First Demonic Dragon

They sit around for months, if not years, bickering with each other over any minor or major point of contention.

And it looked like some of the gods were in for another round of that now.

In Svarga, Indra\'s home was once again being used to as a meeting hall with the Tridasha, or the thirty-three gods.

At the center of this debate were Indra and Indrani, who were still posing a unified front.

Indra held his wife protectively as he reaffirmed his same stance for the possible hundredth time.

"I will speak on this no more! Handing over my wife to that monster is never going to happen! She is not a chip that we might use to curry away favors and spare our own lives!"

Vayu: "But she is guilty…This decision will surely mark our end…"

Bhaga: "Perhaps it may be best if we prepare a tribute… reparations of some sort as an apology."

Tvashtr: "You did not see him when he journeyed to this palace the first time… Not a single decoration or material seemed to pique his interest."

Indra already knew that as well, but what other choice did he have?

Offering up his wife when she was only acting with his best interest in mind was an absolute non-starter.

Abaddon would most certainly kill her for her decision… that was if he didn\'t do anything worse.

"…We will prepare a tribute. Use all of our best resources and spare no efforts to appease him. Weapons, gold, wine, women. He must have it all." Indra decided.

He looked at Indrani delicately and gave her hand a tender squeeze.

"The price… is utterly inconsequential compared to the potential loss."

Indrani\'s face turned a faint red color and she looked away timidly.

Now that she had time to think and see how her husband was fervently defending her, Indrani had begun to regret her decision.

Though Indra was prone to cheating on her, the two of them did not have a particularly bad relationship.

There were times like right now where he could be quite gentle and loving.

It made her feel all the more guilty about betraying him, but… she couldn\'t help herself.

The guilt and shame from such thoughts had already begun to twist her and fill her mind with the most unnatural feelings that she had no idea how to process.

With a thud, the doors to the meeting hall finally swung open and a familiar blue skinned guest came striding inside with his two sons at his heel.

"L-Lord Shiva."

"Greetings, my lord.."

"We were just-"

Shiva held up his blue hand as if he already didn\'t want to hear anymore. "Your time is up, Indra. Your wife will be handed over to Abaddon to atone for her crimes against him."

Underneath the table, Indra clasped his wife\'s hand tightly as he discreetly passed her a small golden box.

"...I am sorry, Lord Shiva. But I cannot do that. My Indrani means far too much to me, so we must find another way."

"You blundering idiot, there is no other way." Ganesha shook his head.

Kartikeya looked at everyone present and scowled. "You all consented to this? You are all willing to put your lives in jeopardy for one who is so clearly guilty??"

Everyone looked down at their own feet, or really anywhere that wasn\'t near Shiva and his sons.

Bhaga, the Vedic god of wealth, leaned forward with a peaceful looking smile on his face.

"Lord Shiva, and young lords... We believe we may have found a different solution that does not involve the unfortunate death of the queen.

Our goal is to pay him a sufficient tribute, and offer him our sincerest apology and a vow of subjugation if need be. We understand it is not exactly ideal, but-"

"Heh..."

Shiva did something that no one, not even his sons had seen him do in several hundred years.

He laughed.

It started out small and hardly noticeable, but eventually it devolved into a full-blown cackle. the-place-MVLeMpYr

Even Indra seemed not to recognize what was happening to him, as he tried in vain to correct his own behavior.

"Pfft, I... HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Eventually, the old god doubled over while holding his stomach as if this were the grandest joke he had heard in a while.

His laughter seemed infectious, as even his two children couldn\'t stop their own chuckles from slipping out.

"Kekeke- ahem... Father? You must get ahold of yourself." Ganesha muttered as he covers his mouth with his trunk.

"Did you hear what they said, my son?? Tributes!! HAHAHAHA!!!" Shiva continued to laugh.

Unlike his brother Ganesha, Kartikeya wasn\'t quite trying to be noble, and was chuckling alongside his father.

"Wait, wait, wait." The war god replied as he rubbed a tear off of his cheek. "Let me guess, you are planning to plaster him with gold, women, diamonds, and more wine than even that fool Dionysus could drink in a millennia?"

