[][][15][][]

John woke up feeling anxious, tense, and alert as if expecting an attack. He looked around him and saw that he was inside his room and took deep breaths, calming his palpitating heart and frayed nerves, bringing him back to normalcy.

“Today’s the day where Joker’s going to let us fight some figures, or monsters?” He muttered, standing up from his bed and doing stretches beside his bed.

“Rise and shine partner. Today’s the day where you’re going to not only fight against real enemies but also bed your childhood friend.”

At the mention of the word ‘childhood friend’ he saw Janice’s naked body, an unblemished canvass of white that beckoned to him and purple eyes furtively looking at him as if it hid secrets that were his for the taking.

“Hmm…I guess I should do it now, huh. Very well, I won’t hesitate.”

“That’s the spirit partner. Now you need to write a missive for the rest of the girls so that they can meet up with you at the park. You do know that Joker likes the park right?”

“That’s right, and for some reason, Joker likes to meet-up at parks so I’ll just go in blindly and set the location as the park.”

He took a shower, dressed himself, sat on the study table, and wrote a missive to the six girls telling them to meet up with him at the park because of their meeting with Joker which is today.

John arrived before the others, sitting on one of the park benches as he observed the rising sun’s rays spreading its warmth to this side of the world. He slowly sank deep into thought, reviewing and memorizing the information he just learned for the past four days.

The sound of footsteps snapped him out of his thoughts, and turned towards the entrance where he saw an androgynous person making his way towards him.

“Guess I’m the first here, eh Joker?”

“Indeed Sir John. I’m impressed that you’re prompt to our appointment. Are the girls going to catch up?”

“They will Joker. I trust them that much.”

Joker took his place on the bench beside him, a silent agreement of understanding between them as they saw the sun slowly rise over the horizon. A few minutes they heard Angelica humming a heroic tune and turned towards their direction, the rest of the girls chatting with one another.

The girls wore athletic gear: short-sleeved sweatshirts, jogging pants, and rubber shoes, while John wore a hoodie with the hood down, pants, and black and blue rubber shoes. The girls also sported different hairstyles; Janice who sported a side braid, Alice whose hair was tied into a simple three strand braid, Angelica’s hair styled into a snake braid, Marie’s hair a low-knotted ponytail, and Sylvia’s into twin ponytails. On the other hand, Cara just maintained the same hair style that he found attractive.

"I've called you here because you're ready to fight. You've had dreams last night, yes? Except for John, the rest of you received dreams or visions of what your power is and how they would work."

The girls nodded, and sat down on the chairs created by Joker’s magic placed behind them. Before they began they shared their dreams and visions, eliciting gasps of astonishment and surprise, John just listening into their conversation.

"...so I was walking towards a mountain and I saw these swords..."

"...it was scary seeing somebody lobotomized you know..."

"...Strange Objects. They Followed Me Around..."

"...I kept hearing artillery shells being fired behind me and..."

"...I was flying!! FLYING!! Then I was like swoosh and bam! I was running..."

"...just walking and saw these five strange statues glowing for some reason. But still..."

It was a cluster of voices, as if he was in a busy marketplace filled with lots of people. He just sat there, nodding, commenting, advising, and comforting them like a close friend who's always there for them to lean on when problems get too difficult.

Their intimate discussion slowed to a crawl and John told them to get back to what Joker is trying to tell them so that they can proceed with Joker's test to determine how their powers work.

"Alright Joker, mind getting us back on track? If you don't mind, of course." Joker just nodded and cleared their voice.

"As I was saying before, the dreams or visions you have are a clue to the powers you possess inside you, and in order to unleash them, you must fight in an actual battle which I have turned into a mock battle because all of you are still new. This is also the perfect opportunity for Sir John to create strategies based on the powers you'll display today."

"What ya mean Joker? You want us to fight for real so that we can unlock them?"

"Hmm~sounds like a good plan~"

"I have no problems with it! Let's go already! We can do this!"

"I feel that's the right course of action even though I am of the opinion that it is unwise since we do not know the names of these powers are."

"Agreed. We Must Do Field Testing to Do Tests so That We Can Identify our Powers."

"Right!! What are we waiting for?! C'mon, let's start already!!"

