It's here! It's finally here! Yay! Even though it's only the first part of the book, it's still here! So, if you read on my profile that once this book came out (well, the first part) I was gonna halt everything and focus on this book lol.
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-3rd POV-
(Y/n) looked around, 'Am I...in the clouds?' She thought, before squinting her eyes, 'Whoa, that's bright...'
She went through some gates and was met with a kingdom in the clouds.
"Oh, look at this. Look how cute he is." Zeus was smiling at the small baby in his hands, "On behalf of my son, I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful gifts!" He said, as a small Pegasus flew close by and Hera was next to them.
"How sentimental." Hades said, standing near a column, "I haven't been this choked up since I got a hunk of moussaka caught in my throat."
The god looked at him, "Come on, Hades, don't be such a stiff. Join the celebration!"
He walked up to him, "I regrettably have a full-time gig—that you, by the way, so charitably bestowed on me, Zeus. So...can't. Love to, but can't."
"You ought to slow down. You'll work yourself to death." He then sat on his chair, bursting into a fit of laughter, "Hah! Work yourself to death! Oh, I kill myself!"
Hades walked off with a scowl on his face, "If only...If only."
The dual haired girl's vision then went black.
"...ey! Hey, (Y/n)! Wake up already!" A voice called out to her, shaking her gently.
"There's a temple in the clouds..." She muttered out loud, before slowly waking up, "Hm?" Her eyes opened and was met with Ace and Deuce, who were in their Heartslabyul uniforms.
"C'mon, you can't go falling asleep when you're the one who called us over at this hour." The orange haired male said, pouting a bit.
"I was certainly surprised to hear from you so late. What's this about Grim being missing?" The blue haired male said, tilting his head a bit.
The girl put a hand to her head, "Oh, right. I was out with Sho-nii looking for Grim, and..."
The two eyes widen.
"Whoa, hold up! What happened to your hand? It's all scratched!" Ace exclaimed, grabbing her hand.
"What?" She confusingly said, before looking at her hand, 'When did I get scratched? Was it when I fell unconscious?' She thought, before looking at them, "Grim..."
"Wait. Am I hearin' you right?"
"No way...Grim did that?" Deuce said, making the girl nod.
"He also scratched my brother..." She muttered.
The orange haired male stayed quite, before speaking up, "Let's head to the lounge for now. We gotta get that hand patched up stat. Get your brother too."
"Ah, right, good call. We can talk with the headmage after that." The blue haired male said, nodding.
-----
"So the mirror in your room connected to another place, and you spoke with a large-eared creature named "Mickey." After your conversation, you noticed Grim was missing and went to look for him. Then when you both found him, he acted uncharacteristically aggressive and lashed out at both. Hmmm..." Crowley said.
"Grim was eating another black rock off the ground." (Y/n) said, as her hand was now wrapped by Ace and Deuce had helped her brother.
"A black rock, you say?"
"You mean like the one he housed in the mine at the stat of the school year?" Ace said, thinking back, making the girl nod.
"Now that you mention it..." Deuce trailed off, "Grim also scarfed down the black rock that fell onto the grass when Housewarden Riddle overblotted."
"But he didn't freak out back then. What's the deal with those black rocks, anyway?"
"I didn't witness any of these incidents firsthand, so this is purely conjecture...But I suspect those black rocks were blot crystals." The headmage concluded.
"What are blot crystals?" Shoto asked, tilting his head.
"I believe a quick refresher is in order. Overblotting occurs when a magic user accumulates more blot than they can handle. Blot, as you know, is a waste product of using magic. It is highly toxic and contains stagnant magical energy. During such incidents, blot manifests in the shape of the practitioner's darkest emotions."
"And when you wanna get someone out of an overblot..." The orange haired male trailed off, "...you gotta rip that manifestation away from them, right?"
"At least that's how we've gotten all the overblotters to return to normal so far." The blue haired male said.
Crowley nodded, "Just so. One must sever the link to the manifestation to free the magic user. My understanding is that when the manifestation fades, the condensed blot can crystallize."
"Seriously?" Ace said, eyes widen.
"Magestones themselves can form when magic flowing through the earth or air happens to crystallize. Blot is essentially magic runoff, so it stands to reason that it could solidify as well. Granted, I've never witnessed it personally. Overblotting itself is exceptionally rare...Hmm." He hummed.
