"Audrina… Seras… what are you two doing here?" Abaddon asked with a smile that was not a smile.
Both girls remained uncaring of their husband's tone.
Instead they walked right up to him and pulled down the hoodie concealing his neck.
There, they pointed to two sets of fang marks that would never close despite his stellar regenerative capability.
"Have you forgotten our oath, husband? No matter what, we will follow you into life and death." Seras said with a smile.
"You aren't technically dead yet, but since you are lingering in the underworld that means that we can make the choice to follow you if we so choose." Added Audrina.
Briefly, Abaddon recalled the time when he first told his wives that he was determined to go to the underworld alone.
At first they protested fiercely, but then they seemed to just… give up.
Even when he told the rest of their family, they did not offer up any more words of concern and instead helped him to convince everyone else that things would be okay.
He thought it odd at first, but now he was sure that the reason why they stopped trying to persuade him was because they figured out that they could do this.
"Girls… I have already told you that I wished to undertake this trial alone." Abaddon said.
The girls looked at their husband with expressions of slight shame that was ultimately dashed away by resolution.
"We know your wishes, beloved, but… you should also know ours. You cannot be so irresponsible with your life when we are all depending on you to survive."
"No one wants you to grow and become powerful more than us, but allow us to act as a contingency plan. I made the choice to ascend to godhood because I wanted to better protect our family. And you fall under that umbrella, husband."
Abaddon folded his arms as he tried to remain obstinate against his wives' direct assault.
He was usually a sucker for their requests, and that fact was even more effective when they looked at him sincerely and with pleading eyes.
'Don't give in, remain strong! They know what this task means for you, and to forgive them after they blatantly disregarded your wishes is unacceptable..!' Abaddon tried to tell himself.
No matter what the girls threw at him, he would not forgive them so easily this time around.
"My loves… you really shouldn't have-"
""We're sorry!""
In a twin attack of unparalleled destructive might, both women gave Abaddon kisses on each cheek.
The result was a slightly stunned and a significantly less upset dragon.
"…You are both forgiven."
""Thank you!!""
"But I need you both to promise me something." He said firmly.
"Yes?"
"I know that you both love me and want to protect me, but you can't forget that I am a man first and foremost. I need the two of you to give me the space to fail if I am ever to grow."
Though Abaddon was not actually expecting to be defeated within this coming fight, there is a certain level of desperation that can be used in a confrontation when one knows that they must rely solely on themselves.
Besides, no matter how proud Abaddon was of his wives, he never wanted them to be his backup plan when it came to war.
They did not deserve that, and neither did he.
Abaddon's wives gave him apologetic smiles before they each kissed him once and said another sweet apology.
"We know, love."
"And we promise that we will honor your wishes."
With both of these beautiful women looking at him so sadly, Abaddon was filled with the desire to 'comfort' them with a few thousand rounds of makeup sex.
Shaking his head free of depraved thoughts, he focused on the current issue of travel.
"Compress your auras as much as possible so as not to tip off the god. In addition…"
Abaddon's hands started to glow violet and he waived his hands over the bodies of his two wives.
In an instant the two of them appeared to be significantly less attractive, and they were missing their tails, scales, and horns.
They also had a sort of ethereal look, matching that of everyone else around them.
"What did you do?" Seras asked as she looked at her hands.
"Wrapped you in an illusion, an ability that I gained due to the courtesy of the last abyss king." He explained.
As he said, Tanin'iver gifted him the second ability to make illusions.
He had been able to make people see things in their mind for a long time, but now he could actually create mirages that were indistinguishable from reality.
Once they were sufficiently inconspicuous, Abaddon took both girls by the hand and started on a path that was chosen at random.
Starting down the road to the underworld, the three of them acted just as lifeless and despondent as the other souls around them.
Abaddon had a fair bit of practice with this look from his time as Carter on earth.
Along the way, they could see nothing in front of them except for the pitch black darkness that seemed thick enough to choke on.
As they traveled, the air around them became colder and colder, until it felt like they were embroiled in the dead of winter.
But on a more concerning note, Abaddon, Seras, and Audrina could all feel a very familiar sensation that they were well accustomed to.
'Girls… can you feel that?'
'Yes!'
'Another of our children is in this realm… we must collect them before we leave!'
The three of them nodded in unison as a bit of light finally broke through their surroundings.
Finally, they could see where the path they'd chosen had taken them, although it wasn't exactly what they would have called a pleasant destination.
Although, which of the underworlds would be?
As they descended from an icy slope; the married trio could see dark valleys so long and deep that they seemed to go on for an eternity.
