Chapter 180: Sisterly Reunion

Now that she had finished drinking the blood, Tej took a deep breath.

‘I’ve finally become queen,’ she thought, feeling the power coursing through her veins… Even Bloom was awake now, though the Familiar hadn’t been saying anythin—

“Congratulations, my new Master, for becoming Queen,” Bloom said simply and Tej nodded her head slowly, while still processing everything.

It felt exhilarating… absolutely intoxicating. She had new control over blood that she’d never experienced before, and so much more blood in her reserves than she’d thought possible. Her entire body felt different, stronger and more alive.

She had become stronger all around in every measurable way. Though she seriously doubted she would be able to beat Apophis if they ever went against each other in a real fight.

Just the thought of that Shinigami made her flinch involuntarily with genuine PTSD. Why was that thing so terrifying? The way it had adapted to every single one of her attacks, evolving past each technique she’d thrown at it with that maddening grin on its wheel-covered face…

Hakai cleared her throat loudly, breaking Tej’s spiral of traumatic thoughts.

“Are you done?” she asked with barely concealed impatience.

Tej turned to face the younger woman, thinning her lips into a tight line. Even though she now had this newfound power flowing through her… enough strength to potentially rival some of the strongest beings in this world… she still felt instinctively that challenging this woman who was far younger than her in years would still result in her complete and utter loss.

That realization was both frustrating and humbling.

Tej sighed heavily. “Yes, I’m done. And I haven’t done anything to Koya at all, as you demanded.”

Hakai’s expression softened slightly. “Good. That’s good for everyone involved, then.”

She walked over to where Koya lay unconscious on the ground. She leaned down gracefully, slipping one arm under his waist and the other under his legs, then lifted him up in a princess carry as if he weighed absolutely nothing.

Her movements were tender despite her obvious physical strength.

A black figure suddenly bubbled up from Hakai’s shadow like water rising from a dark pool. A man wearing full body armor… plate mail that covered him completely from head to toe with no visible openings stepped forth silently.

Without a word, the armored figure walked over to where Kaede’s unconscious body lay and lifted the Disguise Master’s fainted form efficiently.

‘Necromancer?’ Tej thought, studying the shadow soldier with narrowed eyes. ‘No, it’s not pure necromancy… The energy signature is all wrong.’

This woman was simply too strange, too powerful, too mysterious. Even Bloom, with all her ancient knowledge and experience, seemed to have no answers about what exactly Hakai was or what magic system she was using.

They began walking forward across the destroyed battlefield with their footsteps crunching on debris. Tej fell into step beside Hakai.

“Where are we going?” Tej asked.

“Out of here,” Hakai said simply, as if that explained everything.

As she took her next step forward, there was a sudden clicking sound from above.

Her private jet, which had apparently been hovering invisibly in the air the entire time, suddenly shimmered into visibility. The sleek black aircraft descended slowly, hovering about ten meters above them, and a staircase extended downward with a hydraulic hiss, lowering until it touched the ground.

Tej flinched backward instinctively.

“Is this sorcery?” she demanded, staring at the floating metal contraption with obvious suspicion and wonder.

Hakai actually chuckled, a rare sound. “No, This is simply technology. You didn’t have flying contraptions like this back in your day and age?”

Tej shook her head slowly as they began ascending the stairs.

“If someone wanted to go up into the air in my world, they simply had to fly upward using their own power, or use flying swords the way cultivators did. There were no… metal birds like this.”

“Well,” Hakai said as they climbed, “it’s not the same in this world. Technology has progressed quite far here.”

They entered the jet completely, and the stairs immediately retracted smoothly. The door slid closed behind them and sealed shut with a pressurized hiss with the cabin lights brightening automatically.

Hakai walked further into the corner of the spacious cockpit area, carefully laying Koya down on a comfortable bed built into the wall. She patted his head gently, brushing some of his longer hair away from his face with obvious affection.

‘I can’t help myself,’ she thought privately with warmth spreading through her chest.

She leaned down and kissed him right there on the lips… a soft, tender kiss that lingered for several heartbeats. Sure, he’d looked good with short hair, but this longer style fit him so much better. She was genuinely happy with his new look. It made him seem more mature, more like… hers.

