Arc 7: 106th Adversary: Tessa & Kristen Dragna

On the southern border of the Dragna Empire, a pair of teens were walking side by side. They were a pair of a boy and a girl. They both had purple hair and bright blue eyes that reminded one of the skies. The boy had a handsome face while the girl had a beautiful one. The girl's hair reached her shoulders while the boy's was cut short and styled. The girl wore a uniform that consisted of a white blazer with black trimmings, a black and white skirt, and high-top boots. The boy wore something similar only with black pants rather than a skirt.

"Hm…When was the last time we were here?"

The girl asked.

"1 year, 8 months, 17 days, 5 hours, and 53 minutes ago."

The boy answered. The girl looked at him with disgust.

"Of course, I was joking."

"For some reason, I don't think you were."

She stepped away from him.

"Considering you're a big mama's boy, it's possible that you were keeping track."

"What's wrong with loving your mother? I don't call you a daddy's girl, do I?"

"If you did you would be 6 feet under."

"Hmph. Dream on, brat. I could beat you with 50% of the power in my pinkie."

"That's big talk for someone who is ranked below me at the academy."

The girl had a smug expression.

"I fought more tournaments than you and have a higher win percentage. Ranks mean nothing in front of statistics."

"I've fought tougher opponents and won my matches with a faster time. So don't tell me about stats."

"Your opponents only seem tougher because of your lack of strength."

"....."

"....."

The two stopped walking and stood in silence for a while.

And then-

*Bam!*

The two attacked each other with punches, which clashed against each other.

"Looks like it's time for me to become an only child."

"Idiot, we still have an older brother. But it looks like it's time for me to become the youngest living sibling."

The two glared at each other with grins on their faces. They tried to push each other back.

"Today, I'll finally get my own room."

"What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing. Being stuck with an annoying brat like you since we were in the womb is injustice after all."

A crimson aura started leaking out of the boy's body, while a black one leaked from the girl's. Their eyes changed to crimson and black respectively. The two distances themselves before charging back at each other.

"Let's go, Tessa!"

"Here I come, Kristen!"

They closed in on each other in an instant. And then-

*Bam!*

They were both forced to the ground after being hit on the top of their heads.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Tessa held her head and started rolling on the ground. Kristen silently looked up with a huge bump on his head and traces of tears in his eyes.

"You two should really stop fighting all the time."

When he looked up he saw Momo looking down at him in her child form.

"Couldn't you have held back? My head felt like it was gonna burst open."

Kristen complained.

"I only used the necessary force."

Momos lifted him off the ground and said.

"By the way, if auntie asks you got those bumps from tripping and hitting your heads together."

"Like anyone would believe something out of an old cartoon!"

Tessa shouted. Momo ignored her protest and cast a healing spell to get rid of the bumps.

"There, no evidence."

She dusts her hands off with a smug expression.

"Why are you here, Momo?"

"To pick you up. What else?"

She placed her hands on her hips.

"If you guys were left alone, you would fight endlessly and take ages to arrive. Besides, you're heading in the wrong direction."

"What do you mean? The capital is in this direction."

Tessa said.

"Yes, but your family isn't in the capital anymore."

Momo pointed towards the west.

"They are in your brother's country."

Renacido, Dragna Empire. The twins Kristen and Tessa arrived at the borders of the country. Their eyes widened at the sight of a huge highway that connected to the outside of the empire.

"When was this built and why is it heading towards the Jara jungle?"

Kristen asked.

"You guys didn't hear? The Jara jungle is now the property of the Dragna empire through Renacido. This highway was built to connect it with the rest of the empire on Miko's orders."

"Big Bro's? To think he actually built a country of his own…."

Kristen took a good look at the highway. Many beasts and humans were traveling in and out between the jungle and the empire.

"Amazing!"

His thought was spoken out loud by his little sister. She spoke with an upbeat tone.

"Big bro really created a country and he's already expanding his territory."

She started laughing proudly with both hands on her waist.

"I knew it! If Miko is serious, conquering the world will be a snap! Hahaha!"

"Idiot. I'm sure Miko had to do a lot of hard work to achieve what he has. There's no way this could've been easy."

Kristen scolded his sister.

"Hmph! Stuff like this comes naturally for our brother. I'm sure he's constantly turning the country on its head with his actions. The fact that we can come home now means he's won against all of those opposing him. Our brother is invincible!"

