Ordinary Revolution (UnOrdinary Chaos Gacha)

[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.

 

[Bob_EX]

---

On the day of his mother's grave, Terrence promised high-tiers would pay. He had been born to extremely unfortunate circumstances. An unwanted child born from the abuse of a high tier to his mother. His mother was overworked, and couldn't keep a proper job. Her frustrations led to a lot of misery in his early life. To come home beaten by high-tiers in school, and in the streets, then to come and be beaten at home. Terrance's life was a swirl of negativity.

High tiers don't deserve the power they had. This society that punched down to keep power was out of whack. A disgusting space that propagated the idealisms of the powerful, the one percent. Thirty percent of people were low tier, and even more were between low tier and mid-tier. Yet, only the high-tiers were afforded benefits. At his lowest moment, he was approached by a man who promised to take him under his umbrella.

That's where he learned of an organization, Spectre. An organization whose aim was to topple the current administration and make sure everyone was equal… Terrence liked the idea, that ideal was beautiful. In the end however, it was nothing but that, an ideal. No, what Terrance wanted was something different, he wanted low tiers to be in charge, and the high tiers to be put on a leash. Many shared his ideals, and agreed with that sentiment. As such, the person who had introduced him to the organization, and his father-figure decided to take over. They formed a faction, and grew it, expanding under the noses of the other factions so they could have more control over their operation.

If Terrance had a choice in the matter, he would never go to a place like Wellston. Wellston was a disgusting space filled with nothing but elitist high-tiers. Every day he was beaten up and forced to do other people's homework for them. He had to remember, he wasn't there for nothing, he was there for a purpose. Something larger than himself, something larger than his wants. Which is why he was currently there, inside his dorm at 5:00 am.

His mission there was to record any prospects for Spectre, keep a file on them, and then to attempt an indoctrination. Currently, the top prospect was Seraphina, a high tier that willingly hung out with a cripple. Her best friend, John, didn't even have an ability of his own. Despite her dismissal for any other low-tiers, she did have the potential to see the end-goal. Plus, if Terrance could put her in a leash there would be little their faction couldn't do, after all, her ability was time-related. It transcended the third dimension and allowed her to tap into the fourth.

Besides Seraphina, there was one other person who Terrence eyed for the prospect. Looking through his files, he looked through the newest ones.

– Files –
Target 94
Name: Vritra
Ability: Dragon related (Unclear)
Level: 1̶.̶3̶ ̶2̶.̶3̶ ̶ ̶2̶.̶5̶+̶ Can evolve during battle.

Recruit: Likely

Description: Began as a low-tier. According to information, he is a late-bloomer. Helps other low-tiers and has been shown being overwhelmingly sympathetic toward them. Puts himself at risk for them. Has a hatred for the current system. The only issue is his temperament seems to only be handled by Azazel, and his answer to conflict is violence.

Terrence closed the file and turned off his computer. With an ever-evolving ability there wasn't a lot the Spectre couldn't do. If they were to break down his ability and find a way to make a drug that could advance a person's ability over-time they could over-take the authorities with ease.

He opened the door to his dorm and became invisible immediately. That was his ability, and why he had been chosen to gather information in Wellston. He did have a lot of information on Vritra's behavior, but none of his motives. He didn't know much about him and it was important to see if he was a genuine person, or someone simply trying to get brownie points.

Terrence walked through the dorms and found another one of his file-members, Azazel. He grabbed his phone, still visible to only him and looked through it.

– Files –
Target N/A
Name: Azazel
Ability: Fog Manipulation (Unclear)
Level: ̶1̶.̶4̶,̶ ̶2̶.̶4̶,̶ 2.5+

Recruit: NO

Description: Arrogant, egotistical, always thinks he is in the right. Does not work hard, does not train. Intelligent, calculating, lazy. Handles conflict through violence. Does not seem to care about low-tiers. Sees himself as better than everyone. Seems to hate everyone with the only exception being Vritra. Potential threat.

#Note: his ability seems to change every time it is utilized. (New)

Azazel stopped and turned his head, looking straight at Terrence. Has he been discovered? That wasn't even possible. He was being as quiet as he possibly could. Azazel turned his head again and continued walking. Did he turn it on instinct? No, the only thing that could have made a sound was Terrence's breathing… he was overthinking it.
Terrence took another soundless step forward and heard the footsteps behind him stop. He turned his head and saw a metal pipe come his way.

He ducked under it and let it hit the other side of the hall.

"Hmm…" Azazel narrowed his eyes, walked to the pipe, passing by Terrence. Terrence stopped breathing all together while Azazel was near, and only let his breath go once Azazel had left entirely. What kind of abnormal sensitivity to sound was that? To hear him breathing and suspect he was there… Was he superhuman even without an ability or something?

Terrence continued walking toward the other side of the dorm, where he found his actual target for today. A tall black-haired man with red eyes…

He's grown taller

Terrance thought to himself. They were in highschool, but this kind of growth spurt was unheard of. He'd grown from a 6 '9 (already incredibly tall) to 7' 0 overnight. Now that Terrence thought about it, the same could be said for Azazel… though he had a much lesser presence. Just like Azazel, he turned his way.
You're kidding me, I'm at least five meters away.

He took two steps back and Vritra went back to drawing something on a cheap-looking sketchbook. Terrence could tell it was cheap because the outside looked like it was made of cardboard, it was falling apart and it had stains… what looked like blood-stains, on its corners. And so… Terrence waited for him to do something, or reveal some kind of information about his motivations, but nothing came to it.

Terrence had to leave the room, and come back into it without invisibility because he could understand it would take too long, and he needed some Aura to escape if a fight were to happen… though the chances of that happening were low inside the dorm-room lounge –

A large crash sent debris through a wall as a whirlwind tunneled through, striking at Vritra while he sketched. Pieces of debris hit him. From the hole on the wall came purple haired and dark pink-ish/red eyes. Terrence had already made a file on him.


– Files –
Target N/A
Name: Ventus
Ability: Whirlwind/Wind Manipulation
Level: 3.8

Recruit: NO

Description: The average high-tier snob. Listens and kisses up to the Royals in hopes of becoming one in the future, has no gripes with the current system and has been seen abusing mid to low tiers in the past.

"Oh god fucking damn it, ITS SEVEN IN THE FUCKING MORNING!"

"Arlo sends his regards." Ventus showcased exactly why Terrence hated High-tiers. They got to sit around and order weaker tiers around like pawns. He sneakily moved away from the conflict and watched from a safe distance as other residents looked in. Isen and Blyke walked into it, but immediately left once they saw who was fighting.

"Can you cunts come up with something original? Please? Its the fifth fucking time I hear this." Vritra growled at the intruder. "Also, if Arlo is sending me so many fucking regards, he should just come down and confess already, this is getting ridiculous."

"Your disgusting mouth is exactly why you're in this much trouble. You should learn when to keep it closed." Ventus reeled both his arms back.

Vritra smirked widely. "Well this disgusting mouth is what has your puppet king's panties all twisted up. He should just come out of the closet already… " Vritra appraised Ventus up and down. "Matter of fact? When are you coming out? Purple Hair? Bold choice, I have to say."

"Can it!" He threw both his hands forward and sent another tunnel of wind Vritra's way. Sending more debris his way as well. Terrence wondered what exactly Arlo was planning, wind? Sure it could cut and send debris his way, but why Ventus and not someone like Meili? She could cut through steel with her claws.

Vritra's eyes were glowing that haunting red once more, but no real change was apparent. Crossing his arms, the giant prepared to tank the hit just as he always did.

Terrence wondered why there was no physical change in his appearance. Typically after the first attack, Vritra's body would change drastically, height gain was not as present as it had been before. He thought the main condition of his change was threat. Terrence looked at the debris.

Well Arlo, I wasn't aware you thought things through that far. I might have to add a note to your profile.

Ventus was attacking with small cuts and debris. That was hardly a threat to Vritra, which meant his ability didn't escalate or evolve. His plan was to use low damaging attacks that would be threatless otherwise and kill him via one thousand cuts. But there was an issue with that… How many paper-cuts did it take before they became too dangerous?

Vritra scoffed, looking down at his body as though it had betrayed him. "Gotta admit, that golden bastard really thought this one out didn't he?" His scowl and ire was directed at Ventus, before a sickening grin set itself on his features. The giant lowered his center of gravity before rushing at Ventus.

Ventus used his ability again, this time when Vritra was closer, pushing him to the ground, and then forcing him to be pushed back, the consistent hits cut Vritra's arms ever-so-slightly. The real threat were the debris around that were pulled and pushed by the wind, hitting the large man with the force of baseball bats.
Vritra raised a singular arm up, palms open and pointing at Ventus, before glowing a fiery orange. A loud boom shook the Lounge as Vritra's palm released an explosion, flinging his arm back at the recoil.

Terrence's eyes widened, he thought pyrokinesis came after certain escalation, did that mean he could use it from the get go? And from any part of his body? Ventus seemed to be more shocked than Vritra, being sent back into the hole he'd made for his entrance.

It didn't take long for him to recover, sending another whirlwind, through another piece of the wall in hopes to get Vritra between debris again. He jumped through and kept one hand back and one hand in front. Terrence wasn't too sure what his idea was, but from his current performance it had to involve debris somehow.

"FUCK-!" Vritra growled out, his other palm already pointed Ventus' way as another loud explosion erupted out, sending the debris flying back. "-YOU!"

Ventus thrusted his other arm and expanded the whirlwind, pulling in debris. Terrence could tell it was by accident, but the wind combined with the debris acted as a tunneling shield that pushed the explosion away. It's a shockwave cancelling the wind. Ventus reeled both hands back and shot them forward again.

"God damn it, will you just fucking stop!" Another explosion, this one bigger than the previous ones, erupted but a loud pop soon followed. A grunt of pain left Vritra's mouth, looking at his shoulder in annoyance.

"Wow, it's really working." Ventus himself wasn't sure if it would work. Ventus kept his whirlwind up, sending debris to harm Vritra. The idea was clearly not his, it came from Arlo for sure. So that's his main weakness, if he can't feel threatened by something, then there is nothing to escalate to. Terrence knew better however, that loud pop was something Ventus should be backing away for.

The first real sign that things began going downhill is the way Vritra's uniform tightened against his frame. With his back facing the debris, Vritra tried and failed to set his shoulder back into its place. He tried using the momentum of the blast to his favor, not the dumbest thing Terrence has seen, but it would require finesse, and Vritra was a late-bloomer which meant he didn't have a lot of time to become experienced with his own ability.

Ventus broke another wall with his whirlwind, aiming back, then aimed forward again so there was a bigger mass of debris hitting Vritra.

The sickening pop of a shoulder being set back in its place was soon followed with Vritra's body beginning to… Escalate.

Terrence knit his eyebrows. It was too sudden, too out of left field. He began escalating from nowhere. Was there some kind of requirement needed to be met before it began? That couldn't be the case because it'd done so instantaneously in previous fights. Terrence simply couldn't understand.

Vritra hand lashed out. His arm already possesses lizard-like traits, all claws and scales.

Did he inject some sort of drug into himself? Or was the escalation happening because the accumulative papercuts had become too threatening all at once? Terrence wasn't even sure as to what he was doing, slowly reaching for the ground… not the ground, but Ventus' shadow, cast below by the rays of light striking him from the back thanks to the hole on the wall he'd made.

"Got ya~" A sickening smile, one that Terrance was beginning to notice as a recurring element in every single one of his fights, spread across his face, this one full of nothing but malice and promises of pain as his hand sunk into the shadow and pulled.



Shadows were a second dimensional thing, something humans can't really interact with without the use of an ability. So why was Vritra not just interacting with, but yanking Ventus' shadow towards him? As if to respond to this incongruence in space-time, Ventus himself was pulled alongside the shadow, his sudden loss of balance made his arms flail and thus his ability was no longer targeting Vritra.

A sudden gain in ability?! That could only mean one of two things. Vritra had a second ability, or, the more likely scenario… Somehow Vritra's ability allowed him to adapt to his most threatening environment. The explosions had only been seen after Howard's heat palm and Kalum's ability. The shadow ability was only shown after his entire body had been covered by darkness, Azazel's ability. Much like how in mythology dragons gain elements based on where they live, could Vritra gain a trait by doing the same? That made him even more of a threat if he did not join Spectr. If that was the case, he was a potential bigger risk than someone like Seraphina.

The impact of Ventus' head cracking the floor cut that train of thought off, Vritra's fist slowly pulling out of his face with blood smeared all over it. A mad cackle erupted from Vritra, deep and rich with joy. "Wow, even your shadow betrayed you~" Wiping an imaginary tear, Vritra's palm pointed down at the fallen Elite-Tier. Vritra's face lost all positivity as he glared down at Ventus. "Time to send a fucking message to Arlo and his lackeys." A loud Explosion erupted, enveloping Ventus. A second followed, as all one could see on Vritra's face was euphoria.

"Do you ever get tired of finding new lows, kitty?" Azazel had walked in with both hands in his pocket. Terrence had no idea what kind of confidence he could possibly have to talk to an escalated Vritra like he was an equal, let alone a superior.

A groan "He fucking attacked at the Lounge, the fucking Lounge, I was having breakfast and drawing."

"Yeah, so maybe try not to coat my cereal with blood. No killing, toss him outside." Azazel's words felt like they held little weight behind him, probably because he didn't really care. Maybe because he was tired.

Shrugging his shoulders, Vritra picked up the downed Elite, his body smoking and his chest enveloped in second degree burns. "If this is the 'King' keeping order, I don't want to know what Anarchy looks like in this shithole."

"Fakers pretending to be nothing, kings that are nothing but puppets. The essence of shallow skin is all they understand, bone and blood is beyond them." Terrence wondered if he'd been reading some poems with a feathered hat. His way of talking was annoying, it grated his ears. Without looking Terrance could tell he had a shit-eating-grin on his face.

Just as Vritra was about to throw Ventus out of the window, he paused. Looked at the downed body in his hands, before raising an eyebrow. A quick punch to the leg and Ventus' limb broke. Only then did he drop him out like trash.

Incredible. Terrence pulled out his phone and went invisible, slowly blending into the background and walking away. He furiously typed on his phone.

– Files –
Target 94
Name: Vritra
Ability: ̶D̶r̶a̶g̶o̶n̶ ̶r̶e̶l̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶(̶U̶n̶c̶l̶e̶a̶r̶) Superior Draconic Adaptation.
Level: 1̶.̶3̶ ̶2̶.̶3̶ ̶ ̶2̶.̶5̶+̶ Can evolve during battle.

Recruit: Likely

Description: Began as a low-tier. According to information, he is a late-bloomer. Helps other low-tiers and has been shown being overwhelmingly sympathetic toward them. Puts himself at risk for them. Has a hatred for the current system. The only issue is his temperament seems to only be handled by Azazel, and his answer to conflict is violence.

#Note: Has shown very sadistic tendencies when feeling slighted.

---

 

[Bob_EX]

---

Evie tied her hair into low bunches. These past weeks had been nothing but a blessing to her. She met the new students since she was told they were low-tiers. Her first impression came in the form of Azazel looking down at her. It reminded her of John, who did the same when she tried reaching out. That is, until Vritra extended his hand.

"Don't worry about this asshole, he treats everyone the same."

They were both ridiculously tall, and they looked the same. She could picture them both in the NBA… if they were high level of course. The first week they arrived in was chaotic, no low-tier in Wellston had ever seen push-back when it came to being ordered around by mid-tiers. Yet, they did it like it was second nature. When asked why they bothered, their response was so odd it made her chuckle a bit.

"Why wouldn't we?"

Vritra was proactive in protecting everyone, and Azazel protected people as long as he felt like it. He at least helped out. Thanks to them, bullying in Wellston began to diminish, and low-tiers like Evie could walk around with their heads held high.

Evie wasn't just any low tier, she was the lowest tiered student in Wellston. Being friends with those two made life in the school a lot more bearable. They had completely changed how students viewed low-tiers, and how they treated them to a degree. A lot of people even began theorizing that they were actually high-tiers lying about their levels, but Evie wasn't sure about that, it seemed more like they evolved and grew stronger after every fight instead.

After several minutes of preparing herself, she opened the door to her dorm and ran outside with sports clothing on. She had a basketball t-shirt on, with her favorite number on the front and back, shorts and sneakers, because today they were going to play basketball.

She met up with Roland outside and waved at him. He pleasantly did the same back.

"Good morning!" He had no bruises, no scratches or wounds. It was as if none of the previous years had ever happened. "Those two are already on the pitch. They rushed there immediately." Those two were always competitive and were always challenging each other to meaningless dares like rock paper scissors, or exam scores, or games of chopsticks. When asked why, Vritra said that it was the only way to challenge someone like Azazel because he didn't see it as a victory or real loss… but still cared enough to keep track. It seemed like something he would do.

"Let's get going!" She shot both her fists into the sky and walked with Roland to the basketball court. It was early in the morning, they had to be early because otherwise mid-tiers could take the court for grabs and at that point all hell would break loose.

The court was your average multi-sport court with holes on the ground to put posts for football, or nets for volleyball. Right now there were only the hoops, and at the center were two sweaty tall teenagers. Azazel had the ball and was moving the ball all sorts of crazy ways. Vritra used his larger wingspan to try and keep him in one place, but after faking a spin only to then pass the ball to himself behind his back, Vritra was having trouble keeping up. He drove forwards, finally passing Vritra, but the tallest teenager Evie had ever seen was not done yet, he spun and ran back at the hoop. With his larger strides, he got there at the same time as Azazel was jumping.

Azazel grabbed the ball with both his hands and reached out to the hoop. Vritra, mid-jump, attempted grasping at it, but Azazel pulled his arms, waiting for Vritra to fall to toss the ball to the hoop from the other side.

Vritra started with the ball now. Azazel checked him at the start, and Vritra drove forward. Azazel reached out for the ball, but Vritra used his large wingspan to pass himself the ball from between his legs. Azazel seemed ready for it and reached out for the ball, only for Vritra to push against him with his hip, taking him off balance. Azazel recovered fast of course, but Vritra's height and weight made it too easy for him to just jump and slam the ball inside the hoop.

It was clear from the instant she saw those two exchanges, that whoever held the ball first would score. Azazel dominated with skill, and Vritra through muscle.

Now that Eview looked closer, Azazel was more built than she expected. She heard he never trained physically… What a bastard. She couldn't help but feel animosity as she recalled previous diets. Vritra on the other hand, was a wall of chiseled muscle, it looked as though he'd been carved by greek sculptors. He wasn't grotesquely muscular, it was a perfect blend.

"Hey guys." Roland took initiative, he walked to them and waved them hello. They reciprocate the sentiment. It turns out that despite Azazel's superiority complex, he wasn't completely unapproachable.

"Dibs on Evie," Azazel pointed with his thumb, there was an immediate reaction. Vritra looked astonished that he would even consider declaring dibs. Meanwhile, Evie was simply confused. She couldn't think of one scenario where she could be useful… she has never been picked first ever.

"Bullshit, rock paper scissors."

Roland had been picked second, and simply watched unbothered from the sidelines. Vritra lost 2 to 3, the curses he let out afterwards would have made a sailor blush.

"You should have picked chopsticks, I've already memorized your pattern for today." Azazel smugly stared at Vritra, and although he had to look up it was clear who was looking down on who. He raised his fist and walked up to Evie with a thumbs up, telling her to get closer. "Don't get nervous, no team of mine can ever lose." He was somewhat of a prick… but having him in your side was oddly reassuring.

"Okay Roland, my Goat, my glorious King. Best Baker in the world. You are the Lebron to their Norm Grekin." Vritra already had a hand wrapped around Roland's shoulder.

"Wha–?" Evie was confused, their expressions and even their references mostly went over their heads. Roland also looked confused, that was because the names they spoke most likely came from their town… or their neighbourhood. At least that's what Evie would like to say, but their parents lived on opposite outskirts of this town.

"Don't hear the foolish babble they speak, listen to what I will tell you," He came close to Evie's ear and whispered a few things and she could only stare at him in awkwardness.

"That's all?" She was confused by his strategy.

"Don't be scared of Vritra. For this game, you'll be the star." Azazel's expressionless face looked somewhat determined. Evie could never tell if he was having fun while playing games with Vritra. She nodded and hyped herself, grabbing the sides of her jersey before tugging on them for good luck. His number was 46, Roland's was 35 and Vritra's was 16.

"Hey, Lex!" Vritra pointed at one of the low-tiers sitting down with a coffee, Lex was bottom of the barrel, low grades, low level, invisible person. He wasn't particularly nice to anyone either – which is why Evie wasn't too uncomfortable with insulting him… in her mind. "could you please referee this before this moron, dipshit, slimy greeseball starts listing rules to his advantage?" Vritra pointed with his thumb at Azazel. Lex nodded and grabbed the ball.

"Ready," Azazel lowered his center of mass and got ready to receive the ball. Evie nodded and did the same… but she just couldn't see this plan ever working out… ever.

"Three, two, one… Go!" Lex tossed the ball up. Immediately, Evie ran up to Vritra, jumped and used her ability to her fullest extent.

"AGH! SON OF A PROTESTANT WHORE!" Vritra was already on the floor spasming everywhere. "WHY! EVIE! I THOUGHT YOU WERE ONE OF THE GOOD ONES! YOU ARE OFFICIALLY UNINVITED FROM MY BIRTHDAY PARTY! WAAAAAA-"

Azazel jumped up while he flinched and grabbed the ball, using Vritra's blindness to his advantage to get to the basket.

"Ignore Luigi, go to the side of the hoop!" Azazel was already near the basket, with Roland chasing right behind him. Evie gave Vritra one last glance before sprinting to the three point line. He threw the ball between his legs twice, then spun before tossing the ball Evie's way. It was a light toss that bounced on the ground once making it easier for her to catch.

Evie panicked and looked left and right. Roland was already rushing toward her, so she did what she could and simply tossed it up at the basket. The ball hit the rim and was about to fall to Roland's hands, but before it could, Azazel swooped in, grabbed it mid-air, then tossed it behind his back to make the basket.

"Don't sweat it, as long as we follow the plan, we'll win." Azazel sprinted to the back to defend. Evie felt a sense of achievement despite failing to get the point. Was this how Azazel felt every time he did something? She turned to look at his expression, but it remained entirely still and stagnant.

Vritra was in a Fetal position, hands over his eyes and tears streaming down his cheek. "My eyes have been defiled, I can't get married anymore." He sobbed, rocking himself back and forth. "What would my saint of a mother think-"

"That saint of a mother would think you're an exaggerated loser. I have to say, seeing you laid out is quite a sight for sore eyes." Azazel sneered, intercepting Roland from getting closer. He pushed through, passing the ball from behind his back toward Evie so she could rush to the basket. She did the best she could, but it hit the backboard again.

As if there were springs on his shoes, Azazel jumped, grabbed the ball and put it inside the basket before turning back at Vritra.

"Two Null? Aight. Enough fucking around."

"Four, as long as it's not a free throw or a three pointer, you count in twos." Azazel walked back to the center line. Last time they sprinted, but this time he was comfortable walking, Evie couldn't really understand what was going on inside his head.

