Chapter 21: Family Is Complicated So Lets Beat Sense Into Them!
"Our mother is a strange one, she has the appearance of a serious and strict woman but will do things like a fool"
Setsu started speaking about her mom, I sort of knew there was a gap moe between all of them. Shen was a tsundere, Setsu was a kleptomaniac siscon and now their mom was a airhead. It made sense but I didn't want to believe it until I saw it with my own eyes.
"Hence why it is hard to pinpoint where she is most of the time, she randomly chooses places to relax her wings."
"That's why you are so happy to find her?"
""Yes""
They replied in unison I could feel a headache coming as I looked at Geri and Freki playing around with the kids in the Marquis' courtyard. Looks like they would be seeing someone who is an actual mother instead of me, a strange looking blood coated portal opened up right before us and I already knew who was coming out of it. Notte and Sev had left to report back to their respective nations, I was wondering how it went but it seemed that was a careless worry.
"The Kingdom of Alphonse agreed to ally itself with this kingdom and the demons so we have fully realized another one of our plans."
"Great"
"I had to talk to them because some of the idiots were refusing and I had to show them what you were capable of Yukiyo"
"Now why the hell did you have to do that for?!"
"You're way more convincing than any words I can muster"
"..."
"Master your strength is so terrifying they were begging us to make sure they are your allies"
"That's what you get for being such a irregular being"
"But I am not the only one right?!"
I looked back at everyone whilst saying that having teleported us to the road close to the place where we needed to go, Setsu was freezing frogs and melting them in the river, Shen was looking up to the sky, Geri and Freki completely ignored me and decided to play with the twins Shiro and Kuro some more, Odin and Wynter started to lightly spar again. Maybe I should restrain myself a bit seriously...
"Haaaaaaah you guys are so ridiculous sometimes, so where do we need to go"
"We need to climb the mountain"
"Again?What's with you dragons and very tall mountains anyway?"
"A sense of domination when one is up on a high mountain"
"Shen did you live in a mountain too?"
"No I lived in the lake and afterwards with you in a cave"
"Right...This begs the question. What is your father like?"
"...."
Shen becomes suddenly stoic and silent with Setsu seeing this change and deciding to speak up in her stead.
"Our father, The Dragon King, Mallevs is a very strong and strict being. He is a tyrant who rules over all of the dragons with an iron fist, a very hands on father who takes no nonsense from anyone and believes that strength is everything. He doesn't bother to even hear the opinions of anyone who is weak even it is his own family"
"Shen….."
I knew there was something up with her family and why she chose to keep quiet about it. Because she feels that she isn't strong enough to be heard by him, that she will never allow her dreams to be accepted because she is weak. What a disgusting dad to have, but she is with me now. I decide to walk over to Shen who is looking at the flowing water.
"Hm?"
I immediately punch her in the face which sent her flying across the forest that we were in, using the Dark Matter to locate her I teleported to where she is. She didn't react and instead lay there without doing anything. Trees were smashed up and the grounded was unearthed with
"Get up, I know a punch like that is nothing to you."
"..."
She remained silent and slowly got up from the mass of trees that could potentially become a logging company's daily produce and stared at me with pained eyes.
"Tch"
I sped up to her and punched her in the stomach and sent her flying into the sky, I didn't like this Shen at all. Once we were pretty high up I stopped time by clicking my fingers with Shen standing a distance away from me.
"Why didn't you tell me any of this?!Aren't we supposed to be partners or something?!"
"....I was afraid you would think lowly of me"
"Trust me Shen I think very highly of you, you are the one I owe this life to and the very reason I love this world!Weren't you the one who told me I am your human and no one else's?!"
"?!"
She didn't think I heard that but I did, I knew she adored me from the bottom of my heart and I had the same for her. I wasn't going to let her forget those words she said to me because Shen was very important to me.
