Chapter 428: The Beginning Of The End [XC]

“BRRROOOOOOOOO!”

The first ones who ran at him were Derek and James.

They simply charged at him at full speed, causing his eyes to widen slighly.

Seeing that they wouldn’t stop anytime soon, he calmly stepped to the side.

Thud!

Both twins flew past him and slammed face-first into the ground.

“Ouch!”

“Agh!”

They groaned loudly, rolling over and clutching their heads.

“Pffft…” Aestrea let out a quiet breath and smiled, shaking his head a little.

But before he could move again, a heavy force hit his chest.

Thump!

A pair of large boots pressed him down, stopping him in place.

He looked down and instantly saw a beautiful lady with long, dark, luscious hair that fell down to her waist.

Her small, dark eyes stared at him, trembling with emotion, and seeing the noticeable asian features, he was a bit surprised.

She had grown and was even taller now. Taller than before.

Standing well over one-seventy centimeters.

“Papa…”

“…Chaerin.”

He gently caressed her head slighly, as she stood there, breathing hard, her hands clenched at her sides as if she did not know whether to hug him or yell at him.

Then her control broke.

“Aestrea!”

Two more figures rushed in right after.

Mia and Maria threw themselves at him from both sides, their arms wrapping around him tightly.

They had grown too.

Their faces looked more mature, their bodies more filled out, but their smiles were the same as always.

“Gosh, I missed you sooo much…!”

“I really misssed yoouuuu!”

Both of them spoke at the same time, causing Aestrea to wrap my arms around the three of them. But of course… it still wasn’t all.

Fwump!

Something jumped on top of them.

The pile collapsed, and they all hit the ground together, and suddenly, Aestrea felt a soft feeling brushing against his crotch.

“Honey~, you’re finally back~”

He slowly looked up and saw a familiar and sharp face.

“Yara…?”

“It is indeed me~”

She leaned over him with a wicked smile. Her looks had barely changed, if anything, she only seemed even rougher and more dangerous than before.

Before she could say more.

…Thwack!

Yara was suddenly thrown aside.

“Hey!”

Another figure dropped onto him instead.

Zeva.

She sat on top of him, staring down with wide eyes that slowly filled with tears. Her hands trembled as she grabbed his clothes.

“My sweet love… I missed you so much.”

Zeva, the one who replaced Yara, didn’t waste a single second before pushing Chaerin, Mia, and Maria aside without care and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Mhm!~♡”

She planted a few pecks before retracting her head back with heart-filled eyes.

“H-how I’ve missed those lips of yours…”

She lowered her head once again and continued kissing him.

“Chuu, chuuuuuu!”

Aestrea gently kept his glowing crimson eyes open, gently brushing away the small tears that refused to disappear from her emerald eyes.

“Sniff… G-god…. I-I can’t stop crying…”

Drip… drip…

Tears kept falling, one after another, hitting his chest with quiet taps.

After pulling back, Zeva rubbed her eyes lightly, trying to stop the never-ending tears.

“I look so stupid right now…” she muttered.

But just as she did that, a few more figures rushed at once upon seeing that opportunity.

“Master!”

“Master~”

“Mastaaaa~”

Thump!

Thud!

Rustle!

Four figures suddenly attacked him, but two of them were totally unfamiliar voices.

As soon as Aestrea analyzed their appearance more clearly, he already knew who they were.

“Ruli, Leaf, Lilith, and Lumi?”

Ruli and Leaf clung to his arms from both sides, smiling so wide it almost hurt to look at.

“We really missed you!” Ruli stated loudly.

“So much!” Leaf added, nodding fast.

Lumi floated closer, her glowing body soft and warm as she pressed against his side.

“Hehe~ I missed you too, Master~” she exclaimed happily, shrinking herself a little so she could stay close.

Rustle…!

“Not now!”

Aestrea suddenly yelped as he felt Lilith’s heart-shaped tail trying to crawl into his boxers, causing him to grab it instantly.

“AHHHHNNNN~~~~!”

Bad idea… as Lilith directly let out a huge moan, and her body quivered hard as her eyes rolled back, just for Aestrea to notice… a faint wet… part of hers.

’…She came just from that?! How touch-starved is she?!’

Aestrea’s lips twitched slighly, but quickly turned to Ruli and Leaf, hoping to ignore Lilith’s situation.

“Master, we have reached the Semi-God Realm!”

“Are you proud?!”

Both Ruli and Leaf excitedly spoke at the same time, despite their older appearance; the only thing that really changed seemed to be the fact that they only got more cheerful than ever.

But of course, that could just be because of his appearance.

“I’m really proud of you two!” Aestrea smiled widely as he rubbed their head with his hands, causing them to laugh happily.

“Hehehe!”

“He’s proud of us!”

As the noise settled a bit, Aestrea looked past them and then noticed two figures standing a little farther away.

Violet and Alaine.

Alaine watched him with a warm, gentle smile on her lips. Her hair was longer now, tied into a neat ponytail that rested along her back.

