Cobalt's blood ran cold upon hearing Mistress Viola's words.

An expulsion trial. The most dire of consequences reserved only for the worst of the worst.

One could get away with a lot in a tertiary-level school, but when enough lines were crossed, the Headmaster or Headmistress could sentence the offending student to an expulsion trial. Their actions and attitude would be put under scrutiny before a jury of teachers and witnesses, with the head of the school acting as a judge. If found guilty, that student would be expelled, and their educational record would be permanently tarnished.

"A- Are you sure?" Cobalt gasped, jogging along behind his employer.

"Absolutely certain. Rost has been a thorn in my side since he enrolled. This latest incident finally gives me an excuse to bring the gavel down," Mistress Viola replied, narrowing her eyes.

"But an expulsion trial?"

"Are you questioning my judgement, boy?"

"N- No, not at all, miss!"

"Then be quiet and hurry along."

She marched along through the cold stone halls of the school, causing the waves of bustling students to fall silent and part to let her pass. Storming through the front hall, she and Cobalt ascended the stairwell, all the way to the B.I.D.'s top floor. Arriving before the great ebony double doors of the Headmistress' office, the Incubus glanced up at the words inscribed above it.

MEPS MENMO ETIUQNILER IUQ CUH SITARTNI

It was a phrase than unnerved everyone who laid eyes upon it, Cobalt most of all.

"Boy."

Flinching, he looked back at Viola. She had stopped in front of the doors, one gloved hand placed upon the finely-carved wood. She peered at him over her shoulder, her eyes glinting dangerously.

"Don't think I'm ignoring the elephant in the room here. I expect a full explanation regarding your horns whenever we've sorted this mess. Understood?" she asked in a stern tone.

Swallowing hard, Cobalt just nodded, too uncomfortable to speak.

"Very well. Answer any questions you're asked, otherwise just keep your mouth shut."

She shoved the doors wide open and marched inside.

The Headmistress' office was a long, grand room that took up most of the school's upper floor. The heads of a dozen hunted beasts were mounted upon the wood-paneled walls, and at the very far wall was a large window that overlooked the school's largest courtyard. The usual couches and side tables that sat in the centre of the office had been pushed aside to make room for much less comfortable furniture. In the very middle of the room, a sullen Magnus Rost sat in a small school chair, while surrounding him was four other chairs. Ethan Zespire, Martha Cain and Monique Pudon sat in three of them, while the fourth was empty. As Mistress Viola seated herself behind her grand desk, Cobalt skittered over to the empty chair and sat down.

Magnus looked up and fixed the Incubus with a death glare. His face was badly bruised and one of his lips had been split open.

"Alright, now that we're all in attendance, let us get this trial underway," Viola sighed, steepling her hands as she leaned forward in her chair.

Ethan and Martha both folded their arms disapprovingly, while Monique just shifted about uncomfortably.

"Magnus Rost. I trust you know why you are here?" began the Headmistress.

The Oni growled. Cobalt stared at the recently-formed gap in his teeth, feeling more and more uncomfortable as the seconds drew on.

"Yeah. And it's fucking bullshit! I did nothing wrong!" he barked, glaring at the Incubus.

Viola waved his gruff words away.

"Mr. Zespire, would you please read off the consequences of Mr. Rost's most recent escapade?"

Nodding, Ethan got out of his chair and pulled a notebook from his pocket.

"A bunch of sofas and tables were destroyed, in addition to massive structural damage to the floor and walls of the girl's dorm common room. Around seven students suffered some cuts and bruises, but one in particular suffered more serious wounds. She was sent off for emergency surgery, but the hospital hasn't gotten back to us with results yet," he explained, reading off a page in an irritated voice.

Sighing, Mistress Viola pulled a pair of steel spectacles from her shirt pocket and put them on. She flipped through a few pages on her desk, frowning all the while.