"Shen never doubt yourself, you are my water dragon and I'll be there for you no matter what happens. You know you have complicated feelings about what your father's thoughts about us and our ideals but hey if not convincing him through words then we will beat the living shit out of him so he can listen!"
".......ha"
"Hah?"
"hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
"Shen are you okay?!I didn't hit you too hard right?!"
I hurried to her side as she was still laughing hysterically, I was pretty worried about what would happen to her if she suddenly lost it but my worries were for nothing as she stopped me in my tracks with her hand.
"You are as charismatic as ever. I was right to trust you. Yukiyo Shinohara I know I am wrong to doubt myself even when I have this strength and I was scared that I would be rejected even after acquiring it, but I do not need to worry about that. You are here after all, everyone is here to support me, I've been carrying the burden of having to face my father with a weak mindset but I realize I was wrong….I realize I am just…."
I hug Shen immediately before she gets to say another word.
"Hey its okay, I am here for you my stupid ass dragon who cares about us so much. I know I do not have common sense I'll always be there for the ones I love. That includes especially you Shen, I've grown to really be attached to you. Families are messy and complicated, they can be destructive at times but once you find the right people you'll always smile with them. That's why I can be with you and smile for all eternity Shen"
"Yukiyo"
I smile at her whilst holding her cheek and lightly kissing her before moving into another hug. I could feel the tears on her face roll by my neck as she hugs me even tighter than before, she sobs as we hug each other. She lightly pulls me back and kisses me as well before bursting into a happy smile.
"You're right I can do anything as long as I am with you. And if he doesn't want to listen I'll beat the dragon core out of his body for him to listen!"
"That's the Shen I know, we gotta head back"
I say with a blushing face as I could feel that I just did something really cheesy and romantic for someone of my age. I said some typical heroine in love shit right there.
"Yukiyo"
"Yes?"
"Thank you, for everything"
"...….You're welcome"
We both headed back with smiles on our faces and of course we won't say what we did up there because I would bury myself in the earth if anyone heard that.
☆
Shen and Setsu's mother, Elizyl'tcha was slumbering after coming back from another continent that had started worshipping her. She slowly got up as her motherly instincts could feel her children were near. How many years had it been since she actually saw them?
"Shen and Setsu…together?How can this be?Normally the two would be far away from each other"
She met their father under strange circumstances and it wasn't bizarre for her to say she didn't love him only becoming his wife because of tradition, if one was to defeat her then he would be her husband and she will give him children. But wonderful children she had, each unique on their own and wanted to stand on their feet. Setsu, proud and loving wanted to be ruler of the snowy mountains and everything associated with it. Her dream was to become an ice and snow goddess. Shen, her sister was different from her, her goal was to make her father submit to her. She was rather ambitious and for that he exiled her not wanting to listen to whatever she had to say. But something was different, these two despite loving each other didn't come together under any reason. They were looking for her and it was something serious, Elizyl'tcha used 『Clairvoyance』to see what was going on the outside as she rested inside of the temple she made the elves make all those years ago which was raised to the top by a great white obelisk to give anyone who was to gaze upon it a good ol scare.
"?!"
She was shocked by what she saw, the two were in humanoid forms with Shen appearing to be stronger than Setsu somehow. It was more clear that she had grown in the time she had left her, in fact everyone around her was equally as strong. A sense of excitement rose within her heart making her smile unconsciously, the heart of a dragon always yearned for a proper battle with someone strong, it was in their blood.
☆
The structure that was in front of her was in the form of a great obelisk, it was white in color with red lines flowing from the earth, it pierced the sky and marked its presence as the greatest thing to witness. The only thing that came close to it was the World Tree, Shen wondered how her mother managed to create this in such a short amount of time but the thought soon went out of her mind as she was certain that she was here to prove her strength. She stared at her gloved hand and closed it to form a fist, the time was now and she was going to show her mother that she had something to say. If she could prove it to her mother then her father was going to not be a stretch.
