Chapter 649: Union of Beasts [1]
Unlike the refined grace of his Grigorian brides, Yuina carried a sensual yet wild allure. Her steps created a ripple of aura that chimed with each movement, a low, melodic hum that enveloped the plaza. Every beastkin watched her with a straight, attentive pose, and even the elves and demons remained charmed by the feral beauty.
She looked toward Asmodeus without doubt, removing her gaze for no longer than a blink. Her golden-amber eyes gleamed not with the pride of a ruler but the pride of a woman facing her beloved man.
Filled with a warmth only for him.
‘Yuina…’
Asmodeus remembered the moment they met when she carried a simple aura, the naïve leader of the Inukami tribe in the place of her sister, who won their bet to change places officially.
‘Something I only learned recently when she went through the paperwork to make Aki the next Empress…’
Memories of fighting beside her, helping her grow stronger and the first night when she appeared so serene and ethereal.
‘Yet now, she’s become a true empress.’ He thought with glowing eyes.
He could see the growth in her aura, strength and atmosphere.
No longer the young woman he found cute. But a mother, an empress, and his wife to be, and no sword at her side. She lost her sharp edge and instead resembled a lovely beast.
Instead, the armour vanished, now replaced by a fur and silken kimono. Only layered silks the colour of moonlight and forest shadow, bound with a golden obi knotted in the southern style. Yuina’s nine white tails fanned behind her like a living crown, swaying in quiet rhythm.
‘Wait!? Nine?’
Yuina only used to have four tails even after their training together, but now they noticed the number had grown to the maximum amount for a mortal kitsune. She only needed one more tail like Serena’s, then she would become a goddess.
‘When did she grow so much?’
She did not walk alone.
That’s when two small shadows appeared from behind her large ceremonial kimono. Two tiny figures padded beside her, matching her pace with uncanny poise for children so young. The crowd stirred the moment they appeared.
‘Oh…’
On Yuina’s right walked Aurelia with her sunlit hair flowing down her back in a cute, low-tied ponytail, eyes deep as the summer sky.
Though only four, she moved with a measured and adorable grace.
She resembled a tiny queen with one little hand resting on the ring pillow she carried. When she glanced upward, her eyes shimmered faint gold. The light within them pulsed with a mysterious and powerful shimmer as if she quietly measured the crowd and… her father.
‘Yuina’s grown so much… she looks like her aunt though!’
On the left was a contrasting image, Velmina with dark, ink-like hair tied in a beautiful braid that bounced with each step. Small red eyes glowing faintly in the afternoon light with a calm face. She appeared solemn, clutching the black silk pillow close to her chest, tiny shadow wisps curling under her feet with each step.
If Aurelia were the sun.
Velmina was undoubtedly the moon.
Their nicknames were the Sun and Moon Sisters, heirs to the southern empire who walked with their mother to their father’s altar.
Asmodeus’ chest tightened as the three of them drew closer.
His wild empress and their daughters, walking through the hushed plaza like a vision. The beastkin warriors, normally rowdy, lowered their ears and bowed their heads as Yuina passed. Even the orcs seemed respectful, especially of Velmina.
Aurelia’s sharp little eyes darted toward him; when their gazes met, the faint golden glow in her pupils brightened, and she smiled. A small, lovely smile, not that of a royal, but just a daughter seeing her father. He watched her almost rush forward, only to stop midway and make a serious face.
Velmina didn’t smile often, but she never looked away. The red glow in her irises pulsed softly, shadows curling just enough to brush the hem of Yuina’s trailing kimono.
‘I can remember carrying them when they were but the size of my palms…’
Asmodeus closed his eyes, thinking not only of his wife to be, but their lovely daughters who clung to him along with their sister Tsukihana.
“Ah.”
Yuina stopped at the first step of the altar and, without breaking eye contact, gave the smallest, most elegant bow of her head.
“Husband!”
However, the moment she lifted her head, she pounced. The short frame flung into his arms like a beast hunting prey. He tried to grasp her as she clung to his body and bit his neck.
He’d promised to accept the routines and rituals of his wives while planning this wedding, and when their queen attacked him.
As if practised.
The entire Beast Empire howled into the air, no matter their clan or type… thousands of Beastkin all howled with delight.
Asmodeus barely held his balance as Yuina latched onto him, warm and wild, her teeth sinking just enough into the skin of his neck to draw a faint tingle of pain. His blood seeped into her mouth as she sucked on the wound. Not a vampire, but the most important bite of claiming.