"Mm, yes. Quite a lot of repair payments to be made. Care to offer a defence, Mr. Rost?" she asked, glancing over the top of her glasses with shadow-ringed eyes.

"Like I said, I did nothing wrong! He did the fucking Rite thing! It's his fault!" Magnus snapped, pointing an accusing finger.

Martha cleared her throat and opened up the old leather bound book sitting on her lap. Cobalt recognised it as an archaic Hellish lawbook, one he had spent many long nights studying for History exams back in Oxford.

"Actually, Mr. Rost, the breach of the Rite was entirely your fault. As written in the 1623 printing of the Rite Book, the Rite to Fair Combat is rendered completely null and void whenever a noncombatant is wounded impenitently, stripping them of their right to defend themselves against the other combatant," she explained, dragging her finger along the page.

"I didn't mean to hit her! She got in the way!"

"Ah, but you were unremorseful. Unapologetic. Impenitent. So the fault is still yours," Martha concluded, snapping the book shut.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"What?!"

Mistress Viola looked down at the papers in front of her for a moment before turning her gaze onto Monique. The other Succubus flinched at her employer's gaze, a reaction that eased Cobalt for some reason.

"A- Ah, right, yes..."

She put on some glasses of her own and flipped through a glittery pink notebook.

"I inquired with a few students about the incident. All of their testimonies were similar; Magnus was verbally abusing both Mr. Trayer and a number of other students at an informal gathering, Mr. Trayer invoked the Rite and a fight ensued. At one point, Magnus threw a bottle at Mr. Trayer, but struck Quinn Redtile instead. Apparently what ensued was... bloody, to say the least," she explained, avoiding eye-contact with Cobalt.

The Incubus clasped his hands together and sunk down in his seat.

"A very serious accusation. Mr. Trayer, care to give your account of events?" asked Mistress Viola, slowly spinning a pen across the surface of her desk.

"M- Me?" Cobalt asked dumbly.

"Do you see any other Mr. Trayers in here, boy?"

"A- Ah, right..."

Clearing his throat, Cobalt nervously got to his feet, doing his best not to react to the venomous glares that Magnus was shooting his way.

"I was invited to the party by one of my students-"

"Whores," the Oni grunted.

Eyes widening, the Incubus looked over at the Headmistress. She was staring right at Magnus, her fists clenched tightly.

"Proceed, boy," she said, furrowing her brow.

"W- Well, at one point in the night, Mr. Rost began insulting a number of students, which-"

"You mean your gang of fucktarts."

"Mr. Rost. Silence," Viola snapped, narrowing her eyes.

Cobalt took a deep breath.

"He was inebriated, so I believe that may have impaired his judgement. I, however, did deign to silence him through violence as opposed to diplomacy, something I do regret," he said, fiddling with his thumbs.

Madam Pudon cleared her throat.

"You're not the one on trial here, mon ami. It's okay," she whispered to him.

He nodded shakily.

"Y- Yes, well... Things got out of hand. Quite a lot of the common room was damaged in the ensuing fight, and rather than attempt to clear the area, I... Quinn was..."

Cobalt stopped talking for a moment in order to collect himself.

"I lost control and attacked Magnus until I beat him unconscious," he concluded.

Viola gave him a look.

"You seem to be defending him, Mr. Trayer. Care to explain why?"

"I- I'm not defending his actions, per se. I just don't wish for anybody to be expelled because of me..."

The Headmistress nodded slowly.

"I see. How very admirable."

Gripping the edge of her desk, the Succubus got out of her seat.

"But I'm afraid that Mr. Rost's transgressions run much deeper than last night's incident."

Signalling for Cobalt to sit back down, Mistress Viola walked around her desk approached Magnus, her arms folded and her gaze cold.

"General disruption. Smoking on school grounds. Rampant truancy. Unfulfilled assignments. Frequent fights. Uncooperative behaviour. The use and distribution of narcotics on school grounds. Vandalism. The list goes on."

She took a step closer.

