(A few days before reaching the residence.)
"Equality?" Mark, who shared a room at the inn with Subaru and Beatrice, raised an eyebrow when he heard from Subaru what Emilia would strive for if she became queen.
"Exactly! Emilia wants to make the world a better place for everyone! Where everyone can be happy!" Subaru exclaimed, who was a little too excited as he spoke. "She wants to teach everyone to improve their lives by surrounding themselves with people!"
Despite all of Subaru's predictions, this sounded to Mark like the stupidest thing a human could say.
Even though Mark often sacrificed himself for the common good, he didn't think Emilia's campaign would work.
If the world really worked that simply, Mark would have convinced his father not to conquer the earth instead of having their fights kill thousands of people. Life is not a fairy tale.
"As if equality were possible." Mark said, irritated, realizing he had unintentionally said it out loud.
"What are you on about?" Subaru asked, a little displeased with the tone in which Mark said it.
Mark scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, realizing that he had most likely started an argument.
"You saved us from that squid by protecting everyone you could." Subaru reminded him. "So how can you not believe in equality? You're a superhero in your world, right?"
"It's true I save everyone I can, but this is different, Subaru... Most likely, in every dimension the world is a cold and unforgiving place, it is and always will be. I'm not saying that it's not worth trying to change the world for the better, it's a bad thing, but let's not exaggerate. Still, it's a stupid, unrealistic dream for everyone to be nice to everyone."
"But..." Subaru wanted to try to argue.
"Subaru." Mark got out of bed and approached the sitting black-haired man. "Look me in the eye and tell me that equality is possible..."
"...!"
"(sigh) We're talking about leading millions of people here. Even though I haven't known Emilia very long, I know she's petty and has the psyche of a small child, how is that..."
HIT!
Mark fell silent as Subaru slammed his fist on the table. The room went dark.
"You have no right to call Emilie petty you know that!" Subaru yelled angrily. "Stop acting like an asshole Mark! You don't know what Emilia and I had to go through to be you now!"
"Oh stop talking nonsense Subaru! Everyone has a shitty past. Do you know what my title of invincible means? It doesn't mean that I've never lost because I've lost more fights than I've won, but despite that I still got up and fought on! It hurt like hell, but I still got up! Are you counting on Emilia becoming queen and everything being sorted out, you'll have equality in the world?! NO! The world doesn't work that easily so start thinking better about how to fix it after all you're Emilia's knight!"
Subaru looked for a moment like he was about to explode, but he calmed down just in time. Beatrice, who had been listening to their argument in silence, grabbed her partner tightly by the hand, wanting to comfort him because deep down Subaru and Beatrice knew that Mark was right.
"I'll take your advice to heart, Mark." Subaru said glumly as he and Beatrice left the room for some fresh air. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. Sometimes I revert back to my old self acting like a brat."
Mark didn't have time to stop him and tell him that he was also overreacting. He only saw the backs of Subaru and Beatrice leaving the room.
(End of flashback)
"We didn't talk much for the rest of the trip." Mark thought as he continued to wait in the waiting room with Frederica and Petra. "Although he smiled at me in a friendly way many times after that, none of those smiles were genuine. Maybe I overreacted and could have kept quiet, now it's a bit awkward between us."
"Mr. Grayson." Ram suddenly entered the room. "Lord Roswaal and everyone are ready to talk to you. Since it's quite late, the conversation will take place during dinner. Does that bother you?"
"No. It's fine."
"In that case, you're welcome."
When they entered the dining room, everyone was present. Subaru was sitting between Emilia and Beatrice, and at the head of the table was a strange looking man in a clown costume. All he lacked was a stupid nose and shoes.
"Oh my, oh my! I see that I see that Mrs. Emilia and Suuubaru-kun were right: You don't look the least bit impressive!"
Mark looked sternly at Emilia and Subaru, but they pretended to look elsewhere.
