"...A demonkin," the herald finally continued, his professional composure lost, cold sweat beading on his brows.
The crowd turned to him; maybe they had misheard.
A demonkin?!
A forbidden offspring born of a true demon and a human.
An abomination that shouldn't exist, their other half said to come from the abyss itself.
Beings whose natural instinct is complete destruction.
The same beings with which the whole world was at war.
Yet they hear of its kin as a gift.
What was that to imply?
As the whole crowd bustled, discussing what he meant by that, Aiden and Raika raised their brows slightly, a visible frown on their faces.
Everyone turned to the door from which every present had entered.
Low growls sounded from the door, the bustling crowd quieting down.
The growls intensified as whatever was being presented was pushed through.
The door opened; a large human-sized cage pushed through into everyone's view.
Within the cage was a humanoid creature, at least it looked as such.
A gaunt figure, its chitinous body porous as if it were a beehive, but without structure.
Two curved horns protruding from the sides of its head, its skin sticking to its skull, nose only a hollow remnants of what used to be there.
And its eyes, a haunting cluster of three, each seemingly fighting for space at the top of its head, fang-filled maw dripping with saliva.
Alaric eyes widened, as a thought crossed his mind, " demon "
This could mean he was in hell but it wasn't enough conclusion, he needed to observe more, as things didn't add up.
Where was the flames, the anguish, the cries he heard off in his past life.
Meanwhile...
Aiden gasped, not in fear but in recognition, a demon he knew all too well; well, at least his wife, Raika, was familiar with.
"Raika, don't..." he tried to stop Raika, knowing the bad blood the two shared.
But it was too late; yellow lightning crackled where Raika had sat moments ago, Alaric, who was on her lap, now on Aiden's lap.
Aiden quickly turned to the demonkin, a golden spear crackling with lightning piercing through its form, the cage molten around the impaled creature.
Holding the spear was an enraged Raika, teeth gritted , eyes blood shot in traumatic rage.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
All demons were enemies, but some more than others, especially those who killed your parents right in front of you.
This demon, though not the same, was of the same race.
Thunder reverberated through the hall, everyone noticing the destruction that had happened in a blink of an eye, yellow lightning streaking across the creature's body, its horrific screams harmonizing with the thunders of the lightning.
A melody from hell.
The weaker mages screamed in panic as they rushed to the back, a few even running out of the hall.
The stronger mages, the 4th resonance mages and above, stood their ground, each activating their protective spell.
Blinded by rage, Raika's lightning streaked uncontrolled across the room, striking their elemental shields with untamed force.
A few had to reinforce their shields, unable to withstand the lightning.
The lightning struck everything within reach, one of the stray bolts even finding its way to Aiden's side.
A protective field of black flame erupted around Aiden and Alaric, the latter's eyes calmly assessing what was going on.
In his mind, it was too early to make a conclusion.
Jumping to a conclusion was something life had thought him.
Not that he was slow, he needed a decisive Mark to conclude and that was yet to be seen.
Aiden, on the other hand, pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
He knew he couldn't interfere when she got like that, not to mention she had her reasons for this.
The lightning raged on for a few seconds more, the screams of the demon completely drowned by the crackling of lightning, the following thunder creating miniature shockwaves, a testament to Raika's rage.
A couple more seconds later, the lightning died down; the cage melted into butter, sticking to the floors, the ashes of the demonkin mixed with it.
"Hey, Raika, why did you do that to my present?" a voice reverberated through the hall, following right after the lightning had died down.
Its source: Valentin Agni, a burly man with brownish-red hair, angled brows, and his signature horseshoe mustache.
Though he sounded enraged, he wore a big smirk, a look of mockery in his gaze.
Raika turned her head sharply, brows furrowed in rage, teeth gritted in fury.
She flashed once again, her target the Duke.
"STOP!" Aiden appeared between the two.
His hands, cloaked with black flames, holding the tip of Raika's spear, which was a few centimeters away from Valentin's eyes.
Valentin stood there, arms folded, a smirk still on his lips.
Raika gnashing her teeth in rage, bloodshot eyes glaring at Valentin.
What did he mean to bring the race of demon who had killed her parents?
They were close, rivals, as both were of the fire clan, each trying to be the best on the continent, sabotaging each other in the shadows.
Sparks always flew when they met but never to the extent of blatant antagonism.
"Let go, Aiden..." Raika turned her bloodshot gaze to Aiden, the latter looking back at her with a sad smile.
He understood her plight, but in courtly etiquette, the protocols governing nobles, she couldn't kill him, as he hadn't directly done anything wrong, and there wasn't anything in the law that stated you couldn't gift a demonkin.
"Calm down, Raika," Aiden drew closer, a sad smile on his face.
Raika recognized that gaze, the gaze that said,
Just accept it and let it go; that is how the world works.
The same gaze he held when he married his second and third wives, the same gaze he used whenever she would fly into a rage when she heard unpleasant things about herself or even him.
The gaze that, though meant to be comforting, always seemed to look down on her.
Well, today she wasn't going to listen.
Valentin was provoking her, in the worst way possible, and even at the most joyous occasion of her life.
Yet, as usual, the love of her life stood not beside her, but by the side of the enemy.
"LET GO!!" She roared, lightning bursting from her form, striking across the entirety of the room.
It caught everyone off guard, as most had let down their shields, eyes glued to what they believed to be juicy drama, mouths hushed so as not to interfere.
Well, that was their own undoing.
The lightning danced around, striking anyone unfortunate enough to be within range.
They screamed in agony, quickly raising their barriers, a few already hit, cursing internally at their misfortune.
Then
CRACK!
A distinct sound louder than the crackling of lightning or the storming of thunder.
Everyone turned to it. Aiden and Raika stilled, locked into each other's eyes.
"What is that?" Alaric, who was now lying alone on the Patriarch's chair, tore his gaze from the spectacle he was beholding.
He was so engrossed, as it looked like a movie, with abundant budget on their effects.
And they intrigued him, but the loud sound caught his attention. He turned his little head to it, looking at it curiously, the rest of the crowd gasping in panic.
Among the heap of gifts, one, the smallest but most valuable, the Tear of Poseidon had cracked.
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A/N
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