Demonic Dragon: Harem System-Chapter 422: Protect The Queen

As Strax had requested, Scarlet was currently monitoring the surroundings of the royal palace.

She stood at the top of the elves' royal castle, watching everything below with the eyes of an eagle as she expanded her mana to make sure nothing happened.

The cool morning breeze caressed her face, and the distant sound of nature surrounding the palace seemed far away, as if time were suspended there, at the top of the tower.

"This is starting to get tiresome..." She muttered as she looked in one direction, where the group of girls had split up. "They're trying to fit in, but of course it's going to be difficult. I don't doubt that they can see through their disguise... they are elves after all." She thought.

Thanks to her Vampire Lineage, she could clearly see where her descendants were and at that moment, Daniela, Cassandra and Belatrix were in an inn trying to rent a place for themselves. The others split up between the main marker and the blacksmith's stores.

"Ah... how boring" she said, but at the same time, it was better to be there than to have to get involved with the elves. The tower she was watching from was one of the highest points in the castle, where the winds never stopped and the horizon seemed closer.

In the distance, the forests surrounding the fortress stretched like a green carpet as far as the eye could see, interrupted only by the distant mountain peaks bathed in golden sunlight.

"It's been a long time since I've seen something so alive..." The landscape that stretched out before her was pure and pristine, very different from that of her estate in the Vampire Kingdom, which was basically dead.

"Finally-" Her breathing deepened when a movement below caught her eye. It was subtle, but it was there. Something was happening inside the castle. Scarlet watched intently, her sharp eagle eyes noticing even the smallest gestures of the elves circulating in the corridors below.

She saw a group of elves moving stealthily, hiding in the shadows of the castle, their figures disguised by the curtain of trees and walls. What was that? It wasn't normal. The royal guards were on the lookout, but there was something wrong, something that didn't seem right.

Scarlet felt a shiver run down her spine. "A target at last" she said smiling, she was excited. After all, she was a born killer. She liked to see blood flow.

Without hesitation, she started down the tower, sliding down the stone stairs with the precision of a predator. She was aware of the movement of the group below because of the expansion of her mana, her agile legs moving with silent swiftness.

She didn't sense any danger, in fact, the level of these guys was simply pathetic compared to hers. After all, she was one of the pinnacles of today's world.

When she reached the level of the castle's inner corridors, Scarlet wasted no time. She hid in the shadows, watching as the group of rebel elves moved closer. They were approaching one of the main gates, and their intentions were clear: they weren't just infiltrators. They were armed, and their expressions showed determination, even desperation. These elves weren't there to hide. They had a mission - and their mission was clear. To kill the Queen.

"So cute... thinking they're going to do something," she said, smiling.

Scarlet hid deeper in the shadows when she saw the rebel elves approach two royal guards, who were apparently distracted. They were out of position, and before they could react, the first blow was struck.

The blade of one of the rebels cut the throat of one of the guards with deadly precision, spilling scarlet blood onto the marble stones. The second guard tried to react, but a sharp blade struck him in the chest before he could even raise his sword. He fell with a muffled cry, his body writhing in agony before becoming immobilized.

Scarlet watched in silence, her expression imperturbable. What had once been a sense of tranquillity in the castle was now being replaced by a wave of cold, calculated violence. Betrayal was right before her eyes.

'He asked me to protect the queen, not the guards. She thought and continued to watch.

The group of rebels soon made their move. With the death of the two guards, they moved quickly through the corridors, their steps quick and coordinated. Scarlet followed them with her eyes, assessing the situation. She knew the way to the Queen's chambers.

She moved silently, taking advantage of her ability to completely conceal her presence, while the group of rebel elves continued on their way, advancing towards the Queen's chamber. They were about to reach the main door, but before they could break in, Scarlet leapt from her position, launching herself with the agility of a feline.

In one fluid movement, she appeared like a bolt of lightning, appearing before the group of rebels. "Traitors are nice to kill." She said with the look of a mad demon. "I haven't killed anyone for a few months."

