Extra-Chaotic, Screw the Ordinary

[Bob_EX]

It was a beautiful day, birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and Low-Ranks were getting beaten up in Wellston. The socio-political situation in the private highschool could only be described as the laws of the Jungle, with the Apex predators being the Royals, the Carnivores being the High and Elite Tiers, the Mid-Tiers taking the place of Herbivores, and Low-Tiers and Cripples as the insects and grass under all of their feet. Strength was everything in Wellston, and the weak were destined to be doormats and errand boys for everyone else.

Low tiers were expected to look down and live quietly in this habitat… and yet, there are always the fools that break the mold. Two idiots that despite having been there for less than two weeks, had more hospital visits than the average low tier. One could call them pros at their jobs, the nightmare of the nurse, Darren.

Darren had been the overworked medical worker of Wellston. "No weekend work, they said. Easy hours, and low stress they said" he cursed whoever influenced him with this line of thought. He mixed chemicals in flasks and test tubes, then looked at his two least favorite students. There had been issues with overwork in this school just a year ago, when a freak named John joined. Every day he would invade his space, force him to fix him up, then work on documentation… but these two were worse. Worse than anything he could dare to imagine.

They looked like twins, black hair, red eyes, long shoulder-length hair. Yet, they couldn't be further apart in terms of personality and genetics. One was tall, the other was also tall… just not as tall. One was all smiles despite his bruises and broken limbs, the other had a resting bitch-face.
John at least had the decency to come only once a day… Darren had to handcuff these two to the medical table because they would run away, get injured again, then come back worse than when they left off. When asked why, they answered the same thing.

"They looked at me funny"​

Darren wondered where all that confidence came from. They were low-tiers… very low tiers. One had a level of 1.3 and the other with a level of 1.4, they were de facto, the weakest ability users in the school. Terrance had a higher level than these two. Evie had a higher level than these two… and she was supposed to have the lowest recorded level of all of Wellston's history as a school. Supposedly, they got in academically, but Darren wondered how they could pass an exam, when their answer to Do you want your bones broken? Was always a resounding yes. They had come back to the infirmary for the fourth time today, and now they were chatting about fighting strategies… how about you guys level up before you think of fighting???

If there was one positive about those two ungrateful – idiotic, foolish, waste of gray-matter, hooligans – it would have to be that Darren had ample time to hone his chemistry craft.
"That's wrong by the way, the ratio's off by one mole."

"Injured patients have no right to backseat to me! You wanna teach me medicine? Get a degree!" Darren spat back. "Also, how about you speak like a normal human being?"

The taller of the 'twins' raised a hand. Darren ignored him, he could tell it'd be something he didn't want to answer. The taller of the two, Vritra was somehow the least likely to start a fight, and the most likely to get injured in one.

"I have a question." Vritra waved his hand in the air.

Darren released a sigh so deep and long, even an Olympic swimmer would be impressed by his lung capacity. He could feel his eyebags spread to the rest of his face. "What?"

"How did you get a girlfriend when you look like that? I want advice, I was told I look horrid."

"How about you start out by not having a broken nose? That helped my case." His eyes glowed maliciously, "How about you rest instead of wasting energy talking?"

"But I heal fast–" Vritra scratched the back of his head while looking around the office. "And I don't feel tired. I never do."

Darren closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let one of the flasks he was holding down, and immediately began to wonder if he could take another job? The only issue? The saturated job market. Even a Hospital didn't get to see as many people as he saw… hundreds of kids fighting each other throughout the day… at least they only appeared once a week or so… these guys were in every day, several times a day.

There was an awful quietness, followed by the quiet rattling of links rubbing against each other. Darren opened his eyes and slowly turned to face the two trouble makers. The rage coming from the bottom of his heart was fueled together with his responsibility as a medic.

"Doc… In our defense," Vritra raised a singular chained hand, and a grin slowly grew on his face. "You should see the other guys, at least your job is not boring, right?"

"Why are you saying our defense? You're alone… your friend's not here." He could feel his eyebrow twitching. He knew that leaving them the bed next to the window was risky. They were on the ground floor, and this shifty, bastard had done this before. His name was Azazel.

"Oh-" Vritra turned to where Azazel was chained, and all that was there was an empty bed. "Guess it's time to leave?" Embers flickered out of his mouth as his clothing tightened on his frame and with a grunt, Vritra snapped the handcuffs holding him to the bed. "I owe you coffee for the chain's doc, sorry for that!"

"Don't you dare jump out that window." Darren pointed his index finger. The moment he jumped off, he'd be just out of his radius.

He did just that.

"Sonnova!" Darren raced to the window, and looked outside… nothing, "Damn escape artists!" A Hoodini act with him in the room. Next time they come he will roofie their drinks to make sure they don't leave.

Darren closed the window, then the curtain, and then the raging fire from escaping the confines of his soul, ready to pull them into the deepest abyss of hell his ability could conjure. He took a deep breath, held it, closed his eyes, then dropped on his chair, letting it spin as he exhaled.

"Uhh… Doc?" A student helping 2 others entered the infirmary.

"I will kill you if your injury is serious."

"I am not injured." The student quickly explained. "...much. These two on the other hand? We found them in the back of the school unconscious."

"..." Darren took another deep breath, thinking of happy thoughts, like puppies, or kittens, or strangling those two raven haired bastards-

It didn't work. He grabbed his phone from his pocket, and looked at the image he'd been sent. Just a few more days, and he'd have another date with his girlfriend… just a few more days of hell. That thought alone gave him the inch of energy he needed to help these two idiots, who somehow lost against opponents they outranked.

Spoiler: Darren's Girlfriend

"Hm?" Darren squinted his eyes, there were laceration wounds, fists didn't cause lacerations. "Where'd you get these?" He typically didn't ask, but he was under the impression the "twins" did this, and yet neither of them had a claw, or sharp-esk type ability… well, maybe Vritra given enough time could cause lacerations, but these were too jagged and unclean.

"Those cowards began using pipes, sticks, and rulers" The student spat, "next time I see them…. They're dead!"

"Threatening a student in my presence?" This one must have a death wish? Or a close to death wish. "You must not know where you are."

"But-" Whatever the student wanted to say was quickly forgotten as a familiar black aura enveloped Darren. "I-Uh- I will shut up now sir."

Darren began documenting their symptoms, updating the system so their absences were justified, putting in the prescribed medicine. It all had become routine, and almost automated thanks to the nightmare twins.

When I catch those two

Darren couldn't help but think to himself, he chuckled at the thought of choking them as he healed their injuries.

 

[Bob_EX]

Crail was strong. He was stronger than his parents ever were, finally breaking them out of the low-tier life. He was a gift from god to them, their saving grace.

Crail was Strong, He was stronger than these low-tiers scrambling around, all meek and subservient. He could walk the halls with his head held high. Because he was strong.

Crail was Strong, His friends were strong, and together, they were stronger than an Elite-Tier, if they fought one together? He thinks that they would win.

Wellston was perfect for him, the strong trample over the weak. He did not have to do a single piece of homework yet, simply give his to a low-rank and threaten them to finish it by tomorrow. That's how it has always been in Wellston, all under their king's rule, under the Hierarchy in this highschool. The Weak obey the Strong,

So why is this scum not listening to him?

"I don't think I heard you correctly, the fuck did you just say?" Crail's ears must not be working, because he almost thought this nobody just said-

"No! I said I am not doing your homework anymore Crail!" He must have gone insane. Clearly he had to be checked in a mental hospital of some sort. Did he not know what would happen if he didn't comply? Surely he knew, or maybe Crail had beat him so many times he'd forgotten.

"Want to run that by me again?" Crail activated his ability. He felt the empowerment of his aura, the convergence of power on his right fist.

"You heard the lad peppermint, he aint doing your fucking homework. Maybe try actually paying attention in class?" A deep-voice spoke behind him, and Crail allowed fear to grip his heart until he turned to look at who it was. His anger pushed the feeling of fear into a bottle, never to be seen again. He was fearless. Crail was strong, he had nothing to fear from-

"... Well, if it isn't a coward." Crail slowly turned around and prepared to look up for a bit. He'd surely knock him down so he could gaze at his beaten body more comfortably. "Huh? No friend to back you today? Must be your unlucky day."

"Yo! Roland, Proud of you for standing up for yourself, you can go to class, bud. I have this one handled." Roland used to be a soft-spoken spineless low-tier until this idiot and his friend – or twin brother, or something – showed up. For the first week there was no change, but recently, he's begun to talk back because their dorms are near one another. That little rat Roland quickly scurried off, he will catch him after he deals with this trash.

This was this fool's unlucky day however, his little friend, Azazel seemed to not be around to help him.

"So, Crayon. You still using your hooker to force people to do what you want?"

Crail didn't entertain him, he went straight for a right hook to the chin. He dashed forward and threw his punch. The bastard's body did that ugly thing again, where it bulked up slightly and a black red aura started glowing from his eyes, it was there again, in his eyes, that look of utter disappointment.

"–?!" Crail felt something hit the back of his head, a sharp and dull pain shivered down his body, travelling from his head all the way to his toes. He felt his body become unresponsive as his aura flickered on and off. His vision became all white for a split second as he caught himself mid fall. His blurred vision recovered quickly, and all he saw was… a knee?

He was sent back and immediately struck on the front of the face. He was sent against the lockers, then kicked on the stomach. It was a relentless barrage of attacks that clearly came from two people. He knew he was seeing double, but why was he seeing Vritra four times? And why were some of his doubles using pipes? Every time he recovered, something would strike his head with great force again, making his ears ring and his vision turn white again. His whole body felt like it was on fire.

Spoiler: The Jumping

"More to the left! Remember, one two, punch, kick. One two punch, kick!" He was speaking like this was dance class, and Crail was the dance-mat. Crail didn't like being the dance mat. Crail liked dancing. He didn't like being danced on. There was a moment during his beating, where he lost sensation of his body, and there was only unpleasantness followed by pushing and shoving him into a cold surface. That's when he finally understood, Azazel had joined in.

It felt endless, he must have been there for minutes, nay, hours. Were the Royals not going to step in? Were the higher tiers not going to step in? These were low-tier scum beating Crail up. The only reason they could begin with was because one of them snuck him, and then joined in to beat him up. Anyone who was anyone could do that.

For an instant, they stopped, and he caught his bearings. He looked up and saw the clock on the back of one of the classrooms.

"One minute?" Then the beating began again. Their dancing became more refined, more elegant, and faster. They were doing a Waltz before, now it was Disco Dancing. The kicks and punches were sharper, and more efficient, and it felt like his skin had adapted to their feet so it would just go right into place. The punches synched up, and they hurt a lot more.

"Aight, this should be good enough… Ama break a leg."
"Why'd you get to break the leg? I'm the one who kept him out."
"You get the other one stupid."
"No, because the Doc will break our legs next time he sees us. One leg."
"Fine… I will get the wrist."
"... Whatever, just break his leg. I'll get the next one."
"Thanks G, love you. No Homo."

Crail thought that was it, when the pain stopped and his bearings slowly returned, when his lungs were allowed to take in breath. He couldn't move his right leg, his bruised eye had been clearly hit so it became swollen to reduce visibility, and despite not having too many broken bones, most of his felt fractured. Speaking was hard, that pipe had jagged ends and they cut his lip, swelling them like balloons. As he tried speaking, he felt his spit and blood spray out. No coherent sentences would be coming out of his mouth for a few days.

"Oh suck it up Calcium, this is barely what you do to most of the Low-Tiers you bully." He heard Vritra's voice again, his annoying, ear grating voice. He was not afraid. The shaking was from the beating they had just delivered. "Now, Right or left?"

He couldn't speak, only make grunts and pained squeals as he slowly pushed himself away from both of them. They were crazy and psychotic. He was already down.

"Urhgh Awewi Oon (I'm already down)" He raised his hand and asked them to stop.

"The fuck is that, Jamaican? Me No Ablo Jamaican dude." Vritra's oversized hand was scratching his face. Crail noticed what looked like scales under his eyes.

"That's Spanish. I never bothered learning lip reading…" Azazel grinned while looking away, Crail's swollen lip probably looked like an eggplant, "but I think he wants us to stop. No good will come from going any further, and it's not necessarily fun either." Azazel hid his pipe inside his blazer, putting it down his pants.

"Uhuh, and when he goes after Roland? We won't be able to eat his cake Az." Vritra frowned, and sent a condescending look Crail's way.

"I'm more of a candy guy myself." Azazel yawned, stretching himself, "You have a point… but what about after he heals?"

"Hmmm… Ama just ask Roland." Vritra pulled our a cracked phone and quickly punched the numbers in.

"Do what you want Gecko, I'm late to skipping class."

"Sure, Sure, you fucking Joker, go and cheat on another game." And the call connected. "Give me a second Roland, be right with you."

"Talk to me when you get number one in exam scores."
"Dude, come talk to me when you don't need your ability to tell you how to wipe your own ass."
"Cry about it. I was born better, that's all there is to it. Whine to the stars and pray for comfort."
"You were born so wrong that god had to give you an assist, don't toot your own horn."
"I'll toot whatever I want, that's my right as a superior being"
"Pause?"
"... Get your mind out of the gutter. Go punch that hooker into Doc's office or something"
"...Does your ability tell you how to crank your joystick perfectly?"
"You know what, it doesn't have to. I have your mother for that." He began walking away.
"Hah! Jokes on you! My mother's dead!"
"... Fuck you."
"Gaaaay. But see you on the Rooftop bro!"
"You're dragging it…" His walk was lazy, and sluggish, as if he'd been working the entire day. He yawned and grabbed his phone from inside his pocket. These two… did know they were low-tiers right? They were worms.

"Anywho, sorry for keeping you waiting, Roland." Vritra returned his attention back to Crail, and a wide grin set on his features, showing his now elongated fangs. "I have our dear old buddy and pal Crail. I was wondering, should I break both his arms and legs, only legs, only arms, or one limb? It's up to you as the Victim to choose." A slow and sinking dread set itself in Crail's stomach. He was not escaping this, Roland would probably choose the worst one just to get revenge on him!

