First Demonic Dragon

On a barren planet hovering just above the ever expanding Tehom, the surface was undergoing some very dramatic and long lasting alterations.

It was a scene that would be hard for the untrained eye to even begin to follow; for the two co-conspirators were simply moving at too unbelievable a speed and leaving only destruction in their wake.

One was a very tall old man with rusty orange hair and dark brown scales the color of dirt that covered his entire body. He was muscle on top of muscle, and in terms of stature, he taller than his opponent by an entire head.

The other being was a man of a slightly smaller build, and laden with golden scales. An insignia of a bull-like demon was burned across his bare chest, and his snowy white hair was tied neatly behind his head.

Most old men who were conscious about their health would have been walking around neighborhoods with five pound weights to stay in shape.

But for Helios and Hajun, engaging in magical and physical warfare was significantly better than a brisk morning run.

Even though they had been doing this since last night..

"Yea! Show that cocky old bastard the might of the Nyasir!!"

On the ground, Darius was watching the entire match while surrounded by empty bottles of liquor as he cheered for his orange haired friend.

Without taking his eyes away from the scene, he felt around on the ground for the bag of takeout he'd snuck off to get a few hours ago.

Miraculously, he felt someone hand it to him all of the sudden and he all but jumped out of his skin. "G-Gah!"

"You all are quite the rambunctious bunch of geriatrics, aren't you?"

Instead of responding to Abaddon's insult like he normally would have, Darius paused and stared up at him closely.

He didn't any different from normal, with a simple black skirt and his wedding rings being his only clothing.

With the exception of the golden tattoos moving across his chest and legs, he favored someone close to them immensely.

"I am aware that you are your father's son, but you truly do resemble your grandfather quite a bit, you know? Only a bit prettier." He cackled to himself.

Abaddon paused for a moment.

He looked up into the sky where his grandfather was covered with wounds and somehow had worked up a decent sweat to boot.

"…How's he doing?" He finally asked.

"Eh, I'm sure you can tell. He was a bit lethargic when we first began since he is still growing used to this new body, but he has steadily improved with every bout. He isn't far from his peak."

"Oh..?"

"But in these few short hours… he hasn't been able to best Hajun even once." Darius chuckled.

At this, Abaddon smiled discreetly to himself.

Because that revelation didn't surprise him one bit.

The seven Nyasir may have been made up of Abaddon's closest friends and family, but that coincidence had nothing to do with nepotism.

They just worked the hardest out of every subordinate he had.

Their inborn talent never dwarfed their consistent work ethic- not even Belphegor.

It takes more than sheer power or even divine intervention to supersede them.

It requires nothing short of miracles to simply survive.

Helios had managed to wound Hajun a few times, but Abaddon attributed that to his father-in-law's fighting style.

Hajun is the truest definition of a berserker.

When he becomes serious, he fights with his whole body and makes hardly any attempts to protect himself at all- as pain only serves to further fuel him.

He's only become more reckless with himself now that he literally cannot die…

If he didn't fight like such a lunatic, it was questionable whether or not Helios would have been able to would him at all.

'Now that I think about it… Seras takes after her father quite a bit. Maybe that's why she gets easily embarrassed around him?'

While Abaddon was thinking to himself, he heard shuffling coming from the ground in front of him.

Much to his surprise, he found Darius on one knee; bowing with his fist clutched against his chest.

"…Am I missing something, you drunkard?" Abaddon's dislike of formality wasn't a secret, so outside of public events or in the presence of subordinates, he had specifically asked his closest allies to overlook it.

"You've done me a great service, Abaddon. My closest friends lives again and now we are all free to laugh together as when we were young.

This is an invaluable gift. The only way I know to repay you is to reaffirm my fealty. I will follow you until all but Tehom is dust in the breeze."

Abaddon wasn't used to seeing Darius behave with any measure of seriousness, so this unexpected vow of fidelity was almost jarring.

"…Your loyalty is always appreciated, Darius… but it's meaningless."

"Eh??!"

"You're all going to die today. How the hell are you supposed to follow me?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"You three stayed out here all night long without telling your wives. They're all pissed."

As if a gun had gone off in the area, Helios and Hajun suddenly froze with their fists just shy of connecting with each other.

