It’s been three days since he returned from Emperor Kardia’s. Still sinking into the waters that were the feeling of finally being home, he was suddenly disturbed when he received a call. It was a pleasant call, however, for Wolfgang, the Werewolf Hero, also known as the All-Seeing Eye, invited him to his domain.  

Soon after receiving the call, he packed a few things, preparing to leave when he noticed that his best friend Allan was doing some packing of his own. 

“Where to?” He asked. 

“Bladethawl! There’s this dungeon rift there leading to a certain place that I’ve been looking for. Recently, I got news that what I was looking for might have been discovered.” 

Yikes, dungeon rifts! Marcel remembered them... vividly. It never ends well when he enters one of those. Now he was getting worried when he heard that Allan was actively attempting to enter one of those after what happened last time. The frogs, the big birds that traumatized him and ‘made Dave real’ – Yeah, he avoids dungeon rifts like the plague, no matter what treasures they may lead to. 

Still, he was worried. What did Allan want in one of the terrifying places those things lead to? 

“I’m looking to study an esoteric spell, just that!” Allan answered.  

 

After some much-needed explanation, Marcel understood in detail why Allan would go to one of those places they’ve all agreed to avoid by any means. It was to look for a certain esoteric spell of something called the ‘Our Mother Series’ that Allan’s been tracking down the whereabouts of for years. If the news he received was right, then he might find yet another of those oddities, still active, if they happen to be in that dungeon. He couldn’t wait to find it! 

He received news of what might be the darkness curtain and illusion spell of the series, ‘Our Mother Nyx’, a spell powered by the darkness spirits in its surroundings possessing the power of concealment, created to honor the Goddess Nyx and her cloak of darkness. Allan was so excited. 

Marcel, seeing the excitement he showed, sighed, “I’ll come along! I’m afraid for you. Whenever anyone related to me is involved with a dungeon rift, it ends terribly. To make sure that you at least have a chance at survival, I’ll come with.” 

Ah, fool! It’s like he hasn’t noticed that he’s the reason why the luck of the others turns sour, leaving them in danger. He’s gotten better at not siphoning off their luck and leaving them for dead since they became his Chosen but really, really?! 

Anyway, now that Marcel said he was coming along, Allan was excited for yet another reason. He planned to perform an experiment when the found the spell he was looking for. 

 

*** 

 

They arrived in a landscape dungeon; a dark, dreary marsh-like plane in their immediate vicinity. They seemed to be in a marsh surrounded by some kind of rainforest possessing earth and darkness type dungeon beasts and plant species. It’s been a while since Marcel dealt with a darkness element dungeon, though, if he remembered correctly, it was more akin to him entering a cube to deal with a certain dungeon beast that almost killed him, forcing Soul Serpent Roden to fuse with him. 

Heh, anyway, he prepared to have to fight if the need arose. Perfect, this would give him the chance to practice what he learned at Emperor Kardia’s on some unfortunate creatures. Marcel smiled slyly, almost cackling when... Allan pointed in the distance, “Found it!”  

Oh, he already found the spell he was looking for. How great! This rarely happens... Now, will they encounter some problems dealing with the creatures that approach on their way to their destination? 

Well, sorry! The answer is no. They practically just walked by everything, approaching the giant, dome-like barrier of darkness that Allan spotted from a distance. 

Now, someone must certainly have a question regarding how well this is going? Shouldn’t there be some problems with them entering this territory? I haven’t told you, but this dungeon is an A-class. That has to mean something, right? 

Unfortunately, the dungeon rank means nothing in this case, especially because Allan... um, a half-S-class, is around! I did mention that they exclude him from dungeon raids now that he’s reached this stage, didn’t I? Well, it was mostly to stop things like this from happening.  

