In the streets of Luxuria, there was only one sight that could practically cause all traffic to come to a standstill.
Recently, it had become the talk of the city that the first prince and eldest princess had entered into courtships with two beautiful young phoenixes, and everyone was clamoring to get a look at them.
What kind of women had they chosen?
Their father seemed to like more voluptuous women who were significantly older than him, are they the same way?
Would there be any additions to the royal family soon?
They just had to know!
Currently attracting all of the people's attention were a very well known and beloved group of seven.
Thea, Jasmine,Nita, Apophis, and Claire, were all looking very cute together as they walked arm in arm through the streets.
In front of them was the even cuter pairing of Gabbrielle and Mira, both of whom seemed to be having very different reactions to being out and about.
"I do not understand why you all insisted that I travel with you." Gabbrielle said flatly.
"You spend too much time at home, sister." Apophis answered. "It will be nice for you to be out."
"You can't spend your whole immortal existence inside, you know?" Thea added.
"Yes I can."
Before being reborn, Gabbrielle hadn't left her own personal dimension in eons.
She was a neet long before the term was even coined.
"Does sister not enjoy being with us?" Mira asked sadly.
Gabbrielle knew that she had to be very careful with how she answered this question, so she stuffed down her own stubbornness.
"No, I am having a great deal of... fun."
"Yay!"
Gabbrielle merely clutched her doll tightly, and tried to enjoy being out with her family.
"That's the spirit, we're supposed to be celebrating anyway." Thea reminded.
"That's right, Mira will evolve soon!" She reminded.
After practicing with the never to be released criminals inside of the dungeon three weeks ago, Abaddon was finally able to get the hang of extracting a soul without causing damage.
And of course, the first person that he tried it on was his favorite bloodthirsty daughter.
Mira's conditions were relatively straight forward, but they should have posed a considerable challenge for a six year old.
Create a blizzard over the course of five days.
Learn to use four types of weapons.
Kill and eat a superior enemy.
The first two conditions were completed relatively easily with the help of her oldest siblings and a few late night training sessions.
Only the final condition remained uncompleted as of now, due to the difficulty Mira would face in finding a supposed superior enemy.
None of the wild game around here could so much as threat her anymore and she couldn't delve into any situation that was too dangerous without her parents around.
As a result, it was decided it'd be best to wait until after they returned to try and proceed further but even then, the young girl was very excited.
"I'm going to evolve just like brother did!"
As Mira had pointed out, Apophis had gone through something of an evolution a few weeks ago as well.
Since he was directly tied to the life of his mother Lailah, every evolution she underwent would also have enormous benefits for him as well.
Even now, the power coursing through Apophis' body was on an entirely different level than before.
To make matters even better, he had acquired total poison immunity, and a few drops of his venom would be enough to kill 50,000 people seven times over.
Claire was also extremely happy with the standard bodily upgrades that came with an evolution.
Even though she was usually quite passive, Apophis' elevated charm had turned her into a predatory creature.
"I still can't believe you all can evolve so easily." Jasmine said in disbelief. "No wonder father-in-law was able to rise to power so fast."
Thea and Gabbrielle were not particularly impressed by their father's ability since they did not evolve, but anyone else who heard of it would react much the same as the phoenix sisters.
"Where shall we go on this little celebration of ours?" Thea asked.
The two women she'd locked hands with were looking rather pleased just to be included, and Claire and Apophis were in much the same boat.
The lovey dove atmosphere among them was so thick that you could cut it with a steak knife.
"How about..." Suddenly Apophis' words trailed off as he sensed something unnatural coming from nearby.
His face quickly became unpleasant, and the carefree demeanor that was ever present before disappeared without a trace.
"Brother? What's the matter?"
Thea knew Apophis well enough to realize that when her brother acted like this, someone was going to die.
At first, he did not answer, an then his red eyes spotted two men heading into an alley on the other side of the street.
He patted Claire lightly on the head, and started to pull away from her.
"Stay here, love. I'll return shortly."
Before his fiancé could ask what was going on, he vanished from her line of sight.
Thea, Mira, and Gabbrielle were the only ones who were able to follow his movements, and pretty soon they ran off from the group as well.
As soon as the Tathamet siblings left, the phoenix girls were swarmed by curious onlookers that had been watching on the streets.
Nita, Claire, and Jasmine suddenly felt like they were surrounded by extended family instead of common folk.
"Are you girls really dating the prince and princess?"
"How long has this been going on if you don't mind me asking?"
"Can we expect any new additions to the royal family anytime soon?"
With great embarrassment, the girls started answering as many questions as they were able, while contemplating in the back of their mind where their dates had gone.
