First Demonic Dragon - Chapter 1157

Chapter 1157: A Divine Road Trip For Siblings
Apophis hadn’t been away for long before he started to wish that he had brought more backup.

His brother and sister were tougher nuts to crack than he thought they would be.

Odie was quite pleasant and chatty. She talked to Apophis about lots of things, many of which were almost completely unrelated to one another.

She gushed about things like her friends, her interest in paintings, her secret fear of ‘The Princess and the Frog’, her aversion to cauliflower, how she thought about going vegan the night before, etc, etc.

In contrast, K’ael was a frigid little block of ice.

He had said maybe two words since their journey had begun. He refused to even look in Odessa’s direction and stared out the window forlornly instead.

Apophis tried his best to strike up a conversation that would include the three of them.

“Dad said you guys don’t do a whole lot of traveling to the heavenly realms. That true?”

Odessa suddenly turned green. She had been trying not to think about the fact that they were flying on the back of a mythical monster to a realm beyond space and time.

She couldn’t even ride on the family yacht without a water bottle and some nausea medication.

‘I-It just never seemed all that appealing to me since I get pretty queasy easily… b-but I’m happy that I’m finally getting to experience something new! As long as I don’t look out the window, I’ll be good to go!’ Odie clenched her hands in determination.

“Want a bottle of water?”

‘I-I think that would help a lot, yeah…’

Apophis handed his sister an entire gallon of water and she downed half of it before he could even put his arm down.

“O-Okay then… What about you, little man?” He turned to K’ael, who was still looking out the window nonchalantly.

“…I have not been to many places.”

K’ael’s tone was as stiff as a dollar tree wig. Apophis’ hopes for this endeavor were slowly fading.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll both like to see Takamagahara. It’s one of the few heavenly domains that can actually compete with Tehom’s beauty.”

K’ael finally turned his head from the window and stared at his brother with mistrust.

“…What?”

“We’re not going here first so that you can flirt with my sister, are we?”

Odie choked on her water. Apophis was too stunned to react.

“Look, umm… I don’t know what you’ve heard, but we don’t have that sort of relationship.”

K’ael stared at his brother for a moment longer before returning his gaze to the outside.

“…I should hope not.”

Apophis was beginning to see why his father had warned him about this endeavor several times before they had left the house.

–

Odie’s color didn’t return to normal until Gandora was safely barging across the heavenly bridge.

Only then did she feel well enough to look out the window and marvel at the sprawling city wrapped in an even layer of gold.

‘Waaah..! It’s so pretty!!’ Odie’s eyes sparkled.

“Better than earth?”

‘Just a little bit!’ Odie held up her fingers and depicted a small margin.

Gandora’s footsteps suddenly came to a halt.

Relieved to finally step outside, Apophis exited the beast’s palanquin and inhaled a deep breath of the aether swirling around him.

“Greetings, Prince. We were uninformed that you would be visiting today.”

Apophis looked down at the twin knights guarding the doors to a shining palace.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t give up that element of surprise. Do you think she’ll make some time for us?”

The knights looked at each other for a moment before turning back to him.

“My lady is very busy today and asked that she not be disturbed. We can pass on the information to her attendant, but-”

Suddenly, the doors to the palace swung open and a ray of holy sunlight came pouring out.

Apophis smiled as he reflexively shielded the eyes of his vulnerable human sister.

In the same breath, he smiled at the approaching woman in a friendly manner.

“I know it’s been a while, but I’ve gotta say, I’m surprised you came to meet me yourself.”

The light gradually died down and Amaterasu’s unamused face was as clear as day.

“…Please.” She rolled her eyes.

Amaterasu jumped atop Gandora and pushed Apophis aside to get to the young man behind him.

“Nee-Sama.” K’ael spoke in effortless Japanese and even lowered his head slightly.

Amaterasu didn’t appear to be moved by his honorifics. The firm grip she held over his ear confirmed as much.

“Spare me your late, needless pleasantries. No calls. No letters. Not even a text message after I went through the trouble of getting a cellular phone to contact you.”

