RoflsMazoy

Royal Rumble!

The Hellfire seal. An extremely powerful seal meant for punishing demons under their command, but used to great effect against whatever they happen to cross at a given point in time. It was made to render even demons who usually have good resistance to fire helpless. If the heat didn't get to them, the Hellfire Seal is a spell for capture and confinement before a spell used for combat.

"Dream eaters, heed my call!" Clara said.

From her book came surging waves of black worms, all around them eating up the flames before they could reach them. But the flames came from everywhere, above, each side, and below. For all the worms could eat, they could only eat in one direction each. They were bearing the brunt of the heat, and they too could die. However, for now it would serve as an effective shield for the trio inside.

"This cat isn't going to last too long under here," King said.

The cat he was holding was wide eyed and looking around the place. The heat was high, but bearable right now. As Clara's numbers thinned however, that would change quickly.

"My dream eaters can't destroy something of this calibre." Clara said. "They need time, but they'll be destroyed before they reach the boundary."

She had something stronger, in fact. Something she wanted to keep a secret far more than the dream eaters, but she had no choice.

"I need a hole," She continued. "I'll be able to do something if there's a gap in the seal. It's in the nature of the seal to be self-sufficient, so it'll repair itself automatically if there's a hole. If that happens I can siphon energy from the entire seal at once."

"A hole..." Alto said, gazing at the raging flames around them.

If he focused he could just about make out the sounds of battle outside. They needed to escape. The life of a student was on the line.

"...I think I have a way." He said.

Royal Rumble!

Midnight Tournament, End

Suddenly there were sirens in the distance.

"Damn…" Jokey said, immediately springing into action.

He unplugged the speakers with practiced precision. When the MC let down her headphones she heard the sirens too.

"Damn!" She shouted, immediately shutting the laptop in front of her. The platform, speakers, and equipment began to rapidly deconstruct into digital blue squares.

Many officers turned a blind eye to the Midnight Tournament due to its mostly benign nature. The money never vanished, and people weren't being killed so it wasn't exactly a problem. However, if they were given a noise complaint and they happened to stumble onto a tournament in progress, it wasn't as if they could pretend it wasn't occurring. There were officers who were sticklers for the rules, and there were also superiors who just didn't like fun.

It wasn't exactly safe to bet on who would come, the crowd knew that as well. Some new-comers to the tournament were looking around confused, but they'd follow the bulk of the crowd eventually and run for the hills.

The MC and Jokey jumped off the platform as it deconstructed beneath them. She had her laptop and the big box of money tucked safely under her arms. As soon as she hit the grass, she made a run for it, Jokey wheeling the whiteboard with him as fast as he could. They sprinted over to an unmarked white van nearby, and Drake gave it a hard kick and the doors unlocked.

She went in driver side and started the engine while Jokey laid the whiteboard on its side in the back of the van. He barely got to shut the door before it took off, tires screeching.

Within moments, the Midnight Tournament and all of its watchers were gone, save for a few remaining stragglers and a non-permanent whiteboard marker left in the grass.

Royal Rumble!

@KillamriX88 Ooh, sounds interesting >:D. I've said before that you can grab new powers when you feel like you should, so if you think your character's developed enough through the adventure I won't say no to a new power.

In that regard, after the Apartment you'll all be able to get a new minor power if you want, or save the 'exp' so to speak for a major one later on. There'll also be a handy timeskip to fasciliate this so you can say you trained it or something along those lines.

Royal Rumble!

Update is up. The Demoness will begin by attacking the three faction leaders currently on the roof by casting fire pillars. As people enter the scene, she'll split another clone off for each group and begin attacking them with fire pillars

Royal Rumble!

Vanishers, We are here, To end the prelude.

The final floor, the final student, and the cat. They each had a separate reason to climb the Apartment building, and now they were about to face it.

"Isn't it a possibility that that cat of yours has moved on to the lower floors by now?" Clara asked as they climbed the stairwell.

"Sure, but I'll just find it again when we come back down," King replied.

"But surely it could move past you and into the apartment by that point?"

"Then I'll find it again on the way up."

"..."

The other two didn't seem to be taking it all that seriously because it was likely they already knew the nature of the threat. Alto had also figured it out by this point but it still just felt like spinning around in a revolving door, listening to these two.

If this many imps hadn't been found yet, then it meant only one thing. They were being kept here by a greater Demon. The Otherworld is ruled by Demon Lords, but they fulfill the same purpose the Gods do in this world. The only difference is that they tend to rule, and interfere with affairs, directly. This quells major rebellion for the most part, and they remain free to crush anything they wish to.

