"DON'T CALL me "brother-in-law" again if you don't want me to burn you alive," Wixx warned Elis Ripperton, then he pulled his arm away from the Blue Dragon. "If you're here to fetch Aku Moonchester, then just take your trash out quietly. Don't mess with the little tiger."

"I am not messing with the little tiger," Elis Ripperton denied. "I'm just giving him a chance to save his poor spirit guardian."

"I know what you're trying to do, Elis Ripperton," he said. "You're trying to divide our force, aren't you?"

"You're free to believe that theory of yours," the Blue Dragon said, then he turned to Ainsworth. "Don't worry, little tiger. Faline is safe. But I don't know how long she'd be safe though. Your spirit guardian is too frail compared to yours."

Ainsworth growled and was about to attack Elis Ripperton when the little tiger's feet were suddenly covered by ice– keeping him in place.

Of course, everyone instantly knew that it was Kiho's ice.

But the Black Serpent didn't arrive alone. He was with Aku Moonchester. And surprisingly, the two weren't fighting.

"Calm down, little tiger," Kiho said to Ainsworth, then the ice around the little tiger's feet melted. "What's happening?"

"Elis Ripperton has Faline," Ainsworth growled.

"And the Blue Dragon is tempting to lure the little tiger with him," Wixx added while looking at Kiho. "It seems like it's their plan to divide our force."

"How dare you accuse us of using cheap trick?" Aku Moonchester "complained" lightly. "In the first place, aren't you the one who abducted Drake in the first place?"

Drake was Elis Ripperton's spirit guardian.

"That's right," the Blue Dragon agreed with the emperor. "You abducted Drake. It wasn't my fault that I found where Faline hid my spirit guardian. As Drake's master, it is my responsibility to save him and punish his abductor."

Ainsworth growled but he didn't move an inch from his spot when Kiho put a hand on his shoulder.

Now Wixx once again felt guilty.

He shouldn't have entrusted Drake with Faline alone. Why didn't he think of sending at least one Keeper with the little tiger's spirit guardian? One of his many flaws was really caring only about Tilly and Luna.

"That sounds fair," Kiho said, causing everyone in the room to turn to him. Ah, the Black Serpent's golden eyes were glowing menacingly. "You won't mind if we retaliate, will you?"

Ainsworth looked shocked at first, then he nodded firmly in agreement with Kiho's statement.

"Of course, we won't mind," Aku Moonchester said. "But save that for later. Lord Ripperton is only here to fetch me."

"Like I said before, if you're going to leave, then leave now," Wixx said while glaring at Aku Moonchester and Elis Ripperton. "Enjoy your last peaceful days, fellow gentlemen."

***

"NIA, I'm leaving," Aku said to his beloved after he packed his things. "Will you really be alright alone?"

Nia, who stood in front of him, nodded. "They can't hurt me because of the binding vow," she assured him. "You also put a spell in the vial that you gave Lady Nystrom, don't you?"

He nodded as confirmation.

Even though he gave the vial of his blood to the Supreme, she wouldn't be able to open it. The bottle had a spell. It wouldn't break even if someone as powerful as Lady Nystrom tried to destroy. After all, the spell that he put in it would only allow Nia to open the vial.

"Only you can open the vial so they can't kill you," he assured her, then he cupped her face between his hands. "And don't worry. I'll follow you soon."

She only nodded as a response.

"By the way, did you get it?" he asked her.

She nodded. Then, she pulled out a small vial from the pocket of her skirt. The little bottle was filled with black flame inside. By that, he meant the Black Flame. "I stole some of Lucina Morganna's Black Flame before I let her out– just like what you asked me to do."

"You did well, Nia," he said, then he kissed her on the forehead while putting the vial in the inside pocket of his jacket. "Thank you."

"What do you need the Black Flame for, Aku?"

To be honest, he didn't want to keep things from Nia.

But for now, he couldn't fully trust her again. Since he knew his beloved so well, he was aware that she was hiding something from him. But just like what he did in the past, he didn't confront her. Instead, he would just patiently wait for her to reveal her plan.

Nia is smart but she lacks perseverance and motivation. Once her initial plan fails, she easily loses interest. Then, she starts a different game that she may not see through the end again.

He liked that about her though.

As long as Nia doesn't have the strong urge to abandon me, she can never truly run away from me.

"If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," Nia said casually when she realized that he didn't want to answer her question. "I don't mind."

"It's not that I don't want to share my plans with you," he lied with a sweet smile on his face while caressing her cheek. "I'm just being careful, Nia. You'll be alone with Lady Nystrom and her group. I don't want them to read your mind or something like that to happen."

"You don't have to explain," she said. "Like I said, I don't mind."

Aku just laughed it off. Then, he cupped her face once again to kiss her on the lips. "See you soon, Nia."

Nia nodded, her face as blank as usual. These days, he noticed that his beloved wasn't even trying to hide her coldness from him. "See you later, Aku."

