Harem System In A fantasy World

"So, you are the guests who wished to see me..."

A thundering voice echoed in Elion’s ears, but its reverberations were hardly worth worrying about compared to its source.

A gargantuan yet beautiful arachnid loomed before him, the tenebrous magnificence of its body filling him with utter dread.

A bead of sweat formed on his brow, followed by a violent shiver.

’S-so, this is the master...’

Drawing a shallow breath, he offered a slight bow in her direction. "We greet the master," he said calmly, glancing around to see whether the others had done the same.

To his shock, they were all on their knees, though certainly not by choice. The master’s oppressive presence had forced them down.

Elion managed a wry smile.

He was barely managing to remain standing himself, so it was a given that the others wouldn’t cope. Worse still, he felt as though he were freezing.

The chamber was awfully cold.

His draconic physique did a good job of fending off most of the cold, but what remained still bit into him mercilessly. The others were shivering terribly, their bodies bent so low that they were only inches away from kowtowing.

"How curious," the voice said again as the arachnid slowly approached.

’So I was right,’ Elion mused inwardly.

He found no satisfaction in having his suspicions confirmed, given the situation, but the master was indeed a monster.

With his eyes, he could clearly see how all those threads converged upon her gargantuan body.

He had heard that once monsters became powerful enough to reach the level of a saint, they could gain sentience and intelligence equal to that of a human.

At that point, they could also change between human and monster forms as they pleased. Dragons were different, of course, since they existed somewhere in between.

They didn’t need to become saints to assume a human form, though he wasn’t sure what conditions they needed to meet.

This master was most certainly at that level, and suddenly, Elion found that all his earlier bravado had deserted him.

She seemed to have grown tired of playing this little game, having instructed her servant to bring them straight to her chambers. He could even see the many human bones strewn to one side, though he did his best to pretend they were non-existent.

"Oh?" Had the arachnid possessed brows, they would have risen by now. "You actually dare to resist my authority?"

She didn’t sound enraged, but with those simple words, the pressure bearing down on Elion increased threefold. A moment later, he could taste blood in his mouth.

The pain was even more unbearable, making his body tremble, but he remained standing, even though an invisible attack had just damaged his internal organs.

"How insolent. You think you can challenge my power?" she asked in that same thundering voice.

Elion chuckled, blood leaking from between his lips. "On the contrary, I wouldn’t even dream of it. I just thought it would be disrespectful to show weakness before your majestic presence."

The arachnid remained silent for a moment before breaking into a fit of laughter.

Shockingly, her voice lost its thundering edge, sounding rather cute and feminine instead. "Oh, stop it, you...! Ahahahahaha!"

’Is she... flustered?’ Elion wondered as she continued laughing.

He couldn’t be sure since all he could see was her carapace and limbs, but if not for her menacing form, he imagined she would have looked terribly flustered if she were in her human form.

Elion found himself smiling.

’Perhaps hope isn’t lost after all.’

The elderly woman was in the room with them, along with the tattooed man who had led them here and two more figures who, shockingly enough, were just as powerful as the first two. He was standing before four sages and a saint.

There was simply no way for them to brute force their way out of here.

The gargantuan arachnid suddenly began to shimmer, the pressure on Elion and the others fading as her luminous figure contracted until only a humanoid form remained. She floated above them, naked, looking down at the cohort.

Elion could see that she was not only beautiful but well endowed as well. He didn’t dare regard her lustfully, lest he incur her ire, though he didn’t shy away from gazing at her naked figure with an appreciative smile.

Had he looked around again, he would have noticed that even the four sages did not dare gaze upon the master’s naked humanoid form.

Regardless, she walked seductively toward him, a light smile on her beautiful face as the mounds on her chest jiggled enticingly.

Up close, he could see her features more clearly, and gods, were they perfect.

She fell only a little short of Zenith’s level of beauty, while her eyes were an abyssal black, just like Uncle Dorian’s. Unlike his, however, hers reflected the light, almost like polished gemstones.

She didn’t stop until she was standing mere inches from Elion, looking up at his towering figure with an oddly pleased smile.

"Tell me, human, what is your name?" she asked, raising a pale hand to stroke his cheek.

The master was surprisingly petite, with wide hips and a decent bosom, and she looked particularly small beside him.

"My name is Elion," he replied, feeling her long black nails graze his cheek as her palm came to rest beneath his chin.

"Elion..." she repeated, pondering over the name as though deciding whether it pleased her.

Her fingers moved beneath his chin, tilting his face a little higher, while those lustrous black eyes studied him with such a profound gaze that it made him feel painfully exposed. "You have rather interesting manners, Elion."

He managed another pale smile, though the movement disturbed the blood gathering between his lips. "I was hoping to make a good impression."

"Oh, you have."

Her gaze dropped toward his mouth, and a pale thumb brushed away the thin crimson trail running from its corner.

Elion held himself still as she lifted her hand, inspecting the blood against her pristine skin. Bringing the thumb to her mouth, she let her tongue slip out, licking the crimson liquid away.

Her eyes wandered to the side, her face making the same look one would make when they were judging whether something tasted good or not.

The simple nod she gave a moment later let him know that the taste was satisfactory.

"I hear you have some very powerful companions waiting outside," she said. "Two saints, was it?"

Elion’s heart gave an unpleasant thud, though his smile remained in place.

"That’s right," he replied. "I would hate for them to become worried."

The master gave a soft, indulgent laugh.

"How thoughtful of you. But surely they can wait a little longer?" Her hand returned to his cheek, the tips of her nails resting against his skin. "You’ve only just arrived."

Elion briefly considered asking whether she intended to send someone to inform them, then swiftly abandoned the idea. The last thing he needed was for her to start searching for two people who didn’t exist.

Instead, he inclined his head as much as her hand allowed. "Of course. I wouldn’t want to offend such a gracious host by rushing away before we’ve had a proper conversation."

"You were very eager to rush away a short while ago."

"That was before I had the pleasure of meeting you."