The gods fell silent all over again as if they suddenly found the floor very interesting.

Shiva and his son laughed even more heartily together, with both of them so tickled that they almost fell to their knees.

The only thing keeping them upright at this point was each other, and that in and of itself was funny enough to fuel their laughter for several more minutes.

Finally, the amused pair picked themselves up while wiping their eyes and returning to their usual stoic demeanor.

"Ah... I truly must thank you for that. Perhaps allowing this farce was not wholly wasteful after all. Where else could I have laughed like this, over than here with you court full of jesters and dilapidated fools..?"

"My lord, you must understand that our plan is-"

"Foolish. And unbelievably so at that." Shiva dismissed.

"Let us go down the list, shall we?" Ganesha began.

"#1, gold." said Kartikeya.

"Abaddon\'s lands are already teaming with it. I\'ve seen dragon children with golden rattlers and teething toys that they toss around at their leisure."

"#2, diamonds."

"The same as number one, only somehow significantly less rare. Abaddon\'s fourth wife is a creation goddess. Physical trinkets and currency are the same as toiletries to him."

"How about wine, brother?" Kartikeya offered sarcastically.

"You could bleed wine from the wrists and testicles of Dionysus himself and it would never in a million years age to possess the quality or the flavor of the fruit wine produced by his fifth wife."

"And women?"

"Is this even worth doing anymore, brother..?"

"I\'m having fun, aren\'t you?"

"This is a business matter, not a game." The god replied in exhaustion.

"Tch."

"If you send him women you will only end up infuriating his wives more than you already have." Shiva finished.

\'I was going to be a bit more colorful in how I said it, but sure...\' the youthful war god was beginning to feel like his family was practically allergic to having any sort of fun.

As of now, the hall filled with gods was looking more and more depressing as the minutes went on.

Most of them already knew that their back-up plan was hopeless, but hearing it so plainly shot down by Shiva and his sons embarrassed them to no end.

But Indra at least remained undeterred.

"...I will offer him my life then."

"I beg your pardon?" Shiva tilted his head.

"I will confess to him that I am the one who used the wishing tree against him. With my life alone, he can exact his revenge and none else need be involved."

Indrani now looked horrified. "W-What?? You can\'t-"

"Be silent, woman. The men are speaking." Smiling heroically, Indra clasped Indrani\'s hands shut and made her push a button.

Instantly, she disappeared from the hall.

And not a single second later, the whole of Svarga began trembling.

The castle walls nearly crumbled around the gods and they fought to keep their heads upright from the pressure that Shiva was emitting.

"I recognize my blunder... I had been so passive that I had neglected to instill proper respect for your betters within you..."

All it took was Shiva to hold out his hand and Indra flew towards him- utterly powerless but not afraid on the surface.

He already knew that perhaps he hadn\'t been the best husband to Indrani.

But if he could do this much for her, he felt it was his divine responsibility.

"I hold the utmost respect for you, Lord Shiva... but this is my duty as a husband. I will fulfill it even at the expense of your wrath."

"A poor attempt at sentiment. Wasting your own life is one thing, but you are supposed to be king to those here. You would drag them all down with you for this folly?"

"I...can only hope that you will protect them, Lord. And succeed where I may have failed."

At that moment, Shiva felt a certain pin-prick sensation tickle his neck.

Both Ganesha and Kartikeya looked surprised as well.

"Brother, I thought you said that.."

"Indeed, they should not have been able to return here so fast… They did not establish a foothold beforehand." Ganesha rubbed his chin.

As if the hall could not become any more unsettling at that moment, a loud demonic howl from far off in the distance made chills run down everyone\'s spine.

Shiva sighed as he dropped Indra to the ground and began walking away with his hands clasped behind his back.

"We\'re out of time… I hope that they are of the mind to resolve this with only your life."

As if responding to Shiva\'s worry, the entire roof of the palace was suddenly ripped off by a giant pair of black claws-allowing several unholy creatures to peer inside.