It was a bright afternoon. A black sports car pulled up in front of Spider Banking. The valet approached the car and greeted the driver when he came out.

“Good morning, Lord Aniket.”

“Morning.”

Rory threw him the keys for the car and approached the bank’s entrance. He was let in by the doormen, and he walked inside.

“Good morning, Lord Aniket.”

The moment he entered he was greeted by all who worked inside. The customers inside all looked a Rory with curiosity. They were curious about his identity since every employee immediately greeted him upon arrival. Considering who the owner is, they were certain that he was a foreign big shot.

‘Oh? I’ve only been here once and they all remembered my face. I mean, I’m beautiful, but it looks like Pearl had them memorize my appearance.’

Rory thought to himself.

“Is the madame in?”

He called a worker aside and asked.

“Yes. The madam is in her office. She’s already been informed of your arrival and instructed us to send you to her if you asked for her.”

“I see. That makes things easier.”

“Do you need help reaching her office?”

“No, I remember how to get there.”

Rory walked passed the worker and headed towards where the private elevator was. He quickly reached it and entered inside. Once inside, he waited for it to bring him to his destination. The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

“Welcome, Aniket. It’s been a while.”

He saw Pearl wearing a yellow slit dress, and had her long white hair wrapped into a bun. She was standing in front of her desk.

“You’re quite beautiful today, Pearl. Like a beautifully polished gem. Truly fitting of your name.”

He stepped out of the elevator and into the office.

“I knew that you were a man of words, Aniket. Please have a seat.”

“Thank you, but I rather stand.”

“Suit yourself.”

Pearl leaned on the desk.

“Just so you know, the money isn’t ready yet.”

“It isn’t?”

“You might not think so, but to everyone else, the money you gave me was a large sum. It will take some time before it’s ready.”

“I see. Well, not that it matters anyway.”

“It doesn’t matter? Why does it feel like you don’t care about the money at all?”

“Oh, I care. It’s just that it’s not that important at the moment. I came here for other business.”

Rory then started to unbutton his shirt.

“?!”

Pearl immediately drew a gun from out of the slit of her dress and pointed it at Rory.

“Aniket, I might run a prostitution ring but that doesn’t mean that I’m a prostitute myself.”

She looked at him with a sharp gaze.

“Please leave.”

“You’re misunderstanding something here, Pearl. I have no interest in prostitutes. I’m unable to enjoy being intimate with someone who is only in it for the money. Despite my behavior, I’m a hopeless romantic.”

Rory said in a relaxed manner.

“Besides, I want to keep the relationship between us purely professional. Oh, that doesn’t mean that you’re not attractive. This is more of a moral thing.”

“…Then why are you stripping?”

“There’s something I need you to check for me. It’s just that I need to strip to show it.”

“………”

Pearl looked at him suspiciously for a while before lowering the gun.

“Thank you.”

Rory then proceeded to take off his shirt. Pearl watched his every move with a sharp gaze.

“Please, you're making me blush.”

Pearl rolled her eye at his joke.

Rory stopped smiling and put on a serious face. Soon pearl saw a crucifix mark appear on his stomach.

“?!”

When she saw it, her body had some kind of weird reaction.

“This is…..”

She started to approach Rory without a care in the world. She stopped in front of him and placed her hand on his stomach.

“……..”

Rory didn’t take the opportunity to joke around like he normally would. He just allowed her to do as she please. Pearl rubbed her hand up and down Rory abs while staring at the crucifix.

“This is a seal…. That’s strange, it’s the first I’ve seen it but it feels so familiar.”

“That’s because it was created by those in the St. Claire family. Being a kin of the clan, it will naturally resonate with your blood and soul.”

“St. Claire….It definitely feels like I’m spiritually linked to it.”

Pearl slowly rubbed the seal.

“What I’m requesting from you is-”

“I refuse.”

“Huh?”

“I said I refuse.”

“I didn’t even ask you yet.”

“True, but I can tell it has something to do with this seal.”

She stepped back and looked at Rory with a sharp gaze.

“This is a powerful seal, hence it must’ve been difficult to create. I refuse to mess with it.”

“Why?”

“Honestly, because I don’t trust you.”

“………”

“I know nothing about you. I don’t even know who you really are.”

“I see. You dug around huh?”

Rory looked amused.

“That’s right. I tried to see if I could find out more about you, but I came up blank. There was no one named Aniket that could’ve possibly been you. So that means that it’s a false name.”

She returned to her desk and leaned on it.

“Also I don’t even know what you really look like.”

“Whew~. I’m surprised. You were actually able to see through my disguise.”

“My eye is a little bit special even among my race.”

“It’s too bad you only have one though.”

Pearl glared at him angrily which caused Rory to laugh in response.

“Your concerns are reasonable, however, there’s a problem. I absolutely need your help.”

A sharp look appeared in his eyes.

“So how about this? I’ll show you my true identity, then you’ll decide if you want to help me or not.”

“……Deal.”

Rory nodded. He then closed his eyes and his body started flowing. He was engulfed in light for a bit. The light disappeared and Rory stood there in his original form.

“Devil King Rory?!”

Pearl once again aimed her gun at him, but this time she looked a bit terrified.

“Hey, what’s with this? I showed you my true form as I promised.”

“Don’t move!”

Pearl shouted.

“You, why did you come here?”

“I’m free to go wherever I want.”

“Leave! Leave this city at once!”

“That’s quite harsh don’t you think. We’re partners after all.”

“Shut up! I’ll return your money in full, just leave!”

