Hi guys, author here!Please share your thoughts in the comments and reviews. And if you like it, don't forget to drop some stones — they're a great motivator!
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Smoke rose in lazy curls from the training field. The ground — once a proud stretch of grass and stone — now looked like it had been personally insulted by every natural disaster known to mankind.
A crater here. A scorched trench there. A mountain-sized hole somewhere in the back where Jack had "accidentally" hit himself mid-spin.
And in the middle of it all stood Sekke, proudly admiring the result of his hard work.
He stretched his arms casually, as if he hadn't just bullied the entire upper echelon of the Clover Kingdom's combat force.
"Whew. That was a good warm-up," he said, looking at the destruction he had caused.
Suddenly, a magical gate appeared near him, and the audience stepped out of it.
Julius came running toward Sekke with sparkles in his eyes, clapping like an excited child. "That… was AMAZING!! I haven't seen that much power since—well, ever!"
"Thanks," Sekke said with a grin. "Though I still think I went too easy. Nobody went boom this time."
Marx pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why are you disappointed that no one exploded?"
"Explosions are the soul of battle, Marx. The only good one I caused got teleported away by Captain Dorothy," Sekke replied wisely.
"Oi… kid…" Yami groaned. "You're buying drinks tonight."
Sekke raised a brow. "Shouldn't the loser buy drinks?"
"Loser?!" Yami spat. "I'm calling it a tactical surrender. There's a difference."
"Sure, sure," Sekke snorted.
Marx, nearby, took out a notepad from nowhere. "Do you have any idea how much this field cost to build?"
"…I'm sorry, but it was you who told me to go all out," said Sekke.
Marx groaned in annoyance and glared at the self-proclaimed dark lord.
Asta came running toward them. "You… you monster! You didn't even break a sweat!"
Sekke smirked. "Of course not. Sweat implies effort."
"You can't just say that like it's cool!!"
"I can, and I did."
"Grr… this smug bastard!!!" Asta gritted his teeth.
Luck suddenly popped up beside them, sparks flickering around him. "That was AWESOME!!! When you punched me, I think I saw my great-grandfather waving from the afterlife!"
"Well, sorry about that. I've got a bit of a self-control issue," said Sekke.
"Can we do it again!?"
Sekke blinked. "What are you, a masochist?"
Luck beamed. "If it means fighting you again—YES."
"…Okay," Sekke said, at a loss for words.
"Noelle," he called, making the silver-haired royal flinch.
"…You improved, but not by much. Are you slacking off?" he asked, genuinely confused. Compared to the others, her growth was lackluster.
Noelle's gaze dropped. She'd wanted to show Sekke that she could improve on her own — that she didn't need his help. But in the battle just now, she hadn't even managed to land a single hit.
"You improved so much when I trained you… sigh, looks like you need retraining. A disciple of mine falling behind? Unacceptable," said Sekke.
Noelle nodded, feeling a little disappointed — until she felt a hand on her head.
She looked up to see Sekke, who promptly began crushing her head with his hand instead of patting it.
"What are you doing?! I'm a royal, you know! Unhand me!"
"What are you looking sad for? If you are not strong enough just work hard till you get to that point. Be angry at yourself for not working hard instead." said Sekke.
"If you are a royal then act like one. As for me I am the dark lord, I can do this to my lazy student." said Sekke finally releasing Noelle, who immediately crouched down holding her head.
From the sidelines, Nozel glared. How dare a commoner treat my sister like that?!
Feeling the gaze, Sekke smiled at him. "So? Got the reality check you needed?"
Nozel snorted but answered, "Yes."
"Smart man," Sekke replied with a smirk.
Suddenly, Sekke felt someone tugging his cheek — Secre. She didn't look amused.
He smiled at her, but she only pulled harder.
"Why the hell did you escalate things this much?" she demanded.
"Escalate? They're all in one piece. What else do you want from me?" Sekke asked innocently.
"You…" Secre fumed. He'd nearly destroyed everyone on the field, and this was his reaction?
"Don't worry, they wouldn't have died. I would've saved them at the last moment… though Captain Dorothy beat me to it." He glanced at the sleepwalking witch.
"Sekk—Sekke-kun!" Julius called, still buzzing with excitement.
"Hm?"
"What was that golden giant? That huge dragon? Did you gain some new magic?"
"Well, kind of. Exodia! Vritra!" Sekke called.
A bright glow emerged from his body, manifesting into the giant form of Exodia. His Sacred Gears appeared on his arms as well.
Freed from Secre's grip, Sekke stood proudly.
"Yes, my King?" Exodia rumbled.
"This here's my buddy, Exodia — a spirit I contracted while I was away. Exodia, meet my friends and colleagues."
"Nice to meet you all," Exodia boomed. "I am Exodia, the Sun Spirit King and humble retainer of my King!"
