In the Tathamet family manor, Apophis had just left the confines of his bedroom and stepped into the hall.
His anxiety proved to be getting the best of him, as he was having a hard time sleeping even with the woman he loved in his arms.
With his mind jumbled, he strode through the halls of his home in the hopes of alleviating his worries over the future.
Today... the army from Antares was likely to arrive.
There was a tension present in the home that was always there before a large battle, except that this time it was further compounded by the absence of his father and sister.
Everyone believed that they would return soon, but the longer they were gone the more anxious everyone felt.
He just like everyone else, was worried that they wouldn't make it back in time.
Apophis had ended up in the kitchen unconsciously, and found someone he wasn't at all expecting to see.
Tiamat was seated at the dining table in the dark, her head resting in her hands and the stench of alcohol seeping through her pores.
Apophis approached her soundlessly without so much as producing a gust of wind, and yet she was still able to notice him.
She lifted her head up and flashed him a drunken smile that was quite different from the cold and aloof nature she often presented.
"What's this? The pretty prince has come to join me for a drink!"
Apophis only shook his head as he took away her near empty bottle. "Not at 4am I haven't. Why are you drinking like this in someone else's home anyway?"
Tiamat drunkenly waved away his concern with her free hand as she polished off the last of her drink.
"You wouldn't understand, little prince. Sometimes this is the only way we adults can cope with our sadness."
"..."
Apophis didn't much like being treated like a child, but as he was technically only one year old, he couldn't exactly say anything in the face of this unprovoked statement.
The drunken Tiamat looked Apophis up and down out of the corner of her eye.
His good looks were not as unfair as his fathers, but they were still great enough that he could be called every woman's dream.
"Well... if you aren't going to drink with me then I have another way to make you feel better."
With shaky footsteps, Tiamat stood up from her chair and reached behind her head.
Untying the strings that held her dress together, she let the thin garment fall to the floor.
She was a real knockout.
Her breasts were only around a b cup, but she had nice rosy pink nipples and a plump but firm behind.
Tiamat noticed the way that Apophis dragged his gaze over every inch of her exposed body, and she became even more excited.
She thought that she might have been successful in her attempt to seduce him.
She sat on top of the wooden table and spread her legs to give him a full view of her garden that was already wet.
"I won't ask you for much, just come over here and make me see heaven for a while."
She thought she had him ensnared.
After all, why wouldn't she??
He hadn't taken his eyes off her ever since she'd stripped and that could only mean one thing.
But against her expectations, Apophis simply shook his head like he was disappointed and started to walk away.
"You're drunk. Put your clothes back on before either of my sisters see you."
Thinking this conversation over, Apophis was nearly out of the kitchen door when Tiamat suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Looking back, he found a very unfriendly scowl on her face that he was certain would have terrified any normal person.
But to him, she was rather cute.
"I've told you what I want, now I expect you to comply."
"And I believe I've told you that I'm not interested."
Even though Apophis' words weren't said with any intended disrespect, for some reason they set off the very drunk and irate Tiamat even further.
In the next moment, she grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against the wall hard.
Apophis currently had on nothing but a simple sleeveless shirt and baggy sleep pants.
Making it easy for Tiamat to snake one of her hands inside his pants and find his impressive member.
"Oh..? With something like this I think we'll both get to enjoy this quite a lot! So don't be difficult and just do what I tell you to."
Tiamat was very strong, so much so that Apophis couldn't break out of it without shifting.
However, he didn't feel the need to panic or even put up a fight.
There were scarier things than a drunk and handsy woman.
"Are you going to violate me in my own home?" He asked.
Tiamat froze and painful memories welled up in her mind.
Her grip tightened as she became even more agitated and her eyes started to water.
"W-Why shouldn't I?! No one cared when it happened to me..!"
Apophis finally realized why this woman seemed to be so despondent.
Clearly, she had been subjected to some sort of sexual violence rather recently, and now wanted to abuse him as a way to take the power back.
With that in mind, he almost let her go through with it before he realized that would do more harm than good.
Despite her hands still being in places they shouldn't be, Apophis cupped her cheek in his palm and made her stare deeply into his red eyes.
"I care. You don't have to do something like this, tell me what happened to you instead."
Tiamat's brain short circuited for a bit as Apophis' words sank in.
Why would he say something like that to her?
The two of them only met for the first time a few days ago!
And that wasn't all.
Evem though she didn't know him, she still wanted to tell him everything.
And she never wanted to tell anyone anything!
'I-Is it because I'm drunk..? I-I'm not thinking straight...'
Tiamat removed her hands from Apophis' neck and pants and tried her best to prevent herself from sobbing outright.
"This.. has nothing to do with you... get away from me, you brat..."
This time Apophis pulled her in of his own volition and placed her head on his chest.
He didn't say anything, but he hardly needed to; Tiamat sobbed silently on his chest anyway.
Apophis let her stay there as long as she needed, and didn't say a word as she pressed her naked body against his.
Eventually, she passed out either due to mental exhaustion or sheer drunkenness, and he had to slip his arm around her waist to support her.
"Seriously...You are quite the troublesome woman, aren't you?"
-
At around 12 pm that day, the family smelled the arrival of Antares' army before they felt it.
After a long and intense debate, it was decided that everyone capable of fighting would venture outside.
