The word "harem" hung in the air like a curse.
Lila's eye twitched. "Bodyguard? Harem? What is this, a bad romance novel?!" She rounded on Headmaster Orion, who was suddenly very interested in a cracked floor tile. "You hired this… this belt gremlin to follow Kaito around?!"
Aria gasped, clutching her chest. "Belt gremlin? I'll have you know these belts are tactical! And fashionable!" She struck a pose, her sword gleaming. "Besides, Kaito's into it. Right, Creator-boy?"
I massaged my temples. The Godslayer Shard in my pocket felt heavier by the second. "I'm not into anything except a nap. And maybe a new bed."
The crowd of students murmured, their stares burning holes in my back. Whispers slithered through the ruins: "Did he really kill a god?" "Why does he look so tired?" "Is the silver-haired girl single?"
Headmaster Orion cleared his throat. "Ms. Hellstrom's… enthusiasm aside, we have greater concerns. The academy's barriers are destroyed. The Vault of Souls is breached. And demons are still—"
A tremor cut him off.
In the distance, the mangled remains of the Hellhound kennels erupted. A colossal serpentine creature burst from the rubble—a three-headed hydra, its scales oozing acid that melted stone to sludge. Students screamed, scrambling back as it roared, shaking the sky.
Lila groaned. "You just had to say 'demons,' didn't you?"
Aria cracked her knuckles. "Relax, squad! I'll handle this!" She hefted her sword, grinning at me. "Watch and learn, godling."
She charged.
And tripped over a loose belt.
The hydra's central head lunged, fangs dripping. Aria rolled, laughing maniacally as acid splashed where she'd stood. "Nice try, lizard breath! Try a real weapon!" Her sword flared crimson, and she sliced clean through the hydra's neck.
The head regrew instantly. Then doubled. Now four heads.
Aria blinked. "Oh. Right. Hydras."
Lila facepalmed. "Genius."
I sighed. "Stay."
The command rippled outward. The hydra froze mid-strike, its pupils dilating with primal fear. Aria's sword halted an inch from its throat.
"Hey!" she protested. "I had that under control!"
"You multiplied it," I said, stepping forward. The cracks on my arms throbbed—using divine commands wasn't helping my mortal coil. "Hydras regenerate two heads for each one cut off. Basic bestiary."
"Since when do you read bestiaries?" Lila muttered.
"Since I got turned into a toad and wanted revenge." I placed a hand on the hydra's snout. Its skin sizzled under my touch. "Sleep."
The beast collapsed, shaking the ground. Its heads curled into snoring heaps.
Aria pouted. "Spoilsport."
Headmaster Orion stroked his beard. "Impressive, Kaito. But we can't keep relying on your… unconventional methods. The council of archmages will demand answers. And repairs."
"Then give them answers," I said, turning away. "Tell them I did it."
Lila grabbed my arm. "Are you insane? They'll expel you! Or worse!"
"They'll try," I said. Let them. I'd survived worse than bureaucratic tantrums.
Aria slung an arm around my shoulders. "Aw, look at you two! Already scheming like an old married couple. But hello—bodyguard here? Priority one is keeping Mr. Universe alive. Which means I get dibs on dramatic rescues."
Lila's wand sparked. "Take your dibs and shove them—"
BOOM.
The hydra's corpse exploded.
A pillar of black flame erupted, coalescing into a humanoid figure—tall, cloaked in shadows, with a crown of jagged obsidian. Its voice grated like grinding bones.
"Creator. The Council grows impatient."
The students froze. Even Aria paled.
I stepped forward, fists clenched. "Let me guess. You're here to monologue?"
The figure raised a hand. A vortex of darkness swirled above, sucking debris into its maw. "You will return to the Void. Or this world burns."
Lila fired a lightning bolt. It vanished into the vortex. "Kaito…?"
"Evacuate everyone," I said quietly. "Now."
The shadow laughed. "Run, little ants. Your god cannot save you."
Aria's sword flared. "Wanna bet?"
The vortex surged. The ground splintered, swallowing classrooms whole. Students screamed, sprinting for the gates as the shadow advanced.
I reached into my pocket, clutching the Godslayer Shard. It hummed, hungry.
Last resort. But…
The shadow lunged. I met its strike with the Shard, black crystal clashing against darkness. The impact tore my sleeves, blood dripping from reopened cracks.
"You are weak," it sneered. "Mortal flesh cannot wield that blade."
"Yeah?" I grinned. "But I'm a quick learner."
I channeled divinity into the Shard. It shrieked, light and dark colliding—
Aria's sword pierced the shadow's back. "Eat steel, edgelord!"
Lila's barrier slammed down, deflecting the vortex's pull. "Stop showing off and kill it!"
The shadow recoiled. I stabbed the Shard into its core.
"NO! THE COUNCIL WILL—"
It imploded, the vortex collapsing with a thunderclap. The Shard glowed white-hot, then cracked, crumbling to dust.
Silence.
I collapsed to my knees, coughing blood. Lila and Aria caught me.
"Still… mortal," I rasped.
Aria whistled. "You're a mess, creator-boy."
Lila's hands trembled as she healed my arms. "You idiot… You could've died!"
"But I didn't."
"Yet," growled Headmaster Orion, looming over us. "The council of archmages arrives at dawn. And you, Kaito, will explain everything."
That night, I sat on the dorm roof, staring at the stars I'd once painted across the cosmos. The Godslayer Shard was gone, but the Echo's warning echoed: They're already here.
"Can't sleep either?"
Lila climbed up, holding two mugs. She thrust one at me. "Hot chocolate. Extra marshmallows. Don't… don't mention it."
I sipped. Burnt, but sweet. "Thanks."
She sat beside me, knees pulled to her chest. "Who were you? Before… all this?"
The truth perched on my tongue. I was everything. And nothing.
"Someone who made mistakes," I said.
She elbowed me. "Vague much?"
Aria's voice rang out from below. "Room for one more?" She floated up on a spectral wing, winking. "Don't worry, I brought snacks!" She tossed a bag of caramel corn. It exploded mid-air, showering us in sticky shrapnel.
Lila glared. "Why are you here?"
"Bodyguard duty! Also, the Headmaster said Kaito's got a mandatory 'harem meeting' tomorrow. My words, not his."
I choked on my cocoa. "What?"
Aria smirked. "You, me, Lila, and some noble girl named Lady Seraphina. She's super into you, by the way. Saw her staring at your butt during the hydra fight."
Lila's mug cracked. "Seraphina?! That ice queen?!"
"The plot thickens!" Aria sang.
I slumped. Mortal life was exhausting.
But as the girls bickered—Lila's sparks vs. Aria's swordplay—I felt something unfamiliar.
Annoyance. But also…
Aria tossed caramel corn at Lila. Lila retaliated with a mini lightning bolt.
…camaraderie.
Maybe this "harem" nonsense wasn't all bad.
Then a scream tore through the night.
We froze.
From the forest beyond the academy, a pulse of corrupted mana erupted—a familiar, vile signature.
The Herald's voice echoed, twisted and broken: "Creator… We… are… legion…"
Aria cracked her neck. "Round two?"
Lila summoned her wand. "Let's finish this."
I stood, cracks glowing faintly. "Stay close."
The stars above dimmed. Somewhere, the Primordial Council laughed.
But tonight? Tonight, we fought.