Somewhere on an island
"In order for my plan to work, we must ensure these five steps happen."
Irene exhaled the cigarette and then turned around to see her children that consisted of Irina, Rae, Succubus, Ifrit, Banshee, and Cerberus.
"The first step is to make sure Lucifer dies which already happened seven years ago," Irene said to the Demons who listened to their mother. "Lucifer's death is not a loss to me since he will be returned. That is why I kept his corpse in a secret room."
"What is the second step, mother?" Succubus asked Irene.
Succubus is an extremely beautiful woman with blonde, shoulder-length hair that parted over her left temple which she tucked behind her ear. Her eyes were deep red with black irises. She wore an extremely revealing leather outfit with leather gloves that reached up her elbows and thigh-high leather boots. Succubus also possessed a pair of demonic brown horns, bat-like wings, and a tail with a sting at the end of it.
Irene inhaled the cigarette and then replied, "The second step is to plant a curse mark within Mikhail's brain. However, Irina failed to do this and instead planted it for someone else. I don't mind this since the victim possesses energy level like Mikhail."
"The next step is to begin the war with mankind on the night of 31st August in Kuala Lumpur… Specifically the twin tower… Many people will be there and before we begin the war, I need Lucifer to place a barrier in a specific area to isolate Mikhail from his friends."
Ifrit, a large demonic humanoid with a reddish orange body except for his scarred arms that were gray with black veins. He also possesses long twisted horns and gigantic claw-like nails. He also wore a tattered and dirtied loin cloth.
"The fourth step is to force Mikhail to choose between killing his opponents or rescue the innocents. This is very crucial because the moment he begins to consider, he is vulnerable to my technique."
Banshee, a female humanoid dark-skinned creature with golden mane, glowing red eyes, and large mechanical right hand, asked, "What about the last step?"
"That's a secret," Irene said with a smirk and then stared at a small child with six grotesque arms. "Cerberus, I need you to send a message to Takahashi."
"As you wish, mother…" Cerberus said before disappearing in shadow.
"Ifrit, I would like you to test Mikhail's friend. Try to push him to the limit." Irene said with a smile to Ifrit, receiving a nod who then disappeared in a burst of flame.
"What about me, mother?" asked Irina since she was hoping that she could fight Mikhail once again.
"I'll tell you later. For now, just wait and see. Don't be like your foolish father."
Genji Clan's Household
"You are Ammar, I assume?"
Ammar turned around and nodded his head, smiling at Mikayla.
"I have several questions for you."
This made Ammar wonder if this conversation would be about his status as an outsider in their clan, a feeling that he had carried ever since he joined Mikhail. Ammar began to imagine several scenarios with one of them was a fuming Mikayla disgusted at Ammar and warned him not to try to steal their technique.
Seeing his anxious expression, Mikayla giggled and calmed him down. She then said, "It isn't about what you were thinking. I just want to know more about my son since I know nothing about him."
Ammar cleared his throat and rubbed his head, realizing he had been lost in thought, "Of course, ask me."
The first question that came from Mikayla was, "How's Mikhail doing in the class?"
Ammar smiled and remembered the countless nights when Mikhail was engrossed in his studies to the point, he fell asleep on the desk. He then chuckled when he remembered how Mikhail often slept during their classes. Ammar couldn't help but smile as he answered, "He's doing great in the class. He helped me a lot in my study and if it wasn't for him, I think I would've already fail in two subjects."
Mikayla smiled, feeling proud of her only son. She then said, "That is fine, the way you said it… It reminded me of when I was his age. Sometimes, I didn't even sleep just to study so that my parents would be proud of me."
Ammar felt a bit relaxed. Maybe Mikayla just wanted to know more about her son. After all, from what Mikayla told her, Mikhail never had a good relationship with his mother since he was barely five years old.
Of course, it piqued his interest when he heard that, but Mizuki never explains it.
"My next question is… Uhm…. Does Mikhail say anything about his past or family?"
