Hi guys, I wanted to thank you all for your reviews, favorites and such. I hadn't open the email account I have for this site since I last updated (chapter 30) and when I did, a few days ago, I found over 400 emails waiting for me! It really felt great to know you were still reading my stories while I solved my personal situation, and I loved reading your reviews.

As I said before, from now on I'll be responding to reviews made by site members via PM and only respond to anonymous reviewers on the upcoming chapters. As for the reviews I received while on "break" I won't be answering those, so sorry about that! but I got really confused with all those emails so I don't want to answer to just some and forget the others along the way.

Ok! I won't bore you anymore, on with the story.

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Chapter 34: Ken's POV

"Greeting Heika, I assume you had enough time to ponder over your options. Have you decided?" Mirage says as the three of us slowly raise from our seats. In this kind of situation one must never show weakness or hastiness, and I'm quite proud that Shibuya seems to have remembered that.

As I stand, I take a short look at him. If I didn't knew he doesn't do that anymore I'd swear he's gone Maou mode. I would feel reassured by this stern look, if I didn't know on the inside his heart has split in two.

"Where is he?" Shibuya asks, no, he demands of the witch. Even though Shibuya used a lot of marioku just a little while ago, his aura is quite threatening right now. Considering me and Shinou, one at each side of Shibuya, don't stay behind on the threatening aura thing, it's actually really impressive, if not damn right scary, that this woman is able to stand so proudly in front of us.

"Who, Heika, are you asking for? Your beloved or my son?" She asks sarcastically. If I'm right, she has been watching through her son's eyes this whole time and, as well as I did, she noticed how Shibuya fell for the stray-puppy-like Wolfram, knowing deep inside that the person in front of him wasn't his fiance. So she's confident, and maybe she's right to be, I'm not sure myself anymore.

"Don't mock me witch, I don't have the costume to kill, but you have gone too far to be forgiven"

Wow... Maou mode much... this does not look good. Mirage winces almost imperceptibly before smiling with renewed confidence and snapping her fingers. Wolfram's body appears beside her, he's unconscious... whoever he is.

Shibuya takes a deep short breath almost losing his composure and his valance along with it. Is goes unnoticed by Mirage, but Shinou quickly provides Shibuya with a little of his energy, probably worried by the same thing I am. Shibuya is badly injured and even the Maou's power has its limits, if he decides to go up against Mirage, he may end up getting himself killed.

"What have you decided, Maou Heika? She asks and draws the floating unconscious body closer to her. "Will you spare my son's life at the cost of your fiance's?" She adds while lifting the blonde's head with her index finger.

"How could you put your own son's life in danger in this stupid bet!?" I can practically hear Shibuya's patience starting to snap. "Because that is what you have done, you bet I would choose him over Wolfram, knowing the odds were against it! Don't you care for his life at all?"

Mirage chuckles a little before descending into the ground herself. She's so tall I just noticed she was floating when her feet touch the ground. She takes a few steps closer to the opposite side of the table we were sitting around. Shinou and I step forwards instinctively to place ourselves between Shibuya and her, but Shibuya stops us with a wave of marioku.

"And why do you care about his life Heika?" Whenever she says the word 'heika' with that sarcastic tone I feel an urgent need to punch her, on the pit of my stomach.

"Every life, human, mazoku or whatever else, is equally worthy to me" It amazes me how much Shibuya's tone changes when he says those words. He's still obviously furious, but there a slight touch of the original, big hearted idiot, who first came into this world, in those words, because they are true and they come from his heart.

Mirage's face changes expressions about twenty times in a split second upon hearing this. Disbelief, doubt, disgust, all possible emotion has a moment in her factions before the vengeful one is back on.

"Do you think I would fall for that sort of lie? You, Maou, are the same as your predecessors" And with that her eyes fall on Shinou who, of course, shrugs it off with not a hint of guilt on his face, which of course doesn't help the situation at all.

I don't blame her for not believing Shibuya could be any different from the ones before him, not that all of them were that terrible... not all of them...

"Who are you to judge me for my actions, when you are the ones who forced my people to hide for over a century, after nearly killing us all!"

Okay, Mirage officially lost her cool, that could work on our advantage, if only this wasn't the first time Shibuya hears this. His face is pale and even though his firm expression hasn't changed, Shinou and I know what happening inside his head. I wish we had the time to explain the whole story to him, but we need to think of a faster way to get the attention off of the fact that we may have caused the slaughter of this woman's entire tribe. It sounds even worse now, crap.

"What is it that you want the Maou to do exactly?" Shinou asks stepping closer to the woman. You'd think being dead makes him that overconfident, but that's just him.

"All he has to do is say the words" She says, not moving away from him at all. Apparently she, also, has no regards for her own safety.

"And what do you gain from this? The outcome should be pretty obvious to you by now" he says with false certainty.

Well I could answer that for her. She wants to destroy Shibuya's and Wolfram's relationship along with breaking their spirits in the process, something she might have already accomplished. Who knows how this will affect the kingdom too, all in all, her plan is pretty good, either way she gets what she wants.

"My reasons are my bussiness, ghost" She really has guts. "Now Heika, your time is up, either you decide now, or you'll lose them both"

She's right, Ulrike warned us about it, Mirage actually hasn't got the power to end her own curse, only Shibuya can, but Wolfram's soul is dying and with it so will his body.

"I..." Shibuya pauses and takes a deep breath before opening up his mouth again, his eyes full of determination, but then...

"What.. !?" Mirage looks back at the floating, unconscious body behind her, which is now... glowing? This energy, I recognize it after a second, it's Wolfram's, the real thing I mean.

His body glows with a warm golden light that reminds me of Shinou a little and makes my stomach feel a bit tingly for a second. As embarrassing as it sounds.

Shinou, Shibuya and I exchange a few dumbfounded looks before noticing Mirage is slowly making her way to Wolfram.

Shibuya steps up and just before he tries to run and catch the blond before her, the calming warmth becomes excruciatingly hot.

The next thing I know is that I can't see. A blinding light, maybe an explosion?

Yes... something just blew up...

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Well, how was it? I'm feeling pretty good about this chapter, mostly because it's the longest one in a while and I feel like I managed to reconnect with the story.

Don't hesitate to leave a comment ;)