"They're fired up partner. Looks like they can't wait to try out their powers."

"I just hope they won't be reckless just because they have powers."

"Have more faith in your harem partner. They're strong girls that know what to do and will only be reckless if the situation calls for it. Besides, it's your job to be there for them when they're struggling so you gotta take responsibility as a man. You rely on them and they rely on you. Never forget that partner."

"I agree Lu. You know, for a representation of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, you're really insightful sometimes. I'm surprised."

"Heh. It's my own way of helping my wielders partner. Especially for you since being chosen as a Harem King hasn't sunk in yet since you have no personal goals other than getting stronger to fight the Harem Slayers and improving your relationship with the rest of the girls. In time, you'll set a personal goal, but that'll take awhile. For now, just follow Joker's lead."

"Sounds like a good plan Lu. It's fine though since today is a Saturday."

"Ohhh, that reminds me. Janice told you to visit her house today right if you have time right? Why not do it later after the practice match? I'm sure you'll spending most of the afternoon and night having 'fun' in her house so just do it."

"Uh...about that...actually I was planning to visit her to, you know, get some 'lust energy' so that I can grow stronger...and spend some time with her. Yes, we'll just spend time playing games, talking about books, chatting, and--"

"Making out, yes? Good. You really know your priorities partner. I'm liking your approach so far."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?! I don't get it."

Luscious just laughed at him and told him to just forget it and focus on what Joker is explaining to the rest of the girls.

"Each chosen member possesses a unique power, and these powers can take many forms; some use the powers of death to raise the dead; some use their own life-force to cast spells that can end fights quickly; some use their minds to make things move, skim, fly, swim, and sleep; and some use the powers of others to power-up their own abilities. There can be similarities; in the end, they don't matter because it's up to you to decide how to use it."

They listened in rapt attention, never leaving their focus to wander to mundane things and unnecessary thoughts as Joker droned on. 

"All of you also have powers that work differently but it's up to you to experiment with them. That's reason why I'm here; to send all of you to a place where you can practice your powers as well as get a feel for each of your positions."

"Hmm~? We're going to train and fight against those black things again~?"

"That's correct Miss Janice. There are many of those things which we call Dark Apparitions. You can think of them as the hostile souls of old harem members who have died. There's also a Dark Lord which is the soul of a Harem King who has refused to move on and attacks Harem Kings and their harems at unpredictable times but only inside the Harem Dimension. They can never travel to the real world unless somebody wills them to or if someone like me can summon them at will.”

"S'that so? Sounds like a challenge."

"D-dead spirits? Really now, they should be easy to dispose of because they're weak against us."

"Yeah, yeah, that's right!! We can just kick their assess and beat the crap out of them!"

"...." Sylvia was silent, unable to comment because of the fact that aside from her baton, she did not have any fighting capability with the exception of her two living puppets whose absolute obedience ensured that she will never step on the front lines. 

However, if she's able to create the silver armor before then...no. It was impossible to build it in time because of Joker's announcement, giving her enough time to do some minor modifications and build up her body's durability. Even with the pills she was taking, it will not be enough to compensate for the energy required to utilize the armor so she had to find a way to eliminate her dependency on the pills. 

"What's wrong Sylvia?" John asked her, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Its--Fine. No Problems." He just gave her a quizzical look making her heart leap.

"We can't have that Sylvia. We're one team and one family now so if you have any problems then you can talk about it with me, got it?"

Unable to respond, she just nodded, and satisfied with her answer, he returned his focus back on Joker's talk but not before he put his hand over hers and squeezed it lightly, a sense of calm assurance flowing into her. He did not notice the blush on her face as he released his hand and returned to listening to Joker.

"Excellent, then I'll open up a dimensional gateway to transfer you to Pandora's Battlefield where Harem Kings and their harems can train."

"Pandora's Battlefield? Sounds like a dangerous place Joker."

"Very perceptive Sir John. Yes, it's a dangerous place that contains the more powerful variants of Dark Apparitions that are more than a match for you and your harem. The usual protocol is to transfer a newly awakened Harem King and his harem to the Rookie Battlegrounds where the easiest opponents are located. In your case, you possess Luscious who is the strongest among the seven and a harem with a diverse set of skills and blessed with powerful abilities that it's an insult to send you out against weak enemies. This way, at the very least, will allow you to go all-out."

