First Demonic Dragon

Chapter 1172: I’ll Always Need A Little Help

“Hey, Stragaaa~!”

Straga paused with a carton of orange juice mere inches away from his lips.

Sitting at the counter, waving flirty fingers at him was an older, slightly tipsy Fiona.

“Been a long time. You look good. But then again, that’s not really much of a surprise, is it?”

Straga gulped, slightly afraid for reasons he couldn’t easily pinpoint.

“Don’t make me burn you alive on your first day back.”

Monica was decidedly less stunned than Straga was and had no problem drawing a line in the sand.

The flames crackling above her head were growing so large that they scorched the ceiling.

Fiona leaned forward and stared at her with an equally lustful look. “No need for all that, firebrand. You tickle my fancy just as much.”

Monica’s flames slowly returned to their normal height.

She was now also afraid for reasons she couldn’t pinpoint.

She and Straga held each other timidly as if they were not great dragons in front of an old human woman.

“What?!” Fiona slammed her fist down drunkenly. “Why are you guys staring at me like you’re afraid?! This is the literal palace of bisexuality!”

“Technically, my parents and most of my siblings are pan…” Straga corrected.

“Whatever! Am I not pretty enough!? God damnit, I worked so hard to..”

Fiona felt a familiar hand pat her on top of the head.

Her cocktail was taken away by her father, who looked like he’d aged ten years since she started drinking.

“Please stop harassing these people. You represent the order now, and it’d be nice if you made us look like we had some semblance of decorum.”

Fiona snorted. “Ha. Dick-Orem. You’re funny, Dad.”

Shin looked like he had aged twenty more years.

“Alright, sweetheart. Why don’t you sleep things off a bit?”

A set of manicured nails tickled the back of Fiona’s ear.

Her eyes rolled around in the back of her head awkwardly.

With a hard thunk, her head came crashing down onto the countertop.

The series of light snores that came from her confirmed that she would be out for a while.

Ayaana gently pushed the woman’s hair behind her ear and smiled.

“She’s quite a handful, isn’t she, Shin? I’m surprised you were able to get this one to adulthood without a scratch.”

“It became easier once she discovered BL manga and learned her bedroom door had a lock.”

“…Well, yes. I would imagine that would help quite a lot.”

Zahara suddenly poked her head in between the two of them. “Do you know what her favorites are? I need new recommendations badly.”

Abaddon looked baffled. “I didn’t know you read things like that.”

“A-A woman is allowed to have guilty pleasures!”

Abaddon thought that there might have been more to this secret pastime than he was aware of, but for the sake of his sanity, he let his wife keep her secrets.

It was a good thing he did. Otherwise, how else could she have possibly hoped to explain that she sometimes taped their faces over the characters?

“Alright, so let’s go over this again…”

Once the conversation had gotten away from Japanese pornography, Shin took a seat at the bar and removed a white notepad from his coat pocket.

“Yog has 1,500 gods captive. You don’t know where he’s hiding them or how long he’ll abstain from torturing them because his mind isn’t stable.”

“Mhm.”

Lusamine slid into Shin’s lap, and his face turned deep red. However, he didn’t actually appear to have much of a problem with it.

“A-Anyway… I know we’ve already covered it, but giving him your body is an absolute non-starter. It’s irresponsible and beyond unreasonable, so if worst comes to worst, you may just have to leave everyone in his clutches.”

Abaddon narrowed his eyes dejectedly. “You know I can’t do that.”

“I’m sorry, I must have fucked up somewhere along the way and made you think my words were up for debate. I’ll be more clear this time. If it comes down to it, you will let the gods remain in captivity because the potential for things to become fucked beyond all recognition if you don’t is quite paramount.”

Abaddon smiled dangerously. “The years have made you a little big for your britches, haven’t they? I recommend you remember who you’re talking to.”

“Please, the days of you terrifying me are long over now that I know you’re just a big, horny football fanatic.”

Abaddon looked incredibly offended. “I am no-”

“”Yes you are.””

The dragon looked towards his son and daughter-in-law with a betrayed look. Almost as if to say, ’How could you side against me?’

