It has been a while, how are you all holding up with the quarantine? I know it has been a while, but I have fallen in love with Overlord and Youjo Senki. I've read the 15 light novels of overlord and I am currently in the 2 volume of Youjo Senki. What have all of you been doing? Not waiting for an update I hope. If you did then rejoice for this chapter is an XXL chapter.

"I can't believe you just did that" Marco angrily thought.

"You were the one who shouted, Zip-it! at poor, little Star" Monster Arm pointed out.

"Why the hell are you like this."

"How about the fact that you won't be my friend."

"I don't mind being your friend, but what you had in mind wasn't a friend but a slave."

"What you mean? Aren't friends supposed to do all that the other friend needs? Like Star and you, you two always had to help the other like cleaning each other messes up, well you mostly had to clean her's up, but you get my point."

"You still don't understand what a friend is and until you do, you will always just be a parasite."

" Just a parasite?! Apologize!" Marco ignored him. "Don't ignore me. Apologize!" Marco put his hand in his hoodie pocket, not saying anything. "Fine, don't but now we are even"

Marco pulled his scissors out and cut a portal into Solis' and Luna's dimension. He jumped through and landed in his new room, it was well furnished with elegant patterns all over. Marco went into the middle of the room and pulled two planks up he had loosened, under them were his duffel bag. Marco had not experienced any item vanishing or destroyed when he was absent, but he couldn't feel like his items would be safe in his room.

Marco pulled his bag out of the hole in the floor and placed the two planks back into their place.

"Are you going out adventuring? You don't have any weapons and Solis is still modifying your armor"

Marco pulled the content out, a crowbar, money, and clothes.

" Cmon, It has been 2 whole minutes, I had even forgiven you. You can't still be mad, can you?"

He placed the clothes and all of his money except 650 bucks in the hole and put the crowbar in the bag.

"I guess you can, you petty bastard."

Marco put the duffel bag on and flipped up his interdimensional phone and called someone. It only took a few seconds and the call was answered.

"Hello" came a girly voice Marco was familiar with.

"H-hi, Kelly, I was just wondering i-if you would go out and raid this... cool dungeon," Marco said as normal as possible.

There was a moment of giggles from the other end, he had failed to hide his embarrassment. "What? I thought after you big speech about how the last adventure was the last before you went off to this long and hard journey to free your body and soul." Kelly said in a mocking voice that gradually turned overly dramatic.

"haha, yeah... I know I should not have tried to sound cool and ominous," Marco guiltily confessed. For some reason unbeknown to himself, he always tries to come off as a badass. That's a lie, he knows why he just doesn't know why he has to do it, maybe its an illness whatever it is, it does always bite him in the ass sooner or later.

"You don't have to pretend to be awesome, I already know how awesome you are, Marco," Kelly said.

"Thanks, that means a lot... so about the dungeon, you coming?" Marco asked, getting over his embarrassment.

"Yeah totally!" Came a loud reply.

"...great," Marco said a bit taken back by the unusually energetic reply.

"I... could use some distraction," Kelly said a bit embarrassed after the energetic reply.

"um, is it Tad again? I mean, uh... I uh, I'm sorry," Marco said as he faced palmed himself.

"I can't believe what I just said. She clearly sounded sad right now." Marco shouted in his mind, too the displeasure of Monster Arm.

The facepalm was loud, so loud that Kelly could hear it, she laughed at Marco for being silly. Marco was relieved when he heard laughter from the other side. " Alright let's meet in the bounce lounge."

"See you," Kelly said.

"Yeah, see you," Marco answered.

"You know. It's not nice to treat Kelly as a rebound," Monster Arm said. Marco growled in disagreement. He could ignore a lot but that was a little too far.

Kelly isn't a rebound or a plan b, she is the person he has had the most fun with lately. Marco could say she was his best friend to the Truth Or Punishment Box and properly not worry about a thing, not that he is going to try that.

Marco opened a portal and went through it. He landed in the middle of the dance floor. Marco found an empty couch and sat there while he waited on Kelly. The bounce lounge had certainly seen better days, there weren't many people like the last time he was here and the floor is littered with trash, not overly but enough that you notice it.

Marco was looking around and trying not to stand out too much, but that only did the opposite.

"Hey Marco," greeted Kelly

"Hey..." Marco greeted back.

Marco didn't know if they should have a drink first or just go to the dungeon, while Marco pondered this, Kelly took the initiative and asked a question. "So... when are you and Star going to make up?"

