It’s been around a week since Arsène had woken up, with no memories of his past. Though he wasn’t really bothered by it. In fact, he seems to have already adapted to the new lifestyle and environment. It wasn’t all that surprising, Arsène didn’t remember his past, by an extent not remembering his old lifestyle. Thus it made it easier for him to adapt to the new lifestyle with much more ease. Though he was still getting used to living with his new friends.

Arsène slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times as his eyes adjusted to the lighting in the room. He blinked a few more times as he furrowed his brows. He slowly lifted the phone next to his pillow, as he brought it closer and a little in front of his face. The screen turned on, the light almost blinding Arsène. Well, it wasn’t ‘blinding’ him, yet it was still bright to the point that it could be exaggerated as such.

He closed his eyes for a second, before blinking and looking at the time. It was around 6:36 in the morning, he had woken up a little late than usual. He quickly put the phone back on the side of the bed and sat up in his bed. He stretched his arms as he let out a yawn, before rubbing his eyes a little. He quickly sat on the side of the bed and looked around the room. It was a bit messy, very messy actually. Arsène was so focused on school and life that he hadn’t had time to clean his room. Which was a clear lie and excuse to not be judged or not make himself look lazy.

“Right, gotta get ready for school.”

Arsène said as he got off the bed, adjusting his shirt properly as it had folds all over it. The shirt was quite tight and felt kind of uncomfortable. Perhaps Yami just assumed the size and proportions of Arsène’s body instead of getting Arsène to check it himself. It was quite the nice shirt, but the size was not perfect, Arsène’s hermaphroditic traits didn’t help any better either and the shirt overall gave discomfort when being worn.

Arsène sighed and just walked over to the bathroom door, still a bit sleepy and tired from last night. Truth to be told, Arsène hasn’t been able to sleep properly for days. It’s not insomnia, or at least he thinks it isn’t. But he has been getting these weird hallucinations, like seeing things in the dark or hearing inaudible whispers or mutters. It felt rather uncomfortable and kind of like from a horror movie.

But this doesn’t happen just at night. He also tends to hear loud whispers and mutters which are not understandable when in class. For example, if he is looking at the front of the class and listening, he would randomly start hearing these things talking. Almost as if they are voices in his head.

“I am probably just stressed and having side effects of it…”

Arsène shrugged his shoulders and continued walking to the bathroom door. As the bathroom door opened, he took a step in and walked over to the sink. He rest his palms over the sink as he looked in the mirror. He had dark eye bags beneath his eyes, even beneath the strange eye. It was a clear sign that he hasn’t been getting proper sleep. He looked down at the sink and just closed his eyes, he felt like he could fall asleep standing right there. But Arsène shook his head, gently slapping his cheeks with both his hands. He shook his head once more before looking in the mirror and smiling.

“Who cares about that? I probably have a great day ahead of me.”

Arsène nodded to himself in the mirror and quickly stood properly, he then took out the toothbrush and toothpaste. He positioned the toothpaste over the toothbrush properly. He gave the toothpaste cover a gentle squeeze as the toothpaste slowly came out and landed on the brush of the toothbrush. He quickly sealed the toothpaste and stored it back in the small cabinet above the sink. Arsène let out another yawn as he put the toothbrush in his mouth. He then turned on the automated toothbrush and let it do its thing. Arsène just looked himself in the mirror as he moved the toothbrush around, the brush automatically brushing his teeth.

He then finished his brushing as he cleaned the brush and his mouth, storing the brush back in the cabinet. He then turned to look at the shower, turning around and walking towards it. He pulled the shower curtain and looked around. He wasn’t sure why exactly he was looking around in the shower. To be honest, Arsène would look around any room or area he is in, almost feeling like he is always being watched or that someone is in his room.

He let out a gentle sigh and stood properly. For a minute he was thinking of the plans for today, what to do after going to school, after school and at the dorms. He just shook his head and started undressing. His chest felt oddly free after taking off that shirt, the shirt was most discomforting on his chest after all. Arsène stepped into the shower, turning the tape as cold water fell onto Arsène. Arsène shivered a little, feeling as if the water was too cold. He closed the first tape and turned the other. Finally, some warm water splashed down on Arsène. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt nice and warm. The water was really hot, but it didn’t bother him. For him, this temperature was perfect.

