Calm Before the Storm

Pairing: Wofram and Yuuri of course!

Revised second part! Although nothing major has changed. I just can't leave this chapter alone.

I don't own kyou kara maou. I wish I do though.

Chapter 2

Blood Pledge Castle was filled with lights and sounds that night. Everyone was having a good time celebrating the birthday of their beloved king, eating, mingling and laughing together. The ball was declared a huge success by Gunter, who can be seen fluttering about, solving last minute problems and occupying the guests. Yuuri was circulating around with his entourage composed of Murata, Gwendal and Conrad, greeting guests and engaging in small talk. Hidden by the mountains of gifts and treasures brought by the guests for Yuuri, Wolfram stood well apart from the others with his back resting on a wall, his arms crossed to discourage anyone who wants to talk to him, his beautiful green eyes surreptitiously following the Maou.

"You're quiet a party animal aren't you Lord von Bielefeld?"

Startled, Wolfram uncrossed his arms and looked swiftly to his left, his hand automatically reaching for his sword. After seeing the owner of the voice, the Mazoku soldier quickly relaxed and resumed his position. "You should not sneak on people, Geika." Wolfram said, his attention seemingly fixed on the people talking and eating around him.

"Shibuya said you gave notice that you're breaking the engagement. Why is that?" Murata asked, also focusing his attention on the people in the party.

"I am sorry to sound rude Geika, but I believe that's none of your business."

"If it's any interest to you, Shibuya is deeply confused about what to do. You certainly didn't give any visible warning that you were about to break your engagement. Which I think is why he hasn't talked to you about it yet."

Wolfram struggled not to show his irritation to the other man. After all, he is the Great Sage, not just the wimp's friend from Earth. But still Wolfram wondered why he's meddling with his affairs. "He doesn't have to do anything. The engagement was a farce to begin with and I was wrong to keep on insisting he honor it. Anyway, nothing will change. I'll still be here to serve him whenever he needs me. Besides, Conrad and Gwendal are also there for him. Nothing needs to change. And everyone in this country, including people outside of it who wish for a better future, will run to his aid whenever he needs help."

"Ah, that's where I believe you're mistaken Sir von Bielefeld. Things are about to change. And do you really think that "service" is the only thing Shibuya needs from you? He needs you far more than you or he knows." And with that, Murata went towards the throng of people, leaving the blonde prince in his own thoughts.

The dancing was about to begin. In accordance to the custom, it is the Maou's duty to start off the ball. As the music started playing, Wolfram watched from his position the way Yuuri led Greta to dance.

It's not as if I made that decision out of a whim, the blonde reflected, his mind still on the words the Great Sage had imparted. He had thought about setting Yuuri free as soon as the young Maou returned from Earth. I have waited for Yuuri for as long as I could. But knowing that I am waiting for nothing pains me. And I am scared that if this goes on, I will have nothing left inside of me but bitterness…That in the end I'll hate Yuuri for not acknowledging my feelings. I certainly don't want that to happen. Wolfram's eyes followed Yuuri and Greta's movement on the dance floor. I even wore stupid girly nightgowns because I know that Yuuri is uncomfortable about the fact that he has a man for a fiancé, instead of a woman which is the norm in his world. But everything I've done got me nowhere. And besides, the blonde Mazoku thought sadly, seeing Yuuri smile happily at Greta as the dance came to an end, what I did will make him happy. And to me, making Yuuri happy is the only thing that matters.

Wolfram was so immersed in his thoughts about his relationship with Yuuri that he failed to notice the sudden stillness in the ballroom. Disconcerted with the sudden lack of noise, Wolfram raised his head to look at what is happening, only to see a slightly tanned hand in front of him, outstretched in invitation.

