“Thanks for the meals, ladies! As always, it was delicious.” Marcel thanked the three maids who, as always, enjoyed their master’s compliments. 

“It’s our honor to serve you. We look forward to continuing to meet your expectations.” The three said synonymously. 

Marcel smiled and sat at the table for a while, relaxing, then he asked the maids to draw him a bath, but the response he got from them was not in his expectations. 

“Master, why don’t you try the big private bath in the castle? It’s rarely used although we maintain it regularly. I think that might be a good place to help you relax and calm your nerves.” The first maid, Portia, suggested. 

“Great idea, P. It’s a waste to always maintain that place if nobody uses it. I also think that you should try bathing there at least once. The water is not only good for your skin but also promotes calmness and peace in your body. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.” Edgar, the second maid suggested with a delighted look to prove her satisfaction over the many wonders that could only be found in the Demon Lord’s castle. What can you say but good things about water blessed by the powerful water spirits that swarm the Demon Lord castle? After all, except for Marcel, everyone else knows that the spirit’s blessed waters not only calmed the body and spirit but also aided in evolution and helping one access their full potential.  

The maids were bringing their master there not only because his body needs it but also because this place was where a certain someone, on rare occasions would visit. If he went there every once in a while, both of them were bound to meet in there and a little physical contact would do them both a lot of good.  

“Okay then! I’ll try it except... I don’t know where it is.” Marcel stated his opinion and also his lack of the knowledge required to find this place they were talking about. 

“That’s an easy fix. Hold my hand!” Judith, the third maid, asked her master. He complied with her request and to his surprise, they could teleport. He already found himself in front of the bath they were talking about. 

“Now go on! We’ll wait here for you. If you need anything, just shout and we’ll be right there, master.” Edgar said. Marcel would rather not be waited upon and would like to relax without having to worry about the maids still waiting out there for him, so he was definitely not calling them in the bath. He was but a freeloader and didn’t deserve so much attention, is what he thought. He at least knew when to act modest but his lack of aura-reading skills meant that he didn’t even know that the maids were already deeply attached to him unlike any of the guests they’d served in the past.  

Immediately after he entered the bath, the three ladies smiled sinisterly as if they knew something their master didn’t.  

“Ah! How good it must be to not feel aura?” They thought. 

* * * 

After entering the bath, Marcel took off his clothes and grabbed a towel to enter the showers. It was then that he noticed steam coming from deep inside the bath.  

“Huh? Isn’t this place supposed to empty?” He thought. No, it isn’t. The maids said most of the time, not now. 

Knowing that he wasn’t alone in there made him feel all sorts of ways inside. First was confusion, then panic, and lastly, shame as he wondered what would happen if the person inside the bath is someone who didn’t want to be seen, like a woman or something. He wondered if he should leave or not but then again, the maids are still waiting outside and he didn’t want them to think that the place he’d been brought to was not to his liking as they’d said that they took care of the bath, so he was definitely not going out and making them feel bad. He at least knew about those feelings as naïve and insensitive as he may be most of the time. 

He was going in, even if it meant causing someone to feel uncomfortable and possibly his death. This was the thought that ran through his mind as he weighed the risks of entering the bath and hurting the maids’ feelings and had already made his decision.  

“Going in, it is!” He said to himself as he grabbed his towel and entered the bath. He’d already forgotten to take his shower but that was fine since most of his hygienic needs had already been taken care of multiple times with spells courtesy of Allan. He now knew at least four spells for cleaning not only one’s self but also other stuff too. 

Normally, people don’t have to deal with the predicament that Marcel is facing, being it human or demon or anything else for that matter. Aura is one’s presence, their existence manifested in the form of energy. Everyone has it and no matter how dull one’s senses are, they can still at least read up what it says about the person. Whether they’re happy or sad or feeling a tad complicated or if one performed a certain action that influences their being; aura says it all to the people around its owner and thus, this is the most basic form of perception that is used in the demon realms. Basically, everyone can read auras, well, except Marcel who is completely blind to aura. This might be why he managed to stay almost completely unaffected by anyone’s emotions all his life. Whether or not it is a blessing or a curse, we still don’t know yet.  

