Chapter 7: Marth's Secret

September 29, 2056

Marth's mind was in chaos over the emotions flowing through him that he couldn't fully process what was happening. He could remember seeing a pale figure with long black hair collapsed on the sidewalk and pouring out a dangerous amount of red blood. His breathing became ragged in a blind panic, an emotion he wasn't used to feeling, and practically tore off his necktie to stop the bleeding, but the cloth got soaked rather quickly. Not helping him either was a terrible pain in his head. It felt like an axe cleaved right through the middle. The pain was so bad that he could hardly think straight.

"Master Marth."

That was Yuna calling to him, but he couldn't hear her, nor see that she had used moderate healing spell to stop Kuroyukihime's bleeding. His vision kept going in and out, beyond his control. When it faded to black entirely, Marth then found himself in courtyard of a strange yet familiar place. There was no roof, allowing him to clearly see the bright and slightly cloudy sky above. He was surrounded by walls carved from a strange silver material, almost resembling stone. The floor beneath him was made of a similar material as well. They looked very sturdy, easily capable of taking a full-power attack from even a Lemure (another term for the monsters that live in Eternus). He knew this place. This great feeling of nostalgia he could feel it from the deepest recesses of his soul. This was his home, the one he had made for himself in an era long forgotten by humans. Balduq.

From what Rias had told him, Balduq was one of the few fortresses that didn't fall during the War of Light and Shadow. It was constructed shortly by Zane himself shortly after he finished his training with Scathach, the Witch of Dun Scaith. The entire fort was built from pure Argentine Stone, a material that can only be found in Eternus. The stone is famous for its incredible durability and its resonance with magical energy. This material allowed Zane to manipulate Balduq according to his will, even allowing it to take to the skies above. This ability proved crucial to his campaign against the Darkfallen and their master, Zeta, the God of Destruction, as the ability to move about freely made it difficult for the half-demon (Zane) and his allies to be tracked by the enemy.

It was then that he noticed that his appearance had changed. He was now wearing a twin-tailed gray overcoat with a black hood, gray fingerless gloves, black pants and brown leather boots, the same outfit he had worn at the end of that strange dream two days ago, when Brain Burst was scanning his mind to create his duel avatar. In his right hand was a familiar black and gold longsword with a silver wing-shaped guard that opened towards the pommel. Strapped to his waist was a strange black leather scabbard with crimson red lining. The design was rather regal and practically radiated power.

He was sparring with someone, indicating that this was actually a training yard rather than a courtyard like he had initially thought. The person he was fighting with was a young woman with long, flowing pale blonde hair and piercing silver eyes. She wore a sterling silver battledress with matching color armor on her chest, arms, and shins, and heeled boots. In her right hand was an incredibly thin black sword with a purple flower hilt. It looked as thin and fragile as paper, yet no less sharp. Just from looking at it, he could tell it was a divine weapon, but he couldn't tell which one because he wasn't familiar with all of them yet.

The young woman was rather beautiful, sending Marth's heart skipping every time he saw her. This wasn't the first time he felt this strange feeling. Every now and then, he would have weird dreams sparring with a different girl, one who fought with her fists and feet rather than with a weapon, where he would get a similar reaction. Strangely enough, that particular dream only started happening after he met Fuko.

As for this girl, she nimble on her feet, even with the armor she had equipped. Every swing and lung of her sword was like that of an elegant dance. It took a lot of quick thinking and fast movement just for Marth to repel her attacks, much less try to get his own in. She was clearly well-trained to be able to keep up and even stop his own counterattacks.

"Is that all you've got, Prince Zane?" the girl said smugly, a slight grin decorating her charming face. "Is this all the Witch of Dun Scaith taught you?"

Marth found himself smirking back at her and got into a different stance (one very familiar to him), stretching his sword out to his side while holding his left hand in front. "You should know by now, Princess Celine," he replied in a calm manner. "Of course that's not all my mentor taught me." Suddenly he started channeling mana into his left hand, causing a strange black energy to envelop it. After a few seconds, a perfect copy of his sword materialized in that hand.