“…..You’re really cautious of me.”

“That’s because you’re a walking disaster! A demon who brings destruction everywhere he goes.”

“That’s not true. I’ll have you know that my mother says that I’m an angel.”

“Stop fucking around!”

Rory suddenly stopped smiling.

“Sigh. I’m not really that dangerous you know.”

“Then explain what happened in the Marigold kingdom?! You took the country hostage and started a war that claimed the lives of countless people.”

“That’s just the church’s propaganda. They’re the one who wanted to ruin the country. As a beastman, you should know of the church’s love for manipulating information.”

“Then are you saying that you didn’t do all the things they said you did a century ago?”

“Oh no. That’s all me.”

*Bam!*

Pearl fired a shot which grazed Rory’s face and cut it.

“Animite huh?”

He wiped the blood leaking from his cut with his finger.

“You, if you stay here you’ll definitely destroy this city! I can’t allow you to do that!”

“You really love your city, huh?”

Rory started approaching her.

*Bam!*

Pearl fired at him again, that’s when he disappeared. Pearl didn’t panic hand quickly turned to her side and threw a kick.

*Bam!*

Her kick clashed with Rory’s palm causing a shockwave to spread out and shatter the glass windows.

“Oh?”

Rory was surprised. He disappeared again. This time Pearl fired at her right, and Rory appeared there ducking under the bullet and charging at her with a tackle.

“?!”

He suddenly jumped to the side and a thin light flashed were he stood. The ground and ceiling suddenly split in two.

“That…”

He looked down and saw a long cut on his torso. He looked back at Pearl and saw that she was wearing a weird glove on her free hand. When he looked closer he could see something sparkling around the fingertips.

“Wires? She used wires to cut the ground and the ceiling?”

“They're made from Animite. Meaning that they can cut through the Anima protecting you and hurt you directly.”

Pearl put away the gun and said. There Rory saw that she was wearing another glove.

“She uses those gloves to control the wires. That’s quite some skill if I couldn’t avoid it.”

Rory stood up straight.

“And here I thought that you were afraid of me because I’m stronger than you. You’re pretty much a monster yourself.”

“Tony and Lucas aren’t any weaker either. So there are three monsters here who can harm you.”

Pearl shook her head.

“There’s some more like Cesare, Benito, Shancai, etc.”

“Shancai?”

Rory seemed like he heard the name somewhere before but he couldn’t recall where.

“So you’re saying that I won’t be able to take this city that easily?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, that’s perfect. I had no interest in it in the first place.”

“What?”

“Look I know that you don’t want to fight. After all, this building isn’t made of Animite. If you and I fight, countless will die and this building will crumble.”

“……..”

“But don’t worry. I really don’t want to fight. I just wanted to confirm your strength and I’m pleased. You can probably help me out.”

“I told you already. I refuse.”

“Don’t be so hasty. Currently, I’m on vacation, so I’m not really up to anything besides partying and messing with women. But I have plans for whenever I leave this place. For that, I need this seal to be removed. If it’s removed I’m able to continue my vacation, but if I can’t remove it I’ll become irritated, and that’s not good.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No. I’m simply explaining the situation to you as it is. Help me and everything will be fine. I promise on my life that I won’t do anything to harm this city unless you permit me too.”

“……..”

Pearl looked at him with serious eyes.

“You know I survived this long by not trusting people’s words and only my instincts.”

“And what does your instinct say now?”

Pearl relaxed her body.

“It says that you mean me no harm.”

“Of course. I’m in debt to your relatives. It against my moral code to harm you without a valid reason.”

“Then, does that mean that you volunteered to have that seal placed on you?”

“That’s right. I can’t go into details though.”

Pearl started to approach him. She looked at the crucifix on him again.

“So you want me to help you get rid of this seal?”

“That’s right.”

“My parents left the clan before I was born so I don’t really know their techniques.”

“That’s fine. You just need to tell me what you can get from it. I’ll figure out the rest.”

Pearl silently stared at the seal for a long time as if she was in a trance.

“It seems like your power was sealed off.”

Rory nodded.

“This seal was designed to seal away your power and slowly loosen over time allowing you to gain access to more of it as you go along. However….it looks like the caster underestimated your power. The seal couldn’t handle it all and a safety mechanism kicked in. This mechanism is preventing you from undoing the seal and regain your full strength.”

“I know that already. What I want to know is the condition to remove the safety. There has to be one.”

“…..I can’t really tell because of how complicated it is….But I think it has something to do with death.”

“Death….”

Rory started to clenching his fists and grinding his teeth.

“Are you saying that the seal will only be undone after death?”

His voice was very coarse.

“I-I’m not sure.”

Rory took a deep breath and started putting on the shirt he took off. His appearance returned to that of Aniket, he then preceded to take his leave.

“Thanks. Ah, Fraus is no longer with me. She’s somewhere in one of the neutral areas downtown.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Well, I owe you.”

The elevator opened and he stepped inside.

“Also, that woman was rude enough to invite strange men in my home. She needs to be punished. But since I’m on vacation, I’ll let you handle it.”

“I see.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”

Rory waved goodbye and the elevator doors slowly closed. Pearl was left alone with her thoughts. She remembered examining Rory’s seal. There was a point where she was looking past the seal and noticed something.

“Rory’s body is weird. That’s not the body of a human or even a mortal. It was something far more sinister. Just what is he?”

She said to herself. She thought about it some more and suddenly realized something.

“Did he say see you tomorrow?”