He was now skeptical whether they were all capable of facing up against more powerful enemies even though they just awakened but as he observed the expressions of the girls, he was surprised that they were eager to do it, although he sensed an underlying emotion of fear that quickly disappeared.

"So we're going to fight in a more dangerous area compared to the others? I'm game."

"The more danger you face, the fast you grow stronger so I'm fine with this arrangement."

"Hmm, it's dangerous but I know we can beat them like we did before so I'm cool with it."

"We just have to be careful then if we're going to survive. Isn't that right John~?" He nodded.

"Very Well. Let's Go Now." 

"We can do it even if it's just the six of us, right?? If so, then let's do our best!! Fight!!"

"Looks like Cara is excited but I can't say the same for the rest of the girls."

"Have faith in them partner. I'm sure you'll be able to lead them well because they'll follow you and trust you to do the right calls when in battle."

He saw the girls chatting with each other and felt a sense of responsibility to keep them safe and make sure they come back alive after the fight. A random thought entered his mind and decided to ask Lu for advice.

"Hey Lu, do their affections for me change with time? I mean in the sense of my relationship with them going from that of lovers to that of acquaintances and them looking for other men to bond with. I'm not sure why I'm even asking the question but y'know..." Luscious stifled a laugh and told him not to worry.

"Wow, you're thinking way ahead partner, and as for your question, never. The moment you bonded with them, any thoughts they have about other men have been erased, making you as the only one they love. You should also know that a disloyal harem member is immediately marked for execution by the Harem Hunters. The sanctity of a harem is sacred and inviolable so another side-effect is that the Harem King will feel nothing for an ex-harem member who cheats or betrays him, sparing him from the effects of losing a harem member."

"Wow, that's a bit too much, don't you think?" Luscious answered him with a hum and asked another question.

"Alright so you mentioned these Harem Hunters…who are they?"

"An organization dedicated to cleaning up...'loose-ends' if you will. They'll never kill a Harem King but any of his harem members that try to betray him will be automatically marked for death. The people they employ are usually veteran members of other harems who are grouped together into a Kill Squad who are tasked with hunting them down."

"So they're similar to Harem Slayers?"

"No partner because there’s a difference: The Harem Slayers torture and kill both Harem Kings and their harems while The Association only kills ex-harem members. If an ex-harem member survives then the Harem Slayers will turn them into one of them, increasing and bolstering their numbers."

"I see, sounds easy enough to understand. At least they'll remain loyal, right?"

"Of course they will, no doubt about it partner. Joker told you before that your future harem members have already been chosen the moment you were marked so it stands to reason that you shouldn’t worry about issues of loyalty."

“That’s a relief Lu. Now I can focus on making love to them.”

“That’s the spirit partner but remember to do foreplay because forcing yourself on them won’t let you get any lust energy. In fact, teasing their bodies, stimulating their sex, and other sexual activities before penetration will give you lust energy so you should enjoy the act of having sex and not take it for granted. That’s your desire too, right partner?”

“That’s right. Watching those porn movies did help although they’re all scripted and unrealistic, except for the foreplay and the sex though, those were hot.”

“Heh, but their size can’t compare to yours partner. If those male porn stars saw you naked then they’ll turn gay and ride you like a cock-addled lady boy.” Luscious followed with a perverted laugh that made John sigh.

“So Sir John, are you and your harem ready? If the King hesitates then it’ll affect the morale of the entire harem so you must be decisive in making your decision. So let me ask you again Sir John: are you and your harem ready?”

With a determined look in his eyes and a growing fire of resolution in his heart, he nodded.

“Excellent, then I shall create a portal from which you can go to an area inside Pandora’s Battlefield.”

“What should we expect once we arrive there Joker?”

“Expect for the worst and the queer Sir John because the land itself is hostile to life and won’t hesitate to feed on your blood if you’re vulnerable.”

When Joker saw their determined expressions, they turned their back towards the group, raised their hand and, muttering in a strange language, manifested a swirling vertical slash of light that led to Pandora’s Battlefield.