“So,” Hakai said aloud, straightening up and turning to face Tej while Koya continued sleeping peacefully. “Do Vampires have some kind of weakness to sunlight? Garlic? Holy water or religious symbols or something like that?”

Tej’s face twisted with obvious offense and indignation. “Are you seriously comparing Vampires from the Vampire God Clan to mere commoner vampires?!”

Hakai raised both hands in a placating gesture. “I didn’t mean anything bad by it. I’m just trying to understand the rules so I don’t accidentally hurt you or make you uncomfortable.”

“…Oh, we don’t.”

She looked back down at Koya’s sleeping face.

‘Once I have this child,’ she thought with a hand resting on her stomach. ‘we’ll immediately get started on making the next one.’

Out of all the women in the future Amagi Clan… and there would be many since she was naturally Head Wife, she should have the most children for him.

She glanced at her unconscious sister Kaede. Kaede would have his children too, and together they would repopulate the Hoshigaki clan by mixing their bloodline with Amagi genes.

So far from the constant genetic tests she was running, Koya’s genes not only added but amplified.

As the child inherited the Darkness Affinity that Hoshigaki descendants had, Koya’s genes amplified it to an unnatural degree.

The baby in her belly would inherit a talent for Darkness Affinity that was even greater than her own and she had the highest Darkness Talent among the now-extinct Hoshigaki clan. Her child would be even stronger than her…

Not to mention she was also slowly inheriting Koya’s other magic into her genetic makeup. It was slow, but Hakai had never been happier.

She pulled her face away from Koya reluctantly and turned toward the center pilot seat. The Shadow Soldier carefully deposited Kaede’s unconscious body onto another built-in bed.

‘I’m surprised she inherited the Twelve Shinigami Castle…’ Hakai thought as she settled into the pilot’s chair. ‘I thought that technique might have been lost forever.’

Alongside the darkness affinity manipulation… exclusive to Hoshigaki bloodline descendants, there existed a special Bloodline Technique from the beginning of the Apocalypse era.

The Twelve Shinigami Castle… a hall of shadows containing twelve different Shinigami entities the wielder could summon without limitation. Upon inheriting the technique, all twelve were already pre-tamed and bound. They responded strongly to the intense emotions of their User.

And out of all twelve, the one called “Twelve-Eyed Wheel Devouring Samsara Divine General Apophis” was by far the most dangerous.

The Shinigami’s inherent power was Infinite Evolution… it simply evolved infinitely in response to any threat, adapting and growing stronger with each moment of combat. There was no way to physically remove it from the battlefield without attacking the Wielder but Apophis would always protect its wielder.

Even Hakai wasn’t sure she would win in a prolonged fight against that thing. The only reason she’d stopped it earlier was because Apophis consumed the wielder’s Life Force to fuel evolution, which meant knocking Kaede unconscious while the Shinigami was trapped inside Hakai’s Domain had automatically dismissed it.

Hakai sat down properly in the pilot’s chair and swiped her hand through the air and a holographic control panel materialized in front of her, glowing with blue light and displaying various readouts and navigation information.

“Tej, prepare for take-off,” Hakai said without looking back.

Tej’s response was… unconventional.

She floated up into the air using her newly acquired vampire levitation abilities, flipped herself completely upside down, and hung there suspended in mid-air like a bat then she tucked her large wings around herself like they were some kind of veil or cocoon, completely wrapping her body.

Hakai’s eye twitched visibly. “Can’t you just sit down normally like a civilized person?”

“Oh…” Tej said, as if this genuinely hadn’t occurred to her. She descended gracefully and landed on the carpeted floor, then took a proper seat in one of the passenger chairs. “My apologies. Old habits.”

Hakai took a deep breath, centering herself. “Listen carefully, Tej. When we get out of here and return to normal society, you absolutely must refrain from saying any of those things about your past world. Do you understand me? This is critically important.”

Tej frowned, confused. “Why? What would happen?”

“It would cause the people around you to mentally glitch and forget what you said,” Hakai explained seriously. “Their minds literally cannot process information about worlds that exist outside this reality’s framework but more importantly, speaking openly about other worlds would attract the direct attention of the God of this world… the man known as the White King and he would kill you immediately… without hesitation or mercy. Probably erase you from existence entirely.”