"Whatever dude, that's for Lex to keep count of." Vritra shrugged, finally getting up and walking towards his net.

"Y-yeah…" Lex had a small scoreboard next to him, where he'd grabbed it from, Evie wasn't sure. Wasn't he doing something else? She hoped they weren't interrupting his routine too much. What worried Evie even more than Lex's wellbeing… was her own, was she going to have to spring full court every time they made a shot? She was under the impression that two versus two was played with just one.

"Roland's by himself Luigi," Azazel went to block Roland and intercept his shot, but surprisingly had good handle over the ball, he bounced the ball behind his back, then put it between his legs to keep Azazel in check, but despite him being better than what Evie envisioned, Azazel simply had a mastery over the game. He grabbed it as it bounced, then tossed it toward Evie.

Right as it was about to reach her hands, a blur of black and red went past them and leapt into the air. Evie turned her head as she heard a loud metallic thud. Vritra intercepted her shot and dunked the ball.

"Tch." Azazel grabbed the ball as it bounced. He tossed it at Evie, but she was being blocked by Roland, and she wasn't all that good at basketball, so she held her hands up. As if instinctively, Roland closed his eyes, and in that split-second she rushed toward the basket.

Immediately after, Vritra was in front of her. Evie saw a mountain move, there was no chance she could get past it. She stopped on her feet and tried moving around but the sudden movement made her fall on her back. Vritra took the opportunity to grab the ball and rushed to the other side with wind blowing at his back.

Just as he was about to score, black fog spread across the court, turning everything to darkness. There was a loud metallic thud before the smoke cleared, showing Vritra hitting the metal pole of the basket at full speed.

"Fucker!"

Azazel went to the outside to grab the ball, and tossed it to Evie. Roland intercepted it this time, and instead of getting closer or passing it to Vritra, he assumed a throwing form and tossed it in. Even Azazel looked shocked.

The ball made a full arch and entered the basket.

"Holy shit! He's not LeBron, he's Curry! He's Curry!" Vritra celebrated rushing through the court.

"I wasn't expecting Roland to have a game like that…" Azazel grabbed the ball, put one foot in front of himself and activated his aura.

"HEY NO FULL-COURT SHOTS!" Vritra yelled from the other side, "God damn it!" He dashed as fast as he could, but Azazel threw the ball before he could reach him. That wasn't a problem for Vritra however, who used the wind itself to stop the ball. "Piece of shit, I'm not letting you score threes from the other side of the court. Next time you try that fog shit, I'm swatting it with wind by the way!"

Evie heard a gasp come from behind her, she turned her head and saw nothing. There was no one but the five of them.

"Had to try and see if it worked." Azazel moved forward and pointed his thumb at Evie. He was telling her to swap positions. Evie unconfidently moved toward Vritra, guarding him while Azazel guarded Roland.

Vritra dashed past her fast, but she managed to activate her ability enough to make Vritra stop for a half a second, which was more than enough for Azazel to grab the ball from his hands. From that perspective, it looked like a Chimp stealing food from a tourist. Azazel rushed to the other side of the court.

"FUCK!"

"Sorry!" Evie couldn't help but apologize, with Vritra having control of wind – Evie had no idea how that was the case, but she wasn't going to deny it's possibility since they both are walking anomalies – Azazel couldn't throw the ball, meaning he had to dunk the ball again.

"6 - 5" Lex's announcement seemed to irk Vritra, who grabbed the ball and passed it to Roland, but the moment Vritra grabbed hold of the ball, Evie was tasked with blinding him.

"SHIT!"

Azazel swooped in like a hungry seagull and grabbed the ball from Vritra's hands again. With Vritra blinded, Azazel went for a three pointer, but the tall mountain wasn't going to let his dorm room score without being petty. Vritra made an explosion that accentuated with his aerokinesis to blast everyone backward in a circle, thus forcing Azazel's previous three pointer to become a 2 pointer.

"8 – 5" Lex announced to Vritra, who was rubbing his eyes and blinking them. They were probably dehydrated from the sudden exposure to high-intensity light.

Vritra grabbed the ball and just as Evie was about to blind him again, he passed it to Roland, but Azazel was right there to intercept it.

"You're getting mad, and predictable." Azazel went past Roland with some ease before stopping to throw a three pointer. Vritra pushed him forward with his wind out of spite, but instead of scoring, Azazel passed the ball back to Evie who tried scoring a three pointer… Roland slapped the ball out of her hand.

Vritra stood on the other side, waiting for a pass, but instead of getting one, Roland activated his aura and threw the ball in the air.

"He'll miss right?" Evie asked Azazel, who began walking to the other side of the court.

"Nope," he answered. The ball went in without making so much as a sound. Was Roland secretly super talented?!! Evie starred with her jaw hanging. "It's pretty impressive. If Vritra wasn't blocking my shots I'd be doing the same."

Azazel grabbed the ball, and looked at Lex who updated the scoreboard.

"8 – 8"

"Alright, let's go for plan B." Azazel bounced the ball and walked to the center of the court.

"I'm impressed you can play basketball considering what has been happening to you as of late." Azazel didn't show much expression, but the darkness falling over his face was readable to say the least. He looked annoyed to even hear that voice. Evie turned to see who could have him this annoyed and saw…

"Oh my gosh, it's the Royals!" She fawned, looking at Blyke, Arlo, Elaine… "and Isen I suppose." She said it only in a whisper, and it came out instinctively.

Vritra had a constipated look once his eyes landed on Arlo. "Arlo, Look dude, I appreciate it but I am not into men, the confession thing was a joke. Please stop sending people trying to get my attention, it's crass and barbaric."

So that was why there were so many people after Vritra, he angered the royals. That made a lot of sense… Wait, didn't that mean Evie was in danger right now?

Arlo's temple vein pronounced itself as he scoffed. "Your jokes are really crass, and unfunny."

"Tsun tsun. Tsundere." Azazel's sing-song voice came as a surprise to absolutely everyone. They all turned to see his inexpressive face.

Vritra looked Arlo up and down. "I see the Tsun, there is no Dere." he added.

"What do you want? Did you finally get tired of throwing your pawns at us like a coward and decided to come yourself?" Azazel took position and threw the ball, making it go in. He looked at Lex, who updated the scoreboard.

"11 – 8" Lex announced.

"HEY WE'RE HAVING A BREAK!"

"I saw no hands raised, no questions asked, no claims of a break. Game's still on…" Azazel put his hand on top of the other on a T and looked at Lex who nodded. "Now we're on a break" Evie looked at it with a deadpan… how petty.

Vritra's teeth were grinding and his eyes spelled bloody murder to the absolute amusement of a smirking Azazel. "Your Corgi is still on for the fucking asians you absolute disgrace of a fucking Wet Noodle!"

"Wha–??" Evie shook her head and knit her eyebrows, and tried to comprehend what had just been said.

"Don't mind him, when he's fuming and seething he says whatever comes to mind." Azazel turned to the ignored Royals – the amount of courage required to ignore the highest levelled people in the school was something Evie simultaneously admired, and feared out of Azazel and Vritra, "Well? What do you want?"

"We came here to play some basketball, but it seems like you four are already here. Don't you know higher levels and Royals have priority over the court?" Arlo crossed his arms, Evie did know of that rule, it was why they had to play this early in the morning. How weird, she was sure that during the mornings the Royals were asleep or doing a meeting, why had they come out here to play basketball? It couldn't just be a coincidence could it?

"What are you, middle school children on the playground? This isn't your sandbox Arlo, we were here first. You've lost your place, now leave." Azazel pointed his thumb at the entrance. Vritra was still ignoring the royals, cursing at Azazel as he walked around in circles.

"I thought you might say that, how about we play for it?" Arlo put his hand out. Playing the royals on basketball? Evie barely knew how to play! If abilities were allowed then nothing stopped him from just putting everyone on the enemy team in a barrier to score points!

"No abilities." Azazel said, making Evie almost faint. Without an ability, she was effectively useless.

"Afraid you'll lose otherwise?"

"A wise player doesn't leave when he can have home-field advantage."

"Fine. First to twenty one wins." Arlo turned to Blyke, Isen and Elaine to discuss their team strategy, and Azazel did the same.

"Hey, have you stopped stomping around like a moron? We're going up against Arlo and his goons."

Vritra looked at Arlo and his group with barely hidden disgust. "Great, time to show these Subhumans what actual training is. They are built like you Azazel, what the actual fuck."

"Don't compare me to these monkeys. I'm superior in every way." Whenever it came to the Royals, Azazel became a lot more aggressive. Although he was arrogant before, he was blatantly insulting them without any regard for consequence… did he not know Arlo was a level 6? Isen and Blyke were almost high tiers too, 4.4 and 4.5 respectively. Azazel grabbed the ball and tossed it to Lex before assuming the center position.

"W-Wait what about the plan?" Evie asked, walking onto the court. Both Azazel and Vritra looked at her and said the same thing.

"Don't need one."

"Jinx, you owe me a soda." Azazel rolled his shoulder, looking satisfied over his 'victory'.

"FUCK!"

The Royals stepped on the court, Lex threw the ball up, and immediately Vritra grabbed it. He barely had to jump at all. He passed it to Azazel, and he dashed past Elaine, who was up front. He was then blocked by both Blyke and Isen. Evie was confident he could just get past both of them, but instead of wasting any stamina, Azazel passed the ball back to Vritra.

Arlo and Elaine dashed in front of him to stop him, but Vritra dashed past them and toppled them like bowling pins before jumping and dunking the ball. So this was why they said they didn't need a plan… they were just going to brute-force their way through the Royals.

"You done yet?" Vritra asked as he walked back with Azazel.

"No, I might have a superior mental and processing capacity than you Sub-species homo-sapiens, but I still need time." Azazel walked backward, always keeping his eyes on the Royals team.

"Sounds like an excuse. You seem pretty homo to me." Vritra put both hands behind his back. They weren't defending at all! Evie had to step in to stop Blyke, however she just couldn't keep up with his fast-pace ball bouncing.

Blyke reached Roland and passed the ball to Elaine who shot at the basket and made three points.

"T-Three, Two!"

Arlo looked incredibly satisfied.

"Wow… how impressive…" Vritra yawned. "Bitch thinks she is the Goat." Azazel grabbed the ball and tried a full-court shot, he was intercepted by Blyke who moved in quickly and grabbed the ball from his hand before passing it back.

"G-Guys, why didn't you do anything?" Evie asked, looking at Vritra and Azazel who were just standing there.

"I'm waiting for this bum." Vritra pointed at Azazel, "He's still warming up, and the good old CPU upstairs crashed… too much porn the doctors say." Evie had to shake her head in bewilderment as she processed that information.

"Stop being weird." Azazel's eyes were fixed on the enemy team, "She'll actually believe what you're saying."

"I'm not the one checking out a group of 3 men and 1 woman."

"... How about you shut up so I can do my thing."

"Oh shit, please don't, not in public you absolute degenerate."

"Guys, they're advancing." Roland pointed it out and the two of them didn't seem to care much, they lazily went to stop the ball, but it went through. Isen dribbled past them, let Arlo get the ball, and they scored another three points"

"Six, Two." Lex announced, changing the scores again. It was frustrating! Evie looked at Vritra and Azazel, they were both serious about letting the Royals win? Why would they start the match then?!

Azazel grabbed the ball again and lazily walked up to the Royals, he dribbled the ball a little and attempted to score, but was ultimately stopped by Isen who grabbed it, then passed it to Blyke who shot another three pointer.

"Nine, two."

"Urrrghhhh! Are you guys going to just stand there and let them score! What was the point of challenging them to a match if you're just going to lose like this? You weren't playing like this when it was just us four! What's going on! Did they pay you or something?" Evie exploded, "are you too scared to face them on?" Vritra and Azazel looked at her, their gazes were colder than before, telling her she had pushed a line.

This kept going, over and over again. Evie and Roland tried stopping them, but with just the two of them putting any effort it was impossible. The Royals were far better physically conditioned.

"Eighteen to Two…" Lex didn't even sound enthusiastic anymore, he turned the scoreboard and put his chin against his hand.

"This is the difference between High-Tiers and Low Tiers" Arlo's cold words resonated in Evie's mind as she recalled the previous two weeks with Vritra and Azazel. Maybe she had gotten too used to it.

Roland grabbed the ball from under the net and began bouncing it toward the other side. At that point he might as well do whatever he wants.

"Warm up is over." Azazel grabbed the ball from Roland's hands.

"Holy mother of fucking god, took you long enough. Evie, love you girl, but if you ever say that we are scared of those pansy bitches, I won't help you with homework anymore." Vritra lazily said, his arm over his shoulder and stretching. The sounds of his joints popping were weirdly loud.

"But then why were you just standing –"

"Arlo!" Azazel interrupted Evie and walked to the middle of the court, "This match is over. From this moment onward, you won't be able to touch the ball." Azazel's confident demeanor was back, there was a light in his eyes for a second there.

"That's an audacious claim." Arlo narrowed his eyes and walked toward Azazel.

As if he'd changed gears, Azazel dashed toward him at full speed, then barely slowing down at all, he dribbled past Arlo. Arlo tried intercepting it from behind him, but Azazel crossed the ball between his legs. Meeting Blyke, Azazel passed the ball to Vritra, who dashed in.

"Roland! Take right wing!" Azazel ordered as Vritra grabbed the ball for a dunk. Mid-air, he was intercepted by Isen and Elaine who could jump a lot higher than Evie expected. They managed to intercept the ball with their hands just enough to make Vritra's positioning shift to the right. The ball bounced off the hoop. Before the enemy defense could grab it, Vritra pushed it with his other hand.

The ball landed perfectly in Roland's hands, who threw the ball into the three point line.

"Eighteen, Five."

Isen rushed to the base-line, however the instant he did, he was stopped by Vritra who used his full wingspan to block him out. Isen was forced to pass to Arlo who was closest to him, however the moment the ball was about to touch Arlo's hand, Azazel grabbed it, stealing it and bringing it to the other side.

Elaine and Blyke blocked Azazel's way, but he dribbled past them, he swayed his body to the left, faking a spin, then switched the ball's hand to force a small opening, which he used to pass the ball to Roland, who was on the right corner.

Roland threw the ball and made another point.

"Eighteen, Eight."

"Block out that low-tier!" Arlo ordered. They went to the baseline again, and Vritra acted as a wall to Isen, who passed it to Blyke this time. Roland grabbed the ball, and tried dribbling past Blyke, but he was out-skilled.

Blyke entered the radius of the three point line and got ready to shoot. As he tried to, Evie moved to jump and block the shot, but Vritra tapped her shoulder and got there before she could, slapping the ball out of his hand, and perfectly into Azazel's.

Azazel rushed to the other side with Arlo defending him, Blyke was blocking out Roland and Isen was doing his best to block out Vritra. Elaine was blocking out Evie. It was a one on one.

"Predictable," Azazel dashed sideways, forcing Arlo to follow, then changed directions, passing the ball under his leg. Arlo was forced to take a big step to recover, and in that instant, Azazel passed the ball under Arlo's leg to get through. Isen moved to get to Azazel and prevent him from scoring.

"What?!"

Azazel grabbed it, took two steps and jumped. Isen, had sprinted from the other side and tried taking the ball from his hand, Azazel stopped his hand, faking his shot before passing it behind him. Vritra grabbed the ball and dunked it.

"Eighteen, Ten."

They weren't even talking, what was going on? Vritra put his hand out and waved it as Azazel walked past it.

"Match's not over yet."

"Perfectionist bitch. Take that stick out of your ass will you?"

The moment they moved to the base-line Azazel was there to meet them. Isen passed the ball to Elaine, but Vritra was there to intercept. His larger strides and arms made it impossible to catch up to him. He scored a three pointer barely trying. Evie knit her eyebrows and wondered why it had been so easy, then turned her head.

Isen had been outsped, Arlo and Blyke were blocking Azazel, and Elaine was near Roland. Did Azazel know that this was going to happen? No, there was no way right? Azazel went to talk to Roland, and whispered something to him.

"Eighteen, Thirteen."

Again, they tried moving to the baseline, this time it was Roland who moved to intercept Isen. Isen looked shocked, he looked at Arlo and at Blyke who were being blocked by Azazel and Vritra. He took the chance and dribbled to the basket, attempting another three pointer. He jumped up, but Evie rushed in to jump and block the shot.

The basketball hit her hands and bounced forward toward Elaine, who grabbed it and tried to shoot again, this time she was stopped by Roland, who grabbed it and with all the strength he had, threw it to the other side of the field.

As if he were an Olympic sprinter, Vritra ran to the other side of the court to grab the ball. He was faster than everyone else on the court, and by the time Isen and Arlo got there, he was already dunking the ball on the basket.

"Eighteen, Fifteen."

"Whoah…" Evie widened her eyes as Azazel yawned, looking at Arlo with a smug expression on his face.

"What's with the expression on your face Arlo? Feeling left out?" Azazel was the one to intercept the shot this time. Isen tried passing it to Arlo, who looked angry, but was blocked by Azazel, who stretched his arm by overstepping, he looked out of balance. Arlo came to grab the ball – it would be easy since he didn't have his other hand.

Evie ran up to get herself open, but before she could do anything, Azazel passed the ball, curling his arm backward to Roland. By having both Arlo and Blyke close in toward him, he opened a path for Roland who was on the right wing. Roland took the path, but he wasn't fast enough and Isen got there in time to intercept him.

Roland pump-faked Isen, who jumped, then waited for Isen to fall so he could take a step side-ways before jumping to throw the ball in the basket.

"Eighteen, Eighteen! Amazing! The low tiers have caught up!" Lex finally showed some enthusiasm.

The high-tier team approached the baseline, and passed the ball to Blyke, who dashed forward, he was intercepted by Vritra, so he passed it back to Isen, then Isen to Elaine, slowly inching their way toward the basket. Isen passed the ball to Elaine who pump-faked Vritra and threw the ball to the basket. Roland slapped the ball out of the air, hiding behind Vritra's figure to appear suddenly.

The ball flew toward Arlo, who dashed forward to grab it, however just before it reached his hands, Azazel swooped in and grabbed it. He turned his head to Arlo and smugly grinned.

He dashed toward the three point line, but the entire Royals team rushed with him, trying to steal the ball back. Evie, Vritra and Roland were all rushing there as well, but they were all blocked off. Vritra was blocked by Elaine, Blye was blocking Roland, and Azazel was being blocked off by both Isen and Arlo.

"It's over!" Arlo reached out for the ball with Isen, but with a mocking tone and grin, Azazel leaned back and let himself fall back.

"We have one other member, you know?" The ball was passed back to Evie, who was free. She looked up at the basket and with her heart pounding, Evie threw the ball up. Without anyone blocking it, it flew and hit the corner of the basket.

Evie's eyes widened as she saw the ball slowly fall, having missed. The sound of thuds and grunts took Evie's attention as Vritra grabbed the rebound and dunked the ball inside.

"Eighteen, Twenty!" Lex announced, "Incredible! Amazing!"

"Phew… I thought I screwed up everything!" Evie let out a sigh of relief. Vritra grinned.

"Don't worry, I got you." Vritra ran past her to the defense line. Both him and Azazel were already there. She wondered how they weren't tired, Evie hadn't done much at all and could barely breathe. The same could be said for Roland.

They got to the baseline fast, but the Royals were definitely more tired than they were. Was that why Azazel let them run back and forth at the beginning of the match? How far ahead had he planned this through?

Isen passed it to Elaine, then Elaine to Blyke. They were inching closer to the basket. Which is when Evie noticed, the Royals weren't passing the ball to Arlo, they were down one man. They did it because Azazel was taking extra care of him?

Elaine went to take the shot, and Azazel jumped to block it. In that instant, Elaine faked her throw, and passed it to Arlo. Arlo grinned, his plan perfectly carried out… and then a mountain blurred past, grabbing the ball. Vritra dashed to the other side. Evie ran with him, but looked back to see Arlo's eyes widened with Azazel staring at him.

"I am absolute," although Azazel was telling Arlo that to demean him, at this point it felt more like self-reassurance… Maybe she was overthinking things.

Vritra went for the double point with a dunk, but before he jumped, he stopped and turned around to pass the ball to Evie. Evie looked at Elaine and Blyke rushed toward her to grab the ball and threw it at the basket half-hazzerdly, and it missed.

Vritra grabbed the rebound, pretended to dunk it so they would put their attention on him, then passed the ball back to Evie… who stared at him confused.

"I gotchu."

Evie threw the ball, and finally, it went in.

"Eighteen, Twenty-Two! It's a victory for Wellston's low-tiers!"

"GET FUCKED ASSLO!" Vritra cackled like a maniac, scooping Roland and Evie up and twirling them around.

"In school you might be a King, but here in the field, where there are no powers? You are lower than the dirt I step on." Azazel was sneering, he was gloating, he was doing everything to make Arlo feel worse about himself.

Arlo scoffed and got up.

"Don't forget the power that matters is out there, not here." Arlo, and the other Royals left.

"Weird way of coping with a loss, don't you think?" Azazel turned his head, he didn't even seem happy anymore… It was as if he was only happy about seeing Arlo lose, not that he'd won… Evie had never met a prettier person, but she was glad he was his friend.

"...Bet I can beat you guys in Super Piggy Party"

"Give me five minutes of prep-time, I've never played before."

"Okay Batman. Next thing you're gonna tell me is that you are studying under the Tibetan Monks."

"How'd you know? Homo-Stalker."

"No, your ass is just predictable. Overused Joke user."

"Then why'd you lose rock-paper-scissors?"

"Cause RNG-esus got a blowjob from you before the game. Whore."

"Oh, so now you're imagining homo-erotica. Well, it is fine if you want to stay in your closet. I'll just make fun of you for taking so long to get out."

"Nah, I aint Arlo. Now let's go, I want to watch you Cope, Seethe and Mald over your fist 3 loses before you start watching tutorials and cheating like a bitch."

Those two were incredibly weird…

---

 

[Bob_EX]

---

Things were beginning to bother Arlo to the point all he could do was sit around in the Royals lounge to plan the downfall of the three troublemakers he'd had the displeasure of being around. Seraphina's sudden change in character had been brought about by John Doe, a student in her year and a Cripple.

He was currently priority number 2, with priority number one going to the insane duo that had begun inspiring low tiers to fight against the school. School riots had become more frequent with Vritra and Azazel acting as figure-heads that inspired the conflicts. Low tiers would punch mid-tiers and when they were punched back, they would threaten mid-tiers with Vritra and Azazel's name. The entire school was in chaos.

Low-tiers had a place in the system before. They were treated harshly because they were not gifted and they showed no progress in their ability, but despite being beaten a lot of times there weren't riots and anarchy running rampant in the school. Small isolated scenarios where bullies did what they did without much injury a lot of time.

Now, thanks to those two, low-tier attacks have begun to skyrocket. Low tiers became more confrontational and attacked mid-tiers. Mid-tiers attacked back and would get grouped on until they were defeated and were thus brutally beaten. The entire school was sent into a downward spiral of chaos which Arlo had to fix in some way shape or form.

