HAPPY NEW YEAR!~☆
We're really closing/starting the year with quite the chapter.
Be safe and have a good reading!
Once again, feel free to leave questions, curiosities or requests for the after-arc chapter. ^^
~~~~~//$\\~~~~~
"Ironic, ain't it? Nothin' the savanna hates more than a drought." Leona spoke in an ironic and low tone, letting the small grains slip through his fingers as he walked closer to his dorm mates.
"Yet its prince's magic desiccates everything- reduces it to sand." The half lion spat out, then suddenly grabbed Ruggie's arm, yanking the boy to him.
The latter gasped and widened his eyes, suddenly overcome by pain. "B-boss... It hurts...!" He pleaded, desperately trying to pull away from his housewarden's grip to no avail.
"Ruggie-senpai's arm! The skin is cracking!" Deuce exclaimed in horror and bewilderment.
"Your spell can legit dry out a HUMAN BEING?!" Ace yelled out incredulously as he still attempted to protect his eyes from the sand storm befalling you all.
"Leona, I cannot allow this to continue! Off With Your Head!" Riddle announced firmly before casting his signature spell, which unfortunately didn't make it to the target.
"Myah?! Riddle's collar bounced right off!" The fiery creature screeched nervously when the redhead's magic seemed to be repulsed by some sort of defensive barrier.
"Maybe you're some kinda prodigy, kid, but don't go thinkin' you're smarter than your elders. I aced my protective magic classes in my sleep." The green eyed beastman spoke in a low and confident tone, staring right at his fellow housewarden with a look of superiority.
"Tch!" The Heartslabyul sophomore frowned in frustration and squinted his eyes as the sand picked up.
"Hah! How do you like that, Ruggie? Does it hurt? Is your mouth too dry to keep licking my boots? That was your finest talent, too." The dark skinned junior taunted cruelly, pulling the smaller boy's arm and forcing it up as its owner's body heavily weighted down, slumping partly on the dried up ground.
"Ngh... G-gaah..." Only incoherent laments left the half hyena's mouth.
"If we don't stop him, Ruggie's gonna...!" Jack's ears tensed alongside his tail and body as he seemed ready to jump in at any given moment.
"Kingscholar, that's way too far! Let g- ugh..." You forced a yell but the dry air as well as the strangly familiar weight restricting your chest made you lose your words.
"That guy ain't gonna listen to you! And you don't wanna mess up because you couldn't aim." The red eyed ginger, who was still by your side, helping you up, tightened his hold on you as a warning when he saw you attempting to grip your magical pen with a shaky hand.
"Ruggie is going to die this way, we have to stop him somehow!" Yuu called out to everyone around and picked up Grim, covering his eyes with their arm. They thought about asking the latter to use his fire but the risk of hitting the half hyena as well was too high.
"What's gotten into you, Boss?!" A Savanaclaw student with blonde hair and tanned skin clenched his fists and bared his teeth.
"If we gotta beat some sense back into ya then we're ain't afraid to do it!" Another scholar, with dark hair, didn't let the magic collar on his neck stop him as he slammed his fist into his palm.
Some of the students' dorm mates got hyped up and all went into action as the others warned against that.
"You're all utter fools." Leona says with a look that almost appeared bored, clenching the poor second year's arm tighter and urging some pained whines.
"Stand back! Getting close is dangerous!" The short fae from Diasomnia shouted loudly.
You saw the half lion third year readying a spell and you clenched your necklace with a hand as you held your pen with your other.
"Argh...!" You barely managed to conjure a water barrier but the junior's magic was stronger than you expected and it easily went through it, hitting most of the young beastmen whom had tried surrounding their leader.
When a spell was suddenly aimed your way you saw a flash of magic protecting you and the freshman at your side. It didn't repell the attack but it softened it as you felt your body being pushed backwards. You regained your footing and saw Cater beside you, staring ahead with a determined glare.
Another "Off With Your Head!" flew through the air but ended up countered just as the last.
"If you have that much power, why do this?!" Riddle barked out, talking directly to the older housewarden.
"Why? What do you care about, kid? You gonna scold me? Try to talk me down?" Leona scoffed ironically with an inpatient grin before growling at the sophomore.
"Don't you get it? Power alone ain't enough to make waves in this world." His expression darkened and his tone lowered. The more his anger and frustration got fueled, the more his grip on the young hyena tightened.
"Look at Ruggie here. He's like a muzzled dog. Pathetic, ain't it? Hard not to pity him." The half lion ruthlessly degraded his younger dorm mate, the latter's body completely slumped on the dirty sand, only being held up by his arm, which's skin was dried up and cracked.
"Urrr...ggghhh..." He was no longer able to let out actual words.
"That's enough!" Jack suddenly exclaimed in a booming voice and you could feel magical power accumulating all around him.
"Unleash the Beast!"
