https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ssQF4RjmhTfDDMpyzA68j?si=rHfjZgZyQCuA9aXemKGDjw&dd=1
I hope the link works, if not then please copy it and paste it :D...but mx_dottore has made a playlist (first time a follower did this :D) but I hope you like it and of course created the new covers for the book. So thank you again for these ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ
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-3rd POV-
"It goes down so far, I can't see the bottom..." Jamil said, peeking over, "So they decided to call this place Tartarus? I wonder how many stories deep it is."
"It goes 12 sectors down, but the map doesn't specify how many stories are in a sector." Leona looked at the male and outstretched his hand, "Hey. Gimme one of your pointless jingly hair things."
"Hm? Oh, sure." He said, taking it out from his hair.
Shoto sighed, knowing where this was going.
Then the lion male threw it over, as they all watched it fall, "...I can't hear it hitting the ground. It's gotta be more than 50 stories."
"Was it really necessary to use one of my belongings for that?" The black haired male said.
"No one forced you to hand it over. It was just some tiny thing; no need to whine about it."
"Me, whine? Oh, I wouldn't dream of doing that. It's an honor to be of service to you, Leona-senpai."
"Hmph. I don't buy that shady smile for a second."
"Anyway, I believe our first order of business is to retrieve the Thunder Spear."
"It's in the hangar in sector six, right?"
"According to the map, there should be a elevator nearby..." He said, before spotting the door, "Ah, here it is."
"Normally I'd expect them to shut down the elevators to keep intruders out..."
The three walked up to it and it opened, without any of them pressing the button.
"That door opened the moment we walked up to it. Like it was waiting for us. We being taunted."
"Most likely. Ortho's got control of this whole facility. This is almost guaranteed to be a trap. Given the danger, you should stay behind me and—" Jamil was cut off.
"Let's go." He said, already walking in.
His eyes widen, "Huh? Leona-senpai, wait! Don't just take off like that!" He ran after.
The dual haired male sighed again, 'Hope my sister is doing better, since these two are definitely on different perspectives...' He thought, walking in, and the door closed behind him once he was in.
The hologram of Ortho appeared, "Hey, guys! Welcome to Tower 2 of Tartarus, the cursed containment facility!" He smiled.
"And here he is, right on cue." Jamil said, as he and Leona frowned.
"Aww, what kind of reaction was that? I was hoping for a little more surprise."
"Yeah, well, it's not hard for us humans to predict how a robot thinks." The lion male smirked.
"Heh...A robot, eh? I guess that means I'll just have to do better next time. Of course...That's assuming there is a next time."
"What?" Shoto questioned.
"Do you three have what it takes to overcome my trial?"
"A trial, huh?" Leona said.
"What's he going to do?! Get back, Leona-senpai!" The Scarabia male said.
"Dude, there's nowhere to "get back" to in this cramped elevator. You need to chill."
"Ta-da!" Ortho exclaimed, showing the screen.
"Hm? It's a projection of The Hydra Strikes Back." Jamil said.
"That's the stupid game you made me play earlier." The lion male said.
"Yup! This will be your first trial. You must beat The Hydra Strikes Back! If you win the game, I'll grant you the privilege of challenging us."
"He's breaking out a video game right now? What's his angle? I'll play it, Leona-senpai." The black haired male said.
The said male looked at him, "What? Why you?"
"There's no telling what king of traps this game's been rigged with. It would be ill-advised to just blunder in."
"Look, it's just a stupid game."
"We can't be too careful. What if the controller is rigged to electrify anyone who touches it?"
"Geez, talk about paranoid. I wouldn't do anything that nasty." Ortho said.
Shoto shook his head and stepped up, taking the controller, "I'll play since both of you seemed to be in a disagreement."
The boy smiled and clapped his hands, "Ah, Shoto Todoroki-san! I can't wait to see how you do. Let's start the game!"
-----
Leona laughed, "Way to go. You got a game over in seconds!"
Shoto's eyes were widen, "What?" He muttered.
