First Demonic Dragon

A woman fell on top of Abaddon's shoulders.

She was beautiful- angelic even.

Her skin was dark, and her hair as blinding white as a flash of light.

Her golden eyes sparkled with a childish amusement. She stared at Abaddon from upside down as if she were trying to ensure it was him underneath his disguise.

"So it is you, Eldest. Come to pluck the stars from the sky?"

Abaddon smirked. "Would they not be mine to pluck? It is my body."

"Oh yes, how can I forget. Pardon me, O' Mighty Cosmos Dragon."

Abaddon laughed as he helped his young cousin get down.

"ELDESSSTTTTT!!!"

No sooner had Abaddon lifted Uriel off his shoulders did the archangel Raphael come barreling into him for a hug.

"Ha! Look at you! You're wearing a human skin again! Never believed I'd see the day!" He laughed merrily.

Abaddon embraced his cousin back. He could neither blame him for his zeal, nor his surprise.

It wasn't as if he was really supposed to be on earth after all. The only one who could have known about his special circumstances was Asherah.

"We came here because we sensed your presence and feared the worst… never expected to find you grilling." Raphael scratched his chin.

"Or wearing glasses for that matter…" Uriel noted.

"We were doing a bit of celebrating." Abaddon shrugged. "But since you all are here… might as well stay and meet the family."

-

Even though the mood of the barbecue had started off happy and familial, was quickly becoming a different scene altogether.

Everyone was gathered at the table eating, and for the most part they were successfully making pleasant small talk.

But this was a mere facade as everyone discreetly watched the real spectacle here- Abaddon and Shin's uncomfortable stare-down.

The angels didn't really know why there was such tension going on between them. Nevertheless, they were as interested as anyone else.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Abaddon asked with a smile that wasn't a smile.

Shin pushed his plate away with his own fake smile back. "I believe I'll abstain. Wouldn't want it to start clouding my mind and making me see naked women riding rainbows and such."

Abaddon clenched his fist so hard that he crushed his metal fork in his grip. Still though, he never lost his flagrantly false smile.

The only people who had ever refused to eat a meal he had made for them were the fruit of his loins when they were in their terrible two stages.

He didn't whoop them for being little assholes back then because they were his precious babies, but Shin Nagumo was in very different standing.

'Easy. Remember we're doing this for Courtney.' Tatiana reminded gently.

Abaddon blinked a few times as if he were reigning himself in.

His smile became much more honest and mannerable than before. He seemed like the perfect sitcom dad.

Abaddon re-engaged Shin with his new positive outlook.

"Now that's just silly. Your kids seem to like it, and they aren't seeing anything strange."

"Oh, I'm definitely seeing something. The pearly gates." Aj nodded as he gnawed on a rib.

"A-And this cauliflower steak is really good too…" Kayla covered her mouth politely as she looked at Abaddon. "Thank you for accommodating me."

"It's no trouble." Abaddon smiled back. "Now, if only you can convince your stubborn old man to try some."

Shin twitched at the mention of the word 'old'.

Being called old by someone who was around during the birth of humanity was certainly… a novel experience.

"Dad… just a little bit..?" Kayla chided.

Shin had a soft spot for his kids. He had to, since his decision to adopt all three of them was highly contested.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

They were good kids. They generally did whatever he asked them without complaint.

So he would try this once just to do the same thing for them.

"…"

Safely, of course.

*No toxic anomalies detected. No magical anomalies detected.*

"…Are you fucking kidding me?" Abaddon's smile was becoming false again and threatened to crack.

Shin finished scanning the plate with his fancy wristwatch and pulled it back towards him. "One can never be too safe."

Abaddon's hair was slowly starting to grow out and his pupils were becoming sharper.

Raphael and Uriel were fighting the urge to snicker.

No one really treated Abaddon like this. Not if they wanted to live for long anyway.

The fact that he was here suffering this indignity was perhaps a larger testament into just how much he loved his human daughter.

…But they honestly weren't sure if they could see this persisting for much longer.

"Hmmm…"

Shin made thoughtful noises as he chewed on a rib after several minutes of refusal.

"Well? It's good, right?" Abaddon said proudly. "While it's not as much as those old men over there, I do have some real appreciation for the art of barbecuing."

Shin finally put his rib down and licked the remainder of sauce off his lips.

