Into the World of Twisted Wonderland

🦁The Usurper from the Wild🦁 Chapter 10

After telling everyone about the headmage's request, Cater and Riddle think about the situation. "Ah...So the headmage asked you to investigate," Riddle says and Angel nods.

"I knew it. Grim coming by for a get-well visit? That's just sus, and it's very sus if it wasn't by Angel's idea," Cater says.

"I must admit that I found the circumstances odd as well. I've had Cater looking into it for me," Riddle says.

"And I found out that all of the victims have been talented players like Riddle and Trey," Cater adds on.

"To be clear, it wasn't as if I had been pushed, or that I had tripped, but I did feel a particular sensation, like...my body was moving of its own volition," Riddle says and Angel widen her eyes at his statement.

"The other victim said basically the same thing!" Grim states and he thinks for a moment. "Hey Angel, didn't that happen to you on the stairs?" Everyone looked at the girl.

"I think that's how Riddle described it. It felt like my body was moving on my own as well," she says as she thinks about the situation.

"What?! They targeted you as well, teacup?" Cater says in surprise. Angel only nods.

"But I can't think of any reason why they would target me. So far, they've only targeted people who were planning to participate in the tournament from what we've heard."

Riddle thinks for a moment. "I believe we can safely surmise that potential Spelldrive tournament players are being targeted. Angel must have been caught up in their path, I suppose."

"You think someone is causin' accidents to take out threats from the tournament?" Ace guesses.

"The whole world will be watching. A good performance can make a player's whole career. It's no surprise that some would resort to underhanded methods to even the odds," Riddle explains.

"Sure, but it doesn't make sense," Cater says. "I mean, you'd know if you got pushed off the stairs by a gust of wind magic or somethin', right?"

"Certainly. I felt no external force," Riddle answers. Angel could only shake her head at the question as well.

"And some of the other victims had accidents in the classroom! How do you explain that?" Cater asks.

"The culprit can tell us all about it when we capture him, and we intend to help you do that," Riddle says as he looks at the duo.

"Myah? YOU'RE gonna help us? What's your angle?" Grim says, glaring at the upperclassmen.

"You offend us, sir. One of our housemates was injured- why wouldn't we help him find justice?" Cater says.

"We're all house-buds here. Count us in," Ace says with a smile.

"He's gonna pay for what he did to Trey!" Deuce smirks. Angel could only blink and smile at the guys assistance to the case.

Riddle only eyes the two freshmen suspiciously. "You two seem awfully enthusiastic about this," Riddle states.

Cater smirks at the two freshmen. "Ahh...I get it. You're gunning for that open spot on our team, aren't you?" Angel only looks at Ace and Deuce and they gave her a sheepish smile, trying to push off the fact that their intentions got caught by their upperclassmen.

"Heh. Was it that obvious?" Ace says putting his hands behind his head as he gives the three a smile.

"N-no! That had nothing to do with it! I just want to avenge our housemate!" Deuce quickly says, trying to get suspicion off of him, especially in front of the girl.

"I can't believe you two, but I had a feeling it was the case," Angel could only sigh while Grim only smiles at the two, connecting with the fact that they all want to join the tournament.

Riddle sighs. "Fine...Your performance during the investigation will be taken into account."

"Whoo-hoo!" The boys cheers, making everyone only sigh at their enthusiasm.

"Now, if we're going to apprehend this culprit, we need to stay a step ahead of him," Riddle says as he thinks of a plan.

"And we're gonna do that HOW, exactly...?" Grim asks.

"By predicting which students will be targeted next and covertly following him," Riddle states. "Should the culprit strike, we will protect the target and then immediately pursue the matter."

Angel thinks about the proposal. She looks at Riddle with a questioning look. "It's a great idea, but how do we know who will be targeted next?"

"I got this, teacup," Cater speaks up, pulling out his phone. "I've already identified a number of potential targets from among the most promising players. I'll form a group on Magicam so we can coordinate our efforts and then give you access to the album." Everyone phone dings, making everyone look at it. Grim got on Angel's shoulders so he can look at hers.

"Whoa, Cater, this is a ton of information!" Deuce says in awe as he scrolls the names.

"Now, let's move!" Cater says, and everyone nods.

"Let's nail this creep!" Grim exclaims.

"And let's bring everyone justice!" Angel says, as everyone walks out of the lounge.

As they are walking out of the lounge heading towards the mirror, Riddle asks Angel a question. "Angel, since you fell down the stairs, are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine, someone caught me before anything happened," she responds.

"They weren't hurt, were they?" Cater asks.

Angel thinks for a moment. "No, I don't think they were. When they caught me, they didn't fall down, they just stood there and walked off after making sure I was okay."

Everyone only sighs at the information, happy at least the girl didn't get hurt. "Man, you were lucky, then," Ace says.

"Yeah. Imagine my surprise when I saw a neon green vest when I opened my eyes."

Everyone looked at her with wide eyes at the statement she gave. "Someone from Diasomnia House helped you?!" Cater asks, in which Angel only tilted her head at the question.

"Um...yes? Why is that surprising?"

"Usually, they would rather keep to themselves than anything else," Riddle explains, making Angel look at him.

"Plus, if they didn't fall with your weight on them and the fact they were on the stairs means that they might be a good Spelldrive player, if he's participating in it," Cater says.

"No wonder Angel was targeted instead," Deuce says as he hears the situation. "The culprit was probably trying to target the person and Angel just got caught up in the path."

"Either way," Cater says, "the culprit isn't getting away with trying to hurt our little teacup here," he says with a smirk.

"Yes," Riddle says a smirk appearing on his face. "It would be a shame if the culprit thought we would go easy on him if he hurt Angel."

Everyone else got smirks on their faces, leaving Angel confused at what got the guys fired up with catching the culprit. Must be a guy thing...She could only think as they step in the mirror, getting their investigation started.