The clubmates race through the crumbling hallways of their school, dodging debris as they make their way towards the student council members. Yuudai cradles Yuuri in his arms as Mari carries Saito on her back. Raidou leads the charge, slamming the door open to find the council members cowering in a corner, holding their schoolbags above their heads to protect themselves from the falling building bits.

“W-What the hell is going on?” The president yells between huffs of breath.

“Dere’s no dime to explain… shid, am I gonna sound like thid forever?” Cerys says, rubbing her nose.

“Here, let me fix that.” Akina walks up to Cerys and grasps her nose between her finger and thumb.

“What are you… AAAAAHHHHHHHH!” Cerys yells as her nose is crunched back into place. She pulls away and grabs it in pain. The sound of her agony is so loud it wakes Saito and Yuuri. Saito slides off of Mari’s back while Yuudai lets Yuuri down to her feet.

“Finally awake, sleeping beauties?” Raidou says with a chuckle. “Well, more like Sleeping beauty and the beast.”

Saito scowls at him while Yuuri just ignores him, dusting off her skirt. “Where are… huh? Why are we back in the student council room? And why is our school falling apart?”

“That’s what we were asking!” The student council president asks. She turns to the rest of the council. “Let’s get out of here.” The grounded members stand up and prepare to move.

“Like Cerys was saying, we don’t have time to explain! We gotta get out, like now! We’ll fill you in on the way!” Katsuki yells. Already holding their bags, it isn’t long before the Student Council members are joining the Paranormal club in rushing to the exit.

“The principal is canceling school! Permanently!” Raidou yells back, slowing his pace to allow everyone to keep up.

“He’s also a demon hellbent on controlling humanity, don’t forget that.” Cerys says.

As they get close to the first floor stairs, they find the way down blocked by rubble. “Damnit!” Raidou groans. “The direct way out is blocked.” He turns to Mari. “Think the maintenance route is still clear?”

“It was built ta withstand any kinda emergency, so it should be clear!” Mari turns to lead the way again, everyone following her to the maintenance stairwell.

“Wait, about what you said before… How can a demon be our principal?” One of the other council members asks.

“Don’t worry about it, just focus on getting yourselves out of here in one piece. We’ll catch up with you guys later.” Katsuki answers as they turn into the maintenance door, retracing their route out of the building.

“Later?” The president asks. “What about you all?”

“He’s letting us leave too but… we’re not leaving. Not yet. We need to stay and deal with these demons.” Katsuki’s voice wavers. “And get our friend back from him.”

“EH? I-In that case, we need to stay too! It’s our school and we’re the student council! It’s our job-”

Akina cuts in. “No. This is our fight, not yours. This may be your school, but she’s our clubmate. They made it personal.”

“But still-”

“No. I can tell your strength isn’t enough to aid us. This fight is beyond you, and the fewer casualties there are, the better.” Akina’s matter-of factness causes the president to go quiet, looking contemplative.

“Guys, the exit’s right there, just a bit more!” Yuudai points towards the swung open front doors, the red backdrop not exactly inspiring confidence in anyone there. Suddenly, the shaking gets even worse. “Oh shit, it’s all coming down now! Pick it up!” The building starts to crumble behind the Paranormal Club and the student council as they pump their legs as hard as they can, racing for the doorway.

As they approach the relative safety of the school grounds, several of the lockers fall off the walls and block the way, punctuated by desks from a second floor classroom crashing through the ceiling as a final obstacle. Yuuri’s eyes go wide. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Don’t worry, I got this!” Raidou rushes ahead full tilt and his extra arms sprout again. He slams against the barrier and pushes with everything he has left. With a berserker howl, he careens through the debris tower, causing it to explode outside with him not far behind. Tables and chairs knock up a wild cloud of dust as they are forced out of the building, making it hard for the rest of the crew to see as they follow him out. Mere seconds later, the entire school collapses in on itself, filling the air with vaporized drywall and the trademark noise of metal on metal.

The students hit the ground and look around. They can see Kansaku’s legion of demons lined up on either side of the path leading to the entrance gate. Kansaku himself stands near the gate with his brother resting against him. He motions for the group to come along. “Don’t worry, my students. These armies will not attack you; that is not their purpose. I swear it.”

“How can we trust you?” Yuuri shouts, shakily.

“I did not harm you while you were in my care, did I?” He responds. “I merely put you into a slumber.“

Yuuri opens her mouth to reply, but finds herself at a loss for words. She turns to the others with worry in her eyes. “What do we do?”

Mari looks at the group, trembling. “Ah can feel his mana signature; if’n he wanted ta crush us, he woulda done it.” She sniffs the air, thinks for a moment, and nods again. “Ah get tha feelin’ we can trust ‘em.”

“Are you sure, Mari?” Yuuri asks worriedly.

“He smells legit.”

“Okay, we’ll trust your instincts,” Katsuki says to her. “Keep your guard up,” she says to the rest of the club. “If they attack, defend the council members as much as you can.”