They can crush rebellions effortlessly, and their people don't need to advance, they only need to make their Demon Lords stronger, and they will become stronger in turn. However, living under the shadows of the Lords, those of lesser, but still great power were bound to chafe eventually.

No one in the human realm knew what a Demon Lord looked like now. They're images were lost to time, and even back then, stepping into the Human world would provoke a direct intervention from the Gods, so it wouldn't have happened often.

A Greater Demon at the very least was needed to open a portal between worlds. Such an existence was not beyond their powers. It would seem that this one had chosen to act subtly. Taking the 8 students rather secretively, and amassing a small army of imps and ghosts.

Clara's and King's actions made more sense with that assumption. Clara would not miss the chance to turn a Greater Demon into her minion. King would stand to gain a reward for not only the death of the Greater Demon, but also sealing a portal to the Otherworld, and perhaps also stopping a potential invasion before it started.

And Alto was just here for duty. Out of them all, he had nothing to gain, but that wasn't exactly an unfamiliar feeling.

They rounded the stairs and finally found themselves on the rooftop.

"So you've finally arrived." The Demon said.

His suspicions were correct, this was most certainly a Greater Demon. A female one it would seem, in her lap was a cat with an orange collar, and floating next to the throne in a purple bubble of demonic energy was the last missing student.

"You can have him back, by the way." She said. Unfortunately she wasn't talking about the student, who was female anyway.

The cat jumped down and padded over to the trio, where King was able to pick him up.

"Ah, but I can't have you moving right now."

She clapped her hands together twice, and a red magic circle appeared, floating just above the back of the cat's neck. It activated an invisible magic circle right under their feet which erected a wall of flames around them.

The three weren't fazed in the slightest, however.

"What is your goal?" Alto asked.

"I don't see the need to reveal such a thing. I don't know how it is in your world, but in ours, the dead don't keep secrets as easily as the living," The Demon replied. "Though I must say, I was never expecting to succeed here. I was simply testing the waters, but I never anticipated it would be so easy to just... take you humans."

She drew the bubble over with her clawed fingers, and stroked the shell while gazing at the student inside.

"You took so long to respond, who knows what I could've done in that time? You are fortunate I have to return to the Otherworld, but before that..."

She finally got up from her throne and began walking towards them, magic circles forming in her hands.

"I'll eliminate you. I apologize, but I can't leave any witnesses." She finished. "Any last words?"

Alto felt a light touch on his back.

"Are we finished?" Clara asked.

"...Yeah." He said.

Clara's book unfurled and an inky blackness surged out from it, engulfing the trio and the magic barrier. The Demoness didn't drop the initiative however, and a pillar of fire erupted from the centre of the darkness. Yet the darkness seemed to absorb it all. It was only absorbing light, of course, but the light which should've emanated from the pillar didn't appear at all, until the pillar breached the dome. However, through the inky darkness a light shone through.

And suddenly, Alto was behind the Demoness, blade racing towards her neck. A spark of light, and her head fell forwards with a spurt of blood. Yet Alto did not put away his blade.

"...Interesting." The Demoness said from above them.

She had sprouted leathery wings and was flying in the air while her 'body' slowly faded away. The inky blackness was disappearing as well, little bits of it simply ceasing to exist, like fog disappearing as the sun reappears. Through the darkness, the magic circle which had created the barrier, already in pieces, crumbled away.

Clara's Dream Eaters, the worm-like creatures in her Grimoire could eat away Demon magic as well as metaphysical existences like Ghosts, but they ate magic at a much slower rate. To destroy the circle, she just had to destroy the essential components, but it was vital to keep her strengths and numbers a secret from an opponent like this, one who was the same type as her.

"On your left," A voice said suddenly.

The Demoness whipped around to her left, and then was impaled from the back by a light saber. The body faded before it hit the ground.

"You..." She said, holding her hand to where she'd been impaled. It seems she'd been able to escape death, but not the entire attack.

The cat in King's arms mewed? at her before looking back up at King.

"I can't pet you up here Donatello," King said. "I can fight fine with one hand though."

"Fine, then so be it..." The Demoness said, many magic circles appearing in the air.

The floated and settled down over her skin, and then she multiplied. Her shade separated from her as if someone hit duplicate in some editing software and pulled the two copies apart. The spell repeated, and now there were four.

"How will you handle this?"

Royal Rumble!

Vanishers 5

The screeches below were mirrored by screeches above. It would seem the horde was beginning to act on all floors, as if finally realizing the threat the students inside posed. The effectiveness of such a movement were up for debate, however.