The girl, now named Celine, stared at the dual-wielder with wide eyes. "Projection magic?!" she said, completely stunned. "That shouldn't be able to duplicate divine weapons, especially the Lunaris." She quickly regained her confidence and got into another fighting stance, using her sword to guard her upper body. "I can see why Edna wanted me to fight you now. You Umbris demons really are something."

"I guess you can say it runs in the family. Anyway, here I come, Crown Princess of Arun."

"Very well, Prince of Eternus. Show me more of your power."

Marth's vision faded to black just as the two were charging at each other once more for another exchange of blows. He soon found himself back on that sidewalk in Tokyo, still confused as to what happened. Was that one of his missing memories as Zane? It had to be given the name that girl addressed him with. But why did that memory trigger now, unless…

His vision was still a little blurry, but he found faintly see the bleeding figure of Araya being dragged out of the white car by police officers, who must have just arrived at the scene. The former bully was laughing like a maniac, even as he was being handcuffed and shoved into the back of a patrol car.

A deep anger rose within the demon prince, his fingernails leaving scratches in the concrete as he balled his hands tightly into fists while he growled like a feral beast. It was rare for him to feel this amount of anger and hatred, especially towards one person. His mother had warned him to watch his emotions, especially those two as they are closely tied with that dark power within him. This incident, however, proved to be a time where he couldn't heed the Crimson Sorceress's warning as he could feel his power rising within him, threatening to run loose.

"Master Marth!" Yuna called out in desperation as she shook his shoulder. "Calm yourself, please! The paramedics are here!"

Somehow, as if the gods themselves had interfered, the voice of Kisara's familiar managed to reach the demon. He looked up to see that her words were true as he could see the familiar ambulance pulled up and Kuroyukihime being loaded onto a stretcher. At the paramedic's urging, he and Yuna entered the vehicle and they were all rushed to the hospital.


Marth and Yuna were now sitting on a padded bench just outside the operating room where Kuroyukihime was being treated. The familiar, who had a Neurolinker of her own, contacted her master and filled her in on the situation as the former was too distraught to do anything other than just sit there, face buried in his hands.

He caused this to happen. If he hadn't so adamantly distrusted Kuroyukihime's actions, rejected the genuine hand she stretched out with, this wouldn't have happened. He should have seen that car coming. If he had been sound of mind at that time, he would have been able to stop it without risking the Black King's life. She was fighting for her life right now because of him.

"I'm a monster," he choked out. "This is all my fault."

He felt an arm drape around his shoulder, but he knew it was Yuna trying to comfort him. "Don't say that," she said soothingly. "This isn't your fault, Master Marth. I'm the one to blame. I should have gotten there sooner so I could stop that Araya guy in his tracks. I let both you and Lady Kisara down. I'm really sorry."

"Marth! Yuna!"

The duo lifted their heads and turned to see three familiar figures racing towards them. The first was obviously Kisara, who had said she was on her way as soon as she got the message, but she was also joined by none other than Kazuto and Fuko, who both looked equally concerned over their friend, more so for the brunette.

"Are you two okay?" Kazuto asked hastily. "Kisara just told us that you were in an accident."

"We're both okay," Yuna confirmed. "Master Marth had some slight bruising from the fall but thanks to his demon blood, they've already faded. As for the girl, it's not looking good. Is anyone else coming?"

"Asuna and Shino are busy with a mission in Eternus, so we won't be able to contact them until they get back this evening," the white-haired demon explained. "It's the same with Marth's familiar, Cynthia. But Mom's trying to get off work so she can come though. Scathach too."

"That's good to hear. I'm sorry again, my lady. I failed you."

"Don't worry about it," Kisara replied. "At least my brother is unharmed, plus my order was kind of short notice. I'm sure you rushed as fast as you could to his location from our apartment."

Fuko got down on her knees right in front of the male demon, who had been silent ever since the trio's arrival. She could tell he was hurting. Without so much as a word, she wrapped her arms around the boy and pulled him close, rubbing gentle circles around his back.

"It's alright," she said softly. "Everything's going to be alright. I'm here, Marth. I'm right here."

Darkness was surrounding Marth, threatening to pull him deeper into its depths. This was no gentle darkness that his family embodied. No, this darkness was much colder, more threatening. But there was a flicker of light in that darkness. It was the voice of the girl calling out to him, comforting him. He reached out and took hold of that light, finding himself back in the hospital hallway.