A few minutes pass before Arsène stepped out of the shower, letting his feet dry on the mat in front of the shower. He stood silently for a minute, then looking up at the ceiling with eyes closed as he let out a sigh of contentment. It felt refreshing to take a warm shower after all the recent busy activities all week. Even yesterday, Sunday, Arsène was made to study and work as he had missed a few classes, since he had joined in late.

Arsène steps over to the sink, quickly grabbing the hair dryer and turns it on. He silently lets the warm air dry his hair as he would occasionally move it around and over his scalp and hair. Once done, Arsène would turn off the hair dryer and keep it back in its place. He takes a quick look in the mirror, he smiles as he looks at himself. He takes a minute to wash his face, cleaning it thoroughly. When finished, he would turn the tape and start splashing and cleaning his face with some water. The water wasn’t cold, nor hot. It was a perfect lukewarm temperature.

Arsène then takes his towel and dries his face as he walks into the bedroom again. He slowly looks around before making his way to his cabinet. He quickly takes out his uniform and puts it on the bed. Arsène brushes his hands over the well ironed uniform, trying to see if there are any folds or creases on the uniform. He smiles and nods as he takes a step back. He quickly takes off the towel around his body and starts wearing his clothes.

He then steps in front of the massive mirror in his room, taking a look from the top to bottom, making sure everything is perfect.

“Looking good!”

He says to himself as he grabs his bag, he quickly walks over to his work table, grabbing the books and laptop on the table. He makes sure to double check and not forget his school tablet. When everything is set, almost as if on cue, there was a notification on Arsène’s phone. He quickly grabs it and unlocks it, checking the message. The message was from Kami, but why this early? Arsène takes a moment to read the message to himself.

‘Sup Arsene! I have a little announcement to make so it would be nice if you could come out for a moment, out of your room that is LOL’

There was a single message from Kami and it was him asking Arsène to come out of his room real quick, so Kami could make an ‘announcement’ of some sorts. Arsène sighed and put his phone in his pocket. He took his bag and started slowly walking to the door to his room. He takes a minute as he stands in front of the door. He turns his head and takes almost a solid 30 seconds to look around the room. For some reason, Arsène felt like he had forgotten something. But nothing really came to mind, nothing important at least.

“Weird… Why do I feel like I am forgetting something? Pretty sure I packed everything…”

Arsène shrugs his shoulders and turns back to look at the door. He slowly pulls out the school ID card from his pocket, before slowly swiping or hovering the card over the reader. The card reader lets out a strange ‘beep’ as the door slides open. Arsène steps out of the room, as the door closes again, he spots everyone in the common area. Kamui was standing while Paz and Alya were sitting on the couch. Alya and Paz seemed to have been doing their own thing, Alya was laying on her back and seemed to have been messing around on her phone. While Paz seemed to have been reading some kind of old novel, it was dusty but it looked like a good novel with no cover art and simply words on the front. The only one who seemed to have noticed Arsène enter the room, was Kamui. She looks over at Arsène, smiling as she raises her hand and gestures him to come over. Arsène hesitates, unsure if he should go but nods and does as she says.

Arsène slowly walks over to Kamui’s side, standing beside her. Arsène takes a quick note of Kamui’s appearance. She was wearing a light blue shirt and dark black pants beneath, with a jacket on top. She had light black eye bags beneath her eyes. She took a quick glance over the room before turning to look at Arsène. Her lips curl into a gentle smile, she raises her hand and pats Arsène on the head.

“Did you sleep well? I am sorry if Kami woke you up.”

She asked gently and kindly, almost as if like a caring sister of sorts. Arsène smiles as he grabs Kamui’s hand and pulls it off his head, he looks Kamui in the eye as he opened his lips to talk.

“No No, its quite fine. I do wake up quite early to begin with. And Kami’s message only helped me get out of my room a little earlier, or else I would have been slacking around in my room!”