Marcel gulped as he entered the deeper part of the bath without hesitation. It was now a do or die situation. If he dies, at least he went out as the man who did what he said he would without hesitation. He was as mentally prepared at the moment as he was going to get but he was definitely not prepared for what he was about to see next. 

The sight he saw... could only be described by Marcel as one world at that moment: enthralling. Guess who was in there to do the same thing Marcel was about to do? 

 

The Demon Lord, in all his beauty, was taking a bath. The long hair, the flawless skin, everything. He looked mesmerizing, like a being who’d descended from the heavens to grant the earth the honor of being in his glorious presence.  

The white skin that looked supple and milky white, diffusing light when it touched him. The water dripping from his hair to his collarbone and then his finely sculpted torso, gathering all the small droplets of water and then sending them across his firm abs. That crimson red hair so long and smooth, dark as blood and floating in the water, swimming in the large pool of water like fiery snakes in the direction of the supple water ripples, making it seem like a bloody festival had taken place in the water, covering every part of the giant tub, leaving no place for anyone to enter as if they were guarding the Demon Lord and that face. The beautiful face that made entranced anyone who saw it with just a glance. It was a face that brought all the world’s creatures to their knees. The pale lips, the long eyelashes, and the faint yet still noticeable smug expression on the Demon Lord’s face when he pretended to have just notice Marcel entering and gazing blatantly at his figure, unable to look away from what he could describe as earth’s ultimate privilege. The sight was divine, enthralling, alluring, and utterly seductive, spreading attractive pheromones everywhere that one could argue that Marcel not being able to sense the aura in his current situation was a good thing. The Demon Lord looked so perfect and enchanting that as if a natural reaction, Marcel had a nosebleed, and his um, ‘thing’ pulsated with excitement. This was a reaction he wasn’t expecting from himself, at all.  

“Why is he so beautiful?!” He thought as he stared at the entrancing figure of the man that he, maybe, might kill. His heart raced so quickly than he ever thought it could. He lost his primary train of thought as his mind focused solely on the scene in front of him. He was powerless in the face of such an enchanting sight. 

The Demon Lord, having pretended to have just noticed him, smiled dazzlingly and Marcel covered his ‘member’ as quickly as he could with his hands as not to let the Demon Lord see what was happening to him after having witnessed his seductive figure, his erection. Marcel had lost all reasons to fight the Demon Lord earlier thanks to multiple people convincing him not to, but now one heavily dawned on his mind. 

“If I don’t kill this guy soon, I’m sure he’s going to take something far precious than just my first time.” He thought, clenching his teeth as he quickly thought of ways to cleanse the impure thoughts forming in his head, only to fail miserably and realizing that he really hit the jackpot when it came to finding the perfect partner, at least, appearance-wise. Whether the Demon Lord’s true nature is still as good as what he’s seen so far is something, he still couldn’t tell. 

The Demon Lord invited him in and when Marcel raised his hand, the Demon Lord notices the ‘standing’ and does the old smile. He was happy to know that he, at least felt attractive to the person who was destined to end him.  

-------- 

Marcel, after being invited to join the Demon Lord quickly ran back to the front of the bath, near the showers, however, not for long as he for some strange reason, quickly washed himself of all the grime that had built up from not having used the basic [Cleanse] spell since that morning and then he prepared to enter the luxurious tub where his enemy who’d invited him waited. He found himself suspicious quick to come back to the king-sized tub. 

So, Marcel, essentially accepting the Demon Lord’s invitation, felt super uncomfortable as he took off his towel to enter the tub while he was being stared at by the Demon Lord endowed by the blessings of Mother Nature. When he came into the tub, he sat about 3 meters away from the Demon Lord but as usual, the Demon Lord didn’t respect his boundaries and pulled off the dirty trick of teleporting him to his side. He then asked Marcel to tell him about how his trip went. Marcel began talking about his trip, then he had a strange thought and asked the Demon Lord why he was suddenly so interested in him. 

The Demon Lord responded, “I honestly have no idea why that is. I’ve asked myself that same question many times more than you can possibly imagine. Why am I interested in some scrawny human who blushes upon even the smallest physical contact with me? Maybe I just find you the right size to pick on--” 

“No, answer me! Really, why are you interested in me? You say that but you have the power to bully virtually anyone you want, so why me?” Marcel looked agitated to know the answer or maybe he was expecting to hear something he couldn’t think of as the reason why he was forced to become the supreme overlord of all the demon realm’s wife. The Demon Lord continued to give his answer. 

