Harem System In A fantasy World

The blade thrust upward.

Shk!

Kurogoroshi pierced through the demon’s abdomen, but Elion did not stop there. He twisted the blade, then dragged it upward with both hands.

Shkaaaaa!

The cut tore from stomach to sternum, splitting through the demon’s torso in a brutal vertical line. Black blood poured out like a waterfall, hissing as it struck the ground.

The demon staggered. It was very much still alive and trying to move despite the fatal wound. Elion’s eyes narrowed.

’Does it also have multiple cores and hearts?

Even as he was having the thought, he was already bursting into motion. He kicked off the ground and leapt toward the demon’s head.

The demon tried to raise an arm, but its movements were far too slow to do much of anything.

Elion landed on its chest, his feet briefly touching the torn bone plates, then launched himself upward again. Kurogoroshi reversed in his hand.

“Flowing Edge.”

The first slash cut across the demon’s throat, the second across its jaw, and the third through its remaining horn.

The fourth went through its single burning eye, and for a moment, the demon stood frozen; then the red glow vanished.

Its body slowly tilted backward like a falling tower.

Boom!

The massive demon collapsed onto the ground, shaking the earth beneath it, and a heavy silence followed.

The silence lasted only but a second, and the remaining demons finally broke into a frenzy. Some turned and ran, others were cut down by arrows and spells before they could escape.

The battle became a cleanup after that.

Elion landed lightly on the ground beside the giant corpse, Kurogoroshi hanging loosely at his side. The blade was stained with black blood, but the liquid slowly slid off the edge without leaving a mark, as if the weapon refused to be dirtied.

He stared at it for a second and smiled faintly.

“I have to say, you really are something else, Kurogoroshi.”

The sword hummed once, and he could have sworn the vibration sounded smug and proud. Elion’s brow twitched.

“…Don’t get cocky on me now, I did most of the work there.”

From the wall, Alexander lowered his spear and let out a breath he had not realised he was holding.

Peter slowly leaned toward Gareth.

“Did… did he just scold his sword?”

Gareth nodded faintly.

“I believe so.”

Peter swallowed.

“The sword answered, didn’t it?”

“I believe so.”

Peter looked pale again.

“So he drinks demon tears and talks to cursed swords.”

Elion turned his head slightly toward them, and Peter immediately shut up. Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Peter.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Stop speaking.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Commander Rallis approached cautiously from the wall once the area was secure, his eyes moving from the giant demon corpse to Elion, then to the strange blade in his hand.

The commander was an experienced man. He had clearly seen many battles before, and he was in the same realm of strength as Elion. But even he looked deeply unsettled by what had just happened.

“Sir Elion,” he said after a moment. “Are you injured?”

Elion looked down at himself. He had a few bruises and a torn sleeve, that, and some blood at the corner of his mouth, but nothing serious.

“I’m fine.”

Alexander came down from the wall not long after, walking toward him with Lukas at his side.

“You call that not rushing out alone?” the prince asked coldly.

Elion blinked innocently and shrugged, “Well, I stayed close.”

“You literally created a whole bridge into the enemy formation.”

“It was a short bridge.” He corrected calmly.

Alexander stared at him with an odd look, and Elion stared back. Then Alexander sighed like a man who had aged ten years in one night.

Honestly, it was taking him a terrible amount of effort not to rush at the infuriating bastard and give him a big hug for this big save he had just executed.

But the smug smile on Elion’s face was enough to stop him in his tracks.

He had no idea how powerful that demon commander was supposed to be, but in most cases, they tended to be peak high mages; hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be an early-stage high mage.

It was just that the sight of Elion dominating that fight had no doubt skewed their vision and common sense. It was not supposed to be as easy as he made it look.

“I hate that you’re effective,” Alexander said finally.

“I know.”

“And I hate that you know.”

“I know that too.”

Alexander looked like he was considering hitting him, then seemed to remember how that would end and abandoned the thought.

Instead, he turned toward Commander Rallis.

“Count the dead. Secure the wounded and send word to the other checkpoints immediately. This was not a probing force anymore. They came with a commander and a spellcaster.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Alexander’s gaze shifted toward the forest.

“Elion was right earlier. They’re testing more than our perimeter.”

Elion slowly sheathed Kurogoroshi. The battlefield noise returned fully the moment the blade disappeared into its scabbard.

The ambient noise was almost sweet in Elion’s ears. Screams of the wounded, orders being barked, the crackle of fire, the smell of blood and burned flesh.

He looked toward the dark treeline.

Somewhere beyond it, there was a path, or a hidden teleportation formation that the demons had used to make it in this far without being noticed.

His good mood faded slightly.

’Is this really all they had planned, or is there more still yet to come?’

The thought sat heavily in his chest.

Alexander seemed to reach the same conclusion.

His voice lowered.

“We leave at first light.”

Elion nodded.

“No complaints from me.”

Peter, standing behind them, opened his mouth as if to say something.

Gareth immediately slapped a hand over it. Elion pretended not to notice, as he briefly considered going out into the forest to investigate.

In the end, he shook his head and decided to let the people in charge take care of things. It wouldn’t help if he did every single thing for them. They would leave soon anyway.

…

For the rest of the night, everyone did not go back to being fully at ease.

Even after the last demon corpse had been dragged away from the barricades and piled outside the northern wall, even after the fires were put out, the wounded carried into the medical tent, and the shattered rune pillar surrounded by three mages desperately trying to stabilise what remained of its function, the checkpoint still felt like it was holding its breath.

Soldiers moved more quietly now, not because they were calm, but because exhaustion had set into their bones.

Orders were passed in low voices, scouts were sent out in pairs instead of alone, and every archer on the wall kept an arrow nocked, their eyes fixed on the treeline as if the forest itself might suddenly open its mouth and swallow the camp whole.

Elion sat on the edge of the northern wall with one leg hanging over the side, Kurogoroshi resting across his lap, still sheathed, though his palm remained lightly placed over the scabbard.

He hadn’t put it back into storage this time. The sword had fought too well, and perhaps more importantly, he felt stronger and far more at ease when he had it in hand.

That alone was enough reason to keep it close, no matter how much he wanted to pretend he wasn’t already attached to the damn thing.

“Maybe I don’t need to put you in storage after all…” He thought quietly. The sword hummed faintly in agreement, earning a faint chuckle from Elion, but for that, he considered the fact that he would need a proper sash or band to hold the scabbard on his person at all times.