Arsène replied with a smile on his face, Kamui returned the smile. Then everyone’s attention shifted as Kami entered the area. He had the same smile and sunglasses on his face. He wore a white shirt but it was mostly unbuttoned at the very top, he wore some formal pants with a black jacket on top. Though it looked somewhat different to Kamui’s, but Arsène couldn’t quite name what that was..

“Alright everyone! Gather around! I have an announcement to make to you guys.”

Kami clapped his hands as he cheerfully called everyone around. Alya put the phone down and Paz also put their novel down. They stood up and walked to the front. Reading the room, both Kamui and Arsène also walked over the front and stood beside Alya and Paz.

Arsène then noticed another boy standing beside Kami. The boy had brown hair which ran down till his shoulders. He had almost crystal-like colored eyes. He wore a white hoodie on top, with normal blue pants beneath. He seemed to be nervous, almost scared to talk. Arsène was unsure whether he simply ignored the boy’s presence or just happened to not see him standing beside Kami. Or perhaps his eye sight was declining, who didn’t seem to be case though.

“This is Ethan. He is a student at the academy just like Arsène and Paz. From this day forth, he will be staying with us.”

There was a hint of surprise painted on almost everyone’s faces. Alya and Paz had gasped in surprise or shock. Kamui and Arsène however just widened their eyes but quickly composed themselves. The boy, Ethan just took a step forward, holding a bag in his hands. He gulped as he hesitated to look up at the others.

“H-Hello.. I am Ethan Morais.. I am your new roommate and I hope we all get along..”

He stuttered as he spoke, he was surely nervous. Perhaps he wasn’t the type that talked to people a lot, he sure didn’t look like someone who talked to people quite frequently. Kami cleared his throat, looking over to Arsène.

“Arsène, I need you to come with me for a ‘moment’. Do you mind?”

Arsène looks slightly surprised as his brows rise up, but he just imagines it as another talking or chatting session like on the rooftop. Arsène nods as he steps forward and walks over to Kami.

“Of course. What do you need?”

“Nothing much, just want you to come with me for a minute or two.”

He says as he turns on his heel, he quickly looks over to Ethan’s side. Arsène looks at Ethan, who was still looking down and scared. Kami smiles and pats Ethan on the head.

“Go and unpack your things. Take care while I go for now.”

Arsène looks at Kami and Ethan, back and forth as he notices a deep connection between them. But he chose to ignore it, as it was none of his business. Kami then gestures Arsène to follow him. Arsène nods and continues walking behind Kami, following him. They both put on their shoes as they both step out of the dorm. Arsène looks over at Kami, looking confused.

“What did you call me for anyways?”

Kami’s smile falters for a moment, he then turns to look at Arsène dead in the eyes.

“We got reading of another demon.”

*

There was a brief silence as Kami and Arsène both sat in the airship. Arsène looked out the window and Kami just sat silently, looking down. Arsène would occasionally look at Kami, wondering why he would just randomly tell Arsène that another demon was found. Then again, maybe it was an emergency and Kami needed Arsène to come with him. Arsène was lost in a train of thought, all while looking out the window. He watched as the airship slowly descended into the mountains, then slowly going and landing in a runway. Arsène and Kami would get up as the hatch opened, they then both walked out of the aircraft as Arsène slowly walked behind Kami.

“Even though I looked at this base before, it looks massive…”

Arsène says as a massive door in one of the mountains opens and gives way into the real base of operations. It was massive and pretty good at hiding as it was hidden as a mountain. It would be almost impossible to be found by the naked eye, but maybe if you tracked down signals or radiation waves from the base.

“Of course, its quite big, isn’t it?”

Kami chuckles as he replies back. Arsène in return nods back, looking around the base. Arsène watched as workers were running around carrying equipment, most probably to repair or maintain the Mech Aegises. He turns to look at people working in a room, typing away on laptops or computers. With a mega computer in the center of the room. They were probably like the Intel team or the team that tracked down things. Arsène didn’t know or couldn’t quite figure it out, since he was still a novice. But Arsène felt like he was a crucial member, as he did kill a demon before. Well, he had to be at least a member, didn’t have to be an important role.

“Arsène, do you know why I called you here?”

