~previously~

"I'm a...a Seer?"

.....

"You're what is known as a Lyastra, a woman that harbors the powers of a seer and spell Master"

....

"How could you do something like this?!

....

"Fuck you! And fuck the rules!"

....

"Then how do you feel about applying for a decisive match with Rosehearts to take his place as dorm leader?"

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" 'Your Majesty' indeed. Why you're not even a queen at all! You're nothing but a pompous, short-tempered tyrant!" Alice declares.

The Queen laughs, "What was that you just said?"

The Cheshire Cat appeared floating above the queen's head, repeating, "She said you're a pompous, bad-tempered tyrant!"

"Off with her head!" She screamed. The card soldiers leapt at Alice in a wave.

"You heard what her Majesty said! Off with her head!" The King repeated.

"Why couldn't anyone stop her...?"

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Charlie walked out of the bathroom, straightening out her magically-changed clothes. Today was the match day, and she had to look her best while cheering Ace and Deuce on. And what better to wear than the Heartslabyul Get up Cater supplied her with?

"Oh, you're already up!" Grim smiled.

"Yea, might as well look kick ass since that's were gonna do!" She smiled, tapping her bandana for luck.

"Today's the day! Lets move!" Ace waves for her and Charlie does, grabbing her bag on the way out.

As soon as she stepped out of her room, she stopped, feeling the head pain jab at her skull and saw....

The ink Puddle from before, but now...it had gotten bigger...

The vision stopped as fast as it began. She shook her head, and tried to catch up with Ace.

——————————

Outside the clearing of the Rose Maze, a crowd of Heartslabyul students watched from the side lines as the two sides prepped for the fight.

"Hey, did ya hear? Two guys are challenging Rosehearts to a decisive match!" One student whispered.

"To 'that' dorm leader? I'll believe it when I see it! They'll lose their heads in five seconds!" The second scoffed.

"This is the first challenge since Riddle became lead! Let's see how it goes!" The third watched with glee.

On the other side of the semi-circle, Charlie stands with Trey and Cater, Grim cradled in her arms, waiting for the fight to start.

"Ace and Deuce are seriously going to fight Riddle for the top spot?! Are they crazy?!" Cater asks in disbelief.

"I tried to stop them..." Trey sighs

"That's pretty reckless... hopefully it doesn't cause more mayhem!" Cater bites his lip in nervousness.

"As long as they don't throw anything physical into the mix, it should be okay.." Charlie answers.

'What was that vision I had...?'

———————————

"The match for the title of Heartslabyul Dorm Leader will now begin!" Crowley raises his hands for attention. He motions to the right, "The Challengers: Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade!" To the left, "Defending his title is the current leader: Riddle Rosehearts!" He walks to the center. "In accordance with the rules of the decisive match, please remove the magic sealing collar handicap."

In a snap, the collars were off.

"Oh my god!" Ace sighed. "That stupid collar's off!"

"Don't fret! You'll have it back on soon enough! Savor your freedom while you can!" Riddle grins smugly. "You know, it was hard to believe when I heard you wanted to challenge me. You sure you wish to go through this?"

The two first years stand their ground.

"Definitely."

"I wouldn't challenge you as a joke."

"If you wish. Lets begin!"

"Hey. Riddle! You want to do anything about afternoon tea?" Cater shouts to him.

"Pointless question. Rules state that my teatime always happens at 4pm on the dot." Riddle answers, not taking his eyes off the two across from him.

"Eh, it's a little after 3:30..." Cater checks his phone.

"Do you think I'll ever be late? This ordeal will be over very soon." Riddle states. "If you can't tell I'm short on time. Dealing with you one by one will be troublesome. You may both fight me at the same time."

"Go Riddle! Show them you're the best!" The students cheered.

"Tch. They obviously know how to run their mouths." Ace scoffs.

"And now I'm mad!" Grim seethed.

"We made sure to put a plan together!"

"Headmaster, whenever you say."

"The match shall begin when the hand mirror I throw hits the ground and shatters!" Crowley holds up an ornate hand mirror. "Ready....Set...."

It shatters.

"Fight!"

However, all was lost at the four words shouted.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

The sound of locks snapped. Ace and Deuce screamed.

"Damnit! We never even had a second to materialize our magic!" Ace winced.

"To come this far and not be able to do a single thing..." Deuce gasped.

Charlie locked eyes on her two friends and then Riddle. "That was so fast! I didn't even see it..!" She gasped, eyebrows creased in worry.

"The stronger one's imagination, the stronger the magic! The stronger the ability to imagine magic, the stronger and more effective it is! Rosehearts has polished his magic to a beautiful shine!" The headmaster announced.

"The level gap is wide...!" Grim tears up as Charlie pets him to calm him down.

"It didn't even take five seconds." Riddle smirks in victory. "And you thought you could challenge me with those skills. Had enough?" Then he scowls. "This just proves the rule violators are always wrong. Just like mother said."

