Chapter 20: Truth Brought to Light

And with that, the fight begins: Deuce vs. Jack. The two have been throwing their fits at each other and punching each other.

Jack throws his fist, "Hyeeeaaarrrgh!

And Deuce swings his fist, "Grrraaaaah!"

Jack and Deuce continue to throw their fists at each other. Each of them trying to punch the other with their fists.

Jack pants as he says, "... Man, you just... You just don't give an inch…"

"Phew... You neither. You sure can fight," Deuce says.

"It's like every one of your punches rattled me to the core…" Grim says, frightened.

Sereia says, "Yeah. This is getting really scary."

"Yeeesh... Maybe we got a little carried away. Uuuugh. At this point, I don't even care about makin' the stupid team," Ace says.

"Wow, those two sure took a beating," Briar says.

"Yeah. Deuce and Jack are strong.

Soon, enough, both Deuce and Jack stop throwing their fists at each other. After some time, they both stop fighting with one another.

Then Jack says, "All right. The path ahead is clear. I'll tell you what I know."

"'The path'? The path to what?" Ace says, confused.

"The path my heart's telling me to walk, "Jack answers, "Remember, I'm betraying my own dorm here."

Then holds out his fist, "But I can't be quiet any longer! I don't care how strong the foe—I wanna face them with my own two fists! I've been training hard for this tournament. I was excited to see how far I could go. But these cowardly schemes are making me sick! A triumph won through treachery means nothing! I wanted to claim victory on the back of my own strength and skill, and fight to defend it!"

"I think I preferred talking to his fists," Ace says.

"I have to agree on that," Jasper says.

"So...this is all about you, then?" Sereia ask, "What about the innocent people being hurt?"

Then Deuce says with confidence, "I get it! I know exactly what he means!"

"That's not a good sign," Grim dumbfounded.

"Okay then," Briar replies.

Then turns to Jack, "Now that all of that is clear, you think you can tell us everything you know."

Jack nods his head in reply.

And Jack says, "Ruggie's signature spell—It makes its target copy Ruggie's movements. Since he's making the same movements as the person he's controlling, he's able to make it look like an accident on their part."

"Huh. So that's how he was able to get Grim to trade without getting caught. He just put out his hand, and Grim put out his," Ace says.

"Right. Grim put his hand out because Ruggie was using his magic to have Grim copy him," Sereia says.

Grim growls in anger, "That lousy, rotten...! Aaargh! Now I'm angry again! Food grudges never die!"

But Deuce realizes something, "Wait, hold on a minute. If he was mirroring the movements of someone about to fall down the stairs, surely someone would have noticed that?"

"You're right, it would be impossible for Ruggie to mirror somebody's movement without anyone noticing. That is… unless he has some help," Briar says.

This has everyone caught off guard.

Then Jack says, "She's right. Ruggie didn't cause these accidents by himself. Most of Savanaclaw was probably in on it too."

This causes everyone to become shocked.

Grim even reaches with a, "Myah?!"

Trinkets react with a "Tink."

"Like you said, someone would have noticed if he was near the targets and also mimicking their actions. I believe he escaped notice by surrounding himself with a wall of his dormmates," Jack explains.

Now it all makes sense to what's been going on. All of the Savanaclaw dorm, have been working together to bring down the other plays from the other dorms.

"The whole dorm was in on it? But why?" Deuce asks.

"Well, duh. How well they do at the Spelldrive tournament could make or break their careers. If that's their motive, well, it isn't hard to understand where they're coming from," Ace says.

Jack growls in anger, "Grrrrr…" and shows his fangs.

Ace quickly says, "

"Dude! Don't bare your fangs at me! I'm just connectin' the dots!" Ace panics.

Jack huffs and crosses his arms, "Hmph. If they're not willing to show what they're capable of now, what does the future even matter? I'm most disappointed with our housewarden, Leona Kingscholar. He has incredible talent, but refuses to even use it!"

"Yeah, for as lazy as that guy is... He seemed insanely strong," Grim says.

