A month quickly passed by and Marcel gained a firmer grasp of Spatial Magic, as taught to him by Emperor Kardia. He found himself motivated day by day; learning new things with his new love interest, Enya, there to watch him with his fierce, wild eyes that weren’t leaving his side. He was being stalked like some kind of prey and... actually, he liked it! He was delighted that Enya’s interest in him hadn’t just been a ‘few days of staring’ kind of situation. 

Training arduously, he reached another milestone in his development.  

“Congratulations, you’ve begun grasping your body’s natural barrier-interference ability!” Emperor Kardia said to him. Finally, they could move on to the other stuff.  

Enya praised him as well, without any significant idea about why this was so interesting, but hey, he didn’t want to be the odd one! Marcel was happy, nonetheless. 

Grasping some of his body’s effect on the world around him, he gained the ability to control a small part of it. Currently, he could… heh, not telling~! 

Finally controlling this ability of his to some extent, he thought his mission at Emperor Kardia’s was done with. He was ready to go… 

“Now, now!” Emperor Kardia grabbed him by the collar. Marcel could feel a chill down his spine, “I did say that I brought you here to give you the foundation upon which to explore all your other abilities, didn’t I?” Marcel could hear Emperor Kardia chuckle slightly in an ominous manner. He broke into a cold sweat. 

“Please go easy on me, would you?” He uttered, almost sniveling.  

Oh no, Claude! What have you done to me?!!! 

 

*** 

 

It goes without saying that Marcel had to spend a significant amount of time at Emperor Kardia’s compared to his earlier estimation: a whole nine years! He went in a brat. Well, that didn’t change much, but he came out of Emperor Kardia’s training skilled and not to be underestimated. As for interests… well, you’ll see in a while. 

Nine years passed just like that, and Marcel was ready to leave the Xapheras floating islands. Although he loved hanging out with just Emperor Kardia and especially Enya who, over the years, moved ‘closer’ and ‘closer’ to him and his room, he was about done with improving his foundation of the arts for the future. Even the darkness magic that he mostly ignored after what happened with getting tricked by Claude and getting his revenge, as well as learning curse magic, was worked upon. He also worked on enhancing his abilities of perception and healing and improved his grasp on his Spirit Eyes better than ever. Sure, he wasn’t any closer to being capable of bypassing the blockage that is Emperor Kardia’s intentionally hiding things from him, but he surpassed the limits he originally possessed. 

Now a 40-year-old, although he doesn’t look a day over twenty, much to his dismay, he was prouder and more confident in himself than ever before. Strangely, even his looks have stopped bothering him as much anymore; well, unless he seriously thought about it. He had steadily adjusted to the changes he was constantly undergoing, both physically and mentally. He was living his best life. 

After his training, he could currently bring out 89 000 magic units of power at once compared to his earlier 71 000 at the age of 31.  He was still a B-class adventurer, same as nine years ago, in terms of physical power but his magic power was nearing the A-class barrier, soon to reach the threshold. It wouldn’t be long at all until he finally becomes a threat to the Demon Lord and fights him, though, that seems to be quite a mile away. I did always say that he grows fast, didn’t I? 

After all this growth, some congratulations were in order, especially with all the surprises currently up his sleeve. The three held a little, indulgent feast and gorged themselves on food and wine; the potent kind that even dragons weren’t immune against, a very special brew.  

Quick side note: This special, potent kind of brew will bring someone some trouble in the future. It involves a lonely pair of dragons, hehe~! 

 

Marcel and Enya fell asleep, in each other’s arms in the hall. This would be the last night they spent together because one of them planned to leave the next morning. Yes, they both went to sleep with that in mind. They had some well-deserved rest. 

 

*** 

Enya left first the next day, but before he did, he surprised Marcel more than he had in the years they’d spent together. As they were saying their goodbyes, Marcel’s words were sucked right out of his mouth, quite literally!  

Enya lifted Marcel’s face, looked him in his fuchsia-colored eyes, smiled, and kissed him deeply on the lips. 

“Woah......”  Marcel thought as his lips were sealed shut by the man, he’d been living with for the past nine years. He wasn’t as surprised as he was shocked that Enya chose this very moment to do this. 

Enya, afterward, licked his lips in delight before promising, “We’ll meet again, cutie!” He smiled, winked, then left by his own means, leaving the lad flabbergasted and quite heated in the head and body. It’d been quite a while since Marcel experienced this kind of feeling. There was no mistaking it! He truly liked this Enya fellow... very well! He found himself thinking of that moment until he also left the next day. 

 

“Thanks for the years of training, Emperor Kardia!” Marcel said gratefully, bowing his head.  