Deuce glares at him like trash. "You may be right: rules should be followed. But enforcing absurd rules just makes you more of a tyrant!"

"Oh? Rule breaking has consequences. And in this dorm, I am the rules! Those who refuse to obey don't get a say when I take off their head!"

"You're still wrong!" Charlie shouts as she races from her spot to her two friends, standing in front of them protectively. "You don't get to do whatever you want since 'it's the rules'! And you especially can't keep using the rules as an excuse!"

"What's wrong is all for ME to decide! If you can't even follow a simple rule, what was your education like, little Miss Perfect? You were born from parents that couldn't even use an ounce of magic! You couldn't even receive much in terms of discipline before stepping foot in here! You're practically inadequate!"

Suddenly, her heartbeat started to resound in her ears. Head pounding in pain, her eyes stared to become blurry. Pictures flashed by...

People donning antimagic collars.

The gardens were destroyed.

Ace about to die at Riddle's hand.

And Riddle...she gasped at what she saw.

It was...horrifying!

She screamed and fell to her knees. She cried in pain, clenching her heart as if it was being wrenched over and over. The student, Trey, Cater, Grim and Crowley watch as she suffered, horror written on their faces. Crowley was about to move when-

"Charlie!" Ace and Deuce scream. They run to her, the latter holding her close in his arms as she gasps for air. Hacking and choking, she felt like she was close to dying.

"It hurts! Ace...Deuce...!" She whimpers, tears threatening to come down.

"Charlotte, listen to me: you must stop your friends! It will only lead to disastrous results! You saw what will happen! Please!"

'Ophelia...'

"Hahaha! Look at her! Squirming like a worm in the dirt! We're my words too harsh for you that they severed your heart instead? It's bad enough you've no magic in you but this is Ridiculous! You're ridiculous!" Riddle cackled as she kept holding her tears back.

"Damn you...!" Deuce snarled at the second year, as he brought Charlie closer to him to protect her.

"YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?!"

Ace ran at Riddle and as fast as it came, he punched the lead straight across the face. Riddle stumbled back at the sudden fist attack.

"RIDDLE!" Trey and Cater yelled.

"Rosehearts!" Crowley fretted.

"He punched the lead in the face?!" The students whispered.

"He punched that menace right in the face with an awesome right hook!" Grim cheered.

"A-Ace!" "What did you do?!" Deuce and Charlie, with her pain now vanished, yelled.

Ace did what he had to do: show Riddle that he will be wrong no matter what and that he couldn't insult one of his friends and get away with it. Charlie was made of more than Riddle would ever know. And for that, Ace will do all he can to earn her respect till her time here was up.

"I don't care anymore. About the position, the duel, none of it!"

"He...He hit me...?"

"Charlotte!"

"Kids aren't their parents' trophies. And kids achievements' don't determine parents' worth. The reason you're such an asshole isn't because of your parents. I can see that finally! You couldn't even make a single friend to tell you off for being a monster in the past year, so it's no one fault but your own!"

"What...what did you say...?"

"Charlotte, please!"

'I....I-I can't...' Charlotte quivered are Ace's Aura. But also at Riddle's.

"Being raised by your obsessive mother was probably a hell of its own. But all you have to say is 'Mother this' and 'Mother that'! Why don't think for yourself?! You're no 'Crimson Tyrant'. If anything, you're a brat that's only good with magic!"

"A brat?...Me?" Riddle's voice was dangerously low. His eyes looked close to popping out of his skull. "You know nothing....you know nothing about me!" He sneered.

"Yea, well I don't care! I don't even think I would!" Ace fired back. "You'd even think I'd want to know? With that attitude? I'm not letting you get away with this!"

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Enough! My mother is correct! That's mean I'm correct!"

"Riddle, enough! The duel's over." Trey stepped in before things could escalate.

"Clover is right! The challenger is disqualified for the physical attack! Continuing to escalate goes against school regulations!" Crowley halted.

"The freshman is right! I can't take it anymore!!" Someone from the crowd yelled.

Something hit Riddle.

"Was that...an egg?" Trey whispered in disbelief. "Did one of the students throw it...?"

"Who did that?! Who threw the egg?!" Riddle demanded.

All was dead quiet amongst the crowd.

Riddle lowered his head, bangs covering his eyes. Then he started giggling. Soon it escalated to full-blown laughter. "You can't take it? IM the one who can't take it!" He scowled. "No matter how many times I take off your heads, not how strict I become, you all keep stepping out of line! This guy, that guy, you're all selfish idiots! Fine....have it your way! If no one will come forward, then I'll punish you all! It's off with all your heads! OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!"

In a flash, every Heartslabyul student was restricted with a collar choking them.

"Let's get outta here!"

"Damn! This collar...!"

Riddle laughed maniacally, "How's that?! None of you can touch me! Strictly enforcing the rules DOES make me the most correct!"

"Enough, Rosehearts!" Crowley demanded. "This is not like you at all!"

