That night at Hexside, it was a lively chaos. The only time students were willing to head back to school. Grom was the event held once a year that kept them eager to attend Hexside. After all, it was the only annual school dance that featured a gladiatorial match between a chosen student and the mighty Grometheus the Fear Bringer. No one would waste a moment to miss that.
It was one in a thousand chance that Boscha was chosen as Grom Monarch this year. Deep down, she is nervous. She is afraid that everyone will see what she fears the most but during preparation before the party, she convinced herself to keep that anxiety away from everyone's sight. She didn't want anyone to see her weak side. So, she acted brave, carrying on as if Grometheus wasn't at all a challenge for her.
Of course, everyone was looking forward to seeing the Grudgby star take on the famous Fear Bringer who tried to escape the school's basement once a year. Boscha was cheered on by everyone who knew she was Grom Queen, which partially relieved her but it wasn't enough to keep her calm inside.
"Big night, huh?" Skara asked a fruit punch-addicted Boscha, who took several scoops from the bowl nervously.
"Obvi," Boscha said.
The two stood by the buffet table. The music was already playing a catchy tune that set the night's tone. Like last time, a Snaggleback with glitter spread on his shell was hung upside down by his wrists, serving as the party's disco ball.
"End me." The Snaggleback whined, feeling the blood course from the rest of his body up to his head.
Amongst the crowd that was enjoying the music played, with some dancing to the beat, Emira was within them. Her bright yellow sheath dress that had a matching bow tie was amidst one of the most eye-catching dresses at the party. She enjoyed whatever was served as the buffet as she waited for Hunter's arrival.
At this point, she was unable to. She just couldn't wait to see how Hunter would turn up on his first Grom night, let alone have her as his date. After a few minutes of keeping an eye on the gym doors, waiting for him to emerge from the other side, she let up. Emira noticed Willow hanging out by the bleachers.
Knowing her, she would be the one to have a conversation with Gus, but he was busy prepping his material as the event's MC. So, Emira neared her. She hasn't seen Hunter ever since his supposed wormfly infection, which she hoped turned out fine. If anyone knew about Hunter's whereabouts, it's Willow.
"Willow!" Emira exclaimed.
"Oh! Em," Willow averted her attention to Emira. "What's up?"
"Have you seen Hunter anywhere? I haven't seen him since this morning at school."
Willow gulps silently. She had not seen him either, at least not as long as Emira did. The last time she saw Hunter was through the news, fighting Belos on a burning cargo ship. From what she could understand, he wasn't fighting him alone. News reported Adrian Graye was there fighting alongside him, along with three other allies whom she assumed one to be Lilith.
Since then, Hunter never called back or informed her he had come out fine. She was more than worried that he got himself killed. Although that thought crossed her mind, she was half positive he was okay. He's a warrior who fought against Belos multiple times, and with help by his side, she was more than sure he was alright. Although that was the real reason, she knew she couldn't tell Emira, for Hunter's sake.
"Um... uh...- Yes! Uh... earlier, he went home early, first? Because of his... wormfly infection?" Willow asked.
"Mhm," Emira hummed. "Well, we agreed to go to Grom together."
"Y-you did?" Willow asked.
Emira scoffed while rolling her eyes, "Let's hope I don't get stood up again like my last Grom date." She crossed her arms.
"Right..." Willow said, her voice fading out because of her towering concerns.
-
Warping from rooftop to rooftop, Hunter maintained a steady balance while he rushed to Hexside. He wasn't at all certain if his staff was powered enough to take him to school directly, so he took a more practical approach, although he used the staff a couple of times for a boost in acceleration. He ran as fast as the wind could take him, using his teleportation powers anytime he was met with obstacles.
Hunter had a lot of time with preparation. Before he donned his uniform again, Lilith suggested bringing a wardrobe change just in case he wanted to take a more inconspicuous approach. Under his Golden Guard uniform was a full-black turtleneck suit, with a red handkerchief in his pocket.
Running across rooftops, he was fueled with energy and determination, which held up his everlasting energy as he departed to Hexside. Adrian could already be there by now. Steve and Severine took the liberty of arriving at Hexside ahead of Hunter since he was still busy fixing his staff with Lilith.
