, questionably sane, and extremely dangerous woman, for sure, but a woman nonetheless. "I didn't expect you to wake anytime soon."

Her gaze swept downward, catching her own state. Practically naked, clothes shredded to tatters, her body slick with blood and freshly closed wounds.

"You have… very talented healers."

Seraphiel's lips curved into a gentle smile at the praise, while Liora's cheeks flushed scarlet, flustered that a living legend had acknowledged her craft.

"I only did what I could…" she mumbled.

Shallan, the tanned woman with wind powers, was quick to pat the back of her friend, earning herself a startled yelp in the process, then a pair of stinky eyes. She, however, only shrugged and grinned, finding nothing wrong with what she did.

Through an extreme amount of straining, Black Fang managed to sit up - though both Quinlan and Vex supported her efforts. Unlike Quinlan, who was mostly exhausted, she truly suffered mortal wounds. Recovery would take longer.

She looked around and noted that they were still in the Consortium's stronghold. "It's not over yet, correct?"

Quinlan was quick to agree, sporting an expression none of his enemies would appreciate.

"Correct."

"I'm afraid an extensive research into the powers of necromancy will have to wait."