-3rd POV-
"Tch! We keep dropping 'em, but more just keep coming!" Leona exclaimed.
"20 more power armors inbound!" A technician said.
Azul hummed softly, "Hmm...Maybe I was too hasty in rejecting Ortho's invitation. Perhaps it would've been smarter to pursue a blue ocean strategy in their new world."
"Are you mad?!" Riddle glared at him, "Their new world would be teeming with blot, and Phantoms would run rampant! How long do you think it would take to rebuild society to the point where you could run a business?!"
"As the housewarden of Pomefiore, the most storied dormitory in all of Night Raven College, I'll say this...Some forms of technology and beauty can only be achieved through dedicated study over time. To reset that and revert everything to nothing would be utterly beyond the pale." Vil said.
"Power armors are 100 meters away and closing fast!" A female technician said.
"Can anyone else here fight?!" Jamil said, looking at the technicians.
"Most of us working at Styx aren't mages. They hire people with small magic pools because we're less likely to go out of control from blot exposure." The male technician said.
"Well, that doesn't make sense." The lion male said, glaring at them from the corner of his eye.
"Ortho's got control of all our technomantic weapons. None of them will turn on."
"Power armors are now 30 meters away!...Hm? Wait, what in the world?" The female technician said.
"What is it?" The male beside her said.
"Three of the armors just went inactive. Now there's five more. Five, seven...They're just stopping."
"Target acquired. Eliminating." The Charon said.
"They're here. Get ready!" Vil said.
"Your eyes will close, your breath will still...Sleep Kiss!" A familiar voice behind the Charon said, before they were encased in glass, which shocked the others, "Got 'em! By golly, I absolutely nailed the targetin' this time!"
"I'd recognize that accent anywhere..." Vil said, smiling.
Epel ran in, "Vil-san! We finally found you!"
"Epel!" He smiled, relieved to see the teen.
"My dear Roi du Poison! How I've missed you!" Rook smiled.
(Y/n) smiled, "Glad to see you guys safe and sound." She said, as her twin stood beside her.
Everyone's eyes widen, seeing the twins in Pomefiore's dorm uniform.
"Rook! And (Y/n) and Shoto as well. I'm glad to see you're both uninjured." Vil smiled, patting the twins head, making them blink.
"Rook, Epel...and the twins? What are you guys doing here of all places?!" Leona said, shocked to see them. Though he was more shocked by the twins wearing a dorm uniform since they were always seen wearing their hero costume or the NRC uniform.
"My dear friend was in dire peril, so I flew to his aid!" Rook smiled.
"This building's practically a labyrinth. How'd you manage to find us?" The Scarabia male said, brows furrowing.
"Let us save that for later."
"My spell's gonna wear off soon. They're comin'!" The lilac haired male said.
-----
"...And that's how I used my signature spell to follow you from Sage's Island. Once we made it in, I was able to track you down thanks to Vil carrying the "special" serum. I didn't enclose a note lest it draw suspicion. That was a rather discerning guess on my part, Vil." Rook said.
"I normally never use enchanted skincare products. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. It's nice to see my "good luck serum" working its magic so soon." Vil said.
(Y/n) looked around, "Do any of you know where Grim is?" She asked, looking at them.
Riddle's eyes widen, "Grim? He was brought here as well?"
Epel nodded, "Yessir. We saw them carting him off after they captured Vil-san and Jamil-senpai. We thought he'd be with the rest of you."
"Well, I didn't see Grim-san during any of our examinations, or at any other point since we've been here." Azul said.
Leona looked of to the side, "...Wait a minute."
-Small Flashback-
The lion male looked at the end of the hall, "Who was in the room at the end of the hall?" He sniffed the air, "I'm gettin' a whiff of some vaguely familiar magic..."
"I haven't the faintest idea. The door was already destroyed by the time I got out, and no one was in there." Vil said.
"Whoever they were, they blew a door made with anti-magic materials clean off. They must be quite the formidable mage." The gray haired male said.
-End of Flashback-
"There was that subject who blew off their door and escaped before we did. Was that the furball?"
Riddle's eyes widen, "Don't be ridiculous! Grim's even more unskilled with magic than Ace and Deuce. There's no way he'd be able to destroy a door made with anti-magic material. Even we had trouble with them."
(Y/n) thought back to when she looked for him and he ended up attacking her and her twin, "I wonder what's happened to him." She muttered.
The Pomefiore housewarden looked at a technician, "Tell me something—who was in the room at the end of the hall where we were staying?"
"That was Subject F, the direbeast brought in from Night Raven College."