“Don’t mention it! Trust me, you’ve done me a greater favor than I could ever imagine! I owe a big favor to someone related to you. It was my greatest honor to be of help in your time of need.” The Emperor replied, tapping, or more like beating, Marcel’s back. Marcel was already used to this much since training with him for nine years, so he had no complaints. What doesn’t kill you strengthens you, after all!  

“Okay, then! I’ll be leaving now!” Marcel said, smiling as he casually walked into the space that willingly opened itself up to him. He waved one more time before he left, although, not before hearing Emperor Kardia say his last words to him.  

“You remember your own goal, right? Don’t ever forget it! Take care of your sword too! It’ll give you a pleasant surprise very soon!” Emperor Kardia yelled to the man he’d trained walking into space with his ‘Dimension Door’ skill.  

“I know! Thanks, master!” Marcel said; his last words after waving at Emperor Kardia one more time before leaving. As he was leaving, he thought he saw an image overlap with the emperor’s. For a brief moment, he thought he saw what was a blurred image of a more handsome man with crystal-clear, glass-like eyes that held the golden light of Emperor Kardia’s eyes. He couldn’t have possibly seen that right, right?  

Maybe that was why he didn’t hear what might have changed everything for him when he walked into the space.  

“No, thank you, master! After all, my grandson and I exist because of you! Phoenix, better watch out! The conqueror will soon arrive... Oh, what shall you do? What shall you do~?” The emperor said, then he went back inside his abode above, hidden from the gaze of the world. It entered the boundaries between the physical and spirit realms again.  

What did he mean by those last words? Phoenix? Is this an ominous foreshadowing of what’s to come in the future?!! I guess only time will tell!  

 

*** 

 

Marcel, through walking into that space, found himself back at the place he called home: the Demon Lord’s castle. The moment he entered the castle, everyone he knew, currently within the premises, teleported to him, welcoming him with delighted faces; even the Demon Lord. 

“Welcome home, master!” Edgar, Portia, and Judith, Marcel’s personal maids, greeted their master whom they missed dearly after not seeing him in years. Their smiles were especially pleasant. 

“Yeah, welcome back, friend!” Allan said, hugging him. He never thought that Marcel would be away for so long. If he didn’t know, then he would have probably gone looking for him a long time ago. Right around the time that Marcel disappeared from his room on that fateful day nine years ago, he reported Marcel’s absence to the Demon Lord and he assured him that there was no need for worries.  

The Demon Lord said that Marcel was fine and would be back soon, so Allan didn’t worry as much as he did as time passed by. He, however, was still worried if Marcel was eating right and getting enough sleep, harboring so many other worries that seemed insignificant when he saw Marcel again. 

Right after Allan let go came Shalia, 

“Marcy! You’re back! Finally~! I was so bored without you!” Shalia, who'd normally be speaking seductively right about now, was speaking in a jubilating tone. She seemed even more excited than Allan to see Marcel back. She hugged him, then rubbed herself all over him like she usually did, although to the extreme. Ah~, she missed this... the proximity to his well-trained body, his scent, his aura... She truly missed him! 

She seemed unstoppable until Marcel escaped, courtesy of a secret technique he learned at Kardia’s. After escaping, he sighed and said, "I'm happy to see you too, Shalia but, I wish you wouldn't rub yourself all over me. Anyways, I missed you too!” Marcel spoke from the heart that Shalia, who was used to being shunned and dismissed by him, was dazed and froze solid; contemplating what had just happened.  

“Marcel didn’t call me a pervert like he usually does,” She thought happily, rubbing her cheeks and swinging her body in an unsightly manner like a certain brother-obsessed Guardian dragon usually does. 

After Shalia came Sephana. She hugged Marcel, putting his head right between her bosom,  

“You’ve grown significantly more beautiful since I last saw you. I see that grandfather didn’t disappoint~!” She said in a soft but flirtatious tone. She licked her lips with even more of a desire to claim Marcel as her own. Again, she thought of how it was a shame that he was already taken. He grows into an outstanding man at a snail’s pace by the day and gets more desirable with time, like a fine bottle of wine. 

“Enough, you pervert! I don’t have time to deal with your nonsense!” Marcel said to the woman as he escaped her fleshy trap. Ah, I think that’s the reaction Shalia expected to get after her gross show of affection.  

After Sephana, came the next person: Claude. 

“How was your stay with my grandfather’s? I hope he didn’t mistreat you like my grandaunt does. Tell me, are you alright?!!” Claude asked concerned, father-like as always, extremely worried from having remembered the torture he once suffered at the hands of his own grandfather. They were memories he didn’t want to remember at all. They gave him nightmares whenever he remembered. He won’t be sleeping well for a while, now that he’s been made to think about them. That grandfather of his is a monster! 

