In Antares, Seras was seriously contemplating suicide.
After being away for so long, the amount of work that she had to do was not small.
In the entire time she'd been back home, she hadn't left her desk that seemed to have an enormous stack of paperwork piled on top of it.
No matter how much she completed, there always seemed to be more waiting for her.
Suddenly, there was a knock at her door and her father Hajun walked in carrying a tray of food.
"My little floofie bear...? I've brought you something to eat, the maids said you haven't-"
Seras held out her hand, and all of the food on the tray erupted into bloody red flames.
All except the desert and tea that her father brought.
These days, sugar seemed to be all that was keeping her going.
Her father shrugged like he already somewhat expected this outcome, and placed the tray on her desk as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
"You really should try to eat a more balanced diet, my daughter. How would that husband of yours feel if you made yourself sick?"
Briefly, Seras contemplated what it would be like if she were to fall ill and Abaddon had to nurse her back to health.
If before she was only eating this way out of habit, now she would do so with a purpose.
Hajun lightly patted her on the head and took a look at all of the paper work that she'd completed on her desk.
"You've made considerable headway." He said in approval. "I'm quite proud of you, and I''m sure they would be too."
"Mhm."
Surprisingly, Seras did not scold her father for treating her like a child.
A testament to just how unhappy she truly was.
Hajun wished that he could say something to alleviate her mood, but their relationship had become so poor over the last few centuries that he didn't know what to say.
So for now at least, he would be more than fine with sitting in silence just like this.
Suddenly, Seras flinched as if she noticed something before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her bloodstone.
She immediately became elated when she realized that she was receiving a call from her eldest daughter, and she answered without a moment's hesitation.
When the visage sprang to life, she was greeted with the sight of not one, but all four of her children all huddled together.
Traces of her earlier depression vanished as if they were never really there.
"My babies!! It's so good to see you, I've missed you so much!"
Apophis: "We missed you too mother."
Thea: "Why haven't you called us?"
Mira: "Is mommy too busy for us..?"
Seras' heart immediately dropped to her feet and she immediately threw her hands up in denial.
"No, no, no, of course not! I could never be too busy for you! I suppose I just didn't call because I didn't necessarily have anything important to discuss..."
"You can call us even if it's not important, mother." Gabbrielle suddenly said. "We do not mind, and we miss you as well."
Because the words came from the daughter she had physically given birth to, they impacted Seras that much more.
Gabbrielle was often rather aloof and it could be hard for members of her family to tell what she was thinking.
Therefore, for her to plainly express her feelings like this was rather rare.
The already emotional Seras was now on the verge of tears.
Hajun watched with proud eyes as his daughter and his grandchildren took ten minutes to play catch up.
Seras mostly listened and giggled, while taking a few moments to ask her eldest children about the relationships between themselves and the phoenix girls.
He watched with silent glee as it finally sank in for the first time that his daughter was a married woman, with four angelic children who-
"Oh, I almost forgot! Mommy, can we go kill bad guys?" Mira asked cutely.
"I... what?" Seras was having a hard time following the trajectory of this conversation.
"Ah, well you see mother..."
Thea took around two minutes to explain the events that had transpired prior to their phone call.
All Seras needed to hear was 'drugs smuggled into Luxuria' and she lost her mind.
"%$#@!?!" (What!?!)
BOOM!
Seras was so surprised, her words accidentally came out in the tongue of the true dragon, obliterating her desk and everything on it.
"Does your father know about this?!" She asked.
"No."
Seras let out a small sigh of relief and rubbed her temples in thanks.
On earth, Abaddon's parents were violent drug addicts who put him through unimaginable abuse.
The things he saw and endured stayed with him for years, and he became emancipated as soon as he was able so that he would never have to see them again.
If he ever found out that someone was trying to bring that same poison into his city, Seras had no idea how bad his reaction would be.
"We have them immobilized already, soooo we were wondering if we could torture them to find out where their base was and then go wipe them out?" Thea asked.
Seras suddenly looked up from her hands and gave Thea and agreeable nod.
"You know you have my permission, dear. Kill every single one of them and make sure you destroy whatever hole they're hiding in. Are all of you going?"
"No." Gabbrielle said immediately.
The young girl suddenly received intense pleading eyes from all three of her older siblings and immediately knew that they were going to become a hassle.
"...Yes."
"Fufufu~ I'll call your grandparents so that they can watch the city in your absence. Be sure to take care of each other, alright?"
""""We will!""""
The kids hung up a moment later, leaving Seras feeling much more refreshed than when they first called.
"Hm? What happened to my desk?"
Hajun merely held his hands up in defeat and played innocent.
"I have absolutely no idea, pookie snookems. It's a real mystery."