With just his aura alone, Allan could scare off anything beneath a true S-class. That’s why he felt so secure when he planned to come in alone. Also, he was feeling pretty lucky, seeing that he chose the perfect day to do this. He ‘foresaw’ the difficulty this mission would be beforehand, and prepared accordingly. Marcel had simply been extra insurance in case something else happened. Since ‘that’ doesn’t seem to be the case, he’ll just walk by, scaring everything into hiding, thank you very much~! 

Marcel, though surprised by their progress, didn’t complain. He still hadn’t truly learned the difference between Allan and the dungeon beasts avoiding them just yet. That knowledge was irrelevant to him... for now. 

*** 

After some time, they finally reached their destination, the giant darkness dome still active in the dungeon ever since its creation by an unknown individual many millennia ago.  

Finally seeing it in its full glory, they marveled at its sheer size and special power. It stretched itself across over a kilometer, hiding those within from the outside world. It created a safe space right in the middle of the dungeon, allowing small, weak creatures to enter it as well as humanoids with reason, by that, I mean the power of thought. The darkness spirits that formed the basis of the spell followed the intent of its original creator and let it be so.  

After arriving within and reaching the core of the barrier, Marcel was made by Allan to study the spell and its foundation, both the known and unknown elements, like the spirits, and the probability of successfully replicating such a spell, for Marcel, of course. 

Marcel did as Allan asked of him, studying the spell over the course of a few minutes. After some investigation of the spell, he answered.  

Yes, he could recreate the magic spell circle engraved into the grounds of the spell as its foundation, allowing even more darkness spirits to roam around the vicinity but the essence, however, was hard to recreate. The original creator of the spell seems to have made it amidst deep desperation and incoming despair, intending to save a large group of people from harm from something extremely big. It was an inspired moment for the spell master, with no room for failure.   

Marcel could feel it; the desperation of the original creator to save his friends and lover from terrible danger as he studied the darkness spirits, because... um, the little bastards were recreating that very moment for him. He felt the fear and terror in the heart of the people the spell was meant to protect as they grieved, like their deaths were imminent because that dungeon beast; with its keen sense of sight and smell, even in this dreary, dark place, would find them at any moment. He felt the regret, the despair creeping into their very souls, the guilt they all had as they realize that exploring an A-class dungeon had been a bad idea. They were afraid, and again, desperate, waiting for a mira—   

That’s it! The essence of the spell... Marcel... he knew it.  

“Allan, have you seen any other spells from the ‘Our Mother Series’?”   

Allan nodded to Marcel’s question, “Yes!”  

“Could you describe them to me?”  

“Certainly! They all seem to be domes like this one. Up to this point, I’ve studied ‘Our Mother Athena’, a blessing spell dome like this one which enhanced the strength of allies and weakened enemies; ‘Our Mother Hestia’ which produced an incredibly calming effect on the souls of those who enter its vicinity, enough to make you instantly fall asleep, and lastly, ‘Our Mother Themis – Grant us justice’, which is pretty self-explanatory.”  

“Hmm... I see!” Marcel pondered, his head nodding. It really was as he suspected.  

“Allan... the essence of the spells of ‘Our Mother Series’ is the heartfelt prayers of its creator during separate, but very similar times. The one with the goddess Athena asked for her strength; Hestia, her warmth and kindness, and lastly, from the goddess Themis, her power of divine retribution. If you ask me, these spells are powered by something more than just the spirits; something that wouldn’t make them as powerful if they didn’t exist.”  

Allan studied the spell circle again and concluded,   

“Belief! A belief that the goddess you’re praying to is truly on your side. The owner believed that the Goddess Nyx would protect him when he created this spell; thus, imbuing this belief into the very foundation of its essence. That was what strengthened the spell, allowing the darkness spirits to use that belief to alter their surroundings. That belief made the spells almost divine, their grounds consecrated to the gods. You can’t truly recreate it without it...”  

Marcel nodded, confirming that even he couldn’t do it without that fundamental belief. Allan, however, thought otherwise.  

“But, alas, I have this!” He summoned his black book, the [Ruler of Spells] skill.   