"Trey, this is bad..." Cater whispers. "If he keeps going like this, he'll..."

"Riddle, stop this!" Trey commands.

"Oi, you!" Ace calls out. "Not everything'll go the way you want it to! And throwing a tantrum if things don't just makes you more of a child!"

"Enough!" Riddle's face was growing redder by the second. "You want to be skewered?!"

"No way. Now by you, that is." Ace sneers.

Riddle screams.

"This is bad! Everyone, run for it!" Cater demands.

Suddenly, the skies become dark and the atmosphere shifted.

"What?! The trees...they're floating around the space!" Grim shivered.

"Ophelia was right!" Charlie murmured, scared. "This is becoming a disaster!"

"That's so much magic! He's really gonna attack with all that?!" Deuce freaked, bring himself and Charlie to their feet, pushing her behind him.

"Rose trees, heed my call! To pieces with that menace!" Riddle shouted, pointing at Ace.

"This is horrible! Move!" Crowley calls for Ace.

"Ace, hurry!" Charlie screams. But it was too late

The trees fly like spears toward their target. Ace braces for impact.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

But they never come. Instead, they transformed into card suit symbols.

"What?!" Riddle gapes.

Charlie breathes in relief.

"Huh?! We're alive?! Wait, are these card suits?" Ace asks.

"The trees have been replaced by them! But how?" Deuce wonders.

"Riddle, enough!" The three first years turn to see Trey, his magic pen out and a stern look in his eye.

"Trey..." Charlie breaths.

"Your 'Doodle Suit' spell?! Wait..." Cater begins.

"Hey, the magic collars are gone!" Grim feels around his neck. True to his word, the collars that the students donned had vanished.

"Like I said, my 'Doodle Suit' spell overwrites anything for a small part of time." Trey reminds. "And...I overwrote 'Riddle's magic' into 'my magic'..."

Charlie gasps. Did he...just flip an Uno Reverse card?!

"No way! That's possible?! Isn't that a cheat?!" Cater gasps.

Riddle growls, "Off with their heads! Why don't I have your heads?! Why is nothing but card symbols appearing?!"

"Riddle, stop this. If you go any further, you'll be driven mad! Look at their faces!" Trey gestures to the students cowering behind him.

"W-Was he serious about doing that?"

"He's gone too far..."

"H-He's a monster...!"

Riddle stares at his hands, then at Trey and back. "...Trey...overwrote my magic? Does that mean....he surpassed me...?!"

"That's not the case, Riddle! Just breathe and we can talk this out!" Trey offers. But Riddle doesn't listen.

"So you want to tell me I'm wrong, too? Even when we've been upholding all these rules for so long?" His voice gets louder at every word. "I've been enduring, enduring, enduring all this time! I...I don't believe you!"

"Rosehearts, you mustn't!" Crowley shouts. "If you keep using magic, your crystal will be covered in 'blot'!"

"You're wrong...I'M ALWAYS, ALWAYS CORREEEEEEEEEEECT!!!"

"Riddle!!!!"

Charlie saw it happen.

A bright red jewel....splattered in black ink...it concealed the gem....to reveal...

When she looked up, Riddle wasn't the same.

His skin was grey. He donned a black and red shredded dress, as black ink dripped from his forearms to his hands. A collar of black lined the back of his head, and a choker looked carved into his neck. His crown was now black, black and white roses decorated the dress, and different cards in streamers trailed to the floor. His eyes had turned red, and one was alight with a red flame. And ink splattered the right side of his face.

"Oh my god..." she shook. 'The visions...'

The being before them laughed cruelly. He spoke in a voice that shook the earth. He cackled, sending shivers down her spine.

"No....look at this mess! A student goes into overblot right in front of me!" Crowley despairs.

"What even is 'overblot'?! This guys got such dark aura around him!" Grim quivered and cling to Charlie's leg.

" 'Overblot' is a state that wizards must avoid at all costs... He's been caught in a storm of negative energy that's made him lose control of both his magic and emotions!"

"I don't get it!"

"Me neither!"

"For the love of-! It's basically: he's fallen into a dark beserker state!" Cater explains.

"So it's like a corruption of sorts?!" Charlie asks.

"Yes, and his life is in danger the more he keeps using magic in that state!" Trey confirms.

"Right now, the safety of the other students is top priority! I shall evacuate them this instant!" Crowley steps in. "Rosehearts must be brought back to his senses before he drains himself of his magic! Losing his life would be horrible, but even worse..." he doesn't finish. "As of now, I need you all to get the other dorm leads and teachers to assist-!"

Ace roars, "TAKE THIS!" He summons a wind attack.

"Come forth, cauldron?!" Deuce swishes his pen around. A giant pot hits Riddle full force.

"Fgnaaaaaaa?!" Grim summons a wall of fire with all his rage.

Riddle sneers.

"Uh, guys?! What are you doing?!" Cater demands.

"He's only in danger like this!" Grim frowns.