Harem Madness

“How dare you! You have committed the greatest crime by defying the gods!” (Man 1) “You demon! How could you wipe out an entire kingdom, leaving absolutely nothing behind?!” (Woman 1) “O sinner! How dare you challenge the Absolute Law?!” (Man 2) “Enjoy your next reincarnation in the Infernal Realm!” (Woman 2) “Reiji Amatsu! We hereby sentence you to death!” (Man 3) Reiji Amatsu stood in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by countless beings from different realms who cursed him for his crimes. His hands were bound, while his feet were locked in place by a stone platform, making it impossible for him to move. Demons, humans, spirits, and gods had gathered around him to witness the end of someone who had committed millions of sins. For anyone else, this would have been a nightmare. Yet Reiji remained perfectly calm, showing neither anxiety nor fear. As the night reached its peak, he finally spoke. “Tell me, why do you all obey the Absolute Law? What's so wise about following those rules?” Reiji swept his gaze across the beings surrounding him. “You don't obey it because you believe it's right. You're only afraid of the punishment, a punishment so terrible that even the gods bow before it!” He gave a faint smile. “Look at me. Out of all of you, I'm the only one who dared to stand against it. And I did it alone.” “Enough, sinner! You're just greedy for women! Your fate has already been decided!” (Man 2) As soon as those words were spoken, the beings surrounding Reiji began preparing their attacks. Their attacks varied in type and power, but one thing was certain. Reiji Amatsu would die once all those attacks hit him. “Ready... fire!” (Man 3) BOOOOM! In an instant, attacks made from different types of Primal Essence struck Reiji's body. A massive explosion shook the area, swallowing him in a blinding flash of light. The surrounding rocks shattered, and waves of energy spread in every direction. When everything finally settled down... Reiji Amatsu was confirmed dead. “FINALLY!!!” Cheers erupted from every direction. The beings who had lived in fear for so long could finally breathe a sigh of relief. To them, Reiji Amatsu's death marked the beginning of world peace. And for the next two hundred years, the world enjoyed the peace they had long wished for. ✦ ✦ ✦ Far away from the place where Reiji Amatsu had died, in a remote village at the edge of the Eastern Continent, a baby boy was born into the Sen family. The village was home to the Yamikawa Tribe, a small community with only around three hundred people. The baby's birth was met with joy, and he grew up just like any other child. However, no one in the village knew who he truly was. He was the reincarnation of someone who had rejected human rules, defied the gods, challenged the will of heaven, and was even feared by the creatures of hell. He was Reiji Amatsu, with all his memories from his previous lives completely intact. ✦ ✦ ✦ Five years passed. By a river not far from the village, a little boy sat alone, staring at the water's surface. His name was Kyoma Sen. Although his body was still small, his mind held experiences that no ordinary child his age could ever have. He had lived for eight hundred years as Reiji Amatsu, and even before that, he had lived on Earth as an interdisciplinary researcher. With all the knowledge he possessed, Kyoma could easily attract the attention of the villagers if he wanted to. 'That artifact really worked, it allowed me to reincarnate without erasing my memories...' He looked down at his own hands. 'And now, I'm in a place like this.' Kyoma began considering his options. 'With the knowledge I've gained from my previous eight hundred years of life, I could easily become a genius child praised by the villagers. If everything went well, I might even become the tribe's leader someday.' It wasn't a bad plan. The Yamikawa Village had only around three hundred people. In such a small community, someone with intelligence and knowledge far beyond everyone else's would naturally attract plenty of attention. If Kyoma wanted to, he could start building his influence from a young age. 'No. That's far too small an ambition.' Kyoma slowly shook his head. He had ambitions far greater than becoming the leader of a small tribe. 'My goal remains the same.' A faint smile appeared on his face. 'I'm going to build a harem with thousands of women from every realm.' ✦ ✦ ✦ The next five years passed quickly. At the age of ten, Kyoma and several other children his age were summoned to the village square. There, they found various animals lying on the ground, barely clinging to life. There were cows, sheep, goats, snakes, and several other animals prepared for that day's ceremony. Each child was given a knife and one simple task, approach the animals and end their lives with their own hands. Kyoma looked at the knife in his hand. 'It's finally time.' One by one, the children began carrying out their tasks. SQUELCH! The sound of blades cutting through flesh echoed across the square, followed by the animals weakening movements as their lives slowly faded away. Animal sacrifice was one of the most common traditions in this world, and the reason behind it had to do with something possessed by every living being. Primal Essence. From plants and animals to humans, demons, spirits, and even gods, every living being possessed this energy within their bodies. Based on the knowledge Kyoma had gained on Earth, Primal Essence could be described as a form of energy that could be converted into various types of power, much like magic. Of course, different abilities required different amounts of energy. The more complex or powerful a technique was, the more Primal Essence it required. The amount of energy a being could store depended on a vessel inside its body known as the Essence Vessel. The larger the Essence Vessel, the more Primal Essence its owner could store. Overall, the capacity of an Essence Vessel was divided into twelve ranks, with each rank representing a different level of capacity. So, how could someone increase their rank? By killing living beings. Whenever a living being was killed, the Primal Essence contained within it increased the killer's Essence Vessel capacity. That was the reason behind the Yamikawa Tribe's tradition. By sacrificing the animals prepared for the ritual, every child was expected to reach Rank 2 before moving on to the next stage of life. And for Kyoma, this was the most important part. 'Now I can finally do it.' He had been waiting for this moment for years. At Rank 2, his available Primal Essence was finally enough to activate several techniques he had developed in his previous life. He needed those techniques to prepare for something much bigger, something no one else could be allowed to know about. ✦ ✦ ✦ That night, after everyone in the village had fallen asleep, Kyoma quietly left his house. He followed a narrow path before entering the forest not far from the village. WHOOSH! A small fireball appeared and floated in the air, formed from the Primal Essence within Kyoma's body. Its light illuminated the surrounding trees and ground, allowing him to see his way through the darkness. Tap… tap… tap… He continued walking until he finally stopped at a certain spot. Kyoma looked around, making sure there was nothing suspicious nearby. 'Looks like there aren't any beasts around here. I'm pretty lucky tonight.' After confirming that the area was safe, he lowered his head and looked at the ground beneath his feet. A faint smile appeared on his face. Without wasting any time, Kyoma crouched down and began digging with his bare hands. He kept digging until his fingers touched the surface of something hard, buried deep underground. An iron box. Kyoma pulled it out of the dirt and brushed away the soil covering its surface. He then touched several specific spots on the box in a particular sequence. Click. A mechanism inside the box activated, and its lid slowly opened. Kyoma stared at the object inside with shining eyes. 'Finally... I've got back the thing that will help me build my harem!'