Tej swallowed hard with her newly red eyes widening. “So I can’t mention the Human God?”

“Nothing,” Hakai confirmed. “Not a single word.”

“Then why have I been able to speak freely about it this entire time?” Tej asked reasonably.

“Because I spread my Domain over this entire area beforehand,” Hakai said calmly.

Tej’s eyes widened even further as she turned to look out the jet’s window, staring at the horizon beyond.

All she could see in every direction was pure darkness… shadows that extended as far as the eye could see, covering everything.

“So essentially… I’ve been inside your Domain this entire time?” Tej asked slowly. “This whole battlefield, this whole section of this destroyed city?”

The realization made her feel somewhat stupid for not noticing earlier, but she nodded in understanding. “Alright. I’ll be careful about what I say from now on.”

“Very well,” Hakai said with satisfaction.

Immediately, her massive Domain shattered like glass… a sound like a thousand mirrors breaking simultaneously echoed across the spiritual plane.

The enormous dark expanse that had covered a quarter of the entire Outer Zone of Isle City receded rapidly, revealing the actual destruction beneath it: ruined buildings, cratered streets, scattered debris from their battle.

However, before anybody still alive in the area could even notice or process what they were seeing, an invisible jet shot out from the epicenter at supersonic speed, heading in the direction of Keropolis Supercity.

The aircraft’s stealth systems engaged fully, rendering it completely undetectable to radar, sight, or magical sensing.

Hakai sighed with relief, finally allowing herself to relax slightly.

“I really need to get home,” she muttered under her breath.

“Will Babyhead be there?” Tej asked suddenly. “At your home?”

Hakai blinked. “Babyhead…? Oh, you mean Victoria, right? Yes, she’s there. She’s been staying at the mansion for a while now.” She smiled slightly. “I’ll leave you two alone for your sister reunion. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about.”

The jet tore through the air at incredible speed, breaking the sound barrier multiple times, and then vanished over the distant horizon, leaving only sonic booms in its wake.

…

Mable looked at herself in the full-length mirror, examining her small frilly dress with critical eyes.

She looked noticeably bigger than she had just a week ago, and that was because she was growing at an accelerated rate. Now she looked approximately six years old despite being only three to four weeks old since her hatching.

Dragons… even when they weren’t pure-blooded dragons like herself had fundamentally different growth cycles compared to humans. It was just how they were made.

‘I can feel Papa changing,’ she muttered under her breath, her draconic senses picking up on shifts in her father’s soul signature.

She could tell he was safe, that he wasn’t in danger, and more importantly, that he was coming home really fast. ‘I think Papa mentioned that we would spend a lot more time together once he finished his exams…’

This was the whole reason she’d been so excited lately. She wanted to spend much, much more time with her Papa.

Regardless of her thoughts, she climbed down from the small stepping stool… a decorative piece of furniture carved to look like a tiny dragon and looked around her big personal bedroom with satisfaction. It had princess curtains and princess-themed wallpaper everywhere, all in shades of pink and gold.

Mama Hakai had gotten her this personal room in the mansion specifically. The arrangement was that Mable would sleep in her Papa’s room whenever he was home, and in her own personal room when he wasn’t.

‘I think this is quite fitting, since I’m a princess after all, hehe~’ she thought with a bright smile, doing a little twirl.

Instead of running at him immediately like she’d done the last time Papa had come home, Mable decided to be more elegant and refined this time. She would show him how much she’d grown and matured!

She held up the sides of her dress elegantly, lifting the fabric just slightly like she’d seen in the princess movies Mama Nami had shown her then she opened her bedroom door with both small hands and began walking downstairs with careful steps.

The maids working in the mansion smiled warmly at her as she descended.

“Elegant Miss Mable~”

“What a cute little Miss Mable~”

One of the older maids… a kind woman with graying hair called out. “Miss Mable, should I help you tie a ribbon in your hair?”

The dragon girl immediately abandoned her elegant descent and hopped excitedly on her feet, her carefully practiced composure forgotten. “Ribbon? Yes please, Ma’am!”

