Yara believed that she was a fairly adaptable woman.
Husband back from the dead? Sure.
Her son was a fragment of some ancient and powerful primordial entity? That’s fine!
But for some reason seeing not one but two more children suddenly calling her son ‘father’ proved to be too much to bear.
“They… you… what… why?”
Evidently, Yara was going to need a minute so Asmodeus stepped forward in her place.
“Hello girls, it’s been a while. Seems like both of you have gotten bigger, hm?”
“”Grandfather!””
Thea and Mira’s eyes lit up like stars and they quickly rushed their ancient grandfather and began embracing him.
“Don’t you have any questions about why I’m suddenly so much older?” Thea asked.
“No, not really. I’m just glad you’re healthy.” Asmodeus said honestly.
“Does Mira really look bigger??”
“You sure do little one. You’re almost as tall as your sister.”
“Yay! You hear that Thea? Mira will have boobs any day now!”
Suddenly, Asmodeus did not feel quite as composed as usual and the constant smile he always wore very nearly broke.
At that moment Apophis finally walked up and began analyzing the unknown man who claimed to be his grandfather.
‘My my, what do we have here…’
With one look, Asmodeus already knew what the young serpent was.
‘But how can such a thing be possible?’ he wondered.
It was then that he remembered what Lailah’s name for her familiar was, and he immediately began to formulate several theories.
‘Abaddon my boy, you don’t yet realize just how absurd a thing you have done.’ he thought with a chuckle.
“Apophis, right? You look quite a bit like your father when he was younger.”
The first prince of Luxuria had gotten a bit better at talking to people since he’d been receiving help from Rita but he was still quite the work in progress.
“Hello.” Was all he said before offering a small and polite nod.
Luckily, Asmodeus did not seem bothered by this at all and even understood it.
After taking several moments to compose herself, Yara finally recovered and practically teleported next to her husband.
“Are you… my grandbabies?”
Apophis: “I am no longer in the form of an infan- Ow!
Thea hurriedly elbowed her younger brother in the stomach at the same time as she flashed Yara a charming smile. “I suppose we are. I am father’s second daughter, Thea. And this is my brother, Apophis.”
For a moment, Yara was briefly mesmerized by Thea’s warm and gentle smile.
Ever since what happened to Asmodeus, Yara had despised humans and saw them all as little more than roaches to be killed on sight.
But for some reason, Thea seemed like such a remarkably gentle person that it caught Yara completely off guard.
Before she knew it, she had grabbed all three of her grandchildren and held them in an inescapable bearhug.
She had even used a bit of her draconic bloodline to enlarge her body a bit so that she could perfectly wrap her arms around all of them.
“You’re all so overwhelmingly cute!! I’ll kill your father for keeping you from me for so long!”
Even though his life was being threatened, Abaddon let out a massive sigh of relief.
He knew full well about his mother’s prejudices against humans, so he was rather glad to see that she had not only accepted Thea, but loved her equally as well.
eαglesnᴏνel With this, another great burden felt like it was lifted from his shoulders.
–
“Come on kids, give your grandmother a good show!”
“Would you all mind aiming for your father’s face? It’s a bit frustrating that he’s more handsome than me.”
“Remember what I taught you kids! Don’t let your father scare you!”
It had taken upwards of twenty minutes for Yara to release the children while she gave them kisses and listened to their backstories.
But eventually, Yara had freed them from the eternal prison that was her chest and allowed them to continue with the purpose for which they had came.
Asmodeus, Yara, Seras, and Entei had moved off to the side and now were eagerly waiting to see the strength of their grandchildren with their own eyes.
“I feel a bit nervous about having an audience.” Thea said honestly as she willed her clawed gauntlets onto her arms.
“Mira likes the attention!” The little ice dragon took out her favorite icy knives and got into fighting position.
Apophis had finally been gifted his own little weapon from his mother Valerie. It was a bright gold sword with a curved blade and a razor like edge. “I don’t think I mind either way… I just don’t want anymore kisses…”
“If you feel uncomfortable, they can leave. The important thing is that you are all operating at your best.” Abaddon said honestly.
The dragon king suddenly pulled out his own pair of weapons and all three kids immediately felt a sense of danger.