"My mother tends to send armies in our way, so you should be careful.....What are you doing Yukiyo?"
Shen stared back to her most important person and she was doing something with the Dark Matter. Confused she lets out a question at her.
"Uh I am sending out one of the Dark Matter to help out my students they found others with more gods giving them their blessings sigh I should have a long talk with Nyarlathotep when I get to see him"
"Alright. You do not need to fight, actually none of you need to lift a single finger"
"Wait, are you going to be doing all the work alone my dear little sister?"
"Of course, I know mother already gauged us whilst we were climbing the mountain. So we do not need to show off our strength"
"But you are going to be showing off right now"
"Heh, this thing is far too huge I am going to cut it down."
"Shen I know you are strong but-"
"She can do it"
"Your belief in me is all that I need"
"Go Papa"
"Good luck Father"
"You two are adorable"
Shen takes out the Divine Storm from her inventory and places it in her right hand, she looks forward and begins to walk slowly towards the obelisk. The memories of defeat and humiliation start to play in her mind as she thinks of the time she was pursued by her father's fanatic followers. Divine Storm was not an ordinary sword in Yukiyo's words it was a katana, finely crafted by the dungeon and suited for Shen's way of fighting. She smiles as she stands right at the entrance where an army is rushing towards her, as if time stops for them all with a blue aura being released from her body and into the world. In a monochrome world she and the others are the only ones who move normally, the sound of the katana opening is heard as waves of thin slices appear everywhere from the smallest of imps to the greatest of trolls. The walls are all shattered from this single moment of deathly silence, nothing could survive this rapid onslaught in the monochrome world of Shen's power. She sheathes her katana into its scabbard and watches it crash down into the ground leaving only a single floor in the wake of her destruction. Only the most powerful monsters had survived that massacre were giants, elder dragons who served her mother, elder wolves who weren't Fenrirs and several devils who covered themselves in an aura of protection.
"Well then I guess I'll have to show off some more, the giants will come first hence I got a suitable weapon for them"
The giants came running at her as mana wraps around her hands and arms coating it in a thick layer of red aura, they all at the time throw a different attack: some a punch, some a kick but its all the same result as she sends a punch their way that strips the flesh from their bodies and leave them as bones that fall down to the ground with nothing to show for it. The elder wolves rush towards her summoning lesser wolves of varying levels of strength, she sprints to them and rapidly cuts off their heads leaving their bodies burning as a result with the elder dragons quickly entering the fray along with the devils who support them with specials that would knock the physical and magical damage. She smiles as she walks towards them sheathing her katana once more, she clicks her fingers seven times with the devils and Elder Dragons laughing at her making a finger gun.
"Taste my masterpiece you scumbags, Crimson Sky"
She clicks her finger gun which shoots out an energy beam that covers the seven areas she had clicked her fingers at earlier, this obliterates the Devils and Elder Dragons nothing is left of them but ash. She walks towards the golem that stands to protect her mother with a smirk on her face and crimson colored eyes she snaps her fingers once more causing it to crumble in mere moments. The sky almost turns to the same color before returning to a normal color with loud laughter being heard from somewhere.
"You have grown more powerful, you have even surpassed me your mother, Shen"
There she was, an older woman who looked like a slightly older Shen with white gold scales on her skin wearing a white kimono-esque armor which emphasized her curves, the one who was watching them slowly descending down to the ground wrapped in awesome aura that made Shen grin even more as she sprints towards her with her katana drawn out. Elizyl'tcha fires out flaming boulders at her which Shen nimbly cuts down with ease, she gains enough traction to reach her mother and leaps into the air swinging down Divine Storm on her. The blade is received by another blade of a different kind, it's her mother's long sword Black Tempest. What ensues is a stream of slashes, black and blue is what could be made out from this scene alone. The rapid action of the daughter pushing her mother back with her strength alone is awe-inspiring with Elizyl'tcha pushing her back finally after taking the brunt of her assault and pointing the blade at Shen.