"Now hold on a minute." Jamil exclaimed, pointing at the screen, "What was that? The game was way harder than when Leona-senpai played it!"
"Of course it was. Where's the fun in doing the exact same thing again?" Ortho said.
"You had it for a second there, Shoto." The lion male smirked.
"Whose side are you on?!" Jamil exclaimed, backing up (Y/n)'s brother.
"Oh, c'mon! This isn't life or death! Games are all about having fun, right?" He smiled, "Fine, I guess I'll lower the difficulty and give you another shot." He changed the setting, "Now pick that controller back up!"
------
"Here's Tartarus, then. The Phantom containment facility..." Azul trailed off, "Did they drill under the seabed to build this? It's so deep, I can't see the bottom. All the high-density blot blowing up is stopping us from using flight magic. I wonder how many stairs we'll have to go down to reach the Underworld."
He let out a small breath, seeing the little cloud, "I can see my breath...It must be rather chilly here. I'm no stranger to the cold, but I suggest you take care to avoid hypothermia, Riddle-san..." He looked around, not seeing the teen, "Wait, Riddle-san? Where'd he..." He then looked ahead, eyes widening, "Hey! He's way ahead of me!" He then ran up, "Hold on! You can't just run off on your own!"
Riddle looked at him from the corner of his eye, walking, "Me, running off? I believe you were the one who slowed down. We're not here to sightsee, and we don't have time for a leisurely chat."
"I'm not making small talk, you know. It's reasonable first step to try and get a grasp of our situation."
"Two sayings come to mind: "the early bird catches the worm" and "you snooze, you lose."" He smirked, "Acting before others gives us the initiative. That is a reasonable first step."
"Ahh, classic Riddle-san, charging ahead. Typical of someone who became housewarden a week after enrolling. There is another saying, you know: "haste makes waste." But it's no matter. You're the leader here, so I'll follow what you say."
"According to the map we received, there should be an elevator nearby..." The red haired male trailed off, before spotting the elevator, "Ah, must be it there."
"Riddle-san, wait! What if it's a trap—" He was cut off when he spotted the male press the button.
The two were quiet, seeing the door not opening.
"Nothing's happening." Riddle said.
"All of Styx's tech is under Ortho's control right now. I'd be surprised if the elevator wasn't offline."
Though, the door soon opened, shocking them.
"The door opened." The red haired male said.
"Heh. What kind of idiot would willingly walk into such an obvious trap?" The gray haired male smirked.
"The enemy's just offering us a way into their stronghold? How very brazen. Very well. I accept their challenge!" He said, before walking in.
His eyes widen, staying outside, "Wha...Are you listening to me?! This is clearly a trap!"
"Yes, I'm aware. Now do keep up or I'll leave you behind."
"Oh, for crying out loud!" He said, walking in and the door closed behind him.
The hologram of Ortho appeared, smiling at them, "Hey, guys! Welcome to Tower 3 of Tartarus, the cursed containment facility!"
"You see? What did I tell you? A trap."
"Nonetheless, it's the quickest way forward." Riddle said.
"I'm just crossing my fingers it's not the quickest way to our demise!"
"Oho, what's this? Are you two already fighting? I don't know if you'll be able to get through all the trials if you keep that up."
"What trials?" The Heartslabyul male's brows furrowed.
Ortho giggled, "Adventures come with trials, right? And your first one is...this!" He showed a game.
Azul smirked, "Why, isn't that Legend of the Underworld? The game Riddle-san got obsessed with beating?" He said, as the said male deadpanned.
"It's the perfect choice for people making their way down to the Underworld!"
"Wait, the video game is the trial?" Riddle questioned.
"Yup! Ah, but this may be harder for you than fighting Phantoms, Riddle Rosehearts-san."
This made him angry, building up magic, "Excuse me?! I don't need to beat this stupid game. I can just use the full power of my magic and blast right through this door—" He was cut off.
"Hold it, Riddle-san!" Azul said, outstretching his arm to him, "Using your magic like that inside an elevator would be a recipe for disaster! Going down in flames is not part of my plan. I'll beat the game." He looked at the boy, "Fire it up, Ortho."