Violet stood beside her, looking a little tense with her hands clasped together. Her hair now reached her shoulders, giving her a softer but more grown look.

“Come on, you silly daughter! Go and greet your husband already!”

An older woman spoke from behind them, placing her hands on Violet’s back and nudging her forward

Violet stumbled a step.

“M-mother!!!”

Aestrea looked at the woman and nodded lightly.

She smiled back.

“A-ah…” Violet whispered as she slowly walked closer, her face growing red with every step she took to get closer to him.

Until Alaine suddenly grabbed Violet’s arm.

“Do not overthink it,” she said with a playful smile.

“Even if he is your first love.”

Ruli and Leaf noticed and quickly stepped aside, giving them space.

Without any hesitation, Alaine threw Violet towards Aestrea’s arms, causing him to pick her up directly.

“Kyaa…!”

Her face reddened, causing Aestrea to chuckle slighly, as in their first meeting, she looked really mature, but here she was, blushing after seeing him.

“…Uhh…”

Aestrea chuckled softly.

“I missed you, Violet.”

Her ears turned red, too.

“I… I missed you too…!” Biting her lip, she quickly replied.

Then, gathering all her courage, she leaned forward and kissed him.

“Chuu…!”

He blinked in surprise but did not pull away.

At the same time, he felt a familiar presence behind him.

Alaine gently wrapped her arms around him from the back, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

Noticing this, he gently put Violet’s weight on his right arm and gently touched Alaine’s head, who was leaning down on his left shoulder.

But as he did so… he suddenly noticed James and Derek were standing a short distance away, looking at them… coldly.

Their eyes were locked on Aestrea like twin blades, sharp and offended, especially since he was still holding Alaine and Violet close, one arm around each of them.

“….”

Aestrea could even feel a faint pressure coming from them, and that’s when he realized…

“Ahh… right.”

He blinked once.

He had greeted everyone else and hugged them. Talked with them, and much more…

And what did he do with James and Derek?

He dodged them.

Let them crash into the ground.

Then ignored them while he reunited with his lovers.

“…Yeah,” he muttered softly. “That is on me.”

He gently loosened his hold on Alaine and Violet.

Alaine noticed first and smiled, understanding right away. Violet still looked flustered, but she nodded shyly.

Aestrea placed a gentle kiss on Alaine’s forehead.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Then he leaned slightly and kissed Violet’s cheek.

Her face went red again.

“Ah…!”

He stepped away and walked toward the twins.

James crossed his arms.

Derek copied him at the same time.

Both had the same shaved their facial hair as before, just a bit older now, broader shoulders, sharper faces.

“…So,” James started slowly, his voice coming out in a strangely hoarse tone.

“What happened to bro before hoes?”

“Oof!” Derek gasped loudly.

“Straight to the heart.”

James did not break eye contact.

His eyes even looked a little wet.

“We charge at you,” he continued, pointing at himself and Derek.

“We get slammed into the ground.”

“Face-first.” Derek nodded hard.

“We lie there in pain.”

“Miserable pain,” Derek added.

“And then what do you do?” James asked.

“You hug everyone else first.”

“Everyone except uts!” Derek leaned forward slightly.

Aestrea raised an eyebrow, but then he sighed deeply and lowered his head.

“You are right,” he uttered in a calm voice.

“I failed you.”

James narrowed his eyes.

“…You admit it?”

“I do.” Aestrea nodded once.

Derek looked at James.

“He admitted it.”

“That makes it worse.” James looked back.

Aestrea placed a hand on his chest.

“I was weak,” he continued seriously. “Tempted by affection. Distracted by warmth. I lost sight of what mattered.”

James inhaled sharply.

“Oh my god.” Derek slapped a hand over his mouth.

“You two,” Aestrea said, lifting his head with a regretful look, “were always there. Since the start. Through fights. Through losses. Through growth.”

James’s jaw tightened.

“And yet,” Aestrea said quietly, “I left you waiting.”

There was a pause.

James sniffed.

“…You really messed up.”

“I know.”

“Man… I thought you replaced us.” Derek wiped at his eye. us.”

Aestrea stepped closer.

“Never.”

James tried to stay angry.

Tried.

“…Idiot,” he muttered.

“Pfft…”

But just then, the dramatic scene was suddenly interrupted as Derek couldn’t hold back his laugh anymore.

“Pffft…”

“Hahaha!”

James also tried to hold it, but failed after two seconds.

“Hah… hahahaha!”

Aestrea finally smiled and quickly pulled both of them into a tight hug.

James froze, then grabbed his back.

Derek wrapped his arms around them both.

“Tch,” James clicked his tongue.

“I missed you too much.”

“Yeah! Way too damn much,” Derek added.

Aestrea closed his eyes.

“I missed you both a lot,” he said honestly.

James nodded against his shoulder.

“Me too, bro.”

Derek tightened his grip.

“I damn missed you, man.”

They stayed like that for a moment.

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