First Demonic Dragon

Chapter 1042: Death Comes for Abaddon

– The White City…

The golden lands shone down with a particularly radiant luster.

For the first time in his life, Azazel considered putting on sunglasses.

Well, it was his decision to stand outside and watch the city go by. A thing he had never really done before.

Granted, as an aspect of death, he was in millions of different places right now, and looming over even more without their knowledge.

He was always busy. Always doing one thing or another.

Which was why it was strange for any version of him to just be standing and angel-watching.

“This is a sight for sore eyes. While I often find you brooding, it’s never in one place for this long.”

Azrael turned his head slightly and found his siblings coming towards him.

Uriel and Gabriel climbed up a flight of stairs to reach their brother and embrace him.

The Angel of Death cracked a small smile. “We waste our lives when we don’t take a moment to stop and appreciate them. I admit that I sometimes forget that.”

“”Ooohh…!!”” Gabriel and Uriel clapped in unison.

“Such positivity!”

“Such regard for life!”

“Mother would be proud!”

“Father would be proud!”

“”Five stars, brother!!””

Azrael swatted their hands away while he bit back a smile. “Keep your stars, you little pests.”

“”Zero stars for compassion!””

“You’re receiving more compassion than anything mankind has ever known because I have not knocked your heads together for your childishness.”

“”Zero stars for violence!”” The pair continued.

Azrael knew why he didn’t stand around now. It was because he had siblings who caught up with him when he did.

But maybe that too was a little part of life’s charm.

“It’s nice to see you all behaving like siblings for once.”

Uriel looked up in the sky and her eyes lit up.

“Eldest!”

Abaddon smiled at her warmly, and she rushed to meet him in midair. Her wings wrapped around him gracefully.

“You have returned! Ah, let me look at you!””

Uriel held Abaddon’s face in her hands. Her eyes became misty when she couldn’t find a single hair out of place.

“You look healthy. Strong.”

“Was there ever a possible doubt?” Abaddon smiled.

“Well, I just… I guess I feared the worst. I’m delighted you could prove me wrong.”

Abaddon and Uriel landed together and met with the others. Gabriel was as ecstatic to see the dragon as his sister was, and so was Azrael.

But he was also slightly skeptical.

“I hadn’t heard word of your return, eldest.”

“It’s only just happened.” Abaddon admitted. “We returned early this morning, spent the day catching up and resting.”

“Mother must have been thrilled.”

“I haven’t told her yet.”

Azrael immediately lost his smile. There was only one reason Abaddon would be here when he hadn’t even talked to Asherah first.

“I see… so you’re here for the boy then.”

Abaddon said nothing. His smile gradually faded too.

Gabriel and Uriel were exhausted even before the conversation began.

“He committed a crime against Tehom royalty. He should be tried by the Abyss.”

“Tried, or killed?”

“Don’t insult me, Azrael. There are things far worse than Death.”

Azrael attempted to reach Abaddon by reaching up and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re angry. I understand. But the threat has passed, and glory to the light, Thea is unharmed. She has already offered the boy her forgiveness, and-”

“Forgiveness? After he ripped her from her home??”

“Does it surprise you? You know your daughter. She’s been as kind as she is beautiful from the day she was born. Holding grudges isn’t in her heart.”

“And it’s not in mine.” (A lie. In heaven, no less.)

Abaddon moved aside Azrael’s hand and turned his gaze to the tower behind them.

“You wouldn’t call into question the right of any other sovereign realm to try one for crimes committed against their royal line. Yet you’re stopping me?”

“Because the boy’s crimes are of a more complex issue. He wasn’t just kidnapping your daughter to harm her, he wanted her energy to start the End War prematurely! Whether he would have succeeded or not, we are certain that they would have resulted in the destruction of the third kingdom!”

If Thea never recalimed her energy from the sigils on her own, the rocks would have burst open that night on it’s own.

