xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Shirotsume Town, 9:01 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the dead of night, the majority of the guests of the Eastern style inn were fast asleep except for one specific individual, staring at the ceiling with a disgruntled face in a room that belonged to two of his female guildmembers. Bernard, unable to sleep from the redness on his face and the myriad of pink and red lip marks all over it, was feeling bothered as he and his unexpected bedmates for the night were resting on the floormats with blankets covering their waists and their legs sticking out.
"Mmmmmm..." Bernard grumbled from the situation he was in. "...Why..." He mentally complained as he shifted his eyes to his right.
"Mghn..." Camilla muttered in her sleep as she interlocked her arms with Bernard's right, resting her head on his shoulder before he shifted his eyes to the left.
"Aghhh..." Marlene mumbled, asleep and also cradling Bernard's left arm with her own while using his other shoulder as a pillow.
"...Why the heck did I suggest that earlier? I should just be sleeping in my own room with the other guys but nooooo... These two just decided that it was a good idea I sleep in here..." Bernard thought as he just wanted to leave while he could feel the pair lightly breathing on him as they snored. "And why the heck did these two think it was okay to smother my face with your mouths!?" He mentally screamed in frustration before glancing at Camilla again.
"Haaa..." Camilla sighed in a content voice as Bernard felt her hands rubbing his arm in sleep, causing Bernard to blush further before noticing his arm was slightly betwixt Camilla's chest crevice.
"Nrguh... Ehhhh..." Marlene muttered as Bernard turned his head to notice she was nuzzling her face against his shoulder, close to enough to where he could feel the top of her head under his chin.
"Okay, I can't do this..." Bernard quietly said aloud to himself. "I need to leave the room... But first, I need to get rid of these stupid kiss marks on my face." He thought as he reached his hands down towards the blanket.
Grabbing the blanket with his hands, Bernard slowly pulled the blanket up towards his face to use as a cloth to wipe off the lip stains. Noticing his actions that jerked them awake, Camilla and Marlene's eyes suddenly sprung open, their brows furrowing in anger as they both opened their mouths and viciously bit into Bernard's shoulders.
'"Oh no you don't!"' Camilla and Marlene thought simultaneously in protest as they dug their teeth in.
"Yeouch- yahgh! Huah!" Bernard exclaimed in pain as he started to violently kick his legs until the girls used their own to trap them, preventing him from moving.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Marlene said as she and Camilla stopped biting Bernard and shifted themselves to be looming over him.
"We told you to keep those on your face!" Camilla said loudly as Bernard glared at the two girls before sitting up.
"...I have a better question: what is wrong with you two?!" Bernard said with an angry tone as he pointed at his face.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Marlene said as she and Camilla looked at the beanie sporting young man.
"This was your idea, remember?" Camilla said with her eyes half closed.
'"My idea?!"' Bernard exclaimed as the two female wizards nodded in agreeance. "I wasn't actually serious about sleeping in the same room as you two!" He complained.
"Well, too bad. It was one of your "good" ideas." Camilla said as she and Marlene shifted themselves into seated positions. "Mr. "I'll pretend I'm shared between two girls."' She thought with a judgmental look in her eyes towards her boyfriend.
"This is the only way to keep Warwick out." Marlene said with a worried tone as she inched herself closer to her one-night only pretend boyfriend. "Maybe the position I was in wasn't comfortable enough..." She thought.
"Fine, I get that. But why the hell did you have to do this to me!?" Bernard said with agitation in his voice as he pointed at the pile of red and pink lip marks that were on his cheeks, forehead, neck and mouth.
"They're to help with the facade. He's probably not expecting us both to have kissed you that much." Camilla said with a nonchalant tone. "And I wanted a good night smooch, so I didn't care..." She thought while looking away.
"Yeah, exactly!" Marlene said with a smile. "...Greatest night of my life." She thought, hiding how much she loved getting to make out with her childhood crush.
"...It tastes like a fruit parfait in my mouth right now..." Bernard said with a complaining tone. "Aftertaste of strawberry and cherries..." He thought while looking at Camilla and then Marlene, both of them putting a finger on their mouths.