The best way to stop it all from going further than it had to would be to defeat Azazel and Vritra. They currently seemed undefeatable, having beaten some strong Elites as of recent, but if they were to be crushed then these revolts could end. As such, Arlo ordered Blyke to go fight Vritra, countering his ability with his Lasers, while Isen fought Azazel, seeing through his fog with his Hunting ability.

There was a chance they lost, especially Vritra who could adapt, in that case Arlo would be forced to step in and take care of things, and make sure that everyone in Wellston understood that he had things under control.

With that said, there was the third person that worried him, John. John was most definitely a high-tier. Arlo had a feeling which he couldn't shake, it had to be the case. The school cripple was most likely a high-tier, and he refused to take his place. His idealisms were influencing the previous queen of Wellston who quit because of his indoctrination. He was a dangerous person to be sure. The issue was that the only way to prove John was a High-tier was to force him to use his ability, and John had allowed himself to become a cripple to prevent that from happening. To put him in his place in the hierarchy, Arlo would have to break him down and that was impossible with Seraphina around.

Order. That is what Arlo wanted.

Everyone should be put in their place. The previous king, Rei thought differently, and because of him Arlo was handed the title of King with a decentralized, chaotic and out of control situation. Thanks to Vritra and Azazel, all of Arlo's hard work over the span of three years had been reduced to nothing. The Hierarchy was on fire and order was going alongside it like a house made of wood. Hopefully after his plan went on its way he could put everything back together in one fell swoop.

His phone rang twice before he decided to answer it. Elaine's voice came through the other end. She sounded panicked. "A-Arlo, I just found a copy of UnOrdinary in Seraphina's room." A spark lit itself in Arlo's mind. That was the perfect excuse.

"Tell the principal tomorrow morning," Arlo grinned. Seraphina was a high-tier, the worst thing that could happen to her was suspension. That meant that when the police came to the campus to investigate, she would be sent out to her parents. If everything went according to plan today, then Arlo could devote his time and all of his attention to the John problem. In fact, if everything was in his plan every single one of his issues would be dealt with at once. "And come with me to the roof. I'm bringing Remi and Seraphina there as well."

**13**​

Isen hated working under Arlo. He really did. Just the other day he was playing – more like losing – basketball with this guy, and now Isen was tasked with beating him up. Before Isen went toward Azazel Wodime, he made sure to check a few items off his mental list.

Azazel, as per usual, was on the roof. It hadn't even been fixed yet, there was still debris from his fight against Abel, and the fence was bent outward with a human-sized hole on it. Azazel was not asleep, but he looked like he was about to drift into it as he looked up at the clouds.

Isen hid behind the roof door.

"He can: generate fog he has moderate control over, which lowers all perception stimuli including the sense of touch, smell and especially sight. It also slows down anyone inside. For some god-forsaken reason he can enhance his punches to the point he was able to take out someone as powerful as Abel in two hits, and he can learn a person's movements and predict their next move through calculative prediction…" Isen stopped himself from going up to Azazel, and simply questioned if this was really what he wanted to do with his life. "The longer the fight goes on for, the more data he gets and the less hits I'll get on him… I have to finish the fight quickly with my Hunter ability, which bypasses his blindness effect and also mutes the fog's senses hampering its own enhancement, which supersedes him due to a discrepancy in levels…"

The fact Isen had to list to himself all of the pros and cons when fighting a low-tier made him wonder just what kind of hellhole household this person came from. Then, he recalled the files on the papers and realized that this boy was raised by two cripples, with no credit. Every night from then on, Isen prayed so that Azazel would never reach high-tier, because it could spell the end of every single school, maybe even the world.

"Alright, no point dilly-dallying…" he whispered to himself. The door opened with a creek, and Azazel immediately sighed. He put both his hands on the sides of his head, lifted his legs, then pushed himself off the ground to land on his feet.

"This is an unusual sight, I fully expected Abel to walk through that door. Arlo ran out of good ideas and sent you, is that it? Well, let's get this over with." Isen couldn't make the first move, if he did then Azazel would begin his analysis right away. He knew that much, he had to move second. Both activated their aura at the same time and Isen saw through Azazel's muscles peering at his heart. He was calm, eerily so. If someone were to enter a fight, they would do so expecting to get hurt, and even subconsciously their hearts would begin to beat faster, for whatever reason Azazel had no such reaction.

"Well then, won't you come at me first? Piece of shit?"

"You really have not done this before, have you? Let me guess, you're the type that scurries about in the sewers, gathering information to blackmail people with. Well, I am guessing you've dug up things on me, yes? What did you find?"

"Are you afraid to lose or something?" asked Isen. He wasn't expecting to get a reaction out of Azazel, whose heart pounded his chest slightly more aggressively. That had annoyed him at the very least. "That's it isn't it?" Isen had to keep tugging on that nerve until he exploded at him, "You're clearly outmatched, an Elite is fighting you now, you're in the big leagues."

"I've fought your queen before and won. It was a close match, but I came out on top. What makes you think you scare me?" His tone was calm, and his face inexpressive. Had Isen simply stared at his face he wouldn't be able to tell he was getting a little more heated. Calling him weak, and afraid was what worked the best.

"Yeah, but you couldn't defeat her legitimately could you? You were scared you would lose otherwise so you employed your dirty tactics." Isen's statement was made aware that Azazel would get mad and potentially strike him, what he didn't expect was for Azazel's heart to calm itself.

"PFft, an Elite telling me that I am cowardly is quite amusing don't you think? Dirty tactics? What do you suppose your levels and abilities are? You are telling me stopping time to beat up some mid-tier that angered you is noble and just? Please spare me your empty platitudes. That's right, I beat the Queen using my ability, and some scummy tactics. Guess what, you aren't any better than I am. Arlo and you have been digging for information about us to get the weaknesses of our abilities haven't you? So now you appear which makes me think your ability is X-Ray vision, or something along those lines, right? Yeah, how noble of you hiding behind your human shields and your research experiments."

He got Isen there, that was the worst possible case. There was something bothering Isen however, something he just had to ask.

"Why? Why go so far? I heard you were beaten to a pulp against Abel, why do you hate higher tiers so much? What's your motivation behind wanting to prove yourself? I just can't understand it too well." As if he'd asked the world's most dangerous question, Azazel's heart began beating like drums at a parade. If it went any faster, he might die of cardiac arrest.

Azazel's expression didn't change, but there was a seriousness to his tone now, "I am absolute," he answered like a sleeper agent, "I always win. That is all the motivation I need. I won't lose." He stepped forward, finally taking the first move. Isen had to defeat him fast, but not do the first move, this fight was so complex. Great, Isen was fighting a lunatic who let himself half-die because he was too much of a child to lose, and on top of that he couldn't attack first.

Azazel walked enough steps to be right in front of Isen, staring him down. Isen had just realized Azazel was actually 6'1, which meant he was taller than him by an inch.

"You're not too much of a pussy to punch first, are you?" Isen stared him down, and Azazel scoffed.

"The issue with you types is you do all of your research just to forget about one detail." Azazel, without using his fog ability raised his fist and punched Isen, Isen was fast enough to dodge, and then unleashed a counter-attack. Isen's ability was deceptive because it enhanced his reflexes, strength and speed. But before he could strike Azazel on the chest, he parried the hit with the back of his hitting hand, and punched him with his other hand. At the moment of contact, fog was expelled from his fist and Isen knew he was not going to have a good time.

When the punch struck his face, he could feel part of his jaw fracture. That was odd, even if his ability enhanced his punches when surrounded by fog, it should not have done so much damage, especially not to Isen who also had his durability enhanced with his ability – unlike abilities like Abel's. If so, that meant the fog actually weakened the enemy before enhancing the user's attack to deal the most amount of damage possible.

Isen's body ragdolled to the side of the roof, bouncing up and getting caught by the green fence before dropping to the ground. Once down there, he was forced to immediately jump out of the way as Azazel tried drop-kicking him.

"Your ability is so unfair!!!" Isen rolled out of the way, "Weakening, strengthening and blinding?! What the hell?"

"Hearing that from the guy who has X-Ray vision, can enhance all of his physical stats, and can also detect individuals from far away is funny." He wasn't exactly wrong about the different aspects of Isen's ability… but that was still only three aspects, his ability had at least four. "Just so you know, I haven't used half of my ability yet." And he had more, great.

Still, physically speaking he couldn't fully keep up with Isen, that was Isen's main advantage in this. His ability's modifier was far lower than Isen's, and to top it off, Isen just had to steer away from the black fog and things would be ok.

"Let's end this!" Isen's enthusiasm wasn't shared. Azazel was confident in hand to hand combat, simultaneously if he were to ever get hit by Isen he would be down for a while. Isen closed the gap between them, and got ready to punch Azazel with a hook, as he raised his guard, Isen faked the hook and went for a straight from the other side.

Azazel weaved his head to the side, narrowly dodging before hitting Isen on the stomach. He knew Isen was faster than him so he reacted barely in time. This time Isen wasn't sent flying backward, it didn't even hurt that much. His flinch, moving inward to protect his stomach lowered his head and it seemed to be exactly what Azazel was looking for, as his fog-filled foot was shoved right on Isen's jaw, sending him flying and bouncing back on the green fence.

"I agree, fighting with someone with no martial arts experience is about as entertaining as watching ants walk around." Azazel's body expelled fog completely covering the entirety of the Roof. Isen used his ability and detected him. When inside, he immediately realized why Remi had lost.

Walking inside felt heavy, and it was more than that, his ability felt weakened. That wasn't something anyone had mentioned to him… but it made sense. Everyone he had put inside the fog up until that point had a close combat based ability, and they probably chucked their weakening to the fog's slowing effect. The only exception was Abel who dismissed the fog according to him. Still he was an Elite tier, it probably took off roughly 0.4 levels from him, making Isen roughly level 4.0. So that's the other half of his ability… it really was annoying.

Azazel moved closer and attempted to punch Isen, but this time Isen was the one to dodge and parry, to counter-attack with a right hook, followed by a side-kick. Azazel caught the kick from the side and ducked under the punch. He kicked the inside of Isen's knee then turned his foot onto an ankle lock.

"Shit!" Isen used his other foot to kick him out of the way, which was enough to make Azazel let go and roll backward. Azazel swung first again and Isen dodged back, he leaped at Azazel, who moved back to dodge it, as he did Isen kicked mid-air. Azazel couldn't dodge the sudden movement fully, he raised his arm and blocked it before it reached his neck.

Despite being slowed, Isen's enhancement was enough to overpower the fog's debuff, and the power behind his kick was enough to knock Azazel from his balance. Isen used it to his advantage, trying another hit to Azazel's chest.

Isen heard a visceral crunch as Azazel was launched back and his ability was deactivated. After receiving a few hits, he'd finally defeated Azazel. The strategy had been an overwhelming success.

The fog began to dissipate, but as Isen moved toward Azazel, something hit him from beyond the darkness. A piercing shot that went through his leg. He numbly felt it as his knees buckled. The numbness of Azazel's ability was still in effect, so he couldn't quite feel it, both a good and bad thing.

"What the fuck?!" The darkness was blown away by the wind and Isen looked at the direction of the shooting, some kind of sniper ability had managed to look through the holes in the fog that had been made thanks to Azazel's unconsciousness and shot him. They had to be far away. Isen managed to spot someone wearing a Fedora. He had a revolver in his hands and a mask. Behind his back were wings, glowing and refracting sunlight.

"I am, absolute," Isen turned his head, astonished Azazel could even speak. What the hell did he mean he was absolute? His ribs had been cracked, and from the gargle on the back of his throat some had pierced his lungs. When Isen turned his head, he saw crimson, then darkness. A line of darkness connected Isen's shoulder to Azazel's hands which had been clasped together. "I don't lose." The blood in his mouth dripped into his hands and seeped into his palms, that let themselves relax for an instant. Then, in a split second, he expelled his darkness again and from between his fingers came a condensed beam of darkness covered in his fog.

He could condense and make it solid? It travelled fast enough so that Isen couldn't fully react, especially not with his injured shoulder and leg. His other leg was hit, and as he fell on his knees, he felt his thigh be cut. Isen screamed out in pain. He clenched his fists and tried moving away. How was Azazel even fighting with his injuries? He shouldn't even be able to move! Who was that Angel-ability user from before?

Isen felt a piercing pain on his other shoulder, then a numbness as darkness surrounded him. Azazel slowed him down, it felt as though he was crawling through water. Something grabbed Isen by the hair, then slammed his face into the ground. Isen felt warm liquid trickle from his forehead, it was a vague feeling as a numbness spread across his entire body. He was hit again and again, and eventually he wasn't sure if it was numbness, or if he was asleep.

**13**​

Remi had returned to school just a few days ago. She returned earlier than she should have to make sure people in Wellston were safe. After her fight with Azazel, she spent a lot of time reflecting on her ideals. What it meant to be a high-tier, was her position worth sacrificing her life? He made her reflect on what it meant to be a high-tier, and how she should be treating low tiers.

It had been the worst week of her life, as she returned home to grief over the death of her older brother. Someone who had become a vigilante who was targeted and killed by the evil, and mysterious organization Ember. She just didn't have time to really rearrange her feelings. She returned to Wellston to check in on the infirmary and Doc.

As expected, the infirmary was filled with people, but it was even more than before. Hoards of low tiers and mid-tiers were there as the Doc filled papers and mixed chemicals to treat all of them. When she asked what had happened, he answered with "Everyone's gone stupid."

She'd been gone for a little over a week and there were already riots and fights breaking out in every hallway. She tried stopping as many as she could, but it was endless. With her ability, she could knock out the students with a small zap, and she could then drag them to the Infirmary – sorry Doc. Still, it looked like war out there. Soon, the authorities or the headmaster would have to get involved, surely.

In her pocket, she felt a buzz. Her phone was being called, she checked for the number expecting it to be her mother, but no, it was Elaine. She answered the call.

"Remi, Arlo told me to ask you to grab Seraphina and head for the roof, it's important Royal business apparently." Remi wondered what that could possibly mean. From the context of the anarchical halls, it had to be about the revolts and riots inside school. He asked her to grab Seraphina because there was no way she was leaving her dorm with Arlo asking her to.

"To hell with the high-tiers!" One of the many students grabbed a chair and threw it at Remi, but she was fast enough to move out of the way with her ability, and then throw it back. She dashed toward the person and placed her index finger on their side. They spasmed on the ground – they had been tased. After the fight with Azazel, Remi gained far more refined control over her electricity and ability, increasing her level from 5.4 to 5.5.

She called Seraphina on her phone, and was answered in a timely manner.

"What is it?" Seraphina sounded bored as always.

"Could you meet me on the roof? Something's going down." Remi was attacked by another low-tier and had to throw the phone up to taze them in order not to fry the circuits.

"Sure. I'm not a royal though."

"See you there then." Remi hung up the call and before she reached the roof, she had tased at least 12 students that had attacked her. After attending her brother's funeral, she could understand what they were going through and could sympathise with their motivations… but this was not the way, they were only hurting themselves and other people.

Remi met up with Seraphina on the stairs to the roof. Just looking up at it made her recall Azazel and his piercing eyes. She walked up, and the cloudy sky could be seen as the door had been blown from its hinges. They actually passed through it as it lay bent inward on the staircase. When Remi and Seraphina got there, they saw a massacre.

Blood pooled everywhere as Azazel's figure was on the ground, his chest was caved inward and his mouth was pooling blood. Arlo stood in front of him, with Elaine at his side. He was stopping her from healing him just yet. Remi stood horrified as Azazel slowly pushed himself from the ground.

"Stay down!" Remi begged, if he went on for any longer, he would die. There was at least a litter of blood on the ground.

"SHUT UP!" Azazel spat the blood inside his mouth and looked at Arlo. The hatred in his eyes was visceral, Remi felt chills go down her spine.

"Arlo, that's enough!" Seraphina stepped forward, but Arlo huffed and grinned.

"I brought you here to show you how persistent he is. I'm not the one continuing the fight, he is." Arlo shrugged. Smoke began to cover the entire roof, and Remi felt a similar feeling, except it was far more intense this time. He'd gotten a lot stronger than the last time she fought him. She couldn't see a thing now, and her senses were dulled as well.

"ARGH!" Azazel's visceral screams echoed in her ears as the fog dissipated, showing Azazel bloodied with several cuts on his arm. Arlo had put him around one of his barriers and all the damage he did was reflected back at him. "I don't lose!" He sounded desperate, striking the barrier and hurting himself as he bled all over the ground. "I AM ABSOLUTE!"

The blood that had pooled began to move and shift around. It spiked from the ground, the crimson liquid that had been on the ground turned into hardened spikes directed at Arlo.

"That's new. Smoke and blood? What exactly is your ability?" Arlo's barrier blocked the spikes and as a result Azazel's whole body was filled with cuts.

"I AM ABSOLUTE! I DON'T LOSE!" Azazel's hands clawed at the barrier, his blood began to converge at the center creating a perfect and glowing sphere. He clapped his hands together and shot it at the barrier. The force of the shot cracked Arlo's barrier ever-so-slightly.

Arlo spat some blood because of it, but Azazel still took most of the brunt of the attack.

"Enough playing around." Arlo made the barrier close in on Azazel. The bleeding student wouldn't let it get closer, making the pool of blood on the ground underneath him spike and turn almost solid. He was compressing it to make it tougher, but Arlo's barrier slowly cracked his spikes and closed in. "Admit defeat!"

"Arlo!" Seraphina glared his way, she was going to interfere soon if he did not stop, but Arlo grinned.

"You've lost, Azazel." Azazel's eyes met Arlo's and they were blank. In their fight, Azazel had felt like an imposing and unmoving force. It had felt as though she was faced with the grim reaper himself. Now he felt more like a desperate child clawing at the barrier.

"Me? Lose…" Azazel's clawing became fists that struck the barrier as it closed in on him. "I don't lose, me? NO! I ALWAYS WIN, AND I AM ALWAYS RIGHT!" Azazel made several compressed spheres that exploded outward, forming cracks on Arlos' barrier that repair themselves immediately. The damage began taking a toll on Azazel's body, it was clear he couldn't move anymore because of Arlo's barrier. "... I am… I must be… Absolute." Azazel's blood loss began getting to him, and Remi could only watch in horror, as his unconscious body fell on the ground with a splat like a puppet without strings. He looked dead rather than defeated. With a whisper, Remi realized she had run to his side unconsciously, she heard him speak, "Sorry, David."

He was out of it. She kneeled down and checked his vitals. Despite losing what looked like twenty liters of blood, he was still alive.

"Elaine!" Remi called out, she came rushing to heal his cuts. His skin looked like grated cheese, it was hard finding places that hadn't been cut. He spilled blood out like a geyser. Her ability had also improved while Remi was gone. Remi stood up while Elaine put her attention on Azazel and glared at Arlo.

"What's wrong with you!"

"Azazel broke the hierarchy, he's the reason the school is in anarchy right now. The reason you've been attacked every step of the way here? That's why, I tried stopping the fight before it got too violent, but he refused to stop." Remi knew that, she knew Azazel wouldn't stop until he couldn't move anymore she had experienced it first hand… but Seraphina didn't see it that way.

She grabbed Arlo by the scruff of his neck and pulled him close, readying a punch his way.

"If you care so much about him, why didn't you stop me earlier?" Arlo raised an eyebrow, "I'll tell you why, it's because deep down you do not like him either. Either stay consistent to your new beliefs or drop them for your older ones. I know which I would pick."

Arlo ate himself a mean knuckle sandwich, sending him flying to the wall next to the stairs. Remi would have done it too… if she could get past his barriers that is. She agreed with the sentiment and stayed behind while Azazel was being healed. Seraphina walked past him and scoffed as she walked downstairs.

"Dick."

"Can I get some attention too?" A hoarse and coughing voice took their attention. Isen was leaning against the wall of the staircase behind them with holes all over his body. "I honestly think his ability is bullshit. Don't even have a theory on this."

"I wouldn't go up there if I were you –" Seraphina's voice from inside the stairs was barely audible. Heat exploded the staircase walls as Arlo was sent back from the shockwave.

"Damn it Blyke." Remi turned to look at what had arrived through the door. Unrelenting heat poured from the blown up staircase as flames engulfed someone's tall figure. Crimson eyes pierced through the veil of fire.

"ARLO!" A visceral, animalistic growl roared through the rooftops.

"Here comes the other one."

---

 

[Bob_EX]

---

Blyke was ordered by Arlo to come and fight the more troublesome of the two brother-seeming duo. With his ability to escalate his power depending on threat, Blyke was given one task. To keep him from using his ability. The control required to shoot someone, harm them enough for it to pile up, but not enough for it to seem as a threat felt like a joke.

Separating them was not difficult. That was the first task given to them by Arlo. They did that themselves. Despite living in the same dorm and playing menial games with one another they didn't seem to want to have anything to do with one another. Azazel left and went to the roof, and Vritra to help out the low-tiers. He came past the same path from when Blyke sta– shadowed him.

"At this point it feels like things have gotten out of hand," Blyke admitted things had blown out of proportion, but siding with Vritra was difficult when he was a Royal. Besides, a lot of the people he talked to on the daily were beaten up by him. The school was in such chaos that Doc's infirmary looked more like an oversized file cabinet than a place for rest. "But you did this to yourself… if you could just give up and apologize to the Royals… maybe tell the low-tiers to stop rioting it'd make things way easier on everyone."

Vritra looked down at Blyke, a frown overtaking his features. "And what, have them go back to the days when they would get beaten up and abused for just being born weaker? Matter of fact, why should I apologize to you Royals for doing your jobs?" His eyes were already glowing, and his figure was bulked up slightly. "Last I checked, it was your shitshow of a king who kept sending people after us. He made things go out of hand."

Blyke couldn't argue with that… but now the only real way of stopping things was to defeat those two. Isen was going to take on Azazel, and Blyke was tasked with taking on Vritra. There were two ways to defeat him, and Arlo completely forbade one. The first was the plan he was going for, death from 1000 papercuts. The second was to end the fight immediately before Vritra got any stronger.

A part inside Blyke wanted to not fight Vritra, and stop the fighting some other way. However, the person in front of him was partly responsible for what happened to Remi. The glares thrown her way, and all of the comments and insults thrown her way because of it began when she was 'defeated' by Azazel… which was a lie. Azazel collapsed before her, and because those two spread propaganda they were calling her the fallen Queen, and Vritra and Azazel, the Royal killers.

"Let's just get to it." said Blyke, his fingers pointed toward Vritra as several crimson spheres formed from both of them. "I gave you an out." He shot both of them forward, fully intending to harm Vritra. They weren't fully charged or concentrated, which meant they would bruise but not do anything beyond annoy him.

Rolling to the side with surprising agility, Vritra looked up with a snarl. "You gave me shit on a platter and expected a thanks. You are just like Arlo." The Giant swiped his hand to the side, causing a gust of wind to slam into Blyke's side.

"What the fuck?" Blyke shot lasers from his hands and stabilized himself mid-air before landing back on his feet. The lasers he'd shot were redirected because of the sudden wind. This was the ability he had used against Azazel in their basketball match the other day. He didn't know he had this much control and power over it. Ultimately it didn't seem to do much damage. Blyke sent more lasers his way, always charging one behind the other, and sending them at low outputs so they wouldn't harm him too much.

