Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem

Seraphiel thrust out her staff as she channeled healing magic toward Quinlan's wound.

The gash knitted together, flesh mending, but…

It was just too slow.

Quinlan barely had time to take a breath before shadows loomed over him.

A monstrous claw slammed into his chest, tearing through newly healed skin, ripping deeper than before.

Seraphiel screamed, pouring more power into the spell, but it wasn't fast enough.

The beast of the night tore into him with relentless ferocity, ripping, shredding, devouring.

Her healing couldn't keep up.

Blood splattered across her face.

Quinlan collapsed into a bloody pulp, nothing but pieces of what he had been before.

"NOOO!!"

And then…

The monster turned its many eyes toward her, and the beast lunged.

A flash of pain.

Darkness.

She gasped awake.

The battlefield reset.

"What…?" Seraphiel muttered, struggling to understand what was going on.

But she wasn't given time.

Her family fought.

Her friends bled.

Quinlan stood, wounded once more.

She tried again.

And again.

Each time, her healing worked, but…

Each time, it wasn't enough.

Each time, Quinlan died before she could save him.

Each time, the monster moved on to her.

Each time, she failed.

She wasn't strong enough.

…

"Just what the hell is going on?" I asked, worried. Everyone who inhaled Rosie's gifts lost their consciousness besides myself. I jumped to my feet and rushed to check their condition. But before I could touch anyone, Yoruha spoke up.

"I don't recommend moving them. They're experiencing something… unique." She then glanced down at the girl shivering in my arms, and with a sly tone, she mused,

"Rosie wouldn't harm her mothers and friends, would she?"

"O-of course she wouldn't! Rosie loves her mothers and friends!" the little driad cried with a nervous voice. She was jitterish all over her body, with small trembles traversing along her spine.

"Moving them right now could end whatever magical effect they're under… Losing its benefit," Yoruha stated. "But we don't know if it could be harmful, so the decision is in your hands. They're your allies, not mine."

I watched their unconscious bodies with a grimace on my face, this image was hard on my heart.

However, the Soul Records' words of my vessel being filled to the brim sounded in my mind once again. Was this what it meant? The girls were granted the chance to gain a power-up, but I wasn't, for my soul couldn't accommodate another increase in strength. It needed to evolve, which would happen by leveling up. As such, the power I derived from Rosie's gift helped me get there sooner instead of making me go through whatever my girls were experiencing.

As such, I sighed with a heavy heart and plopped back down onto the grass, deciding to trust my allies to overcome this on their own.

Instead, I focused my attention on my daughter, whom I did my utmost to calm down so she wouldn't feel guilty. Then, once the little girl was comfortably nestled in my arm, I glanced up, seeing the whiskers of the creature relaxing on top of my head.

"Lady Yoruha, my lovers and I are beyond honored to welcome a person of your stature into our home as an honored guest, but to provide you with the most pleasant stay, we would need to know how long you plan to remain."

'Please be only a few days!!' I begged inwardly.

"Hmm…" Yoruha mused while massaging my scalp with her paws as if she were making her bed even more comfortable. Once she laid back after her 'work' was done, she replied. "I don't plan to stay for too long—a couple thousand years at most."

… This goddamned monster was living on a completely different scale than I could even comprehend.

"I do know a thing or two about common etiquette, however. I don't wish to freeload, especially when I would trouble such weak youngsters with my stay. Celeste."

Upon her mark, the blonde maid lifted the sleeping Sylvaris into her left hand and used the right to bring a giant sack out of her storage ring. She handed it over to me.

"10,000 gold coins. You may count them should you have trouble trusting me."

… Holy fuck. I never saw so much wealth in front of me all at once. I never even had 1,000 gold to my name, let alone 10,000. The one time I almost had 1,000 gold to my name was when I asked Black Fang for money and had my subordinates do the same with their own sponsors, which I collected to splurge big on the Grand Auction.

10,000 gold was an amount of wealth most counts couldn't gather even if given months to do so.

But… Although it hurt my soul greatly, there was one thing I needed more than money.

Information.

As such, through gritted teeth, I asked, "Lady Yoruha… Instead of buying your stay with money, would you be willing to pay us with information?"

Although I couldn't see her eyes, her tone told me she had an amused expression. "Hmm… Knowledge is worth much more than coin once you get to a certain stage in your leveling journies… There are some secrets I wouldn't reveal even for a million gold. But alright. You may ask me one question. But if I don't like it, I won't answer."

"I'm grateful, Lady Yoruha," I said with a rapidly beating heart. This was it. I didn't need to think long, there was only one question that came to mind as the one most important I wanted to know the answer to. Furthermore, it shouldn't be too personal to make her refuse to answer.

"What is your level, and how do you compare to the other top-tier combatants of the Iskaris Continent?"

"That's two questions in one, you sly boy," she chuckled. Before I could rephrase, she sighed, "It's fine. I'm level 74, this is the highest anyone can reach. Because, at this point comes the Heavenly Restriction… As to how I compare to the other top tiers… Hmm…"

She mused a bit inwardly before replying. "I'm one of the strongest, definitely in the top ten. However, there is one monster I wouldn't want to fight to the death, no matter what."

My eyes lit up, mind racing with possibilties. Who would that be? One of the beastkin leaders? Maybe Alexios… Or the elven matriarch, she was infamous among human circles for being overwhelmingly strong.

Yoruha's voice sounded from atop my head.

"The human woman called Black Fang."

I gasped with shock. She wasn't even 500 years old if my sources were reliable, making her very young among the top dogs.

Sensing my confusion, Yoruha explained, "Not because she's above me in level or because she's necessarily stronger… If I had to rank people based on their personal might alone, she would only be in the lower half of the top ten.

But… that woman is a raw beast that the Goddess somehow managed to stuff into a female human's unassumingly fragile-looking body.

I've fought her numerous times, landed injuries that should've seen her knocked out if not outright dead… But she just gritted her teeth and got back up. In a hypothetical 1v1, I would place people like myself, King Alexios, the old bearkin Gorruk, and the elven matriarch above her. We're more refined, experienced, and trained. But… I know it sounds ridiculous… She just doesn't care about any such logic.

That crazed woman will find a way to kill you, even if it's the last thing she does. After our third encounter, I decided to just land a quick surprise attack on her whenever she somehow managed to track me down to 'settle the debt' before bolting in the opposite direction. Fighting her is not worth the danger she poses to my continued existence."

"…"