"Wolfram, will you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

The blonde Mazoku, surprised at the turn of events, stared at Yuuri who is smiling sweetly before him with his hand extended in invitation, waiting for his response. Unsure of what to do, he looked around and saw that almost everyone stopped what they're doing to watch the event unfolding. Hesitantly, Wolfram placed his palm on Yuuri's, whose feet where shifting from left to right, betraying his nervousness. As soon as the other boy touched his hand, the king tightened his grip slightly on the blonde, leading Wolfram at the middle of the dance floor.

They danced the first few bars of the song in silence, each wrapped up in their own thoughts about what they're going to say to each other. "Hey Wolfram," Yuuri started a few minutes later. "How have you been? With all these craziness we barely have the time to talk."

"Wimp we talk everyday."

"Don't call me a wimp! And besides, we only talk about matters related to this ball." Yuuri explained, as he narrowly avoided stepping on Wolfram's foot. He still hasn't gotten the hang of waltzing gracefully despite the blonde's efforts.

"This ball is the only thing to talk about." Wolfram replied as he peered at the Maou's face. "Is this why you asked me to dance? I remember you said before that two boys don't dance with each other in your world."

His cheeks reddening slightly, Yuuri stuttered. "Wel-l..er..Ddd-ooo- I need to have a reason to dance with you? And besides, isn't there a tradition that says I have to dance with every single man or woman who belongs to a noble family?" Yuuri stated, losing his stutter entirely as he slowly gained back the confidence he summoned before asking Wolfram to dance.

"That doesn't apply to me wimp! We live in the same castle. If it does, then you have to dance with Conrad and Gwendal too!"

Yuuri's face paled at the thought of dancing the waltz with Gwendal. Amused at Yuuri's reaction, Wolfram laughed lightly. "You really are a wimp. Now you have to finish this dance, which I know must be difficult for you."

With a soft smile, Yuuri looked at the blonde "Surprisingly, its not difficult for me at all."

The blonde's heart thumped rapidly in his chest, his face slightly turning red under Yuuri's gaze. Ducking his head a bit to hide his embarrassment, he heard Yuuri continue. "By the way, where do you sleep now? I wasn't even there when you moved your things out of the room. You don't have to do that you know. After all, I am used to you kicking me out of the bed." The king teased.

"I went back to the room I used to sleep in. After all, it's inappropriate for two people with no relationship whatsoever to sleep in the same bed. By the way, Yuuri," Wolfram hesitated, not sure how to safely bring up the topic. It seems that after he told Yuuri that he's breaking of the engagement, they never talked about it again.

"Hmm?" Yuuri attempted a twirl, which he managed to do without breaking any of the bones in Wolfram's foot.

"What about the engagement announcement? I suppose you're doing it tonight? The engagement can only be dissolved officially when you make an announcement. And seeing you have a higher rank than mine, it is your duty to announce it. " Wolfram's said, watching the other boy's reaction.

Yuuri's smile faltered as he gazed at Wolfram's soulful green eyes. Unconsciously, Yuuri's eyes traced the contours of the blonde's face, noting the other boy's pert nose, long, thick, dark eyelashes covering his deep green eyes, alabaster complexion and full pinkish lips. He really has the features of a girl. But if one looks closely enough, one can see the strength and character defined in his face. Gah! What the heck am I thinking?!

"Yuuri..?" Wolfram said tentatively, slightly disconcerted when Yuuri slightly shook his head, wondering why the Maou did not reply. Yuuri was sure confusing tonight. Asking him to dance, staring at him intently. Honestly, Wolfram was at lost on how to deal with the young king.

"Ahh..Well.." Yuuri stuttered, unsure about what to say to his current dance partner. Unfortunately, the music stopped, signaling the end of their dance. Wolfram, slightly displeased that they didn't get to finish their conversation, nevertheless bowed politely to the king and went back to resume his position.

The ball progressed well into the night. Yuuri fulfilled one Mazoku tradition after another, his mind still on the conversation he had with Wolfram. After drinking 10 glasses of wine, the only task left before his much awaited speech, Yuuri tried to find the blonde Mazoku, in an attempt to continue their conversation. After all, though this engagement thing is something he wishes to get out of, he wants to know why Wolfram suddenly called it off. And he's not announcing anything until he gets a straight answer.