The second volley of Lasers found their mark, scorching Vritra's blazer and bruising the skin under it, causing it to turn a dark blue. The draconic evolution had begun. According to Arlo, the ability was evolution-based because he seemed to receive some form of fragment of the abilities that deal damage to him, adapting to the circumstance. Ventus' wind, Howard's heat palm, Kalum's explosive phantom hand. It was possible he would demonstrate a laser-esk ability soon.

Blyke sent out more attacks Vritra's way. He was an Elite-tier with a lot of aura in his reserves, that didn't mean he could be careless however, which is why he made sure all of his attacks would hit by attacking places like the chest and stomach. His plan was to accumulate the damage there so he would feel it if he did evolve past the power of these attacks.

Vritra grimaced and winced after every attack that landed, that was interesting. Blyke thought he had some kind of resistance to heat because of his pyrokinetic evolution… Was there an evolutionary requirement? He shook his head and focused on keeping the stream of attacks consistent and focused in one area. He kept his distance, and increased it to gauge Vritra's range with his aerokinesis.

With a loud roar, Vritra slammed a glowing hand to the floor. Causing it to explode outwards and kicking up a dust cloud. A slash of wind aimed at Blyke quickly followed after. The slash flew through the air with a loud whistle, and cut the floor under it.

The wind slash cut through the dust, revealing itself only at the last second.

Sorry Arlo, I don't think this is just adaptation… this seems more like mimicking…

Blyke used his Lasers to barely dodge out of the way. His side was cut as a result, but mostly he was alright. It hurt, but it was nothing he couldn't push through. This kind of fight was such a pain, even the Royals at Agwin weren't this annoying to deal with. He had to keep his output of power low so he wouldn't increase, but he got to keep his as high as he wanted.

Blyke shot a few more shots his way, keeping the damage up. He had to overwhelm him with a lot of mosquito bites if necessary. Charging the attacks fully was irrelevant, he shot weak lasers Vritra's way to keep him at a distance, but also more vulnerable, he seemed to prefer close quarters, and that was why Blyke had been chosen for this task in specific.

The air surrounding them began converging. The winds raged and gathered at Vritra's arms, surrounding them in whirlwinds much like Ventus' ability. He slammed both arms together to form a larger vortex that pulled Blyke toward him. The vortexes converged in chaos, but with one singular laser from his finger-tips, Blyke pierced through and hit Vritra's chest.

The Wellston uniform on Vritra's chest had begun falling and breaking apart from the continuous hits, and the skin under had begun scorching. Vritra's size increased slightly, and Blyke's laser potency did too.

"Why couldn't you guys challenge the royals normally to attempt changing the system yourselves? Why cause and start riots?" Blyke kept shooting Vritra in the same spot. Some shots kept him from being pulled, pushing him back, while others were to strike Vritra on the chest. Vritra's regeneration had begun, but it was slower than the damage received. In other words, the damage was piling up and forcing a weak spot on his chest that Blyke would exploit.

"We didn't start shit! We were minding our business until your highness, the lord of pricks and cacti, decided to waltz into our lives like a drunk uncle who we owe money to." Vritra's vortex began to collapse on itself, becoming simple gusts of wind that surrounded Blyke. Droplets of liquid touched his face, had it begun raining? It was cloudy. "You people start shit, then blame us for ending it. So what if I called your leader stupid, annoying, a maggot, a puppet, thin-skinned, a bitch, a whore, a willy, a mosquito in the summer at night? We don't agree with you, big fucking deal!"

"It's more than just agreeing. You could have just apologized instead of starting all of this! Why did you beat up Remi?!" Blyke shot more lasers his way.

"Who the fuck is you! I ain't do jack shit!" Vritra clapped his hands, A spark resulted in a chain-reaction of liquid droplets shining bright like stars before detonating. Blyke realized what had happened and attempted shooting himself out of the way, but it was too late. He felt the skin on his face heat up, and then he was blown backward.

Blyke rolled on the ground, thankfully Vritra's was still low enough level that the output of his explosion hadn't done too much damage to Blyke. That dash backward mitigated a minimum amount of damage as well.

"I don't give a shit if your queen got beat up, or if your cousin's wife's best friend got her legs broken. You guys never gave a shit about us. That day she came to me whining, telling me to apologise for something I had not done. I told her to take her complaints elsewhere, and even warned her to be careful with Azazel… since he can be temperamental. She ignored my warning and got beat up, dumb bitch move."

"Fuck you!" Blyke's excitedness caused him to release two lasers that was far stronger than he'd intended. He tried reasoning things out, but in the end his hatred for this pair was really hard to ignore. Blyke had visited Remi that day. Her shivering body, widened eyes and paralyzed legs left a deep impression in his mind. These two acted like they were above it, but they never tried improving shit.

Vritra grinned as his shoulders were fully pierced through by two lasers. His size began to shift immediately.

"Forget the one thousand paper-cuts! Fuck that!" He simply wasn't patient enough. Now that he had dipped his foot in this lake he had to plunge in. What had been done, had been done. He put both his hands together and concentrated on a laser. He poured all of his output on it. It wasn't the piercing kind, but if a mid-tier or low elite tier got hit with it, they would be concussed at best. He typically didn't use this kind of attack because it was far too risky, but fuck it – he would use everything at his disposal. All those tiny blasts were getting tiresome anyway.

The only issue was that the more Blyke charged that blast of energy, the larger and more draconic Vritra got. His jaw had elongated, flames began to sprout from his – now sharp – teeth. His skin had become riddled with scales, and his eyes had become sharper, more vibrant and slitted. His reptilian appearance grew to the point where he'd become at least two heads taller than Blyke.

"WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU, I'LL GO FUCK UP YOUR LOOK ALIKE WITH ARLO!!" Blyke brought both his palms forward and shot the laser at Vritra with everything he had. On contact with Vritra, there was a large explosion that kicked up a dust storm. Blyke caught his breath after using all of his energy in that one attack.

"You made a calculated risk," Glowing eyes peered through the dust, wind circled around it and then made a burst to fully clear the smokescreen. A dragon with an indented chest and blood dripping from between its teeth was revealed, "but holy shit you're bad at math." The blood began to evaporate, and the environment got warmer, and uncomfortable to be around.

Blyke's leg was grabbed, and with barely any effort, Vritra swung him around like a batton, or a stick. Circled in circles, Blyke felt vomit rise to the back of his throat. Then, he felt a burning sensation on his leg, a loud crack followed by a release in pressure. Vritra tossed and sent him flying to the school walls, where Blyke would make a man-sized hole.

"Down already? Well, that's never stopped me before" Vritra's footsteps made resounding stomping sounds. "Oh shit, Z!" The realization stopped him in his tracks. "Fuck."

With barely any aura to protect him, he fell unconscious after a few seconds.

**14**​

"Here comes the other one."

Arlo watched as a large reptilian biped walked through the blown up bulkhead. Arlo knew immediately what the scene looked like. Pools of blood surrounding a limp and unconscious body. Anyone would deduce that there had been a murder there recently. Arlo had hoped Blyke bought him enough time to clean some of the blood up if he were to lose. Well, he couldn't blame him too much since Vritra's ability was far more difficult to handle.

Spoiler: The Drake

Since the reptilian had rushed there, his regeneration hadn't fully healed the wounds dealt to him by Blyke. There was still bleeding on the shoulders and an indent on the chest, and blood coming between his sharp teeth. Broken ribs, punctured lungs and damaged rotator cuffs.

"YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!" Vritra leapt into the air. As if destiny was mocking Arlo, a ray of light struck the ground beneath Vritra and his shoulders' wounds began closing. He'd adapted to wounds in general? That was one unfair ability, if he took time out of his day to train it he would achieve High-tier status quite quickly.

Still, Arlo knew the one glaring weakness of his ability now, and he'd make it clear to Vritra as he rushed toward him. Vritra leaped into the air again, and his head slammed against a yellow barrier that had been placed in front of him. He had been reduced to a beast only capable of growls and roars, so communication was effectively useless. Still, he knew Vritra could still hear him.

"Brute force will fix nothing," Arlo's barrier began to shrink around Vritra who had become trapped like a bird in a cage. Flames erupted from his throat and blasted the barrier. Paper-cuts began slashing Vritra's scales as Arlo's reflection made Vritra hurt himself. Then, it would miraculously heal itself by the light that had just appeared. "Like I told you before, all that power you had in that court was useless. The power that matters is out here."

Vritra's blows stopped striking at the barrier, and began sending explosions of wind and flames at the floor. With a bone-rattling roat, He hammer struck the Roof's Floor, caving it in and breaking it. Causing him to fall down.

Arlo sighed, and began walking toward the hole that had been made. He would surely explode from below to strike him, but it didn't matter because Vritra's ability had more than just one weakness. The destruction of school property would only add to the reasons he was a danger to the school.

He jumped down and trapped Vritra immediately. He looked at the scurrying students that had been occupying the class during their early morning.

"Leave the room," Arlo ordered them as he looked at the shadowed figure regenerating. From the inside of his barrier he wouldn't be able to catch him off guard with any aerokinesis. Arlo saw some rays of sunlight shine from above and looked up. That was how Azazel had been able to utilize his blood manipulation ability from inside the barrier. He made holes and made the blood travel from underneath, which is why it shifted about oddly. What a curious bunch. "Is your tantrum over?" Arlo shrunk the size of the barrier, until it became uncomfortable to be inside. From then on, Vritra would only be wasting his aura by keeping his transformation activated, and in a battle of attrition, Arlo would always come out on top.

Vritra's ability continued making changes to his body, whereas before, he looked like a Bipedal Lizard, The teen now had Spikes beginning to Protrude from his shoulders, and across his spine. The strikes at the barrier were getting stronger and stronger, with the Dragon's fists now encased in a whirlwind of Fire. Every wound he received was healed by the Light. His Roars were shaking the room around them as he glared bloody murder at Arlo.

Spoiler: Ramping Up

Each punch had slightly less power than one of Azazel's blood shooting ability, making cracks on his shield with consistent attacks. Still, there was not a lot to worry about, if he kept going after Blyke's battle he would exhaust himself quickly, Arlo poured his focus into maintaining the barrier and forwent its reflection entirely in order to contain, rather than damage.

"I WILL KILL YOU! IF ITS THE LAST FUCKING THING I DO!" The dragon switched to slashing at the barrier with his claws encased in that same fiery whirlwind, pouring everything he had into it. It was starting to get worrying that Vritra's ability kept transforming him even though no damage was being done to him. "AS LONG AS YOU DRAW BREATH I WILL FUCKING HUNT YOU DOWN!"

Arlo furrowed his brow, and he could feel his eyebrows come together as he released an exasperated sigh, "Emotional damage too? Is this a joke?" He decreased the size of the barrier to reduce the damage further, keeping all his focus on keeping the barrier as strong as possible.

A fist slammed onto the floor once more, breaking it. Yet as Vritra was falling below He swung his hand down.

Arlo sighed, following him down again. He looked down at the hole and hopped down. "With
cripple parents living on the outskirts of town, I wonder how you are paying for all this property damage you are causing." Arlo touched the ground of the next floor, and looked at the students there, "Leave!" he ordered again. Keeping his attention on the enormous lizard. If Arlo had to guess, he would say that Vritra had reached the 5 level mark in terms of raw power.

Vritra had his hands clasped together, the space in between them glowing a bright white. The focus on both hands alongside the bright light made Arlo immediately think of Azazel's concentrated piercing shot. If that was the case, then this was a hail mary attack. The bright light flashed twice, and Arlo immediately sprung into action, casting a shield in front of himself rather than around Vritra. The shield was made small so he could focus most of his aura into it at once. A panel that floated in front of him.

Vritra's attack struck the shield and made it ripple. Had it been a regular barrier, it would have cracked and potentially damaged Arlo, but he wouldn't commit the same error again. Azazel's ability used the same mechanics but was at a much lower level, so simply reducing the size of the barrier would have been enough to reduce the effect to zero… Vritra was so powerful that Arlo had to minimize the size of the barrier – making it just a panel – remove the reflection effect, and focus all of his aura in defense. Of course, Arlo maintained complete and utter confidence in his ability to win this fight.

Because Vritra wasn't looking particularly strong. He had blown past his reserves with his healing, and transformation. Close to five minutes had passed since their fight had begun, and now he was certainly running out of gas to keep burning and exploding. Blyke had proved invaluable in this victory.

Vritra's body began shrinking, his transformation slowly ran out and he was left completely vulnerable in front of Arlo. He didn't have the energy to curse at him, and instead used it to get up on his feet and raise his fists. Arlo obliged him out of amusement, and walked in front of Vritra.

With a right hook, Vritra struck Arlo's jaw but collapsed immediately after. He had only bruised his fists. After all, Arlo's passive ability – a trait gained after one became level 5 and above, a high tier – was to be invulnerable to most regular attacks.

"What a waste of time. Now stay there, quietly." Arlo put both hands in his pockets and began walking away. He opened the door of the classroom and saw all of the mid-tiers and low tiers wide-eyed. "This is what happens when you over-reach your capabilities. Burn this image into your minds. These people are not heroes, they should not be hailed as such, they are disruptors, hooligans, delinquents… nothing more, nothing less."

---

 

[Bob_EX]

---

Doc's day was going poorly. The amount of victims that had piled up because of the low-tiers was astronomical. It got bad enough that he spent overtime registering every single person and their injuries to the database. It was a regular procedure, and even if every bone in his body told him he should ignore it and focus on developing and creating more healing mixtures, he couldn't… because he would be fired and replaced with a schmuck with less experience with these trouble-makers.

"Another one," Words that were only positive in a poker table. In this setting they were a curse that ran deep, and made his hatred for highschool children sink deeper into the abyss that was his heart and sleeping schedule. He turned around and found Wellston's queen, dragging more low-tiers to the infirmary. "The volume's going down by quite a lot." She tried her best attempt at cheering the Doc, but it wasn't effective.

"No shit," he turned his head and saw students on the ground because there was not enough space on the beds to do anything. "Are there any students in the hallways anymore? It feels like I'm catching them all like a children's cartoon trying to sell plushies and toys." He heard rattling and growls and sighed.

"Sorry…" Remi, the Queen of Wellston looked down to her feet. It wasn't her fault whatsoever, but she still felt responsible. "If I hadn't been defeated on the roof…" True, it probably wouldn't have reached this level, but Doc shook his head.

"It would've happened eventually, it might even happen again… if it does I will send out application letters. I need an assistant…" Doc put a hand on his face and sighed in resignation. He looked at the one item in his desk that wasn't made of paper or plastic. An image of his new girlfriend which he had printed to remind him what awaited him after the torture that was the school. Just a few more hours Leilah…Just a few more hours in hell and Doc could go to his date with his beautiful, smart – hot girlfriend.

The growls intensified. Doc grabbed his least favorite mug – he'd brought four because one wasn't enough to keep up with his coffee drinking spree – and tossed it at the person growling. A figure behind the curtain that had been tightly tied up. Doc walked up to it and took off the curtains.

"I will shove this cloth so down your throat you'll be shitting curtains for a week." Doc stared at the perpetrator. A Muzzle, chained, tied with rope and with cuffs. Vritra's insatiable hunger made him shake and move while resting. "You're mostly alright, but I might just keep you here for more days than you aught so you can calm the fuck down." Doc understood him being angry, and lashing out… that wasn't what he was worried about.

What worried him the most was the boy sitting on the bed opposite to Vritra. Azazel looked out the window, the eye bags under his eyes were ever-present. For the first time since Doc had met them, they had reversed their roles… or so he'd like to say. Instead of being cheerful like Vritra would be, it looked as though Azazel was gone, a puppet with its strings cut. A blank stare that stared into the horizon, quiet. There was no escape attempt, or smartass comments.

Vritra on the other hand, despite attempting escape, was so angry it felt as though he would kill anything that walked through the door. A pile of anger and displeasure. Even after the Doc's warnings, he wouldn't listen and kept yelling Arlo's name. The reason he was chained up was mainly because he was injured and wanted to get out… the other reason was that he was willing to go fight Arlo despite having several broken bones and no aura.

"Is this some kind of joke?" The Doc massaged the bridge of his nose with his index and thumb. "Don't you have a snide remark about how your friend is acting? Or insults you could hurl her way?" He looked at Azazel. HIs head turned and he wordlessly lied back down before facing away. The Doc turned to Vritra, "Don't you want to make fun of your friend here? No commentary on my 'fake girlfriend' today?" Vritra's grunts and movement signaled a clear denial.

"Just what the hell is going on?" He looked at the small report he'd been given by Elaine – god bless her soul – and it only said 'defeated by the royals'. Would a defeat really bring them to this level of change? Azazel looked like a dead man and Vritra looked as though he wanted blood in his hands.

"They fought Arlo, and well… it was really rough" Remi's voice surprised the Doc. He thought she'd left. She was standing in front of both beds, with something in her hands. Two baskets. She must have put them outside when bringing the injured students. She put them next to Vritra and Azazel's desk as if to apologise on Arlo's behalf. He must have gone really far if she was doing all of this.

"It says on my schedule that Arlo ordered a Level measurer? Tell him to do his investigating some other time, I don't have the patience to entertain his games… or anything as of right now." The Doc set down the small report clipboard. He'd known Arlo for quite some time, he knew he could be sly, too OCD about the hierarchy and have a huge stick up his ass… but even this felt too far.

"Yeah, I'll cancel that – sorry for the trouble." The Doc scratched the back of his head.

"You're too nice. I mean, you even got Vritra to apologise the other day." He smiled and Remi awkwardly chuckled.

"Day? It's been almost two weeks…"

"Come again?"

"... How long have you been in this room?" She looked at him concerned, Doc quickly rushed to the front of the infirmary and opened his drawer to look at his phone. It was indeed almost two weeks after. He'd been working overtime for two weeks.

"Oh hell no, I better get overtime for this…" He slumped on the chair and heard the chains rattle more, reminding him he still had a job to do. "There's no over time," his mocking voice was high pitched and annoying to listen to for extended periods of time. Doc liked to think it was how his college friends sounded, "It's easy. It's just nursing children, it's minimal work" he grabbed two flasks and began to mix them. He slammed them on the desk and in a fit of rage raised both his arms. "WHEN I FIND YOU RICKY!" He swore to give him a beating and enough emotional trauma to last a lifetime. "I HOPE YOU LOSE ALL OVERTIME! I HOPE YOUR MEALS ARE ALWAYS SLIGHTLY COLDER THAN LUKEWARM! RICKY! WHEN I FIND YOU RICKY!" He'd gone and become a researcher for that famous company, NXGen Research Facility.

"Hey Doc… " A familiar voice made Doc's head turn to the entrance like a dysfunctional robot in a bad horror movie. Black hair so greasy it could cause an explosion of nuclear proportions entering the room.

"You are kidding me John… you came here yesterday…" Doc let himself fall on his seat and put both hands on his face. He was ready to give up, the resignation form sung to him like a siren at sea. Just as he reached for it in his desk drawer – he had it printed a day… well apparently two weeks ago – the picture of his girlfriend stopped him.

"You work with children, I think that's amazing. I find it admirable."

She didn't know half of it. These pain in the ass children. He hoped they tripped and broke their legs – then he remembered who would have to fix them up, and then he wished they got injured badly enough that it'd hurt, but not badly enough so that they would have to go to the infirmary. He tried praying it into reality to many gods – Hermes, Loki, Anansi and even Satan… they probably trolled him and said 'Double it and give it back.'

"C'mon Darren, just a bit more before we can be together. Think of the cuddling Darren. "

"You're right, figment Leilah." Darren may have had too little to sleep and too much coffee.

"Are you talking to someone?" John's voice grated his ears. The worst of it was that this asshole could fight back and chose not to. In other words, he didn't even have to be here today, but he was… because he was stupid, and annoying, and a hindrance to his mental health and physical wellbeing. Doc's ass had taken the shape of his chair – he'd asked for ones with cushioning but the budget was too busy being allocated into medicine and school repair.

"Alright does this hurt?" Darren grabbed the arm he was holding. John released a screech. It wasn't that tightly held, and the Doc felt an odd texture. "Fractured arm," he moved like a machine. He'd done at least twenty of these today. He could twirl his wrist and cover John's arm in bandages. He didn't even have to make a cast, he had some pre-made knowing someone could come in at any moment. He placed it on John's arm and shooed him away after shoving a glowing green liquid in his hands.

"... am I not supposed to stay?"

"If you want to sit on someone's lap, be my guest." Darren pointed at all of the people groaning and moaning on the ground. John took a sip of the liquid and groaned.

"Ugh, I don't remember your medicine tasting this bad."

"Yeah, new development, that one works better." It didn't, it was the same… he just made it taste worse because it was the only form of revenge he could morally and ethically take. "Now stop wasting space."

"ARLOOOO!" An ear screeching yell came from the back of the room.

"Who had the bright idea of removing Vritra's muzzle and gag?" Doc looked around, they all looked collapsed. He walked to Vritra, stepping on the only empty spaces on the ground. Vritra had used the little aura he'd recovered to bite through the chains. Now he was yelling and tossing about. The doc grabbed a syringe from the inside of his coat and stabbed him with it. In seconds Vritra went back to sleep.

"Ah… peace and quiet." It was quite ineffective on Vritra for whatever reason so he would go back to yelling in a few minutes… but the Doc could afford a few seconds of enjoyment. He put a new muzzle and gag in his mouth, then looked at Azazel's bed. He was still not talking, or moving… The doc went up to him and checked his vitals just in case – he was still alive thankfully.

One bed over, Remi was cutting apples for Blyke and Isen, who were still out like lights. If they didn't wake up until those apples darkened, the Doc might just eat them for nutrition… At this point he was slightly afraid of putting anything in his body that wasn't caffeine, but if he got hungry he might go for it.

---

Thanks for giving this story a chance. Have another chapter.

 

[Bob_EX]

---

Roland visited the infirmary, he opened the door and peered inside. Students could spend the night there if their wounds were too severe, and he was certain that both Vritra and Azazel would be inside already. Expecting his two friends, Roland had to take a step back as he watched two peering eyes loom from the shadows, creeping forward without sound. It almost felt like it was slithering rather than walking as it bobbed up and down like a worm on the ground.

Whatever it was reached the light outside the infirmary and revealed itself. Sickened pale skin that looked like they hadn't seen the sun in weeks. Bags under his eyes and swollen red eyes from either crying or spending too much time with them open. The Doc looked at Roland with barely life left in him.

"Visiting, or…" The Doc sighed in exasperation, "Visiting" he said it like a haunting dream. Roland could tell what he meant. It was clear that he'd spent too much time filing documents, preparing medicine and administering care. Lord knows how many bones he's had to rest, how many arms and legs he's had to cast, and how many crutches he's had to order.

"Me? I just have a bruise," Roland rolled up his sleeve, and the Doc nodded his head enthusiastically, "I came here to visit Vritra and Azazel though." Roland's words made Doc close his eyes as a single tear trickled down his face.

