Draco and Eva sighed. Becoming Rank 6 was literally so simple and easy for these two, yet they couldn't help but remember the suffering and trials they had gone through in the previous timeline to achieve that feat.
Anyway, it was good that it was this way. The stronger these babes became, the better they could protect themselves and even join Draco and Eva in combat.
As it were, they would either have to become Rank 7 or True Gods to be able to match their current power, which was disheartening since they were so useful in every situation before this, especially in the Tower.
Speaking of the Tower, Draco remembered his main goal for coming back into the game, which was to check out the last Unique Quest on his list from that auction back then, the Vault of the Deep!
However, this was the only one where despite knowing about it and its location, he actually did not trigger the quest. It's simple really, because he was not the final buyer of the map leading to it!
Back then, he had just been starting out in the game and while he had some capital, it couldn't even be compared to now. He had to use his Eyes of Caelo to pierce through the veil of the item and see the details, but that was that.
He could end up before the literal Vault of the Deep right now, but without the map, which was also the key, he wouldn't be able to do shit. Not even the Space or Time abilities they had would be able to help them cheat their way in.
If they wanted to take part in that Unique Quest, it would have to be done the normal way, by acquiring the item itself.
As such, Draco spent a week settling down with his family and making sure to satisfy Hikari, Zaine, and Roma thoroughly for the time he was away. He also taught Rosella some means to use her bloodline in tandem with her magic, as well as showed Kuro some tricks on how to use Destruction Energy properly.
Loki grudgingly received some tutoring on how to use his psychic abilities, but when it came to the time for them to chase women, he was excited and became a menace along with his dad.
Before Draco left, Hikari came to him and informed him that their second egg was about to hatch. As such, Draco decided to wait an extra few days to assist and be there when his last child in the game was born.
Kuro especially was antsy, knowing that he would get a new sibling, but Rosella and Loki were calm, already used to this.
Eventually, the day came, and the entire family came to the top of Hikari's Dragonperch. The already large Draconic living space had been significantly expanded to make space for Kuro and the incoming child.
Hikari had been waiting for the family and presented the egg that was shaking and glowing with many inscriptions and runes. Draco could sense a vibrant life filled with benevolence within, and he smiled as he guessed that this child would likely be a girl.
Not just any girl, but a White Dragon. After all, it was the law of the universe that a Black Dragon and White Dragon pair could only give birth to Black or White Dragon children.
Since Kuro had come out as a Black Dragon, it did make sense for their second to fill the gap and be a White Dragon. Draco was interested in seeing what his newest daughter would be like, and how she would compare to her mother.
Soon, the hatching began as energy was drawn from the atmosphere into the egg. Worldly, Aetheric, and even traces of Divine Energy were drawn over, making the group curious as to just how high this new child's talent was.
They didn't have to wait long to find out as the egg began to shake rapidly and crack, eventually splitting apart to reveal a glowing baby that was half-human, half-dragon.
While she had the body of a human, she also had a dragon horn in the form of little nubs, two little dragon wings that were colored blue, and a small tail that was smooth and white colored.
Surprisingly, the baby did not cry, only opened her bright blue eyes to look at her mother. She smiled cutely, almost at the cusp of joy, and babbled as she stretched out her arms.
Hikari's entire body softened as she changed to her human form and held her floating baby gently. The newly born girl snuggled into her mother's chest, and sighed with happiness, making Hikari kiss her baby gently.
Kuro flew over and landed on Hikari's head, right above her horn. He glanced down at his baby sister and puffed out some Destruction Energy in interest and curiosity.
Naturally, White Dragons were immune to this, so it didn't do anything to mother or daughter but tickle them. The other children flew over, Rosella and Loki, to inspect their newest sibling.
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Seeing that she was suddenly surrounded by other kids who gave her a comfortable feeling from her bloodline, the newborn baby laughed once more. Seeing this, Rosella's usual cold expression became soft, while Loki scratched his head bashfully.
It was clear that both children had fallen in love with their new little sister and her bubbly nature. Even the usually stoic Kuro could barely tear his eyes off his little sister, wanting to protect her from the world itself.
Eventually, Hikari walked over to Draco and presented her baby to him. Draco smiled and held his daughter up, allowing her to look down upon him.
The young lass had a curious look as she inspected her father, and she eventually burst out into a silly laugh as she reached out for him. Draco snickered and brought his newborn daughter into his embrace and rubbed his cheeks against hers.
"Alright then, I shall name you, Little Whit-"
Just as Draco was about to speak, the heavens darkened and thunder rumbled incessantly and threateningly, condensing into the shape of divine beasts and soldier armies as they glared at Draco.