""Exceptionally rare"? Tell that to the five guys who overblotted this year." (Y/n) said, deadpanning.
"Okay, lemme see if I got this straight. Blot is bad for people even in small amounts, and the black rocks are hyper-condensed versions of it, right?" The orange haired male said.
"Correct." The headmage said, nodding.
"Which means if someone goes around snacking on them, it's gonna mess with 'em."
"Grim went berserk because he ate those rocks...?" Deuce said.
"Bear in mind, this is all speculation. It's also worth remembering that while Grim can communicate with us, he's still a monster. Him going "berserk" may be his true nature. The second day of the culture fair is tomorrow. We cannot leave a dangerous monster on the loose, especially if he's already injured two people." Crowley frowned.
"Dangerous?! But this is Grim we're talking about!"
"Believe me, I've no desire to condemn him in such a manner. Monster or no, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and admitted him to this school. But we cannot ignore the possibility that he may no longer be fit to remain on campus."
"Hold on, what are you sayin'?" Ace said.
"Regardless, we must assemble the faculty and housewardens and capture Grim posthaste."
"Oh geez..." The blue haired male said.
"I had best be going now." He looked at the twins, "(Y/n), Shoto, do not leave this dorm." Looked at the other two, "Trappola, Spade, return at once to Heartslabyul. After all, they could mobilize any second..." He mumbled the last sentence.
"Uh, what now?" The orange haired male questioned.
"Oh, nothing. Gracious, there's no rest for the wicked..." He said, before leaving.
"He said Grim might not be fit to stay on campus..." He looked at the others, "So what, they're just gonna label him a menace now?"
"Grim would never...I mean, sure, he's a glutton who's never heard of self-control, and he can be really selfish at times. But he'd never intentionally hurt (Y/n) and Shoto or any other student without reason. Surely he wouldn't...Probably...I guess?" Deuce said, frowning.
"Dude, you're not helping." He said, looking at him with a small glare, "Look, monsters are feral. I've seen news stories about them attacking human towns and stuff. The headmage isn't being unreasonable."
"Ace, you can't mean that!" Deuce frowned at him.
"But Grim's hung out with (Y/n) for the past six months and Shoto for almost two months and he's been just fine." Ace smiled, "...And we've gotten along with him too."
His eyes widen, before smiling, "Yeah, you're right. All our classmates are comfortable around him as well."
"So, what's the plan? What do you want to do, (Y/n)? Shoto?" He looked at the two.
The twins looked at each other, before looking at them, "We don't want to lose Grim over this." They said.
"I had a feeling you'd both say that. Well, let's go bang out this search and find that frustrating furball."
The blue haired male smirked, "That's what I'm talkin' about! We need to find Grim before the others. That cat's gotta lot of explainin' to do!"
-----
"...And that brings us to the task at hand. We must locate Grim and take him into custody. I've already dispatched the teachers." Crowley said.
"So Grim injured (Y/n) and Shoto? I see." Vil said.
"Huh. I just can't picture him doing that." Kalim sadly said.
"I was expectin' something a little more urgent than finding a lost kitty cat. Can't believe you dragged me outta bed for this." Leona said, before letting out a yawn.
"The culture fair is still going on. It's imperative we apprehend him for our visitors' safety." Riddle said.
"My, my. Grim never misses an opportunity to cause trouble whenever we have a big event, hm?" Azul said, pushing up his glasses.
"Malleus is out for an evening stroll. I'm here in his stead." Lilia explained, before smiling, "I admit I'm not great at finding things...But I suppose another pair of eyes can't hurt."
Ortho raised his hand, "Question! Does it matter if the target is alive when we bring him in?" He cheerfully said.
"Of course it does!" The headmage exclaimed, "You are to bring him in alive! And also unharmed, insomuch as possible!"
"So if we rough up the target, we fail the objective. K." Idia said, as he was talking through his tablet, "Eh, I'm sure Ortho can handle a Grim capture quest EZPZ."
Ortho giggled, "I've got a detailed map of the school, which includes all secret doors and underground passages. My IR scans should locate him in no time."
"I'll leave you all to it, then." Crowley said, as they all nodded, while someone thought they could be sleeping right about now.
-----
"Bio-reading located within 15-meter radius. Height: approximately 70 centimeters. Magic detected. Confirmed as target. Commencing capture." Ortho said, after he found Grim in the woods behind the campus.