Steve had his arm interlocking with Severine's like a couple as the two entered Grom with no trouble. He had a plan. If anyone asked, he'd say he was chaperoning for his younger half-brother Matt.
Just in time, Hunter reached Hexside after five minutes of endless running. He perched on a building ledge to behold the sight of the school from a relatively close distance. He arrived as Steve and Severine entered the building. While the three of them were busy at school, Lilith departed to contact the authorities, as soon as all hell broke loose.
"Okay," Hunter took deep breaths under his mask. "Okay, Hunter. Focus. Get your friends out before Graye comes. Not that hard, right?" He prepared himself to warp into the sky and use his staff to get to the building. "Wait, what if that's his plan? Lure them out into a more open area?" He began to hesitate, choosing his next move carefully. He grumbled in confusion before deciding, "Screw it." He'll figure something out as he goes.
He leapt off the rooftop, warping while drawing out his staff. Its wing opened as it activated, pulling him closer to the school grounds and eventually the building while he scouted the area for Adrian, but nothing. He sets down on the rooftop. First, he looked over the edge to see the students entering the front doors. He grew worried of their safety, knowing Adrian's abomination golem would wreak havoc, and Hunter was here to get them out of harm's way.
"Here goes nothing." Hunter tilted his head, agitated, before running to the opposite side of the building.
He leapt off, using his staff to summon a red glowing rope to pull himself into a third-story window. With his legs outwards to it, he kicked through the glass, shattering it to pieces before he landed in the dark hallway upstairs. He realized just moments after he broke the window that he caused property damage that would without a doubt get him in trouble if Bump saw him do that.
"Whoops."
Bigger problems were at hand, and this was not one of them.
To hide away his armor, Hunter dispersed his uniform. The suit dematerialized on his body like it was burned off, revealing the dark Grom outfit that Lilith picked for him. Relieved of his suit, he forwards downstairs to the gym where the event is held. Minutes later, he found himself in the hallway where the doors to the gym were located.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and our fellow patchwork demons!" Gus' voice was heard echoing from the gym, so Hunter picked up his pace. Meanwhile, Gus was having a good time on stage, handling the microphone with showmanship. "Are you ready for Grom?!"
The crowd cheered, loving the lively energy that Gus had, which ultimately infected everyone. Gus performed a little jiggle on stage because of how hyperactive he quickly became, also celebrating along with his audience. While they expressed their impatience for some Grom action, they felt the gym floor rocking, indicating Grometheus' presence that was desperate to escape the basement.
"Alright," Gus shouted. "Looks like Mister Grom can't wait for his butt to be kicked again." He joked, resulting in laughter amongst the crowd. "But, hey, who else to do that other than our all-time favorite Grudgby player, the former ruler of New Hexside," He said, building up tension as a spotlight moved over to Boscha. "And widely known as the meanest girl in Hexside..." Gus muttered.
"Excuse me?!" Boscha said out loud.
"Anyways," Gus cleared his throat. "Give it up for Boscha!"
The entire gym cheered her on. As they did, one particular crowd member wasn't cheering along and was on his own mission. Hunter moved through the sea of partygoers, navigating to Willow. He was planning to go for Gus after. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he reached her from behind. "Willow!" He whisper-shouted, trying to break through the noise.
Willow turned around and gasped the moment she noticed Hunter. "Hunter!" She smiled before pulling him into a hug. "You're okay!"
He broke the hug instantly, "Yeah, yeah. I'm okay. Look, we have to get out of here!"
"What? Why?" Willow noticed the panic rising in Hunter's face that's covered with his old scars. "Hunter, are you okay? What happened to you? Did you lose the stone?"
"Well, I kinda lost it back at that ship after...- Wait, no! Doesn't matter, we all need to get out of here! Everybody is in danger!" He held her hands together.
"What are you talking about?" Willow asked.
"It's a long story, but Graye-"
"Hunter," Emira appeared out of nowhere at Hunter's side. Her appearance in the yellow dress made him stop and stare in awe. "You're a bit... fashionably late." She said, adding a pun to praise how good he looked in the suit.
"And you're... stunning." He said as he was being stunned by her look.
Emira raised a brow as he chuckled, noticing the scars that ran through Hunter's face. "Speaking of looks, what's with the..."
