First Demonic Dragon

Chapter 1235: A Whole New Battle

Two shadows darkened the transformed world below as they passed overhead.

Two dragons, both with winged appearances, struck the eyes as a perfect pairing.

They soared at a relatively slow pace, taking in the transformed sights of the world quietly.

This was the most shocked either of them had ever been in a very long time.

“…It smells like-”

“Chaos, yes…” Ayaana grimaces. “I wonder how much power Asherah even has left after creating something of this magnitude.”

The dragons knew that there was something else that neither of them had yet to address.

It was that they couldn’t see like normal.

Abaddon and Ayaana, when concentrating, could see everything on Earth from the North Pole to the South.

But now, they could only see a couple of miles around themselves at best. It was as if a strange, unseen fog were obscuring their vision.

Abaddon didn’t like not being able to see at his full capacity.

As he was brooding, he felt Ayaana nudge him in the air.

When he looks over at her, her multicolored eyes are humorous and reassuring.

“Do not look so upset. Did you honestly believe Asherah wouldn’t make adjustments so that we couldn’t just steamroll the rest of our competition?”

Abaddon grumbles and turns away. “Would it be so wrong to expect a little favoritism..?”

“You mean more than we’re already getting?” Ayaana taps his back with her tail. “Don’t be such a brat.”

“Yes, yes…”

Abaddon’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the destroyed sidewalk below them.

“My love…” He nods towards the area of his focus, and begins to make his descent. Ayaana follows behind him quickly.

Together, they land on the ground with a low rumble.

Ayaana listens as her husband’s bones and scales break and rearrange themselves.

Slowly, his wings folded back into his body, and his legs lengthened.

His spine twisted and straightened up, allowing him to stand on his own.

The claws on his hand became larger, and more human-like. Lastly, his one head split into ten.

Abaddon drops to one knee and picks up an old, rusted bench.

His heads look around for answers.

“What is that?” Ayaana coils around her husband’s body like a serpent.

“You should recognize it. This is the park the kids liked to come to when they were small.”

“Oh?”

Ayaana’s eyes shine as she sweeps her gaze across the grass underneath them.

She can see pieces of playground equipment, buried beneath the soil.

“…What exactly did Asherah do to this place?” Ayaana wondered aloud.

Abaddon turned his gaze towards the sky.

The other planets in the solar system were closer than he had ever seen them before. He highly doubted that it was a simple design choice on Asherah’s behalf.

Closing his eyes, the dragon stretched his gaze beyond Earth. The mother goddess may have obscured his vision within it, but outside was an entirely different manner.

“Holy shit…”

“What?” Ayaana questioned worriedly. “Am I heavy!?”

“No. It’s the Earth, it’s like… Asherah supersized it.”

Ayaana stretched her vision just like her husband.

Saying that Asherah had ’supersized’ this place was a gross understatement.

Earth was as large as sixty suns put together. The reason it seemed as though the planets were suddenly so much closer, was because Earth was just that large. It was invading the personal space of the rest of the solar system.

No wonder almost everything was destroyed or buried.

“She’s… certainly made quite the battleground, hasn’t she?”

Abaddon nods grimly.

“Worried?” Ayaana asks.

“A bit.”

“Don’t be. If we’re this disoriented, I can’t imagine how the other factions are feeling.”

Abaddon rests his center head against Ayaana’s. “You always know the right thing to say.”

“One of my many gifts.”

The dragons inspected the area for a few moments longer before turning back to their house.

They had a lot of work to do…

–

’S-So, you’re really okay?’ Odessa wiped her eyes.

“I told you, I’m fine, you big ol’ baby!” Karliah yelled through the phone. “Stop crying, you’re making a big deal out of nothing!”

’But granny, I miss youuu!!!’ Odessa blubbered.

Karliah placed her face in her hand. “Look… I’m not dead. I’m just hanging out at Aunt Nyx’s place for a minute. Stop acting like I’ve gone to meet our maker.”

After five minutes of back and forth, Odessa finally seemed like she was beginning to calm down, if only just a little bit.

’S-So… I can come see you?’

“No, babydoll, Granny’s going to turn this place into her new bachelorette pad, and your parents will bite my head off if you come here and see your first naked adult.”

