First Demonic Dragon

Chapter 1249: Brothers In Arms

Abaddon felt his brother coming before he actually saw him.

The world reflected his approach.

The sky overhead turned gray and stormy, while the temperature dropped.

Abaddon saw a shadow pass above the clouds. Moments later, a large figure broke through them.

It was a creature large enough to fill up one’s vision of the sky. Its wings blanketed nearly a mile of land in their shadow.

When the creature lands, the earth rumbles, and a dense cloud of dust is kicked up.

Abaddon wipes all of the dust out of his eyes as he looks up at the nearly 200-meter gargoyle.

“You weren’t sleeping, I hope.”

A black tornado envelops the gargoyle in less than five seconds.

When it disperses, an egregiously handsome man is yawning.

“I probably should’ve been, but… not this time. I wanted to be available in case mi amor needed something.”

“Since she told you she was pregnant, has my sister asked you for anything but to leave her alone?”

“…That’s not the point.”

“It feels like the point.”

Mateo rubs the sleep out of his eyes as he saunters over.

As he moves, his body is enveloped in a dark grey mist.

When it disappears, he is wearing his usual dress shirt and pants in addition to the black robe that covers his shoulders.

He takes one look at the destroyed surroundings, the head of the fallen creature, and Gandora’s happy expression before pulling a cigar out of his pocket.

“Busy this morning, eh..?”

“Long story.” Abaddon shrugs.

Mateo nods his head in the direction of the dead body and the ghost hovering in place, petrified. “And him?”

“Longer story…” Abaddon sighs. “It seems the mice have begun running the zoo while the lion was away.”

Mateo pauses just as he takes his first drag on his cigar. The look he gave Abaddon was dreadful.

“…What are you talking about?”

By the time Kanami and the rest of her men had returned, the land was experiencing rather frigid temperatures.

The ground was nearly frozen over. A subtle snow had begun to flutter, creating a hellish winter wonderland.

“I don’t recall the day’s forecast looking like this.”

Seras drops out of the sky with Tatiana and Sif on her heels.

When she sees her husband’s expression, she feels her blood begin to heat up.

She circles him several times in a row like an excited dog.

“Oh, that’s a nice expression… Where’re we goin’? Who’re we killin’?”

Abaddon placed his hand on top of Seras’ head to stop her from moving around.

With a curl of his finger, he brought Cameron before him once again.

“Speak. Where is this city you were going to take them to?”

The ghost swallows. “I-It’s… about two days of travel from here. I-If you keep heading west, it’s impossible to miss…”

There was a loud explosion, and chunks of earth flew into the air.

Seras looks up into the sky, where she is quickly losing sight of a large gargoyle and a black loong racing across the sky.

She takes one look at the ghost before she begins to run after her husband. “Monica, would you bring that one with you? Thanks!”

There was another explosion, and Seras rocketed into the sky after her husband.

Tatiana and Sif sigh as they hop atop Gandora. Both of them have the same thought.

’I wonder if we’re still going to make it home by tonight..?’

–

The ’two-day journey’ that Cameron had mentioned only took Abaddon and Mateo around twenty minutes.

Perhaps they could have arrived quicker, but they slowed their arrival to chat amongst themselves.

Cameron was right about one thing- the city was next to impossible to miss.

It was the only place outside of Nevi’im territory that seemed to have electricity.

And not simple flickering lightbulbs or barely operable street-lights. The city, as well as all of the houses in the surrounding area, all seemed to be completely unaffected by the apocalypse raging around them.

Strangely enough, the city had seemingly been rebuilt in a manner quite different from that of a normal American city.

The buildings and communities were much more closely knit. There were plenty of sidewalks and common areas where Inhumans walked around right out in the open.

The pair of monsters hovered above the clouds, staring down into the lands below.

Abaddon’s boundless coils loomed over miles in the sky, but none below seemed to sense him.

His disapproval at what he witnesses is apparent. But Mateo’s is even greater.

The familiar scent in the air is ample cause for his wrath.

His fangs bared, he says a name that Abaddon has not heard in thousands of years.

“…Radu..!”

Abaddon narrows his eyes.

“You boys seem troubled by the name?” Seras appears on top of her husband’s horn, swinging her feet giddily.

Appearing just behind her, the rest of the Euphrates and the wives circle Abaddon and Mateo’s giant forms.

Abaddon grumbles. “Radu Tepes. Last living grandson of Vlad the Impaler.”

Sif and Tatiana look towards Mateo, understanding his displeasure.

“I thought you had already bested Dracula, as well as his son.”

Regret flashes in Mateo’s eyes. “Yes… But Radu was just a boy then. Barely old enough to hold a sword. I spared him and tried to take him under my tutelage. I believed a Tepes left unmonitored would only bring about disaster… I suppose I was right.”

Abaddon met his brother-in-law’s gaze.

“I can handle him if you-”

“No, no… I need to be the one to do it, hermano. This… is all my responsibility. I should have turned him over to you as you suggested.”

Mateo returned to his normal form and flew down towards the city.

Meanwhile, Abaddon turns towards his men and his wives.

“We’re on rescue duty now. The humans are our priority; get them all out.”

Kanami leaned forward on her mount. “These are inhumans were dealing with here… Are we killing them?”

Abaddon paused.

It was true that he had more of a soft spot for monsters rather than humans. Over eighty percent of the inhuman population was descended from his flesh, after all.

But, he still had his principles. And more than anything else, he didn’t want to disappoint his daughter.

“…Should you see something… distasteful. I expect you all to mettle out appropriate punishments. Is that understood?”

In response, the armored shoulder showed him smiles lined with wicked teeth.