Patty felt the frustration and sadness in Grammo's voice. He used to be a person with endless enthusiasm and optimism in his dreams. Despite his inability to sing the right tune, if you just listened properly in his voice, you would be able to see the passion and determination leaking out of his singing. It didn't matter if he was bad at singing; you could see that he was a guy who just wanted to sing.
You couldn't help but root for such an earnest person. That was also the reason why he decided to help Grammo. Of course, he had his own motives like the system mission, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to help Grammo of his own accord.
After all, he was just like Grammo. Both of them had impossible dreams that nobody believed that they would ever achieve. Grammo wanted to sing, but there was no normal solution to helping him sing better; Patty wanted to achieve everything in life, but he wanted to be lazy while doing it. Both of them were fighting against tremendous odds, that's why they became such fast friends.
Patty saw a comrade in Grammo. But now, with his voice broken and guttural, he could only see a shell of who he was. He seemed like a broken man who had no hope left in his body.
"What happened…" Patty uttered, but he already knew the answer. The main culprit of this crime was none other than Griff. He was the only one capable of destroying a man's dream just for the sake of destroying them.
"What happened was…you're too late." Griff answered, sitting on his throne. "I purged him of his crazy dream and gave him a second chance. I gave him something that can give him a new life."
Patty faced Griff, his face no longer relaxed. There was no emotion in his eyes and his eyebrows were as level as possible, but Griff could feel a silent danger in his face. This was the first time in a while that Patty showed a serious expression.
He was famous for always being lazy, apathetic to everything around him. Just like before, he could have just quickly forgotten the anger in his gut. He could have just let go of the frustration in his chest like he had done multiple times before. But this time, Patty didn't want to. This time, he didn't want to be lazy.
"What did you do?"
"I gave him a Teqx. This one cost a pretty penny. It's a C-class Power Teqx called Poison Breath. It gives its user the dangerous ability of releasing poison toxins from their mouth in a vapor cloud that affects everything that it touches. It's absorbed through the skin, burying itself deep within the membranes and infecting the blood that circulates all over their body. In just mere minutes, the victims would feel paralyzed from their head to toe and if left untreated, could cause the heart to stop permanently."
"You know what I'm talking about. Why. Can't. He. Sing?"
Griff shrugged. "As soon as he merges with the Teqx, the body morphs and creates a new body part that stores all the poison in the body. It just so happens that it grows on the throat, forcing the Trachea to close up and constrict the larynx. As for what happens after that? Well, you can just take a guess."
It only meant that because of the Poison Breath Teqx, Grammo can never sing again in his life. It was as simple as that. And because he now has this Poison Breath Teqx, he can never have another Teqx again. This will be stuck with him forever, always reminding him of his failed dream. It will forever haunt him that he will never be able to fix his singing and even be able to sing one verse of his favorite song.
"I gave him a new life!" Griff shouted. "Now, he can forget about his silly little dream about being a singer. With this Teqx, he can actually do something productive and start a new career in Adventuring and Hunting Fiends! If you ask me, I have just given him the best gift anyone has ever received. Anyone would be lucky to have this Teqx that can earn them millions of Credits in the future!"
But did Grammo want that? Did he want to spend his life risking his life in the wild, hunting Fiends and Monsters? Was all of that worth it that he had to lose his singing? Did he want to lose his dream?
No. Grammo saw this, not as a gift, but a curse. He was cursed with being stuck in a path that he did not want to traverse. He was forced to become something that he was not. And what did he do to deserve this? All because he wanted to sing? All because he wanted to follow his dream when people did not want him to?
And the worst part of it was that Patty just found a new solution to their problem. He knew how to get a Voice Box Teqx. He had all the Credits he needed to buy it. All he needed to do was give it to Grammo. But unfortunately, he was late.
Patty felt responsible for all of this.
And in his most vulnerable, Griff suddenly moved. With the powerful Teqx that gave him superhuman legs, he moved with insane speeds. He looked like he disappeared from his throne and appeared behind Patty just a second later. This was the fastest he had ever been.
Griff was waiting for this exact moment. He just needed that one moment when Patty was distracted and didn't have time to react with his insane instincts. He knew that at his strongest, Patty could probably outspeed him and somehow avoid his fastest attack. He couldn't have that.
And at this exact moment, he knew that Patty would not be able to react. This was a very dirty move that was devoid of any honor, but he didn't care. He just wanted to win against Patty no matter what and no matter the consequences.
He took out something from his belt. It looked like a metal cube. But when he touched it, a vortex made out of space and void suddenly appeared. That little cube seemed to have summoned a small portal from some unknown place.
Griff shoved his hand into the vortex and took out something from it.
—-------------------
Sam believed that Patty's situation was more dire than he thought. It looked like Patty was right; this was a life or death situation. Griff was going to use the Teqx for nefarious purposes and ruin someone's life. He needed to help Patty.
"I'm sorry Professor, I have to go." Sam said as he tried to rush to the door.
But the professor caught his shoulders before he could leave. Sam looked back at the professor and saw him shake his head. "Don't go there. It's dangerous."
"What do you mean, professor? Didn't you say that Griff had the Teqx? Don't you know what he's going to do? He's going to give that Teqx to someone who doesn't want it. He will ruin their dreams and ruin their lives! How can I not go there and help Patty?"
The professor took a deep breath. "Yes, that is unfortunate. If what you say is true, then Griff must be stopped at all costs. However, it is not your fight to take."
"This is my friend you are talking about. Who knows maybe Patty will get caught up in that mess. You, of all people, should know how helpless that guy is! He'll continue to taunt and anger Griff and force him to retaliate."
But the professor kept his grip on Sam's shoulder. He was expecting a lot of things from Sam, and he didn't want him to get endangered just because he wanted to help someone like Patty. This situation was worse than he said.
The reason why he was so disheveled when he entered the Counselor's office was because he found out something alarming.
"I have something to tell you. I didn't tell everything that happened when Griff entered the School Inventory."
Sam stopped struggling to get out of the professor's grip and looked back at him. "What do you mean…"
"The C-class Poison Breath Teqx is not the only thing that was stolen today. He stole something else. He stole something very, VERY, dangerous…"
—-------------
Griff took out a giant black club, almost the size of his body, from the steel cube. It should have been impossible to store such a large object in such a small box, but with the power of an interdimensional inventory box, it was possible.
As soon as the black club made contact with the air, blue electric arcs suddenly appeared and wormed itself around the club, orbiting it but never making contact. It felt as if this club distorted the very reality and space of what it was occupying. You would feel your eye sting just from the mere passive energy that this weapon was emitting.
No superlative can describe the power and destruction that this weapon can emit. But now, it was in the hands of Griff.
With both hands tight and struggling to take control of this wild bull of a weapon, Griff swung it towards Patty with speeds that even he could not see. He felt his hands beginning to break and the tips of his fingers glowed a bright red as the blood started to boil and evaporate. But he still held on and attacked Patty.
BRRAAAKKKKK
The weapon hit Patty and flung him into the air until he crashed into the wall, leaving a storm of dust and concrete all over the place.
Griff smiled. Even professional Dreamers who have superhuman strength cannot survive a full-on attack from a Fiendish Armament.