The throne was once again occupied by the lazy demon. Magnus.
He laid comfortably, which looked uncomfortable, on the throne with his head on one handrest and legs on the opposite one.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, he turned.
Then, he fell.
Marianne saw it, she saw it all. But couldn't do anything.
"Should I help you up? Or will you sleep there too?" She asked, now standing near the throne.
"Thanks." Magnus replied, turned once again and fell down the stairs, rolling down like a cat until he hit the ground with great velocity.
Marianne once again had to behold it all.
She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them.
She then walked down the stairs and stood near him, asking the same question. "Should I help you up?".
"Yes, plea..." Magnus was almost about to finish his sentence but went into his slumber.
Marianne sighed and picked him up, and carried him on her back up the stairs.
She then carefully placed him on the throne.
After that great act, she looked around the throne room.
Of course she would, she restructured the whole castle. The once broken down, dark castle was now replaced to a nice and polished but still dark castle.
The floors were clean, the walls were sturdy and the ceiling was beautifully decorated with a chandeli-
CRASH! THUD!
The ceiling burst open, the debris fell down, and the chandelier was no longer on the ceiling.
Her expression darkened. She turned her head to the floor to find the cause.
It was a goblin, a very big one, fighting against Gustav.
'.....'
GRAHH!!
The goblin screemed, swinging his axe at Gustav.
Gustav parried with his broadsword, turned and swinged at its legs.
The goblin jumped. Then backstepped.
Marianne's eyes narrowed.
She clenched her fists, her patience already frayed from the chandelier's tragic demise.
"Gustav!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the hall.
"I've got it handled!" Gustav grunted, pressing forward, his broadsword scraping sparks against the goblin's axe.
The goblin shrieked again, saliva dripping from its jagged teeth, and charged straight at him with reckless force. Gustav braced himself, but the impact shook the ground and nearly knocked him off balance.
Marianne frowned. 'Handled, huh? Looks like you're about to be handled. And why the hell is that thing so ugly.'
She took a step forward in anger.
"Snoorre...".
She turned to the throne. It was Magnus, sleeping through this chaos.
Marianne now had two choices.
1. Stop Gustav.(She's not that strong.)
2. Beat the slumber out of Magnus.(She's that strong.)
She choose option 2.
Marianne cracked her knuckles.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty," she muttered, though there wasn't an ounce of forgiveness in her tone.
She marched up to the throne, grabbed the armrest with one hand, and with the other—
WHAM!
Her palm smacked Magnus's face so hard the sound echoed louder than the goblin's roar.
Magnus's head tilted, his cheek red. His eyes fluttered open halfway.
"…ow. Did I die? No… too painful. Heaven wouldn't hurt this much."
Marianne leaned over him, her shadow covering his half-awake face.
"If you don't deal with that thing right now, I will personally redecorate this castle with your corpse."
Magnus blinked at her slowly, then looked at the chaos.
"…is..that a goblin?"
Marianne blinked, and turned her head towards the goblin. "Wait.. now that you mention it. That is a goblin. What's a goblin doing here?"
"What's with that racism against goblin? Why shouldn't a goblin be here?" Magnus asked.
"Well, goblins were said to be extinct, and more so, that's a elite goblin. They are atleast Saint-level.". Marianne replied, still trying to analyse the situation.
"Ugh.. why do you keep using new terms, what's Saint-level? Why are goblins extinct."
Marianne's eyes darkened as she lowered her voice.
"Because of Lucain."
Magnus blinked slowly. "…Who?"
"The Demon King of Pride," she said, her tone bitter. "Centuries ago, he started what history now calls the GGE—the Great Goblin Extinction."
Gustav, still straining against the goblin's strength, shouted through clenched teeth, "Little busy here—explain later?!"
Marianne ignored him, her gaze fixed on Magnus.
"He didn't just kill goblins. Orcs, trolls, ogres—anything with green skin. He slaughtered them all. Villages burned, tribes wiped out… entire bloodlines ended, simply because he thought they were impure creatures."
Magnus raised an eyebrow. "So… racism. Old-school genocide flavor."
"Exactly," Marianne hissed. "He didn't need a reason. He just decided they were ugly and beneath demons, so he erased them."
The elite goblin roared, pushing Gustav back several steps, the ground cracking beneath his boots. Gustav barely held on.
Magnus yawned, scratching his head. "Sounds like a guy with way too much free time."
Marianne's grip tightened on her blade. "Free time? He called it 'cleansing the filth of the realms.' It was Pride at its purest—his arrogance made him believe only beautiful, 'perfect' beings deserved to exist."
Magnus tilted his head lazily toward the snarling elite goblin.
"…So this guy's like… what? The last survivor?"
"Or their descendant," Marianne said grimly. "Which means—if Lucain finds out it's still alive…"
"…He'll come back to finish the job," Magnus muttered, finally sounding a little less sleepy.
The goblin screamed again, knocking Gustav off his feet and raising its axe high.
"Well, i don't like goblins either." Magnus said, gradually raising his hand and swatted it sideways.
Suddenly, it felt like as if reality bent, the goblin's upper body along with his axe, disintegrated.
Chills went down both Marianne and Gustav's spine.
Although, he would often joke or laze, it was for a fact that Magnus, this person....
...Was a demon king.