Chapter 18: The Adorable Lilith!
The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting a warm, orange glow over the villa in Kuoh Town where Akira resided.
Akira's return had naturally brought joy to everyone, especially Rias. Over the past month or so, she had come to understand exactly why Akeno had managed to get a head start on her.
Combined with her own growing feelings for Akira, she had finally steeled her resolve to take a step forward. Unfortunately, Akira had chosen that exact moment to vanish. Previously, he would only disappear for three or four days at a time, but this time, he had been gone for an entire month.
This left Rias feeling incredibly frustrated. She had just gathered her courage, only for him to pull a disappearing act. And to make matters worse, when Akira finally did return, he brought back a pair of "little girls" who looked like identical twins but were actually mother and daughter. The revelation gave Rias such a shock that all her original plans were instantly blown out of the water.
"And they are...?"
Everyone was gathered in the living room, including Tiamat. The moment she laid eyes on Ophis and Lilith, Tiamat—as the Primordial Mother Goddess—instantly sensed their true nature. A Dragon and a Snake; two powerful existences originating from the very same source.
"Mother, this is Ophis, and this is Lilith. From now on, they are family."
"What lovely children..."
Upon seeing Ophis and Lilith, Tiamat immediately offered a smile full of motherly affection. She never cared about the origins of the children; as long as they were hers, she would shower them with love. In a way, it was similar to Whitebeard from One Piece—as long as you were willing to be her child, she would protect you with everything she had.
"Lilith, say hello..."
"Grandma~"
The little girl's cute voice rang out as she dove straight into Tiamat's embrace. Every woman in the room felt their maternal instincts explode at that moment. Who could possibly resist something that adorable?
The title "Grandma" caught Tiamat slightly off guard. Subconsciously, she glanced at Ophis standing nearby before looking back at Akira.
It was incredible—she suddenly had a granddaughter? In an instant, her motherly heart felt like it was melting. Her son already had a child of his own; for her, nothing could be more wonderful than this.
"Good girl~ such a good girl~~"
"Hehe~"
Both Tiamat and little Lilith were clearly in high spirits. In contrast, Rias stood to the side with her lips pouted. She was supposed to be his fiancée, yet there were already so many others around him, and now there was even a daughter.
"Hey, Akira, who are they really?"
"Eh? Didn't I already tell you? She's Ophis, and this is Lilith."
"No, that's not what I meant."
"I know what you're getting at. But, setting Lilith aside, the name Ophis shouldn't be unfamiliar to you, right?"
"Huh? How would I know an Ophis, you—"
Rias stopped mid-sentence as realization dawned on her. Looking at the emotionless little girl standing next to Akira, her eyes nearly popped out of her head as she finally connected the dots.
"Wait a second... Ophis... could she be that Ophis?"
Taking a deep breath, Rias stared at Akira and spoke slowly. It wasn't that she didn't want to believe it; she was simply afraid to. Could that legendary existence truly be a stoic, black-haired little girl?
"She is indeed that Ophis."
Akira gave Rias the confirmation she needed, simply because it was the truth.
"The Infinite Dragon God, Ophis—!!!"
Rias couldn't contain her shock any longer and shouted spontaneously.
"Eh? You recognize me?"
Ophis, who had been observing Tiamat, subconsciously turned toward Rias upon hearing her name. Being stared at by the Infinite Dragon God made Rias's heart race. This was Ophis, the strongest Dragon God in the world, universally recognized as the ultimate existence.
"Lady Ophis, I am Rias Gremory. It is an honor to meet you here."
In the presence of Ophis, Rias had to cast aside her pride and bow her head. This was a great deity that even her brother would have to handle with extreme caution—not to mention the leader of the Khaos Brigade. Much of the chaos in the Underworld recently was, in some sense, connected to Ophis.
"Uhm, I know of you. Akira's woman. Your older brother is the Maou Sirzechs."
"I am deeply honored..."
Seeing Rias acting so formal made Akira want to laugh. It was quite a realistic reaction; she usually carried herself like a high-class young lady, but the moment she met a true powerhouse, she shrank back.
"Akira, Lilith's World Essence is a bit incomplete. What happened?"
Tiamat's voice suddenly cut through the air, tinged with a hint of dissatisfaction. Her granddaughter had a flaw in her essence; for dragons and snakes, such a thing was fatal. After all, whether it was for innate Gods and Buddhas or Demon Gods and Divine Beasts, a flawed essence was an incredibly troublesome matter.
"Actually, Mother, Lilith's birth was an accident."
"Eh? An accident?"
"Initially, I wanted to capture Ophis and absorb her. However, during the process of seizing her power within the Chaos Tide, that power utilized the Tide itself to manifest, and Lilith was born."
"Formed from a fragment of power?"
As the Mother of Life and origin, Tiamat naturally understood the Tide of Chaos better than anyone. While such a situation was unprecedented, it made sense that being born from the Chaos Tide while only being a fragment of power would lead to a deficiency in essence.
"In that case, leave her to me."
Saying so, Tiamat took Lilith's small hand, and a literal flood of life force began to radiate from her. Asia, standing nearby, watched in pure awe. That level of life energy... even the small amount leaking out was enough to grant a new lease on life to dozens of people on the brink of death.
Lilith closed her eyes, looking very much like she was "enjoying" it. She didn't know exactly what her grandmother was doing; she only knew that she felt incredibly comfortable right now.
Ophis, on the other hand, felt her pupils contract slightly. From Tiamat's body, she sensed a massive power—a power that might even surpass her own.
There was no doubt about it; after leaving the world of Fate, Tiamat's Spirit Origin had undergone a transformation. Especially after becoming the Primordial Mother Goddess of this new world, her status had risen significantly.
In a place like this, there were no Counter Forces or restrictive laws to hold her back. Her Spirit Origin began to expand and finally stabilized; the Mother Goddess of Creation, the Earth Mother, the holder of the principle of "Regression" as a Beast—everything had become the foundation of Tiamat's Spirit Origin. Without exaggeration, the current Tiamat had become a world-crushing existence.
As for Lilith's missing essence, Tiamat resolved it with ease simply by bestowing a portion of her own power. For her, power was the one thing she had in endless supply.
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