"Fuko?" he said in disbelief, finally noticing her wrapped around him. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you not think I wouldn't come here after hearing the news from Kisara?" she questioned as kept a tight hold on him, as if afraid that he would disappear if she let go for even a second. "I owe you my life for what you did to me two years ago. Of course I would come to you in your time of need. No matter what happens, I'll always be by your side, Marth."

He didn't know what to say, but hearing those words brought him a strange relief. Fuko always seemed to have that effect on him. It almost managed to dissolve the rising anger that threatened to resurface. Almost…

"I think we need to hear the full story to understand what happened," Kazuto spoke up. "On our way here, Kisara told us about your strange partnership with Kuroyukihime. Can you start from there?"

There wasn't a point in hiding it any longer. Fuko already knew because Marth had confided in her the day this "partnership" started, but know it was time to fully explain things to his best friend and his beloved sister. He didn't hold anything back. He told them about the Brain Burst program and of the unusual powers it grants its users. He talked about the terrifying nightmare he had the night he got that program. He told them Kuroyukihime's true identity as the Black King, Black Lotus, a fact that seemed to shock Fuko to her core, and about Cyan Pile's constant attacks on her. He then told them about his rematch with Ash Roller and what Kuroyukihime did to save his life from that speeding car.

"No way," Kisara said in amazement. "I never knew a program like that could even exist. Could the creators of Brain Burst be using some kind of magic to make it possible?"

"No, magic pretty much became nonexistent on Earth after the Age of Chaos," Kazuto replied quickly, his chin held by one hand. "The only way humans like me and Fuko can even use magic is thanks to Scathach's teachings and the fact that we have a rare aptitude for it. From what I've seen of it, Brain Burst is completely based in technology, truly a marvel of programming."

"Wait what?" Marth said with raised eyebrows. "You've seen the program before." He then recalled seeing an additional name on the matching list the day he "challenged" Kuroyukihime to a duel to better learn how to fight in the accelerated world. "Don't tell me…"

Kazuto cracked a sheepish grin as he scratched his cheek nervously. "I…may have acquired the Brain Burst program a few months ago and not told anyone about it. You've probably already seen my avatar's name. I'm Graphite Edge."

"Kazuto!" Kisara cried out in annoyance before grabbing his right cheek hard, causing him to cry out in pain. "Why didn't you tell us?! Have you been using it to slack off in your training or getting easy completions for the missions your mother sends us on? Just wait until Scathach hears this."

"Owowow! Let go! I swear to Sinestra that I haven't used it once during training. Brain Burst doesn't even work in Eternus. There aren't any social cameras there it can hack into, especially in Dun Scaith. All my wins these past few months, not to mention mission completions, were all legitimate."

It was clear he was telling the truth. Scathach did not appreciate cheaters and she would give anyone, even her own foster son, a harsh lesson if he was caught using some mysterious program to artificially get better in combat.

Curiously enough, Fuko, who had since moved to sit beside Marth, looked to be nervous about something, what with the way she was biting on her lower lip. "Something wrong?" the demon prince asked her. She didn't immediately respond so he had to call out her name.

"Sorry, I was just…lost in my thoughts," Fuko finally responded, though she still looked distracted about something. She moved her left hand to the side, possibly dismissing a video feed or some kind of notification from her Neurolinker, but she didn't relax at all.

"Are you okay?" Marth asked again. "You've been acting weird since I mentioned Kuroyukihime was the Black King, Black Lotus? You wouldn't happen to recognize that name, do you?"

Fuko let out a sigh in defeat. "Of course you would notice that," she replied slowly. She took another deep breath to calm herself before finally explaining herself. "Yes, I know that name. Like you and Kazuto, I am Burst Linker too. My avatar's handle is Sky Raker and I was a part of Black Lotus's Legion, Nega Nebulus. Black Lotus was even a good friend of mine."

"So that's why you weren't too shocked about Brain Burst when I told you about it. Why didn't you tell me you were a Burst Linker?"

"I was afraid to," she said sadly. "My duel avatar isn't in the best shape thanks to my actions so I don't accelerate all that often. I thought if I told you, you might hate me for keeping secrets from you."