"Finally." He sighed, opening the door further before turning on all of the lights. There were groans and moans in annoyance. Just then, Roland realized how serious it had become, there were more people inside the infirmary than there were in class or the dormitories. It had gotten so bad that he'd been able to grab one of Wellston's famous cakes without much issue. "These Royals beat up every rioting maniac in the school, and the press is going crazy with articles, trying to push in."

There were so many people on the ground that Doc had to walk by pushing them aside, almost as if he was walking through thick mud reaching his ankles.

"I forgot to ask, who are you visiting?" Doc turned his head to stare at Roland, who looked at the very back. Roland had already told him though.

"Uh… Azazel and Vritra?" He repeated, just in case. The Doc nodded twice, took a mug from his desk – which had at least twenty of them lying around – and drank a coffee from one of the three machines there. Immediately after drinking it with a chug, he began making more, then took the other jar and put coffee inside to chug it again.

"Sorry, I think I misheard. Who did you come and visit again?" The doc took another chug of coffee.

"Vritra… and Azazel…" Was drinking that much coffee healthy? Was it even keeping him awake anymore?

"URGH!" He grabbed his chest in pain, then collapsed on the ground, "The needle!" He yelled pointing at his desk. Roland panicked and put down the bag he'd brought to the infirmary, he rushed to the desk, stepping on people's feet, faces and ankles to get to it. He grabbed the needle and passed it over. The doc injected himself, then breathed back to normal, "Caffeine overdose…" He turned away and Roland heard puking sounds. The Doc tossed the trash bin he puked into and put it under his desk – where Roland saw two others. "I am so done…" He sighed.

"I uh… after I visit I could help you with some of the papers." The doc looked at Roland with tears in his eyes. He grabbed his left hand with both of his and shook it.

"You are a good person. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Don't let yourself be corrupted by the asshole at the back of this infirmary." He shook Roland's hand two more times before using the desk to help himself get back up. "Oh, and Azazel was dismissed, he was mostly healed by Elaine – Only Royal not in my shit list, may whatever god exists bless her soul – so he was mostly fine. Vritra on the other hand keeps biting through muzzles and fighting the restraints… so he fractures his bones more often than not."

Roland nodded and silently walked to the end. Sure enough, just as the Doc had said, Vritra was shaking and moving. His expression was contorted in anger, he looked like a walnut with all of those wrinkles. Seeing Roland, his expressions Softened, he mumbled something and Roland could not understand a word he said.

"Yeah… let's take this off for now," He took off the latch of the muzzle and Vritra took a breath. "It's been a day, how are you feeling? Evie would've come but she's being suspected for being a riot leader so she's being interrogated right now."

Vritra's eyes zoned in on Roland's face, specifically the bruise on him. "Who did that." It was not a question he was asking, his tone was calm, composed even. Roland wondered what he was talking about, he looked at Vritra's gaze and saw that his sleeve was still rolled up. A blunder on his end, he knew how he could get.

"Oh… don't mind that I just tripped," Roland haphazardly lied, and looked at the other side of the room. He'd left the gift he'd brought there.

"Roland. You are one of the most careful people I know, don't lie to me. Who did that."

"You'll just get more angry, and right now you need to calm down. You're hurting yourself by pulling the chains and raging every day." Roland had no intention of telling Vritra anything right now. It would give in to his current self destructive nature.

"I promise you I will be calm. Just tell me." Vritra's eyes were still locked in on the bruise. "If you don't I will find out on my own." It was starting to get eerie, Vritra always had some emotion in his voice when talking, either joy, anger, or anything else. But there was at least something. This was just calm.

"Hold on, I brought you something," Roland moved back to the front of the infirmary, he had to change topics as fast as possible. He rolled down his sleeve and grabbed the bag he'd brought in. He kept it above his head as he tried stepping on the least amount of people possible until he got there. It looked like a warzone there. "Here," Roland opened the plastic bag, then the tupper and showed a cake he'd baked inside. "Bet you didn't get to eat anything sweet in here."

"Roland, Who. Did that."

"What'll you do if I tell you," A shadow fell over Roland's face as he placed the cake on Vritra's lap.

"I will play good until the doctor lets me out," Vritra's face contorted, his eyes turning into slits for a second before reverting back. "And then I will fucking remind these scum that they dont get to touch what is mine."

"That's uh… a weird way to put it," Roland knew Vritra could be… odd about his friends, but he chose to ignore that part, "There's no point. If you go out of your way to help me out you'll only make things worse. Arlo's attacking anyone who does that in fear the riots will continue."

Just saying Arlo's name caused Vritra to start thrashing around "He can fucking try! The only reason he won last time was because of his lap dog attacking me before I went to fight him!" One of the chains holding him snapped. "Tell me who did that to you Roland! Or I swear to god I will find them on my own terms-"

"There's no point if you can't even recover." Roland produced a fork from the plastic bag and put it in the tupper with the cake inside. "Don't worry about me, I've lived through Wellston before you were here, I'll survive. If you really want to help get better first."

The thrashing stopped. Vritra froze, eyes locked on Roland like he'd just said something unspeakable. The color drained from his face. His expression went blank, empty, then twitched. His chest started to rise and fall in uneven bursts. Each breath came faster, rougher, until it sounded like he was choking on air.

"No—" he gasped, eyes darting across Roland's body like he was looking for wounds that weren't there. "D-Don't say that. Just—just tell me who did that to you. I'll handle it." His voice cracked, his hands trembled, claws half-forming, half-receding as he fought himself. "J-Just tell me, please. I have to handle it. I can protect you. I can protect you, Jin—"

"It's useless. Just recover. Nothing will come from getting revenge now. I gotta get going." Roland took a few steps back. "Oh, before I leave—do you know where I can find Azazel?"

Vritra didn't answer. His eyes stayed locked on Roland, wide, unfocused. His lips twitched, jaw tightening until his teeth ground together. Then his whole body began to shake. His glowing eyes flared brighter, the veins in his neck stood out, and a deep, guttural sound rose from his chest. The chains groaned, then snapped one by one, hitting the floor with a sharp clatter. His breathing had turned into growls. Still, his eyes never moved from Roland. He sucked in a sharp breath, his voice scraping out like broken glass. "Gavin."

The name dripped with hate.

"You're kidding me… what are you, a bloodhound?" Roland glanced at his forearm. "Don't go after Gavin, you'll only make it worse. The riots really messed up Wellston." He hesitated, watching Vritra's twitching shoulders. He could tell this wasn't anger anymore—it was something deeper, something cracking.

A low growl rumbled from Vritra's chest as he stepped toward the exit, shoulders hunched, eyes glowing faintly through his hair. "Then I'll end the cause of the riots," he said flatly.

"...You're the reason for the riots." Roland sighed, rubbing his face. "The low tiers are rioting because of you. I don't mean it's your fault, but the smart move is to heal up before you go beat a mid-tier for no reason."

Vritra's breathing hitched again. His lips curled, forming a grin that didn't match his eyes. It spread too wide, too tense. "I've got a reason," he said, voice shaking with something close to excitement. "He laid a hand on you. They'd have beaten you for less. An eye for an eye. I'll hit him. Once. That's all. What right does he have to harm you, but I cannot harm him?"

Roland could tell there was no reasoning with him anymore. Whatever he said wouldn't reach him. He picked up the slice of cake from the bed and shoved it into Vritra's hands. "Don't involve me in this. I don't want to be a part of it, man." He turned away, heading for the front of the infirmary.

Vritra stood there, breathing hard, watching Roland leave. His hands clenched and unclenched around the crushed piece of cake. His eyes flicked to the door, then back to the floor. His lips moved in a faint whisper. "...No one gets to touch what's mine and walk away, no one gets to take what is mine and live. Not Gavin, not Arlo." His jaw clenched, the glow in his eyes pulsing faintly. "They'll all die in the end, just like I promised, Jin."

---

 

[Bob_EX]

---

Cecile was head of the school press. She actually loved reporting the news. If there was anything she hated, it would have to be the current people in charge. The Royals of the school were far too authoritarian. She could understand their end-goal, but their methods were always to act with force, and she found that unnecessary. Sure, force went a long way, but what moved people was information.

Cecile couldn't forgive Arlo after he banned her from publishing her story on Remi. He went to her office right as she had gotten the news and banned any reports on it. Of course, that didn't stop Cecile from simply posting about it in school forums and chat-logs. Cecile had a deep seated anger against Remi ever since she defeated her for the title of queen of Wellston when Seraphina backed down.

But now, now Arlo wants her to publish a story to make the Royals be looked at in a positive light. She'd interviewed several rioters telling her that their motivation was the transfer student, Vritra who had transferred in a bit over a month ago. She didn't want to publish anything that made the Royals look remotely good, but if she didn't, Arlo's temperament would get the better of him and he would surely make her step down and put someone else in charge, some fool like Isen.

So, in light of this rocky situation, Cecile chose the other party of inspiration for the riots. A smaller inspiration, but one that she found more interesting. Azazel Wodime, the man who defeated Remi. She found him in the outside of the male dorm rooms doing weighted push-ups. His form was perfect, but she did feel like he was doing them with too much strain.

Sweat covered the ground, and soaked his T-shirt, showcasing that he'd been there training for a long period of time. He didn't look angry, or happy, simply there. She approached him with the intention of publishing an Article that would make Remi look bad, and Arlo good. He noticed her immediately, shifting his gaze to her before going back to doing exercise.

"Do you have time for an interview?" Cecile asked while crossing her arms. He stopped what he was doing and got up.

"More useless flies, get out of my sight," She stopped and knit her eyebrows. She understood why they were attacked so often – before the hit was put out on them by Arlo of course. Cecile was a High tier, and the boy in front of her was a low-tier. He had courage to speak to her that way. "I'm not in the mood for your questions."

"I am writing a paper on your defeat of the Queen of Wellston and about your history." Cecile pressed him, grabbing a pen and paper to jot things down. She could always get secondary accounts from other people, but that research was not as satisfying as first hand accounts. Any low-tier would say that the fight was easy, and she could write that down in the article to drag Remi's reputation through the mud despite it clearly not being true… after all it'd be his account.

"Yeah, I defeated her. You high tiers said it was trickery and underhanded tactics," he moved on to do a bench-press. Why did he bring all of the equipment outside anyway? Cecile looked around, there were a lot of boulders and debris that were not supposed to be there. Were those the reason why? "I don't care, a win is a win. Now leave." His attitude was infuriating.

"How did it feel winning against the Queen, and then losing to the King of Wellston?" She got angry and asked him something with a little jab to it.

"I DID NOT LOSE!" His voice was laced with anger. He stopped doing the bench-press and tossed the weights to the side. "I did not lose." Despite sounding more composed, his eyes told a different story. They looked into the horizon, past Cecile. "I don't lose."

She was interviewing a crazy person. A delusional person. He went up to the boulder and grabbed it from underneath. Was he crazy? His frame was small, and his muscles, although defined, weren't much in the strength department. Still, he lifted it barely by activating his ability. That was information she didn't have. So his ability also enhanced him while weakening the enemy. She jotted what she saw down.

"Accounts say they saw Elaine and Remi carry you and your accomplice Vritra to the infirmary." She continued the questioning despite his clearly unhappy attitude. He shook from lifting the bolder before putting it down and lifting it again. "Arlo defeated you, does that mean your limit is high tiers? Or do you think it was a mismatch?" This scrawny boy defeated Remi? Cecile couldn't believe it. Sure he had an enhancement ability, but what stopped Remi from electrocuting him until he was knocked out?

"I didn't lose!" He delusionally yelled again. Letting the bolder fall on the ground, he placed both hands on his ears like a child. Looking at the ground. Cecile walked to see the expression on his face. He was sweating, and he had gone pale. He looked worried and angry. "I am absolute, I don't lose! I never lose!" He wasn't trying to convince her, but himself.

This is the person who defeated the queen of Wellston? Maybe it really was a fluke like the rumors say. "Very well, what are your next steps?" As if he'd become someone else, his body straightened up and he looked at her blankly without emotion in his face. Now that Cecile looked closer, he had large bags under his eyes. She got information that he had left the infirmary yesterday… surely he hadn't spent the entire night training – She looked at the outside again, it was all damp –surely he hadn't.

"I will defeat Arlo." His declaration made Cecile smile, even if he lost she had something interesting to write about. "Today… I am defeating him today…"

"Don't you think you need rest?" Cecile jotted down a few more ideas for the story from what he had told her. His gaze was penetrating, they felt like daggers piercing her heart. She wasn't sure why he was staring at her as if he wanted to strike her down, but he did.

"Rest? No… no… the more I rest, the more time I waste. I see it now," he was talking to himself, again, "I didn't train before because I didn't think it was worth an effort…"

"So you think Arlo is strong enough to make you put in effort?"

"What?" He knit his eyebrows, confused at the notion. Did he not understand what he had just told her, or was he so delusional he blocked off that trail of thought? Cecile couldn't tell. The person in front of her was a deeply perturbed individual. He turned his body away and continued training. Cecile had what she wanted, now she had to interview a few of the low-tiers that participated in the riots.

---

 

[Bob_EX]

Seraphina stared down at a beaten Azazel. He'd bled out until collapse again. He challenged Arlo and had an even worse showing than before. This time she witnessed it out of coincidence as she walked through the halls. Azazel challenged him to a match, but he looked defeated from the moment he got there. To begin with he couldn't move his arms very well, she could tell that he'd trained too much before fighting and tore his muscles training. Elaine had to heal him and drag him to the infirmary again as a bloody mess.

The riots had stopped for the most part and things were evening out in Wellston… except now, any time a low-tier rioted they were met with groups of Elites or Mid-tiers, which meant there were a lot more casualties on the lower-tiers side of things. To think this whole mess started because of a bad conversation on the school roof.

"Seraphina if you could make your way to the principal's office."

She knew what it was about immediately. A few days ago, John had lent her his copy of UnOrdinary, an illegal book that had inspired the rise of many vigilantes – illegal enforcers that were being killed by a group named Ember. Unfortunately she left it unwatched for too long and Elaine, her roommate saw it on her bed when she went in to give her some food.

She was then forced to burn the book before anyone could find it. This call to the principal's office was surely about that. She walked to the principal's office with a lazy stride. She could take her time to get there.

An explosion to her right made Seraphina sigh and turn her head. Vritra, who had somehow gotten free of all his restraints was beating up Gavin, a mid-tier.

One hand gripped Gavin's collar. The other, explosions cracking on it and wind around it. "I promised I would only strike you once. So grit your teeth." To anyone but Seraphina, Vritra's fist would have looked like a blur as it dug into Gavin's stomach. The loud sound of something going off was all the warning anyone got before Gavin was flung to the wall. His shirt was ripped and singed, his stomach gaining a blackish-blue look to it and the surrounding location was lacerated with winds. "If I catch you bullying anyone else, it won't end with one punch. so pick yourself up and go to the infirmary. Bitch."

Did he have to talk with growls? It felt as though his teeth were constantly clenched and he couldn't separate them fully so he growled to give emphasis. What made Seraphina widen her eyes as she passed by was the fact he defeated Gavin so easily, the only way one would be able to achieve that was if they were in the Elite category… but for him to have reached elite in under a month should be impossible.

"Well, not my fight…" Seraphina walked away with her hands in her pockets. She opened the door of the headmaster's office and stared at Headmaster Vaughn's eyes. He had his signature smile and neck-beard. Sitting next to him were two members of the authorities, no doubt. Their clean attires and formal vestry could only lead Seraphina to think so.

They stood up and stared at her with seriousness. One of them was a truth-teller, but then who was the other? One had mint hair and yellow eyes whilst the other had salmon pink hair and blue eyes.

"Ah, Seraphina! Please sit." said the headmaster. He kept composure and smiled as usual. Seraphina did as he asked and sat down comfortably. She had prepared beforehand because she was aware Arlo would pull off this stunt eventually, even still she felt uneasy. "No need to look so tense. You're making me nervous."

His happy-go-lucky attitude and closeness made things a lot more comfortable, but it also felt prepared and artificially constructed – as if it'd been in his best interest to research applications and methods to ease others.

"This is MIss Nadia. She's here on behalf of the Authorities and she is going to ask you a set of questions." He signed over to the mint-hair woman that had stood up. If she was the lie detector what was the salmon-haired man next to her for? He stood there with his arms crossed. Nadia put a recording device on the headmaster's desk and pressed record.

"This is an official interrogation. You are expected to answer all questions with honesty. Any false response you provide will be detected, and will result in immediate expulsion from Wellston Private High School. Is that understood, Miss Seraphina?" The recording device was always something they used during interrogations like these. Seraphina had heard rumors that Authorities could provide false testimonies and use them as legitimate evidence because their word was worth more than who they interviewed.

That fact made the hair on the back of her neck stand on their ends. If Nadia were to say she was a vigilante, there was nothing Seraphina could do but let herself get expelled, because her ability was lie-detection she could claim Seraphina was lying and that was it. Seraphina had to believe they wouldn't lie for her to get out of there, and that realization made her palms sweat.

"Well?" Nadia took Seraphina out of her stupor, and made her lower her head as she stared Nadia in the eyes.

"Yes."

"Let's begin," her eyes began glowing, indicating her ability had been activated. "We were informed that you had ownership of the book UnOrdinary. Is that true?"

"Yes." All Seraphina could do for now was to tell the truth. She first had to gauge how Nadia's ability worked. Did she read memories or the mind? Did she detect lies? Or did she detect deception? Something can be true but a deception, or they can be false because one can't recall. What if one couldn't recall what happened?

"For how long have you had this book?" This was a simple question, but Seraphina couldn't answer it straightforwardly.

"I can't remember when I've had it exactly," she observed Nadia's reaction. She narrowed her eyes. It was not a lie, she didn't know the exact date and time she received the book from John. If she could see deception, read memories or surface thoughts she would be caught. If she couldn't, then her ability was less fearsome and could only detect blatant lies. If the latter wasn't the case, Seraphina had a few more answers to narrow down her ability to better adjust her answers to not incriminate John.

There was no change in expression. Did she know? No, she would have certainly told Seraphina to leave Wellston if she could tell Seraphina was lying. It was risky, but the odds were on her side so she decided to take the plunge. Besides, Seraphina was a High-tier, one of the strongest in the country, if she were expelled from Wellston she would simply move to another school with just as much or similar prestige.

"And where did you get this book from?" Seraphina didn't want to implicate John, so she took a small pause while leaning back. She sighed to dissimulate that she was annoyed at these questions.

"Last Saturday, I was walking home from Kovoro Mall. Suddenly I noticed I was being followed by someone invisible and fought them off, ran. By the time I had gotten back to the dorm, the book was already in one of my shopping bags." Seraphina looked at Nadia, observed her reaction, she nodded and put down the files. The other man next to her took a deep sigh of displeasure, he didn't want to be anywhere near here and it showed in his impatient foot-tapping.

"Where and when did this incident take place?"

"The bus stop near the park around 8 PM, I think."

"Who else was with you at the time?" What kind of question was that? How did she know there was someone else with her during the attack? She never mentioned her friends? Had she asked to see her reaction? Seraphina wasn't sure, she had been stumped.

"Now now, Miss Nadia. My students are all very busy people, especially right now." Principal Vaughn was getting tired of the questions, he stared at Nadia with the corner of his eyes in displeasure. Did he have a past with the authorities? He was smiling, but his eyes told another story. Did he save Seraphina from that question because he knew it might implicate more trouble for Wellston's image? Or did he do it out of kindness? She couldn't tell. "Please respect their time by asking questions that are relevant to the topic at hand… I am sure your partner is getting tired of waiting as well."

Her partner leaned onto the headmaster's desk and practically sat on it while crossing his arms. Vaughn didn't seem to find it amusing, shooting some glares at the back of his head, but ultimately didn't say anything.

"Yes, apologies." She was very respectful to Vaughn, it was most likely because much like Seraphina, he was a High-tier. "Where is the book now?"

"I destroyed it."

"Did you read it"

"Yes, I did."

"Did you share the book or its contents with anyone while you read it?"

"I did not."

"Final Question. What are your thoughts on the content of UnOrdinary" For whatever reason the face of Vritra, then of the bloodied Azazel came to the forefront of her mind. Seraphina drew parallels between them. The main differences were their tiers, how they acted too… Well, the only similarities were some of their actions and how both of them inspired idiots into rioting for more rights for low-tiers.

Still, Serahina grinned, thinking back of her conversation with John where he had asked her something similar.

"I thought the idea was absurd." She shared a high-tier helping low-tiers out of the goodness of his heart? What was the point? Nothing would ultimately change. Why should she go out of her way to help people who would never thank her? It'd be useless.

Nadia sighed and smiled, dropping her hard-boiled detective persona. All of that tension because of a book, the authorities must be running out of things to care about.

"That's a relief. Now if you could step out for a moment." Nadia turned her head to the Headmaster and nodded.

---

 

[Bob_EX]

---

Gregory and Nadia had been called for two different tasks. The first was to assess the risk of UnOrdinary contaminating the minds of the youth in one of the most affluent schools in the country. The other was a less concerning issue but still quite intriguing. Gregory was the Authorities number one pick when it came to measuring the levels of others. He had a reliable ability, and he was devoted to the Authorities wholeheartedly despite not having a combat-oriented ability, much like Nadia herself.

As Seraphina walked outside the room, Nadia released a sigh of relief. When high-tiers were exposed to UnOrdinary there was a chance they would begin Vigilantism. It was a low chance,but much higher than anyone might like. Her truthful answer when Nadia questioned what she thought of the book's message was comforting. If a precious high-tier such as her was lost to vigilantism, then society would suffer quite a loss.

The principal sighed and put both his hands together; he was very composed throughout the entire questioning until Nadia pressed further than she should. Was he protecting another student? It was hard to tell.

"The easiest part is now over," he told Nadia and her partner.

"What do you mean by that?" Gregory stood up from the headmaster's desk he was sitting on. Vaughn looked at them both out of the corner of his eyes and curled his lips upward in a small smile.

"I suppose you will see." He opened the drawer on his desk and pulled out a microphone with a button on its platform. Pressing it, Vaughn began communication with the school. "Could Azazel and Vritra please come to the principal's office?" Vaughn pressed the button on the microphone again, turning it off before putting it back.

Now all they had to do was wait for those two students. The second task they were given was to assess the levels of those two students and ask them a few questions. According to the report filed, they were both late bloomers and problem children that leveled up unnaturally fast and began lashing out. If Nadia found them to be too troublesome, the Readjustment Division might have to get involved.

Vaughn stood up from his chair and walked toward the entrance.

"Where are you going?" Gregory asked.

Vaughn turned, and with a smile on his face, he answered, "I am getting some coffee and cookies; would you like some?" Nadia looked at Gregory, then back at Vaughn.

"Shouldn't you stay here to greet the two students?" the two questions. Vaughn looked at the clock on the corner of the room, then at the exit.

"Something tells me they'll be a little late; if they are not just show them in and if you'd be so kind as to wait for my return, I'd appreciate it. Now if you excuse me." Vaughn stepped on the other side of the doorframe and closed it behind him. With another glance at her partner, Nadia knit her eyebrows and tilted her head in the direction of the closed door.