Willow gave looks to the two before snapping her fingers at Hunter's face, "Hey! Focus! What's wrong?" She said as he turned to look at her.
The three of them felt the floor shake a lot more intense than before, showing just how badly Grom wants out.
"Whoa! Okay! Somebody press the button already, Grommy is starting to get a little hungry for terrorizing the land!" Gus said, which led the audience to exclaim wildly. They were a little too excited for the fighting part, so their cheers were a sign of agreement. "Where's the button at?"
As Hunter was about to explain, he heard a set of footsteps approaching him and Willow. "Boss!" He heard Steve shout, so he turned to him.
"Steve, what is it?" Hunter asked.
"Wait, who's this?" Willow asked.
Emira noticed Severine standing beside Steve, "And what is she doing here?" She remembered Severine.
"Everybody shut up!" Hunter yelled, to the group's shock. "Steve, what's wrong?"
Steve stammered inaudibly before speaking clearly, "Outside!" He pointed to the large windows.
Hunter, along with the rest who grew curious over what Steve meant, climbed the bleachers and looked out of the window. To his horror and to the other's confusion, a wall of familiar sludge began to rise outside of the wall, climbing the windows and covering it.
The button stand walked its way onto the stage. Gus pressed the button and as a result, the gym floor opened in two halves. Students stood out of the way as it revealed the basement where Grom resided.
"What is that?" Emira asked worriedly, looking at their expressions.
Hunter looked at her, "Listen, I know this looks real-"
Darting through the window, a tentacle stuck itself from the back of Hunter's head and a thread of it wrapped around his neck, hitting it slightly and that caused him to yell and struggle against it. The group was startled stiff, they were late to react and help him before he was pulled out of the window.
The partygoers, initially with their attention to Boscha who was preparing herself with a weapon of choice that being a battle axe, turned their heads to the window, seeing Hunter in peril. Even Gus stopped being lively looking at his friend in trouble.
"Hunter!" Willow and Emira tried going after him, but Steve and Severine stopped them.
"No, stay back!" Severine warned, holding onto Willow.
They watch as a face slowly forms outside of the window, revealing its glowing blue eyes that Willow and the more keen witnesses instantly recognize. Even the black-sludgy shapeshifter that is Grometheus, who crawled its way out of the basement, was flabbergasted at the more intimidating amorphous figure that was...
"Belos."
The beast which everyone saw to be Belos roared through the window, causing it to crack and shatter. The glass pieces flew into the gymnasium, so Steve pushed Willow, Severine, and Emira to the side behind the wall, where the glass wouldn't harm them. The partygoers covered their heads to prevent the glass from piercing them.
Seeing the dreadful appearance of Belos, Grom squeaked like a swung-open door, cowering back into the dark basement.
Meanwhile, Hunter was dragged up onto the rooftop, where his back was slammed against the floor, cracking it and taking a groan out of him.
"Well... still alive," Adrian was waiting on the roof, shaking his head peevishly while pacing down a ghostly set of stairs slowly towards Hunter. "Belos taught you well."
Finally seeing his emergence, Hunter cried out angrily and darted to Adrian, warping while using his staff to boost himself from the ground. Swinging his staff towards the opponent, he hit nothing but a projection of Adrian, allowing him to miss before he hung on his hovering staff. Seconds later, Adrian reappeared in a blue flash. There were ethereal rings of purple mixed with blue going up his right arm.
"Should've seen that coming," Hunter muttered.
"Learned nothing?" Adrian said as a tentacle lunged forward to catch Hunter.
It caught him by the ankle briskly, slamming Hunter on his back again this time against the school's starboard tower. He saw how Adrian lifted his rings-arm, moving along with an arm-shaped tendril. He assumed that's how Adrian controlled the golem. The arm seperated and formed massive bullets, leaving Hunter's body stuck to the tower.
He tried moving his body, but he was attached to the wall like glue. His right arm was the only thing that was free until another goo made it stuck. Now he really was immovable.
"I'll be back for you," Adrian said. "After I kill your friends."
Hunter attempted to pull his arm out when he had to mention it but failed, and Adrian just left him there so he wouldn't bother with his mission.
Back in the gymnasium, the basement was sealed on short notice, since a bigger problem was at hand. Everybody made a run for the doors, all except Steve, Willow, Severine, Emira, and Gus, who hopped off the stage after the madness started. Realizing the school was being sealed on the outside, the group all stayed put near the exit, escorting everyone out.
