First Demonic Dragon

Chapter 471 Awakened War Goddess

?Lailah once asked Bekka and Seras a very important question in passerby.

'What makes you different from other war gods?'

At the time, neither of them really had an answer other than the fact that they assumed themselves to be stronger than most of them; which wasn't really what Lailah was asking.

But at this moment, Bekka was having something akin to an epiphany.

What did she imagine war to be?

What kind of battlefields made her feel most alive when she stepped on them?

In her eyes and her eyes alone, what was war really for?

The answer to this had come from a simple child's curiosity no less, and brought the second wife new understanding into her powers.

The dull light died down and Bekka was exactly the same as before, only she seemed a little older, gentler, and knowledgeable.

Abaddon could also sense a rather noticeable change within his wife.

The way she breathed, smiled, and moved… it was all so purposeful.

He was sure her martial arts would be much stronger than before, and the gap between them was likely neck-in-neck.

He was so confused about what he had just seen that he wasn't even sure where to begin asking questions.

But Straga couldn't care less about any of that.

He had no idea that he had just born witness to the awakening of the first goddess of War for Necessity.

No, his concerns were much grander.

"Can Straga glow too??"

Both of his parents paused as they looked back and forth between each other.

"I… maybe?" Abaddon shrugged.

Straga clenched his fists hard as he started to strain and release small, audible grunts.

"A-Alright, mouse. No need for that. We all know what happens when you push too hard." Bekka said passively.

"But Straga wants to glow!"

"Yes, well right now I'm more worried that you're going to blow."

Abaddon and Bekka snickered at her joke which Straga didn't seem to find very funny.

He looked like he was about to try to blow them away with his own little flames when one of his older brothers came into the room.

*Knock, knock!*

"Sorry to interrupt…"

Belloc poked his head inside the training room and lowered his head respectfully.

Abaddon put on a fake grimace as soon as he saw his second son.

"Look, darling. It's our least favorite child…"

"We have no least favorites, scalebrain!" Bekka elbowed her husband in the ribs hard enough for them to pierce his lung, but she didn't change his expression.

"…You don't have any least favorites." He emphasized.

"Abaddon Avernus Tathamet!"

"…fine."

Belloc on the other hand knew that his father was joking and he chuckled a bit before widening up the door.

"Do you have time for a small break in the lesson? There's someone I want you to meet."

Naturally, Bekka and Abaddon could fully sense the additional presence lingering outside in the hallway and were none too surprised by this revelation.

Though they were a bit surprised that Belloc had been the one to bring someone new home.

Unless he had a date with Stheno or was going to pick up new manga, Belloc didn't leave the castle.

It made his father even more curious about just where he could have met an acquaintance like this.

"Please, don't keep them waiting." Abaddon leaned forward curiously as he pulled his youngest son into his lap; who was equally curious about the visitor.

Finally, a young woman stepped into view of the monarchs.

She was a young fire spirit, likely only 1,000 years old or less.

She was very pretty, with dark chocolate skin and a head of hair made of orange flames to match her eyes.

Her body was on the slimmer side, and yet she had a healthy amount of baby fat on her thighs and cheeks.

Like a newborn baby, she radiated a relatively innocent and awestruck aura.

Just by looking at her, Bekka and Abaddon knew exactly who she was.

""Monica?""

Needless to say, the cheerful fire spirit looked like she was going to roll over and die at right this moment.

"I-I-I am honored to be recognized by our divine leader and protect-"

"You don't need to stand on ceremony here, kiddo." Abaddon waived.

"Erica has already told us so much about you that we feel like we know you already." Bekka added. New chaptᴇrs are published on N(o)vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.nᴇt

"That's right, and father's head is big enough already." Belloc muttered.

A vein bulged in Abaddon's head as Bekka snickered.

Monica however lowered her head in an even more respectful manner than before.

"I-I'm sorry, t-this is simply a huge honor for me and I would be remiss if I didn't properly express my admiration and-"

"Hello!"

Out of nowhere, Straga appeared right in front of Monica with an unusually large sparkle in his eyes.

Abaddon looked down at his lap and realized that he hadn't even noticed the young boy wiggle free.