Arsène looked over to Kami, who was facing forward while talking. Arsène tilted his head slightly to the side.

“Well, isn’t it because you wanted me to come along and fight the demon?”

Kami let out a light chuckle.

“Of course, a part of the reason was that.”

Kami then enters a hangar, looking back at Arsène with a smile.

“I have another reason for bringing you here today. I could have dropped you off at the enemy’s location from the start.”

Arsène tilted his head again, confused.

“Then why didn’t you?”

Bright lights turn on as they all shine on a massive structure. It wasn’t really a structure to be honest. Arsène’s eyes widen as he took a step back.

“Purson? The Demon King Purson?”

Kami nodded as he looked at the massive corpse of Purson, headless. Arsène looked back and forth between Kami and the corpse of the demon, unsure why Kami wanted to show him this. Kami then turned to his side and stood in an elevator.

“Come, I need to test something.”

“Test?”

Arsène muttered under his breath but nodded and stood in the elevator. The elevator then started ascending, as it ascended, Arsène could make out the massive human like body of the Demon King. It was enormous, taking up a lot of space even for this base. Arsène could see the massive scar in Purson’s shoulder, the same scar given by Kami’s Mech’s spear. Arsène still vividly remembers that day.

The day he had woken up, with no memories. Meeting Yami, talking to Yami, going to school, fighting Zorome then being thrown into the battlefield with that massive demonic bear. And not to mention, his armor appearing for the first time and him killing the bear. The rest was sort of a blur, as he was semi conscious. But if his memory served him right, he was about to be grabbed by King Purson, but Kami had saved him just in time. Then Kami used his Mech Aegis to kill the demon. He doesn’t remember much or doesn’t remember seeing it properly, but the Mech Aegis had caved the skull of the Demon King in. Then Kami took Arsène to the base and that’s when they first met.

That day almost felt like an entire dream, but it was very much real and then the next day, after meeting Vanessa. Arsène traveled over to a storm and fought Valefor, the Demon Duke. That battle was slightly more active and felt like a real fight compared to the fight with the demonic bear. But in the end, Arsène reduced it’s mobility and Kami dealt the finishing blow.

As the elevator came to a halt, so did Arsène’s train of thought. They both then walked out of the elevator, Arsène watching his step and carefully following Kami. They both then stop in front of a structure facing Purson. The corpse was humongous, a size comparable to the massive Mech Aegis that Kami pilots. Arsène took a step forward and rested his hand on the railing, looking stunned at the view of the corpse.

“Arsène, the reason I brought you here is because… I need you to absorb Purson’s core.”

Arsène turned to look at Kami, a hint of shock and confusion on his face. He turned around to face Kami.

“Absorb the core? What do you mean?”

Kami nods, pointing at the strange pulsing light in Purson’s chest. Arsène turned around, squinting his eyes and looking at the pulsing area.

“Remember after you defeated Valefor? You suddenly absorbed the core and then your suit glew?”

Arsène turned to look at Kami again, looking at his own hands.

“What about it?”

Kami chuckles, looking at Arsène again.

“Well, I suspect you maybe absorbing their cores… and gaining new abilities.”

Arsène looked at Kami with shock and surprise. He had no idea how he came to such a conclusion but he wasn’t going to bother asking.

“But what if it has a negative influence on me?”

“Well, have you felt any discomfort or sort of different feeling in the past week?”

Arsène wanted to rebuttal Kami, but he wasn’t wrong. Arsène has been fine all week, feeling perfectly healthy and staying out of trouble. Arsène simply shook his head. Kami then patted Arsène on the shoulder as he looked at Purson’s core.

“Its fine buddy, believe in me.”

Arsène was unsure, maybe this could give a negative feedback or backfire. But then he sighed, nodding and turning to look at Purson. Arsène felt like this was a dangerous move, absorbing the core of a Demon. But he didn’t wish to disappoint Kami, and a part of Arsène also felt thrilled about this.