'"Want another?"' Camilla and Marlene said with excited tones as Bernard's eye twitched in annoyance.
"No!" Bernard replied loudly. "And couldn't you two have just drawn these on my face if you felt this was needed to hide the lie?" He said with a twitch in his eye as the girls turned to look at each other.
"...I'm not an artist." Marlene said with a headshake, saying it as if it wasn't possible for her to draw lips.
"Yeah, me neither." Camilla said as she folded her arms under her chest.
"So, you both decided that kissing me was the best option to help with this dumb charade?! We don't even know if he's even going to show up!" Bernard thought with agitation as his eyes widened.
"Besides, why are you acting all bothered by this? There are not many guys who can say they got to sleep between women as pretty as us." Camilla said as she crawled over to Bernard's right side again, sitting next to him. "And I mean that." She said towards Marlene as the reptilian-like girl smiled contently.
"Thanks for the compliment... I always appreciate it." Marlene said with an earnest tone as she crawled over to Bernard's left side, the trio sitting closely on the bed mats.
"Don't get a big head though, this is a one-time thing." Camilla said with a serious face towards her friend as she proceeded to adjust herself, leaning back against her boyfriend and placing a hand on his knee. "...Sorry to burst the bubble." She thought.
"He-hey..." Bernard muttered in a bothered tone as he felt Camilla pressing her backside against his front.
"...Ye-yeah..." Marlene said with a slightly regretful tone as Camilla noticed her reaction.
"...Remember, it's still a bit of a walk back to Hemlock. You can walk arm-in-arm with him on the way back." Camilla said with a smile towards Marlene as she perked up a bit and Bernard raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?!" Bernard muttered in surprise.
"Thank you!" Marlene said with a delighted tone as she proceeded to wrap her arms around Bernard's shoulders, embracing him.
"Whoa!" Bernard said in surprise as the girls pressed against him, pushing him down with his head landing on the pillow.
The trio now laying on the mats once again, Camilla grabbed Bernard's right hand and put it on her hip before entangling Bernard's right leg with her left. On his left side, Marlene clung tightly to Bernard with her arms around his shoulders and wrapping her legs with Bernard's left leg.
'"Good night!"' Camilla and Marlene said as they turned their heads towards Bernard with smiles on their faces before puckering their mouths and planting another kiss on his red face.
"Guh!" Bernard grunted as Marlene and Camilla pulled their faces away, leaving a pink mark and a red mark, respectively. "Says the only two people getting any sleep..." He thought with annoyance as Camilla and Marlene pulled the blanket back over them. "...You know, there's a chance he might not show up..." He said quietly.
"Not taking any chances." Camilla said as she looked at him while clutching at one of the legs of his shorts before using her free hand to interlock fingers with Bernard's that was on her hip at the moment.
"Once he sees the three of us like this, he'll go away." Marlene said as she tightened her hold on him, Bernard sighing in response before tilting his head back to look at something on the ground, the pair of female Psycho Circus wizards closing their eyes to attempt to rest once more while using his shoulders and neck as a pillow.
Away from the group was Bernard's accessories that housed his pets; his beanie containing his Capture Pins, Baur's bracelet form and his necklace that contained the coins to summon Zaphkiel, all of which were on the floor next to Marlene and Camilla's bags.
"Here's a new "good" idea... Why I don't I just give you my beanie and you can stick it on a pillow and pretend it's me?" Bernard suggested as Camilla and Marlene proceeded to glare at the young man again, opening their eyes.
'"No."' Camilla and Marlene replied in simultaneous annoyance.
"Grrrrr... If I can't leave the room, I have to figure out some way to get these two off of me... Then I might be able to sleep... Hmmmm..." Bernard mentally grumbled as the two girls closed their eyes to go to sleep as he pondered a new strategy. "Just... One last thing..." He said, an idea forming in his head.
"Shut up and sleep or we'll stick our tongues in your mouth again..." Camilla said as she rubbed the back of her head against Bernard's shoulder with her eyes closed.
"Just pretend we're pillows or something... Hehe..." Marlene said with a smile, also with shut eyes.
