"I merely stumbled, no need to overreact." Vil responded as he brushed himself off.
"You took a lot of damage in that battle. You shouldn't push yourself, here, lean on my shoulder." Rook offered kindly.
"Oh yeah that reminds me, that last spell you used to take out Vil. Deuce, what was that?" Ace brought up in confusion.
"That last shot of yours was pretty freaking cool, y'know!" Grim shouted with a look of excitement, "Deuce, when did you learn a spell like that?"
"Actually, the reason it had that much impact was because of Vil, not me." Deuce responded with a smile.
"I see." Lotus nodded with a wide smile, "So, this is what you were able to figure out after being beaten around by some gangsters."
"Th-That's..." Deuce stammered in embarrassment.
"Lotus." Yuu sighed in exasperation.
"What's that mean?" Kalim raised a brow in confusion.
"Well, that spell takes all the damage I've taken from my opponent, stores it in my body then unleashes it all." Deuce explained, "So that means that the magic Vil used against me was so strong that I was able to put that much power into my spell."
"That's good explanation." Lotus applauded with a nod of approval.
"What the heck? So it's just some good, old-fashioned payback?!" Ace sighed in disappointment.
"Don't talk about it like that! The first time I used it was when Epel and I went to the beach and got picked on by some guys." Deuce scolded him and muttered in dismay, "At that time, it felt like the spell just kind of happened after I stood there just taking hits from them."
"You really need to not let spells 'just kind of happen' when regular people are involved. That's grounds for immediate expulsion." Jamil pointed out with a frown.
"Urgh. I-I'm sorry." Deuce muttered an apology once he heard this.
"Since then I haven't managed to get the spell to work at all." Deuce continued, "So just now when Vil was doing his absolute best to kick the crap out of us, I finally got a feel for it."
Lotus giggled, "I see. Congratulations, Deuce."
"Huh?" Deuce and the other first years looked to her in confusion.
"Ah hah hah!" Kalim laughed, "See, over-thinking stuff is totally not your style. So this is what makes you unique!"
"Unique? Oh, I get it…" Deuce's eyes widen upon realization and smiled wide, "Does this mean… This is my Unique Magic?!"
"Huh? You hadn't realized?" Lotus raised a brow in confusion.
""You really belted out that incantation, y'know." Yuu added excitedly.
"Yeah. I was in the heat of the moment, so I don't really recall." Deuce's eyes widen upon bewilderment, "Hold on, did I say an incantation or something?! Crap, I don't remember what I said at all! You've got to tell me what it was later, Prefect!"
"Marvelous!" Rook applauded proudly, "Absolutely wonderful. That was an amazing display of you breaking out of your shell, Monsieur Spade. Behold. Vil was hit by the full might of your strike and has fallen head over heels."
"I think you mean he knocked me to the ground." Vil muttered in exasperation, "Still…Rook makes a good point. Your final strike did quite the number on me. You did well, Deuce."
Flabberghasted, Deuce was at a loss for words before he teared up, "...Thank you!"
"You sure were pretty confident to tell us to get back even though you hadn't fully grasped your magic yet." Jamil sighed, "I'm glad it worked when you needed it, but what would you have done if you couldn't pull it off?"
"Come on, it's fine. He pulled it off, after all!" Kalim said with a wide smile on his face.
"…Good grief." Jamil shook his head in disappointment, "I really don't understand how you can leave things to chance."
"D-Deuce figured out his Unique Magic before I did? For real?" Ace cried out in disbelief.
"I always thought that Deuce would never find his before mine, y'know." Grim muttered in disappointment.
Epel chuckled with a wide smile, "Then we just have to keep working hard too, I guess."
"Alright…" Jamil turned to the ruined stage and muttered, "Now what do we do about the busted-up stage? Fortunately, nobody besides us was caught… in the poisonous fog Vil dispersed throughout the Coliseum. It's really a good thing that Vil's Unique Magic didn't have a prolonged effect. I'd like to get the venue fixed up, remove the curse and get out before anyone notices anything, but… It's impossible for us to return everything to normal with the little magical energy we have left. Ugh, our hands are tied no matter what angle I try to think about this from. There might not be anything we can do."
"Ffgna…" Grim cried out as everything that Jamil's words left him in a state of confusion.