-
It took Mira all of two minutes to carve out the information on the base's whereabouts from the smugglers.
After it was done, Apophis cut the head off of one before throwing his partner into the dungeon.
He promised him a much more agonizing death if any of the information he received was proven to be false.
And judging by the puddle of urine the human released... it appeared to be a well received threat.
Afterwards, the siblings went to go and find the dates that they had left behind and inform them of their plans.
However, they were met with a surprising response from the phoenix Jasmine.
"Cool, when are we leaving?"
All three of Thea's younger siblings turned around in unison to stare at her.
Their faces clearly said: ' We?'
"Umm, Jasmine... wouldn't you rather stay here and-"
"No."
"...Right, but don't you think that it would be better if-"
"Not really."
Thea looked around at the rest of her sisters for help, and they chose that moment conveniently act as if they found something interesting on the ground.
"Don't worry, Thea. My sister has been training with the guards since she was very young." Claire informed. "She won't be deadweight."
Jasmine stuck her chest out with pride as if she were delighted to no end by her sister's words.
But even then, Thea did not show the normal carefree smile that she usually had.
Today was her first introduction to a lesson that Abaddon had to learn eight times over.
Sometimes, even when you love someone, that doesn't mean that you need to protect them.
Those who want to fight will always find their way onto a battlefield sooner or later.
"I-I don't know if..."
"Thea."
Jasmine suddenly took both of Thea's hands in hers and stared deeply into her violet eyes.
"I want to help. I love this place too and I don't want to see this place become filled with drugs either. So let me come with you, okay?"
Like her father, Thea was particularly weak when her women asked her for anything.
As long as Jasmine held her hands and looked at her with those big puppy dog eyes, she could probably convince her to commit murder.
If she did it while naked, Thea would have easily gone to war with any nation under the sun and moon.
"Alright... you can come with us then."
"Thank you!"
In a rare moment of boldness, Jasmine kissed Thea on the cheek, causing her entire face to turn red.
Nita remained the odd one out, and she gave Thea a reassuring look that said she was fine remaining at home, much to her relief.
If both of the women she loved made up their minds to go, she believed that she may be too worried to fight properly.
Apophis pulled Claire in for a short and sweet embrace while kissing her on the forehead. "I'm sorry... It should be no more than a day's trip."
"You don't need to apologize, this is important, right? Go and protect your home."
"Our home." Apophis corrected.
The two of them nuzzled their foreheads together in a very sweet and intimate gesture, relishing in their final goodbyes.
Mira looked at Gabbrielle and gave her a small hug as well.
"...What are you doing?"
"Everyone else is hugging, so we should do it too!"
"Sister, you still have blood on your dress..."
"So?"
"...Never mind, carry on then."
- 8 Hours Later
On the border between the human continent of Gilgamesh and the demon lands of Samael, there is an old military base that had been continuously overrun.
Once upon a time it belonged to the demons, at another time it belonged to the humans.
Ownership was tossed back and forth over the course of several hundred years as the location was always consistently attacked and taken back at some point or another.
But after the last battle four years ago, this place was simply abandoned by both sides.
It seemed like both sides had simultaneously decided that acquiring this place was an unnecessary waste of lives and resources.
Leaving this place free and open for a black market group called Samsara.
They deal in just about everything from drugs to slaves and even banned magical items.
It was here that the plan to smuggle drugs into Luxuria was concocted, and this was the location that the two men had given the children of the royal family.
"Alright, who wants to knock on the door first?" Thea said.
The five of them were floating high in the sky above, sitting on the back of the two family pets, Entei and Bagheera.
"Ummm... I have a question?" Jasmine suddenly said.
"Yes, darling?"
"Are you... really going to fight in a dress?"
Thea looked down at her favorite bright purple dress and folded her arms in a cute pout.
"Father says I'm not allowed to use my armor unless I'm against an enemy demands it...He's so unnecessarily overprotective."
Jasmine made a confused face as if she didn't understand why Abaddon would forbid wearing armor.
But she found Thea to be extremely cute when she was like this, so shows also grateful to him in some small part.
"Mira wants to say hi!" The young dragon suddenly said.
"Not happening, tyke." Apophis said.
"Brother, why!?" She wined.
Apophis stood up on the back of Bagheera and gave his neck and shoulders a well needed crack.
"Your abilities aren't quite explosive enough for a proper greeting for these filth. Let your brother stretch his legs for a bit, yea?"
"Hmph!" Now Mira was cutely folding her arms and pouting, looking equally as adorable as Thea.
Apophis stepped off the back of the locust and let his body fall freely through the air.
'Watch closely, little sister. I will show you how to announce yourself properly.'
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