'Don't tell me…'

Monica placed both of her hands on her knees and leaned down to face the toddler with a smile.

"Hello there! You must be the new prince I've heard so much about."

"Uh-huh! Straga is Straga!"

"Well it is very nice to meet you, Little Prince. You are even more adorable than the rumors."

"Ehehehehehe…"

Bekka's pupils trembled imperceptibly with disbelief and horror.

'Babe… tell me I'm being paranoid and seeing things.'

'Uhhhh….'

"Look what Straga can do!" Gleefully, the young child tried his best to execute a badly executed front flip that was more like a barrel roll.

However, Monica ate it up like he was a professional gymnast.

Clapping, applause, the whole nine yards.

Straga's giggling only became more and more broken down and gleeful.

Bekka: 'BABE?!'

Abaddon: 'S-Still need more evidence…'

In Abaddon's defense, this was Straga's first time meeting a woman whom he was not related to.

This could have just been the way he acted normally, right?

There was no reason for him to assume the wors-

"Are you going to marry brother Belloc?" Straga suddenly asked.

"E-Eh?!"

Belloc ruffled his younger brother's hair and gave his forehead a small flick.

"What are you saying, tyke…? We just met today, and we're just friends."

Straga looked back and forth between Belloc and Monica with the gears in his little brain turning as fast as they could.

"Then can you marry Straga?"

"Ack!"

"Fucking hilarious."

"Too much evidence…"

Bekka fainted on instinct.

Abaddon felt his chest beginning to hurt and developed a small migraine.

Belloc couldn't wait to go to his room and text Stheno about all of this later.

And Monica, who was on the receiving end, was visibly flustered for all of two seconds before becoming just as calm and complacent as a cucumber.

"Aww, that's very sweet! But I think we'll have to wait until you're just a little bit bigger to talk about something like marriage, y'know? I bet you'll find a girl who you really like one day soon."

"That day is today!"

"Fufufu, you are very persistent, aren't you?"

Straga didn't actually know what persistent meant yet, but he was sure that if his future wife was saying it, then it couldn't be too far off the mark.

"Yes! Straga is very peristenent!"

'So cute!'

Straga suddenly turned back to his parents after taking Monica's hand with his little fingers.

"Papa, can I marry Ms. Moni… why is mommy sleeping?"

"Ah… stress, shock… a sizeable dose of depression." He shrugged.

Straga didn't really know what all those words meant, but he was still adamant about getting this marriage approved.

Abaddon wasn't really sure if what his son was experiencing was just momentary puppy love or childish infatuation.

However, he figured that he could use this whole thing as an opportunity to get his son to take his lessons seriously.

"…Y'know son, you can't just get married to someone because you like them.

You have to be willing to prioritize them, attend to them, nurture them.. and you should be strong enough to protect them.

What if Monica here is being harassed by someone and you can't stand against them because you lack the power and control?"

The words of Abaddon seemed to resonate deeply with his son, and he underwent a transformative new thought process.

He simply thought that he would be strong just because of who his parents were, but his dad was making it seem like that wasn't the case.

So did he really need training after all?

But it was so boring!

However, he needed only to look at Monica for a second time to understand that some things were just worth suffering for!

"Straga will do it! Straga will be the mightiest of all the destroyer's children! And live happily with Ms. Monica for ever and ever!"

"That's my boy! Now let's see if we can't teach you some breath control before bed, hm?"

"Okay!"

-

When Belloc and Monica were walking absentmindedly through the hallway, the fire spirit continued to chuckle as she recalled the scenes from earlier.

"We should pick you out a room while you're here." Belloc suddenly said.

"A-A room? Why?"

"Well, you're effectively part of the family now that my little brother thinks of you as his betrothed. He'll want to see you a lot."

Monica only chuckled as a response.

"Don't be silly, my prince. Surely your brother will grow bored of me in a week and he won't even remember the things that he said today."

"…"

"…Right?"

"Do you want a room with a big window or lots of space? Or both?"

The shock from today's events finally set in, and Monica's vision went dark as she lost consciousness and started to topple over.