Gregory shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno, weird guy. That headmaster is quite unusual, there aren't a lot of people who are willing to speak up against the authorities."

"Well, he is a high tier, so there's that. Beyond that, he seems to really care for the school." Nadia explained, looking at her watch. Seraphina took around ten minutes to arrive; the school was big but not large enough to warrant that amount of time,it was probably an important class, or she had been doing something with friends and had to excuse herself. According to records, she was a straight-A student for the most part.

"Sure." Gregory looked bored; he was devoted to the authorities but also seemed to be of the childish sort. The kind that couldn't stand still for too long without doing something. He stretched, putting both his hands up, then pulling them up as he could, arching his back. There were audible cracks from it. Nadia sighed and looked at her watch again.

As time began to pass, she began getting bored. Gregory had begun pacing around the room, then sitting down, standing again, stretching, and going back to sitting. He couldn't sit still. Phones were for company use, and that typically meant you couldn't install games or use them for private use. Gregory seemed like the type of person who would install a lot of games to entertain himself while he waited.

Nadia checked her watch. She wasn't hallucinating things; thirty minutes had passed already. The headmaster was still not back from his coffee break, and they had been left inside the room without anything to do. Just how busy were these students? Nadia began suspecting foul play. Then, the door opened.

Vaughn had come back with a tray filled with biscuits and three cups of coffee. "Sorry about the delay, the line was full." He put the metallic tray on his desk. "As an apology, I brought you some coffee alongside some snacks. The Doc's coffee is just superb; he's had time and practice to hone this craft, you see. The biscuits were gifts from one of the students, Roland,it's his hobby. He's quite a kind student."

Nadia grabbed the mug with coffee the closest to her and took a sip. Her head moved back as she looked at the coffee she was drinking from. It had a rich and dense flavor and was neither too bitter nor too sweet either. It was also very aromatic and fragrant. It was brewed by an expert in the craft. She took a bite of the biscuits and they were perfect.

Gregory grabbed the coffee, and if he'd been restless before, now he was far too energetic. He began shaking where he stood like a leaf in the wind.

"Why are they taking so long?" Nadia shot the headmaster a sharp look, activating her ability to ensure he wasn't lying to her. The Headmaster, unfazed and with a smile, took a sip of his coffee, a bite of his cookie, and then looked back at her.

"Both students got into an altercation with the King of Wellston and were sent to the infirmary. They are receiving treatment and will be with us shortly." He was being truthful. So that was why it took them so long, and most likely why Seraphina took so long as well. The fight happened in one of the hallways, making it harder to go through and walk to the principal's office. Now, they took a long time because their injuries had to be treated.

"The Royals in Wellston must be quite busy." Nadia commented. She deactivated her ability and took another sip from her coffee. "I heard that you encourage your students to resolve their matters on their own. Do you not think that they should appeal more to authority and that you should act more as a mentor and guide them?"

"Well, it is my thought that students ought to learn autonomy and how the world works by witnessing it themselves. Interfering in their firsthand learning process detracts from valuable learning experiences and moments. When things do get out of hand, I get involved, but everything seems to have worked out up until now." The headmaster took a sip from his coffee.

"That just sounds like an excuse to not do your job." Gregory put down his coffee and looked the headmaster in the eyes. "Was the reason we were called here not that they kept going against the authority of the Royals and were causing too much trouble to other students? Their sudden growth is worrying; is that not why we're here?"

"Well, isn't that an oxymoron?" The headmaster looked at Gregory; his ever-present smile felt eerie and confrontational now. "Challenging the authority of the Royals is not only something that should be expected, it is something that should happen if they hope to grow. The king is challenged by prospects, and the victor is crowned. Is that not how it has always worked?" Did he willingly not address the second part of the question?

"That may be so, but what of the other students caught in the crossfire? They are late bloomers, yes? Potentially hiding their levels in order to catch others off guard and beat them beyond the permissible point. Shouldn't you be calling the readjustment division instead?" Gregory gripped the cookie in his hands too tightly and cracked it in half. Vaughn activated his ability and prevented crumbs from falling on his carpet. He made them float to the tray and hummed at Gregory's comments.

"I will assure you, I had a level gauger assess their levels when they entered this school. Level 1.4 and 1.3 were the levels that were recorded. The reason you were called was because students witnessed them defeat mid-tiers and elite tiers in combat as of late." The headmaster took another sip of his coffee. "If you do not wish to be here, you do not have to. I am not forcing you to stay. I will say this with my full chest and with every bit of intent until the blood in my body runs cold and my body is buried, none of my students need readjustment classes, nor will you ever get approval from me to receive them." A great pressure came over the room, making it tremble.

Nadia gripped the table wide-eyed. The headmaster looked at Gregory with his smile but glowing eyes. His activated ability was what shook the room. He was pressing down on them.

"This is my school; until you retire from your job and become a headmaster yourself, I do not wish to hear any criticism from either of you on how I run things. None of you are qualified to reproach my methods."

---

 

[Bob_EX]

---

The first of the two came in, according to the papers, his name was Vritra, and his last name looked unpronounceable. He was tall, much taller than what Gregory was expecting. One thing was seeing 7'0 on a sheet of paper, seeing it was a whole other. Nadia looked nervous, clenching her clipboard while sitting down on the chair provided by the chairman of Wellston. The atmosphere that they had left with wasn't the greatest, and this didn't help either.

Spoiler: Vritra after some 'Traits'

Gregory was the first to get up. Vritra stayed standing. It was menacing, and a clear challenge of his authority… that or he simply didn't care for his presence. He didn't say anything, simply stood there with his eyes fixated on the chairman, who smiled back at him.

"Well then, you must be curious as to why you've been called here." Vaughn's smile didn't appease him, there was no change in attitude. He tapped his foot lightly on the ground, impatiently waiting for the principal to elaborate. It was clear he didn't want to be there.

"We've been called here to assess your level because we think you might be lying." Gregory took over, Vaughn was taking too long to answer, and the boy in front of him gave him a bad vibe. Vaughn scowled at the interruption, but let him continue nonetheless. "We've also heard you've been fighting the royals."

"Huh?" Vritra's eyebrows knit together, his nose scrunched and his mouth moved down on one side only. A look of total disgust and disdain. "Isn't that the whole point of the royal system? To challenge it?" he spat.

"No, the point is to compel students to respect the authority hierarchy formed. Challenges to the royals should only happen by those who are close to the top." Vritra clicked his tongue and looked down at Gregory.

"I fought that clown of a king, so what? I did some damage and got close to beating his ass," Vritra leaned forward to get closer to Gregory. Now that he noticed, he wasn't a lanky build of person either, he was muscular, and looked more like a wild bear from that angle than he did human. "What do levels have to do with anything? It's all about ability match ups."

Wasn't he closer than that? Gregory thought to himself, then he noticed he'd taken two steps back without thinking. He looked toward Nadia. She was sweating.

"I-If I were you I'd keep my distance, disrespecting the authorities is not a smart move." Gregory cursed himself for stuttering. The pressure he felt while Vritra was there was suffocating. He was no low tier.

Vritra's eyes narrowed. "Another person telling me how to live my life. I might fucking lose it."

A wave of green light almost blinded Gregory as Vaughn used his ability to push a chair on Vritra's back, making him sit down. "Now, let's not delay this any further. There's another student waiting outside after all." He was using his status as a high-tier to pressure them into acting again. That old man would get what was coming for him one day. One day someone would get tired of him and he would be removed from his position.

"Activate your ability," Gregory ordered, regaining some confidence.

Vritra leaned back further, resting his leg on his knee. "No."

One second. Silence. Two Seconds. Silence. Three Seconds. Silence.

"Excuse me?" Nadia had been the one who broke the silence, because Gregory was still baffled that someone this stupid could exist.

"The rules of the school say I can't use my ability in enclosed environments." There was no chance the boy sitting in front of Gregory respected the rules of the school. He knew from first hand experience that school was a battleground. All he could do was glare at Vritra. "Weren't you criticising me for not following the system or whatever? Now you pluck me out of class and ask me to break the rules?"

Gregory might have almost broken his teeth from how much force he used to press them against each other. He could barely get a sentence out from his clenched jaw. "Don't get smart with us kid–"

"Don't get smart? Am I not in school to learn? First you tell me to break rules, now you're telling me to ignore my teachers? The authorities must have things backwards. Do you know multiplication, did you learn to add and subtract?"

Gregory slammed his hand through a table while glaring at Vritra, who leaned forward, his sneer transformed into a serious expression. "Go on, Salmonela, make my day." Gregory rolled up his sleeve and glared at him.

Pressure pushed both Gregory and Vritra down to their seats, as a blinding flash-bang of the color green swallowed them both for instance. Vritra did not seem happy with the arrangement, glaring at the principal, and yet he didn't activate his ability – was he being serious, or just petty?

"Vritra, the longer you take to use your ability, the longer they will be here, and the more likely you are to get in trouble for defying the authorities." His smile was nauseatingly sweet, almost certainly fake.

Vritra's nose scrunched up, and the glare switched to Gregory. Almost as if he was spitting the words out, he spoke. "Wich. One."

Gregory froze, what did he say? Which one? He must mean which application of his ability. "The simplest one." said Gregory, with a sigh adjusting himself on the seat to be more comfortable. What an odd wording.

Vritra's eyes began to glow, and with a swipe of his hand the table was sent flying. Wind ruffled Gregory's hair and clothes.

A dense black aura with a red outline covered his vision. It was not blinding – well, it couldn't be considering the fact it was dark. It was odd, it flickered in different shades of red like a kaleidoscope. A multifaceted ability for sure.

"This has to be a joke," Gregory's eyes widened. This aura was not close to a low-tier. "Vaughn, did you lie to us about his level?!" It was denser than expected, and it felt… angry.

"I did no such thing," Vaughn assured, letting the desk fall next to his own with a splittering thud. "You've read their records yourself. What motive would I have to hide his level to begin with?"

"This man's level is Elite! Around the middle of the ranks!Between 3.8 and 4!" Gregory broke out in cold sweat. The only way this was possible was if the boy in front of him was utilizing some kind of booster to their ability. It should be impossible to increase your level this much in such a short period of time. As if to rub salt in his pride, Vritra's level was higher than Gregory's.

"Did you have fun? Can I go now?" Vritra looked at Vaughn instead of the two members of the authorities again. Vaughn nodded, Vritra stood up and began walking to the exit.

"Wait! What is your thought on Vigilantism?" Nadia found enough courage to scream out, she stood up to do it. Vritra stopped one step before the entrance, turned around and looked down at her.

"Don't waste more of my time with stupid questions, I don't care for idiots." Vritra opened the door, and began walking out. Gregory looked at Nadia, she nodded and Gregory sighed. At the very least he was speaking the truth. He slammed the door behind him with little regard for its frame. He was undeniably an issue that the school would have to steer into another path.

"That was odd, I was under the impression that Vritra's ability was draconic in nature." Vaughn's one sentence made Gregory's blood run cold. Was this one facet of his ability, or was Vaughn just exaggerating. "Or was that the other one? I always seem to get them confused." Gregory hoped that was the case. The implications of having more than one ability… then again, it could always be a more complex composite ability.

"Nadia, go tell the next student to come in," Gregory grabbed the file he'd been given. Azazel Wodime was next, he put his hand over his face – wasn't that illegal? A level 1.4 when he entered Wellston. A disgrace, for such a prestigious school to admit someone as subpar as a level 1.3 and 1.4 made Gregory's blood boil. When he was enrolling he remembered there were level requirements for schools of this kind. If you weren't at least a mid-tier you couldn't even get in, and even then the chances.

---

 

[Bob_EX]

---

Nadia opened the door and after a pause told the next student to come over.

Spoiler: Azazel after some 'Traits'

The door opened and Vritra came back in. Gregory thought he might be shorter, but it must have been the wind, or the distance, or something else.

"Huh? Get out, we already talked to you." He waved dismissively.

"Wai –" Nadia was interrupted by Gregory who raised his hand. As her subordinate she had to listen to what he said, and he didn't want to waste any more time on an interrogation if it meant getting thrown through the window by the headmaster of the school.

"Ok," His voice was different. Before it was deep and gravely, like a monster's almost. Now it was higher pitched, more normal for a high-school student.

"What a waste of time. Nadia, tell the next student to come over." As Gregory spoke, the door was shut closed by Vaughn.

"Now, now Azazel, you shouldn't mess with the authorities." He sounded almost happy.

"What now?" Gregory asked.

"That's what I was about to tell you, he was the only other student outside." Nadia looked at her clipboard, "He must be Azazel Wodime."

"..." Vritra… or Azazel rather, turned around and tiredly walked to the chair in the middle of the room, then kicked it to the side while staring at Vaughn, ignoring both Nadia and Gregory.

"Are you sure this isn't the same person?" Gregory asked, Vaughn nodded. They had the same hair, the same eye color, face shape, hair length and even a similar rebellious look… Though, now that he looked closer, the differences were plenty, they included height, posture.

The person in front of Gregory looked more battered and tired… but aside from that they were the exact same person… basically. "Twins?" Vaughn shook his head, "Brothers?" Vaughn shook his head again.

"..." He continued staring at the headmaster without saying anything. The malicious gleam in his eye made Gregory think he was thinking of ways of beating all three people in the room… but he couldn't prove it. He would glance at them, then stop, close his eyes, then glance back again as if he was simulating everything in his brain… It was unsettling.

"Would you sit please?" Nadia asked, feeling equally uncomfortable by his posture. It was on guard, and yet tired… like he'd just gotten out of a fight and was looking for another one… If Vritra looked perpetually angry and pestered, then Azazel looked like a tired military soldier.

"No."

"... Could I ask you why?" Nadia asked politely, but Gregory could see a bead of sweat fall from her forehead. She was speechless when Vritra was here, and yet she had enough confidence to speak back here. The difference in presence was clear.

"Only those on my level get to look down on me." Azazel's arrogance was that of an undisciplined, spoiled brat. Gregory could tell this would be a difficult one to interrogate.

"Where do you find these miscreants? The gutter?" The instant Gregory said that, he felt a chill go down his spine. When he turned his head he saw a chair, floating in front of his face with a flash of green. When had he thrown it? How had he thrown it without making a decibel of sound? Those were questions running through Gregory's mind.

"Azazel! That was a part of the authorities! If it had hit him he could have put you in corrective facilities!" Vaughn, despite sounding mad, let his face rest into a smile, Gregory couldn't tell if he was upset or not. Still, even with that warning, Azazel's stare remained one of rebellion, his eyes sharpened and his nose ever-so-slightly scrunched.

"Little mutts meddling about things they have no right sinking their teeth in are bound to break their canines." Gregory hated his kind the most. A late bloomer who read Shakespeare and would speak in elaborate sentences for no reason other than to say "I'm better than you".

"That's because I am." Azazel answered.

"Did I say that out loud?" Gregory looked to Nadia, who shrugged quizzically.

"No, but it was obvious what you were thinking from the expression on your dull-witted face." Azazel still refused to look at Gregory, he kept his eyes focused on Vaughn.

"How about we calm down," Vaughn used his ability to put the chair back in its place. "Azazel, if you wish to leave, then all you have to do is show them your ability. They will leave you alone after." Azazel's eyes trailed off to Nadia, then to Gregory, he looked at him up and down, then back to Vaughn.

"Did Vritra do it?" Vaughn nodded. "What did you see?"

"He blew back the desk with his wind ability." Vaughn answered, Azazel put a hand over his mouth as if to think things through – though, because Gregory had leaned back on his chair he could see through the gaps of his fingers that he was sneering.

"Very well," he took the hand off his face, showing a composed expression before extending his hand. There were a few seconds of nothing happening – that was what most would see. Instead, Gregory saw a burst of Crimson smoke with black edges. His ability was some form of enhancement? What did it do? What was he showing him? It was like a thick malice stuck to his skin.

"What does your ability do?" Gregory asked, he wasn't going to make the same mistake as before. With Vritra he was too shocked to ask much of anything.

"That is none of your concern. You asked me to use it, not to explain it to you. Don't push my boundaries. You must be the catastrophic result of the love life between a half-melted troll doll and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol."

"Half-melted – what?" Gregory didn't know what it meant, and maybe that made it feel worse. He felt like he had insulted more than just his appearance with that statement, but he couldn't prove it.

"I thought I was here to show you my ability, not to make a power-point presentation on your several inadequacies. But if we're going there, your professionality leaves much to be desired, and for someone whose ability is reading power, you aren't quite aware of your surroundings." Azazel Wodime had an interesting secondary ability, and it had to be to provoke ire. Vritra's imposing presence made him shake in insecurity – whether he could beat him or not – Azazel's made him shake in aggravation.

"... Oh yea…mind elaborating for me?" Getting those words through his teeth was difficult. Gregory held on to a pen in his pocket, and could hear the plastic crack as he exerted more and more force on it the longer he looked at Azazel's arrogant crimson eyes.

"Wretches such as yourself should know to hold your tongue in the presence of their betters. Typically I'd say you're not worth the dirt I walk on, but I am unsure if I can even say that to someone of your stature. Perhaps maggots below that dirt should be treated better, after all they aren't curs wasting my time with little tests. Even those ill begotten insects only rise when a carcass hits the earth. That is why you should remain quiet, lower your tone, and keep your head down, for people like you will never even look at the summit."

The pen in Gregory's pants snapped in half. He could feel his eyebrow twitching, and yet he didn't dare to fight him – Gregory could tell, he was of a higher level. 'Does this brat think he's better than me?'

"I know I am better than you, Gregory." Once again, he'd predicted what he was thinking, "Useless things like yourself should know that. It's engraved in your bones, that is why you do not fight back." Azazel leaned forward, keeping himself above Gregory while both his hands slammed on the armrests of the chair he was on. "Are you done, or will you keep wasting my time? My precious time."

"Before you leave…" Nadia voiced, she was met with a death-glare immediately, and her breath was caught. There was something odd about this kid. His arrogance was real most definitely, but it felt as though he was instigating them, waiting for them to swing first.

"What do you think of vigilantes?" Gregory continued Nadia's question, since she was clearly intimidated into silence.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue. This brat was blinded by anger the instant he entered the room. He almost hurt the authorities, and when he noticed it'd get him nowhere to swing first, he instigated them instead… that way he could claim he only fought back. What a rotten kid. "Wasting my time with trivial questions. Why should I care for Vigilantism? What do I gain from it? When has helping others ever helped one-self?" Azazel got up, then turned around, walking away with both hands in his pockets.

"..." Nadia wanted to ask something, it was clear from her body language, but she stayed quiet, too scared to get a chair to the head most likely.

"No. After all, helping others only brings misery." He shut the door behind him, and immediately, they heard screams come from the corridor. Gregory opened the door and saw students crushed against the walls, knocked out and bleeding, with Azazel nowhere to be seen.

"... Seriously, where do you find these rapscalians?" He turned around and looked at Vaughn, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, if that is all I hope you leave. I am expecting a good friend of mine so we can play chess, you see? He's hoping today'll be the day he beats me… I think I'll let him capture a few pawns before my checkmate."

'This whole school is bonkers.' Gregory couldn't help but think.

"Oh most definitely." Vaughn answered, making Gregory close his mouth to stare him in the face.

"You should steer away from Poker if I were you Gregory, your face is so very easy to read."

---

 

[Bob_EX]

​

---

It had been four days since Arlo took down Azazel and Vritra, Elaine still had to work overtime because of those two. Rushing through corridor after corridor, acting as a war-medic to heal all these people who she barely knew. The doc barely had time to sleep, and if she stopped the amount of victims would simply pile up, and she would find a mountain of e-mails, letters, and possibly fax somehow at her door begging her to come back and help him.

She cursed herself for showing him she could help out. It was meant to be a small group of elites taken out through deceptive tactics, then it turned into twenty low-tiers who didn't respect the hierarchy, and now it was more injured than a war.

She'd gotten so used to checking pulses, and corneas, she had to stop herself from lunging her delicate fingers into someone's eye during a greeting. It gnawed at her during after-school as well, not letting her go shopping, or coffee shops. It loomed over her like a sadistic ghost, telling her there was one more person she had to help today.

The night before, her mother called to ask how school was, and when she said tiring, her mother insisted in giving her a sermon that slacking off was unacceptable.

But today would be her last day, it didn't matter what tactic the Doc used to get her on his side today! She would announce to him that she was out of time for studies, and had to leave all the healing to him.

She stood behind the door of the infirmary, with lines of injured people being carried, or walking in make-shift crutches to ask for help. Their eyes lit up to her appearance, it almost made her heart feel heavy. But she'd steeled herself for this moment. So she opened the door.

She wasn't sure what she expected on the other side. Maybe messy papers everywhere, a panicking Doc scrounging for chemicals to heal the children. Patients everywhere, almost piled. Last time she was there, the beds were gone and patients were on futons, laid down on parallel.

Doc, shaved, shining, almost sat down on his chair, with one leg on top of his knee, with a stethoscope as he looked at an adult in the room with him. It was a tall woman with Aqua blue hair. She nodded while sitting down in front of him as Doc let one of the kids into the room. He looked far more handsome than normal, as if he was trying hard to keep his face in one particular shape. This had to be some kind of dream, or illusion, or an ability at play.

Spoiler: The 'New' Doc

"Oh Elaine, you didn't tell me you were acting as an apprentice to this brilliant doctor." The woman with aqua blue hair turned around, it wasn't an illusion, or a dream… that was her mother inside the infirmary.

"Oh yes, she's been so incredibly helpful these past few days. Volunteering to help the students that get hurt oh so often. I think it's great for her experience, and for her future."

"You don't say! I thought you were slacking off when we talked on the phone yesterday, but you were just helping the staff. Why didn't you tell me?"

"N-no, wait –" Elaine was cut off immediately.

"I hope you don't mind me keeping her from class here and there, I'll make sure she keeps up by having other students bring her notes, and helping her with homework." Doc bandaged a student and sealed her fate simultaneously, all while staring at her with a smile that could only belong to the devil himself, the incarnation of evil, the lord of slave labour.

Spoiler: The 'Smile'

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Good luck Elaine, I'll be back home, text me if you need anything! And don't slack off! You have a wonderful superior!" Elaine's mother left like a hurricane, and Elaine was left there, mouth agape.

Doc put a stethoscope, and a first aid kit in her hands.

"Welcome to the team, my young apprentice!"

"NOOOOOO!" Elaine was trapped, like a mouse in a cage. She felt less royal, and more like a servant. Running back and forth in the infirmary to grab him things, bandage people, use her ability to heal them.

Once the first round of injuries was over, she sat down on her little stool with no backrest, or armrest and stared at her worst enemy in the eyes. She very rarely hoped something bad would happen to others, but in that instance, if the Doc could suddenly collapse so she could slack off, it would be a gift from heaven.

Three knocks on the door told her god was dead, and she worked for the devil. She put her forehead against both her hands and wondered, why had she let it come to this?