-----
"Mraaagh!" Grim yelled out, before falling unconsious.
"Target has ceased moving. Scanning vitals." Ortho said, scanning the sleeping feline, "Pulse and breathing normal. No physical distress or threat to life detected. Mission: Capture Grim, complete. Reporting back to administrator."
"Hey, Ortho." Idia called out, "That takes care of the Grim capture RTA—wait, no, with Ortho, it'd be more like TAS...Well, whatever. You speedran it, that's what counts. Guess we gotta report back to the quest-giver now."
"Hai, nii-san. I'll return to the dorm as soon as I hand Grim over to the headmage." He smiled.
"Is the school's already-abysmal ratio of warm, cuddly cats about to get even worse? That's just tragic. Can't they just suspend him and make him write an apology or something?" He muttered to himself.
-----
"Grim, are you there?!" Deuce loudly called out.
Ace instantly looked at him with a frown, ready to hit the male's head, "Pipe down! The headmage told us to go back to our dorm, remember? You know that if the housewarden hears we snuck out after curfew, it'll be off with our heads." He said in a whispering tone.
"Oh, right..." He then looked around, "Heeere, Grimmy! I've got a can of your favorite tuna!" He whispered-yelled.
Soon, a phone went off, making the orange haired male instantly jump a bit.
"What part of "pipe down" do you not—" Ace then looked at the girl, who had the phone out, "Oh, that's (Y/n)'s phone. Did they find him?"
(Y/n) answered, which was Crowley on the other side of the call.
"(Y/n). Shoto. The Shroud brothers from Ignihyde have successfully captured Grim."
Everyone's eyes widen.
"How fortunate they did it so quickly. If they hadn't, I would've been forced to cancel the culture fair, and then Ambrose would've had my guts for garters..." He then cleared his throat, "But never mind that! Grim is in no condition to talk at the moment. We will question him as soon as he comes to. I'm also considering having a third party look into the matter. Hence, I cannot allow you both to speak with Grim in interim. I'll be in touch soon."
Then the line went dead.
"Did he just say Grim's in no condition to talk?" The orange haired male said.
"Maybe he put up a huge fight when they captured him..." The blue haired male said.
(Y/n) couldn't help but feel worried for her feline friend, "I really hope I can see him soon..." She softly said, as her brother pat her back and the other two nodded.
-----
A few days later...
"I thought the NRC Tribe had been disbanded. The culture fair is over, after all." Jamil said, as they were all in the Ramshackle dorm.
"Non. Vil chose to simply put it on indefinite hiatus." Rook said.
"Okay, if that's what you call it. Regardless, this is sudden."
"Yeah! I didn't expect to get an NRC Tribe message calling us out to Ramshackle after class." Kalim said, tilting his head, "Is something going on, Vil?"
Everyone turned to the blond male.
"Thank you all for coming. Grim couldn't make it, of course..." He said, taking note of the girl's sad expression at the mention of her friend, "But there's nothing to be done about that at the moment."
Ace and Deuce couldn't help but feel sad about it too.
"There are some important matters I wanted to discuss with you all. First, I'll touch on what happened the day of SDC. Allow me to apologize for betraying your trust."
"Huh...?" Kalim, Epel and Deuce said.
"I realized we would lose, and my solution was to curse my rival. It was the ugliest possible thing I could've done. I am truly sorry." He apologized.
"Goodness. I'm not used to Vil apologizing like that." The lilac haired male said.
"Well, at least your curse didn't succeed, right?" Jamil questioned.
"Yeah! You didn't harm a single hair on Neige's head." The white haired male said.
"That's only because you, Rook, and the rest of the group stopped me. Yet I still hurt you when I overblotted. That incident could've ended my life...Or any of yours." Vil said.
The blond hunter stared at him, staying quiet.
"You exhausted your magical reserves or quirk fighting me, then had to immediately perform. No matter how determined you were, I highly doubt you were able to give 100 percent."
"That's not true! I thought it was our best performance ever!" Epel proclaimed.
Deuce nodded, "I agree. Vil-senpai, we crushed it out there!"
Ace let out a breath, "Well, "crushed it" is kinda subjective..."
"Are you really going to debate this?!"
"Okay, yes, we fought for our lives and won, then lucked out big time when Malleus-senpai fixed the stage for us. Then we busted our tails and got through the whole performance, start to finish. It was incredible, and I agree we did the best we'd ever done. That said..." He trailed off.
