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"LET'S SEE WHO WILL fall down first, my sweet little Vi," Joon says with a smirk, aiming his gun at Viktor and finally pulling the trigger.
The sound was silent and no one expected a thing, but just when Joon thought that he has successfully targeted Viktor's arm, Viktor notices the shot and immediately stepped on a tile, automatically making the large king piece move, blocking Viktor's view just in time.
"You sly mother fucker," Joon says before putting his gun down. "Ren! Aki! Guard the base, I'm moving forward," he then instructs, and his Pretty Duo immediately went back to the base with no question.
Joon ran towards Busters' base, dodging the large chess pieces that were chasing after him. Thankfully Blade and Killshot saw him, and so they shot everyone who stood in his way.
"Make way for our leader!" Killshot then instructs, and the remaining members of Dangerous Five immediately went to the scene and started running toward Joon to protect him.
While Killshot was looking for the member of Busters who's controlling the bishop piece, Killshot accidentally stepped on a tile that made their rook piece move forward. "T-this...this is it!" Killshot excitedly shouts. "Joon! I'm bringing the rook to you!"
Joon, who was still running, looks back when he heard what Killshot has to say. But when he turned his head, he was surprised to see a large white chess piece rushing toward him. Joon wanted to dodge it, but then he had an idea. As the rook rushed towards him, Joon readied himself. As soon as it got close, the prince jumped on the chess piece and rode it.
"Keep controlling it!" Joon told Killshot as the rook quickly rushed through Buster's base.
When Joon was now meters away from their enemy's base, a giant knight suddenly collides with the piece that he was riding, instantly making it fall to the ground. Joon falls with it, but thankfully he prepared for the impact and didn't get hurt as much.
Joon got up and looked at the large chess piece that hit him. He quickly looked through the kings to check who was controlling it, so when he noticed the member who fits the description, he quickly pulled his gun and shot him in the thighs, scraping it so he wouldn't violate the rules of shooting him directly.
The king falls, and Joon immediately ran towards Viktor who was being guarded by a large chess piece. When he got close, Joon shoots two more, instantly breaking Busters' line of defense.
"He's getting closer to the red line! Stop him!" One of the members of Busters shouted.
One of the kings was about to run toward him, but then an arrow instantly hits him on the shoulder.
Joon looks back and saw Blade still watching over him, so he takes a deep breath and continued running. But just as Joon was meters away from where Viktor was standing, a large queen chess piece suddenly comes rushing towards his side and slams him, instantly making him fly across the floor. If Joon wasn't able to hold onto a chess piece, he would have easily fallen off the battle grounds and gotten eliminated.
The impact knocked the wind out of him, instantly making Joon catch his breath to breathe better. His vision became blurry for a second, but when he looked up, he saw Tanis directly looking back at him.
"What an annoying serpent," he says as he slowly stood back up.
Joon turned around and saw his members still running away from the chess pieces. As long as the kings are still able to control those pieces, they'll never get close to them. He has to do something now or they'll never get the upper hand.
So without wasting any more time, Joon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. As soon as he opens his eyes back, he looks at the members of Busters, memorizing where they are and what movements they were making. When he finally locked his target, he shouts, "PHD! Clear the table!"
The members of PHD were surprised when they heard what their leader instructed, but as soon as they heard it, the princes immediately pulled out metal balls from their pockets that were just as big as a ping pong ball. Without any hesitation, the members threw it at Buster's base, using their slingshots and bows.
Busters were flustered because they knew exactly what Clearing the table meant, but before they could even do anything, the metal balls fall to the ground, and cold bluish smoke instantly oozes out of them, making not only the members of Busters but also the members of PHD, unable to see the grounds.
"Run!" A member of Buster's shouted.
Joon, who didn't move a single muscle, pulls out his gun. He takes a deep breath, and in an instant, he pulls the trigger five times with great accuracy.
