Marbas

Marbas (マルバス, Marubasu) is one of the main characters of The Tale of the Outcasts series and The Tale of the Outcasts: The Flame Knight. He is one of the Thirteen Calamites of the Wasteland.

He is a demon who made a pact with a human girl, Wisteria Langley as his contractor.

Appearance
He is a bipedal demon with an appearance similar to that of a Lion. He has a tan colored fur with a large vermilion mane that goes down past his knees which becomes his hair in his human form. His eyes are a deep scarlet color with black verticle slit pupils. He has two tall ears on his head with black horns that curve forward. He has sharp black claws and sharp fangs. He has a very large figure that stands at least two meters tall and always wears a black tuxedo suit with black slacks and black shoes. He has a lion-like tail with a gold ring that keeps his power and himself in check. Wisteria uses this ring to become his key in the action "limited release" which releases an extent of Marbas' power. The ring then can become a staff for Wisteria to use while being Marbas' key.

Personality
Mabas is very cool-headed and stoic, but usually gets into fights with Narberius as the two act like frenemies while their contractors, Wisteria and Diana, are great friends. He deeply cares for Wisteria to the point where he claims himself that he will defeat any enemy that poses harm to Wisteria even if it costs him his own life. He is always calm and does whatever he can to protect Wisteria.

Although he very much dislikes Wisteria's brother, Snow, for attacking him and telling Wisteria that she was being fooled by him, he got angry at the idea of how sad Wisteria would be at the loss of her brother which sends him into a rage fight against Dantalion. While Marbas keeps his dislike of Snow mostly to himself, there are times when he voices it out to Wisteria, but not in an effort to hurt her feelings about her brother.

He is shown to greatly care for Wisteria's well-being such as when he appeared at the Blackbell Manor in a panic due to Wisteria fainting in the snow. He is seen prioritizing her safety even in battles where he destroys any weapon heading towards her.

Background
Not much is known about Marbas' background, but it is shown that he was once a human along with the rest of the Thirteen Calamities under the care of a man, their master, who took them all under his wing as his students. It is shown by Sitri, a fellow member of the Thirteen Calamities, that their master was a man with powers comparable to them in recent times who was granted land by authorities of that time before, but with great power came fear and hatred. Therefore, Marbas along with the Thirteen Calamities were killed one day when their master found them all murdered, and overcome with hatred, he remade their souls into demons. However, due to his actions, he became the avatar of his curses and became known as the "three-eyed demon".

It is shown in the first episode that Marbas had lived for a very long time before the present timeline where he had met Wisteria who was an orphan begging on the streets. Wisteria was shoved against the ground and hurriedly began collecting the coins that fell out of her basket when Marbas walked over to her and asked her "Don't you get tired of living?" since it seemed that Marbas hated being unseen by humans, stating how being "If there's no one to acknowledge you, it's the same as not being there". He then scoffed and said to himself that he can't believe he was taking out his frustration on a person who can't see or hear him.

But as he stands in front of her, he notices her sweat profusely and shake, inclining that she can see and hear him. Therefore, he follows her when she is dragged away by an old man and waves to him goodbye with a weary smile. He followed her to her home in church and appeared before her through her window. That was their first encounter, and it was a month before the present timeline in the first episode.

Plot
The main plot revolves around Marbas and Wisteria as they first head out to travel the world together with Marbas seeing everything for her after making their pact. However, along their travels, they come across enemies and allies and find themselves in many battles and dangers. However, as Marbas states repeatedly throughout the series, he simply wants to travel and live with Wisteria by his side. At the end of episode 13, Marbas comes to the conclusion to look for the other demons of the Thirteen Calamities simply to talk and see how they are doing with Wisteria while also exploring the world with her by his side.

Powers and Abilities

 * Transformation:
 * Limited Release:

Wisteria Langley
Wisteria is Marbas' contractor whom he met one day a month ago while she was begging for coins. He was surprised by the fact that she could see him as no other humans can due to him being a demon. He followed her to a church where she resided back then and took an interest in her, stating that he found it fascinating that a human could see him. As Wisteria states, he always comes at midnight when she knocks on her window three times, signaling for him. She then asks him to tell her stories of his earlier times. He tells her to not blame him if she gets hit again for waking up early, and she responds by saying that this is the only thing she has to look forward to their nights together.

The next day, she learns that she was sold off to a rich noble by the "Father" of the church and is instantly hurried away. There, she is greeted by a middle-aged man who seems kind at first, but then reveals his true nature as a sadistic man who loves torturing kids. When Marbas hears of this coming from the threatened "Father", he leaves to save her. Because he wasn't in a pact with Wisteria and helping her, his body began to crumble as demons cannot help humans without a pact or else they perish. However, he continues to fight for Wisteria's sake. Scared for Marbas, Wisteria makes a pact with him, offering her eyesight to him as she asks if her eyes which let her see him, the one most important to her, are valuable enough. Upon forging the pact, her wish for the contract is to stay by her side. After he rescues her and they are bound by the pact, Marbas and Wisteria set off on a journey to travel with him as her eyes.

Ever since he first met Wisteria, he comes to care for her greatly such as cleaning and buying food for her in his human form which he dislikes. More so, in battles, he always prioritizes her safety and shows his concern for her when she controls his key such as asking if she's alright and will be able to continue. Their development furthers as he becomes angry for her when he thinks of the idea that her brother, Snow, will be forever taken away from her, stating how it would be awkward when she comes to know that her brother is gone yet still willing to smile in front of him to reassure his worries because that's the kind of person she is, illustrating how he doesn't want Wisteria to suffer nor feel obliged to mask her true feelings for his sake.

He is shown to grow fond of her and how much she has developed compared to when they had first met, amazed at how she's become so determined, strong-willed, and ready to do anything for the sake of her loved ones. Also, he doesn't shy away from telling other demons of the Thirteen Calamities how much he cares for her and openly states how he wants to travel the world with her by his side. He was once worried for Wisteria since the people of The Sword Cross Knights knew what she looked like and sought out a demon of the Thirteen Calamities for the demon's Mist Incense Burner that would keep her safe, showing how far he is willing to go for her sake to contact a demon he barely knows nor met for a long time.

During the battle against Sitri, Wisteria is taken to an illusory world in her mind due to Sitri's powers in hopes of making her feel depressed and choose between Snow and Marbas. Although he failed, Wisteria was exposed to danger as the demons who possessed Snow attacked her, but she offered her inner sight to Marbas in exchange to defeat the demons in the world that Sitri had made. Since the world Sitri made had a different time flow, one where a day was only a few seconds in reality, Wisteria had grown up maturely and beautifully into a woman between her teen years or early 20s. The sight of her made Marbas blush slightly and he complimented her, saying that she looked beautiful.

Throughout the series, Marbas begins to gradually care for Wisteria more, as does Wisteria, to the fact that he openly states that he is is willing to defeat any enemy even if it costs him his life in order to do so. It is also shown how Marbas thinks of Wisteria by Sitri, a demon of the Thirteen Calamities, who was talking down to Marbas for his stupid friendly games with a human, stating Marbus thoughts such as "This person will protect me" and "I could live with this person for the rest of my life", both thoughts regarding Wisteria.

While the entirety of his feelings are that he cares deeply for Wisteria in any way, there are many hints that he also romantically likes Wisteria such as hoping to travel the world with her, living the rest of his life with her till her death, and wanting to stay by her side till the very end.

Snow Langley
Snow has an antagonistic relationship with Marbas over Wisteria's sake.