“Wait, what are you doing with that?” Marcel asked, not following Allan’s train of thought. He thought that they’d only come here to study the spell.  

“I’ll show you! With this book, I just need to understand and replicate the magic spell circle of this spell and you’ll learn what happens, hehe~” He laughed mischievously before he summoned a pen and started scribbling, crazily!  

He scribbled with a smug smile on his face, observing what he wrote at a frantic pace as if he didn’t want to miss a single detail. Marcel took a peek to see him drawing the magic spell circle of the ‘Our Mother Nyx’ spell in the book. He didn’t really understand why, seeing as Allan had never fully explained what he was doing to him. He simply observed.   

Seeing his friend clueless as always, he gave him a hint, “I’m going to make a Spell Phantom out of this spell like I did with the other three.” He showed a smile before he continued scribbling.  

Finally, we’re back to how Spell Phantoms are made! It’s fairly simple, with four steps:  

The first step is to comprehend the spell and what catalyst powers it, then provide the catalyst to the [Ruler of Spells], which, in this case, are a magic circle and the concept of belief, along with the user's own intention for the spell, as in the spell’s purpose once it has been activated. In this case, understanding what the spell was and its purpose as well as what made it what it is, was easy, especially after he brought Marcel along to study it.  

Creating Spell Phantoms is almost like creating magic artifacts with a cauldron, like in alchemy. The black book needs sufficient magic power to kickstart the process of gathering the spell’s will and magnifying it into a spirit-like entity. The magic power needed to create a spell phantom is immense, almost the equivalent of the spell’s original strength, and that’s only if the attempt is successful. If step one isn’t done properly, then step two will surely fail.   

To prevent being excessively drained of magic power for nothing, Allan can only try making a spell phantom every month after extensive research and scrutiny of the spell of his choosing. After all, if the spell phantom isn't successfully created, then he'd have just given his magic power to the black book for nothing. Luckily, he isn’t an A-class anymore, or who knows how many times he would have ended up passing out from magic exhaustion during the creation process.    

The third step is the right magic affinity. To create a spell phantom, Allan needs to possess an affinity to the magic element of the spell he's trying to make a spell phantom out of, which works perfectly in Allan's favor. Allan, an alchemic witch, has an affinity to all elements, a blessing that the Spirit of the World gave to all alchemic witches, although, it only applies when they're using alchemy.   

This isn’t really that much of a problem though. Allan's mother's natural affinities are wind and ice; his father's, fire and lightning, meaning that he was predestined to inherit or acquire these four basic elemental affinities since the day he was born. Adding that to the Spirit of the World's blessing to all alchemic-type witches, he's almost like a hero, although his control over non-affined elements only exists amidst performing alchemy. Luckily, Spell Phantoms fall under the artifact creation category of alchemy, a loophole that, ahem, a certain Spirit added quite recently.   

Thanks to Vitalis’ blatant favoritism of certain individuals, Allan doesn't have any problem with creating Spell Phantoms of any element.  

<< You want to die?!!! >>  

Nope! Moving on to the last step, which is almost the same as the first one...  

To create a spell phantom, Allan needs to fully comprehend the spell's purpose and structure and fully replicate the catalyst, if it is a magic circle, into the black book's page; then unify all these separate components, including the spell’s tiny will. After this unification is done, a Spell Phantom is born!  

Basically, by understanding the purpose of ‘Our Mother Nyx’, knowing the essence of this spell thanks to Marcel and copying down the magic spell circle, this spell’s foundation, and adding magic power to the equation; the spell’s will could be successfully extracted and magnified to grant it a shape befitting its purpose. Mater Nyx, a Spell Phantom, humanoid in shape with a body made of infinite darkness, was born!  

Mater Nyx, appearance-wise, was a dark, tall figure in a dark gown made of darkness, her face covered by a long, dark gauze veil with hair that mirrored the night sky, shrouded in a sentient-looking cloak that followed her closely as she hovered over the ground. Her face’s appearance was to remain a true mystery, a tribute to the darkness she reigned over.  