Arsène then closed his eyes as he concentrated, withing seconds, the demonic armor surrounded Arsène, slowly attaching to him. The armor hardened and finally covered his head. He opened his eyes and looked at the demon’s core. Arsène, almost on instinct, spreads his arms, looking at the demon with a glare. The pulsing area in the corpse starts beating faster and faster, before bursting out. It became a form of energy, slowly traveling towards Arsène, before entering his armor.

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Arsène felt like he had just discovered something new, that he had acquired something that he didn’t know of. All of a sudden, his shoulder’s felt painful and then something slowly burst out, a viper snake traveled down Arsène’s arm, before halting at at his wrists and freezing. The same happened with the other arm, as the snakes became still, they turned black in color and froze.

Arsène raised his hands and looked at his hands, the snakes engraved on them. Kami looked proud and glad, seemingly happy that his theory was correct. He then clapped his hands as he walked his way towards Arsène. He looked at Arsène from top to bottom, before smiling wide.

“Alright, are you ready?”

Arsène looked at Kami, unsure what he meant. What should Arsène be ready for?

“For what?”

Kami scratched his head for a moment before sighing, he would look down for a moment before looking at Arsène and smiling again.

“Well, the readings of the Demon we found today were coming from a rune nearby.”

“Ah, the demon. I forgot about it for a moment.”

Arsène confessed, as he turned back to his normal form. He then turned to look at Kami.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Shouldn’t we hunt it down?”

Arsène asked, waiting for Kami’s response. Kami in return chuckles nervously, looking to his side. Arsène looked confused, he then asks again.

“Well, shouldn’t we hunt it down?”

Kami then turned to look at Arsène, a sheepish smile on his face as he responded.

“Well, I won’t be coming along”

Arsène’s eyes widen and he looked shocked. Why couldn’t Kami tag along with him?

“What? Why?”

Kami sighed, looking at the floor.”

“Well you see.. The rune is quite the small cavity and doesn’t have much place.”

He cleared his throat, continuing.

“And my Mech Aegis… wouldn’t be able to make it through.”

Arsène sighed, looking down at the floor. Does this mean that this will be a solo mission and Arsène will be going alone? What if he isn’t powerful enough and gets killed? No, he shouldn’t be thinking like that, Kami put his faith in him. Arsène nods, smiling at Kami.

“Guess this will be my first solo mission, ay?”

Kami smiles back, chuckling as he replies.

“Yes, and I have faith you will do marvelously.”

Arsène raises his fist, looking at Kami.

“You can count on me, Kami.”

“Yeah, I know, Lil bro.”

Kami says as he raises his fist, they both share a fist bump.

*

Almost half an hour passes as Arsène follows a group of soldiers soldiers through a mountain, they walk through the greenery as Arsène occasionally brushes off mosquitoes biting him. It takes a few minutes but they eventually make it to a massive cave in the forest. One of the soldiers turns to look at Arsène, as two others go to check the entrance.

“Our sincerest apologies for not going in with you. We have been ordered to stay out and wait for you.”

Arsène hesitates but smiles nervously, before turning to face the soldier in the gear and helmet.

“No, its quite fine. I can handle it myself.”

The soldier had a helmet on but Arsène could still make out the audible gasp muffled beneath the helmet.

“Are you sure? This is a demon you are going to be dealing with..”

Arsène nods, putting on a confident facade to make sure the soldier doesn’t worry. He then looks to his front as the two soldiers checking the entrance returned. They then halt in front of Arsène and the other soldier.

“Sir, no forms of danger were spotted. At least not in the entrance.”

The soldier Arsène just talked to nods, then turns to look at Arsène.

“You are ready to go at any time.”

Arsène nods, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes, he felt a bit scared and nervous. Yet still, facing a demon alone felt thrilling for him at the same time. Almost as if he is hungry for the thrill. Arsène then nods again at the soldiers, smiling wide as he starts walking into the cave. He takes a glance back to see the soldiers salute at him. A part of him felt nice, happy that the soldiers cared and there for him.

He then turns around, his smile faltering as he makes his wave into the cave. Arsène starts walking into the massive cave, there wasn’t much light, except for the light at the entrance of the cave. It was getting darker and darker, making it harder and harder to see what was in front.