"I-I don't feel comfortable choosing one Vritra." Roland's voice echoed through the speaker. "D-Did you guys beat him up?" Crail clenched his fists, he would clench his teeth but the inside of his gums were so swollen, they prevented him from closing his mouth too far without biting and hurting himself.

"Huh? Oh yeah, big time. Dude can barely walk away from me." Vritra slowly lost the smile on his face. And those unnerving slit eyes seemed to look right through Crail's soul.

"T-Then that's good enough. You don't have to do anything." Crail's clenched fists now dug into his skin. This was humiliating, having to wait for judgment delivered by Low-Tiers. He doubted he could face any of his colleagues again.

"You sure? I can at least make him not be able to harm you for a couple of weeks." Vritra lightly blew in the air, and embers flickered out of his mouth. "Maybe that's what I should do, make sure he can't harm any of you guys for a while."

"V-Vritra, you said I can choose what happens to him right? As the Victim?"
"Oh absolutely buddy, just say what you want done with him."
"Leave him off the hook this time… I-If that's okay with you of course."

Crail waited for the verdict while inching away from the distracted Vritra, trying to escape the mountain that would undoubtedly fall on him if he didn't keep to his words. Was Vritra always this tall?

"..." The silence was deafening to Crail. He hated this feeling of weakness, how he had to wait for someone else to decide his fate for him. "Sure bud, ama stop right here."

Vritra's voice got lower as his face inched closer to the Crail. "You hear that Crail? You got off, because Roland is a good person. Would you have done the same for him?"

The answer to that question was indubitably no, but Crail had neither the energy, nor the courage to say so.

Two light taps to his cheek were the last things he felt before everything turned black.

 

[Bob_EX]

Remi walked past the infirmary, she heard disgruntled groans and pained moans. There were a lot of people heading in, a line trailing to the lockers. Most had their arms tied to their shirts, or makeshift bandages around their bodies. The sound of Doc's wrath escaped the creaks and cracks of the walls and doors. Desk slams, yells and curses. This had begun happening a lot lately. She let it happen because it was normal for people to hurt each other because of their abilities, still this was excessive. They were mostly mid-tiers with some higher leveled low-tiers sprinkled here and there.

She approached one of the many people in-line, a mid-tier called Crail. His green hair was died in brown from the dried blood. His lip was swollen, it looked like an eggplant. He held his chest lighty, and wheezed instead of breathing, probably because of a few broken ribs. He didn't look like he was in a state where he could talk, so she looked at someone else. A boy, limping with a black eye. He had lavender hair swept over one of his eyes, despite being hidden behind it, Remi could tell it was black as well. With a squinted eye, he turned to Remi and opened his mouth in surprise.

She knew that most students had been taught pain tolerance from a young age because these kinds of scenarios were commonplace… but still.

"What happened here? Did you guys get attacked by some other school?" It was most likely a group of mid-tiers or Elite tiers going on a rampage at Wellston. Their school was famous for their strong members after all. Still, it was inadmissible. She would have to go have a chat with them. Hearing her question, many of the other students there turned their heads away, mainly the mid-tiers.

"..." Remi had seen him before, Lin was his name if she recalled. He looked constipated, his face went pale with his nose scrunched while furrowing his eyebrows.

"Lin, right?" He looked at her, then looked away, "tell me so I can fix it."

"I-it was the two new transfer students," He grabbed his arm with his other hand and rubbed his shoulders. "I think their names were Vita and Ezikiel"

Vritra and Azazel… again. Remi had heard of them from Doc. She had to bring mid-tiers to the infirmary two weeks ago when they arrived. At first she thought it was just self-defense, but now. She looked at the line they'd created and couldn't believe her eyes. It was simply not possible.

"Was it only them?" The line went quiet and pale as they looked at the floor… ashamed. All of these mid-tiers and low tiers losing to two low-tiers, almost cripples? Something wasn't right, something was incredibly wrong. Were they lying about their levels? Regardless, she would have to address this.

"CURSE THEIR FAMILIES! CURSE THEIR SLEEP! CURSE 19 GENERATIONS OF THEIR BLOODLINES! I SWEAR TO EVERY GOD THAT IS WILLING TO HEAR! IF I CATCH THAT EEL AND THAT DAMNED POMPOUS CHIMP!!" The Doc's curses were getting louder and rowdier. He was overworking himself, and the infirmary looked so overcrowded some of the students had to go back to class with fractured bones.

Remi would go handle this instantly.

"Where were they last?" Remi clenched her fists. The lower-tiers began whispering, a gaggle of smirks began rising from the disheartened looks. She didn't blame them, after all they wanted to be vindicated. They would be disappointed however, because if it were up to her, she would have them apologize. She can't believe she gave such ruthless individuals cookies for their initiation.

"Amraphel is on the roof, Vidhra is somewhere in the halls near English class." Lin had to be mispronouncing their names intentionally. Still, she had somewhere to start. She stomped her way out to the roof, she could pass the english class if she went around too. She walked as quickly as she could. She thought of asking Arlo for help, but knowing his horrible personality, he would only make things worse.

As she made the turn to the English class hallway, she noticed a decrease in students walking around the halls. That meant she was either walking into an ongoing fight, or these two had beat up so many people in their own class that the hall had an absence of students. To a small degree, she hoped it was the earlier.

She found him, tall, black hair and crimson eyes. He looked unfriendly to begin with. He had broad shoulders that made him look even more intimidating. She'd found him instantly, Vritra. He was at least 6 '9, Remi never thought she'd find someone taller than Arlo until she met him… and the first time she met him he was sitting so she never got to see him at his full height. The books on his hands looked miniscule in comparison. There were more low-tiers around him, Remi tried remembering their names, but they weren't in her class.

"Vritra, right?" It was just a formality, she wanted to see how he would react having her in front of him. Would he begin attacking? Was he rational, or did he go around just beating people up? She had so many questions for him.

"Hm? Oh, Wassup Queenie. Going to English too?"

"Uh? No, I have a free period – " She blinked and shook her head, "Wait! No, that's not what I'm here for!" His voice held so little malice she just erased the thought of him being a threat for a split-second. He almost looked like a big teddy bear. "Were you the one who beat up all those mid-tiers in the infirmary?"

"As much as I want to take all the credits. That was teamwork." He lightly shook his head.

Remi glared, he activated his ability immediately. Had he noticed her hostility in such short notice? She wasn't even being that hostile, but the way she asked was a bit confrontational. "I'm not here to fight, I just want you to apologize, to both Doc and to the people you both beat up."

"The Doc, I will apologize any day of the week. I still owe him a cup of coffee." His smile looked crooked and the sharp fangs added to his intimidation. "But why would I apologize to those weaklings? I just did what they do-" Looking up, he hummed. "Actually. I never attacked first. I always defended myself."

"There's too many people in the infirmary for it to just be self-defense" Remi narrowed her eyes. He was growing in size, was that his ability? Was he preparing for an attack? His teeth began to grow in height, sharpen, it looked unnatural. A transformation based ability?

Vritra walked past her. "Then for a Queen, you sure as shit dont know how your kingdom operates."

"What do you mean by that?" She turned around and stopped him from simply walking away, she had to jog because his stride was twice of hers, and it kept increasing. She was in front of him again, and rather than a teddy bear, he looked more like a Komodo Dragon, as scales began to appear below his eyes, which were now more slitted than before.

"Mid-Tiers beat on Low-Tiers, Low-Tiers beat on Lower-Tiers and Cripples. And the Elites and Royals do whatever they feel like. This is how this place runs. And now you're demanding I apologize for giving those self-entitled shitstains the same treatment they tried to give me? The gal you have is astounding." He sneered, and with it a plume of smoke erupted from his nose.

So this is why there were so many of them in the infirmary, self defense? Yeah right, he probably instigated them verbally like this, and then when they took the first swing they attacked back. That wouldn't work on Remi, "That is no excuse! If you can defeat mid-tiers and low-tiers you should attempt settling things peacefully!"

"Then how did you get your title? By peacefully talking with every person that annoyed you? Don't think I haven't seen that little show you and Arlo did at the Cafeteria earlier today." He shook his head. "That sure as shit didn't seem like peaceful negotiations to me."

"That is different! –"

"So you are making exceptions?" His eyes narrowed into tiny slits. And his form was visibly growing. "And here I thought you were one of the good ones. You never bullied any low tiers. But for you to come here and try to strong arm me into apologizing to the same people that wish me harm?" His voice was deeper, each word was said with a base that reverberated in the hall. "Taking their side makes you no better."

Remi wanted to say something back, retort with one of her own arguments, but she didn't feel it right. He had a point, a lot of mid-tiers did abuse low-tiers. This was going nowhere, besides, he seemed like he only did it in self-defense… even if the Mid-tiers were instigated into fighting, they were the ones to swing first.

"Fine," she sighed and stepped past Vritra, "Make sure to apologize to the Doc, he's been overworking because of you! Do you know if your friend is still on the roof?"

"I don't need you to tell me that. Also, don't try that self-righteous bullshit on him, I am the civil one between the both of us."

Remi turned her head and knit her eyebrows? The guy who had just pulled the trigger on his ability through just talking was the more civil between both? Was Azazel that bad? She turned her head again.

"Also. Dont fucking try and strong arm me into doing shit again, I will retaliate next time." The last part was said more in growls than in a voice. The beginning of a tail peeking from his back. "Fucking bourgeoisie cunts."

Remi felt a chill go down her spine. He didn't sound like any low-tier she'd ever met. His gaze was a lot more intense than before, and his size was so enhanced, she had to look up all the way to meet his gaze. Still, Remi still had to go to the next troublemaker.

 

[Bob_EX]

Abel was proud to be the most dependable member of the sub-royal committee. Alongside people like Holden, he helped the Royals with more menial tasks. While Holden gave Arlo reports and kept people in check while the Royals weren't around, he monitored the places people weren't meant to be in. That's right, he kicked out idiots that thought they had access to the Royals exclusive places like the roof, the Royal's meeting room and the Royal's lounge. If he ever saw someone who wasn't meant to be in there, then he would make sure they would regret being there.

Abel had heard rumors of someone spending their time on the roof. Typically it was Seraphina and her Cripple boy-toy, Josh or whatever, but he couldn't do much against them. Seraphina was a High-tier level 8.0 who could take him out instantly. Still, he had to check just in case.

He walked up the stairs, hoping, praying Seraphina wouldn't be on the other side of that door. The dark corridor he went up gave him anxiety. If it was Seraphina, he would just shut the door and walk away. Technically she was a Royal, the "Ace" so despite it being an Honorary title, she could still be there right?

Abel slowly opened the door, he took a deep breath and when he fully opened the door, he didn't see Seraphina.

"Phew" He sighed, then immediately hardened his expression. A black haired boy leaned against the green railing with his eyes closed. He looked to be quite at peace. If there was anything he knew about Wellston, it was who was a high tier, and who wasn't. This guy was most definitely not a high tier.

"Hey! Get out, this space is for Royals only!" The boy immediately opened his eyes, slowly. He ticked Abel off, but every Low-tier got a warning. "Get out now, before you start something you regret!" The boy looked Abel straight in the eyes and hummed.

He got up and began walking to the entrance. That's right, low tiers should know when to obey, after all they can't fight back. Those two troublemakers he'd heard of recently were nothing more than dust in the wind, sooner or later the Royals would get involved, and they would get beat up, then they would disappear.

He heard the door close, and took a few steps back.

"Just to be clear, what will you do if I don't?" Abel turned around, was he still there? Was he stupid? Abel only gave one warning. In a big space inside his head he'd been hoping for this. He loved putting idiots in their place. He raised his arm and activated his ability.

"I warned –?!" A sharp pain on his shin made him gasp for air. He'd been trained to take pain, but there was something wrong with his leg. He'd heard something crack, and now his left leg was too weak to support his weight. His ability's aim was disrupted and his explosion missed completely.

"Careful, pipe!" He mockingly warned. Abel got back up, attempting to ignore the pain on his shin. He'd hit right below his knee, and now his leg felt funny. Did he hit a nerve? It wasn't a hit to the shin, more like the lower knee-cap. "That's the common peroneal nerve. It gives the leg sensory and motor function. Hitting it like this makes your leg feel funny, right?" It began to sting, and burn as if a taser had been used on his lower leg. It was going numb, and yet he felt so much pain.

"Fuck you!" Abel raised his arm again and attempted hitting him with his ability, but once again, he was struck with the pipe. "–?!" He gasped for air again, an electrifying pain, then pins and needles.

"That was the ulnar nerve, it's right below your elbow, commonly known as your funny bone. It's responsible for fine motor control." He grabbed the pipe with both hands. This wasn't fair! He was an elite-tier! He was a whopping 3.6! The boy in front of him hadn't even used an ability! Abel used his other arm and activated his ability. It sent the boy flying. His ability allowed him to make explosions that were powerful enough to knock people off their feet. If the explosion didn't harm him, then the landing would!

The boy was about to land on his lower back, which would lead to a fracture, however, almost as if instinctively, he rolled backward, then immediately jumped sideways to dodge another one of Abel's explosions. He was like a scurrying rat!

Abel stretched his arm out, predicting where he would zig-zag to next, but before he could launch an explosion, the sight of a metal pipe covered his sight. He raised his arm to protect himself, then was hit on the lower chest. Any air Abel had in his lungs was promptly kicked out of him. He heard a scraping sound from the concrete, and fell on his side. Dizzying disorientation, everything around him felt like it was moving, and he had air-hunger. His ribs had definitely cracked.

Before he could get his bearings, something hit him on the back of the head, then his arm, and then his leg, and then, Abel closed his eyes, in pain.

**3.2**​

Remi opened the door to the roof in a hurry. She slammed it open, and felt something stop it. She looked down and saw the body of the roof guy, Abel on the ground. His arms and legs were shaking and twitching and he was having difficulty breathing despite being knocked out. To the back of the roof was a boy who looked eerily similar to Vritra. The boy he entered the school with, and his potential twin, Azazel.