"You mean just because we were happy with it, doesn't mean the audience was." Jamil said.
"Oh, I see..." The lilac haired male said.
"Ace and Jamil have the right of it." Vil nodded, "I've been reviewing our show recording with a more critical eye...And it's apparent we weren't performing at even half our usual level. Positioning was sloppy, kicks weren't reaching their full height—even your fingers were all over the place. Which makes sense, given the battle you'd just fought. It was the best you have done, yes."
"But you weren't at your best. It was critical for you to be at your best when you performed, and I failed to make that happen. Our loss at SDC is entirely on me. Some leader I turned out to be." He frowned at himself.
Everyone took in his words.
"Vil-senpai, I understand your point." Jamil said, looking at him, "But as we saw during our SDC rehearsal...Neige's group was already popular. Our performance wasn't going to change that. If we'd been at our best, that doesn't mean we would've performed perfectly. And even if we had, we still could've lost." He smiled, "You can't always beat someone that popular with hard work or a solid performance."
Kalim grinned, "Jamil's right. You don't have to worry, Vil. It's not your fault!"
"I suppose. Though bear in mind, Neige's group has struggled and worked hard as well." The blond said, shocking the two, "I dismissed their performance in the heat of the moment when I first saw it, but...Endearing yourselves to the masses and impressing them with skill are equally valid approaches. We simply emphasized different things. None of you have an inkling how much work Neige's group put in, do you?"
"What do you mean by that?" Epel tilted his head.
"The first time I co-starred in a movie with Neige...He would always leave and say he had shores to do, while I stuck around for rehearsal. It made me so angry. I judged him for coasting on his natural talent." He frowned, but his expression turned neutral, "But later, I learned something. Those kids Neige performed with at SDC? He's lived with them for years. They've all been supporting each other without any help since long before he and I met."
"Whoa. You mean like since his child actor days?" Deuce questioned.
"Yes. I don't know the particulars beyond that, mind you. He would do his chores, attend rehearsal, then go home and do more chores. He'd practice in what spare time he could find. And yet he'd always greet me with a cheerful, singsongy "good morning." I can't imagine how hard he's had it. After all, my life's been quite different."
"Golly..." The lilac haired male said.
"Neige has never divulged his personal history to the press." He looked at his vice housewarden, "But I'm guessing you knew the truth, Rook?"
"...Oui." Rook nodded, "Much of Roi des Neiges charm comes from his endearing smile. But it's also the smile of someone who's overcome untold hardships. That's why so many people are drawn to it. I also hear he donates most of his pay to charity."
"...You certainly have the inside scoop. I'm fairly certain that fact hasn't been made public either."
"It's well-known among his most dedicated fans."
"I see...Well, I have it on good authority that he donated his SDC prize money too. To aid underprivileged children with their futures."
"I had no idea they'd been through all that together..." Kalim sadly said.
Vil sighed, "There, you see? If you had known of Neige's background before SDC...Would you have fought to win? Could you have voted for yourselves in good conscience? Would you have been able to judge Neige's group on merit alone, without sympathy getting in the way?"
Deuce and Epel looked down.
"I won't speak for the others, but Kalim definitely couldn't have done that." The black haired male said.
"Hey, that's not true...I mean...Oof, this is hard..." The white haired male said.
"I still woulda voted for myself in a heartbeat. SDC Isn't a competition for saddest backstory. It's about who performs best on stage." Ace said.
"And there you've struck the heart of the matter." Vil said.
His eyes widen, "I have?"
"You. Me. Neige. Everyone on that stage has their own story. Which is why results are what matter in show business."
"Oh..." Epel said.
"NRC Tribe's performance lost to Royal Sword Academy's. That's all there is to it. And my actions had a direct, negative impact on us. It was a blunder of epic proportions. So I'd like to offer you all a token of apology."
(Y/n) tiled her head, "What kind of token?"
"Do you recall what was written on the SDC recruitment poster?"
"Uh, lemme think...Something about "your shot at the big time"..." The orange haired male said.
"It also mentioned a 50,000 thaumarks prize to be split among the winners." The blue haired male said.
The blond nodded, "Precisely. That was to entice people to audition. Since I was responsible for our team losing out on the prize money...I'll be paying out the 50,000 myself."
"Whaaa?!" Everyone exclaimed in shock.