Joker looked back and beckoned them to enter the portal, the group at first taking slow careful steps before John took the initiative and went inside, disappearing into motes of light that inspired the rest of the girls to enter without fear.

As Cara entered last Joker followed behind her, the mask it wore showing no hint of emotion.

[][][][][]

As the group exited the vertical slash of light, they emerged into a vast blackened land shrouded by steel-gray mists. Over the horizon rose an ominous lurid green moon whose luminous intensity glared at them, the pale brown sky and scudding purple clouds painting an alien world beyond their comprehension.

On the blackened land's soil grew bizarre flowers; some shaped into farcical contours of human faces, some into stark shapes of phallic organs, some sculpted like strange beasts whose twisted forms spoke of something beyond common sense, some crafted into amorphous shapes that constantly changed shapes from one form to the next, and some resembling flowers of different shapes and sizes, all of them possessing wide open mouths lined with razor sharp teeth that snapped at them when they came near.

"W-what is this place? It feels so...wrong. T-there's no way this is real, right?!" Marie had a horrified look on her face when she felt the wrongness of the atmosphere. Cara puked behind them, her sharp senses unable to handle the stench of decay and corruption being emitted by the decomposing earth.

Around them were horrible plots filled with the same grotesque flora, their sporadic blood curdling chitters and titters delivering waves of uncertainty to all of them. However, they emerged onto a weathered paved square devoid of life and buildings separated from the queer ecosystem by a series of low fences that stood tall and strong despite their battered and weathered surfaces.

Behind them was the Abyssal Forest whose reanimated dead decomposing trees swayed side-to-side as if chanting a spell or some other ritual whose purpose was to call forth some otherworldly being beyond the stars, their steel sharp pointed branches gesticulating here and there.

Somewhere beyond the horizon they heard the piercing howls of the wolves, the roar of a mythical beast who had been corrupted by the land and now serve as one of its loyal guardians, and the groaning rumble of some leviathan that lived in some unknown location.

"I never imagined that I would be standing in some twisted version of what land is supposed to look like." Angelica called up two black-gold pistols, one of each hand, observing the land around her. She was tempted to summon the UAV to make a rough map of the terrain but decided against it.

"I sense countless enemies roaming the land. It's better if we keep our guard up." Alice's warrior instincts triggered warning bells inside her, materializing her katana, tying it around her waist, and gripping the hilt with one hand.

"Caution. Land is Dead yet Alive. Unable to Identify Strange Living Organisms. Conclusion: Survey."

Janice surveyed the plague-like scenery before her and muttered an incantation that launched bolts of concentrated light from the sky, lancing through the field of bizarre flowers, incinerating most of them as they writhed in agony, letting out dying shrieks as they burned into ashes, spewing their foul smelling blood on the earth which it readily drank to nourish its decomposing growth.

"Ah, that was a very unpleasant sound~, I don't like it here~" She covered her nose and put up a magic shield around all of them to protect them from its ominous touch.

"Welcome everyone to Pandora's Field, where unidentifiable organisms thrive and feed on this grotesque monstrosity that we call 'land.'"

"Oi, you call this 'land' Joker? I call bullshit."

"It seems like you're trying to lie to us Joker~"

"Yeah Joker. I admit, I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that an alien world like this exists on the other side." John shivered, reigning in his urge to puke. He took deep slow breaths to still his tense body and calmed down enough that he could focus on the task at hand.

"Yo partner, you better get used to the atmosphere in this land."

"Why should I Lu? This place is even worse than Hell or the Underworld I think."

"When you've ascended the ranks and become a Junior Harem King then you'll be asked to do clearing missions here on this place together with your harem. It's one way of growing your power and influence by doing these missions."

"So Harem Kings also have a ranking system in place Lu?"

"They do, but I'll explain them to you later. You should start your mission now."

"Hey Joker, we're going to train here right? Since we're still new, you're going to help us out right?"

The girls did not pay attention to their conversation as they observed the flowers, Janice using her beams of light to incinerate some of the perverted shapes the flowers were displaying to her chagrin.

"But of course Sir John. I'll use my power to make sure that the more powerful beings will avoid you and focus on others."