"...How thick do you think these walls are?" Bernard said as Camilla and Marlene opened their eyes, making confused expressions.
"Huh?" Camilla mumbled as she turned her head.
"Where'd that come from?" Marlene said with a raised eyebrow.
"Well... I got to my usual thinking... If we're sleeping so close together and noises happen because of "bad hand placements" while we're asleep...' Bernard said. "...Wouldn't that lure him here because the walls might be a bit... Thin?" He continued as Marlene and Camilla's eyes widened before sitting up.
Staring off into space, Camilla and Marlene suddenly made nervous expressions as sweat began to drip down their faces, thoughts appearing in their heads as they pondered about what Bernard just said as he looked at them while still laying on the floor.
"...He... Might try to watch after hearing the sounds... Like a creeper..." Camilla thought, realizing something negative.
"If he's lingering by the door the whole time and gawking at the three of us... That could be just as bad as him coming in to try and do something..." Marlene thought in similar worry.
Upon realization that the situation was not as ideal as they thought, the girls turned around and grabbed the pillows that were slightly away from Bernard's pillow. Fluffing them for a quick second, Camilla and Marlene proceeded to make some small gap space between themselves and their male friend that they were sleeping with originally, now laying down with their backs facing Bernard.
"Good night, ladies." Bernard said with a smile forming on his face.
"...Shut up..." Camilla said with a bothered expression. "He had to ruin it with logic..." She thought with frustration.
"Sleep tight..." Marlene muttered with an upset voice. "...This stinks, I just wanted a night long cuddle. Is that too much to ask?!" She thought with exaggerated tears welling up in her eyes.
"Haaaaa..." Bernard sighed as he finally closed his eyes to try and fall asleep. "Well, we shouldn't be so worried. It's not like Warwick is actually gonna show up." He said with a casual tone as he didn't notice a shadow looming over him.
"You called?" A familiar sounding voice said as Bernard quickly opened his eyes and the girl's faces turned grim upon recognizing the voice.
Looking upward, Bernard locked eyes with a very familiar small man that they encountered earlier that day, Warwick, dressed in nothing but a white complimentary robe with his hands in his pockets. On the floor, Bernard's eyebrows started to twitch in bewilderment as the girls quickly sat up and turned around.
"Wow. Looks like I was wrong, you actually did bag both of these two. Cudos." Warwick commented as everyone else in the room was staring at him in disbelief at his presence.
As Camilla and Marlene's jaws dropped in shock from Warwick actually appearing before them, Bernard instinctively reached for his Lacrima in his chest, pressing on it multiple times. Looking down and seeing the pacemaker needing Psycho Circus wizard's actions, Warwick noticed a fluid starting to emerge from inside Bernard's shirt that consisted of red, black and blue colors.
"Huup!" Warwick exclaimed as he turned around and jumped through the screen door of the room that led to the outside, evading the monstrous amount of slime.
Crashing through, Warwick rolled onto the ground as a mass of ooze with boney spikes started to flood the room that Camilla, Marlene and Bernard were in, a pair of gigantic claws and a monstrous face with green eyes forming as Warwick backstepped slightly with a moderately impressed face at the large slime monster in front of him, now outside in the small courtyard of the inn.
"Guh!" Bernard grunted as he got off the floor, Camilla and Marlene both watching as he rushed outside to confront Warwick as he stood next to the gigantic demonic slime monster in his possession, Formosa. "You!" He angrily said while lifting his shirt up to wipe his face, finally removing the lip stains from his face.
"He actually showed up?!" Camilla exclaimed as Marlene reached her arms out with a nervous expression and tightly hugged the S-class head of security in fear.
"...So, you weren't expecting it either?" Bernard said with annoyance as he looked back at his girlfriend and their mutual friend.
"...Hehehe..." Camilla laughed nervously while rubbing the back of her head as Marlene continued to shake in nervousness next to her, the rooms of the inn lighting up from all the noise.
"What's going on- huh?!" Pietro exclaimed as he opened the sliding door to his room as he saw Bernard standing next to his pet demon slime with Warwick standing opposite of him, Anatoli crawling over to see what was happening as well.