"But worst of all, something that was only brought to light recently, was the relentless bullying of a fellow student. I can put up with a lot, Mr. Rost, but the psychological and physical torment of another is where I draw the line," she said, her voice calm yet seething.

Magnus' eyes snapped wide.

"Wh- What? That was nothing! I- I was just fucking around!" he cried.

She slowly shook her head.

"No. Magnus Rost, I declare that on this day, you are hereby expelled from the Brimstone Institute of Demonics," Mistress Viola announced.

Cobalt's heart almost stopped, and judging by the looks on his colleagues' faces, the feeling was mutual. Madam Pudon and Mr. Zespire both gazed at the floor, while Martha tutted and shook her head at the expelled Oni.

"You... You can't do this! I didn't fucking do anything wrong! You can't kick me out!" Magnus roared, leaping to his feet.

Mistress Viola just turned around and began to walk back to her desk.

"You have until the end of the day to get out of my school. Persist any longer, and you will be forcibly removed," she stated, clasping her hands behind her back.

The Oni clenched his fists. He bared his teeth. His face grew red as smoke spilled from the gap in his teeth.

"You... you... YOU FUCKING BITCH! NGRAAAAGH~!"

Magnus lunged at the Headmistress, fists raised and ready to swing. Ethan leaped out of his seat, ready to defend his employer. Martha began an incantation to summon her Obsidian Bow. Monique screamed and shielded her face. Cobalt just sat and watched with wide eyes.

But Viola beat them all to the punch. Or more specifically, the kick.

Wheeling around on one foot, Mistress Viola lashed out with her right leg, her hands still calmly clasped behind her back. The blow was so forceful that it knocked the Oni back a few feet, blood flowing from where he had been struck across the face. Dashing forward, the ex-kickboxer raised her knee, striking him in the jaw and forcing him down onto his knees. As he screamed and writhed in pain on the floor, the Succubus calmly approached him.

"You fool," she hissed, raising her leg in an impressive display of flexibility.

Her steely eyes flashed dangerously.

"Know your damn place...!"

She brought her foot down in a brutal axe kick. Magnus didn't even get enough time to scream as he was dealt a thunderous blow to the head. His face struck the floor as blood splattered all over the floorboards.

Lifting her bloodied foot, Mistress Viola turned on her heel and marched back to her desk.

"Thank you for your time everybody. Ethan, if you'd be so kind as to escort Mr. Rost from the premises, that would be lovely."

The teachers all gave each other blank looks as they made their way towards the exit. Ethan nodded and murmured something before grabbing Magnus and hoisting him over his shoulder. A few more teeth tinkled from the unconscious Oni's mouth as he was hauled out of the office.

"Except you, boy," Viola called as Cobalt got out of his chair.

He flinched. Writing with one hand, she beckoned for him to approach her desk with the other.

"I warned you that the changes you'd face would only make things difficult. I expected the strength and the teeth, and I did my best to cover for you..."

She set her pen down and glared at him.

"... but now we have dozens of students bearing witness to you going berserk. And to top it all off, we have this little enigma to deal with," she said, pointing at his horns.

"I- I promise you, I have no idea how this happened. I don't want these any more than you do," Cobalt replied, reaching up to touch them.

Viola sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"It's the second day of the school year, and you've already beaten your record for causing me grief, boy."

"I- I'm sorry..."

"Fights, insults and expulsions. Just like your school days."

Cobalt raised and eyebrow. What was she talking about?

"Sorry?"

Furrowing her brow, the Headmistress shook her head and dismissed him with a wave.

"Go. Just go. And for the love of all that burns, try to stay out of trouble," she grumbled, returning her attention to the papers in front of her.

Apologising once more, Cobalt bid his employer farewell and scuttled out of the office, taking a wide berth around the red puddle on the floor. The blood smelled strong, enough to make him gag.

The uneasy feeling only grew worse, and the ember in his stomach only burned brighter.