Ditching his usual golden weapon that hung on his ear, he had instead elected to use the new weapons that Valerie had created for him.
In one hand he wielded a massive black great sword with a red line of his blood around the edge, and in another he held a menacing dark spear that was designed in much the same way.
Even though the powers of these two were less showy, Abaddon had still come to see them as his go-to weapons due to the completely natural feeling that they provided when wielded.
“The three of you should prepare yourselves well. I’ll be quite a bit faster than normal.”
“””Right!”””
As soon as he saw that all of his children were ready, Abaddon’s entire body began to crackle with red lightning and he disappeared.
As the one with the most training, Thea’s senses were naturally above both of her siblings and she was able to somewhat predict her father’s movements.
“Ha!”
BANG!
The human girl threw out an armored fist and struck hard against her father’s great sword, causing her entire left arm to tremble.
‘What is he made of!?’
Abaddon smiled as he read his daughter’s thoughts that were written all over her face.
As their father, he could naturally read all of his children as easily as if they were books.
Thea was a perfectionist.
Her moves were the most predictable, as they had been painstakingly honed through repetition and years of training.
“I got you!”
Clang!
“Uwah?!”
Mira suddenly lunged at her father from behind and was surprised when he used her spear to parry his attack without even looking back.
His youngest daughter was, for lack of a better description, a ruthless little monster.
The young ice dragon prioritized causing pain in combat above all and she was the most likely to take advantage of blindspots and launch surprising sneak attacks.
But she still hadn’t learned the difference between an opening that was left open on purpose and one that was accidental.
‘But the biggest problem is most likely…’
Shing!
Abaddon narrowly avoided a slice to the face as Apophis finally made his move.𝚘𝐯𝑳xt.𝗰𝒪𝓜
“Tch. Grandfather, I missed.” he said bitterly.
“That’s okay my boy, just try again!” Asmodeus cheered.
Abaddon’s eyes became a bit more serious as his son finally joined the fray.
While Apophis wasn’t better trained than Thea or more lithe than Mira, his instincts and odd battle style made him a formidable opponent.
After watching him for a while, it was easy to see that his movements were influenced by his serpent like nature but that did not make him any easier to predict.
His blade came from odd angles at varying speeds and increments and if Abaddon lost his concentration for even a second, his father’s dream of reclaiming the title of the most beautiful man in existence would no longer be so farfetched.
But just like with all of his children, Abaddon had countermeasures.
Breaking his deadlock with Thea, Abaddon plunged his sword into the stone floor beneath them and sent a tremendous amount of lightning through it.
“Get back!” Thea warned her siblings just as the ground beneath them exploded and a shower of lightning and rubble swirled around their feet.
BOOOM!
Even though Mira and Apophis obeyed, the two of them were still hit with a few stray bolts of lightning and stones.
However, they truly did not seem to be bothered by the pain and instead they looked even more determined than before.
Stepping back to refocus themselves, all three of them were now making equally determined expressions.
Thea: “We won’t take it easy on you anymore father!”
Mira: “Yea!”
Apophis: “I would like to be rewarded if I win.”
Abaddon suddenly smiled and beckoned his children forward with a mocking gesture. “If any of you manage to scratch me, I’ll reward you however you like.”
Immediately, the eyes of the children lit up and they each underwent individual changes.
Thea’s basic outfit consisting of pants and a shirt was eaten away by the shifting black metal that made up her witchblade armor.
Her bright golden hair suddenly became a rich purple and her eyes a frightening shade of red.
Mira’s body formed pure white scales all along her arms and face, as her hair changed to an icy silver color.
Two little wings popped out of her back and the eyes that she’d inherited from her father became a chilling blue.
Apophis’ legs suddenly congealed together and formed a bright red serpent’s tail while the rest of his body grew scales for additional defense.
From his mouth, two large curved fangs emerged that seemed sharp enough to puncture through metal.
Faced with the scene of all of his kids trying their absolute best, Abaddon’s pride as a father reached new heights.
“If you’re all sufficiently motivated now then let us continue!”
And that was how a training session for Abaddon suddenly turned into a competition between himself and his beloved children.
—————
Huge thank you to Yazukoto for sending me a dragon and sponsoring this bonus chapter!
I am grateful beyond measure!