"Now we got an audience, great work." Warwick said with a sarcastic tone as he scratched his face.
"What the hell are you doing here, you pervert?!" Bernard exclaimed loudly as his slime monster companion was forming into a gigantic golem-like form. "After everything he did today, he followed us here!?" He thought.
"Same reason as you." Warwick said nonchalantly as he pointed over to a far room of the inn, prompting Bernard and the other Psycho Circus wizards to see a group of women dressed in similar robes standing in one of the rooms with a few sticking their heads out of the sliding door.
"Huh?" Bernard muttered in confusion.
'"That's a lot of girls..."' Pietro, Camilla and Marlene thought simultaneously at the sight of the harem of women, waving at Warwick with lustful expressions on their faces.
"Came here for a little "fun." Lo and behold, you guys wound up hitting up the same place." Warwick said as he waved back at the women he brought to the inn.
"Why the hell were you in Camilla and Marlene's room!?" Bernard shouted angrily. "Did he actually come here to perv on Marlene?!" He thought.
"I was going to get it on with those babes, but we kept getting interrupted by shouting from a few rooms over." Warwick said with a bothered tone, prompting Bernard to glance back at Marlene and Camilla with furrowed brows.
"...I guess the room really was thin walled..." Marlene muttered with a red face of embarrassment.
"Looks like sharing the bed actually was a terrible idea..." Camilla said as she put a hand on her face.
"I was wondering why Lil' Bern didn't come back to the room..." Pietro said as he looked at the female Psycho Circus wizards with judging eyes, the two of them feeling a chill up their spine from the awkward atmosphere they caused.
"Fancy pet there. Wonder how tough it is." Warwick said as he changed the subject whilst looking at Formosa, the towered mass of slime in its golem form casting a shadow over him. "Come to think of it... Didn't fight Bernie at all earlier... Could use the exercise before I get down to "business."' He thought as he turned his attention toward Bernard, the beanie sporting young man locking eyes with the hedonistic dwarfish man.
"...What are you looking at me for?" Bernard mentally questioned as he made a defensive stance. "He might be a member of Psycho Circus but I ain't trusting anything he says..." He thought with a bead of sweat dripping down his face.
"Yo, ladies. Throw me my sword, won't you?" Warwick said with a smirk and a snap of his fingers towards the girls as they all turned around and started to scramble around their room at the inn, searching for Warwick's blade made of glass.
"Get out of my way!" One of the women said with a loud tone.
"Beat it, I want to give to him!" A different woman exclaimed.
"No, you bushy whore! Me!" A third woman shouted with a furious voice.
"Okay... That's... Really unsettling..." Bernard commented as he and the others looked over at the girls fighting just to give Warwick his sword. "...What the hell do women see in this guy?" He thought.
"...Should've known that would happen. Forget it!" Warwick said with an exasperated tone as he looked around for something before looking up at a nearby tree. "This will have to do... Hiyah!" He said as he walked over to the tree and kicked it, a vibration going up the tree that caused several branches to fall to the ground. "Let's see... Uhhhh- ah! There we go." Warwick continued as he picked up a branch that he was holding like a handle.
Putting the blade near his mouth, Warwick started to glow with dark green magical energy like he did previously that same day as a makeshift blade made of green glass was starting to form atop the branch. Confused, Bernard looked on as this was his first-time encountering Warwick using his Glass Devil Slayer Magic.
"He fashioned a sword atop a branch with his magic..." Pietro commented as Bernard and the other looked on.
"Prefer my usual handle but one must make do with what one has I'm afraid." Warwick said as he held his sword in his right hand. "I'll impress the ladies a bit with some of my strength. But I won't destroy this big thing. Don't want to look like a total dick." He thought as he took a battle stance with his sword.
"Whoa, wait! How did you get that technique!?" Bernard exclaimed.
"Some time ago me and Alfana wound up in a small town that was getting rocked pretty hard by a demon that lived in a mirror. We helped the townsfolk a bit and I slay the thing with my old sword. Next thing I know, I got these fancy new magic spells to use." Warwick said while glowing with dark green energy as green diamond marks appeared on the side of his body.