Arsène at one point just comes to a halt as he stood in complete darkness, unable to see. He grit his teeth and began scratching his head. He should’ve borrowed a flashlight from the soldiers. But just as he was about to turn on his heel, there is a small source of light coming from the corners of the cave. Almost as if needed on cue, flowers, radiating brightly in the dark made started glowing in the cave. It wasn’t much light but enough at the least to see what was in front of Arsène.

He smiled as he started making his way further into the cave, he slowly walked, making sure to take proper steps and not to fall into a ditch of sort. The floor wasn’t much stable, it was a mess and seemed like certain places would collapse if Arsène ran on them. But he just shook his head, carefully walking on the surface as he made his way into the cave.

A few minutes pass before Arsène slows down, feeling as if he is lost in this massive cave. He looked back and could only see the glowing flowers and the walls of the cave behind him. He sighed as he walked further but then coming to a halt.

In front of Arsène, was a massive ditch. Not only could he not see the bottom of it, but it was lengthy and was a few meters big. Arsène could make out the path on the other side, but the distance was long and even if Arsène made a leap with all his might, he would fall down into the endless abyss below. He put his finger on his chin as he began thinking.

“How the hell do I make it to the other side…?”

Arsène mumbled to himself, looking around. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a small rock structure pointing downwards from the top. It looked like it could be tied around to and swing across to the other side. All of a sudden, a thought came to Arsène’s mind. He quickly summoned his armor, the armor surrounding him and attaching all over him. He lets out a breath as he mumbles to himself.

“I am going to regret this..”

Arsène says, as he takes a few steps back before running and leaping into the air. Then raises his hand towards the edgy rock at the top. Almost on command, the snake from before shoots off Arsène’s hand and bites onto the rock. Arsène then braces himself as he quickly swings across and above the empty abyss below. The snake then retracts back onto his hand as he lands on the other side. He lets out a few pants as the armor disappears. He then looks back down the abyss, sighing before smiling.

“I guess Kami did me a favor by making me absorb Purson’s core..”

Arsène mumbled to himself before taking in a huge breath. He then continued walking through the cave.

Another few minutes pass before Arsène stops in front of a rune of sort. There were small structures made of rock standing in the middle, the flowers surrounding the area illuminating them. Arsène watches in awe as he starts walking towards them, he slowly looks closely at them. There was engravings or writings that seemed to be ancient and of another language. Arsène then freezes as he hears a low growl behind him. He slowly turns around, before leaping to the side.

Almost a second after Arsène leaped, a claw broke the stone structure into pieces, as the structure came tumbling down. Arsène stood in a ready stance as he looked at the beast in front him. This was it, this was the demon Arsène was looking for. And the demon, he will now kill with his own hands.

*

Arsène stood confidently as he looked at the demon, though it looks more like an animal. The beast turned to look at Arsène, growling lowly as it slowly walked on all fours towards Arsène.

“Human child. What brings you to my humble abode?”

Arsène gulped, looking at the beast, scanning it top to bottom. It was or at least looked like a great lion of sorts. But its eyes were green and some kind of symbol was was engraved on its head. Some form or sort of symbol scarred on top of its forehead. Almost as if someone drew it in with a knife or dagger. But Arsène didn’t think much of it and just focused on the enemy.

“And you are?”

The beast let out a low growl as it took a step forward, bowing down a little.

“I am President Marbas. One of the many demons from Hell. And I am here to rest and wait till I am strong enough. Waiting for prey or humans to walk into my abode, either striking deals or devouring them.”

Arsène looks behind him, his eyes slightly widening as he looks at bloody bones, and the blood he was stepping on. Arsène turns back to look at Marbas.

“Deals? Why would you make deals with humans?”

“I don’t wish to cause harm to any human unless they cross me. As long as they stay truthful to our contract and give me what I desire. I will give them healing and help them recover from things normal beings can’t.”

Arsène grunts, the armor appearing and attaching itself to him as he readies himself. The cape of flames erupts from his shoulders as he starts walking towards the demon as red energy pulsing through him.

“I am not here to chit chat. Sorry big guy but I will be ending you here and now.”