There were strange sounds ringing out on the seventh floor. A sort of whoosh, mixed with a vmmmm from King's laser sword. Light saber or laser sword? Alto didn't think the imps cared too much, they were too busy getting cut in half by it, although maybe the thought had run through at least one of their minds. Truthfully there wasn't much for Alto to do right now.

Indeed, their small group had a very good composition. Alto would be the one rushing behind enemies while King engaged them from the front. Clara would provide back-up from the rear, and shore up any openings with her minions. But these were just imps. Each member of the party could slaughter them all.

When there's negligible risk, overwhelming force is the most efficient strategy. Alto knew this, and it shouldn't bother him at all, except...

"Huh, this sure ain't a cat." King said, lifting up a charred goblin leg.

Alto couldn't quite wrap his head around the people here. They were currently sifting through one of the rooms on the seventh floor. They knew the locations of the students on this floor, but a cat would be harder to pin down. King had decided to check every room for any traces of the cat, since he'd have to bring back something regardless of whether it was dead or alive. Clara looked on the both of them with vague disinterest.

How strange it was that he felt so utterly normal around these two. Well, he'd seen Clara coming... and King wasn't actually that out of place now that he thought about it. Still, there were certainly more productive things to think about.

"If my conjecture is right, this isn't just a typical Haunting." Clara said.

Alto had thought that also. A Haunting typically occurred when a few stranded imps banded together for survival. They'd gather ghosts to hopefully catch the attention of a higher Demon to open a portal back to the Otherworld. This amount of imps and ghosts would for sure have attracted enough attention by now. Sure, imps were a dime a dozen, but if you gathered a hundred dimes, you'd notice the pile of coins even though it only has the same worth as a $10 bill.

Clara was not giving any orders or specific suggestions to Yuuto. The student Committee were a group if independents in the end. First and foremost, her duty as the Student Committee leader was to embrace their independence and use it in a productive manner.

Clara already noticed that King was hiding something. If she had to take a guess, his clairvoyance was telling him something, but it wouldn't matter if they knew of it now or later. King had a certain 'flow' to him that was hard to read. If she followed it, she got a glimpse into what he saw, but just that, a glimpse.

"I suppose we'll find out by the time we reach the top floor." She said, going out as if to continue the search.

@Gentlemanvaultboy@rawkhawk64@Bartimaeus

Royal Rumble!

Vanishers 4

Alto's phone bleeped as he ascended the stairs. A quick message from the driver, two more students had been handed to him.

King...

It was difficult to guess what his objective was, but as long as he was helping them resolve the situation quickly, his help was welcome. He assumed the two students were from the fifth floor which he had just passed. A cursory inspection had found no additional students. It had however found many imps, clearly slain by King's hand, but still more had been slain by someone else. Someone he knew the hallmarks of very well.

He rounded the steps and a very familiar face was there to meet him.

"Ah, greetings, Child of Light." Clara said.

"Likewise, Clara Deimos Erdrigan." He replied.

There was no reason to greet Clara Deimos Erdrigan any way other than Amicably. Despite their reputation as cheaters and her clear position as the mastermind behind Mephsito's School for the Wickedly Inclined, there had never been any true evidence of wrongdoing. No, it would be more accurate to say it was clearly because she was the mastermind that there was no evidence.

"What exactly is your business here at this time of night?" Alto asked.

"Surely such a question should be posed from my lips," She replied curtly. "You have far less reason to be here than I."

They stood across from each other, neither one speaking.

Alto would be surprised if she didn't know what he was doing here. The evidence was fairly clear, unless King was fast enough there was no way she hadn't seen at least one of the missing students. In fact, King wouldn't be the type to interfere with her, if she had done something to them. He would be the exact type to bring them down disregarding anything else.

"8 Students are missing from our school." He finally said. "They are here, and I've been tasked with retrieving them."

He only said the basics of the situation which Clara would most likely know. None of the details, which wouldn't have helped anyway.

"Hmm, is that so?" She replied. He saw a flicker of a smile pass her lips. Any normal person would think little of it, but Alto could almost see the gears turning in her head. It wasn't as if they'd started suddenly, but there was a tiny stutter which had allowed him to gauge the flow. They had been turning for a while now, but it seems she had gotten a new idea.

"Then perhaps I shall assist you."

He froze for a second. Such a thing had been within his calculations, but not his expectations. He had been caught off guard but he couldn't show it.

"Well of course I have my own objective," She continued, "But we are in a position of mutual benefit. Helping you will eventually help me meet my own objective."

He didn't know if hiding meant anything under that gaze. Those warm words of comraderie were just as calculated as his own. However, before he could respond, King crashed through a nearby window and rolled, end over end, until he reached their position.

He landed out on one knee, arms flared out to his side, cape fluttering down behind him.

