Demonic Dragon: Harem System

Monica stood motionless before the massive strategy table set up in the war room of Asgard’s central headquarters. A map of the continent covered nearly the entire surface, dotted with small metal pieces representing strongholds, railway lines, allied cities, supply depots, and military outposts. New red markers had been placed over various regions in the last few hours, indicating locations where similar anomalies had been recorded.

Gathered around the table were Monica, Samira, Cassandra, Daniela, Frieren, Xenovia, Scarlet, Rogue, Kali, Beatrice, and some of Asgard’s top military commanders.

The room was silent.

A far cry from the usual atmosphere.

No one was cracking jokes.

No one was arguing.

Because, for the first time in a long while, everyone realized they were facing a problem of unknown magnitude.

Monica rested both hands on the table as her eyes slowly scanned the reports that had piled up overnight.

She took a deep breath.

"Let’s get everything organized before we make any decisions."

Everyone remained silent.

She pointed to the first set of documents.

"Fact one."

Her finger slid across the map.

"The beasts aren’t attacking at random."

Monica nodded.

"Confirmed."

Monica continued.

"They’ve ignored several smaller villages. They’ve also let merchants pass on certain roads while attacking other specific routes."

She picked up another report.

"That implies intelligence."

Frieren crossed her arms.

"Or command."

"Exactly."

Monica agreed.

"Ordinary animals don’t select specific targets."

She continued walking slowly around the table.

"Point two."

Now she pointed toward the desert.

"The desert."

Daniela exhaled slowly.

"That still doesn’t make sense."

"No."

Monica replied.

"But there is a pattern."

She picked up another stack of papers. "The creatures seen in that region belong to completely different ecosystems."

She began to list them.

"Giant lizards."

"Monstrous scorpions."

"Tundra beasts."

"Black wolves."

"Crystalline serpents."

"Subterranean spiders."

She slowly set the report down.

"These species should never coexist."

Samira leaned her massive greatsword against the wall.

"So someone gathered them all."

"Or something."

Monica replied.

The difference was small.

But significant.

She turned back to the map.

"The third point."

Her expression grew more serious.

"Migration."

She circled several regions.

"All reports point in the exact same direction."

Frieren stepped closer.

"West."

"Yes."

Monica nodded.

"They are all heading west."

She looked up.

"And to the west, that’s us."

The silence grew even heavier.

Scarlet rested her elbow on the back of her chair.

"So we’re the target."

"Likely."

Monica replied.

"But there is still one question."

She pointed to the desert again.

"Why?"

No one answered.

Because no one knew.

Then, she picked up another document.

"Now comes the worrying part."

Monica knew that tone.

Whenever Monica said that...

It meant an unpleasant conclusion was coming.

"The pace."

She laid three reports side by side.

"Day one."

She pointed.

"Forty-eight creatures."

Second.

"Two hundred."

Third.

"Over eight hundred."

Samira’s eyes widened slightly.

"That multiplied far too quickly."

"Yes."

Monica replied.

"And it keeps increasing."

She took a slow breath.

"If this rate of growth continues..."

She made a few quick calculations. "...in less than a month, we’ll be talking about hundreds of thousands."

Now, even Monica’s smile vanished.

It was serious.

Very serious.

Monica turned to face everyone.

"Now, I want to present my hypothesis."

Everyone paid close attention.

"This isn’t an attack."

She paused briefly.

"It’s preparation."

Daniela frowned.

"Preparation for what?"

Monica answered without hesitation.

"War."

The room went completely still.

She continued.

"Observe."

Her finger traced a path across the map.

"The creatures don’t attack immediately."

"They migrate."

"They mass together."

"They avoid unnecessary losses."

"And they keep coming."

She took a breath.

"That is army behavior."

Frieren looked at the reports again.

"Who is controlling all this?"

"That is precisely the question."

Monica replied.

"Because whoever it is..."

She looked at everyone.

"...is intelligent."

Silence fell once more.

Then Monica finally spoke.

"Does Strax know?"

"Yes."

"His answer?"

Monica smiled faintly.

"He said exactly three words."

Kali laughed.

"I can guess which ones."

Monica replied.

"’Figure it out first.’"