Oh, the irony in that sentence. Marth has his own deadly secret that was getting harder and harder to contain. His grief over Kuroyukihime had managed to keep it back, but now his anger towards Araya was growing by the second. He won't be able to contain it much longer.

"Don't worry about it," he said simply. "I knew you were keeping secrets from me, but I figured you'd tell me when you were ready. That's what friends do, right?"

That seemed to cheer her up somewhat as Fuko tossed him the gentle smile he likes seeing from her. Marth's feelings were still in a jumble, he still felt guilty over letting this happen, but seeing that smile gave him some comfort. But now he needed to set things right with his guardian. And he knew just where to start.

Closing his eyes, he wordlessly stood up and began walking towards the exit.

"Where are you going, Master Marth?" Yuna rightfully questioned.

"Gonna go take a walk to calm my nerves," he replied back. "I'll be back soon. Kazuto, keep me posted on Hime's condition. Kisara, keep your Neurolinker turned off. Whoever Cyan Pile is, they managed to place a backdoor program into your Neurolinker. They might try challenging Kuroyukihime through you while you're here and she's in no condition to fight, especially in regards with her burst points."

"Okay," his sister said nervously. "Just be careful. Mom will be here soon."

Marth didn't respond back. When he opened his eyes, they were no longer bloodred but a pale yellow. It was time for him to do what he should have done long ago. That fool has made his last mistake.


Araya was content, lying in his cell in the prison he was thrown in. While the charges against him were two attempts of manslaughter and theft of a motor vehicle, he was still grinning like an idiot. He had succeeded at his revenge against that bitch, Kuroyukihime. She got him to attack that freak right on the security camera, getting him expelled from Umesato High School as a result.

It took some doing but he managed to escape the boarding school he was sent to as punishment and stole a car to track down that bitch and get some sweet payback. He didn't know why the student vice-president wanted to help that freak, Marth Umbris, but he didn't care. He got to see that stupid boy's distraught face at scene and it brought him joy beyond words.

Maybe now Marth has learned his place, beneath Araya's heel. The redhead wondered if the freak was hiding in a corner, crying to himself over losing a friend. He was laughing just from thinking about it.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the lights suddenly cut off. No sound of the hum of a backup generator soon followed, leaving Araya confused. Was this just some random power outage. He could hear confusion coming from the other prisoners in the nearby cells. He went over to try opening his cell door, but it would seem that this police station still used physical keys to lock their cells, so he was still stuck here.

"No one try anything!" an officer shouted with authority. "I'm going to go report this to my captain. This stupid building is falling apart it seems."

It did seem that this police station was quite in need of renovations. Its structural condition wasn't bad enough to make break-outs possible, but it could definitely use some reinforcing. Oh well. The power should come back on soon. He didn't his Neurolinker as that was confiscated the moment he arrived, so he just went to lie on his stiff bed to take a well-deserved rest.

No sooner than that, he heard a strange shimmering. Araya opened his eyes and saw a strange swirling red light with strange symbols circling it right in front of his cell door.

"What the hell? Am I seeing things or something?" Curious, he pulled himself off the bed and approached the strange light. He stood about a foot away from it and reached out with his right hand. The moment he touched it, his hand went right through and vanished from sight, but it would return the moment he pulled it back out.

Well at least he had something to pass the time with, but just what was this thing? Was this a portal or something that one would see in light novels or anime? How did it get here? These shouldn't exist in the real world.

He didn't get an answer as a black hand suddenly reached out from the portal and grabbed him by the throat. Before he could even cry out, the hand pulled him in with unnatural strength. When Araya woke up, he found himself on a rocky terrain. He seemed to be standing on a mountain, but the air felt strange, almost reminding him of those freaks from school. Not even the sky looked familiar as it was a deep starry blue, not quite like the sky he was used to.

Not comforting him were the sounds of wild animals in the distance, but they sounded much more terrifying than the ones he had seen in documentaries or in movies. As if to make matters worse, those animal cries sounded pretty close.

"Where on Earth am I?" he demanded as he looked around the area from his position, trying to find anything familiar. "What is this place?"

"You're wrong, Araya," a cold yet familiar voice replied. "You're not on Earth anymore. This is a totally different world. My world."