At that loud incantation, the light created, alongside the sand still circling in the air, forced you to close your eyes and when you reopened them-
"What-?!" Riddle certainly wasn't the only one voicing his bewilderment at the freshman's unexpected... transformation.
"GRRRRRRR!" Instead of the young beastman was now a large wolf, growling menacingly as his ears stayed flat at the sides of his head.
"He transformed into an actual wolf?!" Yuu stammered incredulously, eyes wide.
"Whoa, what just-?!" The Savanaclaw housewarden wasn't immune to the surprising development and ended up getting distracted by it, also loosening his grip slightly.
"He broke Leona's concentration! Off With Your Head!" The redhead sophomore immediately took the chance and with his third attempt, he was finally able to collar his upperclassman.
"GAH! You little-!" Aforementioned junior grunted and cursed out aggressively, inadvertently letting go of Ruggie, who stumbled forward onto the ground.
"Gasp...! cough, cough..." The tattered boy breathed in, choking on the sand all around that had started settling down and couching roughly as his dry lungs burned painfully.
Now having your mind cleared, you didn't waste any time and moved forward, picking the boy into your arms and retreating from the housewarden as the dirty blonde heavily leaned on you.
"That was beautiful, Riddle! You stopped Leona's magic cold!" Cater complimented and took a puff of the cleared up air, scrolling the filth off his uniform.
"And he let go of Bucchi-senpai! This way, quickly!" Deuce came to your aid and helped you move Ruggie to the side. You noticed how the latter's eyes were fogged with tears as he shook slightly, just barely writhing in pain.
"Sebek, let's get the wounded somewhere safe." The silver haired Diasomnia student instructed firmly as he and his dorm mate began supporting some injured Savanaclaw members.
"Do not presume to order me around, Silver!" The mint green haired scholar loudly retorted with a scowl, but was obliging nonetheless.
"Argh... No... NO! You can't collar a lion!" Leona's eyes were wide as he pulled and clawed at the metal constricting his neck before his gaze snapped toward the freshman that had already reverted to his human form.
"And Jack! How did you... Transformation potions are forbidden! Where did you get that?!" The half lion redirected his anger toward his underclassman, shouting in an accusatory tone.
"I didn't use a potion- that's my signature spell." Jack responded, taking a confident stance.
"With it I can transform myself into a wolf." He added firmly.
"Ha! What's that saying? Every dog has his day? Well I guess you had yours!" The dark skinned dorm leader barked a sarcastic laugh before taking an even more furious expression than before.
"Housewarden Leona, I want you to know... I only came to this school because of how much I admired you!" The gray haired freshman spoke passionately, clenching a fist and holding it in front of himself.
"What happened to the man you used to be?" He exclaimed in anger and you couldn't help giving a pitying look.
He was quite emotional right now, and was only trying to add extra responsibility on Leona's shoulders but in reality... it wasn't anything the half lion was actually accountable for.
"Shut up... Your dreams've got nothin' to do with me!" As expected, the housewarden instantly shut down the other boy, making a swift motion with his arm. This was only adding to his rage.
"I understand the irony of me being the one to say it, but it pains me to see you like this." Riddle spoke solemnly and closed his eyes before reopening them and raising his chin high.
"You'd be wise to confine yourself into your room and try to calm down!" The Heartslabyul housewarden announced loudly.
Leona was fuming.
"What do you know about how I feel?!" He had shouted so loud you were sure he had hurt his throat with just that.
You felt the tension rising and involuntarily hugged Ruggie a little closer. The young hyena forced himself to open his eyes better and glanced up toward your face. He attempted to take some strained, longer breaths, lowering his head back down to have his forehead pressing against your shoulder.
"If only the lion king of the savanna could witness this absolute farce." Lilia commented, crossing his arms with an oddly calm expression.
"If you ask me, the collar suits you far better than a crown ever could." He casually insulted, tilting his head up.
"...Huh?!" If the fae's words were meant to get the lion beastman's attention, they certainly did fail with their intent.
"You may bemoan the fact that you're not higher in line to be king." The black and magenta haired student suddenly switched to a taunting grin.
"But with that sensitive ego of yours? That so quickly directs all your petty anger at your retainers..." He scoffed ironically looking straight at Leona without hesitation.
"Well, the idea of you ever contending with a REAL ruler like our Malleus- is absolutely laughable." The Diasomnia student's grin widened further.
"Even if you COULD defeat Malleus- so long as that's how you choose to conduct yourself? That's for sure..." There was a brief pause and-
"You would never be fit to be king!"
All fell into silence and although it probably only lasted a handful of seconds, it felt like much, much longer.
"Hah... Haha. Yeah, you're probably right. No, you're EXACTLY right...! Ah-hahaha!" The lion beastman started off with an huffed chuckle before bursting into a full on laugh, passing his fingers through his hair and pushing it back.
"I will never become king. No matter how hard I try!" His previous smirk dropped as his jaw clenched hard.