"By others, you mean other Harem Kings?"

"Correct Sir John. Most of the Junior and Senior Harem Kings constantly run sweeps of heavy-infested areas, of which there are many. There’s so many in fact that they keep appearing when one is cleared because the swaths of land are randomly generated."

“So this area we’re in is just one of countless others?” Joker nodded their head in response to his question.

“Then Pandora’s Battleground cannot be charted because of its ever-changing nature, am I correct?”

“That’s right Sir John. Every visit to Pandora’s Battlegrounds will take you to a different area that is different from the one you’ve gone to in your previous visit. To make sense of this strange land means to look for their anchors and kill them one by one.”

“Sounds like a challenge. Very well then Joker, where to next? Straight?”

“Yes Sir John, go straight ahead until you reach an empty clearing shrouded by fog.” Joker pointed towards an area shrouded by a thick gray mist.

“Alright guys, you heard Joker. Let’s go there to begin our training.”

[][][][][]

As they made their way through the thick fog, they heard heavy-sounding footsteps that shook the ground beneath them, aware that an enemy had already sensed their presence.

Beyond the mist appeared seven black-clad beings, Dark Apparitions, who were different from the ones that attacked them before. Unlike the ones who wielded daggers, they wielded weapons that have shown wear and tear as if they had been used for a long time.

They all wore white-masks with glowing red eye sockets, and seven of them had feminine bodies, their curves and average-sized bosoms evidence of their gender while the last one was burly and stood taller than them wielding huge spiky gauntlets crusted with blood on each hand, wearing rusted white armor over his chest, and white armlets on his arms.

Each of the seven wielded a different weapon denoting their class: A blood-stained long-sword and cracked kite-shield for the Knight, a blood-stained claymore gripped by two appendages for the Fighter, a weathered yew staff for the Magician, a cracked orb wand for the Summoner, a centuries old short-bow for the Ranger, a belt with seven vials of some unknown liquid attached for the Creator, and a worn-out diadem studded with cracked jewels for the Ace.

All of them exerted an overwhelming presence that made the group apprehensive.

However John and his harem were more than ready for these deadly apparitions, demonstrated by all of them going into battle positions, their weapons drawn, each focusing on their counterpart, reigning in the fear that wriggled into their veins and squashed the terror in their hearts.

“Alright guys, are you all ready? Sylvia, will you be fine out there?” The five girls nodded and turned their heads towards Sylvia whose froze because it was the first time people gave their full attention towards her.

She slightly nodded, summoning Rios and Jack to her side, both dressed in Kevlar gear except for the helmet, both taking their places in front of her as her protectors and wielded two black-silver large beam axes, while she equipped a pair of black and silver tonfas with three small rectangular plates underneath the bottom side, firmly gripping the handle with both hands.

“Discarded the Baton. Now Use Tonfas for Combat. Chances of Success: Doubtful.” She muttered, her heart beating fast, stifling her urge to quiver in fear.

“It’s obvious that Sylvia is the weakest among us because she’s my Creator and Creators are more geared towards support duties. However, her two living puppets could increase her strength as long as they can keep up with these Dark Apparitions, and if she has any skills with those tonfas then she stands a good chance of winning…”

“Lu, can I lend support to them if they’re struggling?”

“Of course you can partner but remember, the amount of lust energy you have is limited so you have to choose wisely which member you want to aid. It wouldn’t have been a problem if you had bedded Janice or Cara or the other girls but since you didn’t then you have to be smart about it.”

“Got it Lu. I’ll watch my lust energy usage then.”

The muscled apparition let out a thunderous roar that echoed throughout the atmosphere before he raised his hand, and growled a command at his companions, who split up and engaged the six girls.

In response, the girls proceeded to face off against the Dark Apparitions, each using their own unique spells and techniques.

Angelica disappeared in a gust of wind armed with two black-gold pistols, and fired several shots at the Dark Ranger’s direction, scoring three hits on both arms as well as its right leg.

Alice used her footwork to appear in front of the Dark Knight, executing a light-speed slash that left a wide gash on the Dark Knight’s shield while flickering away several paces to avoid the powerful strikes of the Dark Fighter whose missed attack tore a large crater on the ground.