Everyone in the stadium was silent as the cold smoke brought literal chills to the audience. But as soon as the smoke cleared, everyone's mouth drops when they saw five members of Busters now bleeding on the floor. With the help of the other princes from the earlier encounter, only Tanis and Viktor were left standing.
"No way, he predicted where they were going to run?" Kingston says in disbelief as everyone looked back at the ice prince.
Joon reaches out to his nose and wipes the blood off with the back of his hands. It's not exactly a superpower, but whenever Joon clears the table, he uses, 100% of his focus and concentration. It's effective, but the aftermath is risky.
"T-two left," Joon says while massaging his temple. He looks back at his members and realized that all the members of Dangerous Five were now knocked out by the chess pieces. Of course, there were still five of them left, but it annoyed him how the kings barely even moved away from their place and just controlled the chess pieces.
"Move forward!" Joon shouts right after.
Now that most of the members of Busters are down, Killshot and Blade could finally run towards their enemy's base. The disadvantage now is that they both use long-range weapons, which means...
"Looks like the game's over," Tanis says as he pulls out two daggers before running towards Killshot and Blade.
Most of the members of Busters know how to use guns, but they're better at close-range combat, which is advantageous when it comes to fighting PHD. The reason for this is because the kings specialize in one thing, and that's quick and stealthy combat. That's why others usually refer to them as...assassins.
"Looks like we have another problem," Joon says when he noticed one of the kings standing from the ground, tying his wound with the handkerchief that he had in his pocket so it wouldn't bleed out.
Hedeon Stallion, the king who holds the title "The Destroyer," as well as the younger brother of the queen Violet Stallion of Vixens, looked completely unfazed as he stood up from his seat. He didn't even look like he was injured.
"I shot them in an area that would be painful enough to make them immobile, but I should have expected that Hedeon would be able to suck it up," Joon says while staring at Hedeon who was getting ready to fight.
As Hedeon ran towards PHD's base, Joon looks back at Ren and Aki who were the ones guarding the base. He didn't even have to say anything for them to know what to do. So while Killshot and Blade fought off Tanis, and Ren and Aki fought with Hedeon, Joon took a deep breath and took the chance to run to where Viktor was.
While he was running, he reloaded his gun and got close enough to where Viktor was. The last time he saw him, he was hiding behind the large king piece, but when he got there, the king was nowhere to be seen.
"Shit," Joon cursed, and soon after that, he felt a cold object touching his neck.
"Tanis has your flag doesn't he?" Joon asks, looking back to see Viktor who was pushing his dagger against his skin, a grin implanted on his face as he did so.
"And I believe you have yours," Viktor says, pushing the dagger even deeper until blood appeared. Unfortunately for him, Joon was quick. He steps on Viktor's feet and elbows his stomach, giving him the chance to move away from him. As soon as he got off Viktor's hold, Joon points his gun at him and shoots, but Viktor was also fast enough to move away.
The two started fighting against each other, throwing kicks and punches like they were in some kind of action movie. Even the audience couldn't help but watch in complete amazement. Both were too quick for each other. No wonder they're the royals.
"Don't tell me you're making it easy for me Joon, that's no fun," Viktor says as the two of them were now panting heavily. Viktor was scraped twice thanks to Joon's bullets, while Joon got slashed three times by Viktor's dagger.
"Why did you show yourself like this?" Joon asks, ignoring Viktor's initial question.
Viktor—who's still wearing the phantom mask—smirks at the prince's question and says, "I'm just gracing our guests with my holy presence. Why, are you worried?"
"Worried? You should be the one who's worried. If I win this battle I can be king, or did you already forget that?" Joon asks back, making Viktor laugh this time.
"If, my dear prince, if," he says.
"You speak as if I can't beat you," Joon fires back.
"If you can then why haven't you done it yet?" Viktor asks right after, making Joon chuckle. It was one of Viktor's tactics to tick people off so they'd lose focus, but Joon knew him too well. This wasn't going to work on him.
"I would, but I like it when you play king. At least the title makes you look manly," Joon answers instead.
