It was a rare thing for a man to see the upper floors of the girls' dorms in B.I.D. It was said that an intrepid young Glutton boy attempted to document the inside back in 2001 in order to dispel the countless rumours surrounding the place held by his fellow men. But within five minutes of his expedition, he was beaten senseless and thrown back down the stairs with his camera camera smashed to bits and his teeth knocked into the back of his throat.
At the end of that day he went to the hospital, but amongst the boys of B.I.D., he went down as a legend.
Cobalt was no stranger to the tale, and though he had been allowed into the girls' dorms before, he still felt sweat trickled down the back of his neck as Karazelle lead him by the hand down the hall. All around him, various students leaned against the walls or hung around open doorways, excitedly chatting to one another as they prepared for the party downstairs. They gave Cobalt odd looks as he passed, but seeing as he was with Karazelle, they let him pass.
"You've got a reputation, you know," the Succubus whispered to him, sticking out her tongue as she playfully bumped her hip into his.
"I do?"
"Mmhm. Your herbivorous nature is no secret, sugar. You could probably walk these halls by yourself unharried, but I wouldn't risk it."
He frowned. That wasn't the first time he was called that, and he still wasn't sure what it meant.
"Well... It's nice to hear I'm considered trustworthy around here, I guess."
"More than trustworthy, sugar. I'd say your overall popularity has shot up since last year!"
He frowned grimly, remembered the graffiti he saw in the girls' bathrooms.
"I- I see..." he murmured as they approached the stairwell.
Karazelle giggled and pulled him closer to her.
"Believe me, I'm only clinging so close for your protection," she said with a wink.
Upon hearing this, Cobalt nervously glanced up at a group of Succubi looming in a nearby doorway, all of whom were staring directly at him. One girl raised a hand to him, but he was pulled away before she could do anything further.
Reaching the stairwell, the pair began to make their way downwards, only to be stopped by someone looming in the doorway to the building's fourth floor. Whitney Brode stood with her arms folded and her guitar case slung over her shoulder, dressed in dark clothes with her one visible eye glaring daggers at Karazelle.
"Butterskin," the Succubus greeted, giving the Nymph a mocking curtsy.
"Whoretits," she replied with a disapproving sigh.
Cobalt glanced from one to the other, silently hoping that a fight wasn't about to break out. The pair had an oddly paradoxical relationship; as thick as thieves, but constantly picking at each other, squabbling over petty issues or hurling insults across the classroom.
"You took your time getting him," Whitney remarked, nodding at Cobalt.
"Oh well, you know how these things go. Man meets woman, man submits to woman, man-"
Before she could finish her lurid remark, the Nymph snatched her teacher's free arm and began leading him down the stairs.
"Come on, sir. We're late enough as it is, and Izzbelle is gonna, like, blow a gasket if we take any longer."
"She's been real antsy about this whole do. What's up with that?" Karazelle interjected, following close behind.
Whitney shrugged as they landed at the third floor.
"Dunno. Something to do with Jelli, I guess."
The Succubus laughed.
"I see~. It's always got something to do with that girl when it comes to Izzbelle."
"Now that I think about it, yeah it's probably Jelli. At last year's party Magnus Rost dumped a whole jug of punch over her head. She was laughed out of the room."
Cobalt's fists clenched for a moment, before he cleared his throat and shook his head.
"Is Jelli comfortable with attending this year's celebration?" he asked.
They both just shrugged.
"She must be. It was her idea to invite you along, after all."
"Why?"
Karazelle suddenly wrapped her arms around Cobalt from behind, nearly sending all three of them tumbling down the stairs.
"Maybe she wants to be your date for tonight? I wouldn't mind sharing~!" she teased.
"Hey, lay off him!" Whitney snapped, reaching back to push the Succubus away.
"Jealous, Butterskin? Wish you were his date?"
"I didn't say that!"
"Do you wish I was your date?"
"What?! No!"
"You hesitated."
"I did not!"
"Yes you did!"
"No I -!"