"Heika!" Yuuri's arm was pulled from behind as he tried to quietly slip away to look for the blonde. "You have to start making you're way to the platform now for your speech!" Gunter reminded, tugging the Maou's arm in that direction.

"Ne Gunter. Can't I at least have a moment? I want to talk to Wolfram!"

"I am sorry heika." This time, it was Conrad who stopped him. "The speech must be done immediately right after the 10 glasses of wine. I'll look for Wolfram so you can talk to him after your speech."

Yuuri sighed. "Okay. Okay. Gunter you can stop tugging now, I'll go to the platform."

The guests stopped their chatter to watch as the Maou made his way to the makeshift podium. Upon seeing Yuuri, Gwendal immediately went to the platform to announce the king in a grave voice. "Ladies and Gentleman present, I now formally present his Majesty, the 27th Maou of Shin Makoku, Shibuya Yuuri.

Accompanied by applause, Yuuri stepped into the podium. "I hope you guys had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you for coming to celebrate my 16th birthday with me." Yuuri waited for the applause to stop. "As you are all aware, when a Mazoku reaches 16, he or she has to decide what path he wants to take. This is not an easy decision for me to make. After all, I came from a world where 16 is not old enough for one to determine his future. However, despite my apprehensions about coming into a decision, I realized one thing that helped me conclude something." Yuuri scanned the audience, searching the sea of faces before him for his friends in Shin Makoku. There was Gunter, his upturned face shining with the usual look of adoration whenever Yuuri is involved, with his hands gripping Murata's arm so as not to lose control of his emotions. Gwendal is standing at the left of the podium with Greta holding on to him and his mother hanging onto his arm, frowning less than usual. To the right of the podium stood Conrad, a small proud smile on his lips as he waited for Yuuri to continue. And beside him is Wolfram, his face belaying no emotion at all unless you look in his eyes. The huge green orbs were gazing steadily at Yuuri with a proud glint in his eyes, silently giving the other boy his support to encourage the Maou to continue his speech.

Gathering his courage, Yuuri sought to continue what he has started. "I realized one thing. That is I love Shin Makoku with all my heart. Though my other world will always be my home, I know that no matter where I go, my heart will always long for my kingdom. I am the Maou and I have responsibility to my people to lead them to a peaceful era, wherein war and senseless destruction have no room at all. A responsibility to erase prejudices, especially between Mazoku and humans, whose long standing animosity towards each other had caused millions of lives to suffer." Yuuri took a deep breath, any lingering doubts he had previously held removed as he looked at the people before him. "When I came here 2 years ago, I was young, naïve and a bit of a wimp." Wolfram snorted out loud, causing people around him to chuckle. "Always rushing into trouble, trying to get into the middle of things without thought of the consequences it might bring. Unfortunately, I am still a little like that." Yuuri grinned bashfully. "But everything I've done is for the people I wish to protect. The people I love." Yuuri's voice became clearer and stronger, any trace of amusement gone from his face. "It doesn't matter whether I've been here for only two years. My life is here now. Shin Makoku, this world, is now my home. And I promise that I'll protect it as long as I could."

A moment of silence followed Yuuri's announcement. A loud clap started from his left, making Yuuri turn his head swiftly to see Gwendal's applause of approval. Soon all followed, and the sound made Yuuri proud of what he did. Yuuri looked to his right to see Wolfram grinning slightly but with his eyebrows slightly raised to remind the Maou of the other announcement he needs to make.

Oh right. The engagement announcement. But I still haven't talked to him. What to do, what to do? Yuuri panicked internally as he met Wolfram's eyes, confused on what to do next. He was about to open his mouth, not sure what he was going to say, when-

BOOM!