Several small smiles appeared.

It was exactly the sort of thing Strax would say.

Because he always did the same thing.

Before destroying any problem...

He wanted to understand it completely.

Monica turned back to the map.

"So..."

She began moving several metal pieces.

"Containment plan."

Now everyone was fully attentive.

She placed small blue markers, forming several circles.

"First measure."

She pointed.

"Isolation."

"We will divide the entire outer territory into five sectors."

Each sector was assigned a different color.

"North."

"South."

"East."

"West."

"And the central belt."

She looked at Xenovia.

"I want permanent patrols."

The knight nodded immediately.

"Consider it done."

Monica continued.

"Second measure."

She placed new pieces.

"Outposts."

Monica understood immediately.

"The old strongholds?"

"Exactly."

"We’re going to reactivate them."

She went on.

"Not as military bases."

"As observation centers."

Frieren smiled.

"Good choice."

"We don’t need to defeat these creatures."

Monica explained.

"We need to know where they are going."

Now she turned to Cassandra.

"Third measure."

"You."

The archer crossed her arms.

"Reconnaissance?"

"Yes."

"But a different kind." She pointed to a vast, empty area.

"I want small teams."

"Never more than four people."

"Never stay in the same spot for more than twenty minutes."

"Never engage enemies unnecessarily."

Daniela finished the thought.

"Go in."

"Observe."

"Get out."

"Exactly."

Monica replied.

She turned to Monica now.

"Fourth measure."

The administrator smiled.

"Logistics."

"Yes."

She placed several small flags down.

"Double the stockpiles."

"Triple the medical supplies."

"Increase food production."

"Prepare ammunition."

Monica was already taking notes.

"Understood."

"I’ll also speed up the second foundry."

"Do it."

Monica replied.

"Fifth measure."

She looked at Kali.

"Evacuation."

The dark-haired woman tilted her head.

"Already?"

"As a precaution."

She replied.

"I want every smaller village to know exactly where to run."

"No one will be caught off guard."

Kali nodded.

"I’ll organize it today."

Monica fell silent for a few seconds.

Then she placed one last piece.

Right in the center of the map.

Asgard.

She took a slow breath.

"Sixth measure."

Her voice grew even firmer.

"No one."

She looked at everyone.

"Absolutely no one fights alone."

Samira smiled.

"That was aimed at Strax."

"Mostly."

She replied.

"If anything unexpected appears..."

She tapped the table lightly.

"...fall back."

Scarlet raised an eyebrow.

"Even us?"

"Especially you."

Monica replied.

"We don’t know what we’re dealing with."

Frieren leaned on her staff.

"I agree."

She rarely did that.

But that time...

She was in complete agreement.

Monica turned to face everyone.

"There is something else."

The atmosphere grew heavy again.

"Something is bothering me."

Monica realized it immediately.

"What?"

"The timing."

She replied.

"It’s moving too fast."

She walked over to the window.

Outside.

The city was carrying on as usual.

People were walking.

Trains were passing by.

Children were playing.

Nothing seemed different.

But Monica couldn’t ignore her intuition.

"If someone really is raising an army..."

She spoke calmly.

"...why start right now?"

Silence.

It was true.

For years...

Nothing.

Now...

Everything at once.

She turned back to the table.

"Someone knew exactly when to act."

Frieren narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Do you think they were watching Asgard?"

"I don’t just think so."

Monica replied.

"I’m almost certain."

Monica took a slow breath.

"It makes sense."

Monica nodded.

"First, they tested our borders."

"Then our patrols."

"Now, our response times."

She placed both hands on the table again.

"We are being studied."

No one liked that conclusion.

Because it was extremely plausible.

She remained silent for a few seconds.

Then, she smiled faintly.

"Unfortunately for them..."

Monica smiled too.

"Now we’re going to study them."

The two exchanged a brief glance.

They thought very much alike.

Before winning any war...

One had to fully understand the enemy.

Monica then concluded the meeting.

"For the next seventy-two hours, Asgard’s entire set of priorities changes."

She looked at each of them in turn.

"Secondary construction work will be suspended."

"Non-urgent civil projects, too."

"I want all intelligence efforts focused on this crisis." She took a deep breath.