“I really don’t know. Maybe my lonely life as the Demon Lord was suddenly brought to my attention the moment, I saw you. You know, my job is to take care of not only the former Demon Lord who pushed his job unto me when he left for hell many millions of years ago but also all the other species that eventually came to share many lands with the ancient demons. I don’t really know the answer to your question but I can at least tell you this much. My life as the Demon Lord isn’t boring by any means. Maybe I just felt like I was missing something and felt like I’d find it if I did something different. Maybe you’re related to the ‘thing’ I’ve looked everywhere, even the human lands, for.”  

“Hahaha! Your answer surprised me! Hey, do you get this strange feeling sometimes that we aren’t really strangers at all?” Marcel laughed at the Demon Lord’s answer, looking at the water spirits dancing happily in the water, surrounding the both of them. He felt so at peace with himself. 

“I know! Hahaha! Why would I tell some stranger I met a while ago all about my life without the least bit of restraint? I get this strange indescribable feeling that makes me want to tell you everything.” He was being sincerely truthful. 

It’s strange because Marcel has the same feeling sometimes. This feeling, however, wasn’t something Marcel wanted to deal with at the moment, so he shrugged it off or rather, tucked it deep inside of him and continued to inquire more information from the Demon Lord. 

“Hey! Why weren’t you surprised by my age like all the others?” Marcel asked, genuinely curious about this. He was more or less curious about whether or not the Demon Lord knew beforehand but he didn’t get an answer to that question, although it didn’t stop the Demon Lord from thinking back to what humans might consider a long while ago. 

 

[Flashback] 

The Demon Lord has watched Marcel ever since his advisor proclaimed that he was going to be defeated by that time’s 9-year-old, soon-to-be 10-year-old Marcel in his spare time, so he knows a lot of things about him. He watched him from time to time until Marcel abruptly stepped into the demon realm one random day; a day that came soon than he expected. And since Marcel now knows that all the heroes at the beginning were mostly his age, he kind of gets why the Demon Lord isn’t surprised. 

[End of Flashback] 

 

They continued to talk for a while and eventually, they came to the topic of Marcel’s current strength. 

“Can you reveal your current status to me? I want to see how much you’ve grown.” The Demon Lord asked, strangely, politely. 

“Sure, since you asked so nicely. I don’t mind showing you. Behold!” Marcel then showed the Demon Lord his stats which he also hadn’t seen and was genuinely curious about as well. He almost rubbed his eyes again after seeing them. His HP had already passed the 600 mark as it was related to his body’s strength and his mana, however, had already passed the 1000 mark. This was probably because he used Sigurd’s ice skills so often. His mana had already entered the C-rank while his HP was only lacking less than 200 HP points to enter the C-rank fully when his body strength or HP reached the 800 mark.  

Let’s not talk about his EP because they mysteriously vanished after they hit the 1000 mark and he can no longer see nor show it to others. This was probably the Spirit of the World’s doing and it was for a good reason. This was to prevent a certain past even from happening ever again so she’ll choose the upgrades to give to Marcel and his personal monitor, the Informer, herself. Lately, she granted Marcel’s Informer the ability to express its own thoughts for some strange reason, and currently, she’s used the EP points to unlock a certain gift that she and another person sealed off a while ago. How he’ll feel about it, however, isn’t something she knows and will probably enjoy watching later. 

“Impressive. Now access the part of your Informer that says ‘Dungeon’ and tell me your adventurer rank.” The Demon Lord asked. This was to help him narrow down if the 40-year time limit he has to put his plan into motion will be enough. When the status window popped up and he saw ‘Adventurer rank: D-class,’ he sighed in relief. Marcel didn’t hear it though and asked more questions afterward about the classes, their levels, and many other facts related to it that he had no idea about. He was currently at LV 156 in the D-class and was happy that his abilities had grown as much as they have in such a short time. 

