2082 A New Life (Part 4)

The newly appointed Supreme Magus had been tasked with recapturing a fortress that would grant the Royal army a bridgehead into the Nestrar region. Rich in fertile lands and food deposits, it was considered one of the key areas of the Kingdom.

If they failed to reconquer Nestrar before the harvesting season, the subjects of the Crown would face a second famine whereas Thrud's army would spend winter with their belly full.

"Son, we need to talk." Leegaain said.

"I'm kind of busy here!" Lith snarled back. He was in his Tiamat form and wielded Dual Edge while he led his army of Demons through the hordes of Thrud's Emperor Beasts.

"This is more important. It's about-" A sudden blast of tier five Spirit Magic that Lith had just dodged cut Leegaain short and exploded in his face.

"Don't let Verhen conjure reinforcements!" Xondar the Garuda said. "Collapse that Gate and-"

"Kid!" The Guardian's voice roared through the battlefield, freezing even the undead marching under the banner of the Mad Queen in their place. "I'm trying to talk about my family. You two can fight later."

"I'm sorry, sir." The over 25 meters (82') tall Garuda gave Leegaain a deep bow, Xondar's body reacting faster than his brain. "Wait a minute, why am I apologizing and who the fuck are you? I am-"

"I have no time for this." Leegaain opened his mouth, hurling an ocean of Origin Flames that devoured spells, undead, humans, Emperor, and Divine Beasts alike as long as they were on Thrud's side.

It didn't matter if they were standing on the ground, flying in the air, hiding below the earth, or even inside the city walls. The flames found them and killed them in an instant.

Everyone else only experienced a breeze slightly warmer for the season and a display of power that made even the Demons of Darkness shit themselves. Luckily for them, black on black was hard to notice.

"There, can you come now or do I have to keep going?" At those words, the fortress city of Trephius raised a white flag and opened its gates.

Aside from the walls, there was no one left to fight. Even the militia was in the wind, their ashes the only proof they had ever existed.

"Okay, fine." Lith walked through the Gate while informing the Royals that the uphill siege that was supposed to last weeks before victory or retreat had suddenly been resolved.

"What's this all about? It's not like I don't appreciate the help but, in my experience, there's always a ca-" Lith froze seeing Kamila sitting amid a bunch of molten ruins. She was crying her eyes out while Jirni embraced her, whispering sweet words to her ears.

"What happened and what's your involvement in this?" He stared at Leegaain in suspicion, trusting the Overlord too much to doubt her, especially since her fury seemed to match his own.

Salaark was in a Phoenix-human hybrid form, her body surging with mana from time to time.

"It's not up to me to say but believe me when I tell you that you need to sit down and take a deep breath." Leegaain put a chair under Lith's ass before he could even notice.

'Wait, there's something really off here. First, I can see that the emotion overflowing in Kamila's mana is joy, not pain or fear. Second- Oh fuck me sideways!' Solus's brain froze noticing two flowing auras.

'What? Don't you leave me hanging as well!' Lith was going crazy with worry, but the chair was glued to his bottoms and made it impossible for him to stand up.

Jirni helped Kamila to stand up and accompanied her as she slowly walked toward her husband who was human-sized but still in Tiamat form.

"According to Salaark, I'm pregnant with your baby." She said after putting Lith's hand on her belly to verify the Guardian's words.

"That's bullshit. I always use the birth control spell and-" Demon Grasp found nothing until he focused on Kamila's womb, finding a very small life form with a pinhole-sized deep red mana core.

Lith's eyes went wide and his whole body turned into a statue.

"Do you mean the same birth control spell you learned as a human?" Leegaain asked.

"Yes." Lith's voice was deadpan.

"Did you ever think to upgrade it after becoming a Tiamat? Our biology is no different but the life force of a Divine Beast is hundreds of times more resilient than a human's. A small pulse of darkness magic is nothing."

"But she is human!"

"And you are not. Lowering her fertility without taking into account the increase in yours was naïve at best." The Father of all Dragons shrugged.

Lith didn't ask what had happened to reduce a noble household into shambles nor why two Guardians had left their turf. His brain had stopped working and he was now glad that the chair seemed to be deeply rooted in the ground because Mogar had suddenly started to spin like crazy.

All he could do was stare at Kamila's waist as if it was the scariest thing he had ever witnessed in all his three lives.

'Lith? Can you hear me?' Even Solus felt only static through their mind link. 'By my Mom, Lith.exe has stopped working.'

"This is the moment when you are supposed to stand up, congratulate your wife, and then piss yourself at the thought of becoming a father." Jirni said after the paralysis had lasted for a while.

"No? Then let me tell you what just happened here." The recount of the attack woke Lith up from his stupor, making him jump to his feet and wrap Kamila with his arms and wings to protect her from any danger that might still lay in ambush.

"How could this happen? I thought you had sworn to protect my baby and the woman carrying them from any threat!"

"What do you think we are doing here? A picnic?" Leegaain replied with a scoff.

Only then did Lith's brain put the attack and the rubble together, filling the blanks.

"Fuck Thrud! I don't give a damn about this war. The first thing I'm going to do after bringing Kami back to the Desert is to go back to Verendi and kill those fuckers!"

"Oh, dear." Tyris appeared out of a silver and golden Gate. "You should have told me sooner. I would have gladly left a few for you."

The Great Mother wore a beautiful silvery day dress that matched her eyes and emphasized the gold of her hair. Also, it was drenched in so much blood and guts that even its self-cleaning spells had yet to cleanse them.

"What do you mean?" Kamila asked, clinging to Lith to resist Mogar's crazy rotation speed.

After seeing his reaction, the small part of her mind that still thought it was just an elaborate prank had thrown in the towel.

"With Salaark here my presence would have been redundant so I went to Verendi to settle the score once and for all." Tyris replied.

"Isn't that outside of your turf? What about the local Guardian?" Lith asked in a stupor.

"You mean Ileza the Bastet? Of course she wasn't happy seeing me and tried to stop me from butchering that bunch of trash she calls a Council." Tyris replied.