In Antares, Yara and Asmodeus were side by side in the bushes, spying on their grandchildren and their women.
The five of them were sitting at a table in the garden, seemingly all in a rather somber mood and reflecting on something serious.
"We should say something to them... they cannot even enjoy each other's company because they are so worried!"
"What can we say, dear? Those girls idolized their mother, of course they are having a hard time."
"But... this is supposed to be their honeymoon! They should be more happy and in love!"
Asmodeus glanced at the table where Apophis sat with Claire in his lap and Thea held both Jasmine and Nita in her arms.
"They are certainly in love but, it seems as though the mood is just a bit too heavy for them to fully enjoy each other's company."
"Well what can we-"
"Pardon me, my lord and lady."
"Kyaa!"
"What the hell!"
Asmodeus and Yara nearly blew their cover when their butler Duke appeared without their notice.
Luckily, it didn't seem as though they had tipped off the children they were spying on so they quickly let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry to frighten you, but your son has arrived and-"
The two doting parents didn't need to hear anything else.
Before Duke could finish, the two of them left their hiding spots and sprinted back into the castle, leaving Duke alone with the responsibility of watching the children.
'This is such an odd career path that I have found myself on... I should have made more of an effort to have a family of my own.'
In the back of his mind, he recalled a mature and buxom divorced cook who worked in the castle.
He decided then that he would go and see her later... though what he would talk about was still something that needed to be determined.
-
Asmodeus had enjoyed a great many things in his life since being freed from the service of the humans.
He and his loving wife embraced each other every day, and they had already made up for the years they were apart and then some.
He'd finally met and been accepted by his only son, and the two of them had formed a rather close relationship in a short time.
He even had four cute grand children to boot!
But nothing... and I mean absolutely nothing, could even come close to matching the joy he was experiencing in this moment.
"Y-You... *Sniffle* You look so much like me...!"
Asmodeus was staring at his only son, who was admittedly a much more handsome version.
Abaddon wore his typical black skirt and sandals with a fur collar paired with a new slightly annoyed face.
The cause of which stemmed from his latest change, a full head of snowy white hair that stopped at his knees.
"Old man, this is just an accident that I haven't learned to fix yet." Abaddon warned. "Don't start getting all dramatic on-"
"Give me a hug, son!"
"What did I just say!?"
As Abaddon had tried to explain, the state of his hair was in no way intentional.
It was merely the result of a minor accident that had occurred while he was playing with his new powers.
He was already dying to correct it as soon as possible.
All that he had left of his formerly blood red hair was a single streak buried in the back of his hair.
While Abaddon was trying to stave off his father's unwanted affection, Yara was studying her child with a curious eye.
"My son, have you... evolved again?"
"Yes, mother. If you'll get your husband off of me then I'll tell you all about it..!"
"Not a chance!" Asmodeus cried as he continued to try to force a hug on his son.
"You are an adult!"
"So?!"
Behind Abaddon, Erica was also in attendance.
The two of them had come here to retrieve their children and patch things up, yet for some reason they first had to be subjected to this strange display of affection.
"I have never known you to be such a doting father, Asmodeus. Now I see where Abaddon gets it from."
The nephilim suddenly froze as he and his wife finally looked past Abaddon's broad shoulders to see Erica standing behind him.
But miraculously Asmodeus was not embarrassed in the slightest as he wiped his face of lingering tears to address the unexpected guest.
"Oh, is that you Erica? To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I'm merely here to see my girls, Asmodeus. Nothing more."
Yara looked back and forth between the phoenix queen and her son as she realized they were quiet an unexpected pairing.
"You two certainly seem to have come to an amicable understanding... How was that achieved?"
Before Abaddon could give a proper response, Erica gave one of her own.
"He seduced me and now we have entered into a courtship. I am little more than putty in his hands."
The hallway came to a dead silence from the unexpected answer as Abaddon wondered what fried phoenix tenders would taste like.
Asmodeus: "Well that's... Pfft.. Hahahahaha!!!"
Yara: "D-Dear, don't laugh. She may be seriou- Hahahahaha! I can't hold it either!"
Asmodeus and Yara nearly fell over from laughter, the both of them fueling the other to make their laughter louder and more unbalanced.
Abaddon admittedly found it pretty funny too, leaving Erica as the only one who was feeling irritated by this hilarity.
"What in the seven hells is so funny!?"
Asmodeus and Yara took turns wiping each other's tears of laughter as they dashed away all of Erica's hopes.
""You're not his type.""
"What!?"
She didn't understand!
What did they mean she wasn't his type?!
