楼上的上瘾女士

It took barely five minutes for the bad news to spread all about the Dragon clan Palace and then a lockdown was initiated as a search was ordered for Aspasia.

Dogroth, the Dystopian Dragon King was quickly in contact with the Pheonix Queen with his voice seething with rage while his body was shaking with barely suppressed wrath,

"So this was your plan," Dogroth said to the image of the Dystopian Pheonix Queen on a slab that was wheeled knit hid throne room.

The Phoenix Queen, Alvira just stared back at her peer without saying a word.

Her expression was neutral as she believed, despite the tense situation, it would be counter-productive, at least for the Phoenix Clan, for her to show remorse and begin to deliver a bunch of apologies for what her daughter supposedly did.

Eventually, though, she spoke, and her tone was level and without any indication of being under stress,

"This was not a plan. Remember, you always had the upper hand. I let my daughter come to your domain with only a few escorts. I put her at your mercy as a sign of my willingness to cooperate"

"Spare me! It was all a Ruse! it was clearly all a Ruse! We let our guards down and you took advantage" Dogroth said with his voice booming all about the throne hall.

"Be a little more calm and-" Alvira began but was quickly interrupted by an increasingly irate Dogroth,

"Be calm?! My son is Dead!!!" he said.

"And my daughter is missing!!!" Alvira replied with her voice raised as well.

"Heh, she better remain missing. If she is found, a quick death will be me showing mercy" Dogroth said.

"You wouldn't dare! You don't even know if Aspasia really did this" Alvira said but her words were only getting Dogroth angrier.

"MY SON WAS NAILED TO HIS BRIDAL HALL WITH PHOENIX FEATHERS!!! ARE YOU ACTUALLY STILL TRYING TO SPIN THIS IN YOUR DAUGHTER'S FAVOR?!!" he asked.

"Aspasia is my daughter. She would never go against my wishes. Nothing would ever convince her to do what is not in the best interest of the Pheonix clan" Alvira said. Keeping more of a level head than her aggrieved peer.

"Oh but it IS in your best interest. Because you want war! Or am I wrong?!" Dogroth said.

Alvira took a deep breath,

"I know you are hurting. You have just lost your son ad that is why I believe you should be given a pass even though what you said is much too foolish to have come out of the mouth of a Clan leader.

What good would war do for my clan? We are at odds with the Devil Tribe and despite their silence, there is little to no chance of union with the serpent Tribe.

Joining forces with you was the hope... It was a plan built on compromises but it was a solid plan in the long run nonetheless.

If you can just not let grief cloud your judgment, you will see that someone is obviously trying to drive a wedge in our clan's budding relationship. This is a ploy to turn us against each other" Alvira said with conviction.

She had not greenlit any plans to harm the Dragon clan and had a tight hold on her clan enough to be sure that there were no such plots.

Before the Phoenix clan decided on joining with the Dragon clan, they had considered war with any of the other three continent-rulers but no way would end up good for their clan. It would just be reestablishing the already existing four-ruler dynamic.

Choosing the Dragon clan for a merger was driven by opportunity and accepted, many years prior, to be the best plan going forward.

She had no interest in a war with the Dragon clan and remained convinced the killing had not been done by her daughter and was still sure Aspasia was a victim just like Dakon, although she did hope her daughter had a much better fate than the dead prince.

Alvira's words definitely caused Dogroth to think and even without her, he was already coming up with other possible scenarios with the Devil Tribe also being a suspect seeing as they had tried sabotage previously and failed. It was not impossible to think that they tried again.

The fact that poison was among the means used to kill the piled-up guards in front of the bridal chamber also put in the possibility that the so-far silent Serpent Tribe had something to do with it all.

Basically, Dogroth saw every single one of the other three Continent rulers as suspects in his son's death.

Despite the outward appearance of constant anger and pain, Dogroth was also feeling worried and just a bit of fear. He felt trapped.

Not only did he now feel like the three Continent rulers were involved in this heinous act against him, but he also suspected Sassy and her private channel.

He believed that the reason Aspasia had vanished to the point where there was absolutely no sign of her in the entire Dragon clan was due to the intervention of Sassy's private channel owned by the so-called Sapphirine Prince.

There was just no way Aspasia could be gone without that channel. If she had used any of the teleportation circles, which had all now been shut down, Dogroth would already have been informed.

He was sure she was no longer in the Dragon clan or even in the segment of the continent ruled by the Dragon Clan.

She was gone and to have left without as much as a trace had to have intervention from the only means of transportation they knew to not leave a trace. The very reason they all desired the private channel in the first place.

Dogroth opened his mouth to speak and then shut it before letting out a sigh and sinking into his throne with a defeated expression of pain.

