Into the World of Twisted Wonderland Pt 2

👑 The Beautiful Tyrant: Chapter 37 👑

"Agh..." Epel coughs as he tries to get up. The group could only watch the scene, seeing how Rook didn't want them to intervene, only seeing that Epel barely even landed an attack on Vil.

"And there we have it," Vil states as he puts his pen away. "I win, as usual. As it stands, you are neither cute nor strong. You're but a plain apple, devoid of any poison. If you don't shape up, you'll never land a single hit on me."

The rest of the group except Rook felt a shiver down their spine at Vil's words. "Ouch. Harsh," Ace comments at the scene.

"Pomefiore goes harder on athletics than even Savanaclaw..." Grim says as he shudders.

"Come on, Vil," Kalim says, getting his attention. "Epel's a freshman. Cut him a little slack. I'd be hard-pressed to think of anyone on this campus who could take you in a fight."

"Kalim, you stay out of this," he states as Kalim sulks a bit, turning his attention back to Epel. "Listen Epel. I told you this on the day we first met, and I'll say it again. If you want to be yourself, then become string and beautiful first. Cease this childish tantrum and get back to rehearsing."

The room became tense and quiet, only for moments the sound of sniffling to be heard. "D-dagnabbit..." Epel quietly sobs, tears running down his face. "I just...I just..." He quickly runs out of the room, pushing the group out of his way as he slams the door open, running out to the unknown.

"Epel!" Deuce shouts after him, only for it to fall on deft ears as the sounds of footsteps get quieter.

"Let him go," Vil states to him, unamused by the scene. "If that's enough to crush his spirit, then I'll remove him from the roster myself."

Deuce looked at the door and clenched his fists. "Don't you think you're being unfair, sir?" He asks him with a slight glare. "He's been putting a ton of effort into dancing and singing, and you're just dismissing it..."

"Spare me the infantile notion that hard work guarantees a reward!!!" Vil shouts at the group. The group look at him in shock, not expecting the lashing to them. "For that matter, Spudling Two-" He looks to him, making him shocked. "You have no bandwidth to spend worrying about others. You're far behind the other members in all aspects of your performance. Spudling One started at the same time as you did, yet the difference between you is telling. You are, in effect, slowing the rest of us down. Don't give me a reason to accuse you of conveniently ignoring this fact."

"I know that, sir..." Deuce quietly says.

"Then don't talk like a full-fledged ensemble member when you're still dead weight."

Deuce looks down in shame at the words, quietly agreeing with him. "...Sorry, sir."

"Yeesh," Ace says as Vil sighs. "You really set him off," he puts a hand behind his head, awkwardly scratching. "See this is why I keep tellin' you to keep your head down and stop butting into things," he sighs. "You're not exactly smart about this stuff, Loosey-Deucey."

The comments annoyed Deuce. "Grrr..." He growls in anger, making Ace confused. "Shut! UP!" He shouts at him. "You think I don't know that?!"

"Whoa, easy!" Ace says.

"A 'smart guy' like you wouldn't understand!" He shouts as he runs off, leaving the seven behind, with four of them in bewilderment.

"What was THAT about?" Ace huffs as he looks at the doors closing. "Dude, I am so confused."

"That was a little insensitive of you," Angel coldly states to him, making him confused at the tone.

"Ace, you really gotta start thinkin' about other people's feelings before you open your mouth," Grim says with a sigh.

"You're the last one I wanna hear that from, Grim," he states to him. "And why should a guy with his act together walk on eggshells around a guy slowing down the team? We're doing the same rehearsals. Not my fault he can't do the moves," he huffs.

Jamil sighs. "This is getting nowhere. We're not going to get in any decent practice like this. Upperclassmen," he calls to Vil and Rook, "what would you say to calling a quick recess?"

"I second that motion, Jamil," Rook agrees. "Let's all take a breather, shall we?"

"Yeah!" Kalim happily says. "We can all rest up and clear our heads."

Vil only huffs at the suggestion. "Fine. If we must." The group leaves the ballroom, some trying to figure out where Deuce and Epel went while others went to try to get better breathing room after everything that happened. Vil walked out into the hallway, looking around to see if anyone was in the hall. When he noticed that coast was clear, he pulled out his phone. "Mira, Mira. Tell me something."

His phone chimes. "What would you like me to look up?"

"Who, at this moment, is the most beautiful of all?"

"Displaying results for 'account with the most comments using the word 'beautiful''" The phone chimes. "Neige LeBlanche."

"..." Vil glares at the phone. "The idea that hard work is always rewarded is utter drivel only true in fairy tales."

As Angel looked around the dorm for any sign of Deuce or Epel, a sharp pain started to occur in her head, making her stammer a bit. She held her head, waiting for the pain to subside, but something felt off about it. It felt...wrong. Almost as if...something else was a part of it. Once the pain went away, she collected herself, remembering her goal. She had to find at least one of the two. She could worry about the pain later. She continues her way, trying to find the others.

"...il. Vil!" Rook calls out.

"Ah?" Vil turns around, seeing Rook behind him.

"What's the matter?" Rook asks in concern. "It's not like you to lose focus. One would think that the Roi du Poison could take a little swipe from a cute kitty-cat."

"Please," he brushes off the comment. "Could you stop?"

"Vil. Might I suggest providing Monsieur Pommette with a demonstration?" Rook proposes. "Speak your words into action. Show him the power of your beauty."

Vil thinks for a moment. "...Heh. Very well."