“Good job! You managed to grow remarkably during such a short time. It won’t be long before you reach A-class but you’ll have to work hard to reach that goal.” The Demon Lord suddenly praised Marcel. Coupled with his current appearance that caused flutters down in Marcel’s heart, he couldn’t help but blush to the compliment. He suddenly felt like telling the Demon Lord more, an action that would lead not only to gaining some useful information but also a big scolding from the big man. 

“I know. This time it was hard too. I had a hard time dealing with the dungeon beasts on my own while I was alone. I spent two days slashing around with Sigurd which is why my magic capacity probably grew so much over a short period of time like a month. I’d have probably had a hard time if I had to deal with that Poison Viper Snake at the end of the dungeon all on my own but I at least managed to survive that fight to fight another day. If I had gone alone, I’d have been poisoned or badly injured while fighting against that monster but then again, I might not have even won. I don’t feel sorry for---” He was about to continue spouting out his feelings when the Demon Lord suddenly shouted at him. 

“What did you do with Sigurd while in the dungeon?! Tell me!!” He demanded at the top of his voice. The beauty suddenly looked pissed for some reason that Marcel didn’t know. 

Marcel answered his question, “Um, I froze and slashed away at the monsters over and over again until they felt the chill and died. Cool, right?” Marcel’s words came with a bright smile that pissed off the Demon Lord even more.  

“You fool!!! Sigurd isn’t just some generic slash-freeze weapon! It’s a weapon I made with you in mind. It’s a perfect weapon for not only a swordsman but also a mage. Can I borrow it for a minute?” The Demon Lord asked, slowly cooling down his anger and becoming almost normal in temperament again. Marcel was very startled by the Demon Lord shouting at him.

“Huh? Okay!” Marcel answered, then he took it out of his inventory space that he found had once again expanded thanks to a certain spirit because she took his EP and gave it to the Demon Lord. He wondered what the Demon Lord would do with Sigurd and so, he watched carefully before the Demon Lord said to. 

“Watch carefully! I will show you another way to wield Sigurd. If you learn how to master it well, you might never need any other weapon.” Marcel nodded to the Demon Lord’s and him, noticing that his little wife was listening, he looked at Marcel and did something strange with his magic. His magic and aura suddenly felt like Marcel’s but then again, Marcel wasn’t really going to feel the changes around him so he didn’t react any different. He was more occupied with staring at both whatever the Demon Lord was about to do and his perfect body, although he didn’t stare for too long as his body seems to want to give a nosebleed whenever he saw anything from the Demon Lord that raised his heart rate. He was suffering from a different kind of pain that also left him feeling strangely ecstatic and a little cloud nine. Damn it! Those are both the same thing! 

Marcel paid careful attention to the Demon Lord and watched then after the Demon Lord changed his aura to liken his, he suddenly did something that shocked Marcel and hit him again with the realization that the Demon Lord and himself were on two whole different levels.  

The Demon Lord, holding Sigurd in his hand, suddenly made it transform into the cool sword the man that Marcel and the others met when they teleported back from the dimension of dungeons to Sizburn’s telecircle. Anyone who still doesn’t know what this cool sword is; it’s the katana, a sword wielded in some words carrying the title of the best swords to be invented. This action shocked Marcel because the Demon Lord isn’t supposed to be able to change Sigurd’s form like that. Except for himself, nobody should be able to do that since he formed a bond with Sigurd. Why is the Demon Lord able to do that, he asked himself? 

The Demon Lord didn’t keep him wondering for long as he gave him the knowledge he sought, 

“You’re wondering why I’m able to change the sword’s form, am I right?” He asked smugly. 

Marcel didn’t say anything, still shook by the Demon Lord’s little magic trick, so he continued,  

“It’s easy, really. I analyzed your magic’s nature and aura and projected my will unto Sigurd and asked it to change forms and it did. You should be able to do it too as long as you learn to learn more magic control. It can’t only do that. Look!” The Demon Lord noticed his wife who paid full attention and was surprised a second later. 