Araya turned around to see that he was not alone. Thankfully it was a person, not one of those beasts he had heard moments earlier sitting on a large boulder, but he still felt on edge. The person was wearing a rather strange outfit. They were wearing a silver twin-tailed leather overcoat with black and red highlights, a gray tunic with chain mail underneath, black metal gloves with silver elongated fingernails (almost like claws of sorts), dark gray pants, as well as a silver belt and armored boots. In their right hand was a black longsword with a wing-shaped guard that opened towards the handle and had a diamond-cut purple gem embedded in the center of that guard. It looked rather menacing, especially since it seemed to radiate darkness by the blade. Adding to the mysterious figure's menacing appearance was the black hood that covered their head, making it hard to see their face clearly and a dark aura that radiated from parts of their body.

"Who the hell are you?!" Araya called out in frustration.

"You know who I am, Araya Hinode," the figure answered in a venomous tone. They stood from their position and jumped down, landing gracefully on their feet. They then made their way over to the redhead, every movement just as confident.

The threatening presence around the individual never dwindled, making Araya unconsciously take a step backward, but he didn't have much room to do so as his back was towards a cliff and he was dangerously close to the edge of a very steep drop. One wrong step and he's a goner. Hoping to get away from the edge, Araya began moving to the side, only for the figure to fire a small bolt of purple lightning from his left hand, striking at the ground beside the redhead, leaving a small crater behind. It did its job though of intimidating the teen into halting his movements.

"You and I have quite the history," the figure continued speaking in a cold, but calm, manner. "You spent years making my life a living hell, blacklisting me from anything I wanted to do, and tried threatening my sister, a mistake you never learned from. Right when I thought I was through with you, you came back and tried to kill me and Hime. That was your last mistake. I should have done this a long time ago."

"Wait, Hime?" Araya questioned in surprise. "Are you talking about that bitch, Kuro…" He didn't get to finish as he swiftly hit in the gut by the figure's knee. He had never seen someone move that fast before, save for just one guy. The air was knocked from his lungs and he collapsed on the dirt, face-first. The figure wasn't done, however, as they promptly rolled him on his back with leg.

With the figure now looking down at him, Araya could clearly see his face, and it was someone he didn't expect. It was that freak, Marth Umbris, but something was different about him. His hair was now a pale silver instead of jet-black and his eyes were a piercing yellow. His gaze was ice cold, not a shred of mercy anywhere to be found.

"M-Marth?" Araya finally managed to wheeze out after regaining the use of his lungs. "What are you wearing? You trying to cosplay as someone or this just a freak thing?"

"Hmph, as if I need to explain myself to a fool like you. One who never learned the difference between us until the very end."

"What are you talking about, freak?!" Araya demanded as he sat up. "I bet that sword of yours isn't even-GAAAH!" He clutched his right leg with his hands, which now had Marth's sword right in its thigh. The pain was unimaginable, especially when the blade was pulled out, causing blood to gush out like a fountain. It's possible that it broke a bone too. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Oops, slip of the hand," Marth said dismissively. "But you won't have to worry about that wound for long. Your end is nigh."

"Wh-what are you saying. Just what the hell are you?!"

Marth let out a chuckle. Was he taking pleasure in Araya's pain? How the tables have turned, for his laughter was far more bone-chilling than anything the redhead had ever produced. "Hell? Interesting word choice, Araya," Marth mused out as he circled around the downed teen, the latter desperately trying to stop the bleeding by tying the wound with makeshift bandages made from his blazer. "In a way, I guess you humans could consider this place as Hell, given that this is the homeland of the demons, my homeland." He made that cold chuckle once more, paired with a dangerous sneer, as two pairs of translucent purple wings sprung out from his back.

It couldn't be. There's no way. Araya knew just what Marth Umbris, the Freak of Umesato High School, was. He had thought that they were a myth, a mere tool to get kids to obey their parents. He even thought the war that supposedly ravaged Tokyo thirty years ago was a myth as well. All this time…the boy he had spent years tormenting…was actually a demon. And Araya had just tried to run him over with a car. His eyes filled with fear as everything fell into place in his mind.