With the small exception of Gabbrielle and Malenia who stayed behind to protect the weaker members of the family and the additional guests, everyone ventured outside beyond the walls of the city to confront the approaching army.
As mentioned before, they smelled the army before they felt their presence.
In their conquests, Antares famously left any land they stepped on ablaze in a glorious sea of fire.
The smell of smoke traveled for miles upon miles, as they burned every tree, shrub, home, and even animal that they came across.
Heralded by a thick cloud of ash in the sky the family watched an army approach from beyond the mist.
Clad in armor of blazing red, the dragonewt soldiers marched as one as they spewed their flames across any patch of greenery they could find, uncaring of the heat produced.
All in all, this army totaled around five hundred million.
"It has been... so long since I've gotten to clash against an army of this size." Seras excitedly cracked her knuckles as her eyes took on a maddened light.
She didn't care that these were supposed to still technically be her people, once they came here with their blades pointed against her family any connection was severed.
"I have never done anything like this but I also feel strangely angry... and excited..!"
Unbeknownst to them, Lisa and Seras' crests of wrath and desolation were practically crying out for bloodshed.
They saw this massive army in front of them and their thoughts were filling up with turning this battlefield into a bloody wasteland.
But despite that, the rest of the family's attention would be diverted to the man leading this massive army.
There is fabled to be a set of armor made by the dwarven king itself as a gift for his closest friend in this world, the golden dragon himself.
It's materials? Unknown.
Forging time? Unheard of.
But it's power was undeniable.
Dark black armor with golden spikes jutting from the elbows and shoulders, with a helmet that could be called and removed at will, with the face of a snarling dragon.
He wore a large bejeweled crown on his head of silver hair, and a cape the color of blood blew in the breeze behind his back.
At his side there was another man in blue armor, with his long black hair tied above his head and a gleaming sickle with a rope as his weapon.
Lotan seemed to have some reservations about this entire debacle, but what could he do?
It is the law of nature that those without power are subject to those who have it.
He just hoped that his fears would prove unfounded.
When Yara's eyes landed on her brother, she covered her mouth in shock as watery tears filled her eyes.
Being dragged along by his once majestic hair was their father, whom was only barely alive and covered in dirt, bruises, and blood.
Jadaka raised his empty fist and the entire army came to an instant halt, waiting to hear the orders of their newest ruler.
The dragon king smiled cruelly as he looked through the small force present.
"I had wondered why this place was so empty! It seems the half breed heard tale of my coming and decided to flee with his people!"
"You dare?!" Seras felt her composure slip out of control for only a moment and her powers lost control.
Behind Jadaka, 30,000 men exploded into clouds of bloody mist.
This mist soared into the sky and coagulated, becoming an enormous crystalline pillar formed above the king's head.
It shot through the sky like a rotating drill aimed directly for Jadaka.
However, he remained uncaring of both the loss of his men and this terrible attack coming for his head.
Using his free hand, he pulled out a strange bone-like sword out of thin air and made a slashing motion in the air.
Slice!
Even though Seras' attack was strong enough to level a small mountain range, it lost power in front of a single slash from this strange sword and was cut through easily.
The blood spear returned to a liquid form after being cut, and rained down onto the ground harmlessly.
'Son of a bitch... That's how he did it..!'
Asmodeus never thought he would see a dragon slayer's weapon in the hands of another dragon, and yet no matter how many times he blinked his eyes this scene did not go away.
If he had the element of surprise, it would be easy for Jadaka to reduce Helios to a state such as this one.
And now, Asmodeus had to protect Lisa, Seras, Yara, and his granddaughters to ensure they did not succumb to the same fate.
"Seras~!" Jadaka called mockingly. "You would dare attack your ruler?! You forget your place!"
"I've forgotten nothing! You are nothing but a petulant child who is not worthy of my service!"
The dragon king clicked his teeth as he gained a sinister inclination.
"The price for insubordination is a heavy one... Shall I show you?"
Before anyone knew what he was getting at, he committed an action that would be burned into their minds forever.
Hoisting up Helios by his hair, Jadaka cleanly cut off his head with practically no effort or resistance.
As the golden dragon's body dropped to the ground, his son lobbed his head at the small assembled family like a high speed basketball.
Whether consciously or unconsciously, he had thrown it directly at Yara, who caught it without even knowing the reason.
Horrified, she became a panicky hyperventilating mess as she screamed and screamed like a banshee until she inevitably fainted.
Lusamine and Asmodeus caught her, both of them heartbroken to see her in this state that was so far beyond deplorable.
But there was still a piece of straw that had yet to break the camel's back.
Out of the corner of his eye, Asmodeus saw a look that he would never mistake on the face of Jadaka.
It vanished almost as quickly as it came, but he had seen it.
And he knew exactly what it meant.
How could he not?
"All of you... leave him to me."
For a second, the group had to make sure that it was Asmodeus still talking.
The wild, wise, and sometimes flamboyant old man didn't sound anything like his usual self.
Lusamine and Eris were the only ones who knew what this tone of voice meant from fighting alongside him for so many years.
""Do as he says!! Get back!!"
Boom.
The family had barely a moment to get to a safe distance before Asmodeus' body literally exploded and the foreseeable lands were covered in total darkness.
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