“I give you a hard time, but I know you’re a good… being who’s trying to do the right thing. But you have to recognize that sometimes trying to do the right thing may mean doing nothing. That’s the only way we can guarantee the safety of the greater whole.

It’s not like he’s going to be able to keep taking gods with all of the measures you’ve put in place. And I didn’t say we were going to stop trying to best him, but I want you to be prepared for the possibility that if it comes to it, we may have to leave the gods behind. I know some are friends to you, and I’m sure this must hurt, but-”

“Honestly… this is the problem with trying to turn over a new leaf and become a more passive, gentle person. Everyone starts to think you’re becoming soft.”

Shin watched as white markings grew around Abaddon’s eyes and forehead. His red hair grew until it tumbled down his back in long, crimson waves, and his brown skin developed an ashen hue.

“Do not forget who I am. Do not forget what I am. If I say that I want something, I will have it. Even if my enemies have to bring it to me with broken hands.

I will free those gods. And whether or not Yog-Sothoth gets my body is of next to no consequence to me. I will best and imprison him whether he is formless or not.”

Abaddon’s third eye opened, and Shin felt the need to retract his words a bit. His old friend was still plenty frightening in his own right.

“…Well, if you’re so confident, then you might as well go ahead and fork it over to him then. Compete in a little slugfest.”

“That is my last case scenario.” Abaddon said firmly. “I’ve no doubt that Yog will have some sort of escape route planned for himself as soon as I’ve given him what he wants. I need a solution that, if possible, doesn’t involve me handing over my body in the first place.”

Shin nodded just as the group heard the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen.

“What’s going on? Mood’s pretty tense in here and…”

When Kanami’s eyes settled on Shin, a delightful smile sprang up across her face.

“Iron-Man? Holy shit, it’s really you!”

Shin grumbled something unkind under his breath as he smiled.

Kanami, uncaring of his words, rushed to hug the old man by the neck firmly. “It’s great to see you! When did you even get back??”

“Ah… just now. I was helping your brother with some business matters and-”

Abaddon kicked Shin under the table.

“Ow! What was that for, you bastard!?”

Today, the dragon learned that discretion was not one of his friend’s finer points. Something that definitely would have been better to know beforehand.

Kanami snatched up the notebook that the men were working out of before ABaddon could stop her.

She read the entire thing in the blink of an eye, and when she was done, the look she was giving her brother was less than kind.

“You prick… were you ever planning on filling me in about any of this??”

“Kanami, let’s-”

“Answer my question, M’anari. Don’t dance around it.”

Abaddon let out a low hiss as he turned away. “No, I wasn’t.”

Kanami swung at her brother.

He, of course, caught the punch before it could strike him. But the resulting shockwave destroyed everything in the kitchen and woke Fiona up with a start.

“W-Wha..!?”

Ayaana discreetly rubbed the woman’s ears again, knocking her out once more.

“I’m supposed to be your number two, you fucking jerk-off. Why are you keeping me out of the loop on something that clearly falls under my jurisdiction!?”

“Because you just got home, Kanami! You were deployed for more than 100,000 years!” Abaddon snapped back. “You need to be at home, resting, getting to know your niece and nephew, and spending time with your husband!”

“I have a duty, M’anari, I’m not some housewife!”

“No, you’re not, but you’re not my war machine either! You’re a sentient being of immense power, and it’s imperative for your mental health that you do something other than fight, travel, then rest for a week before you start looking for the next battle!”

Kanamis’ fist waivered. The look she gave her brother became one of discomfort rather than anger.

Abaddon recognized that look. It was the same one she used to give their parents after being scolded. It was usually followed immediately by tears.”

Once he saw that expression, Abaddon couldn’t force himself to be mad anymore either.

He brought a hand to his sister’s cheek and softened his gaze.

“If I thought it was something you needed to be involved in, I would have come to get you. But I can handle this. Be a part of our family for once instead of just the leader of the Euphrates.”

Kanami slowly retracted her fist. Contrary to her brother’s expectation, she didn’t cry.

She opened her mouth to speak, but her next words were overshadowed by the sound of the doorbell ringing.

Everyone in the dining room heard the pitter-patter of feet running to the door, and the telepathic voice of their most cherished family members greeting their newest guest.

’Hi, Mr. Michael! What are you doing here??’