"WILL YOU THREE SHUT THE FUCK UP?!"
Eyes wide, they each turned their gazes onto the pair of demons before them.
They had arrived at the dormitory building's ground floor, where the party was evidently in full swing. Numerous empty cups littered the floor of the front hallway and small groups of students lingered around the doors to the common room, where the bulk of the celebration appeared to be taking place. Standing at the base of the stairwell was Izzbelle Suyas, her teeth bared and her eyes blazing. Jelli was tugging on her torn blazer, urging the Oni to quieten down as she worriedly eyed the other students staring at them.
"Nice to see you too, tiger," Karazelle said with a smile.
But the Oni wasn't having it.
"We've been waitin' here for nearly half a fuckin' hour!"
"Well we're here now, aren't we?"
Clenching her fists, Izzbelle stomped forward and grabbed the front of Cobalt's jacket, pulling him clean off his feet.
"And what about you, huh? What took you so fuckin' long to get ready?!" she hissed, narrowing her eyes.
"I- I didn't even know anything about this!" he cried, trying and failing to squirm out of her grasp.
"I- Izzbelle, please! Put him down!" Jelli pleaded, reaching up to jog her arm.
"Do you got any fuckin' idea how much she's been lookin' forward to this?!" the Oni continued obliviously, holding her teacher aloft with one hand as she used the other to point at her rotund companion.
"Izzbelle!" the Glutton cheeped, her face going red.
"She's been gettin' ready since class ended, and you're out here draggin' your fuckin' heels with these morons?!"
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She pointed in turn at Whitney and Karazelle while Jelli hid her face. With a heavy sigh, the Succubus batted her hand away and slunk over to to her side.
"Now now, Izzbelle, let's not cause a fuss so early into the night. There's enough of him to go around, alright?" she said in a soft tone, gently massaging the Glutton's shoulders.
"The fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Izzbelle snapped, dropping Cobalt to the floor as she whipped around to face the Succubus.
With the Oni distracted, Whitney leaped to his aid, helping him to his feet and directing him towards the common room.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea. My mere presence seems to be causing issues..." he mumbled, glancing worriedly over his shoulder at the ensuing argument.
Whitney sighed and wiped some of the dust off of his jacket.
"Well, what did you expect? Put a bunch of strong personalities in a group together and you're bound to get some friction," she explained.
"But... I can't help but feel like there's fights every time I'm with you lot..."
"Think about it. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even have the chance to have big blowouts like this," Whitney reassured him, gesturing to her friends.
Izzbelle was going red in the face as she yelled at Karazelle, who was making all manner of crude retorts with a great big smile on her face. Jelli was trying and failing to get both of them to stop, but as soon as tears began to fall, the two belligerents ceased their squabbling and leaped to the Glutton's aid, with the Succubus offering kind words and the Oni reaching down to dry her eyes. Above them, Quinn and Lottie were making their way down to the ground floor, both dressed in the cleanest uniforms that Cobalt had ever seen on either of them.
"Besides, it's better out than in with this kinda stuff in my opinion. Imagine if I didn't get to tell Whoretits what I usually think of her. I'd probably chew my arm off," she sighed.
Before Cobalt could ponder further, Whitney playfully elbowed her teacher in the ribs before linking her arm through his.
"Now come on, let's party!"
-----
It was said that at one point the students of the Brimstone Institute of Demonics were born of a certain stock. The sons and daughters of the upper classes, they were considered by others to be modern day nobles, the regal and refined scions of tomorrow.
Those days had clearly passed.
The usually-serene common room of the girls' dorms had been completely transformed. Music pounded from the speakers set up all around the room and the floor was a veritable carpet of crumpled red cups and scraps of torn wrappers. One of the couches had been tipped over, while the others were occupied with students either making or passing out. Tables had been set up over by the far wall, each laden with dozens upon dozens of alcohol bottles. By the time Cobalt entered the room and a drink was pushed into his hand, he was already feeling hazy from the fumes in the air alone.
