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!
--------------------
"I really hate that cockroach attitude!!!" huffed Sekke in anger.
"It's infuriating!!!" yelled Noelle.
The two looked around, trying to sense the devil, but her presence was long gone.
Noelle and Sekke snorted, then rushed out to help their friends fight against the Dark Disciples.
"You can rest if you want. I'll deal with these Dark Disciples," said Sekke as he took off into the sky.
Noelle, adorned in her [Valkyrie Dress], followed after him.
"I'll help too."
Sekke nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder before turning into a golden blur, reappearing near one of the Dark Disciples.
"Go save the nearby citizens. I'll handle that freaky-haired chick."
Noelle nodded and flew away to check on the citizens.
Sekke, meanwhile, flew straight toward the Dark Disciple lady.
"Anoth—" started the woman with a mocking grin before her head was pierced by a seed that began absorbing her mana and life force.
[World Tree Debuff Magic: Fruit of Life]
Once her body lost all vitality, the fruit detached and floated back to Sekke as the woman fell lifelessly.
The hair magic surrounding the area dissipated, and from one of the cocoons emerged Charmy.
"La! Where is the food abuser?!" yelled Charmy.
"Charmy-san? You're looking pretty," said Sekke, noticing her slim, grown-up form.
"La? Sekke-kun?"
"I dealt with the freaky-haired lady, if that's who you're asking about," explained Sekke, pointing at the lifeless Dark Disciple.
"Is that so... justice for food is served," said Charmy with a sagely nod — then, with a poof, she reverted to her short, chubby form.
"You should really learn to control your other form," commented Sekke.
"La? I can totally do it! This form is just more sexy, you know," replied Charmy, striking a pose.
"...The only people who'd call this form sexy are on the FBI's watchlist," replied Sekke with a straight face.
"La?! But this is totally in trend right now! A curvy onee-san!" said Charmy, looking genuinely shocked.
"True, but you might want to check how a real onee-san looks first."
"...No way..." muttered Charmy in disbelief.
"And if you can actually switch forms at will, then try to use both types of magic. If each form limits you to one kind of spell, enemies will easily read your moves," said Sekke.
"La... I'm not a sexy onee-san..." mumbled Charmy, completely ignoring him.
Sekke sighed, flew closer, and placed a hand on her shoulder before taking off toward the next Dark Disciple.
"You might not be a curvy onee-san in this form, but you're the kawaii legal loli of our squad. And in your other form, you're the curvy onee-san you admire. Two body types for the price of one," said Sekke.
"La!! Is that true?!" exclaimed Charmy.
"Yup. So don't worry. Just be in the form you're comfortable with," replied Sekke with a smirk.
"La!!! I can freely change forms to suit my food prince's preference! He'll fall for my mature charm,... or my adorableness if that's what he's into!!!" declared Charmy.
"...If that guy gets more excited by your little form, tell me. Asta's friend or not, I'll send him to jail," said Sekke seriously.
"La!!! Yuno-kun!!! Please don't be into little girls!!!" prayed Charmy.
"...Now that I think about it, he does keep a little girl-shaped wind spirit with him all the time," muttered Sekke.
"No!!! Yuno-kun turned out to be a criminal!!!" shouted Charmy in horror.
The two continued discussing the possibility of the Golden Dawn's vice-captain being a potential predator.
Suddenly, Sekke stopped midair when he felt the mana around him turn chaotic.
"...It's just like when the elves went boom before dying..." he muttered, focusing his mana sensing. Indeed, the Dark Disciples were about to explode.
[Mana Zone: Bronze Age]
The mana around the Heart Kingdom grew dense as a heavy pressure descended upon it.
Citizens and magic knights alike looked up, trying to locate the source.
Undine materialised beside Sekke.
"Lord Sekke."
"Oh, perfect timing. Tell the citizens to close their eyes," ordered Sekke.
Undine nodded, and across the kingdom, water-based screens appeared, relaying Sekke's message.
The entire Heart Kingdom glowed bronze from his magic as the Dark Disciples turned into solid bronze statues.
Sekke sighed, then turned toward Undine.
"They can open their eyes now."
Undine nodded and returned to Lolopechka to inform her.
"Charmy-san, go check on the citizens. Your sheep can help clear the rubble," said Sekke.
"La! Leave it to me!!" replied Charmy, summoning a cotton cloud and flying off.
Sekke then used his magic to summon all the bronze statues toward him.
Luck and the others saw the flying statues but relaxed once they realised they were heading toward Sekke.
Sekke "de-bronzed" one of the disciples' heads and placed a [Fruit of Life] seed on him.
He was running low on these fruits, and if someone was volunteering their life energy for his greater good, Sekke wasn't one to refuse.
Once all the Dark Disciples were drained of vitality, Sekke turned them back to bronze and disintegrated them into bronze dust.
"Exodia."
The Sun Spirit materialised beside him.
"My King."
"Cast [Morning Glory: Dawn's Blessing] over the kingdom."
"Such benevolence!!! As you wish, my liege!!!" exclaimed Exodia as a dome of divine light covered the Heart Kingdom.
"If any demonic presence lingers here, inform me first and restrain them. If they resist... do as you see fit."
"As you command, my king."
"Sekke," called Secre, running toward him.
They didn't speak at first; both began checking the other for injuries. Once they confirmed the other was unharmed, they sighed in relief.
"I'm glad you came. It would've been bad without you here..." said Secre softly.
"I told you, right? If you're ever in danger, just call me. I'll come running to save you," said Sekke with a smirk.
"Lord Sekke!!!" Lolopechka came running too, and immediately tripped on her dress.
She was used to it by now, but before she could hit the ground, she felt herself float gently upward.
