Demonic Dragon: Harem System-Chapter 404: After a Week.

The silence in the room was filled only by the soft sound of their breathing. Strax and Scarlet's bodies were still glued together, sweaty, intertwined on the sofa in the huge living room, which at that moment seemed like the only world that existed.

Her head rested on his chest, her eyes half-closed and her fingers drawing lazy circles on his warm skin. They had already lost track of time. They just felt - each other, the tiredness, the heat, and the strange absence of something that should have happened.

Strax stared at the ceiling for a moment, in silence, until he turned his face to stare at Scarlet, his expression filled with something unusual in him: doubt.

"Even after everything we've done... I still haven't advanced to the Emperor stage." His voice was low, almost a whisper, but the words carried the weight of weeks of anticipation.

Scarlet looked up, staring at him with her red-hot eyes. She remained silent for a few seconds, just watching him. Then she spoke quietly:

"You don't feel anything... different? Not even a subtle change?"

"There's something growing inside me. But it's not an explosion. It's not like the other times... it's as if something is... maturing." He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to feel deeper. "It's strange."

Scarlet smiled slightly. "It'll be a while yet, don't worry."

Strax sighed deeply, his fingers running along Scarlet's back in a gentle, absorbed way. The pressure of the moment, the frustration mixed with a sense of almost fulfillment, consumed him. He wasn't someone who was content to sit on the sidelines of total power.

He looked at her again, his eyes filled with a tired curiosity, but with a glint of lightness. "You say that because you've already reached the Emperor stage, don't you?" His voice was low, like a whisper laden with irony and a hint of silent envy.

Scarlet laughed softly, her body moving slightly to get more comfortable in his arms. She seemed totally at ease, as if everything in the world was secondary, except that moment.

"I'm 3,000 years old, Strax." She said, the laughter still echoing in her voice, as if time was something she had completely mastered.

Strax arched an eyebrow, trying to process it. He had always known that Scarlet was no mere mortal, but the confirmation of her longevity was a surprise. "So... you've been through this several times?"

"Yes," she replied, smiling with a mysterious expression, as if it were a secret she liked to keep under wraps. "I've seen many emperors born, and I've also seen many fall. That's what experience brings... patience, mostly."

He was silent for a moment, reflecting. With every word she said, he felt pulled deeper into an abyss of knowledge that he hadn't yet reached, but longed to. His instinct as a leader made him want to reach that stage, but her serenity seemed to have something fundamental about it - a kind of understanding he didn't yet possess.

"I'll get there, won't I?" Strax asked, now more to himself than to Scarlet. "I just... need to understand what's missing."

Scarlet tilted her head, watching him with a look of deep understanding. She knew the weight of being someone who possessed the wisdom of millennia. "You will. But it's important not to run. True power doesn't just come from mighty deeds. It comes from the ability to remain calm in chaos." She spoke as she snuggled into that... chaotic environment.

The environment around them seemed out of control, disorganized, and an aura of tension still lingered, as if the space itself had been invaded by a moment of intimacy and chaos. Strax and Scarlet's bodies were relaxed, but a strange, vibrant energy still circulated around them.

When the door opened, the sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor and then Xenovia and Kryssia entered. They had returned after a week, but what they found was not exactly the kind of welcome they had expected. They both stood paralyzed in the doorway, their expressions turning from curiosity to disgust as their eyes quickly scanned the scene in front of them.

What might once have been considered a simple moment of rest was now a reflection of the chaos that was brewing inside the house and in Strax's mind. They saw the scattered fluids, the marks of a night that had been lived without any attempt at control, the disorder that seemed to take over the space.

Xenovia, looking confused at first, soon turned her head to Kryssia. Both were visibly embarrassed, not knowing where to look. Kryssia's gaze, meanwhile, was fixed on the sofa, on Strax and Scarlet, wordlessly, but with a rigid posture that indicated her absolute discomfort.

"What the... hell..." Xenovia finally managed to say, her voice choppy and nervous. She closed her eyes for a moment, as if trying to erase the image from her mind.

Strax, still lying down, looked at them, a lazy, uncomplicated smile on his face, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Scarlet, unperturbed, was still lying on top of him, her eyes slightly closed, looking completely oblivious to their presence.

"Welcome back." Strax said, with a lightness in his voice, as if there was nothing strange about the scene. He held out a lazy hand, stretching towards the coffee table as he looked at them both, his eyes slightly tinged with irony.

Xenovia, still not believing what she was seeing, raised her hand to cover her face. "You... you're kidding me, right?" She looked at Kryssia, her expression mixed with suspicion and disgust. "This is... ridiculous."

Kryssia, with her always solid posture, was still silent, but her eyes reflected an unusual shame, and she seemed uncertain what to do. She even turned to look at Scarlet, trying to pull herself together, but Strax's eyes disconcerted her.

Scarlet, for her part, finally got up from the sofa with a carefree smile, as if nothing had happened. She walked over to Kryssia and Xenovia naturally, not even minding their lack of clothes.

"You're in shock, I know." She said, her voice calm and quiet, as if it were normal that the two of them were now witnessing something so intimate. "But honestly, it's your turn, right? Have fun losing your virginities, I'm going to get some sleep."

The room seemed to freeze at that moment, the tension in the air making every second even heavier. Scarlet's words, unhurried and so carefree, fell like a bombshell. Xenovia and Kryssia, still looking completely bewildered, stood paralyzed, absorbing the words and the situation before them.

Xenovia looked at Scarlet with a mixture of incredulity and a little anger, the heat rising in her face. "Are you really saying that? Like it's... normal?"

Scarlet shrugged, with an irreverent smile, as if the situation was just another one of those in which the world no longer made sense. "Well, it's normal for me. But you're free to see it how you like." She passed them both, getting off the sofa and heading down the corridor, as if there was nothing else in the world.

Strax, still stretched out on the sofa, looked at them both, a glint of amusement in his eyes. He didn't seem the least bit embarrassed by the scene, on the contrary, he seemed almost amused by their reaction.

"Don't worry," Strax murmured, still recovering from the moment, his fingers curling into the cushion as he watched the two with a relaxed smile. "It's all a matter of perspective. After everything we've been through, that's the least of it." He spoke in a low, soft voice, as if nothing there was really worth worrying about.

With a slight movement, he got up from the sofa, stretching his arms up and letting out a lazy yawn. The heavy air in the room seemed to be the only thing that still wasn't dissipating, but Strax seemed oblivious to it all, as if the tension were something distant.

"I'm going to take a shower upstairs," he said, his casual tone contrasting with the chaos around them. "Feel free to join me if you like. The space is big enough for everyone."

He smiled quietly and nonchalantly before climbing the stairs, his footsteps echoing through the house as he walked away.

Kryssia and Xenovia stared at each other for a long moment, the silence heavy between them as if a universe of unspoken thoughts were floating in the air. The looks they exchanged were a mixture of confusion, fear and, to some extent, a curiosity that they couldn't hide. Both were conflicted - the hesitation of crossing a line that seemed uncertain, but also the promise made, a commitment that had brought them there.

"Should we really go?" Kryssia murmured, the doubt visible in her gaze. She had never been the type to blindly follow orders or promises made without thinking, and the current situation was no different. She was tense, her posture rigid, and a sense of unease hung over her.

Xenovia, who for a moment looked more uncomfortable than anything else, took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together. She looked at Kryssia with a nervous smile, a mixture of uncertainty and a touch of bitter humor.

"Well... we promised we'd help, didn't we?" she said, her voice a little hesitant, but still with that familiar tone of determination.