  

“Oh... she’s beautiful!” Marcel commented after witnessing the birth of Mater Nyx who sprung out from the page Allan had scribbled upon not so long ago.  

“Yes, I’m proud of how she turned out! She’s just like the other Maters.” Allan said before allowing the other spell phantoms created from the ‘Our Mother Series’ he observed some time ago to spring forth from their respective pages in the black book.  

Mater Athena was a spell phantom of light, same as her two sisters, Mater Hestia and Mater Themis. She was a battle maiden with a sword in hand, adorned in full armor of gold, tall and strong like her new sister Mater Nyx. Her face radiated a pure light except for her dimmer lips that smile shone favorably upon her creator.   

Mater Hestia was a composite of fire and warm light; a young, gentle, red-haired maiden in a flowing fire dress, wielding a torch that harbored a gentle flame whose influence calmed even the weariest of souls. She emanated a feeling of smiling at those who peered at her, a very gentle and kind figure. 

Mater Themis, however, was a composite of lightning and golden light in a flowing, armored gown wielding a scale in one hand and a flag with a speared tip in the other. Her face was as bright as all her sisters, incapable of being directly peered at, however, one of her golden eyes was always seen opened at a time.  

Mater Nyx, after her sisters appeared, quickly joined them and they started to mingle. Despite their opposing elements, the intent behind their creation was the same: a prayer for protection. Mater Athena guides and empowers, Mater Hestia warms the soul, Mater Themis smites the unjust, and Mater Nyx shields from harm. They are the Maters, protectors of their master Allan. 

 

*** 

 

With ‘Our Mother Nyx’ darkness dome found and Mater Nyx created from an understanding of the holy grounds and its secrets, they moved on. Now it was Marcel’s turn to deal with his reason for visiting Bladethawl: heading to Blutwolfweise, Wolfgang, and Vladimir’s domain to meet the All-Seeing Eye. 

Allan also wanted to visit his werewolf family, and since Shalia returned home yesterday to see her parents like Valeria, Silva, and Kenny had days earlier before Marcel returned, he considered this an opportunity to spend some alone time with him. Hearing that Marcel had returned, they would certainly want to hurry and come back to see him. Luckily, Marcel stopped them since he was also heading out, telling them to take their time, much to their disappointment. He promised to meet them again after he returned from Bladethawl after visiting Lord Wolfgang. 

 

They headed to Blutwolfweise on yet another one of Allan’s Spell Phantoms, though, this one was way more ‘real’ than Marcel thought. He could touch it, no surprise, thanks to Allan who’s soon to start his journey to acquire true S-class magic in the future.  

“Woah, never seen this one before!” He commented atop the giant flying mantle ray spell phantom of Allan’s. 

“Haha,” He laughed, “You’ve been away for nine years! You need time to adjust yourself to all the Spell Phantoms I’ve created.” He smiled. 

Marcel laughed too. He was really surprised with what Allan was now capable of. Creating creatures from spells—sorry, creatures that are spells, that’s just awesome! 

Allan agreed too, “This little guy’s name is Minya, created from a wind element flight spell...” He introduced him to it, “...Say hi, Minya!” 

The manta ray, Minya, after hearing Allan, made out a loud, chirp-like sound through the wind, making it seem as if it had let out that sound.  

Marcel found it pleasantly loud, and cute. He patted the wind spell phantom creature on its back, “Nice to meet you, Minya!”  

Minya, excited, shook slightly, creating some turbulence that left Marcel needing to adjust himself so as not to fall off. 

After the turbulence was over, Allan apologized, “Sorry, Minya’s a bit younger than the other spells. He has yet to learn how to vocalize properly. I’m sorry if he made you feel unpleasant! If so... Bad Minya!” He looked down at the manta ray, almost harrumphing. 