The beast growls as it steadies it itself. Arsène slowly makes his way towards the beast, clenching his fist, the surface beneath him melting as he walked. Marbas then roars as it leaps onto Arsène, intending to devour him. But Arsène halts, reading his fist as the demon leaps, in one go, Arsène punches Marbas with great power, the demon getting punched and scattering into chunks of flesh, the blood and organs spraying across the walls of the rune.

Arsène sighs and pants as he turns around, beginning to walk back from the way he came from. He had done it, he had killed the demon just as Kami asked and it didn’t require much work. Arsène slowly made his way back to entrance of the cave. But halted as he heard a low growl again.

“Foolish child, truly foolish.”

Arsène’s eyes widened as he quickly turned around, his eyes spotting the same beast, the Demon President Marbas, standing perfectly fine in the center of the rune. Arsène let out an audible gasp, surprised and shocked at the sudden reappearance of the demon. He turned around and almost on instinct, points his fist forward. The viper snakes on his hand open their mouths, breathing out hellish flames that scorched the demon. Marbas however just laughs as it steps forward. It’s skin was burnt and its muscles were visible but suddenly, they started healing and regenerating. Within seconds the flames the disappear and Marbas has perfectly recovered.

Arsène opens his mouth wide, shocked by this. But he doesn’t stop, he then leaps forward with great speeds, blitzing back and forth as he injured Marbas, tearing off its limbs using the speed he got from absorbing Valefor’s core. Arsène halts for a moment, panting as he stood. Again, as if on command, the limbs of the beast regenerate and it stands up perfectly.

“Foolish human child. No matter how much you hurt me, you will not be able to kill me completely.”

Arsène looks at Marbas with shock but he then steps forward, trying to use all his energy and power to punch Marbas to oblivion. But suddenly, Marbas lets out a roar.

Almost on cue, Arsène drops to his knees, feeling weak and exhausted, he falls forward as he supports himself with only his arms. He gags a little before vomiting out blood. Arsène’s arms give away and he collapses on the ground, gasping for air while puking blood. Marbas however laughs, finding amusement in Arsène’s suffering.

“Human child. You have done a great mistake coming here. For now, you will meet your demise.”

Marbas stomps the ground with a paw. All of a sudden, vines, flowing with some energy of sort burst forth from the ground, slowly creeping up Arsène, before surrounding him and thorns dig into his armor. Arsène screams in pain as the thorns dig past his armor and into his skin, feeling the pain and not being able to handle it.

“Suffer, suffer for all your sins. Suffer for all you did wrong or those who you did wrong.”

Arsène slowly starts loosing his conscious, his vision slowly fading as he thinks for a moment. What did he do wrong? Who did he wrong? Did he ever even do such stuff? Why? Why him? Why must he be the one that has to go through this? He didn’t ask for this or the powers. He doesn’t even remember his past. Now, he just wants to rest a little. In the end, he wasn’t strong enough to save anyone, he just a weakling, bound and fated to die.

But then, Arsène opens his eyes, slowly getting up, tearing the vines off him as he weakly stands up. He turns to look at Marbas, a glare.

“I may have done something bad in the past, and I may atone for them…”

Arsène says weakly as he coughs.

“But you, prepare to count up your own sins.”

Arsène says, before against pointing his fists at Marbas, this time the viper snakes launching off his hands and biting into Marbas. The beast or demon, roars in pain as he stumbles back and forth. Marbas normally would have bear the pain but something about this wasn’t quite right. Marbas felt excruciating pain traveling across his body as he roared in pain.

The snakes then traveled back onto Arsène’s hands as Marbas stood weakly. Arsène, in a quick moment, leaps onto Marbas and stabs his hand into Marbas’s side. Before leaping back. The demon chuckles as it stood up, the chuckle turning to a laughter as it glared at Arsène.

“Foolish child, you should’ve known. You can’t kill m-”

Marbas lets out a grunt of pain, it’s eyes widened as it looked at the floor. Marbas was confused, as he wasn’t able to heal or regenerate. It then vomited blood as it weakly stood on its legs. It then looks up at Arsène, glaring in rage.

“Y-You… What did you do…?”

Marbas asked in a low and pained voice. Arsène let out deep breaths as he explained.