“No, I’m alright! Master treated me well and trained me for a bit. I had fun talking to him too!” Marcel said cheerfully, recalling the days he spent not training at the hands of Emperor Kardia.  

Wait, did Claude just hear Marcel call his grandfather ‘master’? Just what happened?!  

Sword training, magic training, body training; Marcel managed to somehow make it through them all without ever thinking of giving up even once. Although it was hard, strangely enough, he never felt miserable or complacent about Emperor Kardia’s training methods. The emperor personalized it so much, as if he knew every single thing about Marcel, thus creating a perfect, sure-to-succeed training regimen for him. And we're not even adding the familiarity and peace of mind Emperor Kardia‘s company brought him which far surpassed what Marcel felt when he was around the Demon Lord. That’s might be the biggest factor as to why he made it through that somewhat ‘hellish but still tolerable’ training. Emperor Kardia was so strange! 

Claude could do nothing but sigh,  

“Good, then! Get some well-deserved rest! You’ve earned it!” Claude said before nonchalantly teleporting away from the vicinity, probably to not express how happy he was that Marcel, which, at this point, was almost his foster son, was back. Looks like Allan, Marcel and Sephana weren’t the only ones happy about his return. He was still more concerned about Marcel’s mental wellbeing after going through what Claude could describe as ‘Kur’s infernal domains’. He’ll check on him during the night to see if his concerns are warranted. 

Lastly, after everyone else in the Demon Lord’s castle was done, came the Demon Lord himself. What he said was very like what Marcel thought he’d say. 

“Welcome back, shrimp! You get a feast now that you’re back! Good job hanging on at Kardia’s!” The Demon Lord said, calm on the surface as he stretched his hand towards Marcel’s head to ruffle up his hair like he usually did. Oh, he and his way of showing that he cared via his various gifts. 

Marcel didn’t resist, 

“Good to be back! I missed you too, Demon Lord!” Marcel smiled slightly as he already knew what the Demon Lord meant to say. The Demon Lord was flustered after his words and smiled back. 

“Who said I missed you, brat?!!” The Demon Lord had a sudden outburst, then disappeared as if to hide his true feelings. Aww, he’s embarrassed! 

After he teleported, he thought,  

“This brat is getting better by the day! It’s fine! If I hold on until the end, then I win! There are only a few years left and after that, I’ll win for sure! He’s fallen for me, for sure!!!”  

Woah~, too confident, if you ask me! Looks like he still hopes that Marcel will agree to marry him when he pops the question again in, hmm... let’s see... about sixteen more years! He really is patient, isn’t he? 

The Demon Lord had still not cooled down from what he’d just done in front of Marcel. That sudden outburst was very embarrassing. He doesn’t seem to know why, but he seems to be getting more predictable by the day in front of Marcel, and he doesn’t like it! He’ll be back to his regular self very soon and fluster the hell out of the brat like he used to, he thought. 

After the Demon Lord had left, Marcel headed back to his corner of the palace with Allan and as promised by the Demon Lord, he had his feast. He ate that night with Allan and Shalia who wanted to eat with him and they chatted all night long.  

He didn’t expose most of the things he thought needed to be kept secret, like his trump card or the major abilities he gained following his abduction and subsequent training at Emperor Kardia’s hands either. He only previewed to them what he planned to use while he was with them, keeping the rest secret. Somehow, the little hero had forgotten that there are people around him that he couldn’t hide anything from, even if he tried.  

With a slight touch to Marcel, Allan immediately found out what he was hiding and Silva would too when she found his cheeky ‘I’m not telling you’ face to be quite annoying weeks later when they met again. I won’t mention anyone else, but you can probably figure out who knew what he was hiding from the perceptive abilities of the characters I’ve chosen to tell you about throughout this tale.  

 

Speaking of other characters who knew what he was hiding, one of them suddenly found themselves blindsided when an unexpected character suddenly appeared.  

The Demon Lord found himself the most surprised he’d been in a long while when someone suddenly barged into his castle. 

That black hair, those eyes, that throat-choking, terrible bloodlust and carnal, bloodthirsty aura! He felt like he’d felt this guy from somewhere before... 

The Demon Lord couldn’t quite remember who he was or why he was here, but he didn’t like him already. I mean, the audacity, and WHAT THE HECK?! Those clothes were...!!!  

The Demon Lord was enraged, his fury-carrying aura slowly spreading through the air. 