"So this is a party..." he murmured to himself, watching a Glutton second-year vomit all over another student.
Beside him, Quinn took a sip of her drink. She had perched herself upon the arm of one the couches, occasionally feeding chips to Lottie. The Golem, having grown overexcited at the sight of so many bottles, drank too much too quickly, and was now scarcely able to move.
"They're not all they're cracked up to be," the Imp remarked, passing another chip into Lottie's mouth.
"Mah... thang you Quidd..." she slurred, barely able to keep her eyes open.
Cobalt raised his drink to his lips, then immediately thought better upon smelling how much alcohol was in it.
"I'm not certain if it's quite my thing."
"You've usually got to be completely wankered to enjoy these kind of things. Isn't that right love?"
"Yaaay~" Lottie warbled, drunkenly raising her hands.
"Want my advice? Get the rest of that down you. Things'll seem better once you start seeing double," Quinn concluded, tapping his cup.
"I'm... not much a drinker. The last time I got drunk, bad things happened."
"When was that?"
"Izzbelle's wedding."
Quinn grimaced, the air hissing between her teeth.
"Ah, yeah, that. Heard that was... yeah."
She tipped the rest of her drink down her throat.
"Well if getting shitfaced is off the cards, why not join in? Everyone else is having fun," she suggested, gingerly taking his cup as she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder.
Behind her, Cobalt could see that both Whitney and Karazelle were dancing hand-in-hand with one another, though judging by their burning cheeks and lidded eyes, both were more than likely too drunk to realise just who they were dancing with. Izzbelle was hanging out around the drinks table, picking petty fights with whoever looked at her funny, while Jelli was standing in a corner, nervously fidgeting about.
"Right... Make sure you get her some water, I'll be back in a bit," he said, gesturing to Lottie as he got to his feet.
Taking care not to collide with any teetering students, Cobalt made his way over to Jelli's side. She flinched as soon as he drew near, almost spilling her drink everywhere.
"M- Mr. Trayer!" she gasped, holding her cup close to her chest.
"Sorry there, I didn't mean to startle you," he replied, raising his hands.
"N- No, it's okay! I, um... I was just..."
She went quiet for a moment, looking around with wide, frightened eyes.
"... I don't know if this is party is very, um..."
Sighing, Cobalt nodded and patted Jelli's shoulder.
"Yes, I understand completely. I don't believe I'm enjoying it much either."
The two stood side by side, quietly watching the other partygoers as the music thrummed all around them. Jelli began fiddling with the buttons on her blazer.
"Did, um... Did you go to lots of parties when you were at school?" she asked, peering up at Cobalt.
"I'm afraid not. I didn't tend to hang around with that kind of crowd."
"A- Ah... du bist genau wie ich..."
She gazed down into her cup.
"I, um... I don't really like this stuff... Karazelle said it would make me feel better, but it doesn't taste very nice, and it burns my throat."
Her eyes widened.
"S- Sorry, I'm complaining again..." Jelli quickly apologised.
"No, it's alright. Here, I'll go see if I can find you something lighter," the Incubus said.
Taking her untouched drink from her hands, Cobalt stepped over to the drinks table and set it down. Taking an empty cup, he took a moment to peruse the various liqours on display, frowning as each appeared to have a higher alcohol content than the last. Eventually he found a few bottles of fruit juices that the students were using as mixers, so he poured Jelli a fresh glass of orange juice.
"This should do," he murmured to himself, setting the carton down as he picked the cup up.
As he made his way back towards Jelli, however, the music suddenly changed. The pace picked up and many of the students cheered and took to the floor, drunkenly flailing about with their friends. Cobalt wove this way and that in an effort to bring the juice back to his friend unspilled, but before he realised it, an inebriated Imp abruptly slammed into his back, throwing the Incubus forward and sending the juice flying.
It splattered all over another demon at the drinks table; a tall, disgruntled Oni that slowly turned to face Cobalt, teeth clenched with outrage and eyes burning with murder. He raising a finger and pointed at the Incubus.
