Later that same day...
Gabriel sat on the obsidian steps of the palace courtyard, tossing a piece of Reishi-forged fruit in his hand while keeping a loose eye on his tiny terrorist son, who was currently trying to "sneak attack" a cactus.
Yes.
A cactus.
And losing.
Anyway, his wife was currently washing her hair right now and told him to look after their son, and like the loving husband he was, he obeyed.
This little gremlin was way too freaking powerful. He might actually need to restrict more of this boy's power.
"GAH!"
Aurelón slapped the cactus, got pricked, and hissed like a baby cat who just discovered gravity. Red eyes narrowed. His spiritual pressure flared for a split second—and the next thing Gabriel knew, the air shifted.
A water droplet formed.
Then ten.
Then a hundred.
Uh-oh.
"Oh no."
Gabriel stood up.
"Oh hell no."
Because the baby wasn't just mad.
He was copying something.
Something very familiar.
Something that looked suspiciously like—
La Gota de la Desolación...
The Drop of Desolation.
One of Harribel's most dangerous large-scale water-type techniques. The kind of move you don't let a newborn use. Especially not indoors.
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—
The air grew humid. Reiryoku began to condense around Aurelón like a hurricane forming in fast forward. Blue steam rose from his body, then blackened into Hellwater—burning the stone tiles as it hissed with malevolent energy.
Gabriel's eyes widened. "HEY—"
Too late.
The toddler shrieked in triumph, slapping both hands together.
And then—
BOOOOOM.
A massive geyser of Hellwater exploded upward, vaporizing the cactus, the wall behind it, and about two dozen meters of courtyard. It rained boiling seawater, burning bright with crimson Reiryoku, and reshaped the landscape like a pissed-off god throwing a tantrum in the tub.
By the time it stopped, Gabriel stood soaked, his cloak burned at the hem, and the sky above them literally darker from the Reishi saturation.
Aurelón just sat there in a bubbling puddle, laughing his ass off.
"...I need to find the off switch on this kid," Gabriel muttered, brushing molten shark fins off his shoulder.
Then Harribel appeared.
Towel around her neck.
Seemed like she was done washing her hair. She looked nice.
Her eyes were narrowed.
Though, what he did notice was very simple—seemed like she was taking a very good shower, since...
Boob sweat glistening.
And then he looked at her eyes... oh god no.
Mood: Mom Mode Engaged.
Gabriel winced.
She walked into the half-destroyed courtyard, baby water dripping from the ceiling... That sounded wrong, almost sounded like nu—no, what he meant was, the water that his son had used was still spraying down. Very hot water, which didn't affect Harribel since her Reiatsu was so high. Also, since she controlled water, she kinda just made the water not touch her. Between her and this child, her control over water was far greater.
"What happened?"
Gabriel pointed a finger at Aurelón.
"The baby flooded the courtyard trying to recreate your forbidden water nuke."
Aurelón blinked up at her innocently, making his eyes green again.
Then, he did something Gabriel didn't expect.
"Mamaa~"
It spoke... Gabriel was stunned. The child just said his first words. Wow.
"Don't you try that color-switching bullsh—!" He tried to point out the fact that this gremlin only spoke to cover for his ass, however—
Smack.
Harribel lightly slapped his arm. Not hard enough to hurt. Just enough to remind him: you're the dad—keep him from launching catastrophic sea spells indoors.
"You encouraged him," she said calmly, scooping up the gurgling hellspawn into her arms.
"I absolutely did not—okay, I might've said 'you got this, champ' once."
Aurelón snuggled into her chest and belched a small steam bubble.
Harribel sighed, heading back inside to dry him off and probably lecture Gabriel on baby containment protocol.
She seemed to be focused on the fact that her baby just said its first words. She seemed to want him to say it again.
"Mama... best."
Wow... Gabriel couldn't contend with that. How could any man contend with that? The child was basically a mini version of him, but with some of her traits. Her baby. And considering when he met her, she was acting very motherly to him—someone she only knew for a few months...
Her mother instinct toward her actual child... yeah, that shit must be supercharged. No one getting close to them.
Speaking of which, a clone had been in control of the kingdom for a while. Whenever he needed to be a dad, he made a clone. But 9 times out of 10, he was working—balancing working as king, which, when his territory was that big, was a massive job.
His army ever growing. Speaking of which, Soul Society seemed to now view every soul in their walls as important—BS. They just needed to keep the soul balance correct. Couldn't mass murder so many people now.
And assassinations were now thoroughly investigated. No matter if the person was the descendant of one of the Five Great Noble Families—if they committed a crime, they would be thrown in jail.
Speaking of which, he had felt a presence of a man trying to spy on his kingdom. He had his Quincy Corps handle it.
Apparently, the second the man saw a Quincy, he vanished. Oh well. None of his business now.
Also, he upgraded Lucian's eyes. Now he could keep his infinity on 24/7 and barely use any energy. His eyes helped him with his control and boosted his vision like no other, alongside many other buffs.