Odessa goes from crying to chuckling in just a few short seconds.

’Granny, your jokes are terrible!’

“Who’s joking?” Kaliah winked. “Your aunt Nyx doesn’t have much to do around her place. I gotta liven it up however I can. Make it feel like home, you know?”

Nyx yells from off-camera.

“KARLIAH! Get your feet off my table and do not sit on my sofa without pants on!”

Karliah rolls her eyes. “Gotta go, Pumpkin head. Dry those tears for me, okay?”

Odessa nods slowly. ’Okay… I love you, Granny.’

Karliah flinches momentarily, and Odie can see that her words have left her grandmother a bit flustered.

“Ditto, Pumpkin head.”

The phone disconnects, and Odessa is left with the largest smile on her face.

“…You know what, I’m just going to say it. You’re probably her favorite.”

Odie looks up at Thea and her jealous expression.

“I still can’t get her to say she loves me… and she still calls me Goldilocks after all this time!”

Odie smiled wryly. ’Well technically, she didn’t say she loved me just now, and I think Goldilocks is a bit better than Pumpkin Head…’

“Aww, but Pumpkinhead is so cute though.” Thea kisses her sister on top of her head.

Odessa was weak to affection. She wrapped her arms around her sister and held onto her with a strength beyond her mortal body.

However, she soon remembered something glaringly important that she seemed to have forgotten.

’O-Oh my god, what about my school!? My classmates?!’

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.” Thea patted her head. “I had someone very reliable take a team to procure them. They should have taken them and their families somewhere safe.”

Odie nodded slowly. ’O-Okay… Can we maybe go and see them..?’

“Well… let’s see what mom and dad say when they get back, and then we’ll-”

Suddenly, the front door clicked open and Odie wasted no time in bounding across the couch.

She rushed toward the front door, but her fuzzy socks caused her to slip on the marble floor.

Before she could face plant in front of her parents, Odessa was caught by a shadowy hand.

’Whew… thanks, other me.’ She sighed.

Her shadow winked at her before helping her stand upright.

“You’re getting good at that.” Ayaana mused.

Odie rubs the back of her head in embarrassment. ’O-Oh, well, it’s not like I’m doing anything on purpose or anything like that… really, I just kinda let her do what she wants.’

Abaddon gently ruffled his daughter’s hair. “What’s got you in such a rush to meet us? You worried we wouldn’t make it back?”

’N-No. I just… kinda wanted to go somewhere…’

“Eh? Where?”

’I dunno.’

“Babydoll, you can’t just go run around, we haven’t fortified our territory or put up any wards yet. This earth is not the same as the one you remember.”

’O-Oh, I’m not just running around! I wanna go look for the people at school that Thea saved for me!’

Her parents’ brows furrowed.

“Your sister did what..?” Ayaana muttered.

“I saved everyone in her school. And their families.” Thea stepped into the room. “It’s what my baby sister wanted, so I made it happen.”

“I assume not illegally?” Ayaana asked in suspicion.

“Does this look like the face of a rule breaker??” Thea blinked innocently.

Jazmine, who was passing by, couldn’t help but let out a wolf whistle.

“Sure does, it should be illegal to be that fine!”

“Aww, babe, stoppp~” Thea blushed.

If Abaddon rolled his eyes any harder, then he was pretty sure his eyes were going to fall out of his head.

“Fine, fine… You can go, but take your sister.” Abaddon sighed.

“Obviously i was going.” Thea frowned.

“Not you, Goldilocks. Mira.”

“Don’t have any confidence in my own abilities?”

“…You’re right.”

Thea smiled. “Thank y-”

“Actually, take Straga and Thrudd too.”

Thea punched her father in the stomach, making him laugh.

“Just Thrudd will be fine.” Ayaana patted her daughter’s head. “I’m afraid I need your brother here to help me get set up.”

“Although, it also wouldn’t hurt to take your Uncle Sata-” Abaddon began.

“Mom already said we don’t have to, see you later, bye!!”

Thea quickly grabbed her sister by the wrist and yanked her out of the room, creating a strong gust of wind in their wake.

Shaking their heads, Abaddon and Ayaana turned to each other.

“Ready to get to work?”

“I thought you’d never ask, my love.”