"Have you guys seen a black cat with an orange collar running around here?" He asked.

@rawkhawk64

Royal Rumble!

Royal Rumble 1, conclusion

As the beam came down, there was one final flash as Alto entered God Speed Flash yet again. Three times in a row wasn't very easy. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but he didn't let it show. Their little skirmish was over now, but it felt as if it was just a taste of what was to come. Hopefully it wouldn't come too soon. He shook his head. It would be clear soon enough.

Despite the unexpected nature of the night, he had been expecting the past to catch up with him some day. He was strong enough to face it now, but who could say what lay in the future? It seemed he needed to set his sights forward, now more than ever.

---

The room Brutus entered was empty again. The window was open and the curtain was billowing in the wind. Suddenly, a message appeared on Brutus' phone.

Alto's got a car downstairs. If you find anyone knocked out, bring 'em down.

King

King, wherever he really was always seemed to have impeccable timing. It seemed true for almost everyone, enemy and ally.

"So, why is it that you are here before me?" Clara asked.

In front of her stood a very familiar gaudily clad figure with a grin on his face.

"I was looking for a missing cat," King replied innocently.

"That doesn't look like a missing cat." Clara replied, looking at the body draped over King's shoulder.

"And that sure as hell doesn't look like a savory activity." He said, referring to the worm currently stretching out from Clara's finger to enter the other unconscious student's ear.

"...Granted." Clara said, getting up on her feet. "Still, to seek me out like this, you must have a reason."

"I wasn't looking for you, just this guy over here." King said, walking over and taking the other unconscious student over his other shoulder.

"Aren't you siding with them?"

"That worm of yours isn't going to be found unless you want them to be found, right? Well, I could do something about it if I felt the need to, but I want you both to owe me a little."

Some words came to mind, she didn't remember who had said them, but they were significant none the less. "If you can't be medicine or poison, then all you are is water." She would have thought that the Vigilantes would have been as such. So many 'neutral' parties she had witnessed failed to be either, and simply became nothing. The Vigilantes however, had yet to become truly one or the other, like many others of their type. But their leader King, felt as if he could make them become anything.

"I'm headed off for a bit, I can tell them I saw you, but it's not as if you'll be staying here for too long, is it?"

"No, I don't think I will be."

King waved, or about as close as you could really get with bodies draped over both shoulders, and flew out the window.

"Let's continue, Yuuto." Clara said with a sigh. The ninja was hidden, but it was likely such a thing didn't really mean anything against King. "We have some more targets to pursue."
@rawkhawk64@Gentlemanvaultboy@Dezuel@Bartimaeus@Letter Bee@Crowvette@Scarifar

Royal Rumble!

The monster... is here.

It would seem the past had a way of catching up when you least expected, but perhaps it was just as much for the people involved as it was for him. It had been long ago, he had beaten the monster back with his blade. He appeared again now, but under very different circumstances. He was on a side now, and he was fighting as an ally to Vittorio.

An enemy, but Alto would've liked to know to what extent. He clearly wasn't eager to see Alto again, and under normal circumstances he probably would be avoiding him, but for now he was another combatant to fight.

He activated God Speed Flash as the rain came down, sliding under it before it could reach with a blinding flash of light. He appeared at Gilliam's side and swung as the last vestiges of God Speed wore off.

@Dezuel @Bartimaeus @Gentlemanvaultboy @Letter Bee @Scarifar

Royal Rumble!

Royal Rumble

Alto felt no responsibility for Vittorio Twinveil. The deaths of his family and friends were something he could not have prevented, by a true enemy who would not have been stopped by anything. However, he had to take responsibility for the lives of the people in this room. Besides, he'd been awarded the first shot anyway.

Perhaps Vittorio's plan would have worked if Alto was a fool. It was his policy to always err on the side of caution, and while in some scenarios it wasn't possible to do such a thing, but there was a way here.

"Prepare yourself Vittorio Twinveil," Alto said. "This will not go as you wished."

He used his third ability God Speed Flash. His body turned to light for a split second, and for yet another split second he could move almost at the speed of light. Most thought it was a teleportation ability, and to some extent it was mostly for moving position, but it was capable of much more than that.

Before Alto moved however, he threw his sword. The flash from entering God Speed would hide the throw. During this state, Alto's thoughts moved at lightspeed just as he did. He saw the sword pass straight through Vittorio as he began moving. Across the lobby, past Vittorio, finally ending up next to Alexander.

"I assume you had a plan for this?" He said, creating another blade of light in his hand. "Enact it. I will give as much support as I'm able to."
@Letter Bee @Dezuel @Gentlemanvaultboy