A Southern Empire tradition upon marriage, the bride and groom bite each other, hard enough to leave a permanent scar.
Though seen as tribalistic and barbaric by the humans and elves, to the beasts, this was like exchanging rings and vows to the beastkin. The deeper the bite, the more love and affection the couple held.
The claiming bite resembled: trust, affection, devotion and union.
“Ngh…!” Her teeth sank deeper, her claws digging into his bag as a rough growl rumbled from her throat, unlike the neat and lovely wife he knew. It was a side of her that normally came out in bed.
Yuina pulled back just enough to breathe against his ear, voice low and trembling. “Three years… I dreamed of this moment, Ryuji. I swore I’d stand here as your woman, not an empress or weak, feeble girl hiding behind a blade.”
Asmodeus smiled, sliding one hand along the curve of her waist until his palm found the small of her back. “And now you’re more terrifying than any blade I’ve ever seen.”
She laughed softly, a breathless, almost shy sound. “Do I scare you, husband?”
“Only with how much I love you.”
Asmodeus closed his eyes and let his demonic blood flow. His teeth became sharp and long as he hugged Yuina’s back.
“My beloved wife, don’t leave me behind.”
Yuina’s cheeks colored, but her fluffy tails fanned wider in delight. She stole a quick, impulsive kiss, and then she rubbed her nose against his with a blissful smile. “Then, let’s bite for real, my perverted husband.”
“Don’t tempt me, vixen.”
“Ufufu~ then, keep holding me tight.”
Asmodeus didn’t hesitate. He leaned down, his warm breath brushing against the delicate skin of Yuina’s neck, while the white fur of her tails brushed against his arm.
To the humans and elves, this was a strange ceremony, and they all became silent at the huge projection of the two lovers.
Then he bit her.
“Hnnng!?” Yuina’s eyes opened wide as she convulsed in his arms, her tails clutching at his arms wildly.
His fangs sank deeper than he thought, through her skin, muscles and deep enough to almost touch bone. The warmth of her blood, filled with magic, poured into his mouth.
Yuina trembled, but couldn’t pull away. Instead, she released a guttural sound from her throat, half growl, half moan. The unmistakable cry of a beast taking her mate. Her nails scored faint lines across his back through the ceremonial mantle, and her tails wrapped him in a golden cage.
That’s when she bit him.
Blood mingled. Demonic energy and ancient fox fire intertwined, hissing faintly as their auras clashed and then wove together. For a moment, the very air rippled; every beastkin in the plaza felt a wave of both exhilaration and terror at the shocking level of power flowing from the pair.
When Asmodeus finally pulled back, a black-and-gold scar burned faintly on her pale throat; on his neck, a crescent of foxfire shimmered and sank into his skin like living ink.
Their breath sounded ragged as they locked eyes.
Predator to predator, husband to wife.
Yuina smiled first, fierce and radiant. “Now you can’t escape me.”
He lifted her in both arms, his hands slipping into her kimono out of sight, caressing her warm buttocks, the soft meat much thicker than before.
“I wouldn’t dare.”
The Beast Empire howled again, a thunderous, rolling roar of approval that shook banners and rattled the white stone beneath their feet.
Aurelia and Velmina stepped forward with cute little faces, happily slapping the ground with their tails at the sight of their mother and father now embracing each other lovingly.
“Mother looks happy.”
“Nn, Mama’s never smiled like this before.”
The pair held their tiny ring pillows high. The plaza quieted once more, giving way to the next part of the ceremony.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Asmodeus… I always felt inferior and beneath my sister. When we met, at first I feared you, wanting you to leave along with my sister. And yet the more I looked and watched, I couldn’t stop myself from becoming infatuated.” Yuina’s soft voice tickled his ears as she confessed to him.
“I’ve never compared you to Yumiko, because you had something unique to yourself Yuina. To me, from the start and until now you have been my lovely, kind and ethereal fox.”
“I-Idiot… I’m an Empress, you know?”
“Heh, I’m the Emperor!”
“We’ll see who wins, Husband! Mmmmph! I love you.”
Their lips squished together, both tongues quickly curling into the other’s mouth, causing the surroundings to cough and gasp. The two little girls then blushed at the sight of their parents, who kissed passionately.
“Mother… Father… the ceremony!” Aurelia squeaked.
Velmina, however, just watched the two quietly with her shining red eyes.
Yuina normally would react, but she heard the only words she needed: not to be compared to her sister and that he accepted her as his wife because he loved her.