'That does not sound promising,' Ryan thought, seeing a timer slowly ticking down towards his death.
Not even bothering to remove the red energy from inside his mind, Ryan let the red energy seep into his soul.
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.11%]
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.37%]
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.59%]
The fierceness of his hate blazed like a flaming hot oven.
Ryan didn't know why he hated the human empire so much.
Yes, they had tortured him.
Yes, they had brainwashed him.
Yes, they had tried turning him into a broken man. And maybe they succeeded.
But the cruelty of his hatred knew no bounds. His morals were thrown to the wayside when thinking of the human empire.
'I've never felt this much emotion.'
'Except when it came to her.'
On earth, Aliza had taken him out of the pits of hell and brought him into the heavens of paradise.
She had taught him about the wonderful carnality of seduction and sensuality of manipulation. She taught him about the need for vigilance but the hunger for desire.
Until this point on Ravier, Ryan had taken things easy. He hadn't used his powers for evil, well, not too much evil.
But as he knelt in the pouring rain, Ryan saw the error in his ways.
'This empire is broken. It needs to be burned to the ground in order to save it.'
As his hate was consuming him, he felt a soft, delicate hug from behind.
"Aliza," Ryan whispered as he remembered the way her soft frame soothed his soul in so many times of heartache.
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.59%]
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.589%]
[Percentage of soul corroded: 2.588%]
And just like that the hate he felt disappeared, leaving him tired and empty.
Ryan didn't feel relief. He only felt sadness. His hate was an open wound only love could heal. But how could he truly love any but her?
Looking back at who he knew wasn't Aliza, he saw Zoey. Ryan swore to himself that he would find someone he could love. He would conquer every empire and take every empress and princess for his own.
'If love doesn't come to you, pull her by the hair and take her from behind.'
'Consensually, of course,' Even in his hate and madness, Ryan would never break Aliza's number one rule. She had never failed him when it came to women.
'Every time I asked her how she knew so much about women, she always shrugged it off.'
'She never dated anyone, no man or woman that I saw.'
'She practically never even looked at anyone else but me.' Being the egotistical maniac he was on earth, Ryan had viewed this as inevitable, but after coming to this new world, Ryan realized how much of a fool he had been.
Although Ryan was biased, if he knew one thing about Aliza, it was her temperament.
Aliza always had control over her emotions. Even when it appeared that she was carefree, laughing, and brimming with desire, Ryan knew that she was carefully monitoring her own movements.
She was never flustered, never angry, and always could control her emotions. Always.
If Aliza couldn't keep her eyes off of Ryan, but Grace could stay composed while seeing his better-looking body naked, didn't that mean Grace had better control over her emotions than Aliza?
That was impossible.
"We've cleaned up their bodies, sire," Velmuuth said, kneeling in the mud, her head lowered.
"Forgive me for my rudeness earlier. My arrogance has blinded me to the truth. If you should wish it, I am willing to cut out my eyes permanently as a tribute for my misdeeds."
Looking over at the woman kneeling on the ground, he saw that her eyes were firm, and her hand was steady. She meant what she said.
"That won't be necessary," Ryan said.
Standing up, Ryan was about to check the messages that appeared before and during the battle, but he saw the Velmuuth still with her head lowered and kneeling.
"You may stand."
"Lord. . . no Overlord. Allow me to serve you, son of Argallod let me be your sword. Allow me to pave your path with your enemy's blood," She said, as she pieced the ground with her sword.
"Who said I needed a sword?" Ryan said, frowning.
"Are you a Lord if you have no servants to rule? Are you a king if you have no kingdom to rule? If you claim to be an Overlord, should you not rule over all?"
"Let me be the first of your knights on your conquest to conquer the Holy Alliance."
As much as her speech had struck a chord with Ryan, he had no way to ensure loyalty.
He only could tolerate the girl's company because his specialty made them sign their rights away. The oath of love they had to take in their soul didn't allow the girls to betray him.
As Ryan was opening his mouth to refuse her offer, a prompt appeared in front of him.
[A willing soul has been found!]
[Do you wish to convert them into a Harem Knight?] [Yes/No]
Ryan raised his eyebrows and checked the only ability he had that had 'conversion' in the title, and dropped his jaw when he saw what awaited him.
[Overlord's Harem Conversion (Active/Passive)]
[Activate to turn willing females into your harem members. Harem members are classified into ranks:]
[1. Harem Empress(1): Inside the Harem, they are second only to the Harem Master]
[2. Harem Queen(3): Given kingdoms in the Harem Palace, Harem Queens can speak on the Harem Master's behalf]
[3. Harem Noble(5): Given their own land in the Harem Palace, these nobles can lead knights or regular harem members on tasks for the master]
[4. Harem Member (3/6): The regular members of the Harem (Have to swear an oath of love)]
[5. Harem Knight (0/100): The battle forces of the Harem Master (Have to swear an oath of loyalty)]
[6. Harem Servant (0/100): The Harem Master & Harem Royalty's servants (Have to swear an oath of servitude)]
[The passive part of this ability allows you, the harem master, to receive one talent, special characteristic, ability, or other unique gifts from harem members and the ranks above]
[Gifts Taken: 3]
[Note(1): Ranking someone as a Harem Empress, Harem Queen, or Harem Noble is irreversible and is a permanent action. The slots are fixed in number, and once they are used, cannot be recovered.]
[Note (2): Freedom of action is bestowed on all noble ranks or higher (All oaths no longer apply)]
[Note (3): No gifts or energy can be earned from Harem Knights & Servants]
[Note (4): Conversion time for official harem members is reduced to 0 if a sensual ceremony is performed (knights & servants cannot be upgraded to an evolved race by this ability)]
[Note (5): More possibilities are available upon the increase of your cultivation level]
Ryan's eyes turned from the messages and studied Velmuuth. His eyes bore into her soul as he asked, "Although I am a son of Argallod, I don't swear allegiance to them. Are you willing to forsake your people to serve me, knowing that one day I might ask you to fight them?"
Velmuuth bowed her head. Her right hand crossed her breastplate and her left hand held the sword that was piercing the ground. "I will fight for you."