“Your mother?!”

Rory was still shocked. He pointed at Serket.

“This dinosaur is your mother?!”

“Who are you calling a dinosaur?!”

Serket instantly grabbed him by the neck and started to choke him.

“You ungrateful brat!”

She shouted in anger.

“Um….do you two know each other?”

Liam asked after seeing how the two interacted.

“Hm? Oh, I guess I never told you guys, huh?”

Serket released Rory’s neck and and lifted him by his collar.

“I was this guy’s guardian.”

“?!”

Everyone was shocked to hear that.

“By guardian, do you mean….?”

Serket nodded.

“Yup. I was like his foster mother.”

“……….”

Silence covered the area. Although everyone in the country knew that the queen was a monster on a global scale, they never thought that she was a big enough monster to raise someone like Rory.

“Let me go, granny!”

Rory struggled and broke free.

“Who are you calling my foster mother? I only have one mother and she isn’t you!”

He pointed at Serket and said.

“You ungrateful…!”

Serket got mad and released her anima. It gave off a vicious and beastly sensation to all who felt it. This was Wild Anima.

Everyone saw her anima take the shape of a scorpion around her. Just looking at her made one felt like they were being exposed to toxic materials. It felt like everything around them was becoming toxic.

“How about I turn you into a puddle of liquid flesh?”

She said.

“Hey, calm down! Your poison isn’t something simple! Are you trying to kill everyone here?!”

Rory said while backing away.

Serket looked at Liam and the clicked her tongue. After which she deactivated her anima.

“You’re still quite the brat, you know that.”

She said to Rory.

“If I hadn’t taken you in and taught you all I did, you would’ve died back then you know?”

“Hmph. I’m not that weak.”

Rory said.

“More importantly, how did you become the queen of Marigold? You even had kids at your age?”

He looked at Liam.

“Are you sure they don’t have any deficiencies or disabilities, since they’re mother was so old?”

Both Serket and Liam eyes twitched when they heard Rory’s question.

“Everyday I wonder if I should’ve left you to die back then.”

Serket muttered. She then sighed.

“In a way, you’re the reason why I ended up here?”

“Me?”

Rory looked confused.

“I was searching for you, idiot. I went to visit Pandemonium at your base, but it was destroyed and then I heard that you guys were in a huge battle which you lost. I got worried and started to look for you. I ended up here 30 years ago, met Xavier, fell in love and you can guess the rest.”

Serket explained.

“I’m starting to question Xavier’s taste in women.”

Rory mumbled.

Serket grabbed him by the collar when she heard that.

“Maybe I should kill you here to make up for saving you back then?”

She growled.

“I was just joking.”

Rory said with a nervous smile.

“Rory.”

Serket let go of his collar.

“Why are you so weak?”

“?!”

Her question shocked everyone that was listening to them. The queen had actually asked the Devil King why was he so weak. Then does that mean that he was far stronger in the past?

Also, the why Serket handles him it makes one wonder if she’s stronger than him.

“Hahaha….I guess I couldn’t hide it from you.”

Rory laughed bitterly and said.

“Of course. I could tell from messing around with you earlier.”

Serket said.

‘You call that messing around?’

Everyone thought while looking at the destruction they caused.

“It would only take a little less than half my strength to kill the current you.”

Serket said.

“What happened?”

“………”

Rory didn’t answer and remained silent.

“What, you don’t want to say it here?”

Serket asked after seeing his reluctance to speak.

“Don’t worry. All the servants have ran away a long time ago. The only ones here are you, me, Liam, the Brooks, and Chris’s spy over there.”

She glanced at the disguised Reina.

“Spy?”

The Brooks Sisters and Liam started glaring at Reina, who seemed upset that her cover was blown once again.

“Leave her, Liam. She’s important to your brother. Also, she’s important to this womanizer here.”

Serket said.

“I can tell from his body language that he was ready to take her away, if things went south.”

“Your habit of revealing people’s true nature haven’t changed.”

Said Rory.

“Like you can talk, you stole that trait from me when creating your current self, remember?”

Serket smirked.

“Anyway, tell me. What happened a century ago that made you and the others disappear?”

She asked.

“Didn’t you say it yourself? We got into a huge fight with someone we shouldn’t have.”

“Zahak destroyed you all, I know that. What I want to know is what did that crushing defeat do to all of you?”

“You don’t know how to be tactful do you?”

Rory smiled.

“I won’t get into the details, but we'd suffered some serious injuries and had to separate to recuperate. My injury was different from the others, you should know what I mean.”

“I see.”

Serket suddenly looked like she understood something.

“You can’t control your power can you?”

“Bingo.”

Rory said.

“I’m fine in most cases, but if I face someone on your level or higher then…..Well, everybody would be dying that day.”

He said.

“I see. So that’s why you….Amelia.”

Serket started mumbling something but it was inaudible half way through.

“Wait. There was a lot of things that were discussed just now, so I didn’t get everything.”

Liam pointed at Rory.

“You’re telling me that he’s something like my adoptive brother?”

He asked.

“Who are you calling brother?”

Rory was visibly displeased.

“Pout all you want, but you can’t deny that I raised you from you were a kid until you were an adult.”

Serket said.

“If I’m not your mother than what am I?”

“A senile old woman.”