She was an older beauty just like the bulk of his wives!
So what separated her from them!?
"Enough playing around, please." Abaddon said as he wiped away his own smile. "Where are our children?"
Almost on cue, the sound of footsteps echoed off the hallway floors, and five figures strode into view.
Abaddon was initially very happy to see his son and daughter after being away for over a week, but upon closer inspection he began to feel slightly worried.
It wouldn't be obvious to most, but it was to him.
His children and their wives, they hadn't been sleeping well.
Even though they showed no visible signs of exhaustion, the level of energy he could feel coursing through their bodies was far below normal.
They must have been more worried about this war than anyone.
But after they saw him standing side by side with Erica, a small glimmer of hope flashed in their eyes.
"The war...Is it over already?" Jasmine asked shakily.
Abaddon gave the young girl a pat on the head and smiled at her reassuringly. "It never began. Your mother and I were able to come to a bloodless solution."
Relief washed over the bodies of the children like a tidal wave, and taking with it days of worry and exhaustion.
While Abaddon spoke with Thea, Apophis, and Nita, Claire and Jasmine inched closer to their mother who for some strange reason looked like she had just been insulted and was still recovering.
"Mother... ?"
"A-Ah, hello Claire my dear."
"Are you alright..? You seem a little lost in thought."
"Yes, well... that is only because I missed the two of you so much."
The sisters were surprised when their mother suddenly pulled them in for a much needed hug.
Neither of them were really expecting such a warm greeting after the way they had last parted, and it admittedly took them a moment to return their mother's embrace.
"I'm sorry... I must admit that I was feeling a bit betrayed when the two of you left me but I understand why you did it now. I must have worried you quite a bit, huh?"
Claire: "O-Only a little bit..."
Jasmine: "Father-in-law promised not to kill you, so we were just worried you would be upset with us afterwards."
"Were the two of you not worried that I might kill him?" Erica asked accusingly.
Her two daughters looked at each other as if they were unsure how to answer this loaded question.
"...Sure."
"We never doubted you for a moment."
"...You little liars."
Despite her words, Erica kissed both of her daughters on the forehead as she squeezed them both just a little bit tighter.
The three of them laughed for a few minutes, clearly overjoyed to have patched up their relationship.
But after remembering their jest about killing Abaddon, she realized there was something very important that she had forgotten.
She immediately released her children and clasped her hand on Asmodeus' shoulder.
"Asmodeus... I need you to open a portal to Cypress' lands for me."
"Hm? Why do you want to go see that bland old bastard?"
"N-Nevermind that! Just get me there so that I can-"
"So that you can what?" Abaddon suddenly asked.
Erica clammed up a bit internally and a faint bead of sweat ran down her brow.
"Aren't you nosy? For someone who has no interest in me you certainly seem to be curious about my whereabouts and relationships."
Abaddon didn't utter a single word as he continued to stare at Erica like he was waiting for her to spill the beans on her sudden interest in Cypress.
"...Fine...He may have agreed to aid me in the war to kill you..."
Claire/Jasmine : ""MOTHER!""
Abaddon: "You put out a hit on me?"
Asmodeus: "Fucking hilarious."
Apophis: "Mother-in-law was going to get him killed for nothing."
Erica ignored the remarks of everyone else and focused solely on Abaddon and the look he was giving her.
"I-It was not a hit! I merely asked my friend for an alliance to combat the threat you posed."
"You would have been better off if you put out a hit." Abaddon said honestly.
For a being like him who has multiple ways to gain strength from a large number of enemies, involving another billion or so soldiers into a war would have been the worst thing Erica could have done.
"I'm sorry, alright? It was just a decision I made in the heat of the moment."
"You owe Cypress an apology, not me."
"How do you figure?"
"He and his people are the ones you almost got killed. All I would have done was expend a little extra energy."
Even though Abaddon's words did not come from a place of arrogance, it would be hard to make that observation unless you were a person who knew him well enough.
And Erica was one of those people.
She could clearly hear that his words were coming from a place of genuine honesty, not a sense of superiority.
Abaddon could have killed Cypress and every single one of his soldiers and only suffered a bit of dirt on his body and a few drops of sweat.
She could not tell if she was more terrified or aroused by that reality and his demeanor.
Asmodeus ended up opening a portal with Erica and taking her and Yara to the elven lands, leaving Abaddon in the hall with the children.
"Well then, shall we head home? Everyone's waiting to see all of you again."
Immediately, the eyes of everyone lit up once home was mentioned and their excitement went through the roof.
"""""Yes!"""""
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