The sky overhead was completely black with swirling gray mist dancing in the air.
As an avid studier of mythology in his last life, Abaddon knew exactly where they were even though this was his first time here.
"Helheim… I must admit to finding myself a bit star struck."
"You know this place, dear?" Audrina asked.
If she was honest, this place was more than comfortable for her.
There was so much darkness around that she felt almost as snug as Bekka did when she had a full stomach and a hand to rub her butt.
If only this weren't enemy territory, she would ask if it were possible to build a vacation home here.
'But wait, aren't we about to conquer this place! That means my dream can still come true!' She thought excitedly.
"This is Helheim, the underworld of the Norse gods. It is ruled over by the death goddess Hel."
"Is she fearsome?" Seras asked.
'Who gives a shit if she's fearsome, I'm gonna beat that bitch up so that this place can be mine!' Audrina was growing more and more attached to this place by the second.
"She is… although none of the underworld rulers are said to be pushovers, I must confess that she is among the most powerful."
Abaddon had to admit that while he was not afraid of Hel, he did not particularly want to face her so soon.
'Just the legends about her power are… wait a minute…'
Unconsciously, Abaddon began to leak a bloody red pressure off of his human body and his eyes glowed an illustrious violet.
Almost immediately, Seras and Audrina panicked as they began trying to calm him down.
"Husband, you must control yourself!"
"Not here! What has gotten into you?!"
"Our son… she uses our son as a mount, controlling him as if he were a fucking dog!!"
Based on the feeling he felt coming from within Helheim, he knew that one of his fragments had to be the famous death dragon; Niddhoggr.
Hel is famously known as the only one capable of controlling the beast, and it resides in her domain on occasion when it is not trying to gnaw through the roots of Yggdrasil.
Now it was not only Abaddon who was upset, but Audrina and Seras were as well.
For they who valued their pride and identity as true dragons as well as the happiness of their children above all, there could be no greater insult.
In an instant, the animosity that they felt against Hel was multiplied a hundred fold.
They had only lost control of themselves for a few seconds, however their auras was noticeable enough that not much time was needed.
"AWOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
A loud and demonic howl echoed from beyond the dark trenches carved out in front of them.
As soon as he heard it, Abaddon knew exactly what was coming.
'Garmr…'
Typically, Helheim's guard dog is said only to bark at those who enter the underworld.
But it seems as though when the threat is large enough, it comes itself to neutralize them.
And judging by the incoming prescence they could feel, it would be arriving fast.
Seras and Audrina waited to see what their husband would do, but against their expectations he showed no signs of moving.
And since he didn't, they didn't either.
Abaddon waited for no more than twenty seconds before an enormous black dog leapt out at him from the shadows.
It's gaping maw hung open to reveal fangs as long as daggers and deep red eyes the color of fire.
It rushed at Abaddon with the intent to swallow him up; having expertly picked out him to be the intruder that did not belong.
However, a strange occurrence soon took place.
As soon as the beast's red eyes met his golden ones, the creature froze mid snarl.
It had never felt anything like this.
Such raw, primal fear that it threatened to engrave itself into his very bones and soul.
It was terrifying.
There is always a strange feeling when a being must confront the reality that they are not the apex predator as they had thought.
And now Garmr was being faced with exactly that dilemma.
Instead of attacking in a fight the creature was bound to lose, it suddenly came to a dead stop as it let it's ears droop and tucked it's tail beneath it's legs.
He lowered his gaze to the ground as a sign of submission, and let out small whimpers that in no way should have been coming from such a frighteningly massive dog.
Abaddon walked past Garmr without sparing the beast a single glance, and his now red eyes scanned the shadowy domain in front of him with eyes alight with pure hatred.
"Seras… Audrina." Abaddon's disguise started to be licked at with smoldering black and red flames that spread along his body.
Neither of the girls knew exactly what he was about to say, but the sound of his tone alone made them unbelievably excited.
"What is it, my love?"
"What do you need?"
Abaddon's human appearance finally burned away, and he was revealed in his true appearance.
At a height of 6'8 the muscles beneath his black skin where more tense than they had ever seen them.
Adorned in his black ceremonial war dress and fur collar, he looked as mystifying as he did frightening.
"Both of you… go and find our son and keep him safe."
"We will."
"What will you do, husband?"
Abaddon held up his hand and produced a black and red flame the size of a baseball.
"I've changed my mind… going at things the stealthy way has never once suited me anyway. So instead I'm just going to burn this whole place to the fucking ground..!"
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