"It's… fine. It's just, since you're a dragon and all, I thought the sauce would have a bit more… heat." He smirked.

Abaddon had a perfectly logical and composed reaction.

"You bastards, let me go this instant!! I will kill him! SCUM! He is fucking scum!!"

Absalom: "We can't do that, Boss-Man! It wouldn't be wise!!"

Darius: "Easy now, lad! He's just trying to get under your skin!"

"I will see him underneath a grave stone!!!"

Hajun: "I understand your anger better than most, but please get a hold of yourself!!"

Helios: "You are supposed to be better than me, grandson!! Do not act as I would!!"

Straga: "Come on, dad, this is a bad look! Don't give him the satisfaction of being right about you!"

The men were struggling to hold Abaddon back. The ground underneath their feet would have already cracked into a sinkhole if Gaia were not continually reinforcing it.

It was a good thing Abaddon was too angry to remember he had powers. Else this entire thing would have been over by now.

Just when it seemed like he was calming down, Satan had decided to stir things up again.

"Just saying, if it were me, I wouldn't take that lying dow-"

"SHUT UP, SATAN!!!"

"Hahahahahaha!!!!"

Shin stared down at his plate that was now a smoldering, molten flame.

Abaddon had indeed given him the 'heat' he'd asked for.

He felt two disapproving glances boring into him from the side and shirked away.

"Really, pops?" Aj looked exhausted.

"You know this food was good. Why do you have to be so difficult when he was trying to be nice to you?" Kayla sighed.

Shin crossed his arms obnoxiously. "…It just wasn't that good… The bark wasn't salty enough."

"You have high blood pressure. Maybe he did that on purpose." Kayla reminded.

Shin set his jaw in place. His kids really were making Abaddon seem far too attentive.

He was a world destroyer. The beast of prophecy, and nothing more.

…But maybe he could make a decent rib. Shin would never know though because he only got to try one bite.

He looked at his son's plate and saw that he still had two ribs left.

"…Let me have one of those." He reached.

Aj pulled his plate away. "Apologize first."

"Are you joking?? Stop playing with me and give me a rib, young man!"

"No!"

"Anthony-James!"

Aj looked set in his decision. He even passed his plate to his sister to keep it further away from their old man.

Shin was stuck.

He looked over at Abaddon. The other men had gotten him a 'safe' distance away using all of their strength, but it was questionable just how long this all would hold for.

Especially since Abaddon's fight spirit wasn't showing any signs of waning.

Should he really bite the bullet and just say that he was sorry..?

No, he couldn't. He was a man with his own pride too, you know?

At the end of the day, he and Abaddon were not friends and he certainly didn't have to be nice to him.

Nothing in creation was strong enough to change that.

"Ugh!!"

It was hard to tell who screamed first.

But one by one, the primordial gods started going down while holding their heads.

The only ones exempt from this action were Abaddon and his wives, as well as Mira. The rest seemed to be seriously afflicted.

They shed their disguises and groaned in varying degrees of pain as they dealt with the nastiest sudden migraine they could imagine.

Needless to say, everyone else fell into a panic.

"W-What's happening to them??" Kayla panicked.

"What did you do?!" Lusamine pointed at Shin angrily- her horns already returning to her head.

"Nothing!" Shin stood up; equally confused and insulted. "None of this has any-"

All of the sudden, his watch began playing a blaring red alarm.

He pressed a button to bring up the display, and a blue projection appeared in front of his face.

As he read over the information and watched the display unfold, his face lost practically all of its color.

"T-This… this… there are supposed to be safeguards so that-"

"I knew it!"

Lusamine grabbed Shin by the collar and lifted him off his feet like he weighed nothing.

"If you want to hold on to your intestines you better undo whatever this is right no-"

"Aunt Lusamine, put him down." Abaddon said. He and his wives weren't in pain, but they were experiencing something of a daze.

"He isn't? Well then what the hell is…"

Lusamine's words trailed off as she watched Shin disappear from her grasp.

Abaddon, Ayaana, and their generals left too without so much as a goodbye.

Even the angels and the primordial goddesses were eventually whisked away.

Leaving the loveable blonde-haired dragon with even more questions instead of a single answer.

But for now, she had to make sure that everyone here was alright and focus on getting answers later…