Everyone stood stunned. They hadn't even known a spirit that powerful existed, let alone one who'd bonded with a human.
"And as for the dragon," Sekke continued, raising his Sacred Gears, "this is my buddy Vritra. Some of you have seen him before."
"Greetings, everyone. I am Vritra, the Prison Dragon King — and my other half's… other half," the dragon's deep voice echoed.
"Wait—that voice…" Vanessa gasped. She'd heard it before, back when Sekke destroyed the Witch's Forest in his rage.
"…Just what did you do when you were trapped there?" Yami asked, squinting.
"I told you guys earlier. Killed an army multiple times, destroyed a being that could destroy the world, then rebuilt the said world. You didn't believe me," Sekke replied nonchalantly.
"…You were serious," Yami muttered.
"Yes."
"Sekk—Sekke-kun, I'd like to hear about these events in detail," said Julius seriously.
"Well, it'll take a while to tell the whole story," said Sekke.
"Don't worry, you're treating us all for your promotion tonight. Master Julius, Mushroom Head — you're both coming. This dumbass will talk there," said Yami, smacking Sekke on the back.
"I don't mind, but won't they be busy?" Sekke asked.
"Of course the wiz—""Not at all! Let's go right now!!" Julius interrupted, nearly vibrating with excitement.
Marx sighed, glaring at his overenthusiastic boss, who ignored him completely and grabbed Sekke by the hand, practically dragging him along.
Sekke gave a helpless smile to the Wizard King before turning to everyone else.
"You're all welcome too. Take it as my thanks for humoring my selfish request," Sekke said.
"Kekeke. I'm gonna empty your wallet dry," Jack cackled, still sporting bruises and a broken nose.
"Exodia," Sekke called.
"Yes, my King," the Sun Spirit responded, already knowing what Sekke wanted.
[Sun Spirit Magic: Dawn's Blessing]
A soft, soothing light enveloped everyone, healing their wounds and washing away their fatigue.
Everyone stood in awe — a wide-area recovery spell that worked instantly.
Exodia puffed up proudly at their admiration before shrinking into his miniature form and floating beside Sekke.
"Good job," Sekke said.
"My King!!! To receive praise for such a menial chore—how benevolent you are!!!" cried Exodia dramatically.
"…"
Okay, maybe not everything about the spirit was great.
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Later That Night
Sekke and the others partied hard after he finished telling his story. Most were too shocked by what they'd heard to even process it.
Sekke, grinning, told them not to worry about it and ordered rounds of drinks for everyone — except Julius, who was now a kid. He hadn't expected them to believe him anyway. Sometimes, the Dark Lord's feats were so unbelievable that they defied belief itself.
And so, everyone drowned in booze — some out of revenge on Sekke's wallet, others simply because they were alcoholics.
Asta, urged by a drunk Yami to "break his limits," was now lying on the bar counter, holding hands with an unconscious Yuno.
Noelle slept beside them with a foolish smile on her face.
Julius had been taken home by Marx — it was way past his bedtime.
Most of the captains were either incoherent or passed out cold.
Among the Black Bulls, only Charmy and Vanessa were awake. Charmy ignored the alcohol and focused on food like a woman on a mission, while Vanessa shared drinks with Yami — who was stuck in place because Charlotte had passed out in his lap.
Everyone had fun that night. For the first time in a long while, they let themselves relax and laugh — blowing off steam after everything they'd endured.
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The Next Morning
Sekke woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling, the kind you stare at when you're questioning all your life choices.
"Ugh… where the hell am I?" he muttered, rubbing his head. His skull throbbed as if someone had used it as a drum during last night's party.
Bits and pieces of memories floated back — Yami challenging him to a drinking contest, Mereoleona joining in, barrels upon barrels of booze, and then… blackout.
He tried to sit up but froze when he felt something warm resting against his arm. Slowly turning his head, he found Anna peacefully asleep, wrapped in a blanket burrito beside him.
"…Okay, that's fine. Nothing weird. Totally normal."
He turned to the other side.Mereoleona. Also asleep. Snoring loud enough to make the walls vibrate.
"…Okay, maybe a little weird," Sekke whispered.
Then came a noise from his chest — a soft murmur, followed by something moving. He looked down and saw a tuft of familiar black-and-white hair poking out from under the blanket.
"Secre?" he blinked.
The girl stirred, yawned, then gave a sleepy, half-coherent mumble before going right back to sleep—completely unaware that Sekke's soul was about to leave his body.
Below Secre, laid Mimosa, her face toally red from embarrassment looking at Sekke's saluting member.
Feeling the movemnet she looked up and her gaze met with Sekke's. The two didn't say anything and soon Sekke closed the blanket once again.
'I f*cked up real bad.'