“To what do I owe this honor?” He revealed a sarcastic smile and a scary, murderous pair of eyes that he hadn’t quite ‘used’ in a while.  

That troublesome boy, what has he done this time? The Demon Lord thought. 

The visitor cleaved through the space from his location right into his throne room with a spear, walking into the premise in an arrogant, nonchalant manner. He showed no respect nor a shred of restraint when he let his feelings permeate his sickening aura. They’ve just met face-to-face for the first time but he didn’t like the Demon Lord either. 

He revealed a wicked smile and peered at a wall right of him, not even paying attention to the character before him like he was looking at something way more interesting.  

Sure enough, the Demon Lord knew exactly what he was looking at and quickly grew apprehensive. 

“Speak!!!” He commanded, his voice resonating the entire castle. Everyone surely heard him. 

Seeing the Demon Lord quick to anger somehow lit up a flame of joy within the man. He didn’t know why, but he enjoyed seeing this pretty man get mad. 

He smirked again, “I’ve come to request Marcel’s hand in marriage! ‘The World’ said to consult you beforehand before I made any abrupt moves. Something about ‘first dibs’ or whatever~.” He spoke. 

“Oh~” The Demon Lord was amused, “What makes you think you’re worthy of making such a request?!” He openly looked down on this man. He was really getting on his nerves. 

“Pwahaha!” Enya laughed briefly before he shrugged, took a deep breath in, and looked back in the same direction he peered in earlier. He smiled as he watched that person converse chattily with an elf and a witch. 

He finally answered the Demon Lord’s question,  

“I’m just being polite here, pretty man!” His mood quickly turned sour when he looked at the Demon Lord again. He really doesn’t like him,  

“That boy and I really know each other! I’ve been with him every day for all the nine years he was away from this darn place. I watched as that boy went from innocently spying on me, unsure of what to do with himself to blatantly observing every inch... of me, of course! I know the number of hairs on his body, how fast his heart beats, the twitching of every muscle in his body, and how he longs for every moment we touch to keep on going but won’t say anything.  

“I know how light and how deep he sleeps sometimes because I slept with him on the same bed for almost 7 years. I know about his wish to just rest his head on my perfect washboard of abs and listen to them pulsate slightly; their rhythm lulling him to sleep. I can see his thoughts written all over his face, like when I kissed him yesterday and his mind went blank and he wondered if this was really happening—” he said before suddenly pausing and looking back in the same direction of the wall.  

His stiffened face softened and his mood brightened again. Enya also felt it unfair that all he was doing at this point was bragging about how much progress he made with his ‘baby’ while trapped on a relatively private floating island with him to this guy who hasn’t been doing much at all. Maybe he went too far! 

He knew that because he can feel the feelings brewing within this guy. Hatred, resentment, sadness, betrayal, and unfathomable jealousy! Ah, yes, these feelings within this man—he wants them to stay just as they are. The more they increase, the more power he’ll feel coursing through his body. They’re very nutritious and advantageous to his development! 

The Demon Lord took a deep breathe. Noticing the growing smirk on this man’s face, he retorted, “So...? Your point?!” He hoped that this man didn’t just come here to brag.  

Oh, yeah! He came to ask for his precious target’s hand in marriage!!! 

“You really are not fun at all!” The man noticed that the Demon Lord’s intense feelings were regressing as he calmed himself by the minute.  

“I just want to say this! I won’t ask for your permission!!! I just came here today to do as ‘The World’ suggested I do. That boy may not yet be fully swayed to my side, but my goal is surely within reach. Also, I remembered this one time when the little boy said to play nice while I’m outside. I surely don’t want ‘my’ little beast angry at me when we next meet.” The man added. 

“Surely, out of everyone you could have chosen, why did it have to—” 

“...Be that boy?! I don’t need to explain myself to you, but I will, since I’m feeling generous today. After all, I got to peer at his face once more thanks to this...” He smiled when he caught a glimpse of Marcel laughing about something while he conversed with his friends. 

He put his hand to his heart, 

“I finally feel like I’ve found what I’ve been waiting for...” His expression softened even more and a half-smile naturally formed. The Demon Lord rolled his eyes. 

“...Meaning! My heart sings when I see that little boy! All the time I spent on that island, without any meaning or even a sense of life; all that time seems to have been worth it. I… found my soul...” He added. He really couldn’t stop his senses from drifting in Marcel’s direction, though he was some distance away from him. 

Okay, it’s about time to wrap it up. He didn’t really want to stay here any longer. Who knows what he might do if he has to look at this pretty man, unsure of what he’s feeling inside, like some lost child. Scheming seems to be all this poor soul can do. He truly pities him! 