-
"I'm telling you man, this is the kind of city we can make millions in! The streets are completely dry here and we can monopolize the whole market!"
"Wonder why that is though. This certainly seems like a hotbed for this kind of stuff."
"Who cares! All that matters to the boss is that we establish a firm foothold here and stay under the radar. Apparently the ruler of this place is quite the monster."
In a dark alley on the outskirts of Luxuia, two men were pulling a wooden cart covered in a very thick tarp.
It would be easy to mistake them for vampires due to their pale complexions, but these men were human in every sense of the word.
Provided that they did not bring any weapons past the gates, humans were allowed in this city although they were usually met with more stringent observation.
"Isn't there supposed to be some kind of war going on? The streets seem pretty lively to me."
"I can assure you, this is nothing. This place is like the fucking party capital of the world at nighttime."
Suddenly, the two men came to a stop outside of an empty produce storehouse that had yet to be sold.
"Alright, we can drop the stuff off here and then when night falls we can start-"
BANG!
As soon as the man placed a hand on the door, he was slammed face first into the concrete by a man that neither of them recognized.
"AGHH!!"
"W-Wait, what the hell are you-"
"Shut up."
Apophis lashed out with his tail and smacked the human clean across the body, catapulting him into a nearby wall.
"W-Why are you doing this to us!?"
Apophis tightened his grip on the man's neck until he was barely receiving air in his lungs, irritated by the fact that this man would even try to play innocent.
"Brother!"
"What are you doing?"
"Are those bad guys??"
Thea, Mira, and Gabbrielle dropped down from the rooftops, alarmed by the sight of him restraining two men.
"W-We're just simple produce famers!" One of the men groaned. "Please, help us!"
Thea started to smell something funny about this whole situation, so she took it upon herself to investigate.
Peeling back the tarp, she found a bountiful amount of fruits and vegetables that looked absolutely divine.
"Oh... I see." Gabbrielle said as she took a closer look.
The young girl poked the cart with a small finger, and all of the fruit inside began to float upwards.
A cut appeared directly in the center of all of the produce, and small brown burlap packages fell out of them.
Thea unfurled one of the packages and took a peep inside, and soon her face was a mirrored version of Apophis'
Smuggled right into their very own city, was a drug known as moon powder.
Identifiable by it's glowing white color and silky smooth texture, it was a powerful hallucinogen that was known to be rather addictive.
A single taste was well known to have some hooked for life.
"Sister... restrain them."
"Kay!"
At her sister's request, Mira created long spears of ice that pierced through the legs and arms of the two men, stapling them to the ground.
"Agh!!"
"Gahh! L-Let us go!!"
The Tathamet siblings ignored the screams coming from the two men and carried on as if it were business as usual.
Gabbrielle produced a small white flame within her palm and casually tossed it onto the cart, igniting it instantly.
"Was that bad stuff?" Mira asked cutely.
"Yes sister, very bad." Apophis answered.
He had finally released the man's neck and gotten back onto his feet, but his mood still looked to be utterly deplorable.
"Oh... okay!"
Mira seemed to recognize the fact that these people were very bad and created two more blades of ice to stab them both in the leg.
Whether she was simply immune to their screams or took enjoyment in them, it was hard to tell.
If her siblings had any problem with her antics, they certainly did not show it.
By now, they were all fully aware that Mira's cute act was only one facet of her personality.
As such, they continued to deal with the issue at hand while ignoring her gleeful giggles.
"How did they even get so far into the city without anyone noticing?" Apophis growled.
"You know we're stretched thin, brother. Most of the manpower in the city is off fighting the war."Thea reminded.
"Right..." Apophis ran his hands through his hair as he thought of how bad this could have become.
If he hadn't sensed a narcotic's overwhelming familiarity to poison, this drug could have made it's way into the streets.
"Do we just kill them then?" Gabbrielle asked.
The two men let out more screams in denial until Mira kicked each of them hard in the temple, putting them to sleep.
She turned around towards her siblings wearing a proud smile, indicating that she demanded to be praised for her efforts.
Apophis obliged her with some small headsets that resulted in a series of adorable giggles.
She was so cute that one could easily overlook the blood all over her hands.
While Mira received praise, Thea seemed to be deep in thought as her purple eyes stared at the now ashen pile right before her very eyes.
Killing these men would certainly be justifiable, but she was wondering if that was the action she should take.
Judging by the large amount of narcotics these men were in possession of, they weren't some smalltime organization.
No doubt they would try this again, using smarter and more crafty methods.
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her communication bloodstone and called a very specific member of her family.
For what she had in mind, she was going to need permission from her parents before she could run off.
'But... I'm pretty sure she'll agree.' Thea thought with a smile.
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