The group nods, then begins to move. True to his word, not a single one of the demons move an inch as the students make their way to the portal. As they finally reach it, Kansaku smiles gently.

“See? A demon’s word is absolute.” He opens a slit in reality with a wave of his hand. The bright, yet waning light of the sunset peeks through the distorted reality. “I welcome you. Keep your word and tell no one. Do we have an accord?”

The student council looks towards their normal world, then quickly move and enter through the portal. They turn around once outside, staring at the Paranormies.

Katsuki walks towards the portal, stopping before it and turning to Kansaku. “Mr. Kansaku, now that the student council is safe, turn over Kirika. We’ve said before, we're not leaving without her, and that hasn’t changed.”

Kansaku looks disappointed. “I’ve already answered that I cannot lose Kirika or sacrifice my plan. I’m sorry, but this is the way it has to be.”

“Why are you even talking with them, just kick them out of here and let’s keep going with the plan.” Leraje looks fed up with his brother’s courteousness.

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Katsuki balls her fist up, holding back her anger to appear calm. “No. We’ll fight if we have to. We can defeat you and rescue Kirika!”

Kansaku simply stares back. “Fight me? Illogical. Defeat me? Impossible. You may have bested my younger brother, but his strength pales to mine. All of you together would fail to match my strength.”

“T-that doesn’t matter!” Katsuki throws her hand back, yelling louder. “We’ll still try! We have to try! We’ll find a way no matter what!”

“There’s no way to convince you to change your minds, is there?” Kansaku stares at the group, recognizing the determination in their eyes. “So be it. Still, I don’t want to harm you, so let us make a bet.”

Katsuki’s eyes widen a bit, being taken by surprise. “Huh? A… a bet?”

“Yes, a bet.” Kansaku taps his chin. “Or perhaps, a competition. Your determination against mine.”

“Anybody got a fiddle?” Mari asks, laughing nervously.

Katsuki gulps, tries to put on a brave face. “So, when we win this bet, we get Kirika back?”

“Indeed. I shall give her to you and depart. I shall honor the terms, as I have honored my word to this point. Surely I have proven my trustworthiness by now?”

“And if we lose?” Katsuki asks.

“Your souls will be mine, to use as I see fit.”

“What does that mean?”

“Smart girl, asking the important questions. I shall use you as emissaries for my army. The populace will not trust an invading force, but if their own kind advances our ideals, show them that we are the true way forward, we will achieve control in a vastly quicker manner.”

Akina steps forward. “We’d rather you kill us instead.”

“You are more useful alive.” Kansaku glares at her. “I have enough fodder.” He points to his army.

“So, it’s us against both of you? You sure this is fair?” Saito says.

“Are you afraid of me getting revenge?” Leraje smirks over his brother’s shoulder.

Kansaku holds his arm out to his side, across Leraje’s chest. “Don’t forget, we’re not killing them Leraje. Just...speaking to them in a language they will understand.”

Leraje spits to the side, annoyed by the order.

“How do we even know Kirika’s safe?” Yuuri yells out in anger.

Kansaku sighs. “You still do not trust me? Here, let me show you her current status.” Kansaku waves his arm, his hand glowing, then throws it forward, casting a magical circle acting as a one-way mirror into Kirka’s room. She’s worn and tired, but still alive.

Yuuri shouts more. “Kirika! Kirika, can you he-”

“No, she cannot hear you. I must protect my investment. However… you should be able to hear her.”

Kirika is silently weeping, tears streaming down her face. “I… I never meant to… to make this happen, I just wanted to… to be liked by her…”

“Kirika, I do like you, please!” Yuuri yells uselessly.

“Didn’t you hear my brother, girl?” Leraje hisses. “She can’t hear you.”

“That should suffice.” Kansaku closes the window with a swipe of his hand. “Now, do you agree to the terms?”

Kirika looks out as the portal closes, seeing everyone looking at either her or Yuuri. Finally, Yuuri pops up. “We do,” she says, clenching her fist to her heart. “We’ll take your mad bet and win our friend back!” she screams, pointing at the two. The others nod in agreement.

“Good. Now… as for our arena, right here seems perfectly fine. Clean, open, flat, no obstacles to get in our way.” Kansaku says as he starts cracking his knuckles, Leraje standing beside him rolling his shoulders.

“I wish you all luck,” Kansaku says, bowing. “It is the only mercy I will grant you.”

The rest of the group runs up besides Katsuki, getting ready for the battle. They line up themselves, shoulder to shoulder, waiting for the start of this final confrontation.

“I’m not as soft as my brother,” Leraje spits out as he runs full tilt at the Paranormal Club, “you’ll get no mercy from me!”

Akina rushes out to oppose him, causing them to meet in the middle, forearm-to-forearm.

“I’ll rip you apart, one by one!” Leraje growls.