Why did it sound like she didn't mean those words?

***

"TILLY, I don't mind even if you already have two kids."

Elis Ripperton almost laughed at how adorable Tilly's angry face was when she turned to him with a glare.

He ignored the two little demons clinging to her legs while glaring at him.

God, they look like the Black Serpent's mini versions.

How demonic.

"How many times do I have to reject you before you leave me alone, huh?" Tilly hissed while shaking her head. "And don't call me by my first name. We're not close."

He just smirked at that.

Right now, they were in front of the house.

He was waiting for Aku Moonchester, while Tilly was keeping an eye on him so he wouldn't "pick on" Ainsworth. Thank goodness the Black Serpent had to stay inside the house with Winchell to escort Aku Moonchester out.

They really don't trust the kid emperor, huh?

Well, thanks to that, he was able to spend time with Tilly without the Black Serpent breathing at his neck. Although he could feel several eyes on him. He knew that if he made a funny move, he would be attacked right away. But he didn't care as long as he could talk to Tilly this way.

This moment would have been perfect if her demon children weren't here.

"If you don't want me to call you by your first name, then shall I call you sweetheart?" he teased the Supreme. "Darling? My love?"

Tilly looked disgusted by his suggestions and she didn't even bother to hide it.

"Mom, permission to freeze that creepy old relic," Winter, the Moon Serpent, said with the same look of disgust as Tilly. "An ancient god like you should be resting by now, Mr. Blue Dragon."

"We can help you enter the eternal slumber if you want, Mr. Blue Dragon," the other child, Julian, "offered" in a calm but obviously mocking tone. And even though the child's face was "gentle," his eyes told him that he was judging his whole existence. "It will only take my flame a few minutes to burn you into ashes."

He laughed at the child's ignorance. "Your flame can't burn my scales so don't be arrogant, child. But you're always welcome to try." He focused his bloodlust on the children to scare them. "Come at me."

Winter and Julian, two powerful children for their young age, still weren't able to withstand his bloodlust. In just a matter of seconds, the two little demons were already on their knees– both were holding their throats. Ah, the pressure from his bloodlust knocked the breath out of them.

The reaction he received from threatening the children wasn't good, of course.

Before he knew it, Tilly was already in front of him while the blade of her blading dagger was pressed hard against his throat. Kiho, on the other hand, was behind him while poking the sharp blade of his ice spear against his back.

If he didn't turned his skin into scales, he would have been heavily injured from the attack of the Supreme and the Black Serpent.

They don't care about the binding vow when it comes to their children, huh?

Even Winchell, Ainsworth, and the other powerful beings around him seemed to be ready to attack him anytime.

Behind Tilly, he saw a witch with pink eyes attend to Winter and Julian. When the woman touched the backs of the children, the two were able to breathe properly again. But they seemed to be exhausted from being exposed to his bloodlust because they fell unconscious.

A Fire Mage called Lord Denver, if he remembered it correctly, attended to the kids as well.

"What do you think you're doing to my children?" Tilly, who was very angry at the moment, asked in a low voice. The Black Flame of her dagger was starting to melt the scales protecting his throat. "Do you want to die, Elis Ripperton?"

To be honest, he didn't expect that Tilly's flame could melt his scales this easily.

Her Black Flame has become stronger.

"Elis Ripperton," Kiho, who was behind him, called his name in a threatening manner. "We can break the binding vow, right here, right now."

The ice spear poking his back was starting to penetrate his scales as well.

The Black Serpent also got stronger, huh?

"Everyone, that's enough."

Elis Ripperton smiled when Tilly's flame and Kiho's ice disappeared when Aku talked. Ah, the kid emperor's full power is really back.

***

TILLY was shocked when her flame was nullified because of Aku Moonchester's aura. When she turned to Kiho, her husband looked as flabbergasted as she was because his ice was also nullified by the emperor's strange Mana.

Calling it "strange" made it sound like it was the first time that it happened when it wasn't true. It would be more appropriate to say that they were reminded of Aku Moonchester's true power– aka the gift that he received from the Sky God in the past.

She almost forgot that it was the ability that gave her a hard time in her past life as Soleil Rosenberg.

Nullification, Tilly thought to herself when she turned to Aku Moonchester who looked extra arrogant at the moment. The stupid Sky God didn't just bless Aku Moonchester with Divine Protection– he also gifted him the ability to nullify other gods' powers.

"Let's not fight, everyone," Aku Moonchester said with a "sweet" smile. It seemed like he noticed that they were surprised that he already retrieved his nullification power, and he was enjoying the moment. Even Nia Moonchester who stood behind him looked surprised by the ability that he just showcased. "I want to leave in peace."

Tilly, more than ever, wanted to raise her middle finger as a "salute" to the Sky God and his awful "creation." Perhaps the real enemy here isn't Aku Moonchester but the incompetence of the "gods" who rule the heavens.

***

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