Chapter 68: CONCLUSION
Lilura smiled as she watched Azrael from her laid back position.
"How are you?" She asked.
Although he could not see her fully from where he stood, he caught her most essential features.
Long white hair that looked like the finest silk in existence.
At a glance, it was clearly long enough to reach her back.
Her eyes were sky blue, radiating the light that entered them back into the surrounding air, softly.
But that was not what stunned Azrael.
His mother, the matriarch of the Malvorin clan, was an angel.
Twelve large white wings spread from her back, six on each side.
Above her head, a diamond grade Halo floated gently, as though gravity itself was a law that did not dare apply to it.
"I am fine," Azrael replied, still taking it all in.
It was like something heavy had just been dropped on him.
[Are you surprised your mother is an angel?]
The system asked with a laughter emoji.
’Of course I am. How does a demon marry into their arch nemesis race?’
[That is just how powerful love is.]
’True,’ Azrael replied.
Then he refocused on Lilura.
Although she was never truly his mother, only the woman who had given birth to the previous owner of this body, he still felt a strange pull toward her.
Since arriving in this world, this was the first time he had felt something like this because of another person.
"You cannot say you are fine without coming inside," she said calmly.
"You have not even gotten a hug from mama," as she said those, she rose from her chair gently.
She walked toward him and pulled him into her embrace.
Though she was taller, she bent just enough to meet his height.
The doors shut behind them as she pulled him through the door.
Her left hand stroked his back gently, and the right one ruffled his hair casually.
After a while, she let go.
"I heard you awakened and got incredibly strong," she said, guiding Azrael toward a chair.
Azrael did not quite know how to respond to any of this.
He was not sure whether to stop her or simply follow along.
"I have been gone for only ten years and my last child has grown so big and handsome," she said, pressing him gently into the seat.
She pushed a cup of beverage toward him and sat down across from him.
Azrael picked up the tea and sipped.
"Tell me, how many girlfriends do you have?" Lilura said suddenly.
Azrael nearly choked.
[She actually thinks you could have a girlfriend.]
The system said with a laughing emoji.
"None. I am not ready for that yet," Azrael replied, dabbing his mouth with a napkin.
Lilura frowned.
"Your father was quite the pursuer when he was younger, you know," she said.
Azrael set down his cup and settled in to listen.
As she spoke, his past life flickered through his mind.
The years as an orphan. No family. No one. Just the boxing team that eventually took him in.
"We met at the grand Nexus Convergence, the one held every hundred years, like the upcoming one. Your father wiped out half the participants single handedly, just to declare his love for a vampire."
Azrael blinked, trying to imagine someone eliminating thousands of fighters at the level of his current classmates on his own.
Then Lilura’s next words nearly made him choke again.
"It turned out he only wanted to sleep with her. After that, he left and never looked back."
She laughed as she said it, as though it were one of the most absurd things she had ever witnessed.
"That is enough slander. We all know it was you who did something like that to a vampire boy," Abaddon’s voice filled the room.
Azrael looked around for the source.
He found no one.
"I am here," Abaddon said again.
His voice was unnervingly close to Azrael’s left ear.
Slowly, Azrael turned.
The space that had been empty a moment ago was now occupied by Abaddon.
His face was as cold as ever.
But Azrael caught something in his eyes. A flicker of something that felt close to warmth.
"Let us go," Abaddon said, tapping Azrael on the shoulder.
"I am clearly trying to spend time with my son," Lilura said, reaching over and tapping Abaddon’s hand.
"This will not take long."
Lilura considered it.
"Just make sure you are both back before the family dinner."
Azrael’s expression shifted at the mention of a family dinner.
He had not heard anything about this until now.
Before his thoughts could run further, space shifted around him.
He reappeared in what appeared to be a council chamber.
It was decorated in deep ornate crimson.
A single throne stood at the front.
Abaddon sat on it, calm and still.
Three other chairs were arranged around it.
Azrael recognized one of the occupants immediately.
Alaric, the great elder in charge of the library.
Two women sat in the remaining chairs.
At the center of the arrangement stood a podium.
And on the podium stood Azrael, with something that felt very close to fear pressing against his chest.
It was understandable.
He was standing before the council of the most powerful members of the clan. The ones referred to as the pillars of the Malvorin clan for a reason.
"Azrael, we are here with the verified results of your core reassessment," Abaddon began.
He turned to Alaric, whose domain this was.
Alaric nodded.
"I had to run this test multiple times before I was willing to confirm anything," he said calmly.
"But after exhaustive testing, and with Sylvester’s additional input, it has been verified without question. You possess an Infernal grade core."
Silence fell over the council.
They had all known this was coming. And yet hearing it stated plainly was still something else entirely.
After what felt like an eternity to Azrael, Abaddon spoke again.
"With this confirmation, we have decided the following."