Tessa once again laughed proudly.

(It's true the fact that Mama said we can come back home means Miko won, but there's no such thing as an easy victory. I'm sure he must've been through a lot to reach where he is now.)

Kristen clenched his fists.

(I must do everything I can to support him and lessen his burdens!)

"Hey, moron."

He turned and looked at Tessa who was pointing at the highway.

"Let's get going, I wanna see my favorite sibling."

"Yeah, Yeah. I'm glad I'm not your favorite."

The two raced towards the highway without saying anything to Momo. Seeing that, she shook her head.

"These two really live at their own pace."

She walked after them. Once they were on the highway, the twins could see the beasts up close.

"Woah, it's a winged lion! Look, a pixie! Wow, it's a lizard man!"

Tessa shouted as she looked around with sparkling eyes.

"I forgot Tessa shares Miko's love for monsters."

Momo said.

"If you don't keep an eye on her, she might take one of these beasts home you know. We went on a field trip at the academy and she saw a hydra, beat it up, and tried to sneak it back on our flight."

"….It would be a problem if she does that with these beasts."

Just like Kristen said, Momo had to keep an eye on Tessa. There were times she tried to take the residents of the jungle as her pets, only to be stopped before it became too serious. Tessa was currently walking in front of Momo where she could be monitored.

"Listen, Tessa. These are your brother's citizens. They aren't wild beasts. If you treat them with disrespect, it will reflect badly on your brother."

"I know that much. I just got a bit carried away."

Tessa started pouting. They used the highway to enter the country. When they entered they saw a sign with the word "Nebulous" on it. Momo stood before the sign and spread her arms open.

"Welcome to the capital of Renacido, Nebulous City."

The twins looked past the sign and saw a vibrant movement scene. The buildings were all modern and the roads were made out of a silver material that glistened under the sun like stars in the night.

"Woah."

The twins entered the city and looked around with sparkling eyes. They could see lots of monsters flying in the air, some with people on their backs.

"That's our air-taxi services. This creates a lot of jobs for the residents of Jara who don't have any special skills. It's also pretty cheap, so ordinary people can enjoy the feeling of flying without going bankrupt."

Momo explained.

"Natural Juice! Get yourself some natural juice made by Jara's own dryads!"

A young woman walked past them pushing a cart with juices on it.

"Want one? It's pretty tasty you know? It's made by dryads who manipulated the juices out of the fruit trees in Jara. It's 100% natural and filled with nutrients."

While the twins were making up their minds, Momo bought three drinks from the young woman and gave them one each, and took one for herself.

"Hm!"

The twins' faces lit up after tasting the drink.

"Come on, There's a lot more that Renacido has to offer."

At the same time in Lushun. Joesph flameheart was walking around in the garden of the Flameheart Residence. He stopped and looked to his right. There he saw two persons emerge from the light. They were Tia and Ouroboros.

"My, my. This is an unexpected reunion."

Joesph bowed in front of Tiamat.

"My lady, it's been ages."

He then shook hands with Ouroboros.

"There's an obvious difference with treatment here."

Ouroboros said.

"Well, Tiamat was my master's wife so it's natural I would treat her with the utmost respect."

"Joey, you've become quite the schemer since we last met."

Tia smiled at him and said.

"What could my lady be referring to?"

"Don't play dumb. The reason you arranged Miko's engagement to your descendant is because you had planned on making him have an eternal bond with your clan. You knew Miko was destined for greatness and wanted your clan to forever benefit from this."

"I won't deny that was one of my reasons for the engagement, but can you blame me? What's wrong with trying to make it so that your descendants could climb up the social ladder of life?"

Joseph answered with a smile.

"Besides, aren't you doing the same? You pounced at the chance of making Miko your proxy because you wanted to chain him to your clan right? You wanted to make him into the next Augustus and once again lead your clan to greatness. You're no different from me, my lady."

"Miko is my descendent and someone I respect, admire, and even trust all my hopes and dreams to. I'm literally risking it all for him. Don't compare my relationship with him to yours."

Tia's tone was becoming sharp.

(Tia doesn't like that Joesph was implying she's just using Miko…..Looks like she really cares about him.)

Ouroboros thought after seeing the two's exchange.

"Then what is the problem, My Lady? My actions were something your husband ordered himself. It's not like I'm using Miko without giving him anything in return. I plan on giving him my full support in anything he plans to do."

