Chapter 36 Savoring the Last Respite Before the Sealing Dragon Festival with the Evil Dragon’s Child
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The air inside the Underground Temple hung heavy, charged with the looming weight of the Sealing Dragon Festival.
With the grand stage that would decide our family’s fate drawing ever closer, my daughters clung to Yaten and me like burrs, trading places at our sides, unwilling to let us out of their sight.
Even Uigetsu, who’d grown into a beauty so striking she could topple kingdoms, wore a heart as tender as a child’s. Her face, sharp and handsome enough to pass for a prince in her butler-like tailcoat and white gloves, was clouded with unease. She wound her arm around mine, her grip tight, but the regal air she usually carried felt shaky, undone by the moment’s tension.
”Why can’t we just, y’know, punch everyone there and call it a day?” Uigetsu muttered, her voice half-serious.
I chuckled, unable to help it. “Sure, it’s possible, but that’d leave bad blood. No way, Uigetsu—don’t even think about it.”
Her suggestion to flatten the whole crowd with brute force pulled a grin from me. Unlike her older sister, Sakuya, who could weave plans as intricate as spider silk, Uigetsu’s mind leaned toward the straightforward—maybe a touch shortsighted.
But as a child of the Evil Dragon’s blood, she had the raw power to make violence a viable solution. If it came to a brawl, she was convinced she’d never lose. Her physical ability—what she called her “absolute body”—was so overwhelming that even her mother, Yaten, the Evil Dragon herself, might fall to her in a straight-up fight, assuming human forms.
It was a simple kind of strength, but that simplicity made it a nightmare to counter. Yet here she was, slumping in disappointment because this wasn’t a problem she could solve with fists. Unlike Sakuya, who could scheme her way through a labyrinth, or Yaten, whose cunning had earned her infamy as a devastating beauty, Uigetsu lacked that knack for strategy. The realization of her own limits dimmed her spirit, sinking her into a quiet gloom.
So, as her father, I reached out, ruffling her short black hair, my fingers brushing the sleek, black horns she let only family touch. “Hey,” I said softly, “this time, you just don’t get a turn to shine. But I’m counting on that unbeatable body of yours, Uigetsu. You know that, right?”
She let out a small, “Ah…” Her eyes flicked up, sparkling with a sudden hope that seemed ready to lift her to the heavens. My words hit her like a spark to kindling—too potent, maybe, for a girl whose heart and soul were so fiercely bound to her father.
Her expression bloomed with joy, and she leaned into my touch, savoring the feel of my hand on her horns, her face practically glowing with devotion. To Uigetsu, I was her absolute, her god, and she wore that adoration openly, basking in the sensation.
”Hey, um…” she started, her voice trembling with excitement. “After the Sealing Dragon Festival’s over, I’ll be free from my shikigami role, right? Like, really free?”
”Yep,” I said, nodding. “You’re strong, healthy, body and soul. You’ll know what real freedom feels like, Uigetsu.”
The truth was, we couldn’t keep our daughters bound as shikigami forever. Children of the Evil Dragon’s blood carried an innate darkness, a primal nature that demanded a tight leash.
But once they’d proven they could balance that power with their own will, the master-servant bond of Exorcism had to be undone. Sakuya and Uigetsu had already tamed their darker instincts. They might still feel the pull of malice or cruelty, but they’d learned to aim it only at clear enemies, never lashing out without reason. I trusted them enough to let go of that leash after the festival. They’d be truly free then, no longer tethered by their Evil Dragon heritage.
Uigetsu’s fists clenched over her chest, like she was steeling herself. “Then… I’ve got something I wanna tell you after, Dad. Is that… okay?” Her face flushed crimson, ears and all, like a boiled octopus—cute, in its own way. Her heart pounded so hard I could feel it through her arm, still looped around mine, the rapid thump-thump betraying her barely contained anticipation.
I smiled. “I’m looking forward to hearing what a truly free Uigetsu has to say.”
I knew what was stirring in her. The way she looked at me—not just as her father, but as something more, something undeniable. Her feelings were real, raw, and heavy, blooming from daughterly affection into something fiercer since the events at the Sealing Seat. She’d been wrestling with it, consumed by a longing she couldn’t shake, like a slave to her own heart. I’d caught her, time and again, trying to vent that passion in quiet corners, unable to hold it in.