His expression firmed up, “Remember my name! I am Enya and that boy; I will have him for myself. You can’t stop me!” 

“Oh~, care to test that?” The Demon Lord refuted, smug smirk on his face as his rage rose once more with this man’s proclamation. This guy was really pushing it. First, he enters the castle, then he rudely tells him that he’s going to take Marcel away after telling him that he slept with him and kissed him!!? Looks like Marcel had some fun while he was outside! Hehehe~, that little brat... you’ll see! 

“I don’t have any more time to give pompous fools like yourself. You might sit down and wait, but that boy and what he feels inside will surely not wait for you to scheme away. A piece of advice: Act before that boy makes the decision between you and myself! I surely won’t back away if he chooses you, but you better as hell be prepared to back away if I win, hehe...” Enya let out a sinister grin as he peered at his baby through the wall once more before he reopened the space tear that was fixing itself and left through it. He arrogantly turned his back towards his rival as if not afraid that the latter would attack him. 

The Demon Lord surely didn’t, shocked at how confidently this guy seemed about winning in the long run. Now he was getting scared! The long run... just how long does he really have left? Does he really expect that Marcel will just choose him when this guy is so openly affectionate towards him and will surely devote all he is to him? He’s got to move, and stat! 

 

The Demon Lord, after that pompous bastard left his castle, acted. He went to find Marcel, who’d just finished talking to Shalia and Allan and was about to call Silva and the others via telepathy. 

Finding the boy lying on his bed nonchalantly, he didn’t know why... but he walked towards him, his expression billowing with a bit of anger, and just... kissed him.  

He forcibly kissed him, tongue to tongue, with no hesitation or concern for if the little hero wanted to or not. He just let his tongue do the talking, exploring the young lad’s mouth and entangling their two mouth meats together, scraping Marcel’s palate softly with his tongue as the boy made muffled sounds before suddenly, he stopped. 

He retrieved his tongue and his lips from Marcel’s, licking them, his breathing ragged and his face longing with a hint of sadness. Marcel’s mind went blank for a second. 

“You deserve it!” The Demon Lord, now a bit disheveled with his breathing returning back to normal, said to the boy who looked pitiful and helpless.  

 

Unexpectedly, the lad began crying pitifully, his face wronged and unsure of what just happened. He didn’t know why he was crying, but... he just didn’t know~ 

Mr. Demon Lord, peering at this sight, uttered the first thing that came to mind,  

“Your crying is hot!” He said with an arrogant expression, his mood brightening already. 

“Sob... you... bastard!!!” Marcel drew out Sigurd, intent on slaying this arrogant son of a bitch right then and there.  

The Demon Lord swiftly ran away when the lad threw the sword with full force, intent on blowing everything apart. 

 The Demon Lord, after he left the room, listened in to observe what was happening within. The young lad cried loudly, furious at this injustice. He’d been wronged, and he didn’t even know why. 

The maids, hearing their master loudly crying from inside his room, rushed to the premise to find their master disheveled and sitting on the floor, his beloved sword impaling the door and the floor having broken asunder from the sonic shockwave that came when their master destroyed the room and all its furniture while he wasn’t controlling his magic power. Everything was in shambles! 

“What happened?!” The three maidens asked simultaneously after seeing the condition of the room. 

Marcel, the should-be grown man, crying like a kid on the floor, confessed, “I-I—I’ve been defiled, boohoo~!” 

The Demon Lord, still in the vicinity, heard the little guy’s confession, and suddenly, he wondered... if he went too far.  

Seriously, what was he thinking?! Does he want to die sooner or something, doing that to Marcel and all? Did he want to awaken Kill-Switch Marcel for a slaughter date or was he just feeling extremely lucky today?! 

Ah, it’s all that damn man named Enya’s fault! For some reason, seeing and hearing that man stirred up some very questionable feelings deep inside him. His blatant show of affection towards him, the Demon Lord’s target, his arrogance, everything about him. It’s like this world is out to get him again! 

What is wrong with him today? Getting jealous just because some simpleton said he’d take Marcel away? He really must be going mad! That man with the audacity—, he’ll deal with him later! 

 

It’s safe to say that the Demon Lord did leave his mark on Marcel and his heart that day, though, seeing as Marcel’s mood became foul whenever he even sensed him, it’s certainly not the good kind, but hey, any development is good development; at least, he thinks so. 

Enya, meanwhile, watching the entire scene from above, in the sky, found it hilarious that this was how this man who was barely his rival decided to make some progress. This fool, he’s finally taking this seriously, though his methods... are questionable at best! Cute, he likes a good challenge!