With the ring of a bell, Cerys dropkicks him from behind, knocking him down. “Good thing we’re not that stupid.” She grabs Akina’s arm, teleporting both above him so they can double stomp his prone body.

Leraje coughs as he’s hit, swiping the two girls away. He scrambles back to his feet, catching his bearings.

“This might be a challenge after all,” he smirks, beckoning them forward. “Come at me, you two.”

Cerys shrugs. “You asked for it.” They oblige, running at him, but just before they reach him, they seperate.

“What? Why did you-”

He’s cut off by two sets of arms grabbing him from behind, picking him up from the ground and holding him tight.

“You miscounted, Ledorky.” Raidou smirks back. “It ain’t just two.” He turns around and changes his grip, freeing up a portion of Leraje’s torso for Akina to use as a punching bag. “Now try counting these.”

Akina pulls her arms back, channeling her ki, then she unleashes a flurry of attacks.

Saito sees blow after blow hit, before returning his focus to Kansaku. He’s currently being assaulted by Yuuri’s acrobatic attacks. However, each is blocked in succession by one of the demons in his army, dissipating after the attacks connect.

“Yo, how many of those does this dude have?” Saito says, exasperated.

Mari sniffs the air. “Couple thousand, Ah reckon.”

“This ain’t gonna work.” Saito deploys his scythe. “Anything you can do to slow them down or something?”

“Ah know a bit o’ demonology, so gimme a sec.” Mari says, pulling out her wand. “Best thang ta do ‘til then is just keep hammering away.”

“If that’s all we can do, then…” Yuuri bats a demon away from Saito with a flying kick. She draws her knife, eyes glowing yellow. “Let’s do it.”

Yuudai clotheslines a demon about to strike Yuuri’s blind spot. “I don’t have any idea what you guys are planning, but can you try talking less and beating more?!”

Saito slashes at Kansaku, only hitting another expendable demon.

“Stop bringing in these stupid demons and fight us yourself, you coward! You said the fight would be between us and you two, didn’t you?”

“They’re not fighting you, are they? Besides, they’re doing this of their own will. I’m not telling them to do a single thing.”

Yuudai runs up to punch Kansaku while he talks, but another demon blocks the hit, letting Kansaku wave his arm to knock Yuudai back. “The inferior demons find purpose in sacrifice to their superiors. Is that not determination?”

“Yer lil’ bro’s pretty big on sacrificin’ fer tha cause.” Mari puts on a catty smirk, speaking loudly. “He inferior too?”

“I am not inferior!” Leraje roars, as he grabs Cerys off his back and tosses her to the side. “I am not fodder!”

“But you bleed the same as they do!” Cerys says, teleporting to his blind spot and slashing him to the ground.

“I’ll crush you!” Leraje says, holding his cheek as he struggles to get back to his feet.

“No, you won’t.” Cerys teleports behind him, leg cocked back. “But I will.” She kicks with all her might, aiming between Leraje’s legs. It goes through his body, as if he weren’t there. She looks up confusedly at him, who is looking angrily at Kansaku.

“Why, brother?” He screams, his body glowing. “Why are you robbing me of vengeance?”

Kansaku looks over at his disappearing brother. “I do not wish to incur unnecessary losses.” He pauses, looking back across the field at his opponents. “My true form will more than suffice.”

“Even then, I can still help! Don’t send me home just yet!” Leraje reaches towards Kansaku. “Brother!”

“This is for your own good,” Kansaku says, the care in his voice obvious. With a wave of his hand, Leraje disappears from sight with a burst of light.

“I didn’t want to have to go this far, but you have staked everything on this…” Kansaku says, his hand glowing. “Allow me to match your wager.” He reaches his hand out towards the demons surrounding their arena, holding it momentarily before shooting black lightning out of his fingers. A wave of demonic electricity spreads throughout the horde of fodder, evaporating any it reaches near instantly. He holds his glowing hand out in front of him, sweeping it across his chest slowly. The light it emits soon engulfs his form, it’s luminocity intensifying with every wave of demons it absorbs.

His shaggy hair gets longer, his button-up shirt popping buttons as fur fights to break out of its enclosure, his pants bursting at the thighs as his legs gain an extra knee. His nose and mouth elongate as he glows even brighter, and a snake’s tail begins to appear from behind him. His shirt is completely blown off his torso as wings unfurl and spring forth from his back. He rears back, letting out a primal howl as his transformation completes, standing a foot taller than he had previously.

Mari panics, face pale. “Marquis o’ Hell, commandah o’ thirty legions. Body of a wolf, wings of a gryphon, tail of a snake; breathin’ fire an’ Myriad knows what else. Truth-tellah, man-slayah, fightah worth a thousand. He who seeks his place at tha Seventh Throne aftah 1200 years...”

“That was my old mission, Chaos Magician. The deal was changed. There are others who want what I want. Do what I do. They inspired me.” He huffs flames. “God’s folly was not upholding his end of the deal. I will take humanity as reparations.”