The sound of sobs and faint whispers of joy surrounded Orion.


    As he looked at his companions one by one, the feelings of longing finally settled.


    Amelia was hugging his chest, rubbing her cheeks furiously against his clothes.


    Karteira and May were watching with a satisfied expression, the former, her right hand on the latter''s shoulder.


    Next to them, the twins, Drania and Dramia, were looking at him with disbelief, but still with a relieved smile.


    Olivia and Senia were hugging each other, crying from the relief they felt. The solidarity between each woman surprised Orion, as it wasn''t nearly as strong before his disappearance.


    Deveralna was looking at the sky, clenching her teeth while holding back her emotions. Her wings were slightly trembling, while her tail was coiling on itself.


    Further away, Orion noticed a few figures.


    His eyes opened wide, his pupils trembling intensely.


    Henrietta and Titania were breathing sighs of relief too, a hand on their chest.


    But the most shocking news to him was the figures of two people he thought he would never see again.


    Waving at him with a beaming smile, Orianne''s figure became printed in his eyes. Next to her stood Reon, nodding at him with the same smile.


    While holding Amelia''s trembling shoulders, Orion looked at his free hand.


    "Am I alive? Is this a dream?"


    But as if confirming that this was the reality he wanted, Amelia removed her face and grabbed his hand.


    "You''re back! You''re finally back! Of course, it''s real!"


    "!"


    The warmth of her hand propagated into his body. After a moment, Amelia moved away.


    One by one, the others came and hugged him, displaying their unyielding affection for him.


    The first one to step forward was Karteira. She wrapped her scorpion tail around his waist and pulled him closer.


    "You''re so stupid! Do you have any idea how hard we worked while you weren''t here?"


    Her cerulean blue hair tickled his cheeks as he felt the tight hug. Without a second thought, he hugged her back.


    "I can see that. You were always strong, so it''s no surprise."


    Moving away with regret, she gave her place to Olivia.


    The short demon grabbed her shirt while looking into his eyes.


    "I... I..."


    She approached him with hesitation filling her head. She had no idea how to act in front of him now that he was actually back.


    "..."


    Orion opened his arms, and she threw herself into them.


    "I missed you!"


    "You don''t know how much I missed you, too."


    With just a glance, he could tell that Olivia had grown into a beautiful woman. Her demon blood was reacting to his own, affecting him even more strongly than in the past.


    After rubbing her back for a minute, a small fairy jumped on his back, while the other walked in front of him.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "It''s Orion!"


    "..."


    His lips twisted. Seeing the two being present right now was such a relief that he sincerely felt like tearing up.


    ''We haven''t changed anything for them...''


    He grabbed Dramia''s arm and wrapped his other arm around Drania''s head, who had her face over his shoulder.


    Crouching slightly, he smiled.


    "Wha-"


    "Huh?"


    The two sisters found themselves being tightly hugged by Orion. Dramia was glued to his chest, her hands holding his clothes, while Drania had her cheek rubbed by Orion''s, her arms around his neck.


    "I''m so glad to see you..."


    "A- Huh... Yes. Me too..."


    Not knowing how to react, Dramia shyly rubbed her forehead on near his collarbone.


    "That''s... next-level affection right there."


    Even Drania wasn''t used to this reaction from him.


    Still, they were delighted, even if Dramia barely showed it.


    When they got their fill of his warmth, they walked away, leaving his arms empty for someone else.


    "I''m quite intrigued to know what you''ve been up to."


    A beauty with flaming hair walked next to him. As Orion stood up, he turned his head.


    "I''ll tell you everything. For now, come here, May."


    With a faint smile, May closed her eyes and stepped forward. She wrapped her arm around his back and breathed heavily, feeling an intense wave of emotion at the same time.


    "Aaah~ I''m absolutely certain of it. I love you."


    Surprised by her sudden confession, Orion managed to maintain his composure.


    "I knew that. I love you, too."


    For just a moment, she forgot everything and simply bathed in his warmth, which felt beyond comfortable.


    The next person waiting in line was Senia. Once May moved away, the woman winked at her to signal that she could take over.


    "Ah... It''s my turn."


    Shyly, the siren floated toward Orion.


    "I might be a little wet-"


    Orion couldn''t care less. He pulled her into his embrace and carried her in his arms.


    Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed her face between his chin and collarbone.


    "I''m glad you''re still alive. I don''t know what I would have done if you weren''t..."


    She closed her eyes, leaving her entire body in the hands of the man she loved. The trust she had in him had no borders.


    "Aren''t you sweeter than I remember? You won''t hear a complaint from me, though."


    Only one person was left out, and it was Deveralna.


    "Orion..."


    As she appeared to be stuck in place, he came to her.


    "What a great Queen I have in front of my eyes."


    He looked into her dark orange eyes, which he hadn''t seen since she became a Remnant.