Minya, if humanoid, would have looked dejected after its creator called it bad. It could still be noticed even if it was a giant flying manta ray. 

“No, no! Don’t reprimand Minya! He did nothing bad!” Marcel talked back to Allan, patting it gently on the back as if to relieve its depression. He could somehow feel that the creature was sad. After all, it was intelligent to some extent and, probably, still developing. 

Allan calmed down, suddenly feeling embarrassed for how he conducted himself. Maybe he spoke too soon, and wait... is Marcel taking Minya’s side instead of his? Sure, he wrongly reprimanded Minya but really, how dare he?! 

As if it wasn’t bad already that Marcel was taking the manta ray’s side, he began talking to it and comforting it. 

“Don’t worry! You’re a cute manta ray, Minya! Who’s a cruel little master~? Yes, Allan is a cruel little master~!” He coddled Minya, patting him even more on the back right where he sat, “Good boy~!” He remarked. 

Okay, that’s it!  

“See if I let you meet Marcel again after this, Minya! You’ll pay for this!” Allan thought, a drop of petty tear forming under his eye as Marcel paid attention to the sentient life he created and called ‘him’ cruel. It’s certain to say that Marcel and Minya won’t be seeing each other after this for quite some time. 

Allan looked at the two having fun without him and let out a “Hmph!” 

 

*** 

 

Finally arriving in Blutwolfweise and in the vicinity of the territory’s castle, Allan put the ‘ungrateful’ Minya away and they entered the castle. 

“You go ahead!” Allan left Marcel to go deal with his business with Lord Wolfgang, “I’m going to take a look around. See you later!” He said before he just left, finding some poor, scared werewolf attendant working there to show him around. 

After Allan left, Marcel was surprised when a tall, dark-haired man in butler attire appeared before him. 

“Follow me, sir!” He said, beckoning Marcel to follow him to meet his master.  

Soon, he was brought to a room where he was made to sit. The butler poured him some tea. 

After pouring the tea and fetching some snacks to fill the table for whatever conversation his master was about to have with this beautiful lad, he spoke again, “My master will be with you shortly!” He disappeared after he finished speaking.  

Marcel didn’t even have the time to nod. After all, this man had to leave immediately. He was having ‘heart problems’ after seeing him. Whatever influence this beautiful lad was having on him, he feared that it might turn crippling if he stayed any longer. He couldn’t risk jeopardizing his capabilities as a butler loyal only to Lord Wolfgang and his vampire beau, Lord Vladimir. 

 

Anyway, Marcel didn’t have to wait long, as the moment he reached for a tea snack was the end of his wait. In came Wolfgang through the door, practically bursting in. 

“Marceelll~!” He uttered excitedly, “It’s been so long~!!!” 

He rushed towards the boy, hugging him tightly. Luckily, Marcel wasn’t holding the teacup, instead, a pastry that he bit into nonchalantly after receiving the bear hug. 

“It’s been a while, Wolfgang!” He spoke after he finished the mouthful of stuff. He tried smiling, but the crumbs made him look silly and cute. 

Wolfgang, peering at this, almost ascended, “Hmm...” He nodded, “I see you’ve gotten more powerful over the years!” His soul was cleansed. 

“Yes, I’m a B-rank now!” Marcel answered, though he didn’t know the kind of ‘powerful’ Wolfgang was talking about. It’s probably a good thing that he doesn’t. 

“Oh... that’s nice! Congratulations, I guess, though, I don’t know if I feel happy about that.” Wolfgang, still hugging the lad, looked down at him, with a special pair of analytic eyes that revealed more than Marcel thought he was hiding. 

“Huh? Why? Did I do something bad?!” Marcel asked, unknowing as usual. 