A large explosion was heard amidst the sound of applause. Many of the guests gasped in fright and a few screamed as debris started falling. Gwendal handed Greta to his mother to take the young girl to safety and swiftly made his way through the crowd with a group of soldiers, no doubt to investigate the source of the explosion. Gunter and Murata started to calm the terrified guests, herding them to the nearest exit. Conrad, his hand on the hilt of his sword, moved closer to Yuuri, his eyes intently scanning the crowd. Wolfram followed Conrad's suit and moved in front of Yuuri, effectively pushing the Maou's back against the wall to protect him from attack.

Things started happening all at once. Not long after Gwendal moved to investigate the noise, a series of black smoke appeared in every corner of the ballroom. The occupants of the room didn't have the time to adjust to the sight when masked men, garbed in blood red cowls and cloaks, appeared behind the smoky pillars and started attacking everyone.

"Gwendal! Get Heika out of here!" Conrad desperately shouted as a number of men began attacking him at once. The soldier slashed one attacker to another, intent on protecting the Maou with his life.

Who are these people?! Conrad thought as one of the attackers quickly regained his footing seemingly unfazed and unhurt by the blow delivered on him. These people are similar to the doll soldiers from before..but they're flesh and blood! Not dolls! The wound Conrad had inflicted on one of the attackers healed itself in a matter of seconds'. Surely, these creatures are not humans!

Yuuri's eyes grew wide as he took in the scene in front of him. Every soldier present in the room was engaged in a furious battle. Gunter can be seen at the far end near the exit of the ballroom, with Murata safely behind him. Gwendal was furiously slashing his sword from left to right, intent on getting close to the Maou, his loyal men protecting his back from any attack. Wolfram was busily wielding his sword to anyone who dared get close to Yuuri. Amidst the battle, a man with bright orange hair appeared before Yuuri, his sword already out.

"Happy 16th birthday heika! It's unfortunate that we have to see each other like this." The orange man cheerfully said as he fended off an attacker.

"Yozak! Who are these people?" Yuuri shouted, his voice belaying his panic

"Damn if I know heika. Pardon the language." Yozak grunted as he hit an attacker with his sword.

Wolfram was valiantly trying to keep the attackers away from Yuuri. "Yuuri be on guard! They can't be defeated using normal attacks!" Wolfram yelled, brandishing his sword from one enemy to another. However, like Conrad, no matter how hard he attacks them, either by sword or his fire maryoku, they seem to get up unhurt and unaffected. They're definitely human but..." his eyes seeing blood on one of the attackers he had wounded. How come they can heal themselves so quickly?

The room that was filled with laughter and gaiety not a minute ago was replaced with shouts, curses and the sound of steel clashing against steel. This was not supposed to happen. Where did these people come from? Yuuri agonized silently as he watched the buffet table split into half under the weight of the soldier hurled by one of the attackers.

In the corner of his eye, Wolfram saw one of attackers make his way swiftly towards Yuuri. The Maou's eyes were focused on a far off distance, too distraught about the turn of events to notice the attacker quickly moving towards him. With a loud yell, Wolfram heaved all of his opponents off of him to confront Yuuri's potential attacker.

"YUURI!" Wolfram let out an agonized yell as he fought his way to cover the short distance separating him from the black haired boy.

Upon hearing his name, Yuuri turned to the blonde's direction. To his horror, one of the attackers took advantage of Wolfram's distraction and aimed his sword at the Mazoku soldier's midsection. He saw the blonde soldier's face contort in pain as the sword of the attacker managed to pierce skin. Wolfram crumpled to the ground, his blood staining the debris covered floor, his hand clutching his wound.

"WOLFRAM!!! NOOO!" A flash blue aura surrounded Yuuri, signaling that the boy was about to change into his other self. His hair lengthened, his eyes sharpened and his features hardened. The Maou had truly arrived at last.