"Heck of an explanation..." Bernard thought as he was unsure about what Warwick was going to do. "Doesn't explain why you're pointing that sword at me..." He said.
"Since it looks like we both had similar plans tonight, figured we could brawl a bit to impress our respective bedmates." Warwick said as he shifted his sword stance.
'"Similar-" what?!" Bernard said as he turned his attention back towards Camilla and Marlene, the pair of girls looking at him with bewilderment before turning his head in the direction of the flock of girls in the other room. "He thinks I'm doing something risqué with them?!" He thought in shock.
"It-it's not like that!" Camilla exclaimed in Bernard's defense. "We were just sleeping together while clinging- oh crap..." She thought until coming to a realization.
"Yeah, we were just-" Marlene said until covering her mouth. "We did technically try to sleep with him..." She thought with a red face.
"This is entirely your faults..." Bernard thought as he glared at the girls.
"You need to- look out!" Pietro said until he noticed Warwick jumping towards Bernard.
"Huh- blurh-guh-pgh!" Bernard muttered before turning back towards Warwick as the dwarf swordsman jumped into the air, bicycle kicking Bernard three times in the face and knocking him onto his back. "Argh!" He grunted as he put his hand on his face in pain.
"Bernard!" Camilla said in a worried tone.
"You left yourself open. How you supposed to win a fight when you don't defend yourself better?" Warwick said with a smug tone as he stood in front of Bernard.
"Grrr!" Bernard grumbled in frustration before pointing his fingers at Formosa, sending energy into the gigantic slime golem. "Formosa, attack this sword wielding asshole!" He ordered as Formosa turned in the direction of Warwick. "Most of my other creatures are back in the room next to the girls' stuff and I shouldn't call out Corvus or Vulp against Warwick, there's a heavy chance he could destroy them. But he won't be that lucky against Formosa." Bernard thought as he rushed back to his feet and jumped away to make distance from Formosa and Warwick.
Turning towards the massive slime golem, Warwick watched on as Formosa formed a fist and attempted to crush him with it. Swinging his sword in the same direction to block, Warwick managed to swat away Formosa's arm as everyone looked on in shock from Warwick's strength.
"Whoa!" Bernard muttered in surprise. "For-Formosa! The other arm!" He ordered as he pointed at the slime golem, transferring energy again.
Trying to strike once more, Formosa attempted to slam his claw into Warwick as the dwarfish swordsman blocked with his sword once again, smacking the hand away. Jumping into the air, Warwick proceeded to swing his sword in multiple directions, slicing into Formosa's arm as the ooze began to disintegrate into nothingness.
"Hu!" Warwick muttered as he landed back on his feet. "Huh, that's interesting..." He thought as he noticed Formosa's arm was completely destroyed.
"Formosa!" Bernard exclaimed in shock at his slime monster now missing an arm.
"What's wrong? Can't do anything more?" Warwick said as he looked back towards the young wizard, making him more annoyed.
"I shouldn't use the laser; it might cause too much damage to inn but... I don't have many options here!" Bernard thought before putting even more of his energy into the slime golem, failing to notice Formosa's arm wasn't reforming. "Grugh..." He grunted as some strain started to form around the area of his pacemaker Lacrima.
"Bernard! You're using up too much energy!" Pietro exclaimed as everyone looked at him.
"Formosa, laser attack!" Bernard ordered with a tired voice as Warwick took a combat stance.
Forming a mouth, Formosa charged up a purple beam of pure energy to use to attack Warwick, launching it in the form of a laser beam. Putting his sword horizontally, Warwick angled his makeshift glass sword to make the blade reflect Formosa's magic attack into the sky, dispersing clouds as the beam began to fade and failing to do any damage.
"Guh!" Bernard muttered in shock. "That was the strongest attack I had with any of my pets!" He thought.
"Whoa..." Marlene said as she and Camilla looked up.
"He's... Unbelievable..." Camilla thought in bewilderment.