He was peacefully sleeping on the roof surrounded by debris, definitely caused by Abel's explosions. From the scene alone, Remi could guess what had happened. Abel spotted him sleeping on the roof and warned him to get out, once he refused… Azazel somehow beat him up. This was the less civil of the two according to Vritra. Still, he should be a low tier, that is how he introduced himself.

All Remi could remember from the introduction to the two was Azazel being arrogant. He looked down even on people higher tier than him. He had really good scores in the entrance exams, and that was about everything she knew about him.

"Hey." Remi called out, she hoped he would be sensible enough to apologize for overdoing it. She didn't have the guts to confront Vritra because of his demeanor, but she would stand her ground now. "Wake up, there's something important I want to discuss with you!" Remi quickly set Abel's body next to the door, making it so he was more comfortable. Just from grasping him, she could tell he had a few fractured ribs. She narrowed her eyes, no doubt he'd used some kind of trickery to fight him.

"Not another one… ugh," He opened his eyes and stared at Remi, revealing his piercing crimson eyes. He looked sleep deprived, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose like he had a headache. "What do you want?" There was not a modicum of respect. He didn't seem to care about tiers, or position. Even Vritra called her by her position and was polite at first.

"I came here because I want you to apologize to all of the people in the infirmary and the Doc." She readied herself immediately, despite him being sat down, she heard Vritra's warning.

"Did you talk to Vritra before coming here?" He looked unconcerned, immediately standing up, he looked down at Remi. He was tall, but not as tall as Vritra.

"Yes."

"What did he say?"He looked exhausted, and yet, there was a layer of hostility to him, like he was ready to fight. Much like Vritra, he was on edge. He activated his aura, she could tell from his eyes glowing, and yet, she couldn't see his ability's effect anywhere, was it not a visual-type?

"He refused to."

"What made you think I would apologize?" Remi opened her mouth, trying to put some reason in his head, but he cut her off, "to begin with, why would I apologize to someone lower than me? They lost because they were dumber, and unskilled. Their arrogance made them careless and so we beat them up."

Lower than him? What was he talking about, he was one of the lowest ranked people in the school. How could he say something like that with a straight face? He did have a point, they did lose to him, but how did they lose? He mentioned carelessness, that meant that he used cheap tricks to get the upper-hand.

"Even still –"

"Spare me the Self-Righteousness," he interrupted her again! "They tried fighting me and other lower-tiers, so we beat them up. End of story…"he grinned, unlike Vritra who looked like a giant teddy bear, this guy looked like a cursed doll. His ear to ear smile was unnerving, and filled with malice, "Then again, I don't much care for the lower-tiers, the ones that mind their business. But putting mid-tiers and elite-tiers in their place is so satisfying," He looked up at the sky, "ahhh. Kicking people from their fake thrones is always so rewarding. Where do they get the idea that they can look down at me? I had to break their shins so they'd see reality."

Forget bringing this person around, he was malicious, petty and incredibly vindictive. Remi's eyes widened as she took a step back, in that instant everything around her began to dim. The light reaching her eyes began to wane. A thick cloud set itself around her. It wasn't just her sight, she couldn't hear very well either, and for a second she felt like she'd gotten lighter – no, she'd lost part of her sense of touch as well.

So this was how. He'd blind his opponent and then fight them in the dark. Remi activated her own ability. A crackle coursed through her body as electricity surrounded her body. Her arms and legs felt energized.

He was in a general direction in front of her. He might try to hide, but Remi knew he was in that half of the cloud. That meant that she could simply shoot an area of effect lightning bolt in his direction. The current should be enough to immobilize him!

She thrusted her arms forward, she saw her lightning vanish, then nothing. The dark cloud only obscured part of her vision, but she could still see somewhat in front of her. The further back it got, the less she could see. After her lightning, she saw a blur move toward her, and then when the blur got close to her, she saw it, a brick?!

She enhanced her speed with her ability, electrifying her limbs to dodge out of the way just in time, crouching down to prevent herself from getting hit. Did he take the lightning head on without getting knocked out?!

Another brick was thrown at her. She swatted the brick away, and another came in its place, and she did the same with that.

Remi tossed more lightning his way, and again, she heard nothing. The ability was still up, which meant he hadn't been knocked out, and the lack of grunts meant he hadn't gotten hit at all. How was this possible?

"Ugh, that lightning around your body makes you so annoying to fight against." His voice was low, muffled. Her sense of hearing was working enough for her to hear him, but it was hard to distinguish where his voice came from. "I wonder what you'll do against this though?"

A brick was thrown at her head again, she swatted it away, but then something hit her lower knee. It sent a chilling sensation down her spine. A burning sensation made her drop on her knee as she grasped it. What had just happened??? Another brick made its way toward her, and she swatted it away. Her leg didn't respond properly, it was numb. Did he hit a nerve? How accurate was he? She expanded her lightning to surround her… nothing.

"How do you keep doing that?" Another brick, she swatted it, and right behind it was another. The timing between the two was closer than before, so she just barely swatted it.

"Grounding. Lightning takes the path of less resistance, so I simply throw something more conductive than I am. You high-tiers sure are stupid about your abilities huh?" Another brick was thrown, Remi swatted it, but she was hit by another one hidden right behind the other brick. All of those tosses, Azazel had to perfect the timing! How had he gotten it this fast?!

Warm liquid trickled from her forehead into her eye. Her visibility was lowered yet again. Another few bricks were thrown her way, this time she dodged using her one good leg to leap side-ways, but as she did another brick hit her on the other leg. How had he predicted she was going to jump?! How did he know she would jump this way!?

"You're wondering how I knew you would jump this way… In all honesty, you're stupid if you ask that. The position you're crouching in, your other leg gets in the way, there's only a few other places you can leap toward." He sneered, he was enjoying this. "You high-tiers are all the same. You're so strong, but so stupid it irritates me." Remi's other leg was also numb now, she couldn't move it properly. How could he throw things like that so accurately? She couldn't comprehend it? If only he wasn't so accurate! How did he know her every move? It irked her to no end.

"You're losing so right about now you're trying to put the blame on something like my accuracy, 'I could beat him if he only wasn't that accurate?' or maybe 'This is so unfair, how does he know my every move? If he didn't know, I would win' right? You're all the same. It's always everyone else's fault. Guess what," the cloud began to dissipate, "it is nothing but your fault." The debris created by Abels explosion was what he'd been throwing at Remi, he piled them together. In one hand he had his pipe, it had scorch marks and was irregularly bending here and there, that was what he was throwing to ground her lightning and electricity. On his other hand he had one of the bricks, a piece of rock that came off from the ground or the walls.

"You were simply always below me. There's nothing else to it, you were defeated because you were inferior to me. Right about now you will make excuses and say I played unfair, or used cheap tricks, but that is all abilities are, an unfair advantage. Whoever knows how to use theirs best, wins… and you lost. My speed is lower, my ability is arguably worse, but I won. That's because of my timing, my intellect and my skill. That is why you lost."

Remi clenched her hands, and then her eyes widened. Wait a second. That was it! Timing! She flared her ability back up. The dark fog clouded her vision again, but it didn't matter. With one hand wave she tossed an area of effect lightning pulse, she knew he'd throw the pipe to ground it, which is why hidden behind that pulse, was another one!

"ARGH!" A groan came before the fog began to dissipate. Remi could barely move her legs, and her eye stung from the blood that got in during his monologue. Azazel Wodime, what a scarry low-tier. If he were to climb up the ranks he would no doubt be someone worse than Zeke. She crawled her way toward him, it seemed like he'd notice what she would do so he reached out for the pipe, he was laying right behind it with his arm stretched out, twitching as some electricity crackled. Remi used all her strength to get up, her legs trembled as the motor function of her knees had been hindered. She would have to drag him to the infirmary the moment she got better.

"Guess you lost in the end." Remi said with a heavy breath, he was scarier than Arlo for sure. A chilling wind made Remi tense her entire body as a sigh came from the collapsed Azazel. "You're kidding me." A grunt came from him as he put both his hands on the ground. That was enough current to taze a low tier into a comma, how was he getting back up? His eyes locked into her.
Remi felt a deep, primal chill run through her entire body. The fog, thick and heavy, clung to a figure like a shroud, but it wasn't the mist that froze her—it was him. Azazel. He stepped forward, dragging his leg like some broken marionette, each movement agonizingly unnatural. His eyes, bloodshot and hollow, locked onto her. A kind of gaze Remi had never seen before, hungry, starved. It pierced her and looked far beyond who she was.

Blood streamed from his wrist, his mouth, and trickled down his legs. HIs body violently twitched. Electricity still crackled around his body, in no way should someone even be able to move after something like that, and yet… he kept going. The uncontrollable twitches of the human body when struck by electricity typically cause fractures or broken bones. By the blood in his mouth, and the limping, he had leg fractures and a punctured lung, and yet he kept going.

The pipe scraped against the concrete, causing a shrieking sound that made Remi's blood run cold. For an instant she saw the pipe as a scythe, and the concrete below it as a tombstone. He raised the scythe, like a reaper coming for her head.

Remi's breath hitched. She had fought Cecile, Blyke, Isen and Arlo, – countless others, and yet none of them were as crazy, as insane as Azazel was. Were Arlo a low tier and he'd gotten hit with this, would he have gotten up despite fractured bones?

In her fit of fear, she questioned it, how had he gotten back up? If Arlo had gotten hit by it he would have trouble shrugging it off, his motor functions would be impaired too. If he did so with no aura, and without his passive, he would not wake up for a day, maybe two… so how? How was he still up?

Remi looked closer and widened her eyes, crimson liquid flowed down from his arm. The blood felt alien in his body.

"D-Don't tell me…" Remi looked in horror as she stared at the person in front of her. Had he really sprayed blood at the last second to ground the second wave of electricity? How much blood did he spray? It was flowing out of his wrist like a fountain. Azazel didn't seem to notice, he sneered again, it seemed as though he didn't have the energy to talk. But from his smirk, she got the sensation that the explanation was more complex than that. The blood on the pipe, and the fact there was none between him and the pipe… Remi got a clear picture of what he did, what a crazy gamble! Only a suicidal maniac could come up with something like this.

Right as the Pipe was struck by a wave of electricity, Azazel cut his wrist and sprayed the pipe with blood as it fell.

Since he knew the electricity would pass by above the pipe if he did nothing, he extended it's height to make sure it would hit it. The blood acted as a connector to ground the lightning through the pipe.

The blood extended the height of the pipe. But blood, though conductive, also has a low boiling point, so when it got hit with the current it evaporated, only mitigating the electricity before it hit him, lowering the overall effects it had on him.

He thought of all of that instantly and acted accordingly. His towering figure made Remi's eyes widen. If he was willing to hurt himself to win, what wasn't he willing to do to get a hit on her?!
Was Azazel even a human? Was he even a person?

"Are you really willing to die for a stupid fight?!" Remi yelled, tears welling up in her eyes. She accepted the attack, deactivating her ability to prevent him from being electrocuted from it.

His bloodshot eyes were fixated on her. They pierced right through her. The fog she had been hidden in was covering his body, which meant that he couldn't feel the pain he was in. He talked in pain. Every step he took toward her was followed by a crack. That reminded Remi, while she was inside the fog, her sense of touch was reduced, but she still felt it, which meant he couldn't fully remove his sense of pain.

The shrouded fog around his body, the scythe in his hands, and the blood covering his body all warped Remi's sense of sight. All she saw in front of her was a skeletal robed figure swinging a scythe down at her head.

"I…" The fogged robes were sliced in half. His voice was barely a whisper, had he been further away Remi wouldn't have heard it. It was no more than a breath

"Won."

Azazel's body fell forward, slamming on the ground next to Remi's with a sickening thud. The metal scythe in his hands tumbled as Remi saw its true form again, nothing more than a pipe with a jagged end.

Remi stared at his unconscious body, tranquil, the exact opposite of what she was feeling. Her hands couldn't stop shaking. She turned her head to look at Azazel's wrist, still bleeding. Remi just stared for a few seconds, processing things. She was the last one conscious, but there was no triumph in this. Azazel was a broken human being… calling humans felt like a stretch.

Remi snapped out of it, and put pressure on his wrist to stop the bleeding with one hand, using her body weight to keep it in place. With her other hand, she grabbed her phone – the screen had cracked, but it still worked – and messaged Elaine to get to the roof immediately before he bled to death.

 

[Bob_EX]

The Royal's meeting room was on the third floor, alongside the third year classrooms. It had several chairs and a small desk. It was a small room with a refrigerator and a microwave, and the seats were different from the average school chair. They were more luxurious and comfortable, with armrests with cushioning and foldable leg-rests. It was a privilege awarded to Royals after an arduous climb to the top. There were four seats reserved for the formal four seats alongside a beanbag on the corner.

He stared at the beanbag today with more disdain than usual. Seraphina, the strongest student in the school was the owner of that beanbag, she disgraced this lounge with her informal title of "Ace". That beanbag was a reminder that the system was being cracked by the very members meant to sustain it… At least her position was still high.

His disdain was harder to quell that day because every Royal had left him alone. Blyke had gone off with Isen, the Jack of Wellston helping out a reporter. Even if they were close in power, it irked him to no end. Remi left their class, then disappeared after their free period, which meant their Queen was missing. Most recently, Elaine, who typically came and went at his call, told him she was too busy. That was the Wellston Royals all dispersed during a meeting day.

"... Those idiots." Arlo could grab his golden locks and rip them out of his skull out of frustration. He fell back onto his chair and put his foot on top of his thigh. He leaned sideways on the chair and let his body sink into the smooth and soft padding of the chair.

There was something going on. They all seem to have their work cut out for them these past two weeks. Arlo had to wonder what could possibly cause so much disorder. It irked him to no end, his blood rushed through his veins, and his chest burned inside. Anger, rage. He couldn't stop his fists from clenching. Standing still, looking at an empty room, it seemed to only emphasize his negative emotions.

"I suppose checking in on them… is the only thing I can do right now." He crossed off checking in on Blyke, having to deal with Isen's remarks was already an annoyance. He allowed a lot of it to pass because Isen was a strong Elite tier, and he annoyed him less than others like Cecile who liked questioning his judgement at every turn.