"Is there a party coming up? Why did you hire a clown?" Mark asked everyone at the table, being aware of who the man dressed in the clown outfit was.
"Mark, how can I tell you this... This man is..." Emilia tried to calm the situation down, seeing how Ram, standing behind Marek, was looking at him.
"Ha ha, what faces you had!" Mark laughed loudly as he sat down at the table next to Beatrice. "Forgive me, Mr. Mothers, but I couldn't help it."
"No, stop joking." Mark continued to laugh in his mind. "If a clown like that runs this place, even that mechanical head looked like a serious and respectable criminal."
Once everyone was seated at the table, dinner was served. Everything tasted very good to Mark, not that he was a food reviewer, but when he was in college he ate more heated food, when he was on Traksan he ate weird little bugs. The last time he ate something decent was on a date with Amber, but he didn't want to go back to that moment in his life. Because Anissa showed up and ruined everything.
"I must say, your case is a bit suspicious, Mark Grayson." Roswaal spoke up after finishing his meal. "You questioned my servants about many things. You had no assets except for a strange costume that was destroyed. Tell me, can you read?"
"No," Mark replied, recalling that he often saw strange signs during rest stops.
"Well anyway Maaark-kun..."
"Please don't talk to me like that."
"You saved Lady Emilia and the entire city. If it weren't for you, the troops would probably have started fighting the Saint of the Sword. Thank you."
"But you still suspect me, don't you? After all, I showed up in Prestella out of nowhere to help your princess and all."
"I'm glad you understand. With that out of the way, I'd appreciate it if you could explain your... origins to me, Mark-kun. Even though you saved Lady Emilia and the others, your origins are very important and I'd like to know what brought you to the city of water. I'd like to reward you, but first I need to assure my subordinates that you're not a threat." At that moment, he looked at Rem who now had an unreadable expression on her face.
"Well in my world I live in a place called as "United States" This place is different from your cities and..."
"Mark-kun, what exactly did you mean by 'my world'?" Roswaal asked, the connotation catching the attention of everyone in the room.
"Are you serious? I thought you knew about the multiverse since..." At that moment, Mark saw Subaru put his finger to his lips. Mark didn't know why Subaru didn't want anyone to know he was from another world, so Mark decided not to reveal his secret. "Never mind. I'm not really from any of the realms."
"You mean you come from beyond the Great Falls?" Beatrice asked, shocked.
"I don't know what the 'Big Falls' is, but the answer is yes and no," Mark said, scratching the back of his neck, feeling awkward because everyone was starting to look at him like he was crazy.
"What did you mean by "Multiverse"?" Emilia asked.
"Well imagine there are other versions of yourself in worlds similar to this one but not quite. Sorry I don't know how to explain it I'm not a brainiac."
"...How incredible this all sounds." Beatrice commented. "Then the question arises, where did you come from?"
"Well... I, as the Invincible One, am one of many heroes in my world and I have faced many dangerous enemies. One day, a guy named Angstrom Levy has the power to travel between different worlds and blames me for the fact that he stopped looking like a human, so one day he took my mother and brother hostage. He teleported me to different dimensions until my emotions finally got the better of me and I crushed his head."
"Jesus!" Subaru felt disgust at Angstrom as Mark spoke of him. "It's a good thing you killed him. I would never want to meet him."
"No, that's not it." Mark felt his irritation grow. "A few hours after that, while flying, the portal suddenly appeared again... and that's how I ended up here. You know the rest of the story."
"So you're... far from home, huh? From friends and family..." Emilia helplessly tried to comfort the saddened boy, but Roswaal interrupted her.
"And I suppose you're looking for a way back to them, aren't you? Mark-kun?"
"Of course! Angstrom is still a threat. I have to find him and force him to send me back home."