Draco: "…"
"Y-Your name will be Shiro!" Draco hastily changed his words, which made everyone nod that this was suitable.
Draco gave Shiro back to Hikari slowly, and planned to quickly return to the Main Plane to escape the lightning that had still not disappeared up until now.
However, he only took two steps when the lightning struck down suddenly, instantly appearing before him and unleashing its full might.
After all, it had already come here and announced its presence, so it couldn't go back empty-handed, right? As for the fact that Draco changed at the last minute and did the right thing, it would conveniently ignore that for now.
After releasing its heavy, thick and huge load all over poor and helpless Draco, who was obviously forced to receive it all deep inside, the thunder packed up and left with a satisfied expression of having emptied its storage.
All that was left was a smoking black corpse that lay there, releasing steam. However, before the thunder could leave, it found that the area was locked and it could not move no matter what it did.
"Leaving so soon? Do you think you can just attack my Draco and then walk away scot-free?" Eva questioned coldly as she stretched a hand out.
The thunderclouds and the remaining thunder energy struggled and tried to flee, but Eva slowly sucked it back towards her.
"You think you represent the Heavens? Ha, naive! I am the Heavens! I am the Goddess of the universe, the Supreme Being of all races. You are just a pale imitation of my lowest servant!" Eva roared, dragging the thunder and its source into her palm and compressing it into a tiny size.
Even there, it still struggled greatly, but Eva simply infected it with Abyss Energy and transformed it into Abyssal Judgment and Abyss Lightning. She then flung the tiny bolt of black lightning into Zaine's head, and smiled at her.
"A gift. You should now have unlocked Abyss Lightning to add to your power, and this should increase your combat effectiveness by over a thousand times."
Zaine was shocked and frightened. Giving her Abyss Lightning was more than just raising her combat effectiveness! She, who had been the arguable weakest of the three NPC beauties became the strongest, even able to now beat up Hikari!
That was just how overpowered anything with Abyss-related power was!
And to think, Eva had a whole branch of its abilities…
Zaine pondered for a bit, before she gritted her teeth. The Royal Succubus who had lived a peaceful and idyllic life, and had also never suffered any pain or loss, raised her left hand and resolutely put it in front of Roma.
"Here you go, Little Roma. Bite and swallow." Zaine said calmly.
Roma was confused by what Zaine was trying to do, but Eva understood. Seeing this, she couldn't help but give Zaine another look and raise her evaluation of this succubus in her heart.
She was just too smart and too efficient at being a binding agent in any social situation she found herself in, able to maintain friendships and strengthen social ties through her actions.
She was the best ambassador for the Morningstar Clan and also the one who was best suited to do Eva's job, which was to tie the harem together and prevent any falling out and schemes.
Eva smiled and explained to Roma: "She wants you to bite her flesh and swallow because you have the Ultima Sunt bloodline, which means you can take one aspect of any being you consume. So take her ability to utilize Abyss Lightning and merge it with your magic."
Roma understand and then had a conflicted expression. She shook her head in the end.
"I can't do it. I can't eat my own family for power, especially not Elder Sister Zaine. I'm sorry."
Eva and Zaine shared a look and nodded. They wouldn't force Roma to do something like this if she didn't want to, and it wasn't like the Mystic Witch was hell-bent on acquiring power anyway.
Hikari then glanced at Draco and sent a wave of white light into his body, which immediately caused the black sheen around him to crack and reveal a perfectly intact fellow underneath.
Draco jumped up and shook himself, getting the remaining soot off his body and smiling casually.
"Tsk, tsk, only one round? I was expecting a lot more given the way that fellow made so much noise!" Draco tutted nonchalantly.
Eva, Zaine, Roma, and Hikari rolled their eyes and smiled. Who didn't see you turn into a burnt statue just now?
Seeing their skepticism, Draco coughed shamelessly and placated his family. In lieu of his newborn daughter, he spent another week with his family before leaving the Morningstar World.
Before heading to the place where the Rank 6 NPC who bought the Vault of the Deep map was rumored to be, the Evil Duo logged out of the game and traveled to the GloryGore Labs.
There, they saw Amber having a tough time settling down Lucitian and Lucitera, who were currently undergoing tests and optimizations with the AI's help. When the lass saw her parents, she giggled with joy but stayed put without causing too much trouble.
As for Lucitian, when he saw his father he harrumphed and looked away, but the corner of his eyes was fixed on him. Draco snorted and also turned his head away while glancing at his son from the corner of his eyes.
Eva and Amber rolled their eyes at the two's childish behavior. It was clear you love each other, so why are you acting like rivals in a dispute?
Lucitera simply looked at her dad and then her brother, and she seemed to understand some part of what her mother told her previously.