With his hair covering his face, the Maou straightened up. "This is a time for merry making. A time wherein everyone has gathered to celebrate a joyous occasion with their love ones. A time to strengthen the bonds that bind everyone together. Yet you infidels have arrived!" He looked up, releasing a potent amount of maryoku, his eyes cutting across the ballroom. "You have hurt my friends and those who I value. It is not in my nature to kill but you gave me no choice. Punishment!"

Various water dragons launched out from the demon king, their fangs bared out to lash out the attackers.

"Well, well, just I've expected. I knew you will change any moment."

The Maou turned to the direction of the voice, his eyes narrowing in surprise as he saw one of the men, wearing a pure gold mask, separate himself from the fray to address him directly.

"The Maou who refused to kill. Who naively believes in peace and happiness. The all powerful Maou who possesses an extremely strong Maryoku. Or do you?" with that, the masked stranger extended his arm, his palm facing the Maou, and released a burst of black energy.

Acting quickly, the Maou brought up a shield to deflect the energy. "It takes more than that to harm me," the Maou said smirking slightly. He launched one of his water dragons to restrain the attacker, only to have the latter hitting it with the black energy.

Who is this person? His eyes narrowed as he saw his water dragon failed to hit its target and disappeared. Then he realized that his shield was beginning to crack, unknown black energy seeping in. He sharply turned his eyes to the opponent in front of him.

"Who are you? What is your pur-Ahh!" The Maou bellowed as his shield gave in, the black energy hitting him. The remaining water dragons he had previously summoned dissolved as the king dropped to the floor.

"Heika!" voices shouted in alarm in every direction. They watched in horror as they saw the Maou, unmoving, already back in Yuuri's human form. With a snarl, Conrad tried to attack the golden masked man, only to be thrown away by an invisible force.

"You fool. Your weak attacks can't harm me. Even your all powerful Maou can't harm me. Now tell me," the golden masked stranger sneered, "How the heck are you going to fight me then?"

"Who are you?" asked Yuuri weakly, his voice a mere whisper as he lay in the ground in obvious pain.

"You'll know soon enough, heika" the man mockingly said. "Come," the golden masked man commanded, looking around the smashed ballroom. "We have done what needs to be done."

At his words, the mysterious masked men were immediately enveloped in black smoke and disappeared.

Yuuri stirred and tried to focus his eyes, squinting slightly as the sun's rays hit his face. What happened? Why am I in bed? I am supposed to be at the ball…right? Looking for Wolfram…Talk…My…birthday… Yuuri tried to focus on his current state despite his splitting headache.

"How are you feeling heika?"

Yuuri tried to turn his head at the voice but this proved to be too much of an effort.

"No heika. Don't strain yourself. You're still recovering." A green haired girl hurried to make sure that Yuuri will not make any unnecessary movements.

"Gisela…? What happened?" Yuuri asked as the Mazoku healer fussed with his pillows and sheets.

Gisela stopped to look at the young king in bed. "You…don't remember what happened during the ball…heika?" the healer asked gently, her brow furrowed slightly with worry.

"The ball? Did something happ-…" Yuuri's voice trailed of as images from that night came flashing back. The masked men. His comrades fighting to defend him and the castle. The one with the golden mask. Wolfram lying on the floor, his wound creating a pool of blood. Wolfram. Yuuri suddenly sat up from bed, his memory returning.

"Where's Wolfram? Is he okay? He's wounded! Tend to him! What about everyone? Is Greta safe? Conrad? Gwendal? Murata? Gunter? How about our guests? Is everyone okay? ANSWER ME!" Yuuri said quickly, breathe heaving. He pressed his palms in his temple, his agitation aggravating his headache.

"HEIKA!" Gisela raised her voice, scandalized. "Right now you're not the Maou, you're my patient! I am ordering you to lie down this instant!" the healer ordered, her harsh words hiding her concern for the Maou's welfare. "Now," continuing in a much softer voice when her patient complied after seeing the look in her eyes, "everyone is well. Nobody is harmed by the attack and all the guests had been sent home for their own safety. Sir von Bielefeld has been treated 4 days ago and is waiting with Greta for you to wake up."

