Chapter 1173: The Homefront

"Dad!"

"Papa!"

Zephyr was greeted by his two adorable kids as he returned to his luxurious house after his early morning jog.

It had become his ritual to leave every morning on a jog, passing through the town and greeting everyone present there. It served as a way to maintain a good relationship with everyone in his hometown, thus maintaining his humble image.

He also found it to be a good way to clear his head and bathe in gratitude for being able to enjoy such a nice life.

"Haha! You runts were waiting for me again, weren't you?" He grinned at the two angels he had in front of him.

The older one was a girl called Margeret, and she took after her mother a lot. As for the youngest member of their family, his name was Mark, and he took after Zephyr. They were six and three years old respectively, so their 'child status' still held up.

Both kids had slightly pointed ears, solidifying their statuses as Half-Elves, and they were both the cutest things in the world—at least, according to Zephyr.

"Hehe! Yes!"

"Come play with us!"

"You two are... oof!" Zephyr felt the weight of hid kids as they pounced on him despite his sweaty body.

He found himself laughing, and so did his children. When things got like this, he just couldn't control himself.

He was just bursting with such indescribable joy that he felt like he might cry.

"Alright, that's enough you three!" Of course, the one who would always intervene at times like this was his dear wife.

"Marceline, I... ahem, can explain..." Zephyr chuckled as he felt his kids jump all over his body.

He knew it looked bad, but he was just a father playing with his kids.

"Go freshen up first! The kids will learn bad habits if you keep doing this." Marceline, the breathtakingly beautiful Elf sighed as she looked at her husband.

She currently had a casual housewife atture on, and an apron strapped on, hiding most of her perky breasts and the rest of her well-rounded figure.

"Y-yes ma'am!" Zephyr promply responded, rising from the floor while carrying both of his kids shoulders.

"And you two... you haven't freshened up too! No breakfast for any of you if you aren't done within thirty minutes."

The two children instantly froze, ceasing their childish cheers. Panic spread all over their faces, and they turned to their father to save them.

Unfortunately for them...

"You heard your mom. Let's go."

... Even their father was no exception to their mother's power.

*******

"I recently got a Magic Message from everyone. It seems they'll be arriving here before nightfall." Marceline spoke as she served the family their meal.

Everyone was in the dining area, and right before Zephyr were an assortment of tasty dishes that he could not wait to dig into.

However, by Marceline's rules, she had to finish setting everything up before anyone could have a bite.

Zephyr felt it was especially unfair because Marceline required everyone to be seated while she was undertaking this process.

'Why can't she just call us when it's all set? This is torture!' Zephyr screamed internally, and looking at the faces of his two kids, he knew they felt the same.

'Should I risk it and take a bite? I mean, it's not like she would mi—' One glance at Marceline's dangerous smile told Zephyr not to even dream about moving his hands until she was done.

Instead, he gulped down all his accumulated saliva and chose to respond to her earlier words.

"That's great. Those four made it seem like they wouldn't make it in time for tomorrow, but I knew they were just pulling my legs."

The 'four' he was referring to were the surviving members of the Hero Team. Even Marceline was a member of the Hero Party, which consisted of ten members in its prime.

Unfortunately, during the war, three of them passed away. A few years back, another passed of old age.

Thet left Zephyr, Marceline, and his four other friends.

"Well, tomorrow is a special day, after all. I doubt they would miss it for anything in the world." Marceline smiled, finally taking her seat after she had finished setting up the table.

At this point, Zephyr required nothing else but to dig into his meal and enjoy his wife's amazing cooking.

Not only was she an amazing cook, but she was immensely skilled in every field imaginable. Even, of course, in the bedroom.

Zephyr often asked himself if he deserved such a perfect wife, and the answer every time was a resounding 'NO!'

He didn't deserve his amazing wife, his adorable kids, his supportive town, and overall...

... He didn't deserve this awesome life!

"Haha! Time to dig i—"

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!~

Before Zephyr could complete his sentence, or taste a single meal his wife had made, an eruption of mass destruction occured, engulfing their home in flames.

Everything—from the furniture, to the house walls, to the everything of value or not—instantly got blown away by the blast.

The flames scorched everything within the house, and whatever didn't completely burn was scattered in various directions thanks to the intense explosion.

But what of Zephyr and his family? Were they done in too?

~SHUUUUUUUUU!~

Hot steam rose from a golden energy field that completely shrouded Zephyr and his family from any harm.

Everything within the dining area was kept intact—his wife, his kids, and of course... his food.

"W-what was that?" Marceline's voice echoed as she finally realized what had just happened around them.

The only one who was fast enough to react was Zephyr, and even he had only been saved thanks to one of his Cheat-like ability [Automatic Shield].

"I'm not sure. But I intend to find out!" Zephyr instantly rose from his feet, his gaze focusing on the sky, where he noticed a presence hovering.

"Take care of the kids. The barrier should remain as long as I will it, but create an additional layer of defense, just in case."

Zephyr's body instantly glowed golden, and his eyes shone azure as he began to float.

"Please be careful!" Marceline yelled, her worried expression staining the usually pretty demeanor she would have.

Her kids were huddled in her arms, and expressions of fright could be seen on their faces too.

For innocent kids who had never once experienced danger, this was a strange new experience for them. However, even they instinctively felt fear.

And it paralyzed them.

"Of course. I always am." Zephyr gave his family an assuring smile, even winking at his wife before ascending even further.

"I'll be back before my food gets cold!"

~WHOOOOOOSSSHHH!~

Rising to the sky, he left his family in the ruins of what was their home, rushing in the direction of the presence he had been sensing since the explosion.

Finally, once he was out of the thick fog of smoke, and was in the vast expanse of the sky, he could clearly see the man who casually hovered in the air.

He had dark brown hair, pale skin, purple eyes, and a somewhat menacing aura about him. He donned a dark trenchcoat, and while he appeared to be in his early thirties, Zephyr felt unable to rely on that.

"Who are you? Do you realize what you've just done? Who you just attacked?" He yelled, a mix of pure rage and anxiety evident in every syllable he uttered.

The man before him merely gave a casual smile, finally opening his lips to speak.

"My name is Legris Damien... and I'm here for you, Constellation Host."

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

I hope you all understand the ties now. If you feel it was unnecessary to exposit on Zephyr, well... I like telling my stories that way.

I also wasn't lying that all of this stuff is important.