Royal Pride (Leona Kingscholar/Yuu)

27 ~ Buildup

Half of the spectators were stampeding towards the other half, onto the field, and towards the Diasomnia team. Yuu didn't fret because she knew the plan. She was going to help put a stop to this.

Of course, she didn't expect something this large scale. She could tell that it was Ruggie's "Laugh With Me", but it was way beyond his regular capacity. Azul must've gotten better at potions.

Riddle and Yuu had discussed this before, and she gave her word that she'd be there with them when they confronted Leona. They were standing, hiding until the optimal time to reveal themselves.

"...Okay, let's go," he whispered, making themselves visible to Leona and Ruggie. They had Riddle, his two problem freshmen named Ace and Deuce, and Jack, along with Yuu. An interesting combination.

Leona glared at Jack with venom in his eyes. Upset that he sided with the morally upright. Yuu and Leona would briefly make eye contact every now and again, but they would quickly look away. Now wasn't the time to work anything out.

Riddle was reprimanding them, and Yuu tossed in a few barbs as well. She wanted to make it a firm point that she was not on Leona's side this time.

When Leona sent out his lackeys without a hint of hesitation, they quickly smacked them down. Yuu found it funny how Leona probably spent time convincing them that they'd be capable of taking on a Housewarden and four other mages.

Riddle quickly beheaded them, and she had taken care of her fair share as well. Jack was doing great and Ace and Deuce seemed to be pretty adept at fighting, though she didn't know what else she expected from the 'problem children'.

A smirk played on her face as her dorm mates revealed themselves, along with Cater. It was such a brilliant plan, she'd have to make sure Cater got his congratulations.

"...Tch. Whatever. I don't even care anymore." There was the part of Leona she loathed, the part that she'd snapped at the other day. It was the Leona that gave up when things started to look not-so-bright.

Ruggie was stunned. He continued to protest. "What are you talking about? W-We can still try! If not, then what was the purpose of any of it?"

Leona let out a deep sigh. "We don't stand a chance with Malleus out there. I'm not pickin' a fight I can't win."

"Are you just gonna abandon our dreams..?" Ruggie stared in disbelief. Yuu couldn't help but feel a sting in her heart, too. She couldn't imagine putting so much faith in someone, only for them to back down like this.

"You all looked so desperate, going on about 'dreams this' and 'dreams that', so I threw you guys a bone. That's all." Leona stared at him, a stone-cold expression on his face.

Ruggie rambled on, still in disbelief. Leona's expression hardened as he spat, "You're a hyena who grew up in a dump, and I'm a second-born prince who won't ever get to be king. And there's no turning that around."

"Y-You can't just quit after we've come this far!" Ruggie's eyes pricked with tears and he clenched them shut. He was just refusing to believe Leona at this point, a stubborn show of false hope.

The other Savanaclaw students joined his protest, echoing about how they should keep going.

Leona didn't bat an eye. In fact, he only grew more irritated. "Shut up, you nobodies! You're just spewing nonsense!"

It was then that Yuu noticed Leona's gemstone looked much less vivid than usual; a tiny, easy-to-miss detail but a very clear indicator of worse things to come. She felt herself tense. "Leona—"

Though she wasn't verbally cut off, his glare was enough to make her shut up. He'd never looked at her like that before, even in the most heated part of their argument.

He was losing himself.

Sand began to spread everywhere and the air grew increasingly dry. "Hah, that's 'King's Roar'. How'd'ya like that?" Yuu's vision was obscured until she could see barely more than the silhouettes of those around her.

"Ironic, isn't it? Nothin' the savanna hates more than a drought. Yet its prince's magic desiccates everything—reduces it to sand." Abhorrence glared in his eyes as his words gained an even sharper, more hateful edge to them.

"Leona, you have to stop or you're going to overblot!" She yelled, but her cries fell on deaf ears. In fact, she would've kept screaming at him to stop if it weren't for Ruggie, who let out a gasp of pain.

"It hurts," he whimpered, his voice cracking. Yuu rushed right over to his side, feeling her skin starting to dry out even more. Leona had targeted his magic towards Ruggie. He was at the epicenter of this disaster, feeling it the worst.

She wrapped her arms around him protectively, trying to use water magic to keep the both of them hydrated, but it was no use against Leona's increasingly strengthening magic. "Leona, stop! You're gonna kill him!"

His arms began to crack, and she assumed a similar thing was starting to happen to her from the pain she was feeling. Everyone let out yelps of surprise, but at this point, there was nothing they could do. The wind in Leona's sandstorm was too strong.

"Leona, I cannot allow you to continue like this!" Riddle shouted, at least attempting to save them. "Off With Your Head!"

Leona let out a laugh as the collar bounced right off of him.

"Maybe you're some kinda prodigy, kid, but don't go thinking you're able to outsmart me. I aced my Protective Magic classes in my sleep."

Riddle stumbled a few steps backward as the storm picked up, cursing himself for his weakness though knowing little could be done against someone about to Overblot.

Leona's attention turned back to Ruggie. It was terrifying the way he was taking everything so lightly, laughing as Ruggie started to crumble. "Does it hurt? Is your mouth too dry to keep licking my boots? That was your finest talent, too."

Ruggie could only let out a strangled choke as a response, though you could see the desperation in his eyes. Yuu felt her anger boil over and she opened her mouth to snap at him before realizing that she herself could hardly speak, doubling over in a coughing fit.

Jack let out a fierce growl. "If we don't stop him, they're gonna..!"

Everyone who was capable got ready, preparing themselves to stop Leona at all costs. This was a life-and-death situation.

'Please stop him,' she pleaded internally. 'I can't die just yet.'