Demonic Dragon: Harem System-Chapter 781: Devil May Cry

"Then tell me," he said, his voice firm.

"What do you intend to do now?" For a moment, there was silence.

Albedo blinked once.

On the other hand... As if the question were... strange.

Then she smiled, opened her black wings just enough for the feathers to brush the ground, and bowed her head with deep respect. "To serve you, of course."

Strax stared at Albedo for a few seconds that were far too long.

There was no anger in his face.

There was no threat.

There wasn't even judgment.

It was just... emptiness.

A completely neutral expression, as if his brain had pulled the emergency brake and decided to stop processing reality for a few moments.

Then, without saying anything, he looked away.

He slowly raised his head.

He looked up.

The cave ceiling stared back at him… jagged, cracked, covered in fossilized roots and rock fragments hanging precariously. No stars. No moon. No endless sky to contemplate and try to find some greater meaning in his own life decisions.

Only stone.

Lots of stone.

He blinked once.

Twice.

He sighed.

It wasn't a short or impatient sigh. It was heavy. Deep. The kind that starts deep in your chest and carries with it decades of existential exhaustion. The air came out hot, vibrating with a remnant of the draconic aura that hadn't yet completely dissipated.

Frieren tilted her head slightly, observing him intently.

Albedo, still kneeling, raised her eyes slightly, confused.

The two exchanged a silent look, the kind of look that clearly said, 'What just broke inside his head?'

Strax finally lowered her gaze from the ceiling.

He ran a hand over his face.

"…why," he began, his voice strangely calm, "do women appear in my life as if they were rare Pokémon to be captured?"

Silence.

Frieren blinked.

Albedo blinked.

Frieren blinked again.

"…what do you mean?" the elf asked, frowning.

Albedo tilted his head to the side. "Pokémon… is it some kind of summonable creature? A lesser spirit? A spirit familiar?"

Strax closed his eyes.

"Never mind." He sighed again, now more briefly, like someone giving up on explaining a bad joke to two entities that clearly had no cultural reference compatible with his.

"Forget it." He waved his hand in the air. "It's not worth it."

Frieren still seemed intrigued, but decided to let it go. Over time, he had learned that certain thoughts in Strax's head simply… popped into his head. And trying to understand them usually led to more questions than answers.

Strax then slowly turned his body towards Albedo.

There was no dramatic change in aura.

There was no overwhelming pressure.

There was no divine threat.

Just exhaustion.

"So," he said, crossing his arms, "let me see if I understand this correctly."

Albedo straightened her posture slightly, still kneeling, clearly expecting an order.

"You are an ancient demon, seven thousand years old."

"Summoned by an idiot with an inferiority complex."

"Ended up with a new body because the ritual was botched."

"Tried to attack my…" he paused briefly, mentally correcting himself, "my ally."

"And now decided that the logical solution is… to become my subordinate."

He tilted his head slightly. "Did I get it right?"

"Yes," Albedo replied immediately, with a confident smile. "A perfect summary."

Strax took a deep breath.

Very deep.

"Po, with all due respect." He raised a hand, as if asking for a moment. "Get lost."

Albedo blinked.

Once.

"…what?"

Frieren's eyes widened slightly, surprised not by what he said, but by the absurd naturalness with which he said it.

Strax continued, now speaking faster, like someone pouring out accumulated thoughts before they could regret them.

"I already have enough problems on my mind. I already have things to deal with on a continental, maybe even planetary scale. I already have too many people depending on me. I already have old trauma, karmic debt, a poorly explained prophecy, and…" he made a vague gesture.

"Damn, I have more than ten crazy women orbiting my life. I can't add any more."

He pointed at Albedo. "You're beautiful, powerful, clearly dangerous, and absolutely unnecessary in my routine. Especially considering you'd attack any beautiful woman. Damn, my women are fucking hot. I don't want a war."

Albedo opened her mouth, but he continued before she could answer.

"Don't make my life difficult, seriously. Go ahead, kill whoever summoned you, get revenge, found a cult, conquer a kingdom, I don't know. Live the demonic life in this world. I don't have an open spot for an ancient demon right now."

Silence fell like a heavy curtain.

Frieren stared at him with an… indecipherable expression. There was surprise, yes, but also a slight glint of restrained amusement in her eyes. This was… very Strax.

Albedo, on the other hand, seemed genuinely frozen.

She blinked again. "…you…are rejecting me?"

"I am," he replied without hesitation. "Politely."

Albedo stood motionless for a few seconds after the answer.

The confident smile that still lingered on his face simply… shattered.

It didn't fall apart at once. It didn't explode. It didn't turn to anger.

It just… dissolved.

Her golden eyes blinked once more. Then again. And then they began to tremble.

"…politely…" she repeated softly, as if testing the words, trying to understand what they meant when applied to her.

Strax first noticed the awkward silence.

Then, the sound.

A sob.

Low. Restrained. Barely audible.

He frowned immediately.

"Hey…" he began, already sensing that something had gone terribly wrong. "You don't need to take it to—"

The second sob came louder.

The third… broke.

Albedo's black wings closed abruptly around her body, like a defensive cocoon. Her shoulders began to tremble for real now, and when she brought her hands to her face, her fingers trembled so much they could barely close.

"N-no…" her voice faltered. "It's not that… I just…"

Tears began to fall.

Heavy.