"Okey-dokey! Let's get this game started!"
-----
"What?! You just lost!" Riddle exclaimed, shocked.
"That difficulty spike was ridiculous! You can't expect me to beat that!" Azul said, eyes widen.
Ortho laughed, "Look how panicked you are! It's priceless! And this from the guy who was so cocky before!"
"You never planned on letting us win. This trial is a farce!" The red haired male frowned.
"Now, now, don't get snippy. Video games are supposed to be fun, remember?"
"Then how about giving me something that's actually fun to play?" The gray haired male said.
"Oh, fiiine. I'll lower the difficulty and let you have another go." He changed the setting and smiled, "Get the controller ready. It's time for some fun!"
-----
Epel smiled, "Yeah! We got it this time!"
"Hmm. I guess that's a passable score for a beginner. Okay, this might be entertaining. You may enter Tartarus." Ortho smiled, "If Vil Schoenheit-san is the tank...I wonder what classes would suit Rook Hunt-san and Epel Felmier-san. Oh, and (Y/n) Todoroki-san too. I can't wait to see how your party shakes out as you navigate the dungeon. You're about to enter a high-level dungeon swarming with real monsters. I'll be waiting for you at the next stage." He giggled, before disappearing.
The door of the elevator opened, letting the four out.
"Hmph. Those brothers are a pair of clowns. Just you wait, Ortho. Enjoy acting like a final boss while you can." Vil smirked.
"So this is what Tartarus is like on the inside...The elevator's stopped running. Looks like we'll have to take stairs from here." The lilac haired male said.
"According to the staff in the control room...The Phantoms on the upper levels have already thawed, so it's likely they're up and about. We may run into them at any time. Beware of your surroundings." He said, as they walked down long stairs, "We haven't had much chance to speak since reuniting, and now we're navigating an enemy stronghold..." He stopped and turned to them, "But while we've got this downtime, I'd like to take a moment to say something to you all."
"What is it, Roi du Poison?" Rook said.
"First—you, Rook. You're my vice housewarde, yet you abandoned Pomefiore. I know you don't usually act like a proper vice housewarden...But after Styx's attack, the campus was surely in chaos. And yet here you are, gallivanting around by yourself? As housewarden, I cannot overlook this." He frowned, as the blond stood quiet.
"Now just hold on, Vil-san! Rook-san came to get you, despite knowing all the danger—" Epel was cut off.
"Zip it. My abduction and Rook's dereliction of duty are two entirely separate matters. The other vice housweardens aren't here because they're all doing their jobs, running their dorms. I'm ashamed of my poor judgement in nominating a vice housewarden so irresponsible he'd abandon his dorm at the drop of a hat."
"Hey...That ain't no way to talk to him!"
Rook put a hand on the male's shoulder, "It's fine, Epel. Vil's ire is entirely justified. I was prepared to be dismissed as vice housewarden the moment I left campus."
"But that's not fair...!" (Y/n) said.
"Next—Epel and (Y/n). Do you have any idea how reckless it was to come here? You'er inept children playing at heroes. That doesn't help anyone. Quite frankly, you're nuisances." Vil said, glaring at the two.
The girl glared at him, ready to freeze him or burn him, "I couldn't sit around and do nothing, okay?"
"...What fools you are." He said, before sighing, "Well, that takes care of everything I had to say as Pomefiore's housewarden. Now for what I want to say as plain old Vil Schoenheit."
"Pardon?" Rook said.
"Here's the truth..." He smiled, "When Idia told me you all had come here, I was beside myself with joy. I've been holding it in ever since we met up with each other. May I give you all a hug and kiss?"
"Wh...What?!" The three said, shocked by his words.
Vil went up to the males, giving each a kiss on the cheek and a hug. He went to the girl, hugging her and kissing her cheek.
(Y/n)'s eyes widen as a barely visible blush appeared, "Did I just get kissed on the cheek by a world-class supermodel...?" She muttered, raising a hand to her cheek as the male smiled.
