Chapter 563 Freedom?
Nubia re-opened her eyes not even four minutes later and sat up near instantly as if she was perfectly fine.
However, the moment that she sat back up, she was immediately knocked back down.
Not one, but twelve different bodies dogpiled on top of the young girl all at once.
Lailah: "Are you okay, sweetie?!"
Bekka: "Mommies are here!"
Lisa: "C-Check her temperature! See if she has a fever!"
Valerie: "Honey, open your mouth and stick this thermometer under your tongue!"
Audrina: "D-Don't just jam it in there like our husband does to us, you might hurt her!"
Eris: "P-Perhaps we should all take a breath and calm down so that we won't be so nervous!"
Seras: "We can't!"
Nubia practically had to fight tooth and nail to free herself from underneath the pile of voluptuous women.
With her twin sisters in the midst of the dogpile too, she was currently receiving enough care and affection to last her the year.
But in the wives' defense, this seemed like perfectly rational behavior.
Their children didn't get sick, and they certainly didn't faint randomly with no visible cause.
Nubia finally tore herself from underneath the pile of women and held up her hands to hopefully stave them off. "Mothers, I am fine! I just get little dizzy spells from time to time but it is no cause for alarm."
Lailah and the others were horrified. "W-What do you mean this happens all the time?? How often does it happen!?"
"J-Just every week or so. I am usually only out for around ten seconds at most, but this time it seems-"
All: "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US!?"
"Because I was trying to prevent exactly this sort of reaction! I am only glad that father is not here to make it worse!" she said stubbornly.
Nearly on cue, a large spacial portal opened up in the living room and a very familiar giant dragon stepped through.
"Nubby!"
"God damnit..."
Abaddon rushed over to his daughter and lifted her up by her under arms like she was still infant sized.
"Are you alright?! Your sisters told me you fainted!"
Nubia shot the twins a hateful glare and they conveniently turned their heads away.
"She says it's been happening for a while!" Tatiana volunteered.
"What!?!"
Finally, the young princess sighed as she gave up on keeping the secret of her affliction any longer.
"It is... my powers. They are just a bit too much for me on occasion..."
"Your powers...?" Abaddon questioned.
Nubia twirled her thumbs uncomfortably and it took everything in her not to lower her head in shame.
"D-Don't misunderstand me, father, I love the abilities that you and mother have blessed me with.
After an eternity of eating malevolent souls, it is nice to feel so vividly the love and compassion present in my surroundings.
But... on occasion, I have experienced some... discomfort.
Sometimes, a wave of anguish and agony rushes into my mind like a dam and I am overwhelmed... I don't know where it comes from but it feels so close."
Dagon sat up on the ground warily, unaware of the fact that he had narrowly avoided being turned inside out ass first.
"What game is this, daughter..? Have you come to gawk and your remnant of a father and make humors at my expense..?"
"My inclinations are none so barbaric. You are leaving because your continued presence here has become a hindrance.
I would sooner see you gone then wait any longer for you to change your permanently closed mind."
Audrina held out her hand and a myriad of what looked like glass shards filled the room.
However, Dagon knew that what he was looking at was much more than simple rubbish by the images that were playing inside of them.
"Impossible... how can you-"
"By the generosity of a man whose shared every part of himself he can with me, and whose name need not ever grace your ears."
Dagon's head was on a near constant swivel as he continued to spin around in disbelief.
So many gateways to different realities that he could hardly count them all.
And somehow his daughter was in possession of the ability to open up all of these different pathways without causing even a single drop of sweat to form on her perfect brow.
It was maddening.
This kind of power was exactly what he sought when he first wandered down the path to the abyss.
And now his daughter was in possession of it.
No, more accurately, her husband was.
And a dragon at that.
'Oh the absurdity...!'
Dagon glanced at a number of different realities before he decided that it didn't really matter which one he went to, so long as he was away from here.
Before he picked what was to become his new reality, he glanced back at Audrina disappointedly.
"...While I am grateful for your mercy, you disappoint me because I taught you better than this. You never let enemies live to see another day unless they can be used to serve a grander purpose."
Audrina felt a familiar, but invisible hand clasp her own and she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She was able to face her father in a much more calm manner than before, with no sign of the timid little girl that she used to be.
"You aren't my enemy, nor a useful pawn. You are simply an old man whose mind is clouded with hate; as common as an ant on the ground and as insignificant as the wingbeat of a beetle.
Not killing you is simply the repayment I give you for bringing me into the world, but it is the end of my generosity. It, like our relation, ceases the moment that you pass through that gate."
If Dagon felt any type of way about Audrina's words, he certainly did not give her any reaction.
He spared her one final look before finally touching a shard of glass and he vanished from their sight.
Once he was gone, Abaddon dispelled his invisibility and wrapped Audrina in his arms.
She smiled, but her voice was sad.
"I'm sorry... I just couldn't kill him."
"Don't apologize. All that matters now is that our daughter will be more comfortable at home."
"...He is the kind of man who may make trouble down the line."
"So be it."
"If.. no, when that day comes... what will you do..?"
At first, Abaddon had no answer for her, but as he kissed Audrina on the top of her head, his decision became clear.
"Whatever you want me to do."