"Come make your resolve real Shen!"
"I certainly will!"
She cuts the air with it making an odd sound as a ball of slashes reaches Elizyl'tcha who dodges them as quickly as possible by leaping backwards with her eyes going on her daughter who suddenly appears right above her to land a dropkick that cracks the ground as she blocks it with only her right hand. She grabs her leg and slams her to the ground stabbing the empty ground as a rapid slash hits her back.
"What…..I swore I hit you!"
"As Yukiyo says in times like this, That was an afterimage"
Shen smirks with her mother doing the same, they stand and point their swords at each other this was the final attack that they would do to each other.
"I'll end this in one hit"
"Don't be too proud just because you got a tad stronger than me!"
They run towards each other as they are covered in their respective auras, Shen's in dark blue whilst her mother's in white gold. A clash of colors occurs with the dark blue Shen piercing through the white gold and prevailing in the end as she stands at the opposite end sheathing her katana with a stoic face.
"hahahaha....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I'VE BEATEN YOU!!I'VE ALWAYS LOOKED UP TO YOU!!AND NOW I HAVE DEFEATED YOU!!"
A sad laughter bursts out from Shen as she looks at her mother who is laying down on the ground visibly injured. She didn't want to do this but in the end she did anyway.
"Shen...I am sorry for not being there for you. I know you had your pride and so I respected that I just want you to be happy"
"Oh leave the theatrics behind the door, I am not believing that my half powered attack could kill you that easily"
"Fuck….and here I wanted to get some more time to relax"
Elizyl'tcha quickly healed up and stood on her feet, she openly receives Shen into her arms.
"I am so proud of you, you'll have a chance to defeat even your father at this point"
"Heh…."
"Besides that I wanna know about that dark elf who standing over there"
"Ah..."
☆
"My name is Shinohara Yukiyo, pleased to meet you Shuutome-sama(Mother-In-Law-sama). I am your daughter's no.1, PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME WELL!!I WILL LO-?!"
"Shut it you idiot!"
"Ouch I am stating facts here!"
"Just shut it!"
"Ara~ My daughter got interested in someone very peculiar."
Elizyl'tcha sat inside the place she was sleeping in, hugging the children who she was recognizing as her grandchildren. Vampire Demon Lords not dragons but it wasn't strange for her to feel the same way.
"You know Yuki-chan, female dragons could be impreg-"
"Mother keep your mouth shut as well!"
"Please tell me when Shen is not looking"
"I will"
"Yay"
"I love my daughter-in-law already and she has such cute grandchildren. Shen I am more than proud of you, I am elated to see that you are doing well in relationships as well!I will bring everyone to your wedding"
"Haaaaaaaaaaaah please stop, I can't take it anymore"
"UOOOOH?!SHEN IS GETTING EMBARRASSED?!IT SHALL RAIN BURGERS AND CHIPS TONIGHT!!"
They were having a leisurely talk with Elizyl'tcha who was more than happy to chat with them, of course Yukiyo explained the circumstances of why she came here and who she was.
"So Lythalia is planning to fixing the things that she broke in the first place"
"Yes do you know her?"
"Yes that girl loved exploring worlds and even took me to several where I got to enjoy the candies from there. That's where I got Shen and Setsu's names after all"
"Ah, I was wondering where they came from"
"But I will aid you, her father Matheizol may be strict with his power and his armies but he is only interested in himself so I will order the dragons to aid you. They should know by now since you defeated the Elder Dragons who are their parents so they'll obey you. And when the time comes they will go to war with their brethren to seize the throne Matheizol sits on"
"Thank you mother"
"You're welcome, now hurry up and one day do a ritual that will give me another grandchild I'll be waiting"
"I WILL CERTAINLY-"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!"
Shen punched Yukiyo so hard she fell back down the mountain and reached the ground with everyone laughing at what was happening.