”Dad…” she gasped, her voice breaking. “I’m… I can’t take it anymore…”
”Here,” I said, opening my arms. “Come here. Take a breath.”
She threw herself into me, burying her face in my chest, inhaling deeply as if she could draw my very essence into her lungs. Her body shivered—not from cold, but from waves of emotion that left her trembling.
Her arms wrapped tightly around my back, and when she pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, her sharp, princely features had melted into something softer, almost wanton, like a woman lost to desire. “I can’t… I need more. I want to feel you, Dad… I—”
”I love you,” I cut in, firm but gentle. “But we’re family, Uigetsu. This kind of closeness… it’s gotta stop here.”
She let out a shaky, “Ah…!” Her voice caught, and she nodded, struggling to rein herself in. “I’ll… I’ll try…”
For a moment, she let herself be spoiled as my daughter, trading her burning desires for the simple comfort of my touch. I ran my fingers through her hair, grazed her sacred horns—those symbols of her dignity, her soul—and held her close, letting her revel in the right to be held without restraint. She soaked in the sensation, her happiness cresting like a wave.
”Can I… suck on your thumb?” she asked, her cheeks flaming.
I laughed softly. “Even now, you can’t let go of that habit, huh?”
”It’s not like that!” she protested, her blush deepening. “I just… really love your fingers, okay?” But when I offered my thumb, she latched on like a child, her lips closing around it with a fervor that betrayed her words. Her tongue swirled, savoring it like sweet nectar, her expression pure bliss.
”Really that good?” I teased.
”Mmm…!” she mumbled around my thumb, her voice muffled but fierce. “I’ll never… ever… give this up…!”
Her gloved hands gripped my arm, holding it in place as she lavished my thumb with attention, her tongue working with a hunger that left it slick with saliva. It was a strange sight—Uigetsu, the dashing prince-like beauty, lost in an almost childish act of devotion. I stroked her hair, cherishing her innocence even as I wondered, What did I do to my daughters that day?
The memory was locked away, sealed tight. Since that incident, both Sakuya and Uigetsu had grown bolder, more forward with me. Yaten, too, stayed silent about it, her lips sealed as tightly as theirs. I could’ve ordered the truth from them as their shikigami master, but I’d never force my family like that. Instead, Yaten and I had made a pact: after the Sealing Dragon Festival, she’d help me unravel those locked memories.
Her eyes had burned with seriousness when she spoke, locking onto mine without flinching. “Before we free them from their shikigami bonds, you’ll face those memories, my love. Will you face our daughters again, knowing what you’ll learn?”
I couldn’t refuse her, not when her plea carried the weight of a mother’s desperation. After the festival, after we broke the chains of tradition, I’d have to confront my daughters anew.
”I love you…” Uigetsu murmured, her tongue still teasing my thumb, her eyes mirroring Yaten’s—deep with longing, transformed by something more than daughterly affection. I stroked her cheek, then pressed a gentle kiss to her sharp, gleaming horn.
”I’ll give you a proper answer, Uigetsu,” I said. “I love you.”
”Ah…!” The words hit her like a jolt, her princely composure crumbling into a dazed, open-mouthed expression. Her body trembled, overwhelmed by a rush of joy that left her knees buckling. She sank to the floor, gasping, “Dad… Dad…!” Her voice broke into incoherent sounds, her body quaking as if electrified.
I knelt to lift her, to hold her close, when—
”That’s not fair, Uigetsu!” Sakuya’s voice cut through, sharp with mock indignation. “We said no sneaking ahead!”
I glanced up. “Sakuya… what’s with the getup?”
She stood there, ropes that could bind even gods wrapped around her body, her expression a mix of envy and determination as she glared at her sister. “Preparations for the Sealing Dragon Festival,” she said, setting the divine ropes down. “Just in case things go south, I’ve brought the sacred tools.”
Then, her eyes locked onto mine, and she broke into a run, leaping toward me with a grin. “Spoil me too, Daddy!” she cried, her voice as bright and childish as it had been years ago. With the Sealing Dragon Festival looming, she dove into my arms, claiming this fleeting moment of peace as if nothing else in the world mattered.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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