"Steve?!"
Mattholomule noticed his half-brother unexpectedly present at the party. The two exchanged puzzled looks at each other before Steve motioned at him, "Matt! Get over here! Get away from the windows!"
Mattholomule approached the group with fear of his surroundings, "What's happening?!"
"It's Belos! He-"
"No! It's not Belos!" Steve ceased Gus' words. "It's Graye. He's casting an illusion over an abomination giant!"
"What?" That answer was not enough for Gus or even anyone who didn't know. "Why?!"
"He's trying to kill you while making himself look good!" Severine added to the kids' bafflement. "After you... humiliated him, apparently." She shrugged.
Gus's right eye twitched as he remembered what he did, "So I made him hallucinate and now he's trying to kill me?" He hypothesized.
"Pretty much!" Steve nodded.
"That's ridiculous!" Willow remarked with an angry tone.
Just then, a window shattered again as a seemingly minimized version of Belos burst into the gymnasium, screeching to the group unsettlingly. Mattholomule yelped and backed away, while Willow cast a spell circle that summoned a plant vine, stabbing the mini Belos through its chest before growing out the vine, crushing the fiend against the ceiling.
The group was jaw-dropped at Willow's violent nature that suddenly just expressed itself out of nowhere as Belos' remains were spilt all over the floor. Willow noticed how they looked at her, and rolled her eyes.
"We better keep moving. It's not safe being in the same room too long." She walked past as they stood frozen. "Move it!" Willow commanded.
Gus shrugged, "Ladies and gentlemen, our Flyer Derby captain."
While everybody else tried the exit, which was proven to be blocked like all the other exits, the group made their way into the hall. Without any way to escape, all they could do was to stay alive. Steve held Mattholomule close while the others made a run for it side by side.
"We need to find Hunter!" Emira said with worry.
"Agreed! Hope he's fine..." Gus said.
"Oh, he's fine, alright. He took a heck of a beating back at that ship!" Steve commented.
"Thanks for being so reassuring, Steve!" Mattholomule joked dryly.
"You said that thing out there is an abomination?!" Willow asked.
"Yeah," Severine nodded. "And surprisingly bigger than we thought." Adrian wasn't kidding, this was such a grand event.
"Then I have a plan! Follow me!" Willow said as she set a destination: The P.A. room.
It took less than a minute for Hunter to break out of his bonds. He fell on his knees, taking a moment to get himself back up to speed. After a few more sets of breaths, he licked his palm before planting it on his hair, swiping his ash-blond hair backwards. He licked his lips, his eyes moving upwards in a fit of rage.
Realizing it was only a matter of seconds before all exits were closed, the remaining ones open because it wasn't fully sealed yet, Hunter picked himself up and proceeded to leap off the roof towards the side of the school with great momentum. He summoned his staff, putting it on hover before he planted his feet on it, stopping his speed but slingshotting himself into a closed window that was moments before being sealed completely by the enveloping green sludge.
He summoned his staff back into his grip as he slipped into the small gap, shattering the window while his suit materialized over his body. He landed while striking a tactical pose, his Grom suit replaced by his Golden Guard uniform. He felt his breath bounce back against his golden mask. The window behind him was sealed, but he paid no mind. He began to walk into the darkness ahead, where danger potentially lurked.
Willow took the lead of Severine, Steve, Gus, and Emira. They still heard the panicking screams of the students down the halls. One of those screams was from Emira's brother, Edric. They were shocked, especially Emira, to find him being dragged across the floor by his ankle by a tentacle pulling him into the darkness.
"Ed!" Emira chased after him, casting a spell circle that threw two running buzzsaws towards the tentacle, cutting it. The rest of the uncut tendril retreated into the dark, leaving Edric still ridden with panic. Emira picked him up, "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay! I'm okay!" Edric let out heavy breaths.
"Okay... Good." She cupped his face to comfort him.
"What is... happening?" Edric asked.
"Belos happened but then it's... not, technically?" Emira said.
"I noticed that," Edric stopped mid-sentence as he took another breath. "It's not him."
"Huh? How'd you find out?" Gus asked.