"I understand. I admit that your story about the multiverse is quite interesting and absurd. I have a proposition for you. If your trial in the capital ends positively, I can offer you a job as another bodyguard for Lady Emilia and my lands. Until you find your way home, of course. But enough about the serious stuff, I said that you deserve a reward for saving Lady Emilia and the rest, so you can ask for whatever you want."
Mark thought for a moment what he wanted. True, because of Roswaal's strange appearance and behavior he had some doubts about asking him for anything, but after seeing the positive faces of the others Mark sighed and asked for what he needed the most.
"I want everyone to help me become stronger. That's what I want."
"Do you mean physical training or maybe magical training?" Roswaal asked in a sing-song tone, winking at Mark, feeling the magic coming from him.
"It can be both if possible. Teaching me how to read and write would also be useful. In my world, I am not ready to fight the threat I want to stop at the moment." Mark said, praying silently that another Viltrumite would not appear on Earth while he was in another dimension.
"Very well. I swear on my name and my pride as a noble that I will do everything in my power to make you stronger, Mark-kun." Roswaal said without any seriousness. "Frederica, Petra please show him the residence and his quarters."
"Of course, Lord Roswaal." Frederica replied, bowing professionally along with Petra.
...
After seeing the most important places of the residence, Mark was finally led to his room at 10:00 pm Earth time, which looked quite comfortable. The huge bed could accommodate at least ten people. After the whole day, Mark dreamed of nothing more than to lie down and sleep. Finally, he agreed with Roswaal and the others that they would train him as best they could from tomorrow, so it was logical to say that he had to get some sleep.
Mark couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He stared stupidly at the ceiling as if he was looking for something there. He wondered how his mother was doing, feeling the pain of leaving her again. He was also worried about Oliver. Mark hoped he would return home before he started to resemble a teenager, after all, his brother's biological mother's species aged faster than humans, and some of the Viltrumite blood slowed the process down a bit.
"No matter how long it takes, I promise I will find my way home, Mom."
When Mark's eyes began to close, he uttered his last words, which were warm and tender.
"I miss you too... Dad."
He hoped his father would escape the other Viltrumites and join him in kicking their asses when they both returned home.
...
(This time in another dimension.)
The winds howled with the passing cold wind. At midnight, in the glow of skyscrapers and shopping malls, as well as in the many bright neon signs, city life went on as usual.
Amongst these sky-high buildings and millions of people living their lives, a man and a woman stood on the edge of the highest roof of one of these office buildings. The man sighed, looked up at the bright moon and closed his eyes. Thinking and pondering how and why his life had become like this. Thinking to himself, Angstrom asked a question to the woman standing next to him.
"Did you really have to buy that fur coat Capella? It wasn't cheap. Besides, you can shapeshift, why do you need real clothes?"
The Archbishop of Sin shrugged, holding a glass of wine in his hand.
"And did you have to wear such bad looking clothes? You look like a poor man." Capella asked smiling stupidly at the man who looked healthy.
"Whatever. At least I'm glad those two look decent." Angstrom said turning to the two figures standing behind them. Teresa van Astrea and Kurgan were now wearing elegant suits with ties and had their weapons strapped to their backs.
Capella just snorted as she looked at the large city before her.
"So this really is another dimension. Interesting. It would never have occurred to me that something like this could even exist."
"Probably because she was busy calling people 'flesh piles.'" Angstrom replied, creating another portal.
Capella ignored his provocation. If it weren't for his curious ability, the archbishop of sin would have turned him into a fly long ago.
"What do we do now?" Capella asked as she and her servants followed Angstrom.
When they got to the other side Capella held her breath seeing the scene before her. She was in some strange metal base of Angstrom and they were standing in front of it.
"How is that possible?" Capella asked looking at the people in strange costumes in front of her.
"This many of you should be enough," Angstrom said, snapping his fingers.
A large portal appeared right behind the Invincible Variants.
"Go, spare no one!" The man shouted, a sadistic smile on his face. "Let the test of my final revenge begin!"
The Invincible War is Coming!!!