Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem

But then, it was none other than Rajah and Skarn who spoke up in unison. They were on the same wavelength, and what they would say shocked every single member present.

"We're only willing to entertain this pact if Grim Reaper of the Skies—or Devil as you call this creature—signs a separate non-aggression pact with us, the Beastman Confederation, lasting a millennia."

"… What?" Maelstrom asked, wholly confused. He wasn't alone.

<What is wrong with these people?> Lyra questioned, not understanding their motives.

<Master scared the big bad wolf!> Blossom giggled cutely. Instead of being lost like most of us, she elected to just enjoy the moment, fully aware trying to keep up with this talk was a futile attempt for her adorable brain.

At first glance, their demand seemed utter nonsense. I was just a level 30 guy who would get beaten to a pulp by the top tiers of the continent. But once one looked beyond the now… My features darkened. They were smart.

Ayame was on the same wavelength. <These ancient predators like to pretend to be dumb battle junkies, but there's a good reason why they're the leaders of their people… It's clearly not just about their personal strength. Even if they didn't sense your nature being different from a human's like Yoruha did, their sharp instincts honed through many life and death experiences warned them…>

It was Skarn who clarified for Maelstrom. "We are warriors who are ready to stare death in the face with a big grin on our lips and an excitedly beating heart in our chests. Just like how I'm confident Kargrim wasn't scared in his final moments, I'm more than ready to meet my maker. Whoever kills me, be they undead, humans, elves, dwarves, or my fellow beastkin, I would be proudly fighting until the final moment.

There's only one thing that scares me in this world—the unknown. If I don't understand my enemy, I can't fight to my heart's content, making the final moments of my journey a miserable death instead of the most glorious event of my life, the last chapter that culminates all that Skarn the Bloodhound is into a single battle where I can go all out with everything on the line.

The Grim Reaper is that unknown.

Right now, I could kill him without casting a single spell, but I know doing so would give me more enemies. My people can't afford to anger another faction of your scale right now. As such, he's protected… And who knows how he will be in a few hundred years? Every fiber of my existence is telling me I must either kill him now or he'll eat me alive… I would die a miserable, cowardly death as I'm hunted down like a little rat by whatever this monster transforms into in that time frame, should he be allowed to grow unimpeded. He's only 30 years old now, correct? To hell with a couple hundred years, how will he look like in 900 years? At the ultimate peak of his power?"

For a moment, he shuddered at the mere thought before continuing, "Even if I die before he reaches his peak, I can't go out with my head held high knowing my people's fate is to be subjugated by whatever this monster is. As such, I refuse to sign any pact with the Consortium if the Grim Reaper is not ready to commit himself to a millennium of non-aggression between us, for I fear his potential much more than I do the might of your organization as a whole. If I must, I'll kill him now and deal with the consequences, even if it means the ruination of my people, for I just feel it in my bones...

If I don't act now, nothing but misery awaits me and my subjects."

"… Just what in the Goddess' graces are you talking about?" Maelstrom growled, he was getting audibly frustrated. Skarn looked down on him and his organization horribly in his eyes.

"Devil is a very promising rookie with the same illustrious class Queen Morgana wields, but you're fearing his potential more than you do an organization of our size? Come on now, stop messing with me! We have hundreds of thousands of active combatants, with ten of us being level 70 or higher. Two of our members are even battling against the Heavenly Restriction as we speak! We are of a scale a whole duchy would find hard to deal with. The only reason we're asking for your help in the upcoming conflict is that we wish to remain strong even after beating Alastair and his cronies, knowing we would be consumed by other syndicates and nobles should we suffer heavy losses."

"Elemental Sovereign you say…?" Rajah mused with a humorous tone, shaking his head. "I've personally fought against your queen multiple times and let me tell you, I would much rather fight her than a 200 years old version of the Grim Reaper. She's incredibly strong... but I know what to expect from her arsenal: mighty elemental spells that make me scream with excitement at the mere prospect of entering combat against her. As Skarn said, we only fear the unknown. We only fear true anomalies our brains can't wrap around, like this... entity." His final word was spat with uncertainty while staring at me, visibly debating the correct terminology to use.

"200 years old?! Hah?! That's the age of our organization's most promising up-and-coming Veil Walkers!! Did you forget who you are, Rajah 'The Crimson Tyrant'?! You would destroy him with a mere flick of your wrist!"

Instead of entertaining an argument with Maelstrom, the tigerkin shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "We won't know that, for he either signs a treaty with us or I kill him here and now."

"Who do you think you are to threaten my son-in-law?" Vargis hissed, jumping to his feet while materializing his giant war axe from his ring to better communicate his stance on the matter.

"Killing him would smear Kargrim's memory… My best friend faced the undead horde to give the Grim Reaper and the rest a chance to escape…" Gorruk murmured, but I couldn't help but notice reluctance in his tone. His warrior's honor told him he should protect me, but his instincts were just as sharp as the others,' making him fully aware of my potential. He was conflicted.

"I might not be in your league as of yet, but I'm not letting any of you harm him," Vex decreed while standing and bringing her sword out. Her Hexblade eyes began to transform into their glorious, bright crimson versions as she readied her spells.

Raika and Ignis stepped up next to her, with the former having a mad grin on her face as she mused with an unhinged cackle, "So many strong opponents… I was about to fall asleep during all this damned talking... Come at me, you disgusting half-human, half-animal freaks. I'll eradicate you."

"I think our best bet is to de-escalate the situation, Lady Raika…" Ignis replied wryly. He was ready to do his duty but preferred to live another day if possible.

"Which of you cowardly bastards want to hurt my newly found comfy bed?" Yoruha yawned lazily as she opened one of her eyes in my lap, looking around the room in search of the culprit. Although I didn't know it at the time, her subordinate, Celeste, had a way to communicate with her telepathically, waking the ancient woman up when she sensed the situation was getting heated.

"Finally you people are getting to your senses! It took you too long!" Silver snarled as he also stood, ready to lunge right for my throat.

<Please get behind me, Lord Quinlan!> Lyra shouted before jumping in front of me with her sword and shield ready, protecting my well-being with her life if needed. All of my girls activated themselves, entering battle formation.