Marco breathed some soda at the sudden question and after his coughing fit, he answered "Well... as it stands now it will most likely not happen. I still have some confusion that can't be solved with my current circumstances."

"What circumstances?" Kelly asked.

"That's not important, let's go" Marco dismissed her question. He felt bad, he wanted to know why she needed a distraction.

Not waiting on a response, Marco opened a portal and took Kelly's hand, jumping through the portal.

"Woah, how did you find this old dungeon," Kelly asked intrigued by the muggy giant iron door and the engravings on it.

Marco shrugged "A friend told me about it."

Marco and Kelly approached the door, "How do we open the door" Kelly asked.

Marco gestured he got this and got his crowbar. He went to the door, but as soon as he touched it, it opened automatically. Marco shook his head in disappointment, he enjoyed prying things open.

"Shall we?" Kelly asked politely, chuckling at his face.

"Well, of course, after you" Marco answered just as politely, gesturing her to proceed onwards.

The passage was lit by a few torches hanging on the walls leaving spaces in the darkness. They were relaxed but they were now in a dungeon and as such, they needed to be a bit on guard. Marco picked a torch near him.

"Hey, do you have a spare one-handed weapon?" Marco asked.

"Do I have a spare weapon?" Kelly reiterated acting overly offended while handing him a short sword.

"Stupid question, you're like a walking arsenal." Marco chuckled.

"Pretty much" Kelly confirmed, arming herself with her family ancestral sword.

Marco and Kelly walked-in silence down a deep stairway, they focused on possible traps. After a few minutes of nothing, but skeletons of all kinds of different humanoid creatures. After reaching the foot of the stairs Kelly broke the silence. "Know the story of this place?" Kelly asked.

"I only know that it was used as a test, a place one could face one's demons, you know, find your true self or something," Marco answered not really caring of the place until he thought about it for a moment. He went on this adventure on impulse, but now that he thought maybe it could help him.

"let's go," Marco said picking up the pace with Kelly right behind him.

They soon reached an iron door with engravings of runelike letters.

"ready?" Marco asked in a whisper.

Kelly nodded and took a fighting stance. Marco used his backhand holding the torch to push the heavy door open. He opened it very slowly, the room was pitch black.

Marco took a step in and illuminated a few feet into the room. He could barely see a alter holding a small engraved wooden box. Marco looked around one more time to make sure there wasn't anything dangerous.

Kelly placed a hand on Marcos back and pushed him in as she went inside. "We don't have all-day, scaredy-cat," Kelly teased.

"I'm not scared, I'm just cautious." Marco defended.

Kelly was about to say something but the room was lit by torches on the walls and an Ethereal humanoid monster floating up from the alter caught their attention.

Marco's eyes locked with the ghosts for just a moment and suddenly he was swallowed in complete darkness.

Marco looked down and was grateful he had his clothes on, he then turned his head to where there last was a mirror, but it was now replaced by a door. He was on his way there when suddenly the sound of a light switch turned could be heard. Marco instinctively turned his head to the light source and to his surprise he saw a small theater.

" Go, take a seat," Ghost's voice came from the loudspeakers.

Marco hesitantly took a seat in the middle of the big screen, as soon as he did the seat shackled him. Before he could even complain, the screen turned on.

"Why did you go so far?" Came the ghost's voice while a film of Marco with heavy bags under his eyes as he was working with mountains of paper and a dummy thick law book Infront of him was on the screen.

"Perhaps because you knew how she felt, you had the same circumstances but hers was worse." Marco knew exactly what the ghost meant.

" You came crashing in her life after her emotional wounds have healed, wounds that YOU left. "

The screen showed when Star first confessed in front of everyone and later turned to her looking uncomfortable on the stairs when he came crashing into her life.

"Oh, you felt distressed and you had so much guilt. You saw how much work she had and you lessened that to a great degree, but what did she do with that extra time? She used it on Tom! Oh, You could tag along and that you would, but every time you die little by little. Oh, It went on for so long, didn't it? The dedication, the love, and the loyalty slowly but surely turned to anger and betrayal. You began questioning your bond. How could she put Tom in front of you every time when you always put Star first? How can she not see through your fake smile? Does she not care anymore? "

On-screen was a film of Marco working again turned on and then cut to Star and Tom having fun shopping while Marco was holding shopping bags. It turned to another scene with Star and Tom having fun ice skating and Marco ice skating alone in the background. Another scene, another scene, another scene, another, another, another...

"She doesn't care about you." said the ghost. The screen turned black as well as the light until the screen flashed again blinding Marco for a moment, when he could see again he saw Star and Himself, he was a bit beat up in Star's room.