Getting up from this position felt like a waste. For a second, Arlo thought of staying there… but he had more pressing issues to attend to. The lack of Royals in the Royals meeting was one. Pushing himself off the armchair, Arlo walked around to see if he could find Remi or Elaine anywhere. The halls of Wellston looked empty, barely any students walked its halls. It was odd, was today a holiday? No. Arlo would know if it was.

A blue haired boy his age ran up to him, Holden. He was panting for breath when he finally saw Arlo. His orange eyes darted right and left, looking to see if anyone was around them. There were a couple students that stood and stared.

"A-Arlo" He whispered, "It's about the Royals." His voice wavered, but held weight. It was some kind of warning, or maybe a danger? Arlo pulled him into a classroom where they could talk alone. "It's Remi, she's been seen being dragged to the infirmary!" A feeling swelled up, his blood ran cold for an instant before warming back up into a raging fire.

Without saying another word, Arlo rushed to the Infirmary. He pushed aside wave after wave of injured students trying to get the Doc's medical care. Did Wellston have that many injured students every day?

As Arlo neared the Infirmary, he could hear the Doc's profanity.

"YOU WILL RUE THIS DAY! YOU IGNOBLE BASTARADS IF ARROGANCE WAS A FUCKING STAT! YOU SURE AS SHIT WOULD BE HIGH TIER AZAZEL! TOO BAD SELF-AWARENESS IS LOCKED BEHIND A PAYWALL YOU CANT FUCKING AFFORD! FOR SOMEONE WHO RELIES ON HIS ABILITY FOR EVERYTHING YOU SURE HAVE DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY!" A snicker could be heard afterward. "OH DON'T FUCKING THINK I FORGOT ABOUT YOU! YOU CHINESE FUCKING LIZARD! YOU ARE WHAT FUCKING HAPPENS WHEN YOU TRY TO GIVE CARTOON PROTAGONIST ENERGY T O SOMEONE WHO ALWAYS FUCKING FAILS HIS DAMN CHARISMA THROWS! THE ONLY ONE UGLIER THAN YOU IS THE BROKEN MIRROR YOU LOOK AT EVERY MORNING! THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE NO GIRLFRIEND, THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE TROUBLE MAKING FRIENDS! TOUCH SOME GRASS! STOP BEATING UP PEOPLE!" a breath. "YOU SHOULD STOP PEAKING AT MEDIOCRITY AND COASTING OFF OF YOU FRANKLY BULLSHIT DURABILITY YOU- YOU-"

There was a moment of silence, before a few whispers talked back, and then there was a violent crash. Did someone throw something? Inside the infirmary? Arlo opened the door to it. Doc had his hands around a student's neck, he was standing on an infirmary chair due to the height difference. He rocked his arms back and forth while throwing profanity at the student.

Spoiler: Doc and Vritra

The infirmary was a large room with six beds to the back, medical equipment on the front. Of the six beds, four were overcrowded with people on top of each other and packed like sardines, while the two next to the window were occupied by one person each. The curtains separating them were off, showing one of those patients was Remi, the other must be Hannibal Lector. Chained, cuffed, muzzled, tied with ropes and the curtains, it looked like a max security prisoner rather than a patient.

Arlo knit his eyebrows at the sight. He took a few steps inside the infirmary. A chill went down his spine, the world seemed to still, and a fog of mystery. Arlo felt gazes on him from all around, hostility at every angle. Arlo's legs shivered for a second. He felt sweat bead on his forehead.

"I swear on my beautiful girlfriend's name, if you say you are injured I will give you a reason to be in a real Hospital" It was a menacing whisper that appeared suddenly like a villain in a slasher horror movie. Something grabbed his shoulder, it felt heavy and dense. Arlo couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

A strangled cackle was heard from the student being choked. "He is Talking about his sock! That's the beautiful Girlfriend!" Arlo slowly turned his gaze and saw the Doc behind him, strangling the student with one hand, and grabbing his shoulder with the other.

Spoiler: He's right behind me isn't he

"Shut it! I thought you came to apologize!"

"I DIDN'T DO SHIT! AND I GAVE YOU COFFEE!"

"YOU BROUGHT YOUR BROTHER WITH BROKEN RIBS, LEGS, A FRACTURED ARM AND CUT WRISTS, COLLAPSED AND SCORCHED!"

"NOT! MY BROTHER! TOO UGLY TO BE RELATED TO ME!"

Arlo starred in contempt, groans and moans of discomfort came from the four over-occupied beds. Arlo wondered who the chained person was, and why they were so dangerous. A few tapping sounds took Arlo's attention from Remi.

"Doc, I healed the guys outside, it took a while to get everyone, but it's done." Long Aqua blue hair tied to a low pony-tail over her shoulder. She was sweating, and looked like she could collapse at any point. She had clearly over-used her aura and ability.

"Elaine, you are the only good person in this school, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"What happened to Remi?"

"She lost to a Low-Tier, pretty bad showing, not gonna lie." The guy being strangled stood up, with the doctor still trying to send him to dream land via Asphyxiation. Arlo stopped, nothing else seemed to matter. What did he just say? Remi losing to a low-tier was an impossibility.

"She did not lose. He collapsed first." Elaine glared. Remi collapsed against a low-tier? Arlo couldn't piece things together. How was that even possible, some kind of trick or underhanded method to be sure.

"Proof? None? Then shut the fuck up you overglorified MedKit. All I know is that my friend is awake first, and with less injuries."

"Be careful how you talk." Arlo took a step forward to impose

All that did was cause a wide smirk to spread across the Student's face. "Suck my–"

A haunting presence loomed over both their shoulders as a pair of beady eyes made themselves known, staring at both of them.

"Shut it. No fighting. I better not see a singular new injury. I know you think you know what your greatest fear is, you don't." His voice was a mere whisper, but it was heard. Everyone else quieted down. "I'll make sure to discover it, if you continue this here." The Doc's abilities was one of the few that could to a degree bypass Arlo's barriers, getting caught in it would make him be in a world of hurt, then there's also the fact that he is part of the faculty.

"HMMMPHHHH" Chains rattled as the patient in front of Remi grumbled and moved about like a rabid animal. Arlo narrowed his eyes on him.

The Doc narrowed his eyes and turned toward the student. His aura seemed to intensify, the Doc grabbed an image and produced it. He made sure no one else could see but him by walking right in front of him. Whatever was in that picture shut the boy up entirely, leaving him with nothing but a pale face.

"You show him your pet again doc?" A wide grin spread across the tall student's face.

"It's the only thing that works with him. Now sit down or I'm cutting visiting hours!" The tall student groaned before walking to the seat next to Hannibal's bed. He took off the muzzle, then the rope, then the cloth put as a ball gagging him.

"Disgusting, he put his girlfriend in my mouth." He stuck out his tongue, revealing the cloth that had been made into a ball to be a sock. "What was that for? I'm a very cooperative patient."

The Doc simply stared, and said nothing, and yet the meaning was clear. His message was clear. What the student had just said, was bullshit.

Spoiler: Doc Stare

"I only run when I'm good to go." He excused himself.

"If you keep talking, I'll put the sock back in." The doc put a hand on his head and dragged it across his sleep-deprived face. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked paler. His stubble was longer than usual, and it looked like he hadn't been eating a lot these past few days despite there being at least five plates of tupper-boxes and several coffee mugs on his desk.

"I need a detailed report as to what happened." Arlo looked at the chained up boy, who continued rattling the chains and moving about, though more silently than before.

"Dunno, don't care. Not my job. Ask Remi, or Elaine, or the two disgraces if you want, just keep it quiet." The Doc opened the screen to his computer and immediately closed his eyes. He took a deep breath then began typing each student's name inside the registry while whispering about how much he hates this job.

Elaine was helping the several dozens of people on the medical beds by using a lesser version of her ability on them, and Remi was unconscious. That meant that there was only one source of information he could pull from… the two boys bickering at the back of the infirmary like two kindergarten girls. Worse of all, that tall one seemed to not understand how the order around here worked. He had no respect for Arlo, he might just teach him a lesson the moment they leave the infirmary, or maybe in a few days.

The King begrudgingly walked to the infirmary bed and stood in front of the tall boy, before ignoring him to talk to the one bedridden one.

"What happened between you and Remi?"

"So anyway, as I was saying, I won."

"If you call this a victory, I can't wait to see what you call a loss."

The boy turned to the tall one immediately. Has Arlo been ignored? This had to be a joke, they were using the infirmary's rule of no violence to disrespect a Royal? Arlo clenched his fists and glared. Maybe he couldn't hurt them while they were in here, but when they came out… that was a different story. If he wasn't misremembering, these two were transfer students. Were they high-tiers aiming for the Royal title?

"I don't lose. So you'll wait forever." Arlo glared, his arms and legs were in casts, and he had a bandage around his head. It looked like he'd fought someone beyond his level and brutally lost.

"The Rock-Paper-Scissors game yesterday would beg to differ."

"The exam results speak for themselves. Besides, it's a 201 to 199 victory streak on my end."

"Ah, but you see, your statement explicitly says you DON'T lose, and what happened yesterday contradicts your statement pretty badly. You lost."

"Maybe if you played Rock-Paper-Scissors with me more than one time a day instead of running away after the first."

"We already set up terms of Engagement Azazel, you know how we both get when we lose."

"If it was best of threes, you know I wouldn't lose."

"My point exactly. You are a sore loser, you suck." The tall one said that while looking at Arlo.

"If you don't want your life to be a living hell for the following three months," Arlo turned his head, looking at the Doc slaving away at the computer files, before turning it back, "I would recommend you tell me what I want to know."

The tall student raised an eyebrow at Arlo's declaration. Getting up, he did a perfect 90° angle bow. "Oh how foolish we have been, excuse us your majesty. How could we have been so blind to your grandeur. Allow me to explain." A kind smile was set on his features as he got up. "Suck a fucking dick you absolute shitstain of a being. Every breath you take is a walking endorsement of abortion. Your mother should have swallowed. Has that pleased you my lord? My linguistic capabilities have slowly deteriorated due to talking to Azazel, but I hope they have been worthy of your Royal fucktard of a station."

"What my minion said, but less gay." Azazel was the name of the person in chains? Arlo would take note of that. He couldn't threaten them with violence inside, in that case he would wait for Remi to wake up and ask her. "Also, you're gonna make our life a living hell? What are you going to do, fight me? Don't threaten me with a good time Puppet King." He was out of his mind, both of them were.

"Did I just hear fighting?" The Doc's voice came from nowhere.

"Are you deaf doc? It's called a passive aggressive conversation, it's when two parties who hate each other talk with each other. You said Physical violence, never stated shit about verbal."

"This is why you three don't have girlfriends." The Doc moved on to his computer.

"And that's why you still call your sock your girlfriend. Pretty sad doc."

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. Wait until she comes and visits. You'll have to kneel in front of me for advice." He went back to inputting names in the database.

"Hah! If she is actually pretty I will kiss your fucking feet!"

 

[Bob_EX]

John had been in this school for about a year now. He enrolled right after Middle School after a few incidents took place. Despite his high-tier status, he made sure to enroll as a cripple, someone without an ability. It was mostly because he got tired of the high-tier pressure and what it brings about. More than that. Being a low tier was no joke though, he'd lived like this for the first half of his life before he awakened his ability, and the brutal beatings were out of control.

That is, until they arrived. Most of the harm done to lowest-tiers come from Mid-tiers and the low tiers. Two boys that look the exact same, one taller than the other appeared out of nowhere and began to scare away the low tiers. It only took them three days to gain notoriety amongst the lowest-tiers as their protectors. In two weeks they had become infamous enough for most low-tiers to avoid them all together, and for the lower leveled mid-tiers to begin thinking about their actions. They acted almost like vigilantes in a way.

Well, Vritra did anyway, he helped out the low-tiers, preventing them from getting beat up. Using his large body as a shield against those who would cause lower tiers harm. Azazel was far more selfish, he simply beat up whoever annoyed him. From John's perspective he was no different from the high-tiers he insulted. If he had been born with a high rank, he would most definitely be no different from Arlo. A hypocrite that coincidentally helped others. The worst kind of scum in this world.

John thought of what this could spell out for Wellston. Maybe this would spark a change in the Royals, and they could learn to become good human beings rather than simply more cogs in the system. John didn't need them to turn into something as extreme as vigilantes, but treating other humans with respect was needed in his opinion.

A tap on his back took hold of John's attention. He turned his head and saw a girl with purple hair with yellow highlights and extensions. She was the only High tier that was worth anything. She smiled his way.

"Yo, have you heard about the Roof Fight?" Sera's eyes narrowed at her own question, but not at John, but rather at the distance. She looked worried, her lips tugged down ever-so-slightly.

"No. Did someone fight Abel?" Abel was always interrupting John from entering the roof. Thankfully he left quickly since typically Seraphina was there with him. It didn't surprise John that someone would hold a grudge, he went and looked for a fight most times, using his warning as an excuse to beat up people who defied him. Still, John didn't know Seraphina was close enough with Abel to care about his circumstance. That jerk deserved to get beat up.

"Worse," Sera's eyes trailed down, they began walking through the hall to their next class, "yesterday, that new student – Azazel – beat up Abel, and after, he beat up Remi. Although they say she's mostly fine, she's not leaving her room and spends a lot of time alone. It's not like her, so everyone's worried about her"

That made John's eyes widen, Azazel was 0.1 level above his twin brother Vritra, but that still put him at low-tier. How did he manage to defeat someone as powerful as the Queen of Wellston, a well-known high-tier called the Lightning Queen. Well, John had a theory.

"What about the guy who fought her?" John wasn't curious about the queen of Wellston. This experience could be a learning opportunity, that Azazel guy kicked her out of her high horse for sure. Hopefully this helps change this stupid system.

"He had both his arms fractured from collapsing after beating Remi up. He had several broken ribs, some fractured. I don't know, he didn't look all that bad, probably because Elaine healed him. The Doc will probably heal him in his current state in less than a day." She didn't seem to care much about him. "I honestly don't even know how it was even possible."