"4 days ago?" Yuuri mumbled, afraid to worsen his pounding head and incurring another one of Gisela's famous scary look.

"Yes heika. Everyone is completely worried about you. Greta refused to sleep and wanted to camp out of your door. Sir von Walde had to carry her forcibly to her room and stay there with her to make sure she doesn't sneak back here. My father is beside himself with worry and had already burned the rug in his office by pacing too much. Conrad is brooding more than usual and he stood at your door whenever he's not doing anything. And," Gisela said, pausing for breath. "I have to threaten Sir von Bielefeld that I'll tie him in his bed if he kept looking in to see if you're awake, seeing that he was injured. Fortunately, his wound was not that deep for he managed to avoid the worst of the blow. His reflexes are still good." Gisela praised.

The young king heaved a sigh of relief. "I am glad everyone is okay. Especially Wolfram. Can I see everyone today?" Yuuri asked the healer timidly.

"As long as you stay in bed you can see everyone for an hour. I'll call on them in a while. But first heika," Gisela's voice took on a serious note, her eyes focused solely on the Maou's face. "Can you remember what happened after you got hit by the black energy?"

Yuuri knew that the healer was going to ask him that question. After all, his maryoku had developed enough for him not to pass out every time he use it and he is able to remember some of the things he do when he transformed into the what he fondly call "Maou mode."

"I am sorry Gisela. I only remember summoning my water dragons. The next thing I knew I was on the floor, asking the golden masked man who he is." Yuuri said apologetically, his eyes downcast.

"It's okay heika! We'll figure out things soon enough!" the healer replied, her voice taking on a cheerful tone. "I'll call everyone now to see you." And with that, Gisela swiftly left the room.

XOXO

News that Yuuri had already regained consciousness spread like wildfire throughout the castle. Upon hearing that Yuuri is awake from one of his soldiers, Wolfram made his way as fast as he could to the royal chambers, the lingering pain from his wound forgotten.

"YUURI!" Wolfram exclaimed, bursting into the room noisily.

"Wolfram, can't you announce your presence in a more dignified manner? Heika is still recovering!" Gunter admonished the younger man.

"It's alright Gunter. I can handle a bit noise." Yuuri, who was leaning back on a mound of pillows, reassured his advisor. "Wolfram! I am so happy you're okay! I was so worried about you."

Discomfited at Yuuri's words, Wolfram looked at the ceiling for a few seconds to regain his composure. "Hmph! Of course I am okay you wimp! It takes more than that to kill me." The blonde soldier fired back to cover his discomfort.

"Don't call me wimp!" Yuuri blustered at Wolfram's words. Catching the other boy's eye, he smiled softly, expressing his silent relief that Wolfram was okay, which the blonde Mazoku soldier returned.

"Ahem." Both boys swiveled their heads at the sound and found Murata grinning wildly. "As much as I hate to break this rare intimate moment, I have to stop you two before you declare your avowals of love to each other. After all, there are other people in the room and things like that will make the rest feel uncomfortable."

"Murata! What the heck are you saying!" the Maou cried out, throwing a pillow to his friend, his face burning in embarrassment. Wolfram was not in a better state either, his face red from all the attention, making him unable to voice out any protests he would have made.

"In any case heika, we're extremely overjoyed to see that you're okay." Conrad said, raising his voice slightly to be heard above the noise. Wolfram snapped back to reality and for the first time took notice that aside from Gunter and Murata, Gwendal and Conrad had already beaten him in visiting Yuuri first. It would have been best if I was the first one here to avoid all these. Stupid wound. Wolfram thought ruefully, inwardly shaking his head.

"Oh heika I was extremely worried about you! I barely slept at night in fear that you're hurt worst than we've thought! I prayed daily to Shinou for your speedy recovery." Gunter emotionally said his hands clasped together, tears falling from his eyes.

"Gunter stop crying…" Yuuri's said in a resigned tone. "You've been crying since you got inside."