" I can't believe you are going to punish me," Marco shouted in disbelief.

" And I can't believe you beat up other squires," Star shouted angrily in Marco's face.

"What was I suppose to do, let them beat me up, AGAIN?" Marco retorted while dong extreme arm gestures to further his argument.

" Just tell me about it, I'll do something," Star said in a badly controlled leveled voiced.

Marco frowned, " I have and you tried, but it only made it worse. I took it in my own hands and now it is going to be better," Marco said matching Star's level of voice.

" No, it is not. You will go and apologize to them all and then you will fulfill squire Higgs duty until she recovers." Star said in an ending of a discussion voice.

He was in disbelief. " You want me to apologize, you know how they treat me," Marco said surprised.

"No I don't, Marco, I only know what you told me," Star said annoyed.

"Then come with me after you have disguised yourself then you can see how bad it is," Marco pleaded.

"I can't, I have finally finished my paperwork and I have the rest of the day off to go on a date with Tom," Star said.

"But it will only take an hour, max" Marco complained.

"I'm already late," Star said in her normal voice, but to him, it felt really cold. Marco didn't respond and Star took it as an answer turning her back to Marco.

"you only have time now because I did most of the work while you slept," Marco mumbled in one breath.

Star turned around crooking her head a little as if she was asking.

"Nothing, I just said have a good time," Marco said grumpily.

"Oh, okay, thanks," Star said as she left like nothing had happened.

The screen turned black and then on, blinding Marco again. He saw Star and himself in Star's room again.

"But Star this is my day off," Marco tried to convince Star.

"Marco I need you to watch Glossrick while I'm on a diplomatic visit in the underworld" Star explained.

"That's some BS you are going to hang out with Tom" Marco retorted a bit angry.

"Which is a diplomatic visit," Star said ignoring his mood.

" I cannot watch gloss" Marco stated firmly with no room for negotiation.

Star sighed. "I'm sorry, but I order you to watch Glossrick today as my royal squire," Star ordered.

"I'll be sure to bring back an awesome souvenir," Star said as she left. Marco just stood not answering in shock.

"She doesn't want you in Mewni," the ghost said, and the same thing happened again. He saw Star and himself walking downstairs toward the subbasement.

"What does Jackie think about all this?" Star asked as casually as possible, but Marco knew Star to well. She is asking questions because she is not into the thought if she was he would already have a room.

"Uh, yeah she wasn't so into it... but you know me, there is nobody telling me what to do, haha," Marco said uncomfortably. He tried his hardest not to cringe as Star looked at him in disbelief.

There was silence again until Marco broke it after a few seconds. "So are you and-"

"Yep," Star cut him off with a sharp reply shutting him up.

They walked for a bit until the film was cut short as the screen ran analog noise. "Alright, I'm gonna help your sorry ass," Monster Arm said.

The film that showed up was one Marco recognized immediately. The day Star came into his life, he had to face monsters for the first time with Star. He clearly remembers the adrenalin rush, the joy of victory and the first hug he had with Star. And he hated it.

Monster Arm sensed Marco's feelings and put up another film. It was Star crying while holding an injured Marco, it was right after the magical lint monster incident. Again he hated it.

"Enough," Marco shouted and the film was stopped." What's up with everybody trying to fuck with my head." Marco's glared at the ghost. "You don't need to show me this, I have been thinking about it all, everything you show me."

Marco can't get into detail or even start for that matter. It is all a cluster fuck in his mind. He wants the past and Star wants the future. It's the original reason why he wants to break his and Stars curse if the curse is manipulating his feelings for Star then there's a chance that everything can go back to normal or rather the old normal when it was all fun and games.

The destruction of the book forced thoughts into his mind, it was painful but the pain turned to relief, so much began to make sense. Every new experience was kept from him, many of his fun times kept from him, many good memories old and new kept from him, all in that book. Why? Because he would have left Star. Every development he had would ultimately end up with them parting ways. The book kept his mind from developing, but not his body, his body remembers all hardships and good times. It explains why being with people he thought he bearly knew was comfortable and felt so normal.

"I have always been questioning if what I did was right or justified, and I've come to the conclusion that there are no right or wrong, " Marco stated.

After thinking everything through with all of his thoughts in his head. He has decided Star is right, the past is the past one shouldn't envy it but cherish, but either should one neglect the past there's nothing wrong with wanting how things were. But she is so cruel, she wanted Marco at her side but kept demoting him. Maybe it's supercilious or pompous but he doesn't want to be just another servant, he is more than that, right?

