First Demonic Dragon - Chapter 1244: A Little Honesty

Chapter 1244: A Little Honesty

Abaddon should have expected such a question to arise.

After all, it was not he who made the decision to have people rescue the entire school. It was Odessa’s.

When the people learned of his identity and everything that he could do, it was a very natural question to ask.

“…Come here for a second, Odie.” Abaddon waves for his daughter.

Odessa blinks and points at herself.

“If there’s another Odessa in here who happens to be my daughter, then please point her out.” Abaddon says sarcastically.

’O-Oh, right.’ Odessa rubs the back of her head.

She walks up to her father’s throne, and he gestures for her to sit at his feet.

Briefly, Odie feels a surge of memories well up from when she was a little girl, running around in her father’s throne room and playing make-believe.

She sits casually, not understanding the sudden request made of her.

Though when she feels her father’s warm hand on top of her hair, she starts not to care. Head scratches with claws really were immensely more satisfying than ones without.

Abaddon turns to Ayaana and smiles at her sweetly.

“I know it’s a bit early… but would it be possible for me to have Valerie for a moment?”

Ayaana seems to know what her husband is thinking. She winks at him, and her body shapeshifts right before the eyes of every person in the room.

Gasps fill the room as a beautiful asian woman with long black hair replaces the mocha-skinned goddess from before.

A pair of butterfly wings erupts from her back, and the gasps become significantly louder.

“…Everyone here already knows my daughter, Odie.” Abaddon finally says. “But none of you know my wife, and Odie’s mother, Valerie.”

Valerie smiles politely at the group and nods. “Hello, everyone.”

Her voice is as sweet as syrup. As melodic as a choir song.

Several men and women blush. Abaddon swallows his irritation so as not to spontaneously unmake them.

“…These two, more than anyone else, continue to impart on me the value of… caring. I do not mean to say that I am unfeeling. It is simply difficult for me to care about humans as a whole, given my own… prior experiences.

That said… Coaching you boys has been a rather special experience for me. I’ve had the opportunity to bond with each of you and your parents. I was conflicted for a while… I struggled with my responsibility not to interfere and my desire to see none of you lose your lives or your family members.

I thought of these two, and… I realized that there was a way I could do both. Just as they would do.

My intention was to save all of you after the apocalypse had officially begun. However… I would have been too late. I did not anticipate that the mother goddess would hold us in another realm while two entire years passed here.

So… perhaps this is a long, roundabout way of answering your question, but I wanted to give you the full picture. Despite all that I am and all that I can do… I am still a being whose path is filled with missteps.”

Abaddon pats Odessa on the head. “Make no mistake… my daughter has proven herself to be more thoughtful and empathetic than I. She encouraged her sister to act preemptively and thus avoid travesty. Not only that, she had everyone in the school saved. She has made me immensely proud.”

Odessa’s cheeks became a rosy pink, and her lips turned up into a giddy smile.

’Aww shucks…’

Abaddon looked into the faces of all of the boys he’d coached and spoke with sincerity from the bottom of his heart.

“You all have my deepest apologies if I have let you down. Your coach is not as wise as I would have had you believe during the season.”

Next, he looked into the faces of his former students.

“And to all of you who know me from history class… Know that you were also not far from my mind-”

“So, everyone who wasn’t one of your students or played on your stupid football team, you would have just let them die??” A woman shouted angrily.

Thrudd’s eyes glow hatefully. “Watch yourself, mortal-”

“Thrudd.”

Abaddon didn’t need to tell his daughter anything further to convince her to be silent.

Thrudd leans against the wall, her arms folded, and the electricity on her body subsiding.

“It’s an understandable conclusion to come to… I can’t really say that I would have looked for you. However, if one of you were in danger and I witnessed it, or you asked me for help, I likely would not have turned you away.”

“But you said you don’t like humans.” Another man frowned.

“I’m not overly fond of you, no.”

“Why!?” The man yells. “What’s so bad about humanity!?”

Abaddon’s lips curl into a slight smile, as if the question is the funniest thing he has heard in decades.

