[Nightmare]

[A/N: Not a sex scene. Don't get your hopes up or panic.]

Helix opened the door to his room quietly but found it was pointless.

Marie, Charlotte, and Riley were in battle gear, patiently waiting with nervous expressions.

The moment they saw him, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's for staying up for me." Helix said with a bitter smile.

"It means a lot that you'll always come to protect me."

Marie's eyes trembled when she saw Helix's state and rushed off the bed to hold him.

Charlotte and Riley came running shortly afterward.

"What happened?" Marie whispered with a beating heart.

"Four soldiers tried to kill me; I resisted murdering everyone as always." Helix sighed.

His partners chuckled.

They were glad that Helix was strong enough not to worry about dying in petty battles.

"Then why are you so late?" Marie asked worriedly.

"Eliza's guard rushed in to show support in Royal Armor, and it became a two-hour event.

So I had to deal with the networking as usual." Helix sighed.

Charlotte gave him a quizzical glance with general killing intent.

"That bastard showed up again, and you look like this!?" She growled.

Helix took the pink glasses off her face and put them on his own.

Everyone was stunned, speechless.

However, Marie and Riley burst into giggles after seeing Charlotte's nonplussed expression.

Helix chuckled and hugged Charlotte.

"Don't worry, Charlotte." He whispered.

"He's loyal to Tyrene, and thus he's on our side."

The young woman puffed out her cheeks but gave up and melted into his arms.

"Luckily!" Helix announced.

Marie, Charlotte, and Riley looked at him.

"You can take out your aggression on three acres of land tomorrow!"

Helix gave them all an evil smile.

"Because tomorrow, General Masov and the Defense Chief are taking us out to an area you three can thoroughly destroy with your maximum power."

"Gahhhhhh! This'll be the bossest power play in existence!" Charlotte exclaimed.

She pushed herself off Helix and did an arm pump.

"I can't wait. I'm going to show to Alzeria if they mess with you." Marie growled.

"I like the idea of sending a message, too." Riley giggled.

Helix gave the three hopeless smiles.

"It's been awhile since I've seen you in your yandere forms." He chuckled.

The three turned bright red, but he gave them a mysterious smile.

"But I [love] it. Tomorrow, I want you to go full yandere on Alzeria!" Helix exclaimed with evil eyes.

The three started hugging each other.

Helix felt like a bad influence on the three.

He couldn't care less, though.

"Woah. He~llie is getting fei~sty." Charlotte smacked.

"I have a lot of frustration built up with this kingdom." Helix replied with sharp eyes.

"And I want you to help me relieve that frustration since I can't."

The three women looked at Helix with predatory eyes.

He looked at the three of them in confusion.

Charlotte licked her lips.

"Hmmm? Did I just hear that Hellie needs help relieving frustration he can't himself?" She mused.

"Hmmm… that's what I heard, too." Marie affirmed with a predatory gaze.

"I think that's what he said." Riley giggled.

Helix stared at the three of them with a hopeless smile.

"I…." He began hesitantly.

"Don't~need~to do~any~thing." Charlotte hummed.

"Nagh~t a th~ing." Marie affirmed with a grin.

"I'm feeling yandere." Riley giggled with a strange smile.

Charlotte grabbed his shirt and spun him around.

Then she pushed him onto the bed.

Marie crawled onto the bed behind him and put her hands underneath his arms to pull him to the back.

Riley slowly started getting undressed.

Helix was very okay with what was happening.

However, he had no idea what had gotten into Riley.

Or Marie, who was getting sexually aggressive to Charlotte's level the last two nights.

Charlotte was bloodthirsty.

Was it the yandere factor?

Being around more women?

Taking over the role of protector again?

The stress from the death threats?

The feeling of power and control?

Attraction to his leadership?

Or was it something else?

He thought about it for approximately five seconds until Charlotte started unbuttoning his pants.

Then his mind went blank, and he forgot he was ever stressed.

—

"Is that… a muthafuckin' Gryphon!?" Charlotte cried in excitement.

"That's right." Helix said with a mysterious smile.

In Alzeria, Gryphons were the size of a small whale.

Tamed Gryphons were ridden like Persian war elephants, with full boxed seating.

Myriadians primarily used them for sky travel and transport.

Helix was satisfied knowing that Kylon wasn't just selling them another fantasy.

The Gryphon was twenty feet tall and ten feet wide.

It had the massive body of a lion, with a robust white mane with gold highlights.

The fur was reddish-orange, and its bird head was closer to an owl than an eagle.

Its beak was massive and charcoal grey.

It was truly a majestic beast worthy of a fantasy world.

"I think it's cute!" Riley cried with sparkling eyes.

"You're fascinating." Marie giggled.

The Gryphon was large, majestic, and terrifying, but it wasn't cute.

Riley was in full yandere mode.

Everyone was.

Helix was in non-lethal cultivator mode.

"Hello, Sir Helix." General Masov said with a firm voice.

The man had a clean-shaven face and brown hair with grey highlights.

His build was rigid; it looked like a statue chiseled without perfection.

It wasn't bad-looking.

Rather, it was a body that looked like it had the potential to be perfect but missed the mark by a significant degree.

His limbs were so solid that the motions seemed robotic.

General Masov's eyes were dark brown and ordinary.

In fewer words, he looked military.

"Hello, General Masov." Helix replied with a firm voice.

He reached out his hand for a handshake, which the man accepted.

Masov did not grip-test him, which was surprising.

"Chief Salkey." Helix added when he looked behind Masov.

The man had grey hair and had the body of an ex-bodybuilder.

His body was in decline, but he still looked formidable.

Salkey's eyes were light brown, making him look gentler.

However, the scowl he was wearing eliminated all misconceptions of kindness.

"Sir Helix." Salkey gruffed before refusing a handshake.

Helix narrowed his eyes at the man but released his gaze.

"Do you have a location in mind?" Helix asked Masov.

"Yes. There's an area outside of the Leiria Forest with large hilltops." Masov confirmed.

"It will give a full vantage point over the area while allowing you to demonstrate your capacity on elevated terrain."

Helix nodded with appreciation.

"That's perfect."

"Let's get going then." Masov said with a serious expression.

Everyone walked up an elevated dock.

The Gryphon was in an area chilled into a mountain, so its back was only five feet off the ground.

Helix was impressed by the efficiency of the docking system and shuttered to think what type of taming was necessary for a creature of its size.

The group boarded.

They were in a large box with another room for twenty people.

Helix sat up front on the left-hand side.

Charlotte sat to his left, closest to the open air.

Marie and Riley sat to his right.

It was an ideal seating arrangement.

Charlotte wanted the [window] seat, and he wanted Charlotte away from the men on the right side.

Riley was closest to them, which was the best he could ask for.

"Hey, boy, I have a question." Salkey gruffed with an arrogant voice.

"I'll answer it if I can." Helix nodded.

"Is it customary to sit with your harem during an official operation with high-class officials?"

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)