Chapter 94: MARVIN
QAzrael heaved as he left Abaddon’s office.
Although he could feel that Abaddon’s cold demeanor was just a front he put up to appear domineering, Azrael could not help but shiver.
’I should go to the academy and see if they are still there,’ Azrael mused.
"Clara, can you go and prepare my food?" Azrael asked, glancing back at Clara who followed behind him.
"Yes, my Lord," she said with a curtsy.
Then she dissolved into a mist of pure essence.
"Seems like she truly improved in those two years," Azrael muttered with a smile.
But it was only natural.
Even a talentless person would make improvements given two years to do nothing but train.
Azrael did not dwell on it.
"What do you want?" He asked a person leaning against the wall, hidden from normal sight.
If not for his Aura Vision being active, he would not have noticed the person at all.
"So the rumors are true," the person said, leaving the wall calmly. "The last one is extraordinary."
His face became visible as he stepped out of the darkness.
It was Marvin, the first child of Abaddon and Lilura.
His ponytail stopped just behind his neck, giving him an allure that felt almost otherworldly.
Azrael furrowed his brows.
Although he was not sure who the person was, the he spoke to him was already enough evidence that he was a direct heir.
But his position within the hierarchy was something Azrael had not determined yet.
"Who are you?" Azrael asked, brows raised in genuine confusion.
Marvin smiled as he neared.
Azrael stepped back to avoid a pat on his shoulder.
Even if he did not show it, the amount of fear Azrael felt just looking at the person was comparable to what he felt around Jasmine.
Marvin dropped his hand and scoffed.
"No need to be so tense. No one can touch you within the clan’s estate."
Azrael shook his head.
"If this were outside the estate, I would have left before we even started a conversation."
The response made Marvin pause.
His eyes flickered with genuine interest.
"You are smart. But do you think you can outrun me?"
The question echoed through Azrael’s head, reminding him of how insignificant he was in the grand scale of the universe.
Azrael did not reply.
But he already knew the answer.
"I like that you are self aware."
Silence stretched between them until Marvin broke it again.
"Why don’t you join me?" He asked.
Azrael shook his head immediately, not even waiting for the words to fully land.
This was the same thing Eriksen had asked him when they were leaving the Dimensional Rift.
’I have no interest in joining any race for power. I would rather run for myself.’
Marvin’s eyes flickered with confusion at the direct rejection.
Then his expression softened into a smile.
Not a gentle one. This smile carried the dangerous glint of a predator that had marked its prey and had no intention of letting it go.
"You asked who I was earlier, right?"
Azrael nodded.
"I am Marvin, the first heir of the Patriarch."
Azrael’s eyes narrowed to a point of extreme thinness.
He had heard the rumors about the mad demon. The Lord of Hell itself. A ruthless force feared on every battlefield he had ever entered.
And the person who had warned Azrael to be careful of him was none other than Jasmine.
A person even Jasmine was wary of.
That was who Marvin was.
Seeing the change in Azrael’s eyes, Marvin sighed.
"Since you already know, that saves a lot of time."
As he said those words, he spread both arms wide, as if offering an embrace.
"Welcome to my clique."
Azrael blinked.
’When did I accept?’ he wondered.
"I did not accept," Azrael said, his tone firm.
Marvin’s smile dropped into a frown.
"Why not? Why would you refuse when you already know how strong I am?" Marvin said sharply.
Azrael shrugged, entirely unbothered by the shift in mood.
An awkward silence passed between them.
"Did Dante get to you first?"
To Marvin, there was only one person among the direct heirs who competed with him openly.
And that was Dante.
"That bastard."
Before Marvin’s rage could fully surface, Azrael cut in.
"No. I do not belong to any clique," he said.
Marvin’s rage transformed into something Azrael could only describe as joy.
"What?" Azrael asked.
"Since you do not belong to any clique, then you belong to mine." The words landed in Azrael’s mind like a detonation. "You do not have much of a choice in this."
Azrael opened his mouth, about to speak.
A finger pressed against his lips. Soft, but firm.
"Sheesh."
That was all Marvin said.
"You remember what I said about being safe within the estate’s walls?" He whispered directly into Azrael’s ear.
Azrael nodded.
A bead of sweat dropped from his forehead.
’There is no way he would risk punishment to harm me,’ Azrael thought.
"What if I told you there are a few people that law does not apply to?"
Azrael’s mind went blank.
Every second that passed seemed to tick louder and louder.
He thought it through.
There was no way Abaddon would allow Marvin to harm their most talented heir.
But fear was still there, in his eyes and in his mind.
"So choose wisely this time. There will be no second chance."
Marvin leaned back with a smile.
As if he had not just threatened Azrael with death moments ago.
Azrael stared.
His mind moved at a pace that should have been impossible.
He could not die, but what if Marvin sealed him the way Jasmine had threatened to?
Splatter.
A thick red liquid splashed across Azrael’s face, filling his nose with a metallic smell.
His clothes were smeared with it, but he could not focus on that.
From behind, in the direction of Abaddon’s office, the soft click of a shoe began to echo outward.
Calm. Steady.
Then it stopped, just beside Azrael.