"Really now? Then what else do you like about me Kim Hee-joon? I'm all ears." As soon as Viktor asked that question, he swung his dagger toward Joon, and the two started fighting again as if their lives depended on it.
While the two were stalling each other, Tanis was starting to slow down after getting a couple of blows from the Hot Wingmen. Hedeon on the other side was losing his momentum now too thanks to the Pretty Duo. The problem now was that the other members of Busters were starting to regain themselves. They really were kings for a reason.
"Shit," Joon says, looking around the base when he noticed some of the members of Busters now standing from the floor.
"Looks like your time is up," Viktor says with a grin, and Joon angrily clenched his fist, mad that Viktor was able to distract him like that without him noticing.
Joon was about to shoot Viktor again, but the large king chess piece suddenly moves at full speed and hits Joon, instantly making the prince fall to the ground. As soon as the prince was on the floor, Viktor quickly goes on top of him and points his dagger at his neck again. "I'll let you steal my crown when you learn how to smile," he teases.
Joon was trying to move his hand so he could point his gun at Viktor, but Viktor was stepping on his wrist, making him unable to move. When he realized that he can't use his gun anymore, Joon remembered something and suddenly smiles at Viktor before sarcastically asking, "This good enough for you darling?"
Viktor was flustered, so Joon quickly stole the hidden dagger from Viktor's boot and pulls it out, using it to slash Viktor's cheek and pointing it at his chest. But Viktor doesn't even flinch. Instead, he steals Joon's gun from his hand and points it at his head this time. It was a never-ending battle of who dominates who.
The two positioned their new weapons and got ready to attack each other for one last time, but before any of them could give the final blow, a siren sound was suddenly heard, and everyone in the stadium started shouting.
"Time is up," a voice announced. "Busters vs PHD. For today's battle, the results are...a draw," the voice continues, and both banners of PHD and Busters fall to the grounds at the same time.
Despite the results, the students cheered, glad to have witnessed something so historical. Even the guests were clapping, some speechless while some were genuinely impressed. But what's even more shocking was that Jontell Rosario was clapping his hands too, glad to have watched something so entertaining.
"This has been today's battle. As always, whatever happens in the castle..."
"Stays in the castle!" The white uniforms shouted, and everyone started standing from their seats, excited to have started their day with such a spectacular battle.
While the white uniforms and the guests were guided out of the stadium, medics quickly rushed to the grounds to assist the injured.
"Looks like we took too long. This is one of the reasons why I never battle with you. You leave too many injuries on me and my brothers," Viktor—who was still on the ground with PHD's leader—says, making Joon laugh.
"Yet I can't seem to hit the right places to secure victory," Joon then replies before pulling the dagger away from Viktor.
Viktor pulls away the gun that's pressed on Joon's head as well before reaching out and gently wiping the blood that was on the side of Joon's lips. The pair were bleeding and their bodies were aching and wounded all over, but before anyone could approach them, Viktor suddenly grabs Joon and hugs him.
Joon was surprised as Viktor wasn't the type to do such a thing so publically, but then Viktor leans close to his ear and whispered, "I know that after this, president Janus won't let me come to J.S High anymore until the convention is over, but I came to check something."
"Check what?" Joon whispers back, confused as to what Viktor was trying to say.
"A spy," Viktor reveals. "The storm is coming soon, and I believe that someone's here to send a drizzle. While I'm away, keep an eye out no matter what. We will not let a single outsider disrespect our great house like this. Not anymore."
...
"I can't believe we got to watch the Royals battle! And did you guys see the faces of those preppy assholes? Serves them right. Now they know that J.S High isn't someone they can mess with," Ari, who was walking back to their classroom with Max, Ervin, Felix, and Keigo, says with complete excitement.
"It was pretty epic, not gonna lie," Ervin then comments. "Who would have known that Busters would pull PHD's flag."
"Yeah, even I didn't know about it," Keigo—who's an underling of the princes—answers.
