First Demonic Dragon

And every woman and man is so incomparably good looking that they could steal you away from a twenty year lover with just a glance.

The quality of the food and wine is unbelievably high, and there exists no separation of rich man or poor.

But it is the wildlife that is so bone-chilling.

Together, Abaddon, Eris, and Lillian populated not just Tehom, but even the empty planets above it with animals and monsters both new and old.

But as the embodiment of the supernatural, Abaddon quite likes creating new little horrors whenever he has the free time.

Even Bayle, cute little guy that he may be, has quite the unnatural form.

However, there are no creatures that inspire more fear upon seeing them for the first time than the locusts.

They are beasts fouler than even the grandest of all demons, and their horrid temperament makes them controllable only by dragons with Abaddon\'s blood.

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And as always, the sight of them in a pack was jarring.

Once the roof to Indra\'s palace was ripped off, everyone could see an enormous eastern dragon with bright orange scales and three heads.

Several beasts dropped down into the hall and cracked the diamond floors with their landing.

It took upwards of thirty seconds for the gods to notice that each beast had a rider.

They were nightmarish figures each well over 6 feet tall and covered from head to toe in deep black armor.

Their chestplates bore the visage of a roaring black dragon with multiple eyes.

Only one among them had a chest armor that was dyed bright red- just like her own hair.

"Holding council, are we? My, I wonder what about..."

Everyone looked up at the ceiling where the roof had already been ripped away.

There were nine women standing atop the wall and once the great dragon reverted to normal, there were a full ten.

For a moment, it was hard to recognize them.

They were a lot less imposing than they were the last time that Shiva and Indra had seen them.

It was easier to mistake them for humans now, because they were missing their identifying black sclera, brightly colored scaly skin, and they weren\'t quite as unnaturally tall.

They also felt much less powerful…

In the center of the group, a woman with soft caramel skin was seated on the edge of the wall and swinging her lupine feet leisurely.

The gleam from her black fur and claws sparkled like gems while still giving off an inherently dangerous feeling.

Her hands slowly grew to resemble paws as she rested her chin in her palm.

"I hope you all don\'t mind us listening in. We also have an issue that is in dire need of proper resolution."

Shiva sighed in exhaustion as he greeted the girls respectfully. "Greetings, aspects of Ayaana. I understand your anger, but I hope that you will-"

"I did it!"

Indra suddenly stood up and addressed the girls boldly.

"I was the one who made the wish to kill your husband!"

All of the girls except Bekka, Erica, and Lailah narrowed their eyes.

\'Anxiety, desperation, resolve, and mild shame.\' Erica discerned in an instant. \'He didn\'t do it, but he\'s covering for the one who did.\'

\'That was obvious from his first breath… he doesn\'t even know the specifics of the wish that was made.\' Lailah added.

\'Odd that his wife seems to be missing from the venue… I wonder if there is a coincidence afoot here.\' Bekka chuckled.

Shiva knew with a single glance the girls didn\'t buy the lie.

But Indra thought that because they hadn\'t reacted, he still had a hope of convincing them of his wrongdoing.

"I offer you my life as penance. None else were involved in my plot, so if you are as magnanimous as I believe you to be… I hope that you will end any grudges against us just with my deat-."

"I thought that you and my husband were becoming friends, Shiva…" Bekka completely ignored Indra and instead returned her attention to the blue god of destruction still taking up space quietly.

"…I believe we are." He confirmed.

"But you are starting our early friendship by co-signing lies? What room does that leave for mutual trust in the future?"

"My goal was to bring you a satisfying explanation to this threat, but I have encountered… resistance, as you can see."

Indra\'s heart sank to his shoes. "T-This is not-"

Bekka held up her hand dismissively. "Your loyalty to your wife is quite admirable considering what she\'s done. But I urge you to remain silent, lest she make you look like even more the fool today."

Indra\'s already sunken heart nearly shattered when he realized that his lie was all for naught. "T-This…"

"Intruders!"

"Surround them!"

"Let none of the demons escape!"

Just when it seemed like the situation could not become any more volatile, the sky was suddenly filled with soldiers in golden armor who had all rushed to the defense of their highest ranking officials.

Bekka lazily lifted her head up with a small grimace.

"Oh boy… I really hope that you lot will not make this worse than it already looks."

The soldiers drew their swords and pointed them at the empresses.

"Fools and suicidal fanatics… there never seems to be a shortage, does there…? You\'re up, my little guppies."

Kanami jerked her chin upward and a total of exactly ten soldiers rocketed off into the sky.

Shiva finally felt like this had all gone too far.

They were doing all of this to prevent bloodshed, not invite more of it.

He had to put an end to this game.

\'Wait, father.\' Kartikeya urged.

\'Son, now is not the time to-\'

\'Let them be… I sense no real bloodlust from these soldiers. They\'ve been instructed not to kill, I\'m sure of it.\'

\'…We cannot afford to take gambles on intuition-\'

\'Just trust me, father. The lives lost today will be vastly smaller than what you currently think.\'

If he was honest, Kartikeya was only halfway concerned with a mass loss of life today.

The main purpose of his decision to stop his father was sheer interest.

Perhaps because they were not yet official allies, Abaddon was not forthcoming with any details about his armies or their strengths.

He avoided the topic so much you\'d think he didn\'t have one.

But through mingling with the gods and goddesses who were already in Tehom, Kartikeya was able to learn that the best of the best were a group named the Euphrates, and their description matched the soldiers he was seeing now.