“At first I didn’t know, but now that I think about it, I poisoned you with a poison that stunts your healing, and leaves you vulnerable.”

Marbas’s eyes widen as it weakly steps back, trembling. Arsène however slowly takes steps forward, his body pulsing with red energy as he walked, the cape burning faster and longer. The floor beneath him melting as he walked.

“No.. Please… I will give you everything.. Knowledge, Powers, Healing, an invincible body!”

Arsène however increased his speed of pace, walking faster than running as he raised his fist, the energy glowing red with aura as he ran at Marbas.

“Please no!”

The Demon President tried to beg, but in an instant, Arsène punched the beast, the body exploding in blood as not even organs remained as the blood, hot, splashed across the cave walls. Arsène panted as he stood, weakened due to Marbas’s power and vines earlier. He then looked at the core of the demon, looking at it as it burst into energy and the armor aborbed it. Almost instantly, he felt better, his body felt more energetic and feeling rejuvinated.

“Is this.. my new ability?”

Unsure what the ability truly is, Arsène just ignored it. All he needed now was some rest. He coughed a little before turning on his heel, starting to slowly walk his wave back to the entrance of the cave.

*

Arsène slowly walks into the dorm, feeling extremely exhausted from the fight earlier. Kami had sent him a message saying he has a day off school today and that he can stay home. Arsène felt thankful that Kami had let Arsène take the day off, since he wouldn’t know how to attend school so exhausted and tired. He slowly walks into the common area, it was around noon and seemed like no one was home. However, Arsène sniffed a little and could make out a delicious aroma in the air. As Arsène sat on the couch, he turned to see Ethan walking out of the kitchen, wearing an apron as he carried something on plate.

Ethan let out a gasp of surprise as he spouted Arsène sitting on the couch. He then smiles before walking over to Arsène. He then places the plate in front of Arsène as he sat in the other couch as he looked at Arsène.

“Oh Hello! Kami told me to stay home, as he said you were going to be back from something exhausting.”

Arsène nodded, then turned to look at the plate in front of him, the plate had some sort of curry and rice, with a spoon beside it. Though at first he didn’t wish to eat, he felt exhausted and felt like he needed the nutrition. He then turned to look at Ethan.

“Can I…?”

Ethan looked at Arsène, before looking down and blushing as he nodded.

“Yes, please go ahead. I made it just for you..”

Arsène looked surprised but didn’t question it. He picked up the spoon and plate. He mixed the curry and rice a little before taking a bite. Arsène’s eyes widen and his taste buds feel like they are in heaven. The taste was good, the spice was perfect and the seasoning was amazing. Arsène quickly started eating the curry and rice, gulping down the plate.

Ethan smiled, as he watched Arsène eat the food.

“Is it good?”

Ethan asks, wondering for a moment as his smile falters. Arsène nods and finishes the plate, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Yes! It’s so good and amazing! I wish I could eat more!”

Ethan smiles, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red as he clapped his hands together.

“W-Well.. I got more in the kitchen, so if you want.. I can..”

Ethan mumbled but Arsène heard it clearly. Arsène nodded energetically, lifting the plate and giving it to Ethan as he licked his lips.

“Yes please! I would like some more! It tastes really good and I would like to eat more!”

Ethan smiled, taking the plate into his hands he stands up and walks to the kitchen. A few seconds pass as Ethan refills the plate and returns, handing it to Arsène, whose mouth was also watering like a waterfall. He quickly started eating the food, enjoying every last bit of it as he smiled. He ate plate after plate, at least 10 whole plates before he finally felt full.

He let out a sigh of contentment as he sat in the couch. He then got up and walked to the kitchen. He finds Ethan standing, washing the plates as he hummed to himself. Arsène looked at Ethan for moment. Ethan was shorter than him but that wasn’t much of important.

Arsène walked over to Ethan, picking up one of the plates and slowly starting to clean one himself. Ethan’s eyes widen but he smiles.

“Thanks for the help.. Arsène..”

Arsène turns to look at Ethan, nodding as he turned and continued cleaning the dishes. Ethan chuckles for a moment, before stepping a little closer to Arsène.

*