"Well, that was a great welcome ceremony indeed. Now I'm just excited about the other activities we have prepared for them," Max then adds, and his friends couldn't help but agree.
As the guests were brought to the auditorium to chat with the Elites and the professors of J.S High, and probably get their questions answered after what they just witnessed, the rest of the white uniforms were asked to head back to their rooms. The reason for this is because today is also the day when the brotherhoods will be joining their temporary classes.
"By the way, tomorrow's the day where we'll be having the guests stay in our class too right? Who do you think it will be?" Felix then asks as the five peculiar friends entered their classroom.
Max and Ari walked back to their seats, and Ervin, Felix, and Keigo followed right behind them like usual, stealing chairs so they could sit close together while they wait for their new classmates to arrive.
"I hope it's one of the contestants from Mr. Brains & Brawn. I saw Kingston Creed and I immediately lost my cool. It would be pretty amazing if I could see him up close," Keigo comments, making his friends laugh considering how Kingston and Max were basically enemies before.
"Totally forgot that you're a pageant fanatic," Ari comments, and Keigo just shrugged his shoulder, not ashamed of it whatsoever.
"Kingston and I had bad blood before when I was still in Westberg Academy, but after the pageant, I think we unconsciously buried the hatchet and made up, so I think it would be fun if he gets placed here," Max honestly says.
"I'd actually want to see the other guys from the brotherhood houses too. I think it would be fun if we get to talk with them. There are so many things we don't know about their houses yet. I think it would be interesting to learn about our similarities and differences," Ari then adds, and his friends couldn't help but agree.
"But imagine if it's Jontell Rosario though," Felix then blurts out, and his friends, and even his classmates, looked back at him like he was crazy. This was like the time when their classmate Theo jokingly said that Viktor might get transferred to their class.
"D-don't say that man," Ari says as he and Keigo hid behind Max and Ervin respectively, acting like jontell was going to hear them even though it was unlikely.
"Jontell you say..." Max states, touching his chin and remembering the time Jontell talked back to Tanis at the stadium earlier. "Like Scarlet, Jontell is one of the members of Crème de la Crème who's very vocal about his rank. By the looks of it, he's very outspoken too."
"Have you met him before?" Ervin asked, pushing Keigo away from him while Felix smacked Ari's head so he could let go of Max too.
"For starters, the Rosario family is like the Stepanov Clan. They're more feared than respected, which is why they aren't invited to a lot of parties and events. But if they're the host, there's this unwritten rule that you have to attend no matter what," Ari explains, and Felix couldn't help but agree since he knows about that as well.
"So you've attended their parties before?" Ervin asks.
"I think my mother mostly attended them so I was still too young to come with her, and when she died and my father took over, we were never invited again. So to answer your previous question, no, I have not met Jontell Rosario before," Max answers, which made Ari and his classmates even more terrified.
If Max hasn't even met this guy yet, then who knows what he'll do? Jontell may be the youngest in their family, but he's still a Rosario, and nothing will change that.
"We can't have both the princes and Jontell Rosario in one room, that's going to be way too troublesome," Keigo admits.
"You shouldn't be too worried, right? After all, you're still their underling. I'm pretty sure they won't do anything to you," Felix reassures him, making Keigo awkwardly scratch the back of his head like he doesn't completely agree with that statement either.
"W-Well yeah, maybe, but what I'm really worried about is Blade. Blade's a little—" Before Keigo could finish his sentence, someone suddenly entered their classroom with a serious expression on his face. It was their vice president, Gavriil Alexeev.
As soon as Gavriil got inside, Ari got up from his seat and ran to him, grabbing his arm again like last time. "Alexeev, please tell me Jontell isn't going to be transferred to our room tomorrow."
"F-Faulkner, what on earth are you doing again? Please, let go of me and sit down." Gavriil says while Ari continued to cling to him.