"Clairvoyance, I saw it through clairvoyance that it's an... abomination?" Edric asked.
"Yes! That!" Gus commented. "Exactly that!"
"And I have a plan to stop all this," Willow said.
Emira placed a hand on Edric's shoulder, "Ed? Do you remember where the P.A. room is? You use it as a prank a few times, surely you'd know by now."
Edric was uncertain at first, but he immediately remembered where it was. "I think I do."
Willow allowed Edric to take the lead next, guiding them through the darkness. "I think it's just down this hallway." They walked further until ahead was nothing but a pitch black void.
They were slightly unsettled by the dark, but they moved forward. They became a lot more vigilant when they started to hear bizarre noises ahead.
"What are those sounds?" Steve whispered. It wasn't students making those noises as they were way behind the group.
"It's getting louder," Willow said as it got higher in volume as if it was nearing them.
Something or someone was ahead in the hallway. Something made unsettling sounds mixed with growls and bawls, slowly becoming more frequent before they eventually realized the noises were stacked on top of each other.
"Can someone shed a light?" Willow asked the group.
Steve volunteered, creating a spell circle that summoned multiple orbs of light around him. Throwing it into the darkness, they almost regretted finding out what was lurking in the darkness. The horror-filled sight was the presence of five goopy figures that looked exactly like Belos, except they were more slender and tinier.
"Oh... my...-" Gus' eyes almost popped out.
Mattholomule suddenly hugged Steve's arm, "Hug me."
What's worse was that the light spell worked only a second before shorting out, so it was only a split second that they saw the clones of Belos, leaving them with only their imaginations to figure out what they were doing. Not even the glowing eyes were enough to give away where they were. From the sounds of it, they were approaching slowly.
"What's the play, captain?" Gus asked Willow.
"Alright, people. Get ready for a fight, because we-"
Before she could finish her speech, Willow and the group noticed a split second of red flash swaying in the darkness before disappearing, followed by a pained scream and a loud thud.
"Huh?" Willow exhaled.
"Are you okay?" A voice in the dark said before yelling out, "Wait, THERE'S-" Another thud was made.
An indistinct figure attacked the clones swiftly. He hit them in the head, activating his red magic before it dissipated, giving him an advantage against his enemies. The group could only see the action going down briefly and in quick flashes. There were panicked yelling, quick wooshes and thuds. Eventually, there was magic being dispersed against him, lighting up the hall more before it went back to being dark. Eventually, everything stopped in silence after a final thud.
After resiliently taking out everyone in the hall, the figure revealed himself and walked out of the darkness. They recognized the golden mask and the white cloak instantly.
"Hunter..." Willow whispered.
"Whoa..." Knowing it was Hunter under the uniform, Emira blushed, which no one seemed to notice.
His staff dissipated from his hand while his other hand dropped the body of the Belos clone in front of the group. Hunter's mask and cloak disappeared by itself, revealing his scarred and emotional face.
"Guys..." He muttered, relieved that his friends were safe.
Willow rushed to him and the two caught each other in a hug, "You're okay!" While they hugged, Steve walked up to the clone Belos that lay on the floor.
"I'm so glad you guys are too," Hunter replied.
Steve crouched, holding the clone's wrist up. "What exactly are these? Abomination spawn?"
"Actually," Edric made a spell circle that summoned a glowing circle in his palm, revealing the clone's true appearance. "It's only an illusion. These are... people?"
"Graye's pupils," Steve said, now noticing the concealment stone on the clone's wrist before taking it off, revealing the person underneath.
"They're coming after you guys," Hunter said. "And I need to stop him."
"We need to stop him," Willow corrected. "And I have a plan."
Hunter nodded before motioning for them to continue walking down the hall, "What's your plan?"
The group continued forward, "We need to get to the P.A. room."
"Why?" Hunter said.
"That thing out there is an abomination, right?" Willow asked, to which Hunter nodded to. "What if... we round up all of the abomination students to a specific place to try and manipulate that thing collectively?"
"That..." Hunter paused, thinking it further before agreeing. He has seen that work on some occasions before. "...Might work... It'll take a lot of them, though."
"Well, they couldn't have left, even if they tried." Willow said.
Edric nudged her sister's shoulder, "Mittens would've been a perfect addition, don't you think?"