The resulting waves of energy from not just Thea, but the fates as well, would have completely decimated Earth’s entire southern hemisphere. Killing not just humans, but inhumans as well.

Azrael was still trying to reason with Abaddon. To make him see that things were already taken care of and the perpetrator would not be getting off Scott free.

“Mother and your daughter both believed it best if the boy stand trial before the factions. He is irrefutably guilty, and judgment will almost assuredly be dealt with a heavy hand. Why can you not wait until then?”

Azrael just didn’t get it. He couldn’t.

He didn’t have children. Azrael didn’t know how fiercely the desire burned to protect and avenge the lights one brought into the world.

And Abaddon could not explain it to him. Not with a million words.

“Dad, please..!”

Cursing himself for taking so long, Abaddon slowly turned around to find Thea already at the bottom of the steps.

Her eyes were big and bright and pleading.

He couldn’t turn away from them any more than he could deny their power over him.

“Thea… go home.” He said weakly.

Thea took her first step up the staircase. “That’s a great idea, Dad… why don’t we both go home, huh?”

“Thea…”

“You’re home. I’m home. We should be with our family celebrating, not holding onto anger that doesn’t serve us.”

“I’m not angry.”

“You’re lying… I would believe you did not love me if you honestly didn’t care. I know it’s hard. But I’m asking you to come home with me because you love me. And trust that I know what I’m doing and that I wanted things this way for a reason.”

Thea arrived at the step just below her father.

She held out her hand for him, and he could do nothing but stare at it.

“Come home, Dad. There’ll be plenty of time to be angry later.”

Sometimes, as a parent, you feel as though you have created someone better than yourself. Your children become a source of great pride.

Abaddon couldn’t recall a time he hadn’t been proud of Thea. Nor could he name an instance where she had been horribly wrong about something.

So what was the harm in trusting her with this for just once in his life?

Abaddon looked up at Thea again and saw her silhouette through the ages. From the child he raised to the woman she had become.

No matter what happened, her smile had always remained the same.

And Abaddon couldn’t say that it didn’t work on him. He started to cave.

As Thea saw her father’s hand reach for hers, she smiled in earnest. And looking at Thea’s happy expression made Abaddon more sure of his decision.

But then, Thea’s expression became splashed with blood.

It happened so quickly and made such little sense that Abaddon couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

He blinked. And then she screamed.

Despite her terror, Thea was not injured.

The injury came from himself.

Abaddon looked down and saw three blades sticking out of his stomach. Each of them dyed in his own multi-colored blood.

And then the pain came.

It had been so long since Abaddon had actually been troubled in battle.

Let alone by something like a sword-wound.

And yet here he was. Over eight billion years old and biting his own tongue so that he wouldn’t scream.

His vision went white. His hearing started to fade, but he heard Azrael scream in his defense.

“Ophanim, what is the meaning of this!? I demand you stop this instant!”

Abaddon turned his head slowly.

Standing behind him was a sight he never thought he’d see.

The stone angels who usually stood beside the throne of God had descended from their pedestals for the first time since the rebellion.

Three of them had their swords plunged through Abaddon’s back.

He didn’t even feel them arrive. Much less draw their weapons.

That should have been impossible.

He tried to look for the fourth Ophanim and found it floating above the three others.

It lifted a stony hand, and Abaddon did the first thing that came to mind.

He shoved his daughter aside and sent her as far away as he could.

Thea flew away in slow motion. Her teary eyes were glued to the visage of her father.

A light of pure force struck Abaddon in the back and sent him crashing away on waves of golden flame that seared even his scales.

He crashed through an office building in a busy district of the white city.

Coughing blood and still on fire, he waved away everyone on the street.

“GO! Hide..!”

They couldn’t have refused him even if they wanted to. He used his authority to compel them away.

As they took to the skies without looking back, Abaddon saw the stone angels were still approaching him.

This fight would have been bad even if he hadn’t just returned from a mission in the nightmare realm and was at full power.

But in this weakened state, he was sure that the results would be catastrophic.