Spoiler: There is nothing we can do

Then the door opened ajar, and she saw her second mortal enemy be dragged in. With bruises, cuts, and a bone puncturing through his arm. Crimson eyes, out of it and staring at the ceiling as a hoard of low-tiers preciously put him on a bed. Black hair, soaked in blood, and a tall posture that didn't fit the bed in the infirmary. Her worst nightmare, the maker of her hell. The demon torturer of purgatory.

"Azazel" She whispered with venom. The doc looked at him, closed his eyes and took a sigh.

"That one's all yours!" Doc shoved the bed on wheels her way, and opened the door for another patient. He'd given up on Azazel entirely. He'd been in the infirmary every single day since he lost to Arlo. So for three days, four with today – and sometimes twice a day. He was the most frequent visitor. An unrelenting idiot.

She grabbed his arm and set the bone in place, then used her ability on him. She could only really heal most surface wounds, any deeper and she would exhaust herself… Besides, it served him right for constantly getting himself in this position. If she didn't know any better she'd think that he was trying to reinforce his skeleton by breaking it, then healing it repeatedly.

She shoved him to the back of the room in case elites came by. If they did, all they would do would be an attempted assasination. That would cause ruckus, and ruckus means Elaine has to break up fights, and yelling matches… This must be why all doctors go to heaven, or at the least don't care if they don't. They're already used to hell. The door was banged on, and Elaine's attention shifted to it. That was a violent way of asking to come in.

"Great, an asshole… come in!" Before she could take a seat, the doctor told the next person to come in. "What is it?"

A loud crash followed by a blur that went past Elaine and the Doc made her eyes Widen. Something crashed through the door, breaking it down and leaving only a hole in return as a person tumbled back into a resting position. From the smoke, a tall imposing figure walked in… Her second worst enemy's twin – Vritra.

"You're kidding me! Vritra! You know the rules of this place!" The doc yelled out, and before he could activate his ability, Vritra used both of his feet, while half of his body was covered in scales, and drop-kicked her into the wall next-door, interrupting the chess-club's activities.

"..." Elaine took a deep breath of despair as yelling and wailing drowned out her sanity, with motes of collective rainbow hair making their escape from Vritra who grew taller as numerous lacerations on his back, chest and arms healed themselves.

"That's for Ventus!" The blur that had crashed through two walls stood up with a broken arm. Her burgundy mop of hair, now a mess with its tips scorched – not from fire, just the friction of her face being dragged through the floor mind you – made itself visible.

"So… Arlo sent you to finish the Job." Slowly cracking his neck, green scales began to slowly creep across face before receding, his eyes flashing gold but just as quickly returning to their usual red.

Elaine sighed, bandaging another patient… What Vritra just said was unlikely to say the least. Arlo had his hands full dealing with the numerous rebellions on campus. Even Zeke was helping, and he barely ever does anything productive.

With a stomp of his foot, ice began trailing behind Vritra's form. Wind lashed through the infirmary, knocking bandages, stools and some patients alike into disarray. Meili's knees buckled as the gust lifted her off her greet, dragging her across the floor tiles.

Vritra's eyes glinted as he crouched, letting the storm settle briefly, then surge again around Meili's head. Each breath he took seemed to pull more of hers away. His scales began to spread further across his arms and chest, red and black crawling up his neck and face, faint embers of flame escaping through his nose.

"You really think you alone can challenge me?" Vritra's voice was low and questioning as he looked at the girl gasping for air she could not get. Ice gathered around his finger tip creating a sharp nail that he trailed across her cheek. "Why do you all keep testing me? Why do you make me do this?"

With no warning, the giant slammed his fist down at the girl's head, before beginning to yell. "WHY DO YOU KEEP TRYING TO TAKE WHAT IS MINE!?" He all but roared, picking the girl up by the throat and throwing her across the room. The effect of his wind dissipating, along with the large inhale from Meili. "Arlo, Isen, BLYKE! CREIG! ABEL! YOU! FUCKING VENTUS!" With every name, he took a step, until he stood in front of the gasping girl. The large man held his head as he roared. "FIRST YOU TAKE JIN! YOU TRY TO TAKE ROLLAND FROM ME! THEN YOU TRY TO TAKE AZAZEL!?"

Vritra's size surged as he began kicking and stomping Meili down, Ice encasing and shattering in quick successions. Wind lacerating the girl, as she could do nothing but sit there and curl up in a sad attempt at protecting herself. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO ATTACK ME! HUH!? WHY DID YOU TRY TO DO THIS BULLSHIT! WHY DO ALL OF YOU MAKE ME HURT YOU!?"

Vritra raised his fist, then waited for a second. Elaine wondered what he was waiting for – but hoped someone would step in to stop him. She turned around, and there was no one to do so. The Doc was too busy helping people out of the rubble. Elaine wasn't going to risk it either.

Something brushed against her, and the shadow of a barely alive Azazel appeared next to Vritra, putting his left hand on his forearm. His right arm was inside his pocket, despite not bleeding, or having anything outwardly wrong with him, Azazel still had several broken bones and moving should be agonizing. He tapped Vritra's forearm twice again, then used his hand to put his index finger on his lips.

Vritra stopped and lowered his own arm as Meili's arms fell next to her with her face down. She collapsed from blood loss. Elaine moved quickly and recovered her body from the ground. She was cold to the touch, and had several lacerations and cuts all over her body. It wasn't life endangering with her around, but if there were no capable medics in the school… Elaine doubted she could make it.

Simultaneously, Vritra helped Azazel get back to his bed. That's when Elaine realized she hadn't heard him move. She knew he did, because he brushed against her, but to move without making a sound… it sent a chill down her spine.

Elaine went back to healing people. She spent the entire day healing people as a matter of fact. Until sun-down. She was tired, exhausted, and out of aura or energy. When she got home, she would love nothing but to collapse.

If she was thankful for something, it would be the grateful low-tiers that offered her their homework for helping them out first. As a capitalist-blooded medic, Elaine took their prioritization in stride. Vritra didn't leave Azazel's side during the after-math of his fight. The Doc was so mad, he made Vritra apologize with his head down, and it was such a rare sight, she doubted she'd ever see it again. A positive of Vritra being there would have to be how quiet the infirmary was afterward.

"Welp, I'll wrap up here. Finish up with your last patient, then go home!" Doc grabbed a couple of papers and a pen-drive, then disappeared home. He moved faster than a lot of Elite tiers with speed-based abilities. A blue-blured speedster. Elaine on the other hand, turned her head at her last patient.

Azazel Wodime. With more injuries than any single person in the infirmary, healing all at once was practically impossible. It made the fact he stood up to stop Vritra all the more impressive… Even more impressive than that was him – she looked at the taller twin – he was able to survive several stab-wounds to the chest, and seemed to heal extremely fast.

As if he'd noticed her staring, Vritra turned his head at her.

"No one left." If anyone else said it, Elaine would have taken that statement as, 'there's no one else in the room'. But because Vritra is the one who said it, it felt more like 'You're next' and she tensed up thinking about it.

The Giant put one arm forward, positioning it to the middle of Azazel's chest. Closing his eyes, Elaine saw him take a deep breath before relaxing into his seat, his aura now visible and glowing a bright gold. A pillar of white gold light slammed onto Azazel.

Elaine was blinded at first, she rushed to Azazel's side and examined him. His ribs, his femur, his fore-arm and fingers. His entire body had been healed in one fell swoop. It wasn't an attack, but rather, another one of his ever-growing sub-abilities. Most people would most likely feel terrified of Vritra, an amalgamation of abilities and ever-growing potential. Instead, all Elaine could feel was rage. Her head slowly turned toward Vritra as her eyes stared at him with barely any light or color. The eyes of a soulless woman, the eyes of your average customer service provider.

Spoiler: No one will believe you

"You could heal this whole time?"

"You can go and tell someone, but no one will believe you." That giant bastard had the gall to put a finger in front of his mouth.

"IT'S NOT FAIR! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HIM! NOT ME! HIM!" She fell to her knees and slammed her fists against the ground as tears rolled down her cheek. How many hours did she spend healing people, and this tall draconic asshole could have done it this whole time with more efficiency. The world was unfair, she wanted a refund! Couldn't she have had a defensive ability instead? The ability to conjure clothing, or cloth, or smoothies! Anything but healing! ANYTHING BUT HEALING!

---

Spoiler: Author's Note

So, Megumon decided to grace this Site with his precense. I was supposed to post this chapter tommorow, but I got a test. So here ya go.

 

[Bob_EX]

---

The school was in chaos. Despite Arlo's attempts to quell all forms of rebellion, the embers were lit, and the fire would re-ignite at every minor event which might spark any conflict. Azazel's insistence in fighting, and defeating Arlo was one of the main motivators to keep going. A low-tier helplessly throwing himself against the King of Wellston to prove he is someone is the narrative they were going with. Evie knew different. Azazel was a broken person whose ego couldn't allow him to lose.

Vritra was in a similar position. Someone who would fight back against any person regardless of their level or ability. His inability to control himself led to bloody elites and mid-tiers being sent to the infirmary. And those injuries, and fights motivated and stoked the ambers, keeping them hot inside a cooling oven.

In the end, all this movement did was inconvenience life for the quiet low-tiers that did nothing like her. Just the day before, she was shoved down the stairs for merely knowing Azazel and Vritra. She wished they could let their egos go and just admit defeat. She liked the florist a lot, but after so many visits, the florist began liking her a lot more than the other way around, and Evie was running out of money for 'get well soon' flowers and cards.

It was especially difficult for Evie considering she liked the high-tiers. They were the coolest people in Wellston… or so she thought. They were really weird about the system. Especially Arlo. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place where she didn't know for who to cheer for. She did think the low-tiers deserved to get better treatment, but sneaking up on Elite tiers, and hitting them until they couldn't move – a lot of times injuring several low-tiers in the process seemed only counter-productive. Their goal was to make the higher tiers understand what they went through, but all it did was fuel resentment.

She walked with a bag with a 'get well soon' card and several flowers. Inside the bag there was also a 'thank you for your patronage' card from the flower shop. After spending five days buying up almost her entire stock, Evie feared having to get a second part-time job.

She opened the door to the infirmary, it was as messy as the day before. Elaine – who was now proudly resentfully wearing a lab-coat and eyebags, waved her arms around, giving people directions depending on their level of injury. They would go to the right (light to medium risk injuries) or left (high or severe risk injuries) and they would get treatment befitting their case, and as fast as she could work. She had overworked her ability for so long, she could now heal from a distance, and more than one person at once. Though it seemed to have her relapse on caffeine every time she did it. The doc moved so fast whipping up chemical potions it almost looked as though he had four arms.

At the very end of the room lied the cause for this whole mess. Evie moved through the debris, and ignored the giant hole in the wall to her left, and saw Azazel, with both his arms in casts, chained to the bed, with a gag, eye-cover and an IV injection on his right arm. There were chains around the bed, keeping him in place, with a [Do not help] sign to keep others from helping him out. His fight with Arlo happened at five in the morning, he apparently snuck up on him, and attempted to punch him stealthily. Unfortunately for him, Arlo's passive ability made him incredibly tough to do damage – though there were rumors that he made Arlo bleed from the head – and the fight ended by Arlo shrinking his barrier around him until his arms broke.

"When are you going to give up?" Evie sighed while putting the flowers and card on the small – and yet torn in half – wooden night-stand next to the bed. Although all she heard were mumbles, she faintly understood he said the words [NEVER!]... which is probably what he said.

She left the card and flowers, then left. She ignored Vritra, who was sitting down on the chair of the room beside the infirmary – which they had a grand view of because of the hole in the wall. He stared up at the sky with his limp arms next to him, as he waited for something to happen.

Evie sighed, ignored them and grabbed her phone. She quickly typed and asked Roland and Terry if they wanted to watch a movie in the cinema.

R: [Sure, what movie are you thinking of?]

T: [Sorry, I'm busy with the newspaper club]

E: [Damn, they're working you guys to the bone]

T: [It's mostly high-tier propaganda though. Cecile doesn't want the Royals to look bad]

R: [Well, not exactly hard to see why.]

E: [Uuuu, enough talking about school stuff. Let's watch, 'Mansion of Slaughter 30']

R: [Evie… that's a horror movie. I'm not watching a horror movie with you.]

E: [Why not?]

R: [Last time you jump-scared me and the rest of the cinema with your costume. It's why you're banned from the nearest Cinema remember?]

E: [Booooo!]

R: [Let's watch 'Hurry Time 2' . I heard the sequel is good.]

E: [Comedies are boring though]

R: [It's an action comedy]

E: [Fine, whatever. I'll invite some other guys from my part-time job]

R: [Hell no. They're annoying at best and obnoxious at worst, they also can't keep quiet during the movie.]

T: [Guys, move this to DMs, you're blowing up my notifications and I'm mid paper review for the newspaper]

Evie went to DMs and gave him a time before thinking of who to invite. She went to the Wellston group chat and scrolled through her different contacts.

{Jessie (El)}, {Seraphina (God)}, {Isen (El)}, {Remi (Hi)}, {Roland ()}​

"Ugh…" She looked for more contacts, but none of them seemed on the friendliest terms to really contact at the moment. They were either too high tier to ask to a movie night, or in a rebellious group against the system. Just then, her phone notification blew up. She checked to see who had sent her a message.

Elaine : [I heard from Roland that you're having a cinema outing. I'm in. I don't care who is in, just get me out of this school]

Evie nervously smiled, well that was better than nothing. She gave her the time and address. She wasn't expecting Roland to reach out… He was a lot more direct than she gave him credit for.

Isen (El): [Yo, can I get in on this cinema outing?]

Evie's first instinct was to say no. Isen was part of the newspaper club, and despite having a good reputation over-all he did seem like the kind to prod and ask questions that could make the cinema experience go down-hill. At the same time, so far the only people there would be Roland, Evie and Elaine, and it'd be awkward for Roland to be the only guy in the cinema.

Isen (El): [I'll bring Blyke and Remi along if that's fine with you]

E (૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა): Here's the address and time.

Evie couldn't contain herself. Blyke and Remi were incredibly popular, even with lower tiers. Despite being high-tiers they went out of their way to help out, especially recently, so even if there were a few high-tiers it should be ok for Roland and Evie if they tagged along

---

If you guys have any questions or curious about anything, do comment. It fuels Megumon and I.

 

[Bob_EX]

---

Remi walked out of her classroom with bags under her eyes. She was on the front lines of Wellston, electrocuting the low tiers and elite tiers that chose to fight amongst one another. She was the greatest defender of peace of the school because she could incapacitate people with a touch, but even still, she tirelessly had to roam the hallways, fight, then go home, and sometimes get a call of someone getting ambushed by low-tiers, get up and go help. It was a never-ending cycle of abuse.

The low tiers got angry that they were treated poorly, rightfully so, so they would group up, wait for a middle tier or an elite tier to walk past, and then they would ambush them, and beat them up. Most times it was an Elite tier that had bullied them, but more often than not it was a random uninvolved Elite tier.

They had gotten to the point in the fighting – in just six days mind you – that their message was getting blurred with vendetta. The line between violence with a sympathetic cause, and violence with an excuse attached was being blurred. The innocent Elite tiers that never interacted with low-tiers were being targeted because they did nothing to help, and some Elite tiers that had just transferred into the school had also been targeted.

Remi wondered what Arlo was going to do about it. This wasn't the first time he had to handle a situation like this. It was before Blyke, Isen and her joined the school, but she heard it was hell on earth. That first time was when the previous king, Remi's brother, stepped down and gave Arlo the mantle. Dazed and lethargic, she walked through the hallway with her notebooks barely held in her hands, dangling on the sides of her body like rope on a tire swing.

"Remi!" Her name was called on by a boy. She sighed and rushed through the hallway to find a group of low-tiers wielding pipes and sticks beating Ventus, who would use his ability to push them and cut them with his wind, but the sheer number of people would pile up and keep him in check. Remi dashed to his location, then used her electricity to form an arch that tased everyone around her. All around her, the students fell like piles of potatoes. She was huffing and heavily breathing.

"Who called me?" She asked, turning her head. It hadn't been Ventus. She saw a blob of indigo hair walking away from the scene. Her eyelids felt very heavy, she hadn't stopped fighting people for five days, and at night – her only time of rest, she couldn't stop thinking about the helplessness in Azazel's eyes as he collapsed. The name he called out, David, wasn't in the school – there was no David here, which meant this was someone from before Azazel transferred into Wellston.

Remi took three steps forward, then she found something crashing against the wall. Crimson eyes met her Orange eyes, and his messy black hair flowed about. He stepped out of the crater he was sent through. Who could be strong enough to send Azazel flying? It must have been some kind of AOE ability. Remi turned her head and saw…Indigo hair and golden eyes. Skrev? Azazel was getting beaten by a level 2.4? There was no way that was true!

"This is it? I thought you'd be stronger! That was for Crail, you sorry excuse for a person." Skrev's ability was to enhance his kick. Azazel's face morphed into the truest representation of hatred. His face converged as his eyes knitted, his teeth clenched together and his eyes contracted.

"Out of my way. I'm searching for Arlo." Azazel pushed the debris aside and walked toward Skrev. Even if he defeated this mid-tier, he seemed to have a broken leg, and beating Arlo in that state would be impossible.

"Ha! You've lost more times than most people can remember, what makes you think this time will be different?" Skrev leaped into the air and thrusted his foot. Oh, Azazel was simply baiting him, that's in character. Remi thought, but then she looked at Azazel – she looked closer. Bigger bags under his eyes than ever, a paler complexion than normal. Now that she thought about it, he probably hasn't slept. For five days, he's been up, the moment he recovers he immediately rushes to Arlo. His only moments of rest is when he's knocked out or forcibly in the infirmary. How was he even moving anymore?

A sickening crunch took Remi out of her thoughts as Azazel's chest cracked inward. He was sent flying, bending the steel door of the locker.

Azazel Wodime, losing to Skrev? She must be going insane. Remi stepped forward to stop the match, but before she could, something sped past her and crashed into the ground right in front of her feet.

"Move, and I'll kill you." Azazel got up from the locker that was crushed and compacted like it'd been put in a compactor truck. Blood was pooling all over the hallway. The stab wounds from his ribs – which were poking out of his body like a sickening boogeyman monster. Even Skrev had to take a step back from the sight. What kind of body did he have, which allowed for this amount of pain endurance. "Get out of the way before I break every rib in your body." Every time he moved, blood poured out of his ribs.

"Dude… it can't be that serious… just admit defeat and go to the infirmary." Skrev's face went pale, and not a single person in that hallway took a step toward Azazel to help him. Remi took her first step, but before she could, Azazel thrusted his fist on Skrev's chest, right before hitting him – he had somehow misjudged its distance. His blood-loss had to have affected his depth-perception –

A blur of indigo sped past the hallway. It crashed against the wall of a classroom, and went beyond it, sending a body flying out of the school. Through two walls. Skrev was lucky that this was the first floor, otherwise he could have died.

Cyan lines across Azazel's body told her this was somehow part of his ability – how that was a possibility, she didn't know, unless he had more than one. His gaze turned to her, and in gasps, his words made Remi pity him all the more.

"Don't you dare pity me! I won't ever lose." He'd completely shut off his mind to his defeat against Arlo, all of his defeats. Remi grabbed her phone, and asked Elaine to come to her hallways. "I don't lose." He turned his body and began walking through the hallway, dropping pools of blood. "Faster, I have to get there… faster…ᵂᵃᶦᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ᵐᵉ, ᴰᵃᵛᶦᵈ" Remi rushed past him and saw him staring into the distance. His eyes were dilated, he was barely taking steps. It was more akin to sleep-walking than anything.

"You again." Arlo's voice caught Remi by surprise. The Cyan lines around Azazel's arm spread across his body, and he leapt toward Arlo in hopes to defeat him – unfortunately for him, Arlo's flat barrier caught the fist, and broke the little intact bones Azazel still had left, and had him collapse unconscious on the ground –

"ARLO!" Remi yelled, rushing to Azazel's unconscious body.

"Don't freak out, the Doc proved his organs are more resilient than the average, and he has five times the amount of blood. He's not going to die from that." She heard footsteps in the distance and turned around. A tired Elaine was running as fast as she could toward them.

"Still!" Remi positioned herself in front of Arlo to prevent him from doing anything to him. "You didn't have to do that! You could have just trapped him, you used a flat wall on purpose so he'd break more bones!"

"I don't know what you think you know about him, but he hits a lot harder than a low-tier should be able to hit. It's almost like his ability isn't that fog at all. When he hit my barrier back then, it almost cracked." Arlo turned around, "be careful with your kindness Remi, it's only hurting you right now." Arlo was also tired from all the fighting, but he didn't have to do much, his passive made him invulnerable to most damage already.

"You're a jerk!" Remi called out as Elaine finally arrived.

"Ugh! Not you again! This is the third time today!" Elaine yelled, she dropped to her knees and used her ability. The ribs began to retract into his body. "Alright, I fixed the worst part of the problem, but he's still internally bleeding, and his ribs are cracked but not broken. We need to get him to the infirmary ASAP! And we need better locks, and restraints! Ugh! How'd he lockpick when his hands were tied?!" Elaine's rant about security lasted until they reached the infirmary. "Doc splash him with your experimental chemical – the one that makes you itchy after, then bind him with every form of restraint you've got."

"You've learned well, young P." Doc had the medicine ready. Remi got to see a side of Elaine she hadn't seen yet. "Also good luck, because now Remi and I have to leave. You'll have to take care of things here, by YOURSELF for a whole DAY"

"Yeah… sure, have fun" The Doc said… except, he didn't look quite as happy as he probably meant it to sound. His three day stubble was messier than ever, his eyes were bloodshot, and Remi had a feeling that if she put her head against his chest, she'd hear a carnival in his heart. If she cut his wrist, she'd see coffee.

​

Spoiler: The Doctor

Elaine took a step outside the Infirmary, and immediately took her lab-coat off, and tossed it away.

"FREEDOM!" She yelled, clenching both fists. An injured Low-tier approached her, but she put her hand out and said. "NOT TODAY BOZO! IN THE INFIRMARY!" She yelled with all the energy in the world. "I'M OFF MY SHIFT! WOOOOOO!"

Now that Remi thought about it, she hadn't seen Elaine in class much these days. Was she stuck in the infirmary during class? She was working harder than even her.

"Remember to return as soon as possible!" The doctor yelled from the other side of the door.

"Run before he changes his mind! Run! I SAID RUN WOMAN, RUN!" She was sprinting like her life depended on it. Remi ran after her, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, as she did, she stumbled across a weird scene in the entrance of the school.

Evie being grabbed by Vritra – it looked like your average romance manga, Remi could almost see flowers around both of them. 'I'll never leave you' she heard Vritra say in her mind – she was definitely hallucinating. The lack of sleep was getting to her. She turned her ears on, and finally heard what was actually happening.

"Where are you going." Vritra asked, his voice sounded… normal? Must be the hallucinations again.

"I'm going to the Cinema with Roland and some other friends," Evie pulled her arm from Vritra, "You should get some sleep, but if you want to, you can come with." She offered. Remi would typically be fine with him joining, but this day… not this day. She wanted a day away from Vritra and Azazel, and their crazy antics – as well as a day away from school. If Vritra was anywhere near Blyke and Isen, a fight would surely break out. In other words, Remi begged whatever god existed so he wouldn't accept her invitation.