"...So it was the furball." Leona said.
"But his test results for magic performance were all subpar compared to an average mage. As Subject A pointed out, we had no indications he had the kind of power it would take to destroy that door. None at all."
The female technician looked through files, "Hold on. What about that one note in Subject F's file?" She brought them up, "Here, I found it. We were unable to get an accurate reading on his blot accumulation levels no matter how many tests we ran."
"What does that mean?" Shoto questioned.
"We couldn't find any other instance of this in Styx's entire database. We preformed a thorough examination, but still couldn't identify the cause. Our analysis team found layers of ancient sorcery cast on him. They couldn't figure out the effects of it...But they concluded it was likely some sort of curse—or perhaps a blessing—that triggers when certain criteria are met. The direbeast was in stable condition. We were going to keep him under observation and run further analysis..."
"A curse...?" (Y/n) muttered.
"Blessings and curses are essentially the same thing. People just categorize them differently based on their affect. My signature spell can produce positive effects as well, depending on the terms I set. Basically, a practitioner's emotional state can dictate whether a spell is positive or negative. I have no clue why Grim would have such a thing cast on him, though..." Vil said.
"Oh! Tartarus's internal sensors have logged Subject F's collar! But how...? Oh, of course! There's been free access in and out of Tartarus ever since its security went offline. According to this log, Subject F went through the Tartarus gate immediately after the emergency started."
"But why'd he go there?"
Two technicians said.
"Ortho described it to us. Tartarus is a really dangerous place, right?" The lilac haired male said.
"Absolutely. It's a containment facility that holds over 10,000 Phantoms. And all its freezing systems have been shut down. The Phantoms could awake at any moment."
The twins looked at each other with eyes widen, "Oh no..."
"At least we know where Grim is. It's actually better that he's in Tartarus. We'll pick him up on our way down to the Underworld." Vil said, which shocked the staff.
"That's absurd! It's much too dangerous!"
"That's where Idia and Ortho are, right? If we want to stop their reset plan, our only option is to go down there. Regardless of the danger."
Azul sighed, "It does sound like the only way, but even so..." He trailed off.
"You say it like it's no big deal." Jamil said.
"Now hold on. You're students! None of you have your mage license yet! We can't let amateurs handle an emergency like this. We need the pros—the Arcane Response Unit. I say we wait for help to arrive from the outside!" The technician said.
"...So how long 'till all the Phantoms in Tartarus thaw out?" The lion male said.
"Um...About six hours." The female technician said.
"And how likely is it that you'll restore communication and get help in that time frame?"
All the staff were silent, averting their eyes, not knowing the answer to that.
"You've got barely any hope of rescue, and most of the people here are helpless researchers. Ortho's taken over all your fallbacks—your Charon power armors and technomantic devices. They're totally useless." He smiked, "And your response is to cower together and hope for a miracle? Don't make me laugh." He glared at them.
"It's true that we're not licensed mages yet. But we've all been trained by our school as first responders in the event of an emergency." Riddle said.
"And there's the fact that we're all here because we've overblotted." Jamil said.
"What was the criteria for overblotting again? "You have to be a capable mage with a pretty big magic pool for it to happen at all." Did I get that right?" Azul smiled, "I believe that proves we're not your average mages. Wouldn't you all agree?"
"Well, ah, I suppose..." The technician trailed off.
"I came here because I wanted to make sure I did all that I could. And there is still much we can do to prevent the worst-case scenario." Rook said.
"I'm ready to go down there too!" Epel exclaimed.
"Then I say we strike while the iron's hot. Let us be off—to Tartarus!" The Pomefiore housewarden said.
The twins looked at each other and nodded.
As they were going to walk out, the technician called out to them.
"Whoa, wait, just hold on!"
"Do you need something else?" Vil turned to him.
"At least take these with you." He handed them a few things.
"What have we here? ID cards, a map of HQ, some transceivers...and three keychains?"
"You can't use the building's internal comm system right now. But analog wireless transceivers don't require an internet connection or signal repeater. You should be able to communicate with them as long as there's not much obstructing the signal. Those "keychains" are actually activation keys for our last resort: high-powered anti-Phantom weaponry."
"Come again?"
"Tartarus is an enormous underground containment facility comprised of three towers. The more dangerous Phantoms are kept in the lower sectors, closer to the bottom. And the most dangerous ones are the three Titans in sector 12, on the lowest level. Those are the original Phantoms, the ones said to have been sealed here since the Age of Gods."
Everyone's eyes widen.