*Bam!*

Rory was immediately kicked away when he said that. He bounced off the ground a couple times like a ball, and laid on his stomach.

“This is child abuse….”

He grumbled.

“You’re 157 years old. You’re far from a child.”

Serket snapped back.

“Dammit, if I knew that you were here I wouldn’t have come here.”

“Consider it fate.”

“Is that so? Then the gods must really be angry with me.”

Rory sprung to his feet.

“But seriously, Granny. I’m surprised that you have kids. I thought that you were the type that would die alone.”

“No, that’s you. You’re the type that would get dumped into a retirement home by his kids because he’s too much of a pain to deal with.”

Serket snapped back.

“Hahahaha. Oh, you old hag.”

“Hahahaha. Oh, you snot nosed brat.”

The two started to laugh dryly, and then-

*Bam!*

They both appeared dozens of meters from where they were punching each other at same time.

“I should’ve really thrown your ass into an orphanage!”

“I should’ve cut off your hair in your sleep!”

They both started throwing petty insults at each other while fisting it out.

“I can’t tell if they’re close or on bad terms….”

Liam said.

The girls nodded in agreement.

‘But this is big news. To think that the queen was Rory’s foster mother. I wonder if this connection between them can be used to benefit Christi in anyway?’

Reina thought to herself.

In the end, the two stopped fighting with Rory conceding and Serket laughing triumphantly.

It was now night, Rory was in the king’s private quarters with Xavier, Serket, Richard, and Allen.

“Xavier, I’m telling you man; you have horrible taste in women.”

A partially drunk Rory said, while still drinking.

“What are you talking about? Serket is the cutest woman in the world. Besides, she’s a cougar.”

Xavier who was also drinking defended his wife.

“But she’s old, man. I mean, she’s over 200. That’s no longer a cougar, that’s a fossil. Forget MILF that’s a GILF!”

*Bam!*

Rory suddenly got hit by a bottle of liquor, and fell over on his back.

“Who you’re calling a fossil? I’m still more attractive than any youngin.”

Serket said.

“The fact that you actually used the word youngin, proves that you’re old.”

Rory groaned while laying out on the ground.

“Besides, you’re not one to talk.”

Serket pointed a bottle she was drinking from at him.

“Aren’t you the same with Amelia. She’s 19 and you’re in your late 150s. You’re just as creepy as I am. No, more since you’re a man. Well, according society’s hypocritical views anyway.”

“Amelia is different. She’s mine.”

“And that Reina girl that’s with Chris?”

“Pending.”

Rory answered.

“You’re really the worst.”

Serket sighed.

“You weren’t like this a century ago. You were really cute back then, running behind me everywhere I went.”

“I was trying to kill you.”

“Yeah, and it was cute that you actually believed you could.”

Serket suddenly burst out laughing.

“My lovely wife, do you have any embarrassing stories about Rory?”

Xavier asked.

“You gotta death wish, Xavier.”

Rory sat up and said.

“Embarrassing stories huh?”

Serket started to scan through her memories.

“Oh, there was that one time when we went to have a swim in a river. Rory took a dive and came back screaming and running around.”

“What happened?”

Xavier asked.

“An eel clamped on to his dick and refused to let go.”

“Pfft!”

Everyone started laughing when they heard that. Even Richard and Allan, who weren’t drinking.

“From that moment, he’s been afraid of eels.”

Serket added.

“Seriously? Hahahaha! Who would’ve guessed that the notorious Devil King was afraid of eels?!”

Xavier was literally dying of laughter.

“Ah!”

His head was suddenly held by Rory, who started squeezing his head.

“Ow ow ow! Wife! Wife! Help me!”

“Don’t call out to your wife for help the moment you get into trouble. You’re a man aren’t you?”

Serket said while ignoring Xavier’s screams for help.

“But now the fact that I wasn’t able to sense one section of the city with my Sonar makes sense. It’s because you were blocking me out.”

Rory said while casually changing the shape of Xavier’s head.

“That’s my private residence. I won’t let anyone peek into it without my permission.”

Serket replied.

“So that’s where Elia is?”

“Who knows?”

Rory smiled at her response.

“By the way, Rory. Do you intend to reunite Pandemonium?”

“Who knows? It might be better if we remain disbanded.”

Rory replied.

“We had too many enemies, and that led to that monster trampling on us. So it might be better if everyone walk their own path.”

“What if the others didn’t agree with what you said? What if they wanted to return home to Pandemonium?”

Serket asked.

“…..I still think we shouldn’t.”

Rory replied.

“Then what about Mio?”

Rory’s eyes narrowed when he heard that name.

“She’s your first comrade and the one closest to you. Just as you were the Brain, she was the Heart of the Demon (Pandemonium). Can you really abandon her?”

Serket looked at Rory with a sharp gaze.

“Mio, huh?”

He suddenly put on a nostalgic smile.

“Mio….Mio is better off without me.”

He said.

“She doesn’t know it, but she’s strong; far stronger than I am. She doesn’t need me, she never did. In fact, I was the one who needed her. I needed everyone.”

He smiled.

“Before I met them, I wasn’t even a person after all.”

“………”

Serket looked at him silently.

“Well, I think you should reunite everyone. But if you think otherwise, I won’t force you.”

After she said that she glanced in the directions where Amelia was training.

‘It’s pretty sad that she doesn’t know the role that he selfishly assigned to her.’