The ghost looked astonished and said, "wow, that's very mature, but that is not the point of this trial." The ghost switched demeanor to an interrogational one. "Your disgusting parasite showed you happy memories, now tell me why did you hate them."

"I don't know"

"WHY?"

"I just do"

"That's not good enough" The ghost snapped its fingers and a recent memory flashed only to turn off immediately.

"No, I'm tired of you showing me my memories. Tell me, why does it matter that I hate them?"

The ghost snapped again but nothing, with a satisfied smile or at least Marco though it looked that way, "You have passed the trial of the mind, but I would urge you to find out why they bring you pain." The ghost said.

Marco was in the room with the altar again.

"Alright you have earned the trials reward," the ghost said.

Marco blinked black spots away and saw Kelly. "Great, but do something about my friend here," Marco demanded, gesturing to a crying, mumbling Kelly.

"Just give her a slap and she will wake up, but it would be for the better if you didn't," the ghost said. Marco controlled his anger, he was scared that he would slap her harder than intended if he was worked up.

"What would be worse if I woke her up?" Marco asked.

"She would lose her chance to complete the trial, either to find the answer or retake control of her mind as you did."

It pained him to see Kelly crying, to see the normally happy face-

"That is a lie and you know it," Monster Arm interjected Marcos thought.

He knew that happy face was a mask, she hasn't gotten over Tad and her breaking up. But he knows she will get over it, she has a lot of friends. While he only has her in his life on Mewni.

"Hey what about me?" Monster Arm asked offended.

"Look, y-"

"nnno, p-p-plss s-stop, I-I gave Y-y an answer," Kelly mumbled.

That's it, it may be selfish but he can't stand to hear her sound so pitiful.

Marco went and lightly slapped her, but it did nothing. He then apologized in advance for a proper slap. He caught Kelly that was about to fall, Marco grimaced as a red handprint could be seen on her cheek.

Kelly's blank eyes came to life in Marco's arms. She turned red from embarrassment as she process that she was crying while being held by Marco and it didn't help that Marco was wiping her tears away.

All the while Marco felt nostalgic. This reminded him of the lava beach day when he held Kelly as she confessed her predicament. He felt good helping her, not because of obligations or orders, but because she was his friend. A thing Kelly said that day after he got Tad out of her hair (literally). "I love the soul rise and I don't want it to be a place that makes me sad, the only thing to do is to face it, rewrite it so it was mine again." But isn't that only fixing it on a superficial level, making the Soul Rise your own again is not fixing the problem when the root of the problem is Tad. Maybe he was doing the same, perhaps what he should do is-.

"M-mind letting me go?" Kelly shyly asked.

Marco coming to his senses let Kelly stand as she thanked him, he then turned his attention to the ghost. " You said I completed the trial of the mind, but that means there is another," Marco stated to change the awkward air.

"Very perceptive of you," The ghost sarcastically said causing Marco to frown. " There is another trial, the trial of the body. After you have your reward, you will have to fight your way out and if you survive, you will learn its true value."

"Wait so all those skeletons on our way here failed the trial of the body?" Marco asked.

The ghost nodded with a sadistic smile.

Marco looked at Kelly askingly and she responded with an excited smile and a nod. Her eyes were still red, but nothing compared to her excitement, she couldn't wait to kick some ass.

"You know maybe, we can use this to our advantage," Monster Arm said.

Marco stood with a frown that turned into a smirk and he pulled out his scissors and the ghost smile vanished instantly. "I'm sure you know what these are, but I will make you a deal, you will give her a reward too and we won't use these to get out," Marco said with an arrogant smile.

"How do I know that you won't use them anyway," the ghost asked skeptically.

"I swear in the name of Sir Lavabo and on my honor as a martial artist,"

"Deal. Now the both of you come closer to the alter" The ghost said as he got bigger.

They did as ordered. The ghost placed one hand on the wooden box and another towards Marco's hand.

Marco gave the ghost his hand as soon as he did the box glowed and it opened. The ghost let go of his hand and indicated to him that he could proceed to open the wooden box.

Kelly watched with anticipation. Marco was excited like a little kid on Christmas day. He opened the box and the content was a white skull mask with no jaw made of hard metal. Marco looked askingly at the ghost as the latter ignored him and turned his attention to Kelly.

The ghost signed "A deal is a deal, the walking hairball who failed to complete the trial of the mind will also get a reward. Now give me your hand"

Kelly ignored his passive-aggressiveness and did as he ordered.