"Yeah," Emira said. "She's lucky her common mold wouldn't go away."
After navigating the darkness for a while, running hurriedly in the process, they stumbled upon the room they'd been looking for.
Willow gasped as they reached the room, "Here it is!"
She pushed open the door, the light inside was also put out so Steve and Severine conjured a light spell to illuminate the room, revealing three students hiding behind the desk, shaking in fear as they peeked up to observe whoever was entering.
"It's okay," Willow whispered to them assuringly.
"Okay, come on!" Steve motioned to everyone outside to head in.
Mattholomule ran in first, then Edric came second, and the third was Gus. Hunter deliberately was behind everyone to make sure they were all present and accounted for. The last person to almost head in was Emira.
"You'll stand guard?" Willow asked, noticing Hunter was staying outside the door.
"No," Hunter said. "You do your thing while I'll go find Graye."
Willow widened her eyes in disbelief, "By yourself?!"
"It's not safe for me to stay right outside, nor is it for you to be outside!" Hunter countered. He knew she was preparing herself to be by his side and letting someone else do the job. "If I stay here, Graye would know Gus and you all are in here! I'll find him myself!"
"But-" Willow almost argued.
"Enough! Go alert everyone! I'll be fine!" Hunter ran into the darkness.
Some part of Willow decided to go after him and let someone else do the work, but another trusted him to be able to take care of himself. Without another moment to waste, Willow inhaled sharply before heading inside, the door being held open by Emira.
"Em, close the door!"
Half of Emira's body was still outside the room as she stared at Hunter worriedly, ignoring Willow's command and deciding on something that Emira knew he wouldn't like.
-
"Get away from me!"
Boscha panicked, not knowing what to do as a small Belos clone approached her slowly and intimidatingly. She was trapped in the corner and all she could do was scream in terror. She wasn't at all expecting to be saved by whoever saved her. The latter had his staff out and swung it to the clone's head, knocking him down.
As soon as the body tumbled, Boscha opened her eyes after closing them for so long, processing that Hunter was the one who saved her. He was in his Golden Guard uniform, to her surprise. His mask wasn't on and his cloak was lowered.
"Blondie?" Boscha said.
"Hello, Bosch." Hunter rolled his eyes.
"The heck are you wearing? Your Grom outfit?" Boscha said with the intent to insult.
"If it was, it would be overkill," Hunter commented as he crouched, taking the concealment stone off from the unconscious illusionist before crushing it in his hand.
Boscha glared at the body, "I could've taken them."
"Sure, sure." Hunter said, totally not seeing her cowardice taking effect.
Not long after, the two heard the squeaking sound of the school's P.A. system starting up before a voice spoke through.
"Hello? Is this thing working?" Willow said.
"Is that half-a-witch?" Boscha insulted.
"Shush," Hunter said, a little peeved that she still used that nickname for Willow.
"It is, okay. Attention, people of Hexside! This is your Flyer Derby captain speaking."
The chaos inside the halls mostly stopped to listen to Willow's voice as she was the only thing breaking the silence for them.
"Do you all know what Grom is all about?" Willow leaned against the desk as she continued. "It's not just about fighting a monster or dancing or drinking the night away, it's about overcoming your worst fears." As she continued, Hunter couldn't help but smile just how good she started that speech. "I know things are leaving you scared right now, and I am too... But that doesn't mean we have to. The last time someone tried to mess with us, we hit her back... together. And that's what we're about to do."
Her tone shifted into a much more excited and determined voice, "To all of you students, especially ones from the Abomination track, come back to the gymnasium. I have something I'd like to show you. I'll see you there, Willow over and out." She pushed away the microphone stylishly.
Boscha and Hunter were still standing in the same room when they listened to her electrifying speech. In times like this, he didn't expect her to come up with a speech that great, and neither did anyone, especially Boscha.
"Ugh, that wimp is asking everyone what to do?" Boscha scoffed.
"Watch it, that wimp was one of the people who saved the isles once. What did you do when the world crumbled?" Hunter said bitterly.
Boscha fell silent. He had a point. If anything, she was the wimp. She spent the following weeks since the Collector was released ruling New Hexside and convincing everyone to stay hidden. But to be fair, it was Kikimora who influenced her to instruct everyone to do so, but she was even more ashamed that she was foolish enough to succumb to her manipulation.