He wanted to see for himself just how capable the forces of the black dragon were.

Purely from an observational standpoint, of course.

After all, how many times would one get a chance to see a unit such as this, and not be on the receiving end of their blades?

This was a very rare opportunity and treating it as anything less than would have been foolish of them.

And besides... it wasn\'t as if Abaddon\'s wives did not want this too.

This show of force was clearly that- a show.

And as the audience, was it not imperative of them to just sit back, relax, and watch everything unfold?

-

Abaddon slowly cracked open his eyelids and immediately realized that it was already morning.

The second thing he noticed was that his bed was considerably more empty than normal.

He glanced at his side and saw a small letter next to his pillow.

Apparently, the girls decided to leave even earlier than expected this morning.

\'This was sweet of them, but I do wish they would have woken me before they left.. it would have been nice to wish them luck again.\'

Abaddon noticed the most minute shifting in his bed and he finally glanced at the only other occupant.

Bayle.

"Sssss…"

Abaddon stared blankly at the large lizard.

"You know, I usually prefer waking up in the embrace of certain curvaceous mature women. Not my pets."

"Sssss?"

"No, I\'m not saying I don\'t enjoy your company, but you\'re fully aware that Lailah doesn\'t want you on the bed."

"Ssss…"

"…Fine, I\'ll wash the sheets later. Just don\'t eat here and make sure to teleport to Darius\' house if you have to use the bathroom."

Bayle nodded his head in understanding and gave the dragon his version of a smile.

After giving him a few scratches on the head, Abaddon crawled out of the bed and Bayle claimed his new empty warm spot.

Abaddon\'s boxers were the only clothes he had on, and he didn\'t yet see a point in changing.

He exited his room, took a few short steps to the only other room on the hall, and entered without even bothering to knock.

As always, Sif\'s bedroom was nearly ice cold and the curtains were practically stapled shut.

His ex-wife was still in bed, but she wasn\'t sleeping.

Her nose was buried in her phone as she scrolled through it mindlessly with no real end in sight.

Sif was prone to discovering new earthly fascinations every odd-week or so and becoming obsessed with them.

"See something interesting, ex-wife?"

Sif finally noticed Abaddon approaching her in only his boxers and her cheeks went red as she locked her phone.

"J-Just the theatrics of professional wrestling… What are you doing in here?"

"Sleeping alone depresses me a bit. Am I unwelcome?"

"Far from it…" Sif lifted up the covers and allowed Abaddon to climb into bed next to her.

With her completely bare body against his almost bare one, he felt her excitement spike as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Don\'t get any ideas…" As he closed his eyes, Abaddon held up the same note he found on his pillow before.

Sif took it wearily and began reading it aloud.

"Sorry for not waking you, but you looked so cute when you were sleeping that we couldn\'t help it. If all goes well we\'ll be back by nightfall, so don\'t fuck that bitch before we get back…"

Abaddon snickered again hearing it aloud.

Sif rolled her eyes. "Well, they didn\'t say anything about-"

"Check the back."

Sif turned the paper over. "Don\'t let her suck you either… What if I want you to-"

"My, my. If you were this in need you should\'ve come to our room last night. A few short steps too daunting for you?"

"Don\'t joke… I\'ve been with you all three nights in a row now, and I thought that maybe I should ease back a bit."

"For whose benefit?"

"Mine..? Yours? T-Theirs?? I don\'t know!"

Abaddon cracked open one eye as he wrapped his tail around her leg.

"The girls discussed it and they seem not to have a problem with the little open door policy we\'ve arranged. You may come to us… to me as often as you like."

Sif tried not to show how happy those words made her. "…What about as little as I like?"

"Then as you\'ve seen, I will come to you."

Inwardly, Sif was having a serious fan girl moment right now.

She intertwined her body with Abaddon\'s as much as she could despite the large size difference.

While enjoying his new warmth, she touched his cheek affectionately and stared at him.

They had not lain together like this in years.

The last time was the exact day before she left him.

"…There\'s nothing in the letter that said I could not kiss you, you know…?" She asked quietly.

"I\'m aware. I was wondering how long it would take you to realize that little detail."

"Are you saying that I\'m slow?"

"It\'s alright, since hardly anyone expects blondes to be sharp."

"Dickhead."

"That\'s no way to talk to someone whom you want to kiss."

"What makes you think I still want to kiss you after a boorish remark like that..?"

"You\'re still coming closer, aren\'t you?"

Sif herself had yet to realize that she was indeed less than inches away from touching Abaddon\'s lips with her own.

"…Being snarky isn\'t sexy, ex-husband."

"Yeah, yeah."

Smiling, Abaddon closed the small distance on his own and kissed her rather aggressively.

She responded to his embrace by holding onto him even more intimately than before and nibbled on the full lips that were the constant object of her lust and fascination.

They were so immersed in their embrace, they entirely missed the moment that Sif\'s bedroom door creaked open.

"Oh my…"

"What a cute little pair of divorcees you are."

Looking up, the pair found Nyx, Yemoja, and their daughter Thrudd standing in the doorway.

"Uhh… Mom, dad, you have guests who wanted to see you." Thrudd muttered.

She picked up a random belt hanging off a chair in Sif\'s room and swiftly started making her exit.

"If you\'ll excuse me, I\'m going to go and hang myself now… Don\'t let the stench of my rotting corpse kill your libidos."