The next morning, in the Emperor's chamber, Olbrunah slowly stirred awake. His eyes opened, gazing at the ceiling. "It's been at least 300 years since I last slept. What a good feeling" he murmured to himself. Shifting his gaze to his left, where his beautiful wife lay, he looked at her lovingly for what seemed like an eternity before contentedly reaching out to stroke her hair. Gradually, she began to wake up, meeting his gaze. "Good morning, my love" he greeted softly. She responded in kind, her voice gentle, "Good morning, honey".
They lingered together for a few more precious moments before Olbrunah sighed, breaking the silence, "I would love to stay like this with you for years without moving, but if we want to leave for our vacation, we have a lot to do" With that, he reluctantly rose from the bed, planting a tender kiss on his wife's lips before donning his royal attire. "I'll come back later tonight. Have a lovely day, my wife" he said as he left the chamber.
As he strolled through the palace, Olbrunah called out, "Herzal." Instantly, the man materialized by his Liege's side, responding promptly, "Yes, my Lord ?"
"How are the preparations ?" Olbrunah inquired.
"Excellent" Herzal replied, "Mabel and I have nearly completed all the administrative tasks. We just need to finalize the chain of command for when no one is present. Everything should be finished tonight."
"Good" Olbrunah nodded. "Let's go meet with the old man. It's time for him to work"
"Yes, my Lord." Herzal affirmed, falling into step beside him.
Approaching a black door adorned with golden details depicting a phoenix so lifelike it seemed to radiate with fiery energy, Olbrunah pushed it open without hesitation, calling out, "Hello, old man, I've come to visit you !"
Inside, the room was as opulent as the rest of the palace, adorned with pure gold and ancient relics. Across from the entrance, a grand fireplace commanded attention, casting a warm glow throughout the space. Seated before the hearth, a man engrossed in an ancient book slowly rose from his chair. His hair was a pristine white, elegantly styled, and his beard meticulously trimmed. But it was his striking red eyes that caught everyone attention, reminiscent of the fiery hues of a phoenix.
"Ah! Olbrunah, it's been a long time since you visited this old man !" the elderly man remarked with a hint of amusement.
"Yeah... Sorry about that. This boring job consumes all my time. Last night was the first time in 300 years that I slept next to my wife... Honestly, I don't want this shitty crown anymore" Olbrunah confessed.
"You know, most people would give anything for just a fraction of what you possess" the old man countered.
"I know..." Olbrunah sighed, "Anyway, I'm here because I have a job for you!"
"Finally, a chance to move this old body. It's been too long !" the old man replied eagerly. "So, what's the task? Erase another civilization, go destroy some pantheon and enslave their gods, or perhaps obliterate an entire galaxy like last time?"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. No war this time" Olbrunah clarified. "This time, I'm going on vacation!"
The old man's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected news.
"I need you to protect my wife and daughter while we're away. Your powers are extremely useful for this type of mission, especially since Herzal and Mabel won't be able to stay by their side. They'll need to oversee the empire in our absence."
"No problem. It's been so long since I saw your daughter, it's like she was born yesterday" said the old man. "I need to prepare myself. I need to prepare enough weapons and potions to take on at least four or five pantheons of God-Kings, and I have to train my fire abilities to be ready to obliterate a high-level galaxy if necessary" he added, his tone serious.
"Wait, wait, Raye, what the hell are you saying? I told you to protect my family, not wage war against the entire universe !" Olbrunah interjected.
The man gave him a dead-eyed look and replied, "Olbrunah, I've known you for so long that, after your wife, I'm probably the person who knows you the best. I know that if anyone dares to give your wife or daughter a bad look, you'll be the one to destroy several galaxies" he then asked, "Do you remember what happened when that human prince said he would take your wife and force her to marry him because, to him, 'Kitsune are nothing more than beautiful slaves'?"
"My lord destroyed the entire empire behind the prince and forced him to watch as he killed every being related to them one by one. Then, he tossed the man into the cruelest hell. " Herzal responded.