"Who... who are you?" one of them stammered, already drawing his sword with trembling hands.

"Me?" Scarlet tilted her head, as if she were a confused child. "I'm just an observer. But you've just made my day much, much more interesting."

Before the first rebel could react, Scarlet disappeared with a dry snap of the air around him - a short teleport, pure mana manipulation and body mastery - and reappeared behind him. He tried to scream, but his throat was already open, and the sound turned into a miserable gurgle.

Another rebel turned to attack her, brandishing his sword with both hands and shouting, more to scare her than to hurt her. She didn't retreat. Instead, she went straight for the blow, dodging it by a hair's breadth, grabbing her enemy's wrist and breaking it with ease. The sword fell, and she pushed him hard against the wall, his skull cracking against the stone with a dry, brutal sound.

The other three hesitated, their terror evident. They were trained, yes. They had convictions, perhaps. But none of that prepared anyone to face a monster.

"Are you trembling? I expected more from a group willing to kill a queen," she sneered, walking slowly towards them, like a wolf circling weakened prey.

"She's alone, attack together!" the last of them tried to command.

"Good luck," she replied with a cutting smile.

All three advanced at once in a desperate attempt to surround her. But Scarlet was prepared - more than that, she was bored with how predictable everything was. In an elegant twist, she kicked the nearest of them in the knee, breaking it in a grotesque crack. He fell, screaming, as the second tried a side blow. Scarlet blocked with the flat of her dagger and, turning her wrist, drove the blade into the elf's armpit, where the armor was weak.

The third man hesitated - and that was his sentence.

Scarlet raised her free hand and snapped her fingers. A black sphere of condensed mana formed, and she threw it with force. The sphere hit the elf's chest and exploded silently, as if the sound had been sucked in. The body was thrown against the wall, crushed by the impact. A trail of blood stained the royal tapestries.

She walked over to him, checking that he was still breathing. "Alive," she murmured. "You can answer a few questions later." A sharp smile crossed his lips. "Maybe I'll take my eyes out first, just in case."

The last elf still alive, the one with the broken knee, was crawling across the floor trying to get away. Scarlet kicked him in the side of the head with a quick twist, blowing him out as if she had blown out a candle.

Silence.

Just the bodies on the floor, the smell of blood and the distant sound of the wind through the broken window of the noble wing. Scarlet took a deep, ecstatic breath. The adrenaline gave her an almost narcotic sensation.

She turned towards the door to the Queen's chambers. Behind her, she could feel the magical presence - tense, but unharmed. Scarlet knocked twice on the wood with the back of her hand.

"It's all right in there. You can come out, Evelyn." Her voice was firm, but not harsh.

The door opened slowly, revealing the young woman, dressed in light daytime clothes, her eyes wide at the sight of the bodies piled up in the corridor. Behind her, Lyana stood with a gleaming sword ready to strike.

"They were faster than I thought," said Evelyn.

Scarlet twirled the dagger between her fingers and stowed it in her belt, wiping a drop of blood from her chin with her thumb. "So you expected this. Did you sacrifice those guards?" Scarlet questioned. 'I didn't know she was that cold.

"No, they were ordered to accept and feign death. We wanted to capture them alive... but..." Lyana said looking at the blood, but soon realized, one was still alive.

"At least one..." Evelyn took a deep breath, regaining some of her composure. "There were more of them?"

Scarlet nodded. "Maybe. I'll hunt down any leftovers that escaped. Don't worry, there won't be any left."

She took two steps, but stopped next to one of the bodies and bent down. She took a small insignia from the torn tunic of one of the rebels. It was a leaf-shaped brooch with a crack in the center. "Do you know this?" Scarlet asked, tossing it to Lyana.

"No..." Lyana answered and showed it to Evelyn, who denied it too. Scarlet frowned as she increased the expansion of her mana. "That's... not good."

"What do you hear?" Evelyn asked.

"We have company." She said.