Sigurd, currently the katana, suddenly transformed into a grimoire? It then transformed into a magic staff, then a strange something that Marcel hadn’t seen before. It’s a canon. The Demon Lord continued to change Sigurd’s form and Marcel understood what he was trying to say but in case he didn’t, the Demon Lord elaborated,  

“Sigurd is a weapon that can freeze anything it cuts, just like Frostbite’s sword form, but that’s not all there is to it. It’s more special than that. Sigurd can also change forms to anything while still having the same mass, so you should be able to extend and shorten the blade as well, but you didn’t do any of that...” and he dared complained about how he wasn’t able to defeat the boss alone when he could have done way more than he did. The nerve of him, the Demon Lord thought, a bit angry.  

He continued to lecture Marcel about the full capabilities of Sigurd. Yes, Sigurd can also be used as a magic conduit of sorts to both cast magic and store the casted magic spell inside the spatial space of the blade. It’s a sword of ice and snow, but it’s also a spatial blade.  

“Wow, I didn’t know any of that. That was very useful information. It’s a shame that I didn’t know this before my trip to the dungeon. It would have been way more useful then. If I knew that Sigurd could turn into a grimoire, I could have just stored magic inside and cast it later. I suddenly feel depressed!” Marcel, genuinely depressed about the fact that the answer to all or rather, most of his problems was by his side the whole time and he didn’t use it bruised his, at this point, very fragile ego. He then thought of how he only used Sigurd to slash and freeze vines in the landscape plant-type dungeon and suddenly felt embarrassed by his actions. If Sigurd was alive, he wondered what he would have thought. 

The Demon Lord felt disappointed once again that Sigurd was treated like some generic artifact but since Marcel felt bad about it, he would let it go just this one. Marcel said he’d do better next time, looking depressed, and when he said that, the Demon Lord suddenly remembered that it was he who told Marcel that he wouldn’t be giving him any information until he’s learned how to use the sword. It was sort of like he was contradicting himself by giving Marcel information that he said he wouldn’t. The Demon Lord continued talking and Marcel listened to all the advice he got. He now knew that although Sigurd primarily was a sword; he doesn’t need to stay a sword all the time. If he uses Sigurd properly as he should, then Sigurd will grow into an even more overpowered weapon than he already is. He then put Sigurd away. 

After talking about Sigurd for a while and Marcel promised to do better, their moods got better again as they talked about something else, and thus, the conversation continued. 

As they talked for many minutes without even realizing it, Marcel’s mind wandered back to the cool sword he’d seen and the strange man who was apparently the Demon Lord. He wondered what was up and asked. 

“Oh, he? He’s my child!” The Demon Lord answered casually. 

“Your child?! Wait, what?” Marcel said, imagining an entire story-plot for what might be the Demon Lord’s past. The Demon Lord, already sensing the confusion he’d caused in Marcel, quickly continued. 

“It’s not what you think! He isn’t really my child but rather, a part of me that can exist separately as a different individual.” The Demon Lord then took his hand from the water and put it to his head and plucked out one of his long, beautiful hair strands.  

“I’ll show you!” He said, then he put it in his palm while mumbling something that Marcel didn’t hear, and then when the Demon Lord blew the hair towards the water, boom; that person appeared. It was that man from the square back again, although he looked lifeless, without any soul but once again, the Demon Lord was about to demonstrate his superiority in terms of power. 

He touched the man standing in the water in front of him with his hand and mumbled some strange words as he touched him then he flicked the man’s forehead and oh-ho, he was alive! He suddenly gained that light, that spark that made him who he was a few hours ago when Marcel met him. He looked at Marcel and smiled gently towards him. 

“Huh?! What is happening?! What just happened?!!” He looked, suddenly freaked out as if he was witnessing a scene that many will never get to see in their lives. He saw life being created or at least, so he thought. 

“Let me explain! This man is myself or rather, a part of myself in another form. He’s my avatar, sort of like another representation of myself. He’s one of the many avatars that I use.”  

“For what?” Marcel asked, still unable to fully calm down his nerves. This bath had taken a stressful turn that he wasn’t looking forward to at all. 