Ammar hesitated for a moment. Should he tell the truth or just lie? He bit his lips and clenched his fist tightly as he said, "Mikayla-san, I'll be honest… Since I befriend your son, he has never once mentioned about his past or family. Whenever someone asks about either one of those, Mikhail stays silent and gives a mad expression."
"There was one time he spoke about his past, which was about Amaris, if I'm not mistaken. It's about how he considered her as a sister, and she is the only reason why he hasn't stabbed himself for not having a family and enduring those years of loneliness…"
Ammar tensed up when he saw Mikayla crying and looked down. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but there's no word coming out of his mouth. Maybe it is because he didn't know what to say.
"Mikayla-san… I don't know what happened between you two in the past and I have no word to comfort you… But my mother always told me that whatever happened in the past, especially your biggest mistake, you can't do anything about it. All you can do is look at it with a smile and move on. Don't define your present with your past instead use that past as a lesson for the future."
Touched by the words from Ammar, Mikayla smiled and wiped away her tears. She then said, "Thank you, Ammar. You are a good friend… Believe me when I say this. You are also one of the reasons why my son hasn't killed himself yet."
"I am curious about your mistake, but I have no right to know. One thing that I can say is you will earn your son's forgiveness. Trust me, one day, he will call you 'mother' just like how he did when he was a child."
Immediately, Mikayla had a flashback of a four-year-old Mikhail running to her and calling her 'mama'. She smiled and nodded her head.
Meanwhile
"Hey, asshole!"
Mikhail stopped reading his novel and looked at Shizuka with a lazy expression.
"What?"
"Just asking if you want to have dinner with me tonight since I'm lazy to cook," Shizuka said with her cheek reddened slightly. "I don't mind if you don't-"
"Alright, alright, lazy girl. Just let me take a bath."
Shizuka playfully sniffed Mikhail and then realized that they were an inch apart from each other's face. This made Mikhail confused and flustered while Shizuka embarrassed and looked away.
"You smell like dog shit."
"Didn't know you have a weird fetish."
As soon as Mikhail said that he teleported to the door to avoid Shizuka's punch which destroyed her expensive couch. The pissed Shizuka slowly turned around and looked at Mikhail with smoke coming out from her ears and nose, much to Mikhail's amusement.
"YOU BETTER PRAY THAT I WON'T KILL YOU, GENJI!!"
The house was filled with giggles and laughter followed by a loud scream of agony and sadistic laughter. Two hours later, an angry Shizuka could be seen dragging Mikhail by his sweater to a café. When they arrived at their destination which is a restaurant, they were greeted by Renji, Nishiki and Yukiko.
"Looks like the whole gang is here except Mizuki," Nishiki said after taking a sip of sake. "Where's your sister?"
Mikhail shrugged his shoulders and said, "Don't know, don't care."
Yukiko frowned and shook her head while Nishiki laughed at his answer. Mikhail and Shizuka then sat on the empty chair and looked at the menu. After a minute, the waiter arrived at their table and took their order.
When the waiter excused himself, Nishiki spoke to Mikhail, "I heard Mikayla-sama had arrived. How is she?"
"Living her best life in Greece for four years while her son is hiding away from everyone," Mikhail sarcastically replied Nishiki, causing him to crack a smile. "So, Nishiki, where have you been after that day?"
Mikhail's question made everyone look at Nishiki with curiosity. They too were curious because a week after that fateful day where Mikhail killed Lucifer, Nishiki immediately left the hospital and disappeared, leaving his family very worried.
"Heh… You want to know it so bad? Alright, I'm going to tell you guys my story."
At the same time
"We are ready to invade, they were waiting for your signal."
A Japanese woman that stood at seven feet nodded her head and looked down, staring at Mikayla who's talking to her people with Ammar by her side. The woman smiled and unsheathed her katana before raising it.
This caused the entire Genji Clan's Household to be trapped inside a barrier, alerting Mikayla and everyone else. Mikayla immediately summoned the Head Clan Guardian Squad and commanded one of them to inform every Genji that there's an attack.
"You…"
Mikayla watched as the same woman appeared not too far from her and gritted her teeth.
"Takahashi Ryujin…"