Vritra's eyes softened at the offer, sending a grateful smile towards Evie. "I would love to hang out with you and Roland, and I am sure your friends would be a joy to be around. But I can't, with Azazel the way he is right now, I need to go heal him, and someone needs to make sure that the Low-Tiers are safe."

Remi continued running to the exit of the school. If Vritra saw her alongside Evie, he would most likely break down into a ball of rage and scales, and fire. The Royals and him weren't on the best of terms at the moment, and he was acting as a herald for the low-tier movement… which meant direct conflict would only worsen the current situation.

**23**​

"Took you long enough to get here," Roland's audacity knew no bounds. Ever since he began hanging out with Azazel, his ego shot through the roof. At least that's what Evie thought. Contacting the Royals without a care in the world, complaining to them that they arrived late… he was going insane. He was standing there, with a coke in his hands, doing way too much.

He was wearing a brand hoodie, a matching outfit, and had a flip-phone out. He had his back straight, and a small smile on his face as he looked at the Royals.

Spoiler: The New Rolland

"That voice… it was you!" Remi, the Queen of Wellston pointed at Roland, "You're the one who called me to help Ventus."

"... Nah." Roland grabbed his flip-phone, "must've been someone else," he lied blatantly as he pressed buttons on his flip-phone before taking with both hands, crushing it, then pouring the remainder of his cola on it.

"What was that?" Remi asked, staring at the phone he was throwing in the bin.

"I bought several stocks on an offshore account, but since I'm too young to have a bank account I had an intermediary do it for me. Tricks a friend taught me." Evie had the feeling that friend was Azazel.

"You….." Someone dragged their voice to a hitch. When Evie turned her head, she saw red pass her face. She had been pulled back by Roland the last possible second. "Another ambush? Is this what you low tiers do now? Ambushing people outside of school?" It was the Jack of Wellston, Blyke, with a glare so intense it almost made Evie pee a little out of fear. Isen was there, but he took a step back to watch it all unfold… like a starved journalist. He looked the most tired out of everyone, somehow.

"Hey Dickbag!"

"Blyke!"

Roland, and Remi looked at each other after speaking simultaneously. He took a step back and raised his hands, telling Remi to go ahead. Elaine took charge however.

"Blyke if you ruin this vacation for me I will dislocate every bone in your body, then stab every artery in your body with thin hot needles. Do you understand me? I will spike your drinks, and make sure every single bathroom visit is painful. I'll make it so your shampoo makes you go bald, and has the top of your head itch and burn." Elaine grabbed Blyke by the collar of his shirt. "I will rain down Asclepius' hell on you, and make sure you feel the heat of Tartarus. Understood?"

Blyke slapped her hand away, "Are you joking? What else would they be here for?"

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be…" Elaine chuckled in a menacing, and scary way, "I wouldn't buy popcorn if I were you Blyke… you've just made a horrible enemy out of me…"

Spoiler: Never fuck with the White Mage

"Uhhh, you're giving me the creeps. What's going on with her?" Blyke turned to Remi, who was shaking her head.

"You started it, don't look at me." Remi put her hands on Blyke's shoulders, both of them. "We're here to get away from school drama. Away from school drama. AWAY from school drama."

"You repeated that three times…" Blyke sighed tiredly.

"They're the ones who invited us." Isen said he took two steps forward, then tripped, face first to the stone floor.

"Don't mind him," Remi whispered, "Blyke's just had it rough since he's a popular target." Evie understood, of course the lowest ranked Royal – aside from the medic that was helping both sides – would be targeted, it was natural. A lot of the lower tiers were most likely simply looking to gain the Jack title, and were using the rebellion as an excuse.

"It's fine… shouldn't we grab Isen off the floor? Is he sleeping right now?" Evie asked, pointing at the ground, where she heard snoring from.

"Arlo and Cecile had him do a background check for every person involved in the rebellion on both sides, then make reports on each person…so he's a little tired." Evie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Of course, they needed someone high tier they could trust for gathering info, it'd be dangerous if some of it leaked and others began using it to target the rebellion starters by going to their houses, or neighbourhoods.

"Hey, wake up! This was your idea!" Isen was kicked by Blyke so he'd wake up. He pushed his body off the ground and nodded.

"It was Evie's idea actually." Roland stopped everyone, "and I was the one who contacted the staff to pressure your bosses to let you come and take the vacation, so thank us," Roland put his hands in his pockets. Evie wondered how they all managed to skip school, how did he even convince the staff?

Before Evie could ask, Elaine was kneeling with her head down.

Spoiler: Them

"I praise you with all my heart," she put her second knee on the ground and interlocked her fingers while looking up at Roland. "You're a great angel brought from above to save me from the clutches of the devil." She was crying… what was the Doc doing to her?

Isen had both knees on the ground and was bowing up and down.

"Praise him!" He repeated in a monotone voice, with his eyes closed. "Praise. The herald of rest, vacations, and priest of sleep."

"Seriously," Remi said with a smile on her face, "Thanks. I think I was going to go insane." She said, Roland hummed, then nodded, pushing her hand away slowly. Who knew Roland was moving like that.

"We're going to miss the movie if you guys keep acting like weirdos." Roland said, looking at his watch. Was that a Bolex watch? How rich had he gotten in the few months he was with Azazel?

Blyke put his hand on Roland's shoulder. "You ain't low-tier." He shed a tear. "I'm sorry for how I acted. I'm just… exhausted."

"I wouldn't know. I try not to get into trouble. Then again, you guys don't have that option." He turned around and walked into the cinema, leaving Evie there, mouth agape. He was talking to the royals like they were chummy friends from kindergarten.

"Thanks Evie, you're the one who had the idea first, Roland told us you wanted to ask us, but were too shy." Evie blinked, that was just not true, did Roland lie to make her look better? Evie blushed and scratched the back of her head, she wasn't even sure what to say.

"W-we should probably get to the cinema." Seeing the Royals out of the uniform was amazing. They all had great senses of style.

After buying Popcorn – invited by Roland, who was somehow swimming in cash now (he refused to buy her snacks all the time just a few months ago), sat down in some great seats and then the movie started. They went out of their way to change the movie they had gone to watch. It was a full trilogy re-run of the Liege of the Jewellery. It was going to be a long nine hour watch.

During one of the slower parts of the movie, Evie looked to the side and she saw Isen, Remi and Elaine all snoring, sleeping as the movie went on. Is that why they asked to watch the longest movie they were offering in the cinema? They looked so at peace that they looked like angels sleeping. The only person awake during the movie was Blyke, who seemed incredibly immersed in world-building.

When the movie finished, Remi, Isen and Elaine all stood up and began clapping like maniacs.

"WOOOOOOOO! BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME! THE GREATEST! THE. GREATEST! THE. GREATEST!" The three chanted as they clapped. The whole cinema began clapping as well, but eventually they began to leave, which left the two Royals, plus Isen, clapping like maniacs. Evie nervously chuckled.

"I'm heading to the toilet. I'll be right back, please wait for me." Evie stood up and left. When she got out of the female toilet, Isen was outside, waiting for her. She knew something like this would happen. The bags under his eyes had receded, probably thanks to the almost nine hours of sleep he had gotten.

"What do you know of Vritra and Azazel? You seem close to both of them." Isen asked, grabbing pen and paper. Evie nervously dried her hands on her skirt, then stared at him tiredly.

"Were you waiting outside this whole time?" She asked with a blush, "That's really weird." she whispered. Was Roland rubbing off on her? Why would she say something like that to Isen? He seemed unfazed, and was waiting for her reply. "Uh… I don't know what you want me to tell you, we met during our first year. Vritra was nice to me, Azazel was arrogant, but didn't seem to mind being around other people. He helped us with homework. Vritra helped us not get beat up by high-tiers. It was pretty peaceful until the whole… The fight went down."

"... So the same as Roland then… except with less insults thrown about…" Isen scratched his head with his pen. "Alright, thanks." Evie thought that was it, but before she could leave the corridor where the toilets were, Isen asked something else, "What do you know about someone called Jin, and David?" Evie knit her eyebrows.

"I don't think I've ever heard of them, why?"

Isen shook his head, "Do you think you could ask them about it?" Isen raised an eyebrow, but Evie shook her head.

"Sorry, I don't think they're in the right mindspace to be answering questions… and from the sounds of it, that's a really personal question to ask considering they haven't mentioned those names to us."

"Ugh… the same as Roland, except with less insults."

Roland, why were you instigating Isen? He could fold you like laundry. Almost like a phantom, she could hear Roland's voice in the back of her head. 'It's about the principle' is probably what he'd answer.

"Sorry, they're just so different now, Azazel seems desperate, and Vritra is having a whole anger spat…"

"It's fine… I understand. I wouldn't want to make him mad either."

They walked back to the entrance of the cinema, where Blyke was talking to Roland about the movie, he seemed really into the conversation too. He had been the only one of the high-levels to not fall asleep, and he was really passionate about the trilogy it seemed, because he wouldn't stop talking about it during their trip to the train back to Wellston. Elaine seemed a lot happier.

When they reached Wellston, Blyke stopped Evie by standing right in front of her, he bowed at a perfect 90 degrees.

"Sorry, I was not in my right mind. Thanks for hanging out with us, and thanks for letting us get away from the school for a while." Evie was unsure how to react, she fidgeted, and moved side to side, and looked to Roland for advice, but Roland simply shrugged and walked toward the male dormitories, leaving her alone with Blyke. So she did the only thing she thought she could do.

She tapped him on the shoulder, and begged him to stop bowing to her in front of the school, because it was embarrassing, and it would gather way too much attention on her.

"You don't have to apologize… I under…stand…" In the distance, on the second floor of the school. It might have been a fluke, but she swore she saw two crimson orbs staring straight at her and Blyke. Vritra was glaring down… At her.

---

 

[Bob_EX]

---

After seven days of rebellion, Arlo had finally had enough. Every single day he would find crimson eyes staring him down. They would hunt him down during the day, during breaks, never relenting, beating anyone acting as a shield for Arlo. Even sleeping became a difficulty.

On the sixth day of the rebellion Arlo walked into his room in hopes to sleep after a tiresome day filled with fighting hoards of low-tiers, putting them in their place of the hierarchy.

It was all their fault. Vritra, who protected the low-tiers, and Azazel who fought anyone who irked him. The instant they stepped foot into the school, it turned into chaos. The system that Arlo thought had been rock solid – something he'd worked so hard to achieve after Rei's graduation — cracked under the weight of two low-tiers. He changed his clothes, did his homework, then turned off his lights to lay down in his bed.

Just as he closed his eyes, he felt the chill of the evening cold brush his skin, the sound of an air current took his attention, and then his head snapped to the entrance of his room, whose door slammed shut from the wind. Arlo narrowed his eyes. At the dead of night recognizing shapes became difficult, especially when tired and having just woken up.

The dead silence was broken by a rattle, metallic links moving and sliding against one another. Arlo turned his head toward the open window. The dim light coming from the outside was blocked entirely by a silhouette. A tall boy with shackles on his hands, with the only visible feature being his crimson eyes, locked onto Arlo.

Spoiler

Immediately Arlo used his ability, and the intruder swung something at his barrier. There was the sound of flesh being cut, but whoever it was didn't stop there, they continued slamming whatever it was they had in their hands on the barrier. Arlo began feeling strain, he narrowed the barrier down, and focused on its durability before pushing whoever was there through the window.

Like a mannequin, the intruder let themselves fall. Arlo rushed to the window and saw those crimson eyes staring back at him from the ground floor. The light from below illuminated the figure. Tall, crimson eyes, black hair. Azazel had invaded him in his dormitory.

And ever since then, Arlo hadn't been able to sleep a wink. Every single day he would find something in his dormitory. He even swapped rooms with someone else, and was found. Azazel's insistent interruptions to his sleep made him lethargic. But all of this fighting would stop soon. Arlo had gotten, in his hands, the documentation that proved that Azazel and Vritra were Elite-tiers. When the low-tiers learned their biggest inspirations were part of the most hated group, they would suffer a tremendous blow to their support. Sure, a lot would remain, but the ones that didn't know Vritra or Azazel personally, and those who were moved by the little guy trying to beat the system, would all disappear.

Since a lot of the rebellions were getting crushed almost at the same time they started, they were already lowering morale. All they needed were a few more victories, and in their lowest moment, to reveal that their friends were actually Elite-tiers. The fighting would become more manageable, and everything would go back into place. The unnecessary violence would stop, the flooded infirmary would become a rare occurrence again. The Royals could finally rest.

In his stupor, Arlo bumped into someone, he turned to see who it was that he bumped into, and his fist clenched itself. Black hair overly swept to the sides by so much gel it looked like it'd been plastic wrapped. John Doe.

"Watch where you're going." John huffed and continued on his way. He was getting worse tempered with every rebellion. Why wouldn't he follow the movement? He was a cripple. Arlo would deal with him after the current issues. Remi texted him, telling him she was taking a break. Someone told the staff Arlo was over-working the Royals with non-academic assignments, and he was forced to give all of them a break yesterday to compensate. Apparently the same thing was said to the newspaper club, and to the infirmary. Who was brave enough to do something like that? To go against the king of wellston's back?

Worst of all, Isen refused to say who it was regardless of how much he tried intimidating him into confessing.

Arlo checked his phone, Cecile told him the newspaper was being printed, and gave him the exact article that would be written. That was another of the tools Arlo had at his disposal. He could control the flow of information, and manipulate text to get desired reactions from the bystanders, the most important crowd to influence – the ones who didn't want to get involved, but had connections to the rebellious, if they could be separated and disagree with their methods, then Arlo could build spheres of influence that could calm down this raging storm of a movement.

He continued walking through the hallway, then came to a stop. It had gotten quiet – too quiet.

He raised his gaze from his phone, and couldn't help but groan. He stood there, bloodied, with bone visible on his knuckles. Bloodshot eyes that made it look as though he had no iris. A torn uniform, and several students that were allied with the Royals around his body. Azazel Wodime, the bane of Arlo's current existence.

Spoiler

"Took you long enough. Don't worry about them, they're skipping class. I'll guarantee they'll thank me for giving them an excuse to skip Algebra." Azazel looked almost like a phantom. Any pigmentation on his skin was no longer there. The roots of his hair began to lighten, making the color white creep in. It was clear that the stress was overwhelming him.

"This is the thirtieth fight you'll have against me. Your thirtieth loss." Arlo put his hands inside his pocket and looked at Azazel in his entirety. He was clearly already tired and injured, there was no way for him to defeat Arlo, even if he prepared something.

"Loss? What loss? I never lost." Azazel's crazed eyes locked into Arlo, "I don't lose." He was losing his mind. His voice had become erratic in pitch and intonation. He belonged in a mental institution, more than he did in this school. Well, once Arlo defeated him here, the rebellion would take another blow, and he should report his actual level. If Arlo loses, he can inflate his real level so it made sense for him to lose, and if he won, then he could reveal that the only reason he stood a chance was because of his level, and claim he's been lying this whole time.

"Whatever, let's get this–." Arlo immediately used his barrier to stop Azazel from striking him. He didn't even let him finish his sentence before he began. "over with," Arlo continued. There was something different about him this time however. Cyan lines crept up from his arms. Arlo felt one of his ribs crack, and immediately recoiled. He looked up at Azazel's fist.

The barrier around him had cracked? How was that even possible? Last time it took an emission-based technique using his blood to deal the barrier damage! Has Azazel gotten stronger? How? When? Was it all of the people he'd been fighting? Did it have anything to do with the Cyan lines?

Arlo didn't have time to think about it. He was just thankful he dismissed the barrier when Azazel reeled back his fist because when he thrusted it again, a torrential wave of power crashed against Arlo and sent him flying. It hurt for sure, it most likely broke a few bones but for whatever reason, Arlo's instincts told him that if it had hit his barrier, it would have shattered it into pieces, and Arlo would have been left in a much sorrier state.

Using his half-sphere barrier was no longer an option. He would have to condense and focus purely on defense. Arlo did as such, and every single one of Azazel's punches got stronger. They were almost on Vritra's level of raw strength. Thankfully, Arlo had also gotten stronger during the previous seven days. He went from being a level 6.3 to a level 6.7 thanks to all of the intense over-use of his ability.

Azaze's assault continued. He was doing something odd. No matter where he struck, the barrier seemed to crack. Arlo clenched his teeth, and condensed the barrier further. This would become an endurance fight once again, and he would win. Azazel's body shattered and cut itself into pieces. Azazel was already damaged from fighting all of those people on the way here, on top of that he wasn't well rested from the day before. He broke out of the infirmary.

Azazel was under no condition to continue fighting, but Arlo was different. Despite being sleep-deprived, he was in tip top condition. He could only smile as Azazel continued crashing his fists in Arlo's strengthened barrier. It was clear it was causing strain, but as long as he just waited… and waited, he would win.

Azazel's crazed expression morphed to one of complete seriousness. His bloodshot eyes slowly dyed themselves back to normal, and Arlo could finally see sanity in his face. Even still, every single hair Arlo had stood on its end. Azazel reached inside his blazer, and swung his arm at Arlo's barrier. The sound of cracking glass resonated inside Arlo's head as his body tore itself from the inside. The shining reflection of light blinded his right eye as he fell to his knees.

His sudden blurry eyes didn't mistake the object in Azazel's hands as he swung it down at his shoulder. Arlo screamed out and glared upward. It shouldn't even be possible, his passive ability should make him invulnerable.

He raised his arm, but it wouldn't go up more than forty-five degrees. He targeted his rotator cuff. A foot came into contact with Arlo's face, and had the back of his head slam against the ground. The impact caused a small crater, and it rattled Arlo's head.

"I… I should have known you would use cheap tricks… a weapon? You can't win in a fair fight." Arlo looked closer at the knife. It was a kitchen knife with cyan lines covering it. Azazel thrusted down, and Arlo spawned another Barrier. As if it were clay, it shattered, leaving Arlo exposed to a knife to his thigh. He screamed out as the damage from the barrier struck him from the inside, and the knife stabbed into him.

"Cheap tricks? Excuses. There's no such thing." Azazel's voice became a whisper between the ringing in his head. The adrenaline dulled the pain, but Arlo still felt a burning sensation on his shoulder and thigh. "And sorry, did you just say, fight fair?" Azazel stood over the bloodied Arlo, "There is no such thing! Don't kid me, you disgusting disgrace for a puppet. Fair? Like the two people you sent to defeat me that were stronger than me? Fair? Don't make me laugh."

"They weren't armed." Arlo clenched his teeth, slowly moving away from the psychopath in front of him.

"Sure they were. What do you think an ability is? Are you slow? Nothing in this world is fair, weapons? Cheap Tricks? What of it? That's right, I did not have an ability stronger than them, I couldn't beat them physically, or hastily, nor could I block their attacks. So I defeated them intellectually. You break into someone's peaceful rest and you force them to bow with your barrier, and once they fight back they have their own attack reflected on them and you speak of fairness? You are nothing more than a hypocrite." Azazel kicked Arlo on the chest while he was down.

"Fair? Don't speak such drivel. There's nothing like that in this world. Two children become friends, then one kills themselves, and you think the world is fair? You had every other tool at your disposal, but couldn't defeat me intellectually, so you say the world's not fair?" Azazel's kicks began breaking Arlo's ribs, despite his passive ability. Those Cyan Lines around his body had to do something with it. "Why couldn't you keep up? Why didn't you do everything you could? What did you want me to do?!" Azazel kicked him again, "Answer me!" He kicked him again, "ANSWER ME DAVID!!!"

He's not even seeing me. Arlo realized, as the kicks slowed down to a pause. Arlo used the opportunity to retort.

"You should have… given up, after losing…" Arlo gasped out, painfully grabbing his stomach. He couldn't remember the last time he was in this much pain.

"You think I lost? I didn't lose," Azazel lowered himself so he could look Arlo in the eyes. He wasn't even staring at Arlo, it was as though he was looking beyond him, at the distance, at another figure entirely. Now that Arlo watched from up close, it didn't seem like an arrogant expression at all, "I don't lose! I will never lose! I am always right!" The cold sweat, the smile that now seemed forced, almost through compulsion, and then a sudden change where all emotion is lost as if every emotion had been shoved into a bottle. "I am absolute." Blank eyes, no expression. Azazel lowered the knife toward Arlo.

This was it. The shimmering knife moved down, and Arlo began to think of Rei and of Remi, then of Blyke. Was this it? Was his life flashing right before his eyes. He couldn't even summon a barrier to aid him. All he could do was watch as the person he hated the most in Wellston lowered their knife to his neck.

To think the king of Wellston would die in such a way. It was pathetic. For an instance, Arlo questioned if the way he approached things was correct – but then he remembered this had happened when Rei stepped down as king. The only difference was that the figure-heads were more willing to kill and use dirty tricks to win, but that fact only steeled his resolve further. So he kept his eyes glaring at Azazel as the knife got closer to him, making sure he knew he hated him.

"–?!" A gasp as Azazel's body was pushed forward. Five beams of light struck him. Both his arms and legs were shot straight through, and the fifth beam had shot the knife out of his hands. Azazel turned his head, "Blyke…" he glared as he impressively stood up. He barely walked forward, his capacity to withstand pain was something that put fear in Arlo's heart.

More beams of light reached Azazel's body, with his limbs shot through from before, there was nothing he could do, but helplessly fall face first. Even then, with his body immobile, in pain, shattered, Azazel still used the little remains of energy he had left to slowly move toward Blyke, until he came to an abrupt stop.

Arlo couldn't see the expression on his face since he was faced away from him, but the most likely explanation was that he was knocked out. From that point onward, Arlo couldn't remember what happened.

All he knew was that he was brought to the infirmary, where he looked up at the white ceiling with the bitter taste of metal in his mouth. Surrounding him were the other Royals, who looked really injured themselves. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying because of all of the head trauma, and as such he went back to sleep.

**24**​

After a long week's rest, Arlo was allowed back into the school, and finally, things had quieted down. The separation between high tiers and low tiers was higher than ever, with all of the low-tiers being put on check by the Elite tiers. It was refreshing to walk through the hallway with minimal yelling. There was the occasional scuffle, and fight, but the rebellious spirit that had kept every revolutionary-wannabe going was now gone.

After his near-death experience with Azazel, Blyke reported everything he did to the headmaster, and because of it, he was forced into a long suspension. Arlo looked out of the window, and watched as two low-tiers – Evie and Roland if Isen's report was to be trusted – alongside Vritra said their goodbyes to Azazel who took a backpack filled with things with him to his house.

Arlo looked at a stack of papers in his hands. They were Vritra's and Azazel's documents. It had their real levels in it, but Arlo couldn't reveal their levels now, because if they found out that they became Elite-tiers all along that could give credence to the hierarchy breaking. To send the message that low-tiers should stay in their place, Arlo couldn't reveal their real levels. Despite having a complete victory over this two week long rebellion, he was still playing along to Azazel's farce like a puppet in his hands, and it made his heart burn with rage.