"There's a hangar in sector six in each tower. And each hangar holds one Thunder Spear. Those are the weapons the Jupiter family forebear supposedly used to seal the Titans. Those activation keys will allow you to take the spears out of the hangars. Tower 1 holds the Phantom of Stone—the Earth Titan. Tower 2 holds the Phantom of Ice—the Crystal Titan. And Tower 3 holds the Phantom of Flame—the Magma Titan."
"No mage could take on a Titan without a special weapon, no matter how exceptional they were. Insert the activation key, and the navi system will tell you how to use them. We've got no choice but to entrust them to you. I'm so sorry we're not able to do more."
"You hardly need to feel responsible. We're choosing to venture into Tartarus. After all, it seems I was the one who incited Ortho's actions. We'll gratefully accept the Thunder Spears." The Pomefiore housewarden said.
"The spears can fire extremely powerful blasts of magic lightening...But they require time to recharge after each use. Now that the island is on emergency power...You won't find many places to charge their technomantic energy in Tartarus. Just remember, you have to charge them again after you use them. We'll do everything we can to support you. And please, be safe."
Then, the NRC boys and girl, all walked out the door.
"Now then...According to the staff, Tartarus has three towers. We should split into three teams. We must save what little time we have to mitigate the risk of a complete loss." Vil said.
"We'll have to go through all three anyway, or else we might miss Grim." Epel said.
"Very true. As for the teams..." He looked at the lion male, "Since we're both seniors and housewardes, I believe it would be best for Leona and I to lead separate teams. I'll take Tower 1. Leona can take Tower 2. That leaves Tower 3..." He trailed off.
"I'll lead the third team." Riddle said, "I've been housewarden the second-longest, after Leona-senpai."
"Very well. I trust you have no objections, Azul?"
The said male shook his head, "None at all. Riddle-san has far better grades than me in both the classroom and in the field."
Rook wrapped his arms around Epel and (Y/n), "Epel, (Y/n) and I shall go with Vil. Battles are all about teamwork, and it's easier to support someone you've spent more time with. It'll be easier for us to safeguard (Y/n) as well."
The girl deadpanned a bit, "I'm just worried about Grim..." She muttered.
"That leaves Azul, Jamil and Shoto." Vil said.
"We just learned about our magical properties and performance in detail from those exams. So I think Jamil-san, Shoto-san and I should team up with the leaders whose magic is most compatible with ours." The gray haired male said.
Leona smirked, "Hmph. Snakes and octopuses are both schemers that use others as a shield when push comes to shove. I don't care who comes with me. Just pick someone."
"Then I'll join Riddle-san in Tower 3. Leona-san's desiccating signature spell would be a poor fit with a merman."
"All right, then I'm with Leona-senpai." Jamil said, looking at the said male, "...I look forward to working with you."
Everyone then looked at the dual haired male, who stood quiet.
"Sho-nii?" (Y/n) called out to him, making him look at her.
"I really hate splitting from my baby sister...but with the situation we are in right now..." He looked at Leona and Riddle, "I'll go with Leona-senpai." He said, walking over to the two. He looked at the Pomefiore team, "There better not be a single scratch on her or else." He glared at them.
Epel hid behind the girl, as she sighed at her twins actions. Rook on the other hand smiled at him.
"Don't get overprotective now..." She said.
"Let's get rolling." The lion male said, making everyone look at him, "Just keep this in mind...The first person to reach the Underworld gate gets to beat up radish sprout without anyone there to stop 'em. How's that for motivation? "Just sit tight and you can go back to school in the morning," my foot." His brows furrowed, "I don't appreciate gettin' dragged into this mess." He growled.
Vil smirked, "The prospect of getting to smack Idia is a rather inspired incentive, Leona."
"This isn't a drill, people. We need to stay sharp at all times." Riddle said.
"I know! Why don't we all huddle up before going our separate ways?" The hunter said.
The lion male's eyes widen, "What?"
"What possible purpose could—ack! Stop tugging on me, Rook-senpai!" Riddle said, but was cut off when he was pulled by the male.
"Come, come! Everyone, join shoulder to shoulder with your neighbor!" Rook said, as everyone did as so.
"Woohoo, a pre-game huddle! That's what I'm talkin' about!" The lilac haired male smiled.
"I'm pretty sure not even our school's sports teams do any kind of huddle before games..." The Scarabia male said.
"I'm not really into the whole jock thing, you know." Azul sighed.
"Tch. Why do I have to do this...?" Leona glared.
"Heh. Why not?" Vil smirked, "It's not often one battles for the fate of the entire world."