The box glowed again and Marco watched as Kelly opened the box.

Kelly picked up a pair of glasses identical to her own, the only difference was it was pink.

Marco expected a look of disappointment when he turned his attention from the pink glasses to Kelly's face. But she was just staring at it.

"Now let the trial of the body begin." The ghost said dramatically. Marco placed his mask in his duffel bag and Kelly placed her glasses in her hair. Marco was relived, she was out of her shook or whatever it was.

Marco and Kelly touch each other's backs and took a defensive stance with their swords.

"Ahhh" Marco shouted.

"What is it?" Kelly asked worriedly.

"Wet socks, why?" Marco complained.

Kelly looked down, she hadn't noticed because her soles were higher than the water level. But that changed quickly the water level was rising. Sharp pain in her leg, she lifts it and there was a fish biting into her leg. She cut the fish in half and shouted " we need to run Marco,"

"Right" Marco ran for the door with Kelly right behind him.

"This is going to be an easy trial if we just need to outrun the wateeeeeeeeeeeeeeer." Marco was about to fall into a pit.

They stood in front of now the trap infested passage. There was a pitfall, walls that exploded into the opposite wall every few seconds and holes where pikes jumped out and retracted only to jump again.

"Me and my stupid mouth," Marco said, as Kelly passed him and jumped over the 5-meter long pitfall in front of him. As soon as she did the pitfall was now filled by a tile that came from the hole and a hole came in the wall beside Marco and water began to come out.

Marco quickly test-stepped on the tile and quickly ran past it to Kelly's side. "Okay, I guess I'll take the next one."

Marco had to clear the crushing trap, Marco gave Kelly his torch and took his crowbar and placed it in the gap that came when the wall crashed into the opposite wall and as he hoped the wall didn't jump anymore.

"Kelly can you get my crowbar free?" Marco asked as the cleared the obstacle.

"I'll try" Kelly with all her strength twisted it out.

"Stop!" Marco shouted before Kelly entered the traps range, "We will wait for 10 seconds to see if it has been deactivated."

They waited the 10 seconds, Kelly at this point has gotten used to his cautiousness after spending two weeks of adventure with him. The water was now up to their calves and it only began rising faster. At the pike trap, Marco stopped Kelly from running past them after they retracted. Marco wanted to cut the pikes when they were out, but time wouldn't allow that Kelly complained, so they came to a compromise, Marco would throw Kelly when the pikes retracted.

They cleared the traps just like that, but every time the water would begin to rise faster. The water was now up to their hips, luckily the fish in the water was afraid of the light. They finally reached the stairs, a wave of water came from the passage, they embraced for the wave that collided with them. The wave extinguished all the torches in the passage and their own. The stairway was still lit with a torch every couple of meters, they rushed up the stairs now, the water was rising one step every second. They needed to outrun the water.

Finally out after running up the stairs, the iron doors closed automatically. They stood with their hands on their knees catching their breaths.

"So this is the last adventure," Kelly said having caught her breath.

"I don't know about the last, but it will properly be an extended while before we go on another"

"Not the most exciting adventure to end it on," Kelly said.

There were a few seconds of uncomfortable silence until Kelly broke it.

"You know, I'm glad you took me with you. That mind trial made me realize that I shouldn't constantly distract myself from my problems, it'll only pile up. " Kelly said, "But apparently that's not the answer." she continued with irritation.

Marco seizing the moment to ask. "well, um... on the topic of distraction, what is it that you need distracting you from?" Marco asked. Kelly didn't react. "It's fine if you don't want to talk about it."

Kelly sighed "You already guessed, its Tad, always is," she said getting a bit emotional. She noticed Marco looking guilty and she put up a little smile, "I had only one pair of glasses, it was a gift from Tad. Now that I got a new pair, it's going to be better, hopefully. So you don't have to worry about me, I'll be alright."

"What are you saying? I'm going to worry either way because I care about you. We won't be spending time together like the past two weeks, but I will keep in touch, after all, I'm only a portal away" Marco said pulling his scissors from his hoodie.

With no way to respond to that, she simply smiled.

Marco opened a portal. Before she went in, she hugged him and he hugged her back. "I hope you find what you're looking for

When Kelly was gone Monster Arm asked again "So, what about me?"

"What You did trying to help me, was nice of you, but again there is more to it than that. But instead of being a host and a sentient parasite how about us being partners?"

"That would work,"

"Then it settled, partner," Marco said cowboyish.

What do you think of Kelly? I hope I did her justice. Anyway, until next time.