Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 527 - 526- A true harem

"Wha... where am I?" Adrian asked into the empty air as he slowly turned in place.

The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in his room.

He had taken Sylvie’s advice and stopped pushing himself over Scarlette’s situation. She had been right. Efficiency vanished when the body was exhausted. With a drained mind, he could barely read, let alone retain anything.

So he had decided to give his eyes and mind the rest they desperately needed before returning to his studies.

And yet, the moment he fell asleep, he found himself here.

He examined his surroundings carefully. The walls were earthen brown. Instead of enchanted artifacts, simple oil lamps cast a dim glow across the room. The floor was packed mud. The ceiling rose into a narrow cone, woven from tightly bound straw.

’Where am I?’ he wondered, kneeling slightly and focusing on the ground.

He felt nothing.

No texture. No temperature. No resistance beneath his feet.

His expression tightened.

Then that means...

[A memory, host.]

Adrian flinched. ’You’re here too, huh, System?’

[The System is always with the host.]

A grin tugged at his lips. ’If you were a girl, I might have thought that was flirting.’

No response followed.

Adrian chuckled softly and shook his head.

’I believe this is the witches’ territory,’ he murmured, studying the strange yet familiar markings carved into the walls.

[Indeed, host.]

Then—

Clank.

The curtains at the entrance shifted abruptly, and a group of women entered the hut.

Adrian instinctively stepped aside, only for one of them to brush straight through him.

She phased through his body as though he were smoke.

So he was a ghost here.

That explained the lack of sensation.

"Ghaaa! Let me go!"

The shrill cry snapped his attention forward.

A young girl, perhaps in her mid-teens, was being carried by the group. Her arms and legs were tightly restrained as she thrashed and writhed, struggling against their grip.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

Strange glowing markings burned across her face, pulsing faintly as though alive. The skin around them was reddened and raw, likely the source of her agonized scream.

"It’s alright, child. Just a few more moments," the woman leading the group said gently, attempting to soothe her.

Adrian doubted words alone could dull that kind of pain.

He followed them. The sensation of gliding rather than walking felt unnatural at first, but he adapted quickly.

They moved down a long earthen corridor before stopping at a door at its end.

Knock.

A single hurried knock echoed before the door was pushed open without waiting for permission.

Adrian passed through the women and stepped inside.

No, not a room.

A hall.

His eyes widened slightly.

"What is this place?"

It was vast, easily rivaling the reception hall of Vermillion Mansion. The ceiling arched high above, wooden beams darkened by age and smoke. Lamps burned along the walls, their golden light pooling warmly across woven rugs and cushions scattered throughout the chamber.

And women.

Women filled the hall.

Young and old. Some with silver hair braided neatly down their backs, others with loose curls spilling over bare shoulders. Their garments were light, flowing, soft fabrics that clung and draped in ways that felt deliberate rather than accidental.

At the center of it all sat a single man.

No, a mountain.

Even seated, he appeared immense. Nearly four feet tall from the base of his seat to the crown of his head. Broad shoulders stretched the fabric across his torso, his back slightly hunched but heavy with presence. His midnight-black hair fell freely, framing a scarred face that carried the weight of countless battles.

The scars were not shallow. They were deep, jagged, unapologetic. The kind that made children cry and warriors reconsider their choices.

Even Adrian felt a flicker of instinctive caution.

The man radiated danger. The sort that urged others to shield their loved ones and keep their distance.

Yet the women surrounding him felt none of that fear.

"Now this," Adrian muttered under his breath, "is how I imagine an Emperor lives."

They were everywhere around him.

Two women sat comfortably upon his lap, feeding him dark berries one at a time, their fingers brushing his lips without hesitation. Another strong, broad-armed woman stood behind him, kneading his massive shoulders with practiced familiarity. Two more knelt at his legs, their hands working slowly along his calves and thighs, easing the tension from muscles that looked capable of crushing stone. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

To the side, one woman played a gentle melody on a stringed instrument, the notes soft and intimate. Others leaned close, speaking into his ear, laughing quietly, their hands resting on his chest, his arms, his shoulders.

It was not chaotic.

It was devoted.

Every gaze directed at him carried the same emotion.

Love. Reverence. Desire.

They touched him freely, leaned into him without fear, smiled at him as though he were both protector and king.

The intimacy in the air was thick but not crude. It was worship disguised as affection.

Adrian stared.

The sight was so unexpected, so utterly contradictory to the aura of menace that man radiated, that for a moment he questioned his own senses.

Then he looked again.

The weight in the air. The silent dominance beneath the indulgence. The faint, suffocating pressure hidden beneath warmth.

’He is Darkness, isn’t he?’

[Indeed, host. Lo and behold.]

Adrian scoffed. ’You sound rather impressed.’

[It is merely your imagination.]

He ignored that and watched as the hurried group of women approached, weaving through the others who reluctantly made space.

The one leading them bowed slightly.

"My Lord," she said, her voice tight with urgency, "this is bad."

Darkness slowly opened his eyes and looked at the woman who had addressed him.

"Corella... how have you been?"

At the sound of her name on his lips, the woman visibly flushed.

Without warning, the massive man reached forward and pulled her closer with effortless strength.

The two women seated on his lap shifted aside, giving her space. Corella found herself drawn in front of him, nearly against his chest, her face burning as she tried to steady her voice.

"My Lord... I am doing well." Her focus shifted from the crying woman to the man so quickly that it felt staggering.

Darkness studied her for a moment, his scarred fingers lifting a strand of her hair.

"You cut it," he observed, voice low and calm. "I do enjoy it long. But like this... you look even more adorable."

Corella lowered her head until her forehead rested lightly against his chest, unable to meet his gaze. Her hands curled against his garment, shy yet undeniably pleased.

Around them, the other women watched without jealousy. If anything, there was fond amusement in their eyes.

Adrian stared at the scene with an utterly blank expression.

’Wasn’t this man supposed to be the greatest nemesis of the deities?’ he asked the System.

[Yes, host.]

’And right now... he’s flirting with her, correct?’

[Yes, host.]

"...."

Adrian found himself momentarily speechless.

Rumors, it seemed, could never fully capture how a man truly behaved when surrounded by women who adored him.

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Now you know why these villages only have women. Darkness was a man with needs, eheh.