John had an idea as to how.

"He probably used an underhanded tactic." The most likely scenario was that Azazel had an incredibly tricky ability, something that blinded the opponent, or maybe let him see into the future, or maybe he could turn invisible. Hell, it could be an ability that reduces the level of other abilities. He could see Remi losing if that was the case. High-tiers forget to work on their hand to hand and focus entirely on mastering their ability so it wouldn't be a stretch to say they could be beaten by a tricky low tier ability.

"Oh, definitely. According to Remi, his ability is to make a fog that blinds people." Yeah, that ought to do it. If he could blind a high tier, then there is nothing they can do, they are helpless because they do not know hand to hand combat… or at least they aren't well versed in it.

"Wait, you said she didn't talk to anyone and hasn't left her room since yesterday…"

"Oh, Elaine told me. She asked all the questions while walking to the infirmary."

Elaine was another Royal. John had met her, and he hated her from the very first day. Her first question to him was what his ability was. When John told her he didn't have one, she immediately kicked him out of his chair and called him worthless. She was the worst kind of person. Which begged the question: why did she help out Azazel.

Maybe the question was written on John's face, because Seraphina immediately answered his thoughts.

"Remi called her, he bled out a lot." Wait, if Remi was conscious to call Elaine, then why were people calling it Azazel's victory. He lost didn't he?

"So you're Arlo's slaves?" Speak of the devil. His snarky voice, and arrogant tone were very easy to spot in a crowd. He was also very tall, not as tall as Vritra, but still tall. Sera looked at it, and nodded her head, telling him to silently watch what would unfold.

Blue hair tied into pig-tails and red eyes. She didn't look like she was formidable and John wouldn't know of her if she wasn't a pathetic bully. Her name was Clio. Next to her, a blond boy with swept hair and an angry expression on his face. Another pathetic bully, Hower.

"More like Fuck Toys, didnt know Arlo was Bisexual. Hitting for both teams?"

"And still no girlfriend. Horrible batting form. Worse of all, one of them looks like him. Things keep getting weirder for the Puppet King." Puppet king? Azazel's two words made memories rush into John's mind. A small circle was made surrounding them, for this organized of a beating, a high tier had to be involved. Probably a Royal.

"Or Boyfriend, we are assholes and fiends, not insensitive, C'mon Az, Arlo's failure of coming out of the closet should be fully on his two toys in front of us. Matter of fact, why do you look like Arlo, Howard? Does Arlo like doing himself? What sort of Narcissus ass syndrome is this?"

As a master of the technique, John immediately understood they were Rage baiting them. After all, higher tiers were let off easier, if with no punishment at all if they beat up a lower tier. By baiting them into a fight, they could claim they started it, and lose any blame for the fight itself. Besides, mid to low-tiers had something to prove and were heavily affected by inferiority complexes.

"I don't know which is worse, at least Narcissus had no relations with his reflection." For whatever reason, Azazel didn't swear as much as Vritra, it made him seem a lot less unhinged… but if what Seraphina said was true, then he was bat-shit insane. John stared at Azazel in particular, could he really beat up anyone? Thin, sleep-deprived… he didn't look the part of a master martial artist. That fell easily on Vritra, who was muscled, tall and had a more menacing, well-refreshed expression in his face.

"What did you say to me?!" Howard had gotten his fuze completely blown. He had been managing quite well, but after the latter comments he simply couldn't contain himself.

"Oh good god, he is hard of hearing too. Arlo likes his toys defective, truly a paragon of Royalty. Azazel, Commentary?"

"What we are witnessing is the slow degradation of moral, ethical and sane decision making by the Royals. Trusting people with low capability of conscious thought. A deterioration that is caused by one's own inferiority complex, ill-birthed by household issues and the need to be better than one actually is."

"Truly, a wise and enlightening commentary. Thank you Azazel for such beautiful eloquence. Now we ask the victim himself. Henry, what do you think of your sexual and work exploitation by the Puppet King Arlo?"

John was impressed, typically John used low level insults, but they tried digging deeper. They were better at this than he expected. Howard had enough and jumped toward them. Eloquently bashing them to make them annoyed, miss-speaking their name to prove their irrelevance. Insulting them straight-forwardly after with common insults that connect to their previous commentary.

Howard took a step forward, but was stopped before he could by Clio, who grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, you idiot!" Clio tried warning Howard, John didn't understand why, they were higher level then them, according to everyone Azazel was a level 1.4, and Vritra 1.3. Even if they didn't fight together they would win because Clio was level 2.6 and Howard 2.1. Well… that is unless Azazel used his tricky ability, risking his partner's safety to attack.

Howard didn't hear her, or didn't care. He thought that the fight would be a curb stomp too. He swatted Clio's hand away.

Howard strode forward with a smirk, eyes locked on Vritra, his eyes full of nothing but malice. "Hey Vann, Or was it Vino? Whatever, you're barely a footnote." he said, heat radiating off of his skin in visible waves. "Let's fix that, I'll write your name on the wall when I'm done with you." His hand ignited, palm growing orange-hot.

"Az" Vritra's face lost its smirk, his eyes losing a small spark in them, his voice usually deep, oddly stilled. "This one's mine, Go after the Slut." and with that statement, something cracked in the air.

"Don't order me around." Azazel looked at Vritra with the side of his eye, placed his hand on the back of his neck, he turned his gaze to Vritra and hummed. Very suddenly, Azazel revealed his ability. Fog began to seep from his body, then it looped around. Wait, what? John couldn't understand the decision making, instead of covering his enemies with it, he covered Vritra's body. The fog was only there for a few seconds, but once it dissipated it showed a completely different Vritra.

Vritra's body shifted, He did not just grow — He changed. His shoulders thickened, his spine curved slightly as spikes formed across his body beneath his uniform, tearing the fabric. Tiny coal-colored scales slowly grew from his arms and under his eyes. His teeth sharpened into fangs, and his nails into claws. A low hum echoed from him. "Thanks."

"Alright, now that we're just exposing tips and tricks," Azazel did something strange, John wasn't certain how exactly he did it, but his aura changed, it flickered, becoming entirely different. John was uncertain as to what it meant, but it felt as though Azazel had begun using a different ability entirely. But that was impossible. "How about you show me why Arlo chose you out of all of the different NPCs in this school. Out of all the rabble, why are you so special? Looks? Surely not. Ability? Well, I simply doubt it… maybe you were just randomly selected, a small goldfish thrown into a koi pond, larger than she expected."

"Do you two ever shut up?" Clio's nose scrunched up as her eyebrows furrowed, her face morphed into a frown. She was still not taking initiative, did whoever put her up to this explain Azazel's ability? Or his Modus Operandi? She wasn't calm, but she was holding herself back.

"Slow up here, and in movement. Ok then, I'll go to you." Azazel, with both hands in his pockets, walked a straight line. Howard tried hitting him first since he'd gotten closer, and because he most likely didn't want to fight Vritra's new form. Azazel was calm about it, he turned and grabbed his wrist. He pushed himself up and turned his shoulder before letting go prematurely, throwing him toward Vritra using Howard's built up momentum. John's eyes immediately narrowed, that wasn't just good. It was perfect. In both timing, and execution, entirely flawless.

Vritra started at the approaching Howard. His now reptilian eyes looked down at him with a cold, unfeeling gaze. A forked tongue flickered, before a wide grin grew across his face. Reeling a fist back, a quick snapping sound echoed as he drove his fist into Howard's head, sending the Teen down into the floor.

Howard looked up, dazed, before a Giant Body covered him from view. The sound of flesh striking steel echoed across the courtyard. Blood smeared across the school's floor quickly. "You said you were going to smear me on the wall right!? Then I will paint this god damn wall with your blood!"

John shifted his focus to Azazel, seeing him was difficult with the giant brick wall getting in the way, but he caught glimpses. Clio stood still, taking a step back.

"Ah, I see. News travelled that I beat up the queen, and now you're too scared to act. Is that right? Don't worry, I don't need to use my ability against barely evolved simians such as yourself." There was a metallic thud, then a drag as he kicked a pipe hidden inside his blazer away, "I don't even need my trusty weapon either. My hands are more than enough."

"You're low-tier trash! Who do you think you are talking so highly of yourself?" Clio still didn't take a step forward.

"Low-tier? In name alone I suppose. That's not the question you should be asking. The real question is, who are you to even look at me?" His blank expression turned into a malicious grin. "Remember this, gravel. My eyes are absolute."

"Hah, I don't even know whether to feel sorry for you or not…" Clio's glare intensified, she took a step forward, and Azazel simply waited. She was slowly inching closer to getting baited into combat.

A loud crack echoed across the clearing. Vritra, slowly lifting his body from the trash under him, locked his gaze on Clio. His blood covered face slowly shifted into a wide grin.

"I don't have a weapon, I promised I wouldn't use my ability. Are you so afraid of me? Should I tell you I won't use an arm either? If you're so afraid of confrontation, how about you turn around and leave? Then again, you never know, I guess I could bash your head in while you're not looking" Azazel never turned his head from Clio, his focus was entirely on her, and getting her to act first. However, he did put one hand behind him, as if telling Vritra, that she was his fight, and for him not to interrupt.

A low growl erupted from Vritra. Slowly nodding, he walked back to where they were initially positioned. But not before leaving some final words. "The bitch… is too scared… To be a worthy fight. End it… Quickly."

Azazel shrugged, "well, since she doesn't want to fight, there's nothing I can do." John widened his eyes, Azazel completely disregarded Clio and turned his back to her, essentially telling her she wasn't worth his time. He began walking back to Vritra. The hallway became silent, and judging gazes fell on Clio. Her reputation had everything to lose if she didn't hit him, he of course wouldn't be seen any different.

Clio thus threw the first punch, however like a well-oiled machine, Azazel tossed her over his shoulder. He'd used the sounds of her steps to discern her distance. That's not something you just learn by watching videos… he had experience.

Clio seemed to have expected it and turned her body around mid-flight. She rolled on the ground and bumped on Vritra. Her face became pale as she shivered, turning around to see his sharp teeth and reptilian eyes. John wouldn't blame her if she was unnerved. Somehow Vritra's ability had allowed him to punch up, and from what John sensed, he felt as though he could contest to some higher level mid-tiers. An ability that leveled itself up meeting some kind of condition? That was a dangerous ability for sure.

"Don't worry about him, he's a big old puppy in that form. Wouldn't hurt a fly… then again, you two are more like maggots. Surviving off of decaying prey, weakened by a more dangerous animal." Azazel raised his hands and waved them, "Well c'mon, are you going to make me wait like last time?"

Clio got up and rushed at him, her form was horrible, and proving John's theory, Azazel's was perfect. He weaved the punches with ease, and replied to Clio with a few jabs to her nose to push her back.

Clio tried kicking him, but Azazel checked her leg, took half a step forward and threw a straight – a faint which Clio fell for – hiding a hook to the side of her head. His footwork was perfect, same with his distance management. He knew the exact distance to prod Clio instead of fully hit her to provoke her.

Finally, after several exchanges, the fight had become one-sided. Clio's nose and forehead were bleeding, and Azazel's malicious grin only grew.

"Hurry the fuck up, beating on the weak is not fun."

"It is if they think they're stronger than you." Azazel's mocking tone was exaggerated, mocking Clio as he took his gaze off her to look back at Vritra, goading her once more.

"She is not, thus she is worthless to fight against. Finish this up, I am making Lasagna."

"Psh, mine's better anyway…" Azazel's grin was something that unnerved John. Just as he'd expected, he was a monster hidden within sheep. A low tier who if for whatever reason ever ranked up would spell a disaster. Someone who should never have been born with an ability. "What's wrong? Wasn't I just some Low-tier? Maybe if you activate your ability you'll stand a chance." John watched with his hands clenched.

Clio's eyes glowed, she had responded to his mocking and leapt at him with fists covered in some kind of aura, she punched, and Azazel dodged perfectly. A straight aimed at his middle back. John's eyes widened, this was beyond insane.

"How is that even possible?" Seraphina's whisper reminded John that she was even there. He'd gotten so immersed he'd forgotten her.

"His hand to hand is perfect." John replied, "he predicted that she knew he would dodge out of the way if it was a head-strike, or at least think he could from the last time he threw her… so as a beginner, she threw the punch at his middle back, the largest target."

"If she thought she was going to get thrown, why did she punch in the first place?"

Seraphina didn't understand combat too well since she could just stop time and beat people up… so John had to explain it to her in simple terms.

"Because she has something else prepared."

Clio threw a second punch aimed at Azazel's side, and he got hit. John narrowed his eyes, wondering why he'd let himself get hit by that. He'd clearly seen it, and reacted to it.

"Wow… that's it?" Oh, John forgot how much of an arrogant bastard he was. He got hit simply to insult her. Clio was grinning however, and Azazel would soon find out why. He took a step forward and his knee buckled, he lowered his center for safety and widened his eyes.

"You idiot! You are so fucking arrogant you never thought to ask what my ability was! You're fucked now!" Some kind of disorientation technique? Well, Azazel still had his own ability which would allow him to blind Clio and wait it out… Clio couldn't expect him to keep his promise now…

Azazel's smile grew as his disorientated footwork turned erratic, he was swaying and bobbing like a leaf in the rain. Clio punched him, but he swayed ever-so-slightly backward, then kicked her on her side, using the toes of his foot to target her ribs. Clio was moved sideways. She threw another punch, and Azazel kicked again, a front kick while leaning back, he hit her on the chest and pushed her back.

He swayed and tripped over his own foot like a fool.

"What's going on, how is he dodging all her hits? Clio's ability allows her to make her enemy feel dizzy. How is he accurately hitting and dodging her attacks?" Seraphina knit her eyebrows. John crossed his arms and kept his gaze on the fight.

"Drunken fist Kung-Fu…" John had to wonder how he was able to do something like this with such flawless performance. He hadn't even used his ability yet with the exception of the beginning of the fight. "It's a fighting style that simulates getting drunk to bait people and beat them up."