"And more importantly."

Her gaze turned deadly serious.

"If anyone uncovers any relevant information..."

She paused briefly.

"...do not confront them."

"Do not investigate alone."

"Do not try to be heroes."

"Return immediately."

Because, at that moment...

The only thing more dangerous than an unknown enemy...

Was underestimating them.

And Monica had the strange feeling that, for the first time since the founding of Asgard...

They were about to face something that perhaps even Strax hadn’t expected to encounter.

Monica remained silent for several seconds after finishing the arrangement of information on the table. No one present dared to interrupt her. The strategy room remained completely sealed off, protected by multiple layers of magical wards created by Frieren, while maps, diagrams, and small models of the affected regions covered practically the entire massive circular table.

She rested both hands on the wood.

She took a deep breath.

Then, she looked up.

"I’m going to summarize the situation because, frankly, it’s worse than it seemed two hours ago."

No one disputed this.

"First point."

She pointed to the map.

"The enemy isn’t trying to conquer territory."

Her finger slid slowly across the attacked regions.

"And that completely changes our assessment."

Mercedes crossed her arms.

"Explain."

Monica nodded.

"If it were a traditional invasion, they would hold strategic positions, destroy supply lines, occupy key cities, or attempt to eliminate our administrative centers."

She shook her head.

"They’ve done absolutely none of that."

Frieren calmly added.

"They simply appear."

"Exactly."

Monica looked at everyone.

"They attack."

"They stay for a few minutes."

"Then they vanish."

"And reappear somewhere else."

She breathed slowly. "That means conquering territory was never the goal."

Strax remained leaning against a wall.

Silent.

His gaze completely focused.

Monica turned back to the map.

"The second problem."

She marked dozens of small, scattered circles.

"They know our response capabilities."

The room fell even quieter.

"Take note."

She pointed.

"Whenever we send a large force to one location..."

Her finger moved.

"...they attack another."

Another movement.

"When we reinforced that city..."

Another.

"...they appeared here."

Another.

"And when Cassandra pursued a group..."

She marked a third region.

"...another group appeared almost simultaneously."

Samira frowned.

"They’re watching."

"Yes."

Monica answered immediately.

"And observing very closely."

She took a deep breath.

"We aren’t fighting mindless creatures."

"We’re fighting someone who thinks."

Frieren agreed.

"And learns."

"Exactly."

The mage rested a finger on another document.

"Our enemy has already grasped our military structure."

She looked directly at Strax.

"And has likely studied you, too."

The dragon remained completely motionless.

No reaction.

But everyone realized he had taken those words in.

Monica walked slowly around the table.

"The third problem..."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"...is you."

Everyone looked at Strax.

"You’re too strong."

Daniela raised an eyebrow.

"That’s become a problem?"

"It has."

She answered without hesitation.

"Because they know they can’t defeat you."

She paused briefly.

"So they also know they need to keep you from participating."

Scarlet narrowed her eyes.

"How?"

"By distracting you."

She answered immediately.

"While he’s resolving one crisis..."

She marked another point.

"...two new ones appear."

Another one.

"And another."

She took a breath.

"Even Strax can only be in one place at a time."

That gave everyone pause for thought.

It was true.

No matter how absurd his power was.

He was still just one individual.

Monica returned to the head of the table.

"The fourth problem."

She picked up another report.

"The beasts."

Mercedes looked up immediately.

"They aren’t hungry."

"No."

"And they aren’t migrating naturally, either."

Frieren added.

"Nor are they being controlled."

Monica nodded.

"That rules out practically every known hypothesis."

She spread out several papers.

"Necromancy doesn’t explain it." "Curses don’t explain it."

"Neither do mental manipulations."

She took a slow breath.

"They’re simply running."

Daniela rested her elbows on the table.

"As if they were fleeing."

Monica smiled.

"Exactly."

Everyone looked at Daniela.

She continued.

"When we saw that in the desert..."

Her expression turned serious.

"...it didn’t look like an advancing army."

It looked...

She paused for a few seconds.

"...it looked like a flight."

Those words plunged the entire room into silence.

Even Strax looked up.

Monica stood completely still.

Then she slowly turned toward Daniela.

