Into the World of Twisted Wonderland Pt 2

👑 The Beautiful Tyrant: Chapter 36 👑

A few days later in the ballroom, the group was practicing as normal, letting Angel record them as per Vil's instruction, thinking it would be best to see the mistakes everyone made to correct them compared to just stopping the entire practice over and over again mid-way. It was hard trying to convince Vil since he was worried about the video being posted on Magicam, but he allowed it ONLY if he watched the video and got her phone afterwards, which was a compromise they were willing to come to. To her surprise, the rest of the group agreed, having the fact that they can see their mistakes compared to hear their mistakes made them a bit better. Though their dancing has become better, singing was another thing altogether, as Vil would put in vocal lessons every now and then as they practice, making sure their voices are, in his case, in the best shape as possible within the month. While practicing as normal, Epel was singing, only to make Vil annoyed at the fact that he overheard his make slight mistakes. "Ugh!" He exclaims. "No, no, no! Stop the music!" He yells out, making Angel and the others confused as she stops the music.

Rook walks towards Vil in concern. "What's the matter, Vil?"

"EPEL," he says with a glare, making him flinch.

"Y-yessir!" Epel says in surprise.

"Hoo boy, Epel's gonna get another tongue-lashing," Ace whispers. "I feel bad for the guy after watching this play out everyday."

"He's on main vocals, so I'm sure Vil expects a lot out of him, but still..." Deuce sighs as he watches the scene.

"Every time I hear 'stop the music,' my first instinct is to cower with my tail between my legs," Grim shivers.

"Have you learned nothing from your ballet lessons?" Vil asks with a glare, making Epel flinch more. "I told you to throw out your antiquated notions. I said nothing about acting so halfhearted!" He states. "Don't just sing the words without thinking about what they mean. This song is more than mere lip service."

"But this is the most 'charming' I can sound..." Epel explains.

"Being charming is another matter entirely," Vil sternly says. "Do you think that will be enough to take Neige down? Now, take it from the top!" He commands.

"...Nnnngh!" Epel growls in annoyance, making everyone look at him in surprise. "I don't..." He starts. "I don't WANNA be cute!" He shouts.

"Excuse me?" Vil asks in indifference.

"I never wanted to be in Pomefiore to start with," he states. "And I don't wanna compete in the SDC, neither! I didn't come to Night Raven College to sing and dance! I came here to get stronger! I don't wanna be some dainty little flower. I wanna be BIG! And STRONG! And TOUGH!" He yells as he glares at Vil.

Vil sighs. "Unbelievable," he says with indifference. "Most of us grow out of temper tantrums by the time we're three. You speak of being 'charming; and being 'strong' as though the two are mutually exclusive, when in fact both of them are equally valid points of power. As long as you fail to make that distinction, you will never be a match for me."

"Oh, get off your high horse!" He snaps. "I'm done with this. I'm out," he states. "I'm quittin' the team!"

"What?!" The freshmen and Kalim exclaim in surprise, shocked by the sudden development between the two.

"Hmph," Vil scoffs. "Is that a fact? Very well. I believe it's time for the usual, then," he says as he starts to prepare himself.

Angel looked at the scene in shock. This wasn't supposed to happen! "Both of you, stop fighting!" She says in a panic, hoping that the escalation doesn't get any further. After all, if they got hurt, what about the competition?

"Don't worry, Angel," Rook says as he puts a hand on her shoulder making her look at him, seeing that he was smiling at her. "This isn't a fight." She was only confused at the statement.

"It's not? Looks like sparks are flying to me," Jamil mumbles as he watches the two ready to lash out, or in this case, Epel lashing out to Vil.

"Just observe," Rook assures them, making them even more confused.

"Go on, Epel," Vil commands. "Get out your magical pen."

Epel grits his teeth and pulled it out. "Today is the day I put you in your place!"

"Uh, this is TOTALLY a fight!" Deuce states as he sees Epel relentlessly releasing spell after spell towards Vil, only for him to dodge it with ease and counteract, when necessary, barely putting in any effort as some spells bounce back towards Epel, making him surprised and dodge them to the best of his abilities, making him stumble when some of his own spells sneak back on his due to Vil's influence. Everyone could see that he was struggling, trying to dodge the attacks while also attacking, seeing that practice has caught up to him, only for Vil to sigh and release a spell at him, knocking him back with ease. His body hits the floor, and he grunts, looking up to see Vil looking at him with a bored expression as he stands over him.