Suddenly, the ground shook and the sand began picking up once again.
"Myah?! All my fur's standin' on end!" Grim said in an high-pitched voice and shivered, clinging to Yuu's jacket with his claws.
"Is Riddle's spell coming undone?!" The magicless prefect fearfully exclaimed, turning toward the redhead in question.
"The magic power within Leona is surging... I don't think my collar can hold it!" The smaller housewarden gritted his teeth.
"No. That isn't magic power. That's negative energy, which means..." Lilia's eyes slowly widened at the realization and then came Cater's warning.
"Everybody, get down!"
A large tremor came from deep within the ground and an eerily familiar black substance began covering the Savanaclaw junior as the sky darkened.
A sharp and cold snapping sound of metal was briefly heard.
"Riddle's collar flew off?!" The third year ginger gasped with dread written all over his face.
You were overcome by an overwhelming feeling crushing your chest but you didn't even have the time to register it as Ruggie attempted to stand up by himself.
"Stop, you're not in condition to move! Let's regroup you with the injured students." You scolded and held the boy by the shoulders, pulling him back.
"I won't be runnin' with my tail between my legs... I just can't stand that, Teach'!" He objected with as much might as his body permitted and your eyes furrowed in confliction.
"Sigh... okay then. Let me."
"I've been loathed since the day I was born. I've never had a place, never had a future!" Leona's voice slowly started morphing in both raw emotion and the blot's influence.
"None of my hard work is ever rewarded!" His words became louder, as the increasing black goo began to not only cover his body but also merg behind him.
"How could any of YOU possibly understand? MY disappointment?!
MY pain?!"
A loud scream came after that and the half lion got completely swallowed by the magic waste, which then melted to reveal a new, twisted form.
You heard an ear-splitting roar but you did your best to ignore it as you concentrated on what you were doing... Still, it was difficult not to notice the large, black figure emerging just a few feet away.
"What's happening?! Some kinda giant shadow is comin' outta him!" Jack's eyes were wide as they stared up and the monster resembling a large lion, which towered over them.
"That's the incarnation of his blot!" Deuce exclaimed in horror.
"Is he goin' into evil darkness berserker mode like Riddle did?!" The fiery creature questioned loudly.
"Just call it overblot, for goodness' sake!" Yuu bursted out with a frantic grimace.
"If you can move, seek shelter! Ace, Deuce, help me take the wounded outside!" The redhead dorm leader instructed while he tried to keep his eyes open with great difficulty. But still receiving determined replies from his dorm members.
"On it!"
"Lilia, please get help from the faculty!" He also said loudly, covering his mouth from the sand with his arm.
"Understood. Stay strong until I return!" The dual colored haired fae nodded firmly, immediately taking action.
"Why does this keep happening to us? This is soooo not my #brand!" Cater sweatdropped as he finished helping the last few students out and ran back to Riddle's side.
"If you're afraid, feel free to run." The latter flatly said, making the junior's eyes widen.
"Trey wouldn't let me hear the end of that, if I did." The older ginger shook his head with a resigned look and then gave himself a confident nod.
"We do this together, Housewarden!"
"I dunno what's going on, but if we hit Leona hard enough, maybe we can snap him out of it?" The half wolf clenched a fist in determination.
"Yeah, that's the gist of it." The spotted skinned fellow nodded vaguely with a sigh.
"I... cough, I'll help too... cough. No way I'm taking what he said lying down!" Ruggie intervened as you held an hand over his tattered arm.
"Would you please keep still?" You softly reprimanded as you kept quietly humming a healing incantation into the conch shell of your necklace.
"That's the best I can do with my abilities. Thankfully the necklace helped." You sighed and gently let go of his arm, receiving a thankful nod in exchange.
"That's more than enough, thank you professor..."
"So even the lowly hyena turns against me?"
Leona looked down on the group with disdain, eyes sharp as he growled.
"What a total joke!"
"Yuu, if we can take this guy down, they'll let us play in the tournament!" Grim patted the magicless human's arm multiple times and spoke with a smug grin.
"Give it everything ya got!" He added, pumping his little fists up as he jumped out of their hold onto the ground and got into a fighting stance, ready for directions.
"I intended to, anyway! We're quite literally betting our lives here." The dark blonde sighed, and despite their fear, they still put up a tenacious expression.
"Everyone, aim for the glass head!" They said loudly and all the boys nodded.
"If we gotta smash stuff with brawn, then I'm for the job. Unleash the Beast!" Jack exclaimed boldly and used his unique spell to take his wolf form.
You looked over the stadium and tried thinking of someway to make the fight easier. The dry air and sand certainly was a great disadvantage.
Feeling the strong wind blow into a whirl of grains and rocks, you clenched your necklace tightly and mentally prepared yourself for the upcoming confrontation.
There's no turning back now. It's either you win or you lose.