“Do you perhaps own a Twitter account or watch National news?”

“…Okay, fair enough.” The man stepped back into the crowd.

Abaddon sighed. “That said… As I have said, unless I have judged an individual to be outwardly wicked, then I would likely have saved them. However much I dislike humans, I would not turn my nose up at an innocent in need of assistance. The same way I wouldn’t leave a puppy in a box on the street.”

Zahara suddenly stares at her husband accusatorially. “Is that why dogs keep showing up in Eden??”

“No idea what you’re talking about, my love.”

Silence washes over the room like a wave of cold water.

Abaddon decided not to read the minds of his young students. He would let them voice their opinions on their own without intrusion.

Though he had to admit, he would be a bit disappointed if he had diminished himself in their eyes.

He waits patiently for one of them to say something, anything.

“…I’ll forgive you if you give me like… super powers or something!” A boy raises his hand.

Thea and her sisters unconsciously snort.

Abaddon brings a hand to his head. “…Does anyone other than Derrick have something they would like to say?”

“Hey! Why can’t I have powers!?”

“You’re in no way responsible enough.”

“Am too.” The boy looks over his shoulder. “Tell him, pops.”

His father frowns at him. “Boy, you still get caught in your zipper, the fuck do you think is gonna happen if you can fly?”

“Dad!”

The laughter that shakes the grand hall is thunderous.

Odessa looks up, and she even finds her parents smiling subtly.

A nice, warm feeling spreads through her chest.

“Alright…” Abaddon waves his hand. “Does anyone else have any questions?”

Over two hundred different hands went up all at once.

“Questions that don’t involve receiving superpowers.” Abaddon clarifies.

More than half of the hands go down at once.

“Or requests for me to turn you into a dragon, vampire, werewolf, or any other mythological creature you’ve seen on a teen drama.”

Sixty more hands went down.

“Alright… I’ll hear you all out.” He sighs.

– 30 Minutes Later…

Abaddon rubs his temples hard enough to put a dent in his forehead. “For the last time… None of you needs money, so do not ask me again. My society does not revolve around capitalism.”

Valerie decided to spare her poor husband a headache and stands up to talk.

“People. If you’ll take a look in your pockets, you’ll find a small wooden totem.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd as the humans found items that they surely didn’t have before arriving.

“It’s really..”

“H-How did she do that??”

“Magic! It’s real magic!”

Valerie smiles.

“These little totems allow you to utilize a bit of my power. With it, you can create whatever you want. I hope you’ll use them to make yourselves comfortable here.”

One of Abaddon’s linemen was fumbling with the wooden butterfly. “So do we just… wish on it and-”

Suddenly, a luxury sports car appeared in mid-air, nearly falling on top of the crowd.

Screams filled the air as humans cowered and dropped to their knees.

With a thought, Valerie catches the car and places it down gently.

“…Maybe wait until you get outside to start creating, alright?”

The humans nod fearfully.

“Duke.” Valerie calls.

Their well-dressed butler appears out of thin air, bowing respectfully.

“You have need of me, my lady?”

“Could you gather all of the maids in the castle to give the families a tour around the city? Just show them a few things and maybe impart our language into their minds.”

“Ah, but please avoid places with alcohol and the redlight districts.” Zahara adds. “Those aren’t exactly human-friendly.”

“Of course, my lady.”

Duke vanishes, and somehow, he takes the entire crowd of humans with him.

“Can we eat cookies now?” Askari yells impatiently.

The boy’s family laughs at his zeal. Valerie goes to lift the little man out of his seat and plasters his cheek with kisses in the process.

“Anything for my sweet, patient boy. Let’s go raid your Aunt Mira’s secret stash.”

“Yeah!!”

“Do not feed my children sugar all night long!” Thea warns her parents.

Valerie and Zahara pretend not to hear her.

Abaddon stands, intending to join his wife and grandchildren, when suddenly, Odessa grabs her father’s leg.

’Dad… Can I ask you for something too?’