Olbrunah didn't know how to respond. After all, he had done exactly that, and he didn't regret anything. Well, perhaps he regretted a little bit for letting go of that man so easily. He should have tortured him himself for at least ten thousand years before sending him to Hell.
"Be ready in 7 days. When my daughter finishes her training, I'll verify if everything is okay with her power, and then we'll be leaving together." Olbrunah said, wanting to change the subject.
The old man nodded in acknowledgment.
"Now, Herzal, let's go see your mother!" added Olbrunah.
For some reason, Herzal didn't really want to go and said, "My Lord, I don't think it's a good idea to go see her now. Why don't we wait until the last day and tell her at that time?"
Olbrunah looked at him strangely for a couple of seconds, then his eyes widened in understanding. "When was the last time you visited your mother, Herzal?"
"237 years, 9 months, and 22 days, My Lord."
"Okay, so you're fucked " Olbrunah replied.
"Yeah… " Herzal responded.
"Anyway, that's on you. I need your mother to take care of my baby princess if needed during the vacation. Since she's the best nanny in the universe, I can't go without her." responded Olbrunah with a little smile as he talked about his daughter.
They started moving around the palace to join the place where Herzal's mother was staying. The closer they got to the door, the more Herzal started trembling, his mind consumed with thoughts of his mother's impending reaction. Arriving in front of the door, he couldn't even look up, and sweat began to bead on his forehead. For Olbrunah, it was amusing to see the big demon, feared by everyone in the galaxy, reduced to a nervous wreck in front of his mother.
Olbrunah knocked on the door, and they heard a beautiful voice say, "Enter!" Despite the beauty of the voice, there was an unmistakable sadness in it. Hearing the sadness in his mother's voice, Herzal knew he was utterly screwed.
Olbrunah entered the room, leaving Herzal behind as he stepped inside. "Hello, Lilith, I've come to invite you to something fun!" he announced cheerfully.
Seated on a grand royal sofa before him was a stunning demon woman. She possessed two elegant black horns atop her head, her long black hair interspersed with strands of blood red. Her eyes, a captivating shade of demonic crimson, held an allure that could ensnare even the gods themselves. Yet, for Olbrunah, her beauty paled in comparison to that of his wife, none could rival her in his eyes.
Lilith slowly opened her eyes and gazed at the man who had just talked to her. "Ah, Olbrunah" she sighed, her voice heavy with sadness. "It's good to see you. But I'm not in the mood for anything. My heart is broken, and I need time away from everything to heal."
Before he could say anything, she added, "My dear son, my blood... he hates me. He's ignored me for more than 237 years, 9 months, 22 days, 15 hours, 43 minutes, and 52 seconds." Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes as she continued, "My baby boy doesn't want me anymore. I'm a disgrace as a mother." And then she started crying.
Olbrunah wanted to facepalm. He looked towards the door where Herzal was standing and gestured for him to come and comfort her.
Seeing his mother crying while murmuring incomprehensible things about how her baby boy hated her and how she was as disgrace as a mother literally broke Herzal's heart. If you listened closely, you could probably hear a glass breaking noise coming from his heart. He entered the room and took his mother in his arms while saying, "Sorry, mother, it's entirely my fault."
He forgot that since the little princess of the empire was born, his mother took care of her like her own daughter, and by taking care of her, she started changing and becoming softer, her maternal side becoming more prominent now. For example, before, if he didn't come to see her at least once every two days, she would come to see him and beat his ass until he learned his lesson. But now, she would just wait for him, and he, like an idiot, totally forgot that.
She started calming down and looked at her sons, asking in a little voice, "You don't hate me?"
He responded, "No, mother, it's just that with my job, it's difficult to find free time. Most of the time, I'm either in the throne room or going from planet to planet for diplomatic missions."
"I'm sorry if you thought I hate you, it's not true. I love you, mother" he said while hugging her. Suddenly, you could see her expression and whole mood shift.If other people were here, they would probably think she was acting a couple of seconds ago. But that's just how True Demons are. Their emotions are extremely volatile, they can switch really fast.
Then, with a very happy voice, she added, "I love you too, my son."