First Demonic Dragon

Chapter 736: Public Perception

Apophis had often wondered what it would be like to have a twin.

A few of his family members had the ability to clone themselves and in his opinion, he thought they were underutilizing it.

If it were up to him, then he would use the ability to put both heads together and come up with even more of his culinary masterpieces.

It could also help him train, and maybe even act as a reliable body double for the days where it was particularly difficult to help Mira keep a clean room.

But as Apophis stared down into the world just below his feet, he realized that maybe he didn't want a twin at all.

Or at least not one like this…

Seeing yourself in your most twisted, abominable state would be jarring for anyone, and Apophis was not an exception to this rule.

The creature from which he borrowed his namesake was undeniably large.

It's body seemed to be never ending, as if it could wrap around the entire earth's and sun.

His scales were coal black, with shifting red pulses traveling up the length of his body all the way towards his great, looming hood.

It's eyes were the true embodiment of all that was evil and chaotic- bearing no sense of warmth or kindness.

It was like staring at all that caused unrest within the hearts of mankind.

A rattling resounded in Apophis' ears that was unlike anything that he had ever heard before.

It wasn't until the rattling grew louder that he realized the creature was laughing at him.

'It is time for the contest to begin. I wish you both the best of luck.' Yesh signalled.

The mirror-like floor that Apophis was standing on vanished instantaneously.

And the young prince went plummeting below with his older namesake.

Finally, the observers started to appear in this space, one by one.

The only ones who were immune to the pausing of creation were the primordial beings who embody it's very aspects.

It isn't required for them to make an appearance here, but most of them tend to come nonetheless because of the sheer rarity of this event.

And as the space began to fill one by one with gods of unparalleled power, Yesh started to dread the interaction that he knew would come to pass.

"Let. Him. Go."

The primordial gods' chatter came to a swift end out of the blue.

All eyes turned towards a red figure with swirling black and white hair paired with long demonic looking horns.

There were two more beings at its side; one with the lower body of a hound and the other with the tentacles of an octopus.

For many, this was there very first time laying eyes on any of the three strange deities.

For others, their current state was a bit of a warning that this entire thing may go to hell quickly.

'Abaddon. Your son has already spoken the words. This duel cannot be halted.' Yesh informed.

"He would never. I believe Apep used underhanded methods to meddle with his mind."

'I know.'

Abaddon's eyes narrowed. "Then why am I still standing here looking at you when I should be standing with my son..?"

'Apep has already paid the proper punishment for interference. The duel continues. Do not overstep.'

Three more deities arrived just as it seemed Abaddon was going to lose his temper.

Nyx, Bashenga, and Izanami didn't know if they should try to calm him down or risk ending up on the pointy end of his tail.

Well, except for Bashenga who didn't particularly care.

He had almost gone to speak to his father when another deity decided to speak up first.

"My friend. I ask you to come and watch with me." Shiva said in a friendly manner.

Unfortunately for him, Abaddon didn't seem to be feeling terribly altruistic. "Do you think that I would honestly feel like sitting and watching this game knowing that I could lose my eldest son?"

"No, I can imagine that you would not. Still, I urge you to come and join me anyway."

The words 'fuck no' almost slipped out of Abaddon's nonexistent mouth before he knew how to stop it.

But the only thing that halted him was when a familiar weight was dropped on top of his head.

"I had never thought so little of you until this moment, father. All of your bluster and belief about your children being the best and it turns out that your words were all smoke and mirrors."

"...What are you talking about, boy?"

"You heard me, old man. You are a weaver of lies and a spinner of falsehoods. At least that is how it appears to me right now." Bashenga folded his arms.

Abaddon's brow twitched uncontrollably.

While his mind was faltering, Shiva floated over towards the dragon and gave him a gentle reminder.

"I believe that I am owed a favor from you. I'd like to use it on this if you don't mind."

Now, Abaddon felt like his arm was being twisted.

He played around a lot, but something that he always tried to impart onto his children was the importance of keeping one's word.

And now, he was the one resisting the urge to break that commitment.

"...If I lose my son today I will never forgive you."

"I will bear that responsibility." Shiva nodded.

The blue god's line of thinking wasn't all that complicated.

He had come to know Abaddon quite well over the past couple of months.

And while he no longer believed him to be outwardly dangerous, he did know that there were certain things that made him lose his rationality and as a result he would barrel through whatever obstacles were in his way- irregardless of the potential consequences.

There were a lot of high ranking gods here. A real red carpet.

For 80% of everyone here, this would be their first introduction to Abaddon. And first impressions are lasting.

He didn't want everyone to see the dragon behaving like this and assume him to be a war-waging beast that they had to put down.

Because he knew that conflict absolutely would not go well for any of them.

Abaddon backed away from Yesh and went floating off behind Shiva.

And even though the girls didn't like it, they too followed behind him.

Yesh sighed in internal relief as he watched them depart; thankful that things hadn't gone even further than this.

He was also concerned about Abaddon's poor reputation among the gods. And with recent events no doubt still weighing on him, this was not the time for him to behave as if Yesh was the enemy.

But hopefully, Shiva would succeed in putting out the flames of Abaddon's foul mood.

Taking a discreet glance at him, it already seemed to be working… somewhat.

He held Bashenga with one arm as the two of them stared down into the world below, where Apophis was soon to engage Apep.

"…Fuck this."

Abaddon's suddenly twisted his head to stare at the small parade of gods all around him.

"I'm in a very piss poor mood today. If none of you take your eyeballs off me then I will shred your pathetic souls with my teeth and make Christmas ornaments from your carcasses."

Nevermind. He wasn't in a better mood at all.

Izanagi: "Overly presumptuous! This is no place for your idle threats, dragon!"

"The rules of Nex Sacramentum say that I cannot interfere in my son's contest. They do not say I cannot kill another member in the audience."

Yesh couldn't believe he'd made such an oversight. Well it wasn't really an oversight, he just never expected anyone to be crazy enough to try it.

Abaddon's eyes narrowed and the black hole in his chest widened as he stared at Izanagi. "And I believe… I owe you a swift and cruel death anyway. Should I get it out of the way now while the opportunity presents itself?"

Abaddon felt a soft hand touch his back. He knew who it was without even looking over his shoulder.

"…Are you sure?"

"I am." Izanami confirmed. "I don't care anymore."

Somehow, Izanagi felt as if he'd just avoided a building-sized bullet.

To make matters worse, everyone in the crowd was now looking at him as if he had been given a green hat. This he could not stand for.

"W-What is the relationship between the two of you?!"

Abaddon wasn't going to answer. Neither was Izanami.

Little Bashenga smirked for the first time as if he found this all to be delightfully amusing. Izanagi only became more furious as a result. Read more on m_vl_em_p_yr

But before he could lash out, there was a late arrival that took all of the attention off of Abaddon and his family.

"Sorry I'm late everyoneee~!"

Bashenga and Bekka froze in unison when they heard that familiar sing-song voice. Abaddon's eyes narrowed.

Bekka lifted a clawed finger up to the newcomer and her demonic voice spilled out for the first time.

"You… I killed you..!"

Gaia spun around to face the family once again.

When her eyes landed on Abaddon, another delightful smile crossed her face.

"Why hello there. Funny seeing you here, isn't it?"