"Wait, then what'll happen to VDC?" Epel cried out in shock as it dawned on them the seriousness of the situation.
Suddenly, Lotus received some news and a smile appeared on her face as she patted Jamil's and Epel's shoulder, "Don't worry about it too much. It seems that you might just have to ask a certain person for help when it comes to these things."
"Huh?"
Jamil raised a brow, "Lotus... What are you trying to get at?"
Lotus only smirked leaving Jamil an unsettling feeling upon seeing that mischevious smile on her face.
"Oh my… What happened here?"
Everyone turned around and froze in shock and gasped as Vil muttered in disbelief, "You're... What are you doing here?"
The horned figure stood before them with a look of confusion, "I thought I'd try to arrive a bit early, but look at this mess of a stage."
"Oh, Tsunotaro!" Yuu exclaimed in shook upon seeing the familiar figure, "Tsunotaro, there's still, like, two hours until VDC starts!"
"Tsunotaro?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"
The others cried out in disbelief upon hearing the words out of Yuu's mouth.
"Ohh! So you're that Tsunotaro guy that's always loitering in the Ramshackle Dorm yard in the middle of the night." Grim exclaimed with a wide smile, "Yuu told me about it, but you really do have horns on your head! Nyahaha--ffgh!?"
Before Grim could finish his sentence, Deuce dove in and pulled him away as Ace pulled Yuu away as well! Duece whispered in bewilderment at Grim, "Hey, Grim! Th-Th-That's not how you talk to your upperclassmen!"
"Prefect!" Ace scolded Yuu, "Calling HIM of all people "Tsunotaro"!? Do you really not give a crap about your life!?"
"Do ya have any idea who that is!?" Epel cried out in horror upon learning of this.
"Well, he told me to call him whatever I want, so…" Yuu muttered in confusion, "And, he didn't tell him his real name. Lotus, stop laughing, please. Did you know something about this that I don't?"
"Roi du Dragon, how did you manage to get inside the Coliseum?" Rook questioned him rather surprised as well.
"I was invited here by the child of man that resides in Ramshackle Dorm. I have a proper invitation, you know." Malleus responded as he showed them the ticket he was given.
"That's...not exactly what I meant." Rook explained, "The poisonous fog bearing a powerful curse born from Vil's Unique Magic should still be surrounding this place. Anywho come in contact with it should be forced to suffer."
Having Laughed her share, Lotus shook her head in disappointment, "Rook-senpai. Did you forget? He is very strong. Not even a mere poison barrier is capable of fazing him. He's talking about the dark fog from outside."
"...Oh, now that you mention it, I did get the feeling that there was some spell cast here, but…" Malleus shook his head and continued, "...No matter how powerful it may be, it will not be able to curse me."
"Hmph." Vil frowned disapprovingly, "Seems like you had a grand old time taking advantage of Yuu's naivete."
Vil sighed and introduced him to Yuu, "He is the Dorm Head of Diasomnia, the dorm founded on the elegance of the Witch of Thorns, Malleus Draconia."
"The initials on that card were M.D., that means…" Yuu pieced it together in shock upon hearing this.
"Indeed. I am none other than the next ruler of the Valley of Thorns, Malleus Draconia." Malleus responded proudly.
"Ffgna…" Grim gasped in awe and shock, "That guy that Ace and the others said was a super OP magift player during the tournament... Is this Tsunotaro guy!?"
"See, I told you." Malleus smirked upon seeing the shocked looks on their faces, "Once you knew my true identity, you would feel a chill crawl down your back."
Instantly, a thought came to Yuu's mind as he turned to Lotus with a scowl, "You knew about this, but didn't tell me? Seriously?"
Lotus laughed, "Hahaha! Well, it would be rude of my to ruin a surprise. Besides, it looked like the two of you were having fun talking about the gargoyles and things like that. I don't wanna be the one to break things up and become the culprit of ruining the fun."
"By the way, Schoenheit, what kind of 'grand old time' would lead to you getting that beat up?" Malleus raised a brow in confusion upon seeing his beaten state, "The Beautiful Queen's spirit would weep if she saw you like this."
Vil hesitated for a long while seemingly rather uncomfortable by what had transpired, "What happened was…"
"Well? Tell me, children of men." Malleus urged him to continue speaking.