[The Next Day]

The Winter Household in Lepreun Town was active.

And by active, everyone was downstairs twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the whole thing to be over.

The town was still in shambles from yesterday's chaos.

Buildings had collapsed, streets were torn apart, and bodies were still being cleared from the rubble. But their street had survived mostly intact, thanks to some luck and Alvinus's protective enchantments.

The Empire had sent several Earth mages to help rebuild the damaged sections and clear away the bodies that littered the main roads.

Lillia was curled up in the corner next to Feng, her small frame pressed against his side like she was trying to disappear into him.

"Is papa comin—?"

A scream from upstairs cut her off mid-sentence.

All the women flinched simultaneously, their shoulders tensing immediately.

"Will it hurt that much when I'm in labor?" Veyra whimpered, gripping Rene's hand so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"It doesn't hurt... that much," Edna said while holding Isolde in her arms.

The baby gurgled happily, completely oblivious to the tension in the room. Edna made a gentle beckoning gesture toward Lillia.

Lillia immediately ran over and buried her face in Edna's chest. Even though Edna's breasts were small under her clothes, the physical comfort helped calm Lillia's racing mind and pounding heart.

"Mama... yesterday was..."

Edna had asked about it before, multiple times. Lillia had refused to talk about it every single time.

"I saw people die." Lillia's voice was muffled against Edna's shirt, it was barely audible. "They were just normal humans. They were weak. Is that why? I'm scared... what if I die because I'm not strong enough?"

Veyra's face fell immediately.

Guilt twisted sharply in her chest like a knife... She'd been the one who carried the little girl outside into that mess yesterday, exposing her to violence and death at such a young age.

Edna stroked her daughter's hair gently with her free hand, her touch soft and reassuring.

"Lillia... thank you for telling me this." She smiled down at her warmly. "No, you won't die. As long as your father is alive, as long as I am alive, as long as your other mamas are alive... you won't die. Uncle Feng and Uncle Alvinus will protect you too."

Lillia turned to look at them with wide eyes, searching desperately for confirmation that what Edna said was true.

"Of course. I'd give my life to protect everyone here in an instant," Veyra said with a warm smile, trying to make up for her earlier guilt.

Anya nodded shyly, her cheeks flushing slightly. "I'll make sure nothing happens to you, Lillia. Believe it."

Feng gave her an encouraging thumbs-up. "I'll just kill anything that comes for you!"

"That doesn't help…."

Alvinus smiled at her gently, his elven features were warm and kind.

Lillia harrumphed loudly and turned away from him with exaggerated offense.

Alvinus's mouth dropped open in complete shock, his eyes widening comically. The little girl had totally rejected him without mercy.

"But even then, you need to be strong yourself," Edna continued, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "Your mamas won't protect you forever. You'll need to protect us too. And protect your papa like he's protecting us now."

Lillia nodded seriously, processing the weight of those words.

Then she smiled up at Edna with renewed determination. "Then I'll become the strongest. Even stronger than papa. And I'll protect everybody."

Edna's expression softened with maternal approval and pride.

Isolde giggled suddenly and reached out toward her sister with tiny, pudgy hands. Lillia took them gently between her own fingers, adoring the silver-haired baby's innocent smile.

"But you're right... this is a very important day for Meda," Edna said, glancing over at Feng thoughtfully. "He's two days late, right?"

She couldn't help but wonder what kind of urgent job could possibly keep him stuck in the Land of Elves during something as important as the birth of his newborns. It must have been serious.

Another scream echoed from upstairs, louder this time and filled with pain.

Alvinus had placed sound-cancellation runes on the maids' ears and on the closed bedroom door with everyone's permission beforehand.

The fact that screams were still piercing through the magical barriers meant they were far, far louder than the runes could actually handle.

The front door suddenly opened with a soft creak and Azel stepped inside and closed it behind him carefully.

"Did the town demolish itself? What happened out there?" he asked, looking around at everyone's tense faces. He was currently shirtless, showing off his toned and muscular physique, wearing only a pair of simple trousers.