"You...!" hissed Magnus Rost, throwing his drink to the floor as he stormed towards Cobalt.
"M- Mr. Rost...!" squeaked the Incubus, staggering backwards.
The floor cleared a little as the partygoers took notice of the disturbance.
"Is this some kind of fucking joke? You think just because you got lucky last year that you can waltz in here and shit all over me?!"
The man was drunk, and it was clear that intoxication did no favours for his already-volatile temperament.
"Magnus, please; it was an accident-!"
"Fuck you! I'll tell you what was an accident; you getting one over on that fucking Devil!"
An audible gasp broke out amongst the students, prompting the infuriated Oni to turn his attention to them.
"Yeah, I said it! What we're all thinking! If it hadn't been for you gaggle of stuck-up bitches, you'd be fucking dead right now!" Magnus bellowed, sending spit flying.
His words were loud enough to snap both Karazelle and Whitney from their stupor. Seeing the shocked look in their eyes, Cobalt nervously cleared his throat and straightened up.
"Hey! There's no need for that kind of language!" he retorted, though his quivering voice betrayed his fear.
With a determined snort, the Oni loomed close and jabbed an accusing finger into the Incubus' chest.
"See what I fucking mean? Always jumping to their defence? It's fucking pathetic, and you're not fooling anybody!"
Taking a step back, Magnus opened his arms out wide.
"I'm sick of you! I'm sick of your bullshit, and I'm putting an end to it! You and me, Cobalt; right fucking now!" he announced, causing the whole party to go dead quiet.
Swallowing hard, Cobalt nervously gazed around at the countless eyes boring into him.
"Magnus, you know I can't do that," he said firmly.
"Why not?! You fought Izzbelle no fucking problem last year! Oh, but she's a different story, isn't she?! Her and all her other bitches!"
He thrust a finger at Jelli, who screamed in fear and collapsed to her knees. Izzbelle, though she looked ready to kill Magnus right there, placed herself protectively between them.
"Like the pig!"
His insult towards Jelli caused a brief, unexpected flash of anger to tear through Cobalt. He could handle any abuse hurled his way, but not when it came to her.
"And the whore!"
Again, another hot, searing sting of anger. Deep down, Cobalt could feel that roiling, raging sensation grow that little bit stronger.
"And the dyke!"
He clenched his fists and bared his teeth, trying to block out Magnus' insults.
"And the suckup!"
Magnus was drunk. He wasn't in complete control of his faculties. He didn't know what he was saying, not really. Cobalt just had to remain calm and rational.
"And the retard!"
Get it together, Trayer.
"And the psycho!"
Get it together, Trayer!
"You've been fucking tripping over yourself for them! It's not a fucking secret, and I'm sick of it! Am I right?!" Magnus roared, turning to face the crowd.
The students of B.I.D. quietly murmured to one another, each unwilling to speak out. Eventually Karazelle stepped forward, looking unusually composed despite her intoxication.
"Is that jealousy I hear, Magnus?" she announced, even with Whitney quietly urging her to hold her tongue.
The Oni marched over to her and glared deep into her eyes.
"Oh no. Not on your fucking life. Because as soon as I'm done grinding him into a pulp, you can bet your life I'm coming for you next."
Karazelle narrowed her eyes.
"I'd like to see you- GAH!"
The Succubus was knocked off her feet as Magnus suddenly shoved her, sending both Karazelle and Whitney toppling to the floor. With a drunken guffaw, he turned on his heel-
- and was immediately punched square across the face. The strike wasn't very hard, but was quick enough to stagger him backward, clutching his cheek as his eyes went wide with shock.
Everyone stared at the Incubus standing in the centre of the room, his fist outstretched and his eyes shut tight.
"Very well, Magnus..." he breathed shakily, wiping a thin trickle of blood from his lip.
Opening his eyes, Cobalt glared at the Oni and raised his fist. A pentagram had been marked upon the back of it, daubed in blood. A sigil of the Rite of Fair Combat.
"... I accept your challenge."