Gavriil tries to pull his hand away from Ari, hoping he would let go, but as Ari tries to ask Gavriil about Jontell, he suddenly realizes that there were three figures standing just outside their classroom. As soon as he realized this, he slowly lets go of the vice president's arm and immediately freezes. "Y-You accompanied the royals to our room, didn't you?" Ari asks with a gulp, and finally, the three princes went inside their classroom, automatically making the students from Class II-A stand in their seats in complete shock.
"Jontell Rosario? Well, I hope not because I'm fucking beat. If he throws a punch I might not be able to fight back," one of the princes stated.
"Those damn kings pulling our flag and getting us injured like this. We are so gonna get even," another prince then adds.
The three figures walked towards the front where Ari and Gavriil are. As soon as they stopped in front of the class, Ari immediately bowed to them, instantly making the rest of the class bow as well.
"Welcome to Class II-A. I am Aristotle Faulkner, the class representative," Ari immediately introduces, making the three princes look at him. The three members of PHD: Jeremy Tan of Dangerous Five, Ren Adachi of Pretty Duo, and Blade of Hot Wingmen, stared at Ari without saying a word, making Ari gulp again.
The entire class was quiet, but after a while, Ren started laughing. "Why so serious boys, we don't bite," he says, making the class stand back up to face them.
Seeing them fight in the brotherhood battle earlier just feels surreal. The princes were already intimidating as is, but they looked even scarier now since they were covered in patches and bandages.
"Where's our seat? I want to sit down," Jeremy, who injured his leg, says, and Gavriil immediately pointed at the three chairs at the front. Ren assists Jeremy as the two sat in their temporary seats. As soon as they sat down, the class went back to their seats as well.
"I can't believe I'm sitting right behind Jeremy Tan," Felix whispers.
"I'm sitting right across Blade," Ervin then adds.
While Max and his friends were talking, Blade, who was still standing in the middle of the room, spots them and immediately ran toward them with a huge smile on his face.
"Keigo!" Blade greets, grabbing Keigo and hugging him tightly, surprising the entire class. "Our adorable little tech wiz, how's your stay in this class so far? Are they treating you well? Is anyone bullying you?" He then asks, and by how Keigo was trying to push him away, it seems like the prince does this to him often.
"Y-Yes, they do, now please let go, you're wounded all over and I don't want to accidentally touch it," Keigo says, and Blade pouts and hugs Keigo even tighter.
"But I'm just making sure you're okay. You're our only underling after all," Blade then reveals, and Class II-A practically gasped at the sudden information.
"Alright, thank you, now let go before Killshot sees us and he's gonna make me do a hundred push-ups again," Keigo practically begs, and Blade finally lets go of him.
As soon as he was done embracing his dear underling, Blade turns to look at Max and his friends. With a bright smile on his face, he shows them his hand and says, "Nice to meet you all, I'm Choi Myung-Jin, but I was given the name Blade. Thank you so so much for taking care of Keigo-chan for us."
"Keigo...chan?" Felix confusingly asks, making Keigo hide his face in embarrassment.
Max and the rest of the class stared at the prince, surprised to see what he was actually like. If they didn't know who he was, they wouldn't think that he was a member of PHD, let alone Hee-joon's right-hand man.
Apparently, this is what Keigo was worried about earlier.
"Nice to meet you too," Max replies, grabbing Blade's injured hand and carefully shaking it.
Blade smiled and offered his hand to Ervin and Felix next. Soon after, he ran back to Ari and shook his hand too. When he finally shook hands with all of Keigo's new friends, he looks back at his new classmates and tells them, "I'm really really excited to be with you all during the convention. Let's make great memories, okay my little bunnies?"
Blade smiles at everyone for one last time before heading to his seat, making Max and his friends look back at each other in shock.
"What the hell just happened?" Felix confusingly asks as all of them were still staring at the princes.
"Well gentlemen, we just met one of the strongest brotherhood members of J.S High," Max explains, and everyone in their class just remained silent, unaware of what will happen next.
- END -