"W-w-wait!" the redhead called out frantically as he feverishly slid backwards, thankfully away from the edge of the cliff, however Marth was calmly moving in a slow pursuit. "I-I was just kidding. I didn't mean to hit you and Kuroyukihime with that car. It was an accident. I swear. It's the same everything I did to you at school. I was just messing with you."

"Oh really?" the demon said slowly, his emotionless eyes looking down on the distraught teen. "I seem to recall you laughing hysterically back there. You also seemed to love knocking me down. I swore to my mother that I would keep my anger in check, but for you, I'll make an exception. It's time I deal with you once and for all."

"No, please!" Araya pleaded before he found his back against a large rock. Seeing his chances for survival dwindle, he reach his right arm out in vain, only for Marth to sever it just below the shoulder with his sword in a swift movement, causing Araya's vision to go white with pain as blood poured from the open wound, which he tried to stop with his remaining hand. Through tear-stained eyes, he looked up at the demon in desperation. "P-please. Spare me. I can change. I won't bother you again! I swear."

"Sorry, but I'm a demon, remember? According to your kind, we don't exactly have mercy to spare." Marth raised his sword up. "Farewell, Araya. May the gods have pity on your worthless soul."

"No. Nooo—"

Marth brought his sword down and cut off the bully's head by the neck, causing it to limply roll down and wet the earth in its blood. With a flick of the wrist, he swung his sword to remove the blood that stained it before finally dismissing the projection. Finally he let out a deep breath before his hair and eyes returned to their normal colors, and his combat gear reverted to the appearance they had back when he encountered that mysterious mage in the alley on Earth.

"I'm surprised. I would have expected you to draw out his death after what he tried to pull," said a feminine voice.

The demon prince turned around to see a familiar red-haired woman come out from behind a boulder. It was his foster mother, Rias Morningstar, dressed in a black long-sleeved tunic with red trimming, a white undershirt, red gloves, red and black pants, and black heeled leather boots. He had a feeling she was nearby. Even she couldn't fully hide herself when he was in that form.

Marth removed his hood and looked away in guilt. "I'm sorry, Mom. I broke my promise. I used my power again, the one you told me not to use."

"I know. I figured you would. I am a little mad that you did, but I can't fully blame you. No one can fully control themselves when put in your situation. I'm just surprised you managed to control yourself for that long while in that form."

"It's easier when I focus my anger on a specific target, but even for that short time, I can already feel the darkness within me grow even stronger. It's only a matter of time before it becomes too much for me and I permanently lose myself."

Understandably, Rias pulled her son into a warm hug, which he couldn't help but return. "We won't let that happen. We'll find a way to change the fate your father, Lambert, forced upon you. I swear as the Demon Lord of Lust that I will find a way to undo your curse."

"I wish it was that easy," Marth replied slowly. "But this curse is tied to my position. I don't think it can be removed unless someone takes my place."

"Then it's a good thing I'm stubborn when it comes to family. I promised Altena that I would protect you and I will fulfill that oath, no matter how impossible that may be. I will not let you become the Lord of Calamity, my little demon lord."

Marth couldn't help but smile at that. His mother was right. They can find a way to alter his fate. After all, he was a demon lord as well. The forbidden seventh lord that should not exist. The Wrath Lord.

To be continued


What do you know, I actually managed to get this chapter done in one sitting. I'm planning to update this at least once a week since I work five days a week and my summer job leaves me too tired to write. Anyway, not much to say here besides me finally revealing a small thing regarding the forbidden power dwelling within Marth. I wasn't planning on his position as a demon lord getting revealed so soon. I was actually planning on it getting revealed in the Chrome Disaster arc, but since I decided that Rias would show up at the end, yeah it was kinda unavoidable. I bet some of you are probably surprised to Fuko outing herself as a Burst Linker and a former member of Nega Nebulus so soon. Realistically speaking it was only a matter of time before she and Kuroba crossed paths since they both know the same guy (Marth) and hang out with him. It's better to get it out of the way now to make it easier on me in the future chapters.

Edit: One thing I want to make clear is that Zane was a half-demon while his reincarnation, Marth, is a pure-blooded demon. It's the same case with Lucia. How this came to be will be explained in later chapters but I just wanted to clarify this.