"You sure are consistent," said Sekke with a helpless smile.
"Hehe, I really missed being saved by Lord Sekke while you were in the Clover Kingdom," said Lolopechka, smiling brightly.
Sekke floated her upright and placed her back on the ground.
"Thank you for saving the Heart Kingdom!!! We're truly grateful for your help!!!" said Lolopechka dramatically, bowing deeply.
Undine did the same, and all around the kingdom, citizens watching the water displays bowed in gratitude
They didn't know who the young man was, but seeing their queen treat him with such respect made it clear, he was someone extraordinary. Defeating all the attackers in one go, when even the Spirit Guardians struggled, was no small feat.
"No need to be this dramatic. A simple 'thank you' would've worked," said Sekke.
"Now get back to work. The threat's neutralised, but damage control still remains," he reminded them.
"Umm... Undine, let's go! Call the Spirit Guardians—" said Lolopechka, hopping onto a wave of water and gliding away, likely to the palace.
"She should probably move like that more often. That way, she won't fall," commented Sekke.
"Undine won't let that happen. Walking is the only exercise Lolopechka actually gets," said Secre dryly.
"She needs to move more. But if she moves more, she'll fall more. Truly mysterious luck."
"True... but since meeting you, I have a feeling she likes falling now, knowing you'll catch her, like some prince from a fairy tale," said Secre, narrowing her eyes at him.
"...I'm a good guy, okay? I help guys, too, when they're about to fall. I may call myself the Dark Lord, but you won't find a 'gooder' guy than me," replied Sekke defensively.
"I didn't say anything. Why are you being so defensive?" teased Secre.
"...Just clarifying. I'm a very good and caring guy," added Sekke.
"I know," said Secre, hugging him tightly."It's just... you're too good to everyone."
"Now that's not true. I just killed the Dark Disciples. And I'm especially extra good to you," said Sekke.
"Prove it," said Secre, smiling as she looked up and closed her eyes.
Sekke smiled and kissed her without hesitation.
"So? Did you feel my goodness?" he teased.
"Hmm... it was a bit lacking. Maybe I need a few more samples," said Secre with a chuckle, looking up again.
"You naughty bird," said Sekke before kissing her again.
"More."
Kiss.
"More."
Kiss.
"More."
Kiss.
"I'll tell you when you can stop," said Secre, blushing.
"You're getting hor—" Sekke started, but Secre silenced him by sealing their lips together and forming a barrier around them.
Ten minutes later, the barrier broke, and both emerged with dishevelled clothes. Secre's hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she was lightly panting.
"I definitely felt your goodness that time," said Secre with a smile, brushing his chest.
"You're welcome," said Sekke, fixing his clothes.
"I'll need to sample it again tonight. It's been quite a few days since we slept together."
"Anything for you, my lady," said Sekke, bowing dramatically.
Secre smiled, ruffled his hair, and kissed his forehead.
"Should I go and help as well?" she asked.
"If you want to leave the Dark Lord here, all alone and lonely, then sure," said Sekke, giving her puppy eyes.
Secre rolled her eyes but stayed by his side anyway.
Together, they moved through the kingdom, helping wherever needed.
While they worked, they met the other Magic Knights, who were also aiding citizens. Eventually, Heart Kingdom soldiers insisted they rest; the knights had done enough.
The group agreed and began heading toward the royal palace when suddenly, everyone felt a powerful mana signature approaching.
Sekke and the others turned, and to their surprise, they recognised the newcomers.
"What do you know? You guys are still around. I was told all elves were gone," said Sekke.
"Hm? Do we know you? Wait... this mana..." said the black-haired elf with streaks of white.
"Sekke Bronzaza!!!" gasped the pink-haired elf woman, her green eyes widening as she immediately descended, staring at Sekke in disbelief.
"Fana. Nice to see you again. How've you been?" greeted Sekke with a grin.
"It really is you! You got out of the Shadow Palace! I'm so glad!!!" exclaimed Fana, throwing her arms around him.
"Oof! Quite the enthusiastic reunion," said Sekke, hugging her back.
"Man, your mana feels even more insane now. You look older, too," said Rhya as he landed beside them.
Sekke released Fana and looked at Rhya, Vetto, and Patolli.
"Stuff happened in the Shadow Palace. Long story short, six years in there, only six months passed here," said Sekke, shaking Rhya's hand.
"So what are you guys doing here?" asked Sekke, glancing at the rest of the elves.
"We came to help fight the devils, but... looks like we were too late," said Patolli.
"Yup."
"...You didn't have to be that blunt. We came as fast as we could," said Rhya with a sigh.
"You guys live nearby?"
"No. But where we stay, there's someone who can occasionally foretell the future. They warned us of the devils' attack, so we came running," explained Patolli.
"You elves really attract some unusual helpers every time. First, it was that stabby yandere Licht, and now a fortune-teller," said Sekke.
"We elves are blessed by mana. It's no surprise we're favoured," said Vetto with a smirk.
"Though I'd say..." Rhya eyed Sekke intently. "You've outgrown the elves when it comes to being favoured by mana. The mana around you is practically glowing."
Patolli and the others nodded in agreement.
"I'm the Dark Lord. What else do you expect?" said Sekke with a shrug.
Suddenly, their surroundings brightened.
"My King, I've completed my task," said Exodia, bowing beside him.
"Good job, Exodia. You can rest," said Sekke.
"As you command, my king," replied the spirit before merging back into Sekke.
"...You've gotten even more outrageous than before," said Rhya.
"I'm the Dark Lord. Of course, I'm super strong," said Sekke smugly.
Vetto snorted, but Sekke just smirked in return.