Janice turned herself into a mass of shadows shaped like burning flames that disappeared and appeared at the enemy’s location, calling and launching five balls of light crackling with energy that flew towards her opponent, scoring five direct hits that pushed back the Dark Ace several paces.

Cara used her beast art to switch her speed to that of a cheetah and sprinted towards her opponent, and channeling the strength of an alligator’s bite smashed her fist into the Dark Summoner, catching her off-guard, blowing a large hole on her chest, and tried to swipe at her that she dodged using the mongoose’s agility, avoiding the attack.

Marie calling forth twelve spears of fire behind her back and, with a flick of her wrist, flew towards the enemy like missiles which the Dark Magician countered with twelve water spears of her own, both spells cancelling the other producing puffs and hazes of steam that lowered their visibility.

Sylvia and her two living puppets ran towards the Dark Creator, who grabbed two vials of the unknown liquid from her belt and tossed it towards their direction and shattered in mid-air, splashing her two living puppets in a liquid that tried to dissolve them but did not work due to their invulnerability that was triggered upon contact with an enemy attack. This gave her enough time to close the distance and struck her chin, snapping her neck backwards, and Sylvia followed it with a rain of blows that her opponent only dodge at the last hit, keeping her distance a few paces from her.

John called out his gauntlets that appeared in a bright flash of black-purple light and shone brilliantly, feeling the flow of lust energy within him, as well as black-purple greaves on both his feet that had two nozzles serving as boosters at the back of the greaves.

“Woah. This is new.” Luscious just grunted in approval and, knowing how to use the new equipment by instinct, launched himself towards his thick-skinned opponent, who dashed towards him.

“Alright Lu, let’s go!”

“You got it partner! Use the boosters to increase the power of your kicks.” John directed some lust energy to propel himself even faster, using the boosters at the back of the greaves and launched a round-house kick in mid-air that nailed the Dark Lord on the side of his head and followed it up with a powerful lust-energy boosted knee-kick that lifted him up from the ground and smashed the ground on his back, black fluids leaking out the cracks of its mask.

Caught off-guard, stunned by John’s powerful attacks, and unable to lift even a single finger, it fended off the slow death of its consciousness, barely keeping itself conscious through sheer will-power as it tried to lift itself from the ground, using its.

John kept his distance from the enemy, skimming a few meters above the ground, observing its movement.

“It’s trying to recover from our sudden attack. Now this is an opponent I can spar with.”

[][][][][]

As John and the others trained under the Joker’s guidance, Karl and Hiro were now doing their final preparations for their match, assembling their harems who wore the same school uniform with a magic-locked armband on their left biceps, blue for Hiro and orange for Karl, that denoted their respective harems.

Inside one of the Battle Lobby’s connected to the Fields of War, the place where Harem Wars are connected, sat Karl, who had a contemplative expression on his face.

In front of him, his harem was busy reviewing battle positions, and filled the room with chatter.

“Even though I’ve won two matches so far, I’m not ready for this, especially if it’s against one of the Seven Sins Regalia.”

“Shut up loser and just pay attention to your opponent’s movements. Didn’t I tell you before that it’s useless to worry? Just stick with the plan and let your harem do the rest.”

“If you say so Zo. I just hope our plan will work.”

On the other side of the Battle Lobby, Hiro twiddled his fingers in nervousness, all ten fingers sporting a ring each brimming with magical energy, while his harem just relaxed and lounged inside the luxurious room.

“Hey Greg, do we stand a chance against Karl? Will our ten abilities be enough to overcome his? I’m not sure I’m brave enough to face him.”

“Ohohohoh, so you think you stand no chance against him? Is that right amigo? Oh yes, it’s right indeed. The only thing I can tell you is that you need to use the abilities you have at your disposal. At your disposal indeed. This way, you stand a chance of seizing victory. Oh yes. Precious, precious victory.”

“If you say so. I hope it won’t hurt that much.”

“To be greedy is to also feel pain amigo. Oh yes. Pain and more pain in pursuit of satisfaction. Kekekeke.”

Both were snapped out of their thoughts by their names being announced by a bland metallic voice and made their way out of the Battle Lobby and towards the battlefield entrance.

[][][][][]