"Oh… Well, with how he's fighting, I don't see how he could have beaten Remi." That's because Seraphina didn't add in that steel pipe and his ability. What if blinding wasn't all it did? They had no information on what it did. With dirty tricks, and hand to hand skill like this, it was easy for John to imagine even a Royal losing. Then again, he wasn't even sure Remi had lost to begin with.

The exchange continued for a couple more hits, it looked like a cat playing with a mouse. Azazel was toying with Clio, hitting her on the head lightly so as not to knock her out. Bashing her ego, but giving her opportunities to keep fighting.

"Well, that's about all the motivation I have for this," Azazel stood back up, the effects of Clio's ability had probably worn out. "Let's get this over with." Clio's face was battered, she had a black eye, a cut lip, and her good eye was partially blinded by blood flowing from a cut on the top of her head. His attacks were precise and meant to corner her into fewer options during combat… What a monster.

Clio stayed where she was, trembling as she raised her arms, but John could tell it was not out of rage. When Azazel took a step forward, she tripped over her own foot and fell. Azazel stopped and his malicious grin opened.

"Well then, night night." He kicked her on the head, finally knocking her out.

Azazel and Vritra, who had now turned back to normal, walked through the crowd and spotted him. John looked into their eyes, and as they moved past him, they had a few words to say.

"Faker." Azazel turned his head back forward. As if he wasn't worth their time.

"Imposter." Vritra's body spiked up before reverting down. A look of utter disgust in his eyes.

John felt a chill down his spine. What did they mean by that? Did they somehow know of his past? His level? Did someone tell on him? Keon, the member of the authorities? His father? Claire or Adrion?

"Are you ok? I get that the fight was insane or whatever, but you look pale." Seraphina noticed immediately. John shook his head, he couldn't tell her.

"No, it's nothing."

 

[Bob_EX]

Blyke got out of his dorm room, today was going to be a busy day. Arlo had given him an order. To shadow the two guys living in the dorm next to his. Each dorm in Wellston could fit two people, Blyke, and his friend Isen, were two lucky students who had gotten the privilege to have their own dorm with no other people. Right next door were the two new trouble-maker transfer students.

Blyke heard that one of them beat up Remi. It took Arlo an hour of explanation to give Blyke a reason not to go there himself to beat them up. He stopped and waited outside their dorm looking at his phone. Isen sent him a few messages about upcoming news. The school news club was writing an article on both of them, but Arlo was shooting them down.

The brothers got out of their dorm, or Vritra did anyway. He looked annoyed at something, with both hands in his pockets as he stomped away. Azazel stayed inside. His eyes darted sideways to meet Blyke's. He noticed him quickly. That was insane dynamic vision. Since Azazel was going to stay inside, Blyke went ahead and shadowed Vritra instead.

Vritra was so tall, Blyke wondered if he wasn't an adult disguised. He was also very muscular. Well, in Blyke's case that was actually a good thing. His ability was based on energy projection, and the bigger the target, the easier it would be to hit them. He looked at his knees and his shoulders, they stretched the uniform's cloth… he was so tall it reached beyond the dress-code limit. Blyke followed him several steps behind to not be noticed.

Vritra looked down at a low-tier. So here it began, he was going to beat him up, ask for homework. The common tactics of lower tiers. Blyke stopped and watched to see what happened next. Vritra stretched his hand.

"Despicable," Blyke whispered to himself, checking his phone. Had anyone else used their phone inside school, it would have been confiscated. Blyke wasn't just anyone, he was a Royal. He kept the corner of his eyes focused on Vritra.

The low tier produced a small tupper box. Well, calling it small would be incorrect, it was a regular tupperbox, but in Vritra's massive hands it looked tiny. Like how even lions look small when placed next to elephants. Blyke had to get a little closer to hear what they were saying. He made sure to be smooth, walking a few steps in front of him, leaning against the wall, then just staring at his phone.

"Roland, you absolute saint. You didn't have to clean it up, you know? Is anyone giving you trouble nowadays?" Vritra's other hand found its way on the Low-Tier's shoulder. A small smile found its way to his features..

Blyke kept his eyes narrowed, was he pretending to be nice? He couldn't imagine it, the other low-tiers were so open with him, it just didn't seem possible to be fake. No low-tiers acted this way toward him, when Blyke was involved they had a gaze of admiration, but he could always feel they were slightly frightened by him. Vritra seemed to just be adored, and there was a sense of jealousy that filled Blyke.

"Whatever," Blyke whispered to himself. Standing there felt uncomfortable. He adjusted his position, and that feeling of uncomfortableness, unease, didn't leave him.

"Hey! Are you looking through dating sites?" That obnoxious voice could only come from one person in the entire school. With orange hair and eyes, a smug expression coupled with an extremely punchable face. Isen, the school's resident news and gossip rat.

"What are you doing here? I thought Arlo told you to look into something." Isen wasn't even supposed to be here. Now that he was, he was going to blow his cover.

"There was nothing to look into." Isen shrugged and looked incredibly bored. Blyke grabbed him and pulled him, telling him to shush. He was being too loud, the last thing he needed was for Vritra to spot him while he was being tailed. "Oh, you're tailing Vritra. Why?"

"Arlo asked me to."

"He's telling the Jack of the school to tail some low-tier nobody?" Isen's eyebrows knit, "this is weird. Why is he so worried about them? I get that there's a rumor that Remi was beaten by the skinny and short one, but still."

"Short?" Compared to Vritra everyone was short… but could you call Azazel short? He was taller than both of them. Whatever the case, Blyke looked Vritra's way again. The entire scene had changed. Vritra now stood in front of another student, with the low tier, Roland behind him.

Green hair parted mid-way, and pale blue eyes, the picture of what a douchebag would look like stood in front of Vritra. He looked arrogant, as if he was beyond repercussions… well, if Arlo sent him to do this then he would get away with it scot free. What did Vritra even do to anger Arlot so much? Probably something pretty bad.

"Who is that guy?" Blyke whispered to the rat.

"Kalum, he's a level 2.8." The rat knew, because he always knows. "His ability is pretty underwhelming, but I guess it could be a little surprising. It shoots hand projectiles." The rat's knowledge was unmatched. "He should be in trouble here… but his friend beat Remi, and well… pretty much anything goes right now."

"Arlo sends his regards, dipshit." Kalum's confidence was unmatched. He would have to know that Azazel beat up Remi, and Abel… something people overlook. Vritra also beat Howard yesterday. Blyke just didn't know where all of this confidence came from.

"You can take that regard and shove it up Arlo's ass, after you take your head out of your own." Vritra growled, his eyes beginning to glow a sickly red, and the effects were quickly apparent. His size increased, and his build somehow became even bigger.

Blyke had been briefed on Vritra's ability; it made him get bigger and stronger over time. That's what Arlo reported. In other words, the longer he took to beat him, the stronger he would get, and the harder the fight would become.

"Take this asshole!" Kalum began the fight, putting both hands in front of him and shooting a pale blue translucent hand made of energy Vritra's way.

Vritra's eyes narrowed, his body lightly bulking up. Crossing his arms, Vritra prepared to tank the hit.

The hand struck Vritra and sent him back, crashing into the wall with enough force to crumble it behind him. Roland – the low tier –had barely enough time to jump out of the way before he got squished between the wall and Vritra.

"Here's another one!" He thrusted his arm and sent another Vritra's way. It hit him again, to Blyke it almost seemed like Vritra was letting himself get hit. The crumbled debris formed dust as Vritra's feet were dragged across the ground, kicking up dust hiding his full figure.

A low growl resonated through the hallway, two red orbs stared at Kalum through the smoke. Vritra's eyes began to go up before the smoke finally cleared up. The teen now stood in a hunched position, a scaly tail swaying lightly behind him, his eyes gaining a reptilian edge to them along with scales growing all across his body. Opening his jaw, steam erupted from it and showed his now fanged maw.

Spoiler: Vritra's Current Form

"Wait, I thought he powered up with time." Blyke's eyes widened, he became a lizard-person thing. It didn't take too long either. Isen, the rat, looked worried.

"Threat." Isen commented, "it doesn't respond with time, it adapts to threat. He's getting stronger because Kalum is stronger." Isen narrowed his eyes, "now it makes sense, how he's able to compete with mid-tiers despite being a low-tier."

Well, it still didn't explain how someone like Azazel was able to keep up, but still. This was an unfair ability, it allowed him to contend with higher levels given enough. time? How wasn't he a high-tier?

"What the fuck?" Kalum, took a step back and threw another hand at Vritra. That was the only thing he could do, and to make things worse, the more he did, the stronger Vritra got. The only way to actually defeat him would be to pile on damage, or beat him in one fell swoop.

"He's healing." Isen narrowed his eyes, "it's a composite ability like Zeke's."

"Bullshit." Blyke looked closer. The bruises on his chest began to slowly heal themselves. It wasn't a regeneration ability's level of healing, but the fact it was visibly noticeable meant it was happening at a rapid pace, and if he gained levels the longer he was in combat, then that meant that once enough time had passed, Vritra was effectively unbeatable. "How is he not a high-tier?"

"Low mastery, low aura reserves, a lack of passive… I mean, three weeks ago both Azazel, and this guy were cripples" Blyke's blood ran cold.

"What did you say?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, they were born cripples. Both of them were born to parents without any abilities and became late-bloomers." Was that even possible? Awakening an ability this late in your life? Could it happen? If it could, it would explain why they went against the system so much, and why they tried helping other low-tiers.

"Wait, they aren't brothers?"

"Dude, they're not even related."

A crash took both their attention.

"CMON! FIGHT BACK!" Vritra had Kalum pinned to the lockers, raining down punch after punch at the Mid-Tier. "YOU WANTED THIS RIGHT!? FIGHT BACK! I WILL SEND YOU BACK TO YOUR FUCKING KING IN A CASKET!" The Lizard man's hand was holding Kalum by the chest and pinning him down. The latter's face looked as though you put it through a blender, with cuts and open wounds maring his face, and his lip busted up.

"Shut the fuck up you ugly overgrown lizard!" Kalum shot another phantom hand at his chin. Kalum's strategy changed from charging stronger hands, to using more frequent, but weaker hands. At this point, Blyke didn't know how strong Vritra had gotten, an ability that powers their user with escalation with no foreseen barrier. That kind of ability would become god-tier immediately… had he not been tested?

"What a scary ability… How do you even take down something like that?" Isen knit his eyebrows. Blyke could think of a few ways. That would be to immediately beat him with one hit, something he felt confident he could do by shooting him with a laser… or to pile up damage, something Arlo could easily do with his barrier ability. Shooting projectiles whose main power is to push things back like Kalum's was not going to do much.

Vritra's neck began glowing, even with all of the Phantom Hands attacking him, he forced his face to look into Kalum's eyes before opening his mouth. A stream of flames erupted directly towards Kalum face, with Vritra pushing the other mid-tier down to the floor. The air began to bend and twist. A Mirage was forming around the two.

"Not just a lizard then… this ability gets scarier by the second." Isen grabbed a camera from god knows where and took a photo. Blyke stared at Vritra and pointed his hand at him, if he shot him right now he could knock him out, and Blyke was certain of it… but should he? It was over for Kalum, he should have hit him with his hands and aimed at Vritra's head from the get go to knock him out, instead he showed off and now things had escalated.

"Fuck you!" Kalum's arm pointed directly at Vritra's head, then he changed his target to Roland – the low tier – who was watching from the side-lines. He shot several phantom hand shots at him. No one would go out of their way to protect Roland – the low tier – during a fight… Why would he? He'd lose all advantage, and they hadn't met each other for very long either.

And yet-

"NO!" What erupted from Vritra wasn't a scream, it was a snarl. Animal-like. Vritra launched off of Kalum, limbs coiling and propelling him. He tore through the hall on all fours, fast enough to blur and threw himself in front of the attack. It was as fast as a speed-based ability.

There was a sickening crack as the phantom hands hit him dead in the chest, the force of the strikes lifting him clean off of the ground. He didn't fall, he slammed onto the wall next to Roland, cracking it and indenting the Dragon in it.

When Vritra sat up, he was coughing. Thick, dark blood dribbled from his lips and soaked into the collar of his uniform. But his eyes? They promised nothing but pain.

Slowly, deliberately, Vritra rose. His back hunched unnaturally as the muscles along his spine rippled beneath his skin. His fingers flexed once– twice – and his nails extended, sharpening into curved black claws. He cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders, and looked down at Kalum like the mere act of him drawing breath offended him. With a deep breath, he charged forward.

Kalum had barely gotten to his feet when Vritra hit him like a landslide.

The first swipe split Kalum's uniform and carved four crimson lines across his chest, the second cracked a rib and sent him ragdolling backwards, gasping.

But Vritra did not give him time to breathe, he seized Kalum by the ankle, lifted him into the air as if he weighed nothing— and slammed him into the ground.

Once, and the floor cracked under the pressure.

Twice, and blood was smeared onto the floor.

Three times. Four, Five.

Each hit sent shockwaves through the floor, spraying shattered stone and dirt into the air. Kalum screamed on the fourth, or maybe the fifth, keeping count was difficult with the breaking sounds. He spun, dragging Kalum's half conscious body into an arc before flinging him like trash across the hall, where he landed in a crumpled heap. Vritra slowly stalked forward, blood painting his chin, slowly curling his claws again.

Blyke activated his ability and began charging up a shot. He had to step in now before he killed a student in front of him. A hand slapped his down, interrupting him entirely. Blyke turned around, Isen was gone, and the student that had revealed himself was neither Seraphina nor Arlo.

"When I saw flames come out of the window, I came rushing... I hate being right all the time, you know." A new voice entered the fray. Looking the exact same, but more disheveled, shorter and weaker, was Azazel, who had gotten out of the dorms.

"Pst pst pst. Here kitty kitty kitty." Blyke stared in disbelief. Was this person an idiot? "Bad kitty. Put it down. Put that trash-bag down. Pst pst pst. Don't kill him now, you'll get in trouble if you do. Oh wait, he's already down isn't he? I can't keep up with all these maggots writhing around." Azazel stopped and touched his chest. "Again?" it was only a whisper, but Blyke heard it, since he was still near him.

