Chapter 266 Festival Guests



Currently, Thea Tathamet and her brother Apophis were walking through the streets of Luxuria. 

As always, they were being showered with bows and warm greetings, but the two of them were still locked in an important conversation. 

"And then what happened?"

"Father went to sleep right on the floor of the training room. I assumed him to be exhausted, so I just left him there. 

One of our mothers or even Mira will find him soon enough, as it isn't like that place is ever empty for long." 

Thea simultaneously fell into deep thought as she smiled and accepted a flower from an old lady. 

"I had no idea that he felt like this or even that he had been carrying such awful feelings all of this time... I want to hug him." 

Apophis chuckled as he waived at the crowd of girls that were staring at him from across the street. 

Though his simple gesture inadvertently caused several of them to faint. 

"Don't do such a thing out of the blue or he will believe something is amiss." 

"But father is in pain!" 

"I don't know if pain is the right word. It's more like he is worried about the feelings of our mothers, as well as carrying a sense of failure."

"That sounds like pain to me!" 

"But he did not seem sad, or even resentful. More than anything else he just seemed... lost?"

The two of them fell into another long silence, and it was clear that they were both concerned about their father, and had no real idea how to help him. 

Hell, they didn't even know if it was their place to. 

It seemed like the two of them were going to depress themselves over the plight of their father, when Thea suddenly saw something strange in the crowd across the street.

Two women had their hair and faces pulled over dark hooded cloaks, and they were being discreetly trailed by a group of four warriors. 

'I don't sense any hostile intent so... could that be it?' 

"Brother, look." Thea said. 

Apophis' red eyes followed his sister's gaze and he soon found the source of her attention. 

"Curious..."

-

"Sister... this place is much more busy than the rumors described."

"Well it is a very popular place. It is not surprising that the volume of people here is constantly growing." 

"No... it seems like we have come here in the midst of some sort of event."

The two girls looked around at the streets that were filled with people working, there were food stalls of unimaginable varieties and a plethora of games and other goods for sale.

"Excuse me, sir?"

One of the hooded girls called out to an older demon man who was working at some sort of odd food stall. 

It's main focus was batter that was cooked in hot oil and covered with a pleasant smelling powdery substance. 

"Ah, how can I help you missies today?" He said politely. 

"My sister and I just arrived today so we're a bit a confused, is there some sort of event taking place?" One of the girls asked. 

The old man's face immediately brightened up.

"You girls picked the perfect time! The empress's have organized a festival to celebrate the emperor's unification of Samael, as well as the birth of the third princess!"

The girls didn't know which part of that sentence had shocked them more, but given the fact that Samael had always been divided by the seven demon lords, it was probably that. 

"W-What happened to the other sins?"

"Ha! Lord Belphegor and Lady Leviathan are still drawing breath, but all of those other fools who objected to the rule of the emperor were put to death by his flames!"

"Y-You're joking! They were demigods! Did his wives participate in the battle?" The girls couldn't find any other possible explanation for the death of such beings. 

"Well Queen Seras did defeat Mammon..." The man suddenly shuddered as he remembered the late king of greed's horrifying screams that cut through all of Luxuria. 

That day was less of a battle and more of a torture.

"But the rest of the sins either submitted or were killed by the emperor's own hand!" He added. 

"H-How is that even possible... The gap in physical strength alone is..."One muttered. 

"Almost incalculable..." Her sister added. 

The man suddenly smiled as if he was recalling fond memories, and he placed his hand across his chest as he spoke passionately. 

"It is because we believed in him. Some might consider it a foolish gamble to place your faith in a being who is only a second stage evolved, but the people here do not see it that way. 

To us, anything imaginable can be brought to life, so why would our ruler not reflect that? He is living proof that the only things that are truly impossible are the things that we have not yet set our mind to."

"Those are very beautiful words, Mr. Delan. I'll be sure to tell my father to come by and hear them personally."

A cheerful and youthful feminine voice tickled the ears of the three individuals. 

Turning around, they found Thea and Apophis a short distance away, wearing small smiles reminiscent of their father.

Mr. Delan instinctively bowed his head as he tried to suppress his overjoyed smile. "I am delighted to see the first prince and princess, and my day has been improved beyond measure."

Thea brought her hand to her face as she giggled cutely. "You said the same thing yesterday, Mr. Delan."

"And I will continue to say it every time that one of the Tathamet family grace me with their presence!" He added. 

Thea clasped her hands behind her back as she sauntered up to the two hooded girls. "Who do we have here?"

"W-We are just travelers passing through, princess."

"I-Indeed, we aren't anyone worth your attention."

The two girls pulled their heads down even lower, and tried desperately not to look Thea in the eye.

"Aww, don't be like that. Our positions are much the same aren't they, Claire and Jasmine~?"

Both girls suddenly twitched when they realized that they'd been found out, and Thea took that moment to pull down their hoods. 

Claire and Jasmine Vermillion, the daughters of the phoenix queen, looked just as beautiful as the last time Thea had seen them. 

Why they were hiding such beautiful faces was beyond her. 