    Deveralna was lost. Between her dignity and the pride she gathered while he was away, all of it crumbled the instant he was in front of her.


    How was she supposed to act? Like the Queen of the lamias? Like the Remnant of Strength?


    The answer became instantly clear in her head.


    "Kh!"


    Tears began to flow down her cheeks, and she leaped forward at Orion. With her tail wrapped around his entire body, she hugged him while he simply began to caress her long, white hair.


    "I''m here. I have no idea what happened to all of you, but I''m here now."


    "We''ve worked so hard! Even without you, we did our best!"


    Orion nodded with a warm smile.


    "Yes. You did your best."


    Hearing the words she wanted to hear for a long time ago that no one gave her, she hid her face inside his shirt.


    It was already humid with Amelia''s tears and wet from Senia''s magic, but she didn''t care.


    The young lamia, who had worked tremendously hard to become worthy of both titles she wore, finally felt rewarded for everything.


    With Orion next to them, they weren''t afraid of anything anymore.


    ...


    After Deveralna calmed down and returned to being herself, they left him some space.


    The next people to come forward were his parents.


    "Mom... Dad..."


    Orion walked up to them with light steps. He wasn''t sure what to say to them.


    "Oh!"


    "Reon, can I?!"


    Orianne turned to her husband with expectation in her eyes. Knowing what she wanted, he began to nod.


    But even before he could finish, she was already all over Orion.


    "My son! Orion! Finally!"


    "Mom! Wait-"


    She hugged him, kissed his cheek multiple times, and touched his muscles across his body.


    Feeling the fiery emotion of a mother''s love, Orion chose to let her be.


    In reality, he was unwilling to give her less than that.


    "You have no idea how glad we are that you''re still with us."


    Rubbing her cheeks on his, she smiled while glancing toward Reon.


    "But we believed. You''re our son, so it was to be expected! Who cares about ''Fate'' anyway?!"


    Reon nodded.


    "Orion."


    Orianne immediately stopped moving and let Reon speak, albeit still glued to Orion.


    "Have you done something interesting while you were away?"


    This was the words of a father. Instead of being honest with his feelings, he diverged it toward another subject.


    Knowing that Reon was his father and that he was like this too, Orion answered truthfully.


    "I did. You won''t believe it, though."


    With a smile, Reon closed his eyes and shrugged.


    "We''ll believe anything that comes out of your mouth."


    Walking toward his son, Reon placed a hand on Orion''s shoulder.


    "..."


    The face he was making was one of a father proud of his son.


    "Good job coming back to us. It means a lot to all of us."


    "I did what I had to do. I have no regret."


    Surrounded by his family for the first time, Orion felt the raging emotions inside his soul settle at last.


    The last thread of hatred vanished, leaving the man who sought vengeance finally free of its influence.


    ...


    After speaking with them for a while longer, or, more specifically, letting Orianne indulge in her son''s presence, he moved toward another group of people.


    "..."


    His eye glanced toward a young girl next to Henrietta. She felt somehow pressured by his gaze.


    Without stopping, he walked to her and pulled her into his arms. Slightly confused, she stood frozen in place.


    Henrietta and Titania smiled, knowing that this would have been his priority.


    "Stella."


    "Ah..."


    Forcefully being hugged, she saw the memories of her childhood in his company play briefly in her mind.


    "You... recognized me."


    Gripping the back of his shirt tightly, she kept her gaze to the sky.


    "I would never mistake you for anyone else."


    He released his grasp and pushed on her shoulders lightly to get a good look at her face.


    "Stella, you certainly grew up fine. Was it because of my absence?"


    The young adult looked at her adopted father with conflicted emotions.


    "P-Papa!"


    Seeing the smile of the man she admired and wanted to see again, she couldn''t hold it anymore.


    "It''s fine. Let everything out."


    "There''s no shame in showing your feelings."


    Caressing her hair, like he did to anyone who had a place close to his heart, he accepted her anguish.


    With one look, he could tell that, like everyone else, she went through difficult events.


    If there was something that pained him greatly, it was that he wasn''t there to help her.


    "I''m sorry."


    She shook her head vigorously while hiding between his arms.


    "I''m fine. It was my fault for not understanding anything."


    The image of Orion''s expression, which she saw last, disappeared from her mind, replaced by the warm and welcoming smile he showed.


    As he was sharing a moment with his daughter, Henrietta suddenly felt a deep pain in her head.


    "Henrietta?"


    Seeing the woman suddenly grab her head, Titania leaned forward.


    But out of nowhere, she also began to feel strange. A throbbing sensation developed in her head, forcing the two to kneel on the ground.


    "Dramia? Drania?"


    The twins rapidly followed suit, holding their heads in pain.


    "What... is this?"


    Orion immediately became serious.


    He gently let go of Stella, who wiped her tears away with her finger.


    "It''s starting..."