'Ah, she has a cute small blush.' He thought, and smiled at the others, "Come, now. You act like things like this are completely beyond my understanding. Can't I show my gratitude? My hunter. My poison apple. And you, my princess...Thank you for coming after me. I'll make certain you're all returned to school safely."
"And we'll do the same for you, our queen." The hunter smiled.
Epel chuckled, "I ain't gonna lose this time!"
(Y/n) smiled, "Yeah..."
"Oh, guess what, Vil-san! I learned my signature spell on the way here!"
Vil's eyes widen, "What?!"
"He did indeed. You saw it yourself, I presume. Surely you didn't miss the Charons encased in lovely glass cages." Rook smiled.
"Wait..." He looked at the lilac haired male, "That was Epel's signature spell?"
The said teen smiled, proud of his spell, "Yessir! Sleep Kiss traps a target in a barrier and immobilizes them. I haven't perfected it just yet, though. My success rate's like maybe 30, 40 percent..."
The dual haired girl smiled, patting his head, making him blush, "He saved my life with it."
"The Charons had us surrounded and we were quite at our wits' end. That's when Epel's signature spell awakened within him. Never have I been so disappointed that my eyes lack the ability to record. Would that I could have captured the moment to share with you, Vil!" The blond smiled.
"Heh...It is a pity I wasn't there to see it." Pomefiore's housewarden said, before frowning when he saw what was ahead of them, "But something tells me I'll get to witness Epel in action all too soon."
He looked ahead, "Ah...Yes, you're quite right."
The two first-years looked at each other then at them.
"What is it, guys? You're both frowning." Epel said.
"Ready yourself, Epel. Something's coming from below!" Vil said.
-----
"There. How's that?" Jamil said, looking at the hologram seeing that Shoto finished the game.
"A solid high score! Your experience speaks volumes. I hope you blaze through the Tartarus dungeon missions the same way." Ortho smiled.
"Wait, there are missions?" The dual haired male said.
"Yup! Past this point is a hard-mode dungeon filled with Phantoms. So proceed carefully and try to avoid encounters with high-level monsters."
"I don't care what we encounter. We're gonna get to you guys and rip out both your manes." Leona glared, "Just you wait. Better have some bandages handy."
"...Oh yes. My nii-san and I will be waiting for you. We're really, really looking forward to this, after all." He said, before his hologram disappeared.
The elevator door opened and the three walked out.
""Looking forward to this"? Now he's just mocking us." The lion male said.
"That's for sure." Jamil said, "And he called Tartarus a hard-mode dungeon? This isn't some video game."
"Does that us characters he's controlling? That's pretty funny." He smirked.
"The elevator's stopped. Let's continue down the stairs, with caution. There's no telling what might happen next. Make sure you stay close." He smiled, as the other male was silent.
Shoto on the other hand began to walk ahead.
The two older males looked at each other and followed after him.
'He must really want to get this over with in order to get back to (Y/n)...' The Scarabia male thought, "All this moving around, and I'm still getting chilly...This place is rather cold, isn't it?"
"Tartarus is basically a giant freezer meant to keep Phantoms on ice. If they start building this place during the Age of Gods, it'd make sense to put it underwater where they could maintain low temps." Leona said.
"It's not exactly the best environment for someone from the Sunset Savanna or the Scalding Sands."
"No kidding. At least our dorm uniforms are imbued with temperature-regulating magic, but it's definitely not pleasant."
"Oh, do you need a jacket? You could take mine. I could make some magical adjustments to it..."
"Nobody asked that, sheesh. We'd be even worse off if you got so cold you couldn't move. We just need to focus on dragging radish sprout out of this hole and gettin' off the island."
"Right. I'm worried about the school too."
He looked at him, raising a brow, "...You are?"
"Of course. The only housewardens there right now are Malleus-senpai and Kalim. The whole school must be in chaos, to say nothing of Scarabia."