"Incredible..." Pietro said as he was honestly impressed by Warwick's immense power, Anatoli looking on from the floor before shifting gaze downward in a depressing manner, unable to keep watching.
"Hmm?" Warwick muttered as he noticed his makeshift blade had shattered into pieces. "Well, that sucks." he casually said as he threw away the branch. "Looks like that's about it for this thing, may as well knock it out the same way I did Cami earlier." Warwick thought as he started to crack his knuckles.
Breathing in deep, Warwick's cheeks puffed up as the other's watched on, recognizing what he was about to do as Pietro rushed over to Bernard, knocking him down to protect him. Placing his hands over his mouth, a massive torrent filled with shards of green glass emerged as everyone proceeded to duck and cover.
"Glass Devil's Rage!" Warwick screamed as the torrent of shards slammed into Formosa, the golem made of slime getting sliced into shreds as the magically charged glass was causing Formosa's body to disintegrate further. "And that should do- it?" He said before noticing something unusual.
Formosa's body was melting to the ground with its boney spikes started to disappear as everyone watched on in surprise at what was happening, the massive golem turning into a puddle of plain black color. Getting off of Bernard, Pietro shifted to the side as the young man slowly got to his feet, watched on with wide eyes.
"Well, that's unusual." Warwick said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Big slime getting cut up by my shards should be fine since it's just liquid..." He thought as Bernard walked over to the puddle, placing his hands in it.
Releasing some of his energy, Bernard attempted to reawaken the slime demon but noticed it wasn't moving. Raising an eyebrow, Warwick turned towards the other Psycho Circus wizards with a confused face.
"Heeey... What was that thing?" Warwick questioned as he pointed at the puddle, Bernard continuing to generate his magic out of his body to get Formosa to move.
"That... Was Bernard's pet slime demon..." Camilla said as everyone's faces turned blue in realization. "He's a Devil Slayer..." She thought.
'"Slime-... Demon?"' Warwick reiterated until slowly opened his eyes and making a guilty expression as he finally understood what just happened. "I'm a Devil Slayer... That was a demon... Oh..." He muttered with an awkward expression as Bernard's distraught face stopped trying to put his magic into the puddle.
"B-Bernard?" Pietro said with a cautious tone as he tried to approach the pacemaker needing young man.
"Yo-you okay?" Camilla muttered with Marlene next to her, making worried expressions as Warwick slowly walked backwards towards the room with his harem of girls.
"Good work fighting that thing!" One of the girls said as the other females were impressed by Warwick.
"Be quiet! Be quiet!" Warwick said with a mad tone.
"Huh?" A different girl replied.
"What for?" A third girl questioned.
"Please, grab my stuff... We're going to a different inn." Warwick said as went over to his clothes. "Alfana is going to be so pissed at me..." He thought as he started to change out of his robe before beginning to push the girls into leaving.
"...Bernard?" Pietro said as he stood behind the young man as Camilla and Marlene approached as well.
Turning his head back towards the other Psycho Circus wizards, Bernard's face had tears in his red eyes and his mouth was twitching profusely.
"...It's dead..." Bernard said, clearly upset. "My strongest monster..." He continued.
"...Warwick..." Pietro, Camilla and Marlene thought with simultaneous exasperation as everyone came to the conclusion that Warwick had destroyed Formosa the slime demon.
"...I shouldn't have seen my mom today..." Bernard thought as his teary eyes stared at the puddle of what used to be his most powerful creature.
...Ohhhh boyyyy... This uhhhh... This is pretty bad... What started as a completely normal situation of a man with two girls fawning over him and using his face as a "scratching post for lips," quickly turned into a major debacle as the one they all feared from seeing, Warwick, had appeared inside their room. The Glass Devil Slayer had no clue that Bernard's pet slime was of a demonic nature and proceeded to destroy Formosa, Bernard now losing his most powerful acquisition in his tenure as a creature capturing wizard... Rest In Piss, Formosa... And people thought this arc didn't actually have an antagonist... Take it away writer.
Author's Note: (It had to be done for the sake of what my plans are for the story. Way to start the new year, huh? :P)