“Yes, very! You’re one of the fastest-growing in power among us, it seems! When most of the other heroes arrived, they were at the D-rank then with time, increased their rank. Growing involves accumulating a tremendous amount of magic power and increasing one’s magic capacity, which takes time. The fastest among us reached B-rank in just shy of 70 years. I, who started from the very beginning after I was born, took 200 years, though, my growth speed was mostly because of the chaotic times I was born into.” 

Marcel revealed a puzzled expression, “Huh? I didn’t know that!” 

Wolfgang continued to look at him with those same eyes, 

“Yes, such solid foundation!” He commented before he turned the eyes off, “If I remember correctly, you arrived here at age 16, a barely passable E-rank. You should be almost 40 now. When did you become a B-class?” 

“Um... let’s see. I went to Emperor Kardia’s at blah, blah, then Sigurd blah, blah, blah...” Marcel calculated the number of years it’s been since Sigurd evolved, “Almost 10 years ago!” He answered. 

Wolfgang’s mouth went agape because there was no mistaking it! Marcel was the second-fastest evolver among them, right after Karion the Battle Saint, a dragon hero blessed with the power to treat his evolutions like battle trials, each opponent a manifested powerful future version of himself with a rank higher than his current self. Comparing this two is really not ideal, seeing as Karion has died multiple times and been reborn but Marcel doesn’t seem to have yet. Karion did it at age 37, but Marcel... he’s on a whole different level. Such growth is on par with Guardians, dare he say, Progenitors. 

Really, though! Now isn’t the time. He brought Marcel to his domain so they could chat about other stuff. He discovered something ‘spicy’ not so long ago and wants to discuss it with the person it directly pertains to. Marcel is a real marvel, even among heroes, with the arsenal he’s managed to secure himself so far. He can’t wait to watch his future growth as well. 

“Karion 2, let’s chat!” He spoke. 

“Karion 2?” Marcel was puzzled. Why did Wolfgang call him that? He’s Marcel. Marcel! 

“Don’t mind it! It’s just the name of the most powerful hero among us. I called you that because you have the potential to be just as broken.” 

“Broken?” 

“Never mind, now tell me... how was your trip to the mysterious Xapheras Islands? Tell me all about it?” 

“Sure, but there really isn’t much to say...”  

Marcel then recollected all that happened in the nine years he spent with Emperor Kardia. He told Wolfgang about apparently the legendary Dragon Emperor Kardia, the training he received from the great man, and also, that came up. 

“So, I trained with Enya sometimes, and—” Marcel was stopped from progressing his story any further. Wolfgang was puzzled because Marcel hadn’t mentioned him before this very moment, though, it sounded like he was a very vital part of Marcel’s experience on the Xapheras Islands. 

“Enya...?” Wolfgang wondered. Marcel’s face immediately flushed red. 

“Oooh~? What have we here?” He stared at Marcel in amusement. He understood already, but he’s still going to ask and watch Marcel’s delightful expression, “Who’s this Enya guy?” 

Marcel’s face deepened from just flushed to a beet red. This is why he actively tried to not talk about him. Stupid him just have to slip up and bring him up. Now Wolfgang’s asking and he can’t just lie to him. He’s the legendary All-Seeing Eye. He’ll find all he wants about Enya either way.  

Marcel, after pondering it shortly, still embarrassed, relented and told him everything; about Enya, how they met, his relationship with him, and his own feelings towards him. This was indeed the spicy news that the Supreme Administrator clued him in about right after she told him about Marcel’s reality-bending natural authority, probably the biggest and spiciest of news.  

As Marcel’s one and only other hero friend whom he trusted deeply, the Supreme Administrator thought it proper to clue him in on the situation before he pried around and found out in hopes that he can help Marcel better accept himself in the future. The time is near, but the journey there will certainly take some very turbulent routes. 

 

*** 

 

After listening for a long time, Marcel finished explaining everything, and Wolfgang... sighed. 

“So, let me get this straight... You’ve friendzoned both this guy you like and the Demon Lord, who is clearly jealous of this guy, but you don’t think there is any problem and felt assaulted when one of them acted upon their jealousy, which may or may not have anything to do with yours and their feelings for you? Am I getting this right?” 