"Oh it was becau-"

"I'm glad you're alive and well heika." Gwendal's deep voice cut in Gunter's emotional outburst. "But we have to discuss briefly what happened in the ball. I've purposely left Greta out of this reunion for a while so we can talk freely. Geika," Gwendal turned to the Great Sage, who was lounging near the window, his profile illuminated by sunlight. "Have you by any chance heard anything about the attackers in your past? I have been investigating about this matter but I have yet to discover the group's identity or whether or not they belong to a human or Mazoku territory."

All eyes looked the Great Sage, awaiting the wise man's response. "I can't say I've encountered anyone like them before. But having a power like that…" Murata trailed off, his fingers resting on his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Shibuya, do you remember anything after the golden masked man hit you with black energy?"

"No. The next thing I remembered was lying on the floor as me."

"That's what disturbed me the most…" The Great Sage turned his face away from the occupants of the room to look out of the window. "It's as if that power sapped away Shibuya's maryoku in an instant…Making him change back into his original form…"

"I've wondered about that too. I don't revert back to me when I am not done with what I'm supposed to do, unless I used too much Maryoku. Back then," Yuuri's face scrunched up in an effort to remember things clearly. "I only had the time to summon my water dragons. But I think that's it."

Gwendal's frown deepened. "Conrad's sword split into two after attempting to strike the golden masked man."

"That is because the barrier surrounding the man was extremely powerful." Murata explained. "I can feel its strength at the far end of the ballroom where I was standing. Although obviously he's not our only problem. The people with him, they rejuvenate and heal themselves quickly. I've never seen that happen before."

"The golden masked man is obviously the leader. Did you notice how all the men quickly disappeared at his command?" The lavender man gravely said, his eyes darkening at the memory.

"The last thing I remember is him saying that even heika's power cannot compare to him." Conrad contributed, clenching his hand as he remembered his inability to protect the Maou. He hated feeling helpless.

"No one can be as powerful as Yuuri, seeing that he possesses both Shinou's and his own maryoku!" Wolfram asserted. After all, in his mind, Shinou was the most powerful being to ever grace their world. And Yuuri having acquired that power on top of his…well that goes without saying that their Maou's maryoku is truly unfathomable.

Murata let out a long deep breath. "Let's just hope he's not right."

XOXO

Clouds, dark and secretive, danced over the pale full moon.

Only the murmur of the wind can be heard through the rustling of the leaves. An occasional squawk of a raven breaks the silence, resonating in the vast forest.

Deep within, surrounded by the looming trees, a fortress stood. It's certainly not well-kept. Ivy vines crawled up the crumbling walls, hiding whatever it is inside. Although nothing remotely threatening can be seen, one cannot help but shiver at the sinister feel of the place.

Inside, two people convened.

"That was certainly a gratifying experience. Even if it was a bit boring." A deep, cold voice drawled out from a chair in the center of a room, his hand twirling the stem of a wine glass.

"Yes heika." A man in a deep bow mumbled in agreement.

It was a rather large room. Lamps set inside the room gave way for one to see the opulence and care obviously missing from the outside. For instance, the chair the man was currently occupying was made of solid gold. Both men are garbed in the finest robes, though the latter was more extravagant, precious gems reflecting the light from the lamps.

"The Maou is just what I've expected, although it certainly took me a while to get him to show his true self."

"I believe, heika, that causing him greater distress would enable him to show his powerful self quicker."

The man in the chair looked thoughtfully in his wine glass, swirling the amber liquid inside. "Greater distress you say? So apparently things should be made as "distressing" as possible…"

XOXO

I sort of edited this part. It took me a long time to write this because for some weird reason, what I wanted to come out won't come out! Argh. I didn't know it would be this difficult to write.

My love to eclst and Theo-herbies who took the time to read and review the second chapter! gives a huge hug At least I know I have an audience! ;D

Next chapter is done although I have to read through it again… I am still frustrated about it!