'I still can't believe that whole thing with Merek wasn't even counted as a Calamity,' he thought with frustration. 'An unstable Archmage being released onto the world? Think, System, think.'

[That is, unfortunately, not one of the Calamities.]

'Fuck you.'

He'd gotten two rewards from that brutal fight though, so it wasn't a total waste.

The first was Merek's destruction affinity, which had formed a completely new magical core inside his body.

Destruction was exactly what it sounded like… the pure ability to destroy and unmake things. It let him release destructive waves that consumed nature itself, eating away at reality.

It was the direct opposition of Life magic, though significantly weaker in raw power, so Life could overpower it relatively easily if used correctly.

The second reward was something mysterious called Merek's Throne. It was just a simple-looking throne when he'd examined it but it felt incredibly good to sit on, almost supernaturally comfortable.

"You're so late," Edna said with mild reproach in her voice.

Lillia teleported onto his back instantly without warning, her small arms wrapping around his neck as she grabbed his ears with both hands.

"Papaaaa... why are your ears long?" she asked with childish curiosity, tugging on them experimentally.

Everyone in the room froze mid-motion, staring at Azel with varying expressions of shock and confusion.

When exactly had Azel become an elf?

"Apparently, it was a Bloodline Awakening," Azel replied casually, reaching up to pat his daughter's head affectionately. "One of my ancestors was an elf somewhere down the line, so I got some kind of Royal Elf transformation from it. Though I'm only half, not full-blooded."

Lillia didn't understand most of the complicated words he'd just said. All she knew was that it was really cool. She grabbed his twitching pointed ears with both hands and squeezed them gently.

"Cool!"

Alvinus had a very different reaction entirely.

"B-Boss... you're an elf now?!" His voice cracked slightly with disbelief.

"Oh right, Alvinus." Azel reached into his pocket and tossed a sealed envelope at him. "Anastasia said I should give you this."

Alvinus caught it awkwardly and tore it open with shaking fingers. Inside was an official report clearing all his criminal charges, revealing they'd all been deliberately orchestrated by Sylvia as part of some larger scheme.

His heart broke a little… he'd genuinely liked her and trusted her but he was also deeply relieved to finally be cleared of false accusations.

Gwendolyn floated beside Azel invisibly as always, her ghostly form completely undetectable to everyone except him. "So this is your daughter? You two look nothing alike at all."

This was her first time actually seeing them together. Azel hadn't come home after that date with Sylvia, instead staying in the capital until Mynes's and Stella's birthday celebration.

'Shut up,' he thought back at her with mild irritation.

Azel walked over to Edna first and kissed her forehead tenderly. Then he moved to each girl in the room systematically, repeating the same gentle gesture for Veyra, Anya, Lorraine and even Isolde.

They all smiled warmly at the affectionate attention.

"I'm sorry for making you all wor—"

Another piercing scream sounded from upstairs, cutting him off completely.

Azel's crimson eyes widened with sudden realization. Medusa was in active labor right this very moment.

He moved at a speed even Veyra's enhanced perception couldn't properly track, vanishing up the stairs in a blur of motion.

The others waited tensely downstairs, holding their collective breath. The shouting from above died down completely and suddenly.

'She must be comforted now that he's finally there—'

"AZELLLL!!!! I HATE YOUU!!!!"

A massive crash echoed violently through the entire house, shaking the walls.

Azel came flying down the upstairs hallway like a ragdoll that had been thrown by a giant, his body completely airborne.

Lillia floated gracefully off his shoulder at the last second, using her wind magic to slow his dangerous momentum and skillfully redirect him downward so he rolled down the staircase instead of smashing face-first into the wall at the end of the hall.

He tumbled down the wooden steps with multiple painful-sounding thuds and collapsed at the bottom in a heap, his new elf ears twitching involuntarily from the impact.

"So mean..." He pulled himself up slowly, rubbing his sore back. "Edna, did you cook anything while I was gone?"