"Azazel, I am not in the fucking mood for your damn jokes."

"I'm not in the mood for a lawsuit."

"He is not going to die, so no Lawsuit."

"How about you deactivate your ability? These mongrels aren't worth it." Azazel put both his hands inside his pockets. "Or do you want me to keep calling you kitty until you leave your fursona? We both know you don't have the reserves to keep it up for too long."

The area around Vritra shook lightly at his growl. Before his body reverted back to its original form. "Roland, you still good buddy?"

"Uh… yeah. I never thought your ability would get so destructive."

They went back to talking as if nothing happened. Azazel went past Blyke and glared at him in passing.

"Next time, don't be stupid. If I hadn't stopped you, his escalation would have kept going." He didn't wait for a response and left, "Foolish Subjects to Puppet Kings."

Following him, Vritra raised an eyebrow at Blyke. "You really should put less cologne, I could smell you from when we left the dorms."

In the end, Blyke stood in that hall for a while. The gall to stand up to a higher tier… and to reprimand a Royal. Now Blyke understood why they were on Arlo's list. If he didn't do anything soon the entirety of Wellston might be turned on its head.

Blyke skipped most of his classes after that to think about things, when he got to his dorm he booted his favorite shooter game and began playing. As he did, a new player joined the opposing team.

"Kars?" It was an unusual name… mostly because it was a normal one. Typically people made up usernames and used fake ones online. The match began, and Blyke got killed in the first round by a sniper-rifle.

[You have been killed by Kars]​

"Damn, he's good at sniping." He respawned and dashed through the battlefield, being killed. This time by an AR. Blyke's name had moved down from the leaderboard.

[You have been killed by Kars]
[PM (Kars): L+ Ratio + Skill Issue + You fell Off + Cope + Seeth, Bum.]​

"... I'll show you!" Immediately, Blyke put on his best loadout and ran out. He took a few shots, but his footwork in the game was just too masterful. He ducked, jumped and slid to dodge most of the attacks, then got close enough to use a close range axe that killed Blyke immediately.

[You have been killed by Kars]
[PM(Kars): I'd say your aim is cancer, but cancer actually kills people.]​

"T-This asshole!!!" Blyke cursed this Kars guy. If he met him, he would beat him up for sure! Besides, why was he hounding him this entire time? Why was he going only after him!? Blyke looked at the leaderboard, he already had over twenty kills. "Wait, what?" He spawned in and walked a few steps outside, then saw one of his teammates walk out before getting brutally assassinated by Kars. He looked at the message bar.

[Kars is on a Rampage! A twenty-one kill streak]
[PM(Kars): I know you're behind that crate. You are beneath my damn feet, in fact, you are not worth the ground I stand on. Through Heaven and Earth, I alone am the Honored one. You bums."]​

Blyke took a step out and got shot in the head immediately. This no-lifer asshole had been practicing for hours.

[UNFRIGGINBELIEVABLE! Kars has achieved a seventy-two kill streak]

[PM(Lazerot): Sweat, no lifer, go touch grass.]​

Blyke continued to get killed in the game, over and over and over again, and then an opportunity arose. He was alone, his team had gone AFK, and now was the perfect opportunity. He crawled and snuck up behind him while he was using a sniper, then assassinated him… however, just as the kill ended, Kars left the server.

[DM(Kars):The only one who can beat me, is me.]
[You have been blocked by Kars]​

"Y-Y-YOU BASTARD! ASSHOLE! DIE IN A PIT!" Blyke kicked the furniture and slammed his fists on the desk. What a slimy bastard, a dick. If Blyke could choke him, he would. If he could enter the internet, and appear on the other side of the screen just to punch him once, he would.

"KEEP IT DOWN DUMBASS! IT'S 2 AM!" Isen's voice screeched from the room on the other side of his wall. He didn't understand what he had gone through.

"Fucking Kars… WHEN I FIND YOU KARS!"

"BITCH! I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP! SOME OF US ACTUALLY GO TO CLASS"

 

[Bob_EX]

On the roof, Arlo met up with Isen to get the information he'd asked for. Isen wondered why exactly he wanted him to look into low-tiers to begin with. It felt like an absolute waste of time… that was until he saw Vritra beat up bullies, his ability was something he had never seen before in his life. A composite ability that turned him more reptilian. It was definitely intriguing, and it could potentially give a good headline for the school paper.

"Is this it?" Arlo, dissatisfied, flicked through the pages. There was nothing of interest to read.

"Nothing I can do about that. Those two were born to two cripples, they awakened their ability just a little over two weeks ago. Their abilities themselves weren't recorded but their levels were. They got in trouble for hiding their abilities to the authorities and got helped out by the headmaster."

"And they aren't related?" Arlo looked at the profile pages Isen had put his sweat and tears to make.

"No, they aren't related." He reiterated. "They didn't even live in the same cities. No connection. Most likely a common ancestor or something."

"Well. That was a waste of time," Arlo angrily crumpled Isen's hard work. "I want you to shadow one of them. I've asked Blyke to do the same." Arlo looked at Isen with his eyes narrowed. "Find more information on Vritra if you can."

"Hell no!" Isen realized what he had just said and cleared his throat. There were several notes on the police interrogation on Vritra, chief among them: Sharp Senses. Isen didn't want to be in a ten meter pole of Vritra. His ability was busted from what he could gather. An ability that let you get stronger the longer a fight took? The whole strategy there is to buy time and wait until you are stronger than the enemy. No thanks.

"What?" Arlo looked down at Isen, he hated the fact Arlo was taller than him sometimes. It was a mistake to say his opinion out loud like that. If he was not careful he would get beaten up into a pulp.

"Sorry… I'd rather Shadow Azazel."

Then the day continued, and Isen was never more happy in his life. His choice was the right one. Blyke would have to shadow this crazed draconic fiend. Azazel in comparison was probably not as bad.

Vritra left the dorms and walking behind him – doing the world's worst job of shadowing – was Blyke. Azazel in the meantime, closed the door behind him. Isen used his ability and looked through the walls and stared at him. He leaned back in his bed and put both hands behind his back as he watched something on the screen of his computer. Isen could only see the outlines of people with his Hunter ability, so he wasn't sure what he was looking at.

After a few minutes, Azazel got bored of it and closed the laptop before tossing it on the bed and heading outside. Isen didn't have to follow him closely thanks to Hunting, so he did just that, targeted him with his ability, and followed him from far away. It didn't take too much time for him to get into trouble though.

Waiting just outside the male dorms were two girls. Isen recognized her. They had formed some coalition of Mid-Tiers to bully low-tier students. Illena and Wenqi. The former had maroonish-terracotta hair and a bob cut. Her eyes were blue, and her ability, if Isen recalled, was strength. Which did just that, enhanced the power of her strikes.

The latter was a blond girl with long hair and golden eyes. Her ability was Speed. From what Isen understood, she would give Azazel the most trouble if they were to fight. There wasn't much he could do against that after all.

He got closer to both of them so he could activate his ability to spy on what they were saying instead of what they were doing. He hid behind a tree and looked straight through it.

"So you guys noticed you couldn't beat me in a one on one, and thus came at me with twos? Interesting plan, not very well thought out." Azazel looked as tired and carefree as always. According to the information Isen gathered, he was a cripple that kept to himself and went largely unnoticed by anyone and everyone.

"You must have really pissed off Arlo." Illena took initiative and walked a few steps forward. "I hate the high-tiers with a passion, but having him owe us a favor can come in handy. I hope you don't hate us for it." There was a smugness in her tone. So this was Arlo's real intention, he wanted Isen to analyze how they fought and give him information on that. He was curious as to how he beat Remi.

"Obviously we couldn't come alone. You beat the Queen of Wellston." Wenqi took a few steps back. Isen couldn't see much of the fight, he peeked from the tree and stared at them by enhancing his vision. In that second, Wenqi activated her ability. Illena and Azazel followed suit.

"I should warn you both before this begins…" Azazel's expression was not visible from the angle Isen was looking from, but from what he had gathered from past events, he was probably grinning like a malicious villain in a cartoon. It always looked like he was searching for an excuse to fight and prove he was stronger. "I am absolute."

Wenqi took initiative and rushed toward him, and Azazel moved as fast as he could, but there was nothing to do. He was punched on the chest and sent flying back. Wenqi ran past him and kicked him toward Illena. Isen deadpanned, is this who beat Remi? He just couldn't see that or visualize it, Remi was faster and could electrocute him into submission.

"Tch." Azazel's heart was still calm and collected. For someone getting beat up, that was unusual, then again he was a low tier so he probably understood what it felt like. Illena readied her fist and got ready to punch him.

Azazel kicked mid-air and turned toward Illena while upside down. What kind of bullshit was this? Isen had never seen bullshit like this before. He used his longer range to heel kick Illena. She just barely dodged by tilting her head and got her shoulder dug into by his leg. She tried punching his knee, and he used his other leg to push off her, straight into Wenqi, who punched him back toward Illena.

His heart began beating faster now. Isen couldn't tell if it was anxiety, nervousness or annoyance. Illena thrusted her fist forward, and Azazel grabbed the side of her wrist and used his momentum to add on to hers. He spun his body while digging his feet on the ground, turning his horizontal momentum into rotational. That would definitely hurt his joines when he got older. Doing this, he judo-threw Illya onto Wenqi who grabbed her friend.

"Fighting you is a waste of time," Azazel said, like his ass wasn't getting beaten by the two of them. He put his hand on the back of his neck. Now that Isen was facing him, he could tell he looked annoyed, not nervous. "You're the best Arlo could come up with? I'm disappointed."

"Shut it asshole!" Illena gather her bearings and stood next to Wenqi. Azazel activated his ability and smoke poured from his body, gathering in front of them. Isen activated his ability and saw Azazel at one end of the smoke dome, while the two mid-tiers were in the middle. What was he trying to accomplish with that? Isen would get an answer to his question immediately. Despite clearly having her ability active, Wenqi's speed was greatly diminished inside the smoke, she was slower than she was without her ability.

"That's how," Isen whispered, "his smoke also slows down people inside… ugh another composite ability." Isen wanted to cry. Composite abilities like the ones both of them had were so annoying to deal with. He slowed down Remi and hit her while she panicked from being inside a smoke she couldn't see through. A truly disgusting ability for a disgusting person. From his blazer, an object slipped out. Isen's eyes widened, he was hiding a weapon inside his school uniform!? "That's the pipe I've heard so much about." A steel pipe which he used to beat people with.

The fight didn't take long after that. What were the mid-tiers going to do? They were blind and slowed down. All they could do was get hit by Azazel and flail about aimlessly hoping to hit him. Without a long range ability, dealing with his nonsense was nigh-impossible.

The smoke cleared and Azazel was out of it standing on top of Wenqi and Illena who were on the ground. Illena's temple bled, her arms were broken and her breathing was raspy. Wenqi had both her legs broken in the scuffle and her head also received injuries. He broke the main aspect of their abilities so they couldn't do anything to him after they recovered. Cold, malicious and calculated… or maybe just petty?

"C-coward" Illena said between gasps.

Azazel simply grinned at the statement. He wiped the blood from his pipe with Illena's clothes, then hid it back inside the sleeve of his blazer – which Isen had just realized was modified to have bigger sleeves.

"Losers don't get to talk," Azazel put his index finger on his lips, "they may only writhe on the ground silently. Like the worms they are."

"What makes you different from us? You're also tied down by the high-tiers."

He crouched down and stared straight at both of them, "I don't lose. It's just who I am, ever since I was born. The only one who could beat me, is me. The difference between you and I, is an infinity you may never grasp. I am, absolute."

A loud crash turned his attention to the window on the second floor of school. Something was going on in the school. Isen turned on his hunter ability, sure enough Vritra was there.

"Again – does your brain become that of a lizard's as well?" Flames peeked through the window. Azazel's heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened, he was anxious. Immediately, he rushed toward the school.

He was way faster than Isen expected.

That's how he met up with Blyke, who had been shadowing Vritra that day as well.

"Again?"

"Again… They keep targeting low-tiers while he's fighting… and then things go to shit."

Azazel managed to calm his taller doppelganger down, again. Isen understood why Arlo wanted him to shadow both of them. Vritra's ability evolved with threat, and Azazel's blinded and slowed enemies. If Azazel were to use his ability on Vritra, his ability would ramp up in power quickly as he lost his vision and became slowed.

 

[Bob_EX]

Seraphina was the strongest. That's all there was to it. Her ability made her so powerful in Wellston no one reached her toes in combat. It was expected from someone with the ability to stop, accelerate and revert time. Once upon a time, everyone kept their heads down, with some exceptions no one had the – frankly awful – idea of throwing glares or insults her way… with a few exceptions. The first was Arlo, because he felt slighted, and was too arrogant for his own good. The second was John who was her friend, and a complete anomaly, a cripple who stood up to bullies. The third and fourth were the new transfer students.

She had no idea where the hate came from. They appeared out of nowhere and began treating her like the devil… Azazel in particular. Anytime they had a project together, he would act like he had to get full scores on it or it would be the end of the world… in that sense, he was much like her before she met John.

"I am absolute. I always win, that's why." Is what he told her when she asked him.

Azazel was flippant, egotistical and arrogant. If Seraphina had to guess, she would say he was a narcissist.

Vritra glared at her, but always treated her with kindness. Not the double edged kind, the kind you would feel from others in this school. It was a dichotomous treatment where he was genuine about being nice, but being spiteful… if she had to guess, he was bipolar.

John had gone home for today, earlier than usual. She wasn't quite sure what was going on with him. Ever since he witnessed that fight between Howard, Clio and the two stooges, he's been acting differently.

"Was it that impressive?" She did a bit of martial arts before, but she couldn't quite grasp just how impressive what Azazel had done was… after all it all seemed inefficient to Seraphina. He should have just ended the battle immediately like what Vritra had done.

How did Seraphina feel towards both of them?

Vritra seemed like an alright guy. He protected the low-tiers, and helped out where he could. Despite his bipolar behaviour and his temperament, he wasn't all that bad.