They flew towards Abaddon like bullets while seemingly disregarding their contest.

"You told them what we were doing, right??"

"Surely our women would not dare to be upset with me… I just let time get away from me is all!"

"Check your phones." Was all Abaddon said.

The three of them pulled out their devices and their faces paled instantly; making Abaddon chuckle.

Abaddon shook his head at the three dead men walking.

"For two of you at least, you'll have to travel to the afterlife a bit later. The ceremony begins in four minutes and your presence is not optional."

"Damn it, I can't believe I forgot..!" Hajun flexed his muscles and any wounds or broken bones fixed themselves instantly.

He summoned a ball of water and quickly removed all dirt on his body before summoning some new, decent clothes.

Darius looked down at his white button down shirt that was stained with rum and a little bit of ketchup.

"…I think I'm good to go like this honestly."

"Absolutely fucking not." Abaddon interjected.

He snapped his fingers and soon Darius was in a brand new shirt.

He also made sure to snatch the bottle from his hand so that he couldn't ruin it again.

A portal opened up behind them and he beckoned the two of them through. "Come along you two. Let's not keep these new recruits waiting."

Just before he stepped through the portal, Helios called out to him at the last moment.

"Just a second, grandson."

"Hm?"

Helios discreetly clenched his fist like he was finding difficulty getting out the words trapped in his throat.

It was a hard thing to do.

He had spent several thousand years devoid of having to rely on anyone for anything.

And now, there was something that he needed that he would have to ask his very much younger grandson for.

Pride was a calamitous thing.

Since Helios had already asked his grandson for a favor before, he felt even more embarrassed to ask him for another one.

And as one would expect, he failed miserably at it.

"I… feel as though we haven't gotten to have a proper chat since my resurrection. We should have a meal together tonight if you are able." He lied.

Abaddon could tell that maybe he wasn't getting the full truth from his grandfather, but he wasn't exactly sure what he may have been hiding.

Perhaps through dinner, he would learn.

"Well, it just so happens I was in need of an excuse to get away from the gala tonight. I'll give you a call before I slip away."

Darius: "Wait a damn minute!"

Hajun: "I don't believe that's fair, son-in-law. If we have to stay at that high society mess, then why don't you??"

"I'm am your Uma-Sarru. I hold privileges that you do not."

Darius and Hajun stared at Abaddon blankly without a shred of amusement on their faces.

"Gee, I wonder how sweet Lillian and Tatiana would feel if I told them that you were planning to ditch the party they so carefully planned."

Abaddon's eyes narrowed as he glared at Darius dangerously. "You wouldn't dare…"

"Try me! I'm like a depressed housewife; champagne makes these lips of mine get real loose!"

Helios scratched the back of his head at the scene in front of him.

Because he was so desperate to spit out a lie as a distraction, he created some kind of convoluted situation.

He also forgot that there was some big dinner party that most of the adults in the family were going to.

It was supposed to be a surprise for the new inductees to the Euphrates.

Helios started to tell his grandson that they could always reschedule.

Abaddon and Darius seemingly had an entire conversation without saying a word before they finally acquiesced.

""…We'll both be there."" They decided.

"I don't do well in tuxes for too long, so I will also be attending." Hajun added.

Finally, the three of them turned away and headed through the portal that had been hanging open.

After they were gone, Helios watched the space where they had disappeared for a while.

Whatever was on his mind was a true mystery that was known to himself and himself alone.

-

Monica feared that she was going to be just a hair too late.

She was so tired from the two months she spent fighting for her life that she slept for exactly three days straight.

Luckily she woke up in the bath after around an hour and was able to spend the rest of her time in the comfortable hotel bed.

She only barely had the forethought of setting an alarm to remind her about the ceremony.

And she still ended up sleeping through her alarm for a whole ten minutes while it was going off.

When she finally woke up, she did a frantic dash with her sore body to the bathroom.

Clothes had appeared in her room at some point as she slept, and she pulled them on without thinking twice due to time constraints.

She had only barely finished butting her shirt up when a familiar portal opened up right in front of her face.

'Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, don't be nervous…!'

Gathering all of her courage, Monica stepped through the portal into the unknown venue.