"You... what happened to you?" Jasmine asked in surprise.

Thea was gorgeous the last time she saw her, but now... she felt like she lacked the words to describe such a level of attractiveness.

Golden blonde hair, a soft tanned complexion, and mesmerizing purple eyes all made the sixteen year old Thea a complete knockout. 

"Hm? I don't think anything is different about me."

The young princess suddenly reached out and took Jasmine's hand in her own.

"You have to tell me carefully now, do you notice anything different? Or more importantly anything that you like?"

Before Jasmine could respond, the sound of a sword being unsheathed was heard.

Thea glanced at the group of what she could only assume was the hidden escort of the two princesses, and saw that the man in the lead had his blade halfway out of his scabbard. 

"Release the princess immediately, she did not give you permission to approach!"

"Hoh..?" Thea smiled humorously, as it had been quite a long time since anyone had flashed a blade at her.

The eyes of the phoenix sisters nearly popped out of their skull as they tried to prevent a catastrophe before it was too late. 

"Elric, you idiot, stand-"

Whoosh!

All the girls saw was a black and purple blur before Apophis appeared in front of the man, his hand clenched around his throat. 

"You would dare to order my sister to do anything in her own home? You are an insect with no concept of how the world works." He said venomously. 

"Captain!"

"Release him, right now!"

"You cannot do this!"

It seemed like the rest of the unit had become rowdy as well, as the sight of their leader in danger was much too alarming. 

"Uncle Zheng."

There was a strong gust of wind, and the umbral oni appeared without a sound accompanied by three of his subordinates. 

All of the members of the hidden guard were subdued on the ground without even realizing it, and their faces were mushed against the concrete. 

Suddenly the lively street came to a dead standstill, as everyone backed away from the ongoing conflict.

"Wait!"

Claire moved beside Apophis and hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry... please forgive his rudeness, I can assure you that he only-"

"He placed a hand on his weapon... with the intent to use it against my sister..." Apophis was debating on snapping the man's neck or pumping him full of every venom he had.

He would always protect his sisters with everything that he had, and Thea was not an acceptation even if she was the oldest.

"If my father found out, he would declare war before this man's blood was cold. I can at least ensure that this incident does not continue past today."

Claire shuddered as she tried not to panic. 

Her mother didn't even know that she and her sister were here. 

If she returned home with a war as a coming home present, she could only imagine the ramifications. 

"My little brother has become a man right before my eyes!" Thea said happily. "You know he can't hurt me, yet you're still so angry on my behalf!"

Thea released Jasmine's hand and came to stand beside Apophis and the man who was quickly becoming purple in his grip. 

"You can put him down for me, okay? I'm not hurt and you're causing a scene. Our people don't want to see something like this right before the festival begins."

'Actually, I am quite entertained...'

'I needed a moment to take a rest sense my back is killing me, now I feel better and I'm getting to see a show.'

'I hope the prince kills that guy and we have to mop him up afterwards...'

If Thea could read minds, she would know that she had severely underestimated the interest that the citizens had in bloodshed. 

"Are you joking? Do you honestly believe I will let something like this stand?" Apophis growled. 

"Jeez, you're the worst wingman ever! There are two very beautiful girls here, and you're going to scare them with needless bloodshed!"

"Pervert."

"Scale-brain!"

"Prince, Princess... please come to a decision on what you want us to do with these men." Zheng said in exhaustion.

All of this back and forth was exactly why he never had any kids of his own.

Apophis looked back and forth between his annoyingly flirtatious sister, and the very cute phoenix girl who was looking at him with a pleading look in her eye. 

Finally, he held up two clawed fingers that were dripping with venom.

One was a powerful sleeping agent, and the other was a toxin that attacked the nerves with indescribable pain. 

He was curious about what the union of both would do to the body of a living being. 

"Agh!!"

Jamming his finger into the ribs of the guard, he smirked as he let out a short but painful scream before his eyelids suddenly became heavy. 

Apophis dropped the now unconscious man onto the ground, and watched as his body twitched horribly from the pain. 

"You're just like Momma Lailah." Thea said as she rolled her eyes. 

Her brother did not take any offense to this remark, and instead shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn't care less.

"Uncle Zheng, hold these men until the girls leave. And it would mean a lot to me if you could keep this a secret from father and my mothers. " Thea asked.

The oni suddenly looked like he had been asked him to commit a crime, and a bead of sweat formed on his brow. 

"P-Princess, I couldn't possibly-"

"Pleaseeee?" Thea asked with as big of puppy dog eyes as she could muster. 

They may not have been as big as Mira's, but the attack was still super effective. 

"A-Alright... just don't let him kill me if he finds out anyway."

"Hehehe! Thank you!"

Zheng and the wraith moons sank into the shadows on the ground, taking all four of the subdued guards with them. 

Once they had left, the streets quickly returned to being lively as there were still things to do before the celebration could begin.

Thea excitedly turned around and took Jasmine's hand once again while giving her an unbelievably charismatic smile. 

"So, since you girls don't have an escort anymore, you'll have to let me and my brother keep you company. Wanna go on a double date with us?"