She had been taught by her Aunt Reona that when you wanted someone to do something nice for you, you had to be really polite and kind about asking.

The maid smiled warmly.

“How cute~”

Then she tied a beautiful pink ribbon into Mable’s blond hair.

“Thank you!” Mable said sincerely, then resumed walking downstairs as elegantly as she could manage.

When she reached the main living area, she could see that Mama Victoria and Mama Nami were playing video games together on the large TV in the living room, both of them holding controllers and shouting at the screen competitively.

Mama Yuna and Mama Akemi were in the adjacent dining room, actually having their lunch now before they would go back to their afternoon training sessions. Her Aunt Reona was curled up in one of the comfortable couches, reading a thick textbook since she was currently attending Middle School.

Mable could tell instinctively that they all missed Papa too… she could sense it in the way they kept glancing toward the front door but they didn’t have to worry anymore because Papa was almost he—

The front door suddenly creaked open.

Papa was being carried into the house by Mama Hakai in a princess carry, and all of the girls flinched immediately in surprise, turning to stare. Hakai walked calmly across the entrance hall and gently laid Koya down on the long comfortable couch, arranging him carefully.

Mable immediately abandoned all semblance of elegance and ran over to him as fast as her little legs could carry her.

“Mama Hakai, what’s wrong with Papa?!” she asked frantically, her voice high with worry then they all heard it.

SNOOOORE~

He was snoring… Loudly…

Mable’s eye twitched violently. Apparently he was just sleeping peacefully when she had been genuinely worrying about him! What an absolutely shameless Papa!

A woman Mable had never seen before stepped into the house behind Mama Hakai. She had long silver hair and striking crimson eyes, and she looked around the mansion with obvious curiosity and some nervousness.

Victoria’s breath stopped completely. The game controller slipped from her hands, falling to the carpeted floor with a soft thud… She stood up slowly from the couch as her entire body went rigid with shock.

Tej’s breath also stopped.

Mable watched in confusion as both women… both with the same silver hair and crimson eyes stared at each other across the room. There was a moment of absolute silence where nobody moved and nobody breathed.

Then there was a sudden burst of wind.

Victoria moved with supernatural speed, crossing the distance between them in less than a second. She practically tackled Tej, wrapping her arms around her older sister’s legs and dropping to her knees. She hugged Tej’s thighs desperately while kneeling on the floor, and then she started crying in deep wracking sobs that shook her entire body.

“Big sis…” Victoria’s voice broke. “You’re alive? I-I-I thought… everyone said you were… I thought I’d lost you forever…”

She kept crying uncontrollably with tears streaming down her face and soaking into Tej’s clothes.

Tej felt her own tears threatening to fall. She held them back through sheer force of will, but her hands trembled as she reached down and gently patted Victoria’s head with infinite tenderness.

“I’m very happy right now,” Tej said softly. “I’m so happy to see you again, Victoria. My little sister. I’m home.”𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Victoria just cried harder, clinging to Tej like she was afraid her older sister would disappear if she let go.

It was an incredibly emotional scene. Mable didn’t know who this silver-haired woman was exactly, but she found herself feeling like crying too just from watching them. The love between them was so powerful like the one she had with her papa.

Then Mable heard her Papa talking in his sleep while mumbling something.

“No Mable, you’re too old now…” he muttered unconsciously. “I won’t carry you anymore. You have other brothers and sisters that I need to carr—”

Mable’s eyes twitched. Her draconic eyes began glowing bright gold with power and indignation.

‘No… carries?’ she thought, her child’s mind unable to process this betrayal.

She leaped high into the air with enhanced strength, angling her small knees downward toward his stomach, and then dropped like a tiny meteor with a burst of wind.

“DIE PAPA!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

WHAM!

Her knees impacted directly against Koya’s stomach with devastating force. His eyes shot open in shock and pain. Saliva literally shot out of his mouth like a cannon from the impact, spraying across the room.

He blinked rapidly, trying to orient himself, and saw Mable sitting on his chest and hitting him repeatedly with her small fists.

‘Huh? What just happened…?’ Koya thought in complete confusion. ‘Why am I back at the mansion? Wasn’t I literally cut in half? How am I alive? What’s going on?’

He was very, very confused.