Wolfgang summarized the entire situation so quickly after he heard all he had to say.  

Marcel nodded, “Yes~! I don’t know what to do at all. I do think that something more might be in store for me with Enya, but I’m currently unsure about my feelings for the Demon Lord, which has created this giant mess in my mind. It shouldn’t be this confusing at all. On one hand, my friendship with Enya will turn into something more very soon, but what about the Demon Lord, whom... if I still can’t defeat before like 15 or so years, I’m stuck with as fiancé and very soon, husband!!!” Marcel screamed at the top of his lungs.  

Woah... clearly, he has a lot to deal with internally, because he has enough turmoil to conjure up a little, bubbly heart hurricane, if that’s even possible. 

Wolfgang looked at the young Marcel who panicked about the very complicated matters of his heart and laughed uncontrollably, “Hahahaha......” 

This little guy’s problem has such an easy solution. He just can’t seem to see it, so he’ll help him just a bit. 

To do this, he asked Marcel a question, “Do you still remember the goodbye this Enya guy gave you?” 

Marcel nodded and he continued, “Can you elaborate on how it makes you feel? No pressure!” 

 

Marcel sat down and thought about it for a while before he answered,  

“Um... embarrassed, loved, shy... After all, someone as great as Enya likes me.” He paused once more, thinking that his answer might maybe be too short before he found more to add to it. 

“Hm... Enya treats me right. He laughs with me, compliments me in a way that makes me feel all happy and bubbly inside. He gives me everything I need to feel truly special, like I’m one of a kind.” He answered.  

Wolfgang wanted to shout, “But Marcel, you are one of a kind!” Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time. Marcel was delving inside into himself for answers he thought weren’t there. To help direct him to make the decision as quickly as possible, there wouldn’t be any time to make detours right now. 

“He sounds very good!” Wolfgang commented, “Now tell me how you feel about the Demon Lord as a person?” 

Marcel spent more time thinking up the answer compared to last time,  

“Well... he’s strange! He was so excited to meet me and didn’t take any time at all to get used to me, hmm... like he’d been watching me the entire time. Strange!” Dear Marcel, but he was watching you, like really! 

“Is that all?” 

“No, as an individual, he’s even weirder! He gave me Sigurd as a first gift, something I’ll treasure forever. Sometimes, really... I feel like he’s the clueless one. He teases me, makes me feel young... and weak, naïve, and awfully dense. He annoys the shit out of me, but strangely, all the death threats I send his way are somehow... empty, though sometimes, not so much!  

“The Demon Lord is good-looking, like ‘what the hell’ kind of beautiful, powerful, and has everything, but... even with all that, he still wants me for some reason. Weird! It secretly makes me feel touched... and honored. I also hate it when that guy tricks me, which is why if he’d waited some time to give me space to reconsider some things, then who knows? We might have already been courting each other, but he forced a title on me, then tricked me into believing that I was winning!!!” Marcel ended, angry this time. He still didn’t like the fact that he fell into that the Demon Lord’s trap in his early days, even after all this time. 

Wolfgang, watching him flip between various moods, was questioning if this really was a good idea of a tactic. Marcel seems to think favorably of the Demon Lord, that he might even be cute, but also that he’s annoying, despicable, and worthy of being hated by him to some extent. What kind of horrible tornado has the Demon Lord managed to make himself in Marcel’s heart? 

 

After a short five-minute break in his own head, Wolfgang continued,  

“It sounds like those two are perfectly suited to win your heart, from what you’ve answered so far! Now, who do you choose? It’s simple!” Marcel raised his head to look at Wolfgang, excited, thinking, “Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!” Wolfgang is really going to make his life easier, by letting him weigh the advantages and disadvantages of giving his heart to one of them... or not? 

