First Demonic Dragon

He wanted them to panic.

To build their fear and most importantly, make them bolster their defenses.

This crusade would only be mildly enjoyable if it was as challenging as possible.

And if that earlier clash was any indication… he could have stayed at home playing monster card games with his second grandson and gotten more entertainment.

"Oh? Seems like they are coming now."

Hajun looked up into the sky and saw a near uncountable number of black creatures descending from the sky like gods of wrath.

They razed the colosseum to the ground with what seemed like mindless destruction, but in actuality it was really quite restrained.

The abyss walkers specifically only targeted those who were fighting back.

Anyone who looked like a child was spared from their miserable fates and were looked over without a second thought.

There was no honor or glory in killing children after all.

Among the hail of falling black beasts, several smaller figures landed around him.

Satan in particular noted the new accessory hanging from Hajun\'s waist and his jealousy was impeccable.

"Lucky bastards always get everything they want…"

"There is no use in being upset about it when we drew straws fair and square."

Satan looked like he wanted to yell \'Don\'t tell me what to be upset about\'.

Instead, he continued to observe the skull hanging from Hajun\'s waist in the same way that a woman might observe another woman\'s nails.

"…Are they anything of substance?"he finally asked.

Hajun placed his hand on his chest at exactly the same spot where he was punched.

"They… are not. A man like you might find yourself incredibly bored against only one adversary."

*Audible groaning ensues*

Hajun finally noticed the absence of three particular individuals from their party.

"Where are Abaddon, Iori, and Helios?"

A low rumbling on the ground drew everyone\'s attention towards the west.

Even before they could see it, they felt the combined auras of a large number of enemies that were approaching their position.

"They went to go and find native allies to see if they wished to participate in this uprising… Hopefully they will all say yes and we can get home much quicker." Belphegor grumbled.

He alone approached the coming army that was filled to the brim with dragon riders.

The bags underneath his eyes were darker than ever before.

With his soft angelic looks and thin body, he almost looked like some sort of long term hospital patient.

A green light shone off his body and a pulse of energy rippled out from his chest.

Once it washed over the opposing army, men and dragons alike were hit by a sudden and dramatic wave of narcolepsy.

Mounts and riders both came crashing to the ground like lead balloons; each of the snoring all over each other.

When everyone was asleep and motionless, Belphegor made a short yanking gesture with his hand.

A green energy was literally ripped from their bodies instantly; and they quickly began to resemble corpses that\'d long rotted.

Belphegor sucked in the masses of energy and a bit of vibrancy returned to his body.

Just a bit though.

He still looked tired as shit.

"Your talent is quite notable, my friend." Absalom applauded. "Felling that many with but a single move is truly something worthy of note."

"Complimenting me will not make me want to go home any less."

"Well, I tried..."

Despite his terse manner of speaking, Belphegor had a small smile on his face before he quickly dashed it away.

He waived his hand and the ground underneath them shook rather furiously.

Tree roots ripped out of the soil and formed a large wooden mount that resembled a tortoise.

Belphegor flew up onto it\'s back and proceeded to lay out like it was a day at the beach.

"Brother, if you don\'t mind..?"

"I got it."

Asmodeus\' eyes turned completely black, and suddenly the area for hundreds of kilometers was as dark as night.

"I appreciate that..." Belphegor muttered; already falling in to the clutches of sleep himself.

"Remember to leave us anyone who looks interesting, Little Brother!" Satan commanded. "Let\'s not cheapen any encounters that might serve to bring us honor and glor-"

"Yes, yes, I get it... It was so much quieter when you were dead."

"WHAT!?"

Belphegor finally fell asleep thanks to the special noise cancelling earmuffs he always carried whenever he stepped outside.

And while on the outside it looked like he was doing nothing, the others knew that was far from the case.

As he slept, he took control of every unconscious mind in the whole of Visoleer.

While this wasn\'t anything to note here, on the opposing side of the world where it was currently night time, his powers had much greater significance.

In army bases, palaces, and especially cities across the world, dragon riders and dragon slayers were about to start rising from their graves like zombies; where they would either kill themselves or kill their allies.