Odessa was the only one here who didn’t have a full understanding of Japanese. She only understood every third word or so.

“I am sorry. I have no excuse.” K’ael lowered his head even deeper.

Amaterasu’s gaze remained hard.

“… I will keep in better contact. You have my word.” K’ael promised.

Amaterasu’s grip softened on his ear.

Instead, she went to grab his cheek and gave it a small pinch that said she wasn’t fully over it.

“…It’s a start. I want you to remember that I also have my pride to maintain.”

“I will keep that in mind don’t worry.”

“Hmph.”

Amaterasu released him and turned around.

When she saw Apophis waiting for her, she pushed him out of the way and greeted Odie instead.

“It is a pleasure to see you again, Odessa. Though I must confess that I am surprised to see you are still human.”

Odessa shrugged with a faux-cocky demeanor.

‘Well, you know me. Doing the hard job of keeping our family diverse.’

K’ael rolled his eyes and looked away. Amaterasu curled her red lips into the faintest of smiles.

“So I see. Keep up the good work then.”

Odessa giggled innocently.

“A-hem!!!”

Apophis obnoxiously cleared his throat.

He held his arms out at his sides as if to say ‘Is this really how you’re going to do me??’

Amaterasu didn’t look interested in him at all.

Instead, she turned her back to him and fluttered down from Gandora’s back with an aura of overwhelming majesty.

“Come along, children. You must be weary from your journey, so I will have something prepared for you.”

Apophis scratched his cheek. “It was like a thirty-minute ride-”

“Please, serpent. When I feel like hearing your words I will most assuredly tell you such a thing.”

Apophis’ jaw fell open, but he didn’t speak again.

Meanwhile, Amaterasu just carried on with his siblings as if they weren’t even conscious of him.

‘Would it be troubling to ask for something a little sweet?’

“Of course not, Odessa. You may have whatever you desire.”

‘Wow, thanks!’

“And for you, K’ael-Kun, I have a fine tea prepared. I’m sure it will be to your liking.”

K’ael’s ears visibly twitched when he heard the words ‘fine tea’. His sister didn’t use those words lightly, and she seldom disappointed.

He followed behind her with a bit more pep in his step compared to before; leaving Apophis dangling in the breeze…

–

Within a private chamber, four divine figures were sitting around a brown tea table and enjoying the nourishment atop it.

K’ael’s tail swished back and forth in the air to indicate his pleasure at the cup pressed to his lips. At the same time, Odie nibbled on small fruit confections that caused her eyes to spin around in her head with an intense euphoria.

“It has been around a year now, last I checked. I wonder what brings you back to my doorstep and with such…”

Amaterasu briefly let her gaze roll over Apophis. Her disgust was palpable.

“Unexpected guests.”

K’ael put down his empty cup and watched it slowly refill itself on its own.

“We’re here with a message from Mothers and Father.” K’ael replied as he decided to pace himself.

“Oh, so this is an official visit then.” Amaterasu seemed vaguely surprised.

K’ael nodded. “Did you believe we were coming over just to play?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Amaterasu glanced at Odessa’s outfit that consisted of a hoodie, jean shorts, and some brand of sandals.

“…Well, even if you were, it would have been fine.” She finally said. “But what has gotten your father so riled up that he would send his children to deliver messages for him?”

K’ael paused just as he was about to take another sip of tea.

“Of that… we are not quite certain. Mother had one of her visions again and it seems that it was enough to rattle all of them quite severely.”

“Lailah?”

“Mhm.” K’ael nodded. “They want to make sure you bolster your defenses and that your people have an established means of evacuation in the event of calamity. If you require it, the military might of Tehom can also be lent to you.”

“…I see.” Amaterasu nodded. “Well-”

K’ael and Apophis felt vibrations in the floor. Ripples danced along the surface of the tea and gave them both pause.

Amaterasu looked vehemently annoyed.

“How discourteous… I should have dismissed them when I had the mind to.”

The sliding door to the room was nearly sent flying off the wall, and Odin, along with the heads of four other pantheons strode in angrily.

“AMATERASUU!!! This is highly disrespectful!!”