No...no way, is it really her? But...how?

I...I want to say something, but the words are stuck, they won’t come out. Try as I might, I just can’t seem to gather my thoughts, my head is totally scrambled right now...

"I don’t believe this, the Demon Lord actually lost," Remarked Deilelne, she and the other three Generals with stunned looks on their faces.

"And so easily at that, I never even imagined such a thing being possible," Muttered Zevek in disbelief.

I barely even noticed the Generals, their voices tuned out as my attention was fixed on the Demon Lord. An all too familiar face and expression, the only difference being the horns, wings and tail.

That aside, she looks almost exactly the same as she did the last time I saw her...when I was in the world of the Monsters and fell into the Mana Current.

I truly believed that was the last time I’d ever get to speak to her, I never even considered the possibility that I’d ever see her again, and yet...

Am I dreaming? Is this real? Is this really happening? Is she...is she really my mother?

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Ariella Velle

———————————————————————————

Whew, that was fun! It’s been a while since I had a good fight, I needed that more than I realized. Haven’t had a real challenge since, well, the other Demon Lord.

Hm?

Huh. Based on Kai’s expression, it looks like I was right. When I used Appraisal on the Demon Lord, before I even looked at her abilities and stats, her name was the first thing to catch my attention.

This is what was displayed in the first section of Appraisal after I used it on her:

Personal Details:

Name: Kavi Intrix

Age: 88

Gender: Female

Height: 5’7"

Weight: 72 KG

Unless I’m mistaken, she really is Kai’s mother. I guess this is the world she was reincarnated into after Kai reunited with her when he got stuck in the Monster world.

Hm, but based on her age, it looks like she’s been in this world for a while. That probably means there’s some kind of time dilation between this world and ours, considering that an exponentially shorter amount of time has passed since Kai met her while he was stuck in the Monster world.

More importantly...this is a new expression on Kai, I’ve never seen it before, he looks totally dumbfounded. I’ve gotta get a closer look.

I hurried over as the Demon Lord smiled awkwardly as Kai, who was struggling to get any words out.

"Uh, you good, man?" Inquired Jaden with a look of concern. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"I...," Kai trailed off.

"It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Kai? What a wonderful surprise this is," Remarked the Demon Lord with a warm smile.

"Wait, then...the resemblance, and his last name, it really isn’t a coincidence?" Chimed in Deilelne.

"Uh, wait...what’s going on?" Spoke up Ciel in confusion.

"I suppose it’s about time I introduce myself properly. My name is Kavi Intrix. And I was once a human from your world, before reincarnating in this world as a Demon, about eighty-something years ago," She responded with a smile.

"Huh? Wait, hold up a sec, did you just say Intrix?" Blurted out Jaden in bewilderment, before glancing at Kai.

"Is...is it really you, mom?" He finally spoke, his voice cracking as his eyes glistened, tears starting to well up.

"Yeah, it’s me...it’s so, so good to see you again, kiddo, I-...woah!" She exclaimed, as he suddenly pulled her into a hug, tears streaming down his face as he embraced her.

She patted his head with a warm smile, while both the Demon Generals and the others stared with perplexed looks on their faces.

Can’t say I blame them, this is a pretty bizarre turn of events. I’m sure everyone’s got a lot of questions, me included.

The moment I used Appraisal on her and saw her name, I could hardly believe it. Kai never actually told me her first name, but obviously, they have the same last name.

Well, I suppose it isn’t totally obvious, since Intrix is his father’s last name, it would definitely be possible that she’d have wanted to go back to her maiden name. Actually, wonder why she didn’t? Probably not the right time to ask.

"I...I still can’t believe this is really happening," Remarked Kai, a tearful smile on his face.

It’s nice seeing him like this, it’s making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I mean, he’s super affectionate and loving with me, but I’ve never seen him this emotional around anyone else, it’s really sweet.

"Yeah, me neither. I really wanted to make a grand reveal and surprise you, but it didn’t quite work out as I’d planned," She responded with a wry smile.

Huh, she kinda reminds me of Superbia, particularly when she was alive and working as the Chairwoman of the Hunters Union in Sanctuary Theta. Maybe that’s part of the reason why Kai got along with her.

"This is a lot to take in...I never imagined the Demon Lord would be a former human," Muttered Zelmira incredulously.

"What an incredible twist of fate. To think that one of the summoned Heroes would be your son, my Lord," Remarked Kritak in bemusement.

"Wait, so does that mean you guys already knew that she’s a reincarnated human?" Ciel asked him.

Oh, that’s right...given that they haven’t been totally freaking out, the Demon Generals must already know about that.

"Yeah, I didn’t exactly hide it. I had no reason to, I reincarnated almost forty years before this war began, and the humans and Demons were on good terms back then. Although, most Demons just assumed I was crazy and didn’t believe me," Kai’s mom laughed in response, before adding, "Alright, why don’t we take this inside? It looks like everyone has a lot of questions, so let’s get comfortable instead of standing out here and talking."

"Sounds good...lead the way, mom," Replied Kai with a smile.