Everyone was quiet as three were smiling.
"Okay, we're huddled." Jamil said.
"Now what?" The gray haired male questioned.
Riddle deadpanned, "I'm not well-versed in the rules of a team huddle...But I believe that generally, someone calls out an order, and the group disperses."
"Look, can we just get this over with? I could cut the awkwardness with a knife..." Leona grunted.
Rook looked at the girl with a smile, "(Y/n), would you do the honors of giving us a rallying cry?"
(Y/n)'s eyes widen.
"Good idea. Otherwise this group is going to start bickering about who says that." Vil nodded.
"Make sure to put some spirit into it." Epel grinned.
The girl looked at her twin, who smiled at her. She looked at the rest, before grinning, making them blush, "Plus Ultra!" She exclaimed.
Shoto smiled, "Plus Ultra!"
The Pomefiore group smiled as the rest had different expressions, "Plus Ultra!"
The twins eyes sparkled.
-----
"Nii-san! The Night Raven College students are heading to Tartarus. They really want to stop our plan." Ortho said.
"Ugh...Those troublemakers always get in the way. It never fails." Idia said.
The boy laughed, "Check it out! looks like they're splitting into three teams to clear Tartarus. That's so cool! It's just like the Night Raven Quest game we talked about!"
"It's gonna take more time to melt all the ice in Tartarus and unlock the gate to the Underworld...Ortho, go play with 'em some."
"Sweet! I was afraid we wouldn't be able to game together anymore. This is great!"
And this time...I'm the boss!
Ahahahahahaha!
-----
"So this is Tartarus...The Phantom containment facility. It's so vast and deep, it's rather overwhelming." Vil said, as the other three looked over to the depths of the abyss.
"I'm feelin' a cold updraft. Winter back in Harveston is mighty frigid, but this ain't quite the same." Epel said, feeling a shiver go down his spine.
"Agreed. This chill is spine-tingling. It elicits an instinctive shiver. Perhaps it's not a mere updraft, but the chill of a fear we all must face—that of our own mortality." Rook said.
(Y/n) on the other hand looked at the first-year, "I barely feel the cold." She said, since her quirk was regulating her temperature.
"Well, this is certainly a place where the living have no business lingering." The housewarden said.
The girl squinted, trying to see through the darkness at the bottom, "I can't see the bottom. How far does it go?" She said, before the four began walking.
"According to our map, there should be an elevator nearby that will take us into Tartarus..." He said, looking at the map, before looking up, and seeing what he was looking for, "Ah, there's the door." He pressed the button but nothing happened, "Of course it won't budge."
"They did say Ortho had control of all the electronics in this place. Maybe he's shut down the elevator to keep us from interfering with his plan?" The lilac haired male said.
Suddenly, the doors to the elevator opened, shocking the four.
"The elevator door opened. You know, this is..." The hunter trailed off.
"...Almost certainly a trap, yes." Vil frowned, "A prankster android and an elevator are a diabolical match. But it is our only way forward. Let's just hope he doesn't shake the elevator up and down."
The four walked in, and the door automatically closed behind them. Then the hologram of Ortho appeared.
"Hey, guys! Welcome to Tower 1 of Tartarus, the cursed containment facility!" He smiled.
"And there's our prankster now."
"I can't believe I get to see a real-life version of Night Raven Quest. And it's got new characters and classes we never expected!"
"Wait, what's Night Raven Quest?" Epel questioned.
"This is your party's first checkpoint on your grand quest to reach the Underworld. If you want to take us on, you'll have to prove you're more than a match for this challenge."
A game then showed on the screen and a controller appeared by Vil's feet.
"Is this Star Rogue? The game you had me play during the lockdown?" The housewarden said.
"I'll let you into Tartarus if you beat it. Now..."Shoot for glory among the stars and soar like a comet!""
-----
"Non! We've gotten a game over..." Rook said, shocked.
"Now, hold on! That was a much higher difficulty than when I played earlier!" Vil frowned.
Ortho laughed, "Wow, you can't even beat that level? What a casual! Sorry to gatekeep, but I don't let scrubs into Tartarus."
"Rgh...The way you're trolling me...The resemblance to Idia is uncanny."
"Really? It's close?" He smiled, "Wow, gosh! I take after my nii-san!" He giggled, "Hmm, all right. I guess it'd be boring if we just ended things here. I'll give you one chance to redeem yourselves. Dropping the difficulty to beginner..." He changed the setting, "There. Are you ready? Go ahead and start the game!"