"Say that again."

Daniela blinked.

"It looked like a flight."

"What made you think that?"

"The formations."

She answered immediately.

"There was no organization."

"The larger creatures were trampling the smaller ones."

"No one was trying to lead."

"No one was protecting anyone."

"And they were all running in the exact same direction."

She took a breath.

"I’ve seen migrations."

"I’ve seen invasions."

"That was different."

Mercedes slowly opened her eyes.

"...they were fleeing from something."

Silence.

Complete silence.

Monica immediately walked over to another map.

Her mind was racing at a frightening speed.

She began connecting the dots.

Desert.

First sightings.

Migration.

Attacks.

Movements.

Timing.

Directions.

Everything.

Then she froze.

"...no."

Frieren realized it immediately.

"What is it?"

Monica pointed to the far southeast.

"If Daniela is right..."

She swallowed hard.

"...then our true enemy might not have even appeared yet."

Samira furrowed her brow deeply.

"What?"

"The beasts."

She replied. "If they were fleeing..."

Her finger remained on the desert.

"...then there is something behind them."

The entire room went cold.

Strax finally spoke.

"What could scare thousands of monsters at once?"

No one answered.

Because no one knew.

Monica took a deep breath.

"Whatever it is..."

She narrowed her eyes.

"...it’s something we haven’t seen yet."

The silence hung heavy for several seconds.

Then Monica finally broke the tension.

"So, we’re completely changing our strategy."

Everyone looked at her.

She crossed her arms.

"Up until now, we’ve been reacting."

She tapped the table lightly.

"That ends now."

Monica nodded.

"Agreed."

"We’re going to take control."

She pulled out another, completely blank map.

"New plan."

She quickly drew several lines.

"First order of business."

She wrote:

SECTORIZATION.

"We will no longer respond as a single army."

She drew several circles.

"Asgard will be divided into permanent zones."

She began pointing.

"Northern Sector."

"Mercedes."

The Ice Monarch simply nodded.

"Southern Sector."

"Samira."

"Western Sector."

"Cassandra."

"Eastern Sector."

"Daniela."

She continued.

"Scarlet will be mobile."

"Beatrice will be mobile."

"Kali will be mobile."

"Tiamat and Ouroboros will remain as the maximum-response force."

Strax watched it all.

Without interrupting.

Monica continued.

"Second order of business."

She wrote another word.

OBSERVATION.

"We will no longer pursue any groups."

Daniela raised an eyebrow.

"Not even if they show up?"

"Not even then."

She answered immediately.

"We’re going to let a few escape."

Frieren was the first to understand.

"You want to track them."

"Yes."

Monica smiled.

"So far, we’ve only been destroying symptoms."

She pointed toward the wasteland.

"I want to find the disease."

Monica nodded.

"Good."

"Third order."

She wrote again.

LOGISTICS.

"All smaller towns will be evacuated."

Mercedes looked up immediately.

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"We won’t debate this."

She answered firmly.

"The fewer civilians scattered about..."

"...the fewer targets."

Scarlet nodded.

"Makes sense."

"Fourth order."

She looked directly at Strax.

"You."

He remained silent.

"You will no longer respond to minor attacks."

Some were surprised.

She continued before anyone could speak.

"You are to be reserved exclusively for catastrophic-class threats."

She took a breath.

"And you will rest, too."

Strax raised an eyebrow.

"Rest?"

"Yes."

She answered.

"You’re exhausted."

He didn’t answer.

Because he knew it was true.

Since Vex.

Since Aelyra.

Since the kidnapping.

He had barely stopped since then.

Monica looked at him seriously.

"If the thing that made thousands of monsters flee shows up..."

She paused.

"...you’ll need to be at full strength."

Finally, he agreed.

"...Right."

Monica smiled faintly.

It was rare to manage to convince him.

Monica then finished.

"And finally."

She looked at everyone.

"Assume we are being watched."

No one seemed confused.

"Every move."

"Every patrol."

"Every deployment."

"Everything."

She took a slow breath.

"So, we will do exactly the opposite of what is expected."

A small smile appeared. "For the first time..."

She tapped lightly on the map.

"...we’re going to hunt the ones hunting us."