“Okay, so here’s what you’re going to do! You...” Marcel’s eyes opened wider, waiting.  

“You... are going to simply... let one of them go and move on! The Demon Lord, Enya; take your pick, and then bye-bye with the other one.” 

 

Marcel... after listening to what Wolfgang just said, it felt like lightning had struck him again, like back in the days when he acquired Blitz. He... couldn’t make a choice. No, he couldn’t stand to make a choice! 

“I can’t!!!” Marcel said to Wolfgang, incredibly agitated. His face was warped between a mixture of confusion and uncertainty. He doesn’t know why he answered that; the answer should be pretty easy: the Demon Lord, the one he lives with, can give him endless riches, a life that will match that of his friends, will give him all that he’s imagined he’ll receive in the future and possibly even stay by his side when he becomes as powerful as Emperor Kardia told him he’s capable of becoming, but... 

There really is always a ‘but’, isn’t there?  

Enya isn’t his soulmate. He doesn’t believe in such things, but he feels a connection that goes beyond just giving his heart to someone. Enya... his atmosphere, his mannerisms, his arrogance, his pride, his unbridled gentleness towards him, the way his heart screams its standing when that guy is around. It’s strange! They’ve really only known each other for nine years, but already, he can’t let go. Thinking of a world without Enya and just the Demon Lord will only be possible if he asked Vitalis for a skill capable of wiping his memory and heart clean of him, then never saw him ever again as to ever provoke anything more to awaken inside of him. 

As for if he chose Enya and left the Demon Lord to his lonesome... that he can do because that guy’s a jerk sometimes, but really, can he!? Sure, he’d get to go on all sorts of adventures with Enya, and someday, they would get married and he’s going to be so grateful for the time they spend together, but does he think he’s kidding himself?  

The Demon Lord doesn’t just represent a life of luxury and extreme fortune, he has a part of him that, for now, he won’t admit that the bastard possesses. It’s hard to explain, but there’s something about the Demon Lord that he can’t quite resist. It draws him in, powerfully! Whatever it is, it’d do something terrible to his life with Enya. It’d make that life incomplete. Whatever it is of him that the Demon Lord has, if he, Marcel, can’t retrieve it, then he can’t just choose one of them and just be on his way. He’s stuck at a dead end! 

 

After letting Marcel have some time to ponder the answer to why he possibly can’t say goodbye to one of the two and call it a day, he asked an easier question, similar to the one that lead to Marcel think, 

“If you think of marrying Enya and ignoring the Demon Lord or vice-versa in your mind, how does it feel?” 

“Like I’m broken and it just wouldn’t work out because, um... I just can’t!” 

Wolfgang, after all that Marcel had said so far, sighed once more and said, “Then just be selfish!” He smiled. The answer was so clear. 

“What!? What do you mean?” Marcel asked, extremely confused. Selfish, how? 

“You know, it doesn’t have to be just one or the other if you aren’t sure! Know that there’s always the option of choosing both if you favor the two just as much. Also, the Demon Lord’s agreement deadline is getting close. Sixteen years may seem like much, but it isn’t really that much time for us. Really think about it!” Wolfgang’s expression was serious as he looked at Marcel sitting in the chair. The young lad was still confused and unsure about his suggestion because really, he never thought that ‘that’ life was for him. Really, what kind of mess has he gotten himself into with being kidnapped by Emperor Kardia and meeting Enya.  

Marcel stood up, about ready to leave for the day, as it must certainly be late and Allan must be bored by now. He shouldn’t keep him waiting. 

Marcel standing at the gate, as if Wolfgang was telling him to take every word, he’d said earlier very seriously, repeated, “Really think about it!”  

Marcel then left, but as he was going, he suddenly wondered… what would happen if he let himself only fall for one of them? Somehow, he felt like he could do that, but – would he be alright just letting the other go, even after he knows what it’ll do to him?  

Marcel, left with a heavy heart but then suddenly… he met a vampire.