"Go," Hunter pointed away. "Get to the gymnasium where it's safe. Lots of people will be there." He then walked away, deciding to venture into the darkness a little further.
"What will you do?" Boscha asked.
"I'm gonna find the man who did all of this." He said ambiguously, knowing Boscha wasn't aware of the truth about Adrian.
Following his encounter with Boscha, Hunter ran through another dimly-lit hallway trying to find either more of Adrian's goons, Adrian himself, or more students in distress. The red glow on his staff made the hallway slightly visible. He skidded to a stop when he noticed two more clones of Belos, but he knew those were people in disguise.
Seeing Adrian's goons marching to him inhumanly, guessing it was part of the acting, Hunter warped behind one of them before knocking them out with the energy of his staff, pushing them away into a locker. He turned around to confront the other who screeched at him, a spell circle was suddenly activated, disarming the goon of their concealment stone.
The man behind the Belos disguise stopped roaring abruptly when he realized his disguise was broken. Hunter looked at the other end of the hall, appalled that Emira was there and not with the others. She was the one who removed the stone. Hunter almost lost his focus before he knocked the henchman down, jumping off the ground and throwing the staff at him after a spin as a finishing move, sending him away into the darkness flying past Emira.
Hunter summoned back his staff, "Em? What are you doi- You're not supposed to be here. Why aren't you with the others?" His mask and cloak retracted.
"I can't leave you alone, I'm coming with you." Emira said, genuinely worried over the fact that he's going alone.
"No," Hunter shook his head. "No, you can't be with me right now. It's too dangerous!"
"That's exactly why!" Emira suddenly pulled him by his cloak. "Yell at me all you want but I'm staying!"
Hunter was left speechless. He was both shocked but somewhat venerated that Emira was this worried about him. They stopped venturing for a while as Emira noticed how buttoned up he became. So, both of them were stuck in silence.
The last thing that Hunter expected was Emira leaning into him closer and planting a kiss on his cheek. The impact of her lips single-handedly made his heart almost stop as blood rushed to his cheeks. When she pulled away, she noticed the look on his face, almost regretting that she just kissed her, and that made her blush as well.
While Emira also blushed, she wasn't as pale-faced as Hunter. She smiled nervously and looked away to the side while covering her mouth. "Let's keep moving, okay?"
"Y-yeah..." Hunter nodded and stuttered while Emira walked past. He eventually caught up to her and they wandered off into the distance further.
-
Responding to Willow's speech of encouragement, every single student trapped inside the school or hiding within it bravely made their way to the gymnasium, mainly students who specialized in abomination magic. Steve and Severine stood guard by the door, to make sure all of them entered the gymnasium.
While people were flowing into the gymnasium, Edric fought against the current and approached the doors. Out of all the people he saw heading into the gymnasium, not one of them was his sister.
"Is Em here yet?!" Edric asked worriedly to Steve.
"Huh?" Steve replied, not familiar with the name.
"Emira! My sister!" Edric clarified. The last time he knew about her whereabouts was with Hunter, who to his knowledge, was venturing out into the halls alone.
Steve shook his head, remembering the emerald green-haired girl that's Edric's sister. "No!"
"I have to find her!" Edric was willing to exit the gymnasium but Steve said against him.
"No, don't! Stay in here where it's safe!" Steve said.
"And leave her out there alone?!"
"She's with Hunter! Relax, he can protect her, I know he will!"
While the two argued, Gus, being the extroverted kid he was, walked up to the stage holding the microphone. His part was to make sure everyone wasn't as clueless as before.
"Okay! Uhh... everyone?! Everybody calm down! We're going to figure this out, okay?!" He attempted to simmer down the noisy crowd.
Amongst the crowd and hidden in the back of the bleachers was Amaerion, concealing himself with a cloak over his head. Gus' voice through the speakers attracted his attention, and knowing his superior's goal to go and get him, Amaerion knew what to do.
He pulled out his crow phone, "Boss?"
"Hm?" Adrian's voice hummed back at him.
"They're in the gymnasium."
"I'll be right there," Adrian replied. "But first, I need to take care of someone else first."
Amaerion nodded, before storing back his crow phone after hearing the sly tone in Adrian's voice.