…

About five minutes later, two of the professional midwives came downstairs together. They smiled politely at everyone despite their noticeably wrinkled clothes and slightly disheveled appearances.

From what Azel had glimpsed when he'd briefly peeked into the room earlier, they both had several powerful magical enchantments layered on their bodies.

That was clearly why they weren't remotely fazed by Medusa's ear-splitting screaming and supernatural strength.

They were obviously very experienced with difficult births, not panicking at all despite the extreme volume and occasional thrown furniture.

"Sir Azel, you may come upstairs now," the older woman said with a respectful bow.

Azel stood up and nodded at the gathered girls. Lillia immediately took his hand in her smaller one. They walked upstairs together, her steps quick and excited.

The bedroom was mostly intact and organized, though his wooden wardrobe had acquired several new fist-shaped dents in the doors.

He'd fix it later when he had time.

Medusa sat propped up on the bed, looking absolutely exhausted but radiant. In her arms were two babies wrapped carefully in soft white cloth.

They both had inherited pink hair from their mother and were crying softly with healthy lungs. But their facial features clearly resembled Azel's. One was a boy, the other a girl.

"Azel..." Medusa's voice was tired and hoarse from all the screaming.

He walked closer to the bed and she leaned her head against his thigh as he stood beside her. "I'm sorry for my violent outburst earlier. I don't ha—"

"Don't worry about it, Meda," he interrupted gently.

She looked up into his eyes with vulnerability.

His face was full of pure joy and he was proud that she'd given him these babies, and she could see it clearly.

Tears threatened to well up in her eyes.

He kissed her forehead and her heart throbbed.

'It's painful but I'm sure I can have five more. Maybe ten more.'

The look he'd just given her was to die for.

He looked down at the babies. Lillia still held his hand, staring at them with the protective gaze of an older sister.

"What should we name them?" Azel asked while patting Medusa's head.

She smiled tiredly. "Uh... I'm not good with names. I'd like if you named them."

"You have to name one," Azel insisted. "The boy. Come on, you're their mother."

"I... uh..." Medusa stuttered, looking into the boy's eyes.

He had inherited Azel's crimson irises and they looked like gemstones. "Raphael. How does it sound?"

Azel looked down at baby Raphael thoughtfully for a long moment, then grinned widely with genuine approval.

"Raphael Winters. That has a really nice ring to it. Strong name for a strong boy."

Medusa's heart swelled with happiness and relief. He was truly pleased with her choice, which made her incredibly happy in turn.

He shifted his attention to their daughter next, examining her with the same careful consideration.

She had clearly inherited his facial features… the shape of his nose, and the curve of his jaw but she had Medusa's distinctive eye color, creating an incredibly pretty combination that was uniquely hers.

She would definitely rival her mother's legendary beauty someday in the distant future.

"Lysandra," Azel declared after a moment of thought. "Lysandra Winters."

He glanced down at Medusa for her approval and confirmation.

She lit up immediately, her tired face brightening. "They're both so cute. Perfect names for perfect babies."

Azel carefully scooped both infants from her tired arms with surprising gentleness for someone possessing such overwhelming physical power, cradling them against his bare chest.

"It's not easy to give birth to two children at once," he said softly but firmly. "You need proper rest now, Meda. Your body has been through a lot."

His voice dropped to something more playful. "If you truly love me, then you'll sleep right now."

Medusa pouted adorably at being ordered around, but she was far too exhausted to properly argue or resist.

She adjusted her pillow with what little strength remained and then yawned widely, her jaw cracking.

"Thank you for giving me such an incredible blessing~" she murmured sleepily.

By the time Azel turned his head around to reply to her sweet words, she was already snoring loudly and deeply.

Completely fast asleep within mere seconds, her chest rising and falling with deep, even breaths.

Lillia released his hand and ran excitedly out of the room, her little feet padding quickly across the floor.

"I have two younger siblings! Two!!!!" she announced proudly to everyone waiting downstairs, her voice carrying through the whole house with pure joy.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.