Azazel on the other hand. Seraphina felt like he was too much of a perfectionist. She couldn't help but feel some resentment toward him. After all, a few days back he beat up Remi enough for her to confine herself in her room, and now she went to deal with family related things. Thanks to his little stunt, several rumours of a possible regicide began spreading. People thought he was going to start dethroning every member of the Royals. If that were the case, Azazel would have started with Blyke, or Elaine, the weakest members.

He was probably just angry at something and took it out on Remi, and Seraphina wasn't sure she could forgive him just yet for that. Remi had been kind enough to escort him to the infirmary after their fight too, at least the rumors said so.

Passing by the Royal lounge, Seraphina peeked inside. She wondered how the Royals were taking things. It had been only a few days, but Remi left without much notice. Inside the room, she saw Arlo being briefed by Blyke and Isen about something. She was close enough to hear what they talked about.

"The main issue is definitely Vritra. If you let his ability buff him too much he'll get too powerful and beat you, his own level increases the longer you let him get stronger. According to Azazel he can't keep it up for a long period of time." Isen grabbed a whiteboard and stuck several charts and bar-graphs. Seraphina stepped in and sat on the bean-bag. The two looked surprised she was there.

"Keep going. Don't mind her."

"Ahem," Isen put photos of Vritra and Azazel on the whiteboard and kept them up with magnets. "Azazel is the easier of the two to win ability-wise, and the hardest to win in pure hand to hand combat." He put several photos of Azazel punching and kicking other students, "He has definitely been trained in mixed martial arts, and has defeated mid-tiers without activating his ability."

"Anything else?" Arlo grabbed the pictures. Vritra's dragon form was on one and Azazel's smoke on the other.

"At one point, Vritra's ability allows him to breathe fire and he begins to regenerate his body. So ideally you defeat him as fast as possible." Isen then pointed at another picture with Azazel in it. Smoke covered half the picture, making it blurry. "The smoke slows you down and as far as we know, he can see inside it."

"Composite abilities. To think they were born from cripples."

"I'm more surprised they aren't related." Blyke commented. Seraphina shared the sentiment. She knit her eyebrows at that. They looked the same, and were transferred the same day. They weren't related? Well, if Isen said so, it meant he did his research, she felt like a DNA test was needed. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Why are you so determined to gather information on them?" Seraphina knew Arlo, and when he began digging information on others it spelled trouble. Was he putting them on a potential threat-list? Maybe he was taking the fight to them?

"They beat up a Royal, constantly bad mouth them, and are going against the system." Arlo put the photos of both of them down. "Despite being low-tiers they have managed to defeat Mid-Tiers, and in some instances even Elite-tiers by themselves. If we don't do something everyone will begin ignoring the way things work, and when that happens it'll be a massacre. Low-tiers will stand up to mid-tiers thinking they'll win, and get beat up, mid-tiers will do the same to Elite tiers, and it will keep going. Eventually everyone will be beaten, and in the infirmary the cycle will continue. They are dangerous."

"Do you think you can make them follow your orders if they get beaten up by some mid-tier?" Seraphina raised an eyebrow.

"Forget it. I've been shadowing Vritra, if you beat him up he'll just get more angry." Blyke crossed his arms and looked at the charts, "besides, if you throw a mid-tier with an ability that isn't attack-oriented at him he'll just shrug-off the attacks and get stronger."

"Azazel's the same, he just seems too arrogant." Isen was wrong. Seraphina had a feeling he was. If she was right about Azazel, and he was really like she was in the past, then he was one defeat away from a spiral.

"You've been sending people after them right?" Seraphina heard they had been getting attacked more often recently, and that all of them were sent by Arlo, promising them he'd owe them one if they defeated them. "Did you expect them to win?"

"No." Arlo answered truthfully, "If they did, I would be glad, but we're talking about two people who somehow defeated a Royal and Elites, I wanted to make sure how. Now we know. Azazel's ability allows him to have a complete advantage, and Vritra stalls the enemy until he is stronger than them… by blinding and slowing Vritra, Azazel can create a situation of absolute threat which ramps up Vritra's ability exponentially. If they're going down, it's individually."

"Alright, good luck with that." Maybe if it had been someone else, Seraphina might have felt more sorry… she just couldn't help but dislike both of them. Vritra through association mostly.

Seraphina got up and walked to the entrance. She was curious, curious about today, and of Arlo's plan. She turned around and asked.

"Who did you send after them today?"

 

[Bob_EX]

Abel was no longer part of the sub-Royal committee. After his defeat on the roof he was promptly kicked out and would now be replaced. Before he got to talk to some of the Royals every now and then. That might not seem like a lot to most people, but it was a guaranteed connection in the future. Connection to powerful people. Networking.

It was all his fault. Azazel Wodime, the disgusting rat that snuck attacked him, and then cheated his way into a victory, using weapons and nerve-clusters or whatever to beat him up. He walked the hall of school and felt the eyes close in, gazes of others looking at him. They saw, they knew, they remembered. He would turn around and no one would be there, but he knew they were staring.

Disapproving looks, looks of dismissal, looks of pity. That was his reality after his fight.

They all knew that Azazel had beat him, but they didn't know he cheated! He used a sneak attack and a weapon! They didn't understand!

The halls felt smaller, thinner, but longer, ever-going. It was like a never-ending underwater tunnel. He walked and walked through the waves crashing on him. This smoldering feeling pressing down on his whole body made him walk with his head down.

He'd been days like that, unable to look other Elite tiers in the eye after his defeat. They would talk to him and all he would see were their feet. His confidence reached a rock bottom. Why did it happen to him?

He stopped in the middle of the hall. He turned his head to the left and saw the stairs leading to the roof. The memory of that day surfaced, and his skin crawled. Not in fear, but in anger. His blood boiled, and his stomach churned at the memory. It had happened recently, but it felt like a decades old grudge.

His smug peacefulness when sleeping on that roof, turned into a maniacal smile that knew nothing but evil, nothing but mischief. His blood rushed through his body, his heart pounded in his chest. The warm blood in his body seemed to flare into raging flames when he thought of him. The person he hated the most in this entire school had been etched into his very being. The person he couldn't help but want to explode into little bits.

His red eyes drew Abel in like a bull, and his smug expression felt like a large cape obscuring his sanity. If he peered into it one more time, he might just not stop. His newfound seething hatred dug its roots so deep, the mere thought of Azazel Wodime's name had him breathing through clenched teeth. He wanted to let out a visceral war-cry and rush out to beat him senseless, take him by surprise so he understood what it felt like, then break his legs, and arms.

He stopped staring at the staircase and went on with his day, looking at it only reminded him of that day.

"Abel." A deep voice laced with smugness, but also haughty, noble and regal. Abel recognized that voice. He turned around and saw blond hair and blue eyes. Immediately, his gaze lowered. Almost like instinct. Like a commoner lowering their head in the presence of the king, because that is who he was looking at, Arlo, the King of Wellston. "I hear you have a grudge against Azazel."

That name again. He could feel his eyebrow twitch, and his heart palpitate. He begged Arlo not to ask him to forget his grudge, that is why he was there right? He begged with everything he had, in his mind, with his inner voice. He closed his eyes and nodded, waiting for the king's verdict.

"I'd like you to kick him down a few pegs. Get your revenge, no one will stop or punish you, I'll make sure of it." His voice became as smooth as bells, heavenly music to Abel's ears as he rose his head. A divine light embraced his divine figure. A king amongst kings. The fairest king of all.

"Yes, I'll make sure it gets done!"

**10**​

Abel stood on the roof, this dreaded location that had brought him so much suffering for the past few days.

"I see, so they couldn't find anyone else for the job, so they got you huh?" Azazel's sharp words cut, but they were nothing but skin-deep. Superficial and unimportant, much like him. A fool who believed himself to be the King. Abel's grin was present, he hadn't felt this euphoric in his life. A fight that he could begin and not stop, he didn't need to warn him, because he'd been warned. "You seem a little too happy to see me. It's only been five days you know?" Azazel's pointed jabs did nothing but motivate Abel. "Just so you know, your reputation was saved by your queen's downfall. If you get beaten here, you're the one who will plummet, Ikarus."

Without warning he brought his hand forward and activated his ability, he didn't want to give him any time to react. He didn't aim at the ground either. He aimed the explosion straight at Azazel's head. Like a cockroach living in a castle, hidden behind the large tables, and eating off the scraps of kings, Azazel managed to survive, because that is what cockroaches do.

He raised his arms and was blown backward to the fence of the roof, bending it. Abel didn't want to stop there, he continued exploding Azazel, sending him backward further, and further. The bent railing began to thin and crack, and break. He would fall through and drop to the ground floor. Azazel's bloodied arms were raised, what did he expect to do?

Darkness cornered Abel's vision. Light thinned, and images blurred. His vision became a dot on the sky that closed in on itself. The sunny sky turned into mere rays of light, which turned into nothing. The day was eclipsed in starless night.

Abel couldn't feel his feet, he turned his head. It felt like he was under water. Despite his lack of feeling his toes had been numbed, it felt like his whole body went to sleep. His senses dulled. Most would have panicked in this situation, Abel was sure… but all he could think about was that rooftop fight. He hadn't seen anything like this back then, which meant Azazel didn't think he was worthy of using his ability on.

"YOU BASTARD!" Abel swelled his aura on his chest and let it erupt, the darkness distilled, letting rays of light pierce through the darkness, and bringing back the day. Azazel was a bloody mess, his arms had burns, and his uniform was mostly ripped to shreds from the shockwave. There were many scars on his body. Most prominent was a scar that looked like lightning had latched to his body.

"I see, that's why Arlo chose someone like you." Azazel's smug tone was the same as always. Abel raised his hand, and Azazel dodged. He was faster than before? How? Why? Had he gotten stronger? He covered his fist in dark mist that swirled around it like a glove. He closed in, but before he could do anything, he was blown backward by Abel's ability.

A relentless storm of explosions followed through. Abel's attacks were concentrated on Azazel's arms; he wanted them to break. The rage he felt from that day all converged, he felt himself get stronger from it, be fueled by it.

He stopped to look at Azazel, he was a part of the fence now. Above the ground, he was kept in place by it. The green fence twirled and twisted around his arms. Azazel was unconscious, that was it. Abel closed in, he wanted to see the face of the boy he hated. He got close enough to look at him.

"Gotcha," Azazel lunged from his position, letting the sharp edges of the fence keeping him afloat cut through his arms and legs. Abel raised his arm, but Azazel grabbed his wrist, his grasp was strong, this wasn't the grip of a low-tier.

"FUCKING DIE!" Point-blank, he made an explosion hit his face. Yet, Azazel's grip on his wrist didn't relent. Like a demon, he pulled in closer, through the explosion, without caring for his own health. Abel saw his face through the smoke, maliciously grinning at him as he got closer. His evil crimson eyes glowed and etched themselves in his mind. His other arm had blocked the hit at the last second and now had a crater on it that splattered blood about like a fountain.


Abel heard a sickening crunch, and felt as though a truck had struck him on the shoulder. The impact sent him flying and tumbling through the rooftop. His arm was in too much pain to move, and he couldn't rotate his shoulder. It felt as though burning knives had been dug into his flesh and were now moving inside as they pleased. He shrieked from pain. From that wound alone, he knew – it was over. He was done.

"YOU LOST! YOU WERE UNCONSCIOUS! WHY DID YOU GET BACK UP!" Abel pushed himself from the ground. "I REFUSE TO LOSE TO Y-YOU! A DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT, LOW-TIER!" Abel made Azazel explode again, sending him back through the hole in the railing. Instead of falling to his doom, Azazel grabbed onto the green railing and swung his body to get back on top of the roof. Abel kept activating his ability, sending him back.

Abel was sure Azazel was more injured than he was. The blood coming from his arms pooled on the ground, it was enough to knock out any normal human being, but not him. He kept walking forward.

"Lose?" There was a madness in his eye, he wasn't quite there… but he was conscious, and moving his way. Abel wasn't sure this monster could be stopped, not unless he was killed. "I don't lose." Azazel was blown up one more time, and he got back up again. His left arm's bone poked through his skin, fully broken… and yet he was the one standing up.

He got closer to Abel, and all of the rooftop monitor's instincts told him to run away. This wasn't a fight he could win. He could either lose or go down with him, because Azazel was most definitely not going to lose. In that instant of hesitation, Azazel had gotten close enough to reach Abel.

"I DON'T LOSE! I AM ABSOLUTE! I ALWAYS WIN! I AM ALWAYS RIGHT! LOWER YOUR HEAD, FOR YOU ARE BELOW ME, MONGREL!" He punched Abel on the chest. Another sickening crunch followed by all of the air in Abel's chest leaving him. He was sent through the ceiling and into a classroom.

Abel took a deep breath, he felt a sharp pain inside his body. Breathing hurt, but if he didn't he would die, if he stayed where he was, he would die. The shadow of Azazel's figure obscured the light from above, as his eyes met his. Crimson orbs of madness, with no compromise.

"I-I lost, please…" Abel crawled backward, unable to stand up by himself. He blinked, and Azazel was no longer there. Like a nightmare, he'd disappeared. Abel let his back hit the ground, the gaze of everyone in the room sank into him. Hatred, amusement, satisfaction, a mixture of emotions pierced him, and that's when he understood. The gazes he'd felt before were all in his head.

He'd reached out to the sun and found out why heaven has gates. His bloodied wings could only melt in the rays of sunlight through the roof as he closed his eyes, hoping it would not be the last time.

---

Spoiler: Author Note

So, this is an UnOrdinary story a Friend and I are writing. Posted 10 of the chapters I have stockpiled. The Chaos Gacha's system is done via a Bounty system with characters giving out a different ticket per their rank. The entire Idea behind this story was putting 2 people from our world with the potential to gain more abilities in a world where abilities are very static and one can only have 1.

Any sort of criticism or opinion you have is valuable to me as a writer. Also, I am garbage in writing fight scenes. Tell me where I can improve!

Thank you for reading, and have a nice day.