"Hmm..." The lion male hummed, smirking, "So you don't trust your housewarden to run the dorm by himself?"
"That's not what I meant. Aren't you worried about your students, Leona-senpai? Savanaclaw has no vice housewarden. I imagine your students are in a panic with their leader gone."
"What do I care? They can groom their own tails."
"Are you serious? Talk about irresponsible...Wait." He said, noticing the dual haired male was walking a bit slower, "There's a breeze. Before, all I could feel was the cold updraft beneath us."
"Yeah, there's been a crosswind for a little while now."
"Look! There's a narrow side path just a bit further down."
"It's too dark to see in there. The perfect place to hide out. There's a good chance some unfrozen Phantoms are lurking there." Leona said.
"You stay back here. I'll go with Shoto and check it out." Jamil said.
"Huh?" The two said.
"What are you on about?" The lion male said.
The black haired male looked at him, "What? You're the second prince of the Sunset Savanna and a housewarden. It only makes sense that I should take point. Besides, I'm much quicker on my feet—oh, not that I'm suggesting you're slow, of course." He said, as the male was quiet, "I'm worried, okay? I wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility if anything happened to you..."
"Hah! Worried? Responsibility? You're talking about me?" His eyes widen, "...Hold on."
The three turned, hearing a screech coming from the dark corridor.
"Too late. Something's coming."
"And there they are. We'll just have to intercept them!"
-----
"There we go! How's that? I finished it!" Azul said.
"Gloating doesn't really work when you play on easy. But whatevs, your score's almost decent. I'll let you pass." Ortho's hologram said.
"...His irksome trash-talk very much reminds me of someone." Riddle muttered, brows furrowing.
"I suppose they're not siblings for nothing. I didn't realize how much he could get under someone's skin." The gray haired male muttered back.
"Just remember it won't be fun and games from here on out. You're going into a dungeon to fight real monsters—Phantoms. I can't wait to see how you guys do in battle." The boy smiled.
"Hmph. We'll get down to the bottom in no time. Just you wait—your plot will be foiled soon enough." The red haired male said.
He let out a small laugh, "I dunnooo. You think it'll be that easy to get down here? My nii-san and I are waiting for you!" He said, before disappearing.
The door opened, letting the two out.
"He won't be making a mockery of us much longer. Let's hurry!" Riddle said, beginning to walk.
"We can't be sure where our enemies will strike. We should proceed with—" Azul cut himself off as his eyes widen, "Riddle-san, would you wait for me?!" He ran up to him, "Riddle-san! For the umpteenth time, would you please stop running ahead?"
"Why? I'm the leader of our team. It makes sense that I should march at the fore."
"I'm not talking about who's in front. We need to exercise a little more caution. There's only one path in Tartarus. And it's possible some Phantoms have already thawed and are lurking about, waiting to ambush us."
"Do you think I'd be thrown by such petty attacks?"
"You confidence is admirable, but we haven't been trained to fight Phantoms. We should be careful when dealing with unknown enemies."
"What you say is perfectly sensible, but we've already gone down the proverbial rabbit hole. There's no turning back. Hence it make no difference if we tiptoe or march boldly forth."
"Even so, there's a fine line between bravery and recklessness, Riddle-san."
"There's also a fine line between caution and cowardice, Azul. And there's no rule in our manual that says we must fear enemies in an emergency. I follow the manual, plain and simple." Riddle said.
"So you'd do anything so long as it was written in a manual? What if it said to let an enemy hit you so you could gauge its strength?"
"I'd do so if it were a rule."
"I've heard of going by the book, but this is ridiculous. He's not just inflexible. His head must be made of literal rock." Azul mumbled, before letting out a huff, "If I'd known he'd be like this, I would've gone with Leona-san and just called my sanded contracts water under the bridge..." He said, as they walked.
The red haired male took note of what was ahead of them, "Azul! We've got company, dead ahead!"
The being let out a screech.
"I'll dispose of it. You stay back!"
The gray haired male's eyes narrowed, "Excuse me? Are you implying...Tch. We'll talk after this."