"Joey, do you know why I went along with Nero's plan to draw you out of hiding? It's because I knew you would ultimately lead to Miko's destruction if I let you do as you please."

"Pardon, but please explain. How would I lead to his destruction?"

"You'll spoil him just like how you and those five spoiled Augustus. Because you six allowed him to do whatever he pleased, he brought destruction upon himself. You're going to repeat the same mistake."

"Aren't you doing the same? You let him do as he likes too."

"I do, but unlike you, I've ensured there are brakes that can stop the two of us from going too far."

"Brakes?"

"Miko's family and friends. I continuously encourage Miko to gather allies and cherish those around him, while also convincing those that care about him to stick by his side. As long as Miko still has those connections, he won't suffer the same fate as Augustus."

"I see. Then, do you want me to back down and distance myself from him?"

"No. I want you to properly mentor him as a senior should. Be to him what Augustus was for you. Despite him himself being arrogant and reckless, Augustus always taught those around him how to properly survive in this world. Teach Miko those things."

Joesph started laughing.

"You're really concerned about him aren't you, my lady? If I didn't know better I would think that you wanted him to replace my master in a different way."

His words caused Tia's eyes to twitch.

"I was planning on properly mentoring him in the first place. So there's no need to worry."

He looked at Ouroboros.

"Lord Ouroboros, What is your business with me? Surely you don't think I'm using Luka or anything?"

Ouroboros shook his head.

"I'm just here to announce that Tia and I are officially entering an alliance."

"Well, I expected as much. Then I take it that Luka won't fight for the throne herself, but instead support Miko."

"That's right."

Joseph smiled.

"That's excellent."

"Yes, that is indeed excellent."

The three heard a new voice and turned to look behind them. There they saw a woman appear out of nowhere. She was dressed in a stylish black and pink hooded cloak. She had jet-black hair with pink endings and cold-looking purple eyes. She was 5'5 and had an attractive body, the beautiful flushed face of a teenager with beautiful pale skin. Her face lacked emotion and had an apathetic look.

"Kimiko."

She was Miko's grandmother, Kimiko Mors-Dragna.

"With people coming by the dozens, Miko is going to need all the allies he can get."

Kimiko threw a bag that was in her hand in front of the three. The smell of blood was in the air as red liquid drained from the bag and stained the ground.

"These are…?"

"The heads of people who came to assassinate my grandson. This is only from this morning. The rest is buried along the borders of the empire."

"I was wondering where you've been, but you were killing outsiders aiming at Miko. As expected of history's greatest assassin."

"I couldn't handle them all alone, so I had my stupid son help me out."

"Nova, huh? I also wondered where he was."

Tia said with a smile. Kimiko glared at her.

"You do know the reason why this many people are coming for my grandson is because you picked a fight with every higher being alive, right?"

"I know. I acknowledge my mistake, but I don't regret my actions."

"Oh? You should count yourself lucky that you're protected by the Proxy system. Otherwise, you'll be dead already."

"Calm down, Kim. Tia was put in a spot and had no choice but to challenge everyone. Otherwise, they would've demanded m she hand over Miko to be executed by them."

Ouroboros got between the women and said.

"Uncle…"

Kimiko looked at Ouroboros and backed away from Tia before turning her back to the three of them.

"I'll leave it here for now, but keep this in mind."

She looked back at them with a bloodthirsty gleam in her eyes.

"If my grandson dies because you all put him out there for your own selfish reasons, I will make it my life's mission to kill every single one of you Higher Beings even if it means joining a group of maniacs to do it."

Her eyes landed on Joesph.

"As for you, you're not protected by the proxy system and can still be killed. Don't push your luck."

She immediately vanished into thin air.

"Whew~. I haven't felt such intense bloodlust since the war. She meant every word huh?"

Tia said with a laugh.

"You seem pretty carefree though."

Ouroboros said.

"I've already picked a fight with the world twice. I'm not easily frightened anymore."

Back at Renacido. The twins finally arrived where Miko was.

"Woah!"

They were standing in front of a large building that looked like it was meant for a congress. It was white and gold and had sculptures of dragons, crows, and demons in the yard. It had a flag of a dragon entangling with a crow on the top and had dozens of people and beasts constantly patrolling the place.

"Welcome to Renacido's headquarters, the Hall Of Rebirth."

Momo pointed at the building.

"Let's go, your family is inside."