“For scouting unchartered lands, surveying realms and gathering information. How do you think I get anything around here with so many worlds to ensure the safety of? My avatars monitor the situation outside with lives of their own and I sometimes watch through their eyes. Right now, a lot of myself are working hard to make sure I didn’t miss any problems that the rulers can’t handle.” The Demon Lord answered confidently. Marcel felt like the guy in front of him was too caring to be some evil incarnation of evil. Every day, he’s convinced somewhat that giving up on his quest to slay the Demon Lord by this man that now, he had so little motivation to do anything against him and now this? It’s like he’s accidentally telling him to give up and making him feel like his actions in the past were foolish. If he somehow even managed to kill the Demon Lord, then wouldn’t he just be able to escape death through these avatars of his?  

“So, how many of these avatars can you make?” Marcel’s final question that might sway his decision to even think about killing the Demon Lord in the future was finally asked. 

“I can make as many as the hairs on my head. Every strand on my hair can be to make an avatar and if they somehow die, all their memories return to me, meaning that I can recreate them again. I must also mention that I heal really fast too, so I can probably make an endless amount of my avatars if I wanted.” This answer was what caved in most of the small resolve that Marcel still had to want to kill the Demon Lord. He suddenly just learned that killing the Demon Lord was hopelessly hopeless and thus, he put whatever was left of the little resolve left after this conversation to the back of his mind and they would remain there for the longest time. Looks like the Demon Lord conquered most of Marcel’s consciousness that tells him to follow his destiny as a hero already. All he has left to conquer are the rest of his consciousness and getting his body to agree to his proposal before the forty-year time limit and he’s already won. 

The Demon Lord seeing Marcel, lost in thought, asking himself whether or not to even have another thought about whether or not to kill the Demon Lord, smiled and did something that was going to invoke a certain thought in a different part of Marcel’s consciousness. 

“Come closer!”  The Demon Lord asked. Marcel did as he said and before he knew it, his mind was blank and his thoughts weren’t his own. He got kissed on the forehead by the Demon Lord, and that’s not the only thing Marcel got from those lips on his forehead. He also received a boner and a collection of memories. 

The Demon Lord looked at Marcel, boner and all, then he let out a laugh, “Wow... this reminds me of that day...” then went in for another kiss, but this time on the lips. Marcel thought that he was about to be taken again when the kiss was just about to get aggressive, but then the Demon Lord stopped and said, “Don’t worry! I’m not going to do that again without receiving your consent. That time, something got into me and I did what I did. I promise you that it won’t happen again and even if it does, it’ll be you who asks for it. Bye~~” The Demon Lord then licked his lips seductively, grabbed his towel, and left the tub area. Marcel’s face was flushed a bright red and he was left helpless once more. 

“What a good guy!!!” Marcel thought, after that, then went into a daze for about an hour and a half. When he snapped out of it, he was feeling very hot and quickly got out of the tub, thinking that he’d been in for way too long. He cursed himself for liking everything that happened to him during his time with the Demon Lord.  

His maids came in, worried that something may have happened to their master as he’d been away for more than two hours since the last time, they saw him. When they finally saw their master, he was carrying a sign that told them that their plan worked. They saw his fully-awakened Excalibur when they came in. The maids casually looked at him then they averted their gazes. They already understood what may have happened in here with their younger master meeting their older master. They already figured out what might have brought on the erect Excalibur and so, they left the bathhouse with cheery smiles upon their faces. Claude definitely has to hear this, they thought. 

Marcel after the maids had also left, had to take care of his awoken ‘little brother’, which he didn’t know how to since Dragon Link wasn’t there to help him this time, so he struggled a bit all on his own. After he’d finally figured it out and finished calming his Excalibur for the first time all by himself, he went back outside, and the maids told him to do it whenever he felt like it. His feelings, after hearing what his maids said, were a bit complicated. On one hand, playing with his 'thing’ felt good, while on the other, it was very hard to relieve himself as he had. He had to do it twice before the pole finally crumbled.  

“This was all that damn Demon Lord’s fault,” he thought. 

After his maids had changed his clothes like usual and fed him lots more food, also like usual, he was bored with nothing to do, so he tried figuring out what the Demon Lord gave him apart from the kiss and the boner, that devil. After a while, he learned that it was a technique for magic control. The technique is very hard and according to the memories, the technique will take about ten to fifteen months to master. Marcel sighed, thinking of the many things that had happened to him that day, and unconsciously thought that the Demon Lord was not too bad once more before he fell asleep, feeling refreshed and stress-free. He dreamt a good dream that night.