He brushed a hand over his face as he calmed down so that his following words were just quiet and impactful,

"I don't trust you. I see now where we went wrong. How could we have been foolish to think we could resist fundamental differences forced upon us by our Primeval Progenitors?"

"Dogroth-" Alvira began but the Dystopian Dragon King interrupted her,

"I'll contact you when I find your murderous Daughter," he said before he ended the communication.

Once Alvira's face was gone from the slab, Dogroth placed his hand over his eyes to allow himself a few seconds of tears before he returned to ruling his clan with an iron fist and shoving all the hurt down.

"So sad. I almost pity you" said a voice and Dogroth took his hand off his face to stare at the newcomer who he had not sensed entering the throne room.

The newcomer was a tall man with black hair and sapphire gold-flecked eyes and a face that would make any man feel insecure.

"Who are you?" Dogroth asked.

"Can you not take a guess?" Hal asked with a mocking tone and that tone with that voice reminded Dogroth of a certain meeting with a masked individual,

"The Sapphirine Prince," he said through gritted teeth.

Hal gave a mocking bow,

"In the flesh. Well, not really in the flesh. This is only an Avatar. My real body is buried to the hilt in your son's widow" he said and gave a wink.

*BANG!!!*

For a response, Dogroth let out a blast that was much more than cosmic energy. It was the manifestation of his Dragon pride and authority. A bloodline ability of his that either suppressed an opponent's abilities or shattered them by causing said abilities to implode from within.

The attack met no opposition as it slammed into the Throne-room's wall and cracked it but the actual target appeared at Dogroth's shoulder from behind his throne,

"You attacked with such ferocity, one would think it was one of your consorts I was fucking. And trust me; I have thought about it and it is very much on the cards." He said with a chuckle.

"You really are an Avatar," Dogroth said with a sneer. His attack had been to make sure as it had basically been mixed with focused perception.

Once he had made sure, Dogroth didn't try to attack again.

"That's it? I was expecting a spar" Hal's Avatar said.

"You are not worth me expending any energy. You're just a coward. Want a spar, show your true self.

I know the weakness of Avatars and any actual attempt to attack me will likely result in your dissipation. The most you can do is attempt to annoy me vocally." Dogroth said.

"Well, I can be very annoying," Hal's Avatar said.

"I have the strong mental fortitude required to ignore you.

"I see. That's a shame. Anyway, I could not help but listen to your conversation because, well, because I was actively eavesdropping.

You made the right decision. You can trust no one.

Everyone is out to get you. I know, because I'm the one they come to for help with their plots.

*Sigh* Dakon is only the beginning. The plot to break down your rule and open your clan to attacks is already underway."

"I will and I am already doing my best for my clan. Your attempt to induce paranoia will not work on me." Dogroth said in his deep authoritative voice.

"Maybe... Maybe not. But can you really afford to be relaxed? I mean, your perverted self I know the weakness of Avatars, and any actual attempt to attack me that will likely result in your dissipation. The most you can do is attempt to annoy me vocally. had your senses trained at your son's bridal hall and also had multiple guards in place.

That area was the height of security and yet, your son died.

Sure you can blame the Princess of the Pheonix clan and maybe her escorts but they received aid and that aid can enter and exit your clan according to their whims.

What is stopping this secret and stealthy enemy-aid from going after all those easy targets and slowly working their way up to you" the Avatar said and then its voice suddenly changed. The pressure it released became suffocating and despite his attempt to fight it, Dogroth quickly found himself powerless.

He began to panic as the Avatar became as formless as energy in the shape of a massive Devil with only expressionless eye holes opened wide above a broad, fanged grin.

The pressure was nefarious but also commanding and irresistible for the Dystopian Dragon King.

Dogroth began to panic and shake while resisting the hold as the Avatar began to wield a trident that it formed of its nefarious energy and pointed it at his chest...

"What is stopping that Stealthy enemy-aid from driving his weapon through your chest?

Absolutely pathetic. If you can't even resist an Avatar, how dare you demand that I show my true self, YOU POWERLESS DRACONIC MORON!!!"

The Avatar yelled its last words and then stabbed Dogroth's chest.

"Ahhhhhhhhh" Dogroth yelled and his eyes opened wide to reality.

There was no Avatar... There was no damage to the wall of his throne room.

He was alone and after a quick use of his perception, there never seemed to have been anyone in the throne room with him.

"W-what in all Hell? A dream?" Dogroth said with his entire body drenched in frightened sweat.

And then he heard a voice in his ear,

"They're coming for you. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..." the voice cackled and shook Dogroth's Dao heart.

As the laughter continued, the Dystopian Dragon King realized what was wrong but that realization only made things worse;

With the death and grief at the loss of his son being the opportunity quickly capitalized on by the enemy, Dogroth now had a heart demon and that demon was the Sapphirine Prince.