And Belphegor, despite being asleep, would be fully conscious of everything that was going on.

\'This technique is so tiresome... that dog girl truly is an anomaly, to be able to accomplish this on a grander scale without even needing to sleep for it..\'

-

Several hundred kilometers away, a series of jagged mountain ranges stood tall within a particularly isolated region.

Large enough to put any landmark on earth to shame; these natural structures were home to a very particular variety of inhabitants.

...Or, at least they should have been.

A golden dragon and a red one dropped out of the sky like meteorites.

Despite being in their very large natural bodies, they fit in comfortably here, almost like they were entering into a home made perfectly for them.

It was easy to miss because of the size of the two great beasts, but in between them there was a single man floating in the air; watching quietly.

"...Your home seems to be abandoned, father." Iori said painfully.

Helios\' three heads looked around in unison as if he couldn\'t manage to accept that assessment.

He seemed to be looking for something, and began to get frustrated when he couldn\'t find it.

"Damn it.. I always did hate looking for that accursed entrance."

Finally, his eyes settled on a mass of crystal on the other side of the mountaintop.

However, Abaddon was already floating towards it.

"Intriguing..."

Upon reaching the wall of precious stone, he inspected it carefully as if he were enamored with it\'s conception.

Eventually, he parted his full lips and bathed the entire stone in dark red flame.

Once the crystal melted, a path was opened up that seemed to lead deep into the mountain.

"...I remembered that was there, I just-"

"Sure, father." Iori patted his old man pitifully, which only seemed to make him more upset.

Together, the three of them descended into the mountain depths together.

"You all were living... down here?" Abaddon asked for the first time.

"Living? No." Helios shook his head. "This was only to be a shelter for when the humans became more aggressive in their searches for us. When their persistence faded, we would return to the mountain peaks around us."

"...I see."

Helios didnt know what his grandson was thinking, but it was monumentally rare for him to be so quiet.

Before he could ask for the reason behind his reaction, they finally reached their destination.

It was larger than what Helios remembered.

Together, they were staring at a large underground colony of several thousand true dragons.

They lived in dwellings made from mounds of glimmering crystal and most, if not all of them, seemed to be asleep.

The only ones awake were the young dragon children who were the size of large trucks.

Previously they were running around playing with each other, but upon seeing the newcomers, they all came to a dead halt.

"Who are they?"

"If you don\'t know, how am I supposed to know??"

"That one is shiny. I like shiny things."

So much chatter eventually awoke the adults from their naps and drew their attention upwards.

When they saw two unfamiliar dragons floating above them, they were understandably alarmed.

So much so that the first thing that they did was open their muzzles to attack.

"I hope you all will refrain from doing anything needless today."

Abaddon\'s voice, though not aggressive, came out like a wave that disarmed every dragon within the colony.

Their gazes were firmly locked on Abaddon as they tried to discern just how it was possible for a figure to invoke such a sense of fellowship within them.

"Who... are you?" One asked.

Abaddon floated towards the ground and landed amongst the sea of baby dragons.

"I am your origin. From my remains you were once begotten, and one day to me you will return. But today, I am but a dutiful grandso- Huh??"

"This guy is pretty looking!"

"He\'s got gold in his body! It\'s moving, it\'s moving!!"

"I hope my life mate looks like you when I reach maturity!"

Abaddon\'s introduction of himself was cut short when the children suddenly swarmed him like he was something interesting to play with.

Without exception, Abaddon elicits reverence, fear, and lust in all dragons.

...Unless they are children.

Then, they just seem to find him unequally fascinating, like a new action figure or a bidet.

Their minds don\'t fully comprehend exactly what a feeling of idolization of someone is until they start to hit their puberty growth spurt.

While Abaddon was dealing with the sea of scaly children, Helios landed on the ground to make his own introduction.

"Hear me, my kin. You may not remember me as I have been away for many millennia. But my mother blessed me with the name of Bahamut, and I hail from the brood of-"

"No... It can\'t be."

The entire cavern rumbled as a figure moved from deep within the back of the colony.

At the sight of them, Helios felt untold emotions well up in his heart, and a flood of horrible memories came running back.