Hot.

Dripping onto the cracked stone floor like small, silent explosions.

Frieren's eyes widened.

She had never—never—seen a demon cry like that.

Not strategic tears.

Not emotional manipulation.

Not physical pain.

This was… raw despair.

"I-I…" Albedo choked, her voice breaking completely. "I just… I just wanted… to be…"

She put her hand to her chest, as if something was physically hurting there.

"I just wanted to be with someone…"

The tears came all at once.

Loud. Uncontrolled. The kind of tears you can't hold back even with all the dignity in the world.

Strax froze.

Literally.

His brain locked up at a speed that not even a draconic aura could fix.

"…ah." was all he managed to say.

Frieren put her hand to her mouth, genuinely shocked.

Albedo fell to her knees again—not out of submission, but because her legs simply gave way. Her wings scattered across the floor, and her sobs echoed through the cave, mixed with hurried words.

"You don't understand!" she sobbed. "In hell… nobody comes near me! They're afraid! They always have been! Always!" Strax took a step forward, then stopped, clearly unsure what to do with his hands.

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down…" he tried, his voice strangely soft for someone who minutes before had overwhelmed the space with divine presence. "You don't need all this, it was just—"

"IT WASN'T 'JUST'!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face, her demonic aura flickering chaotically. "You were the first person who… who didn't try to use me… or attack me… or run away…"

She squeezed her own arms, as if trying to hold herself together.

"I don't even know who created me!" she continued, her voice breaking. "I don't know if I have parents! I just… woke up… and everyone looked at me like I was a walking disaster!"

Frieren felt a pang in her chest.

She approached a little, carefully, as if Albedo were a wounded animal.

"Albedo…" said the elf, with rare gentleness.

The demon didn't even hear.

"Seven thousand years!" Albedo cried now, almost screaming. "Seven thousand years alone! Everyone calls me a 'threat,' an 'abomination,' the 'apogee of terror'! I just… I just wanted to be useful to someone!"

She looked at Strax, her eyes completely brimming with tears.

"I thought that… if I served you… if I was needed… maybe someone wouldn't finally leave…"

Strax's heart sank like a stone.

"…holy shit." he murmured, more to himself.

Frieren crossed her arms, her face serious now, but her eyes soft.

"Strax…" she said softly. "I think you broke her."

"I DIDN'T BREAK ANYONE!" he replied immediately, panicked. "I JUST ASKED HER TO LEAVE NORMALLY!"

Albedo was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe now.

"I hate hell!" she cried. "It's noisy, it's cruel, it's empty! Everyone just wants power, domination, hierarchy! I… I just wanted to sit next to someone without feeling like they're going to betray me!"

Strax ran his hands through his hair, pacing in circles.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay…" he spoke rapidly. "This escalated too fast. Too fast. This wasn't in the script at all."

He suddenly knelt in front of her, completely lacking any imposing posture. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Hey," he said, firm but not harsh. "Look at me."

She couldn't.

"Albedo, look at me," she insisted.

With effort, she lifted her face, swollen with tears.

Strax took a deep breath.

"I'm not rejecting you because you're useless," he said slowly, choosing each word carefully. "Nor because you're unwanted. Nor because I think you're a problem."

She sniffed loudly.

"Then why…?"

He hesitated.

"Because I'm terrible with…" he gestured vaguely, "...this. With hurt people. With emotional dependency. With people who think they need to cling to someone to exist."

Frieren raised an eyebrow.

"That was surprisingly honest."

"I'm trying not to make things worse!" he replied, whispering back.

Albedo wiped his face with his sleeve, but the tears kept falling.

"I don't want to dominate anything…" she said, her voice weak now. "I don't want a cult. I don't want a kingdom. I just… wanted a place. A function. Someone who wasn't afraid of me."

Silence spread again.

This time… heavy in a different way.

Frieren sighed.

"Strax…" she said carefully. "You can't just send someone like that away."

He closed his eyes.

"I know."

"Especially someone who clearly never had a choice."

He opened his eyes again.

Albedo looked at him like someone on the verge of falling into an abyss.

"...I don't know where to go," she whispered.

Strax stood still for a few seconds.

Then he extended his hand.

Not in command.

Not in authority.

Just... an offer.

"Okay," he said. "Let's take it slow."

Her eyes widened.

"...what do you mean?"

"You're not going to 'serve me,'" he was clear. "And I'm not going to be your master, king, god, or any of that crap."

She nodded quickly, desperately.

"But," he continued, "you can stay around. For now. No obligation. No hierarchy. No attacking anyone out of jealousy, for the love of everything that exists."

Frieren coughed discreetly to hide a smile.

"I can...?" Albedo asked, hope mixed with fear.

"You can." He replied, "But with rules. And improvised emotional therapy, apparently."

She let out a tearful laugh, completely broken.

"I… I promise to try…"

Strax let out a long sigh, resting his elbow on his knee.

"Great," he murmured. "One more. Of course."

Frieren moved closer and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You're a magnet for emotional chaos."

"I know," he replied, defeated.

Albedo wiped his face, still sniffling.

"...thank you," she said softly. "For not sending me away again."

Strax looked at her for a moment.

"Don't thank me yet," he said. "You still have to learn to… exist in society."

She made a tearful face.

"That sounds scary."

"It is," he confirmed. "Welcome to the world."