"I know. He beat us so easily yesterday," Jasper says.

"Right?!" Jack answers, "Why would you possess such power and not even hone it? I despise guys like him! The way he played when I saw him three years ago... It blew my mind. That was the reason I came to this school. I thought if I joined Savanaclaw, he and I would be tearing up the Spelldrive field together."

Ace whispers to Briar, "Yo, Briar. He's pretty harsh when he talks about his own housewarden, but I'm starting to think…"

"I agree. I think he actually really respected him," Briar says.

Then Jack explains, "All these 'accidents' are just an incidental part of the plan. They're hunting bigger prey here."

"Bigger prey?" Deuce asks.

Everyone grows confused as Briar thinks and processes what Jack explains.

Suddenly, Briar remembers what happened during the Housewarden meeting a few days ago, and what Leona and Crowley say during the meeting..

Flashback: Mirror Chamber

"It concerns the Diasomnia housewarden," Crowley answers, "I think that we should induct Mr. Draconia into the hall of fame to keep him off the field entirely."

"Say whaaat?!" Kalim asks, shocked.

"What are you on about?" Leona questions with a frown.

Crowley explains, "Ever since Mr. Draconia enrolled here, no dorm has scored even a single point against Diasomnia. Diasomnia regularly scores 100 points per game, with 90% of them being from Mr. Draconia himself."

"Now that you mention it, when we had to face them last year, it did feel completely futile," Kalim replies.

"The dude totally breaks the game. It's like he's got cheat codes enabled," Idia adds.

"Amusement is not the only goal of this tournament," Crowley says in a serious tone.

Then explains, "Our hope is that spectators the world over will discover talented new mages. However… Recent matches have been ending without anyone, save Mr. Draconia, casting even a single spell. And that includes his own teammates! And that is a less-than-optimal state of affairs."

I'm all for it," India answers, "Getting stomped isn't exactly fun for us either."

"I know many members of Savanaclaw House aspire to play in the Spelldrive pro league. Savanaclaw House had never landed in less than third place in the history of this school. And yet in both of the last two years, you've been eliminated in the first round after being matched against Diasomnia House. That's certainly not impressing any recruiters. Thus, this matter of disproportionate performance directly affects your players' future," Crowley says.

"And you're sayin' you expect us to make fools of ourselves on the field again this year?" Leona questions with a frown on his face.

"It certainly brings me no pleasure to suggest it," Crowley says. "Regardless, Mr. Draconia has already agreed to be inducted into the hall of fame. All we need now is the committee's approval."

"So you're sayin' we need a handicap. Listen and listen well, Teach…"Leona says.

Then announces, "Ain't nothin' I hate more than someone tellin' me 'you can't win' before I even begin to fight.

"No, that is not my intention—" Crowley says.

"Then what is?" Leona questions, "First of all, Spelldrive ain't a game about power. It's all about what's up HERE, in your head!"

"I'm pretty sure my head can't beat Malleus'," Kalim says.

Then Leona says, "I don't doubt that. But mine can. Sure, in a battle of brute force, no one's beatin' him. But in a battle of wits—that's a different story."

Then Leona says, "The King of Beasts from the Great Seven won his throne through cunning and persistence. You all should be wrackin' your brains, trying to come up with a way to beat that monster! Whichever team figures that out is gonna be sittin' REAL pretty on the world stage. Are you gonna let a once-in-a-lifetime chance like that get yanked out from under you?"

Then turns to Crowley, "I think we have our answer. The hall of fame idea is officially shut down."

Crowley sighs and says, "... Fine, fine. But if this year ends up being a repeat of the last two years, he's going in next year for sure."

Flashback Ends:

Briar then says, "Malleus Draconia…"

Everyone turns to Briar.

"Malleus, the Diasomnia housewarden?" Deuce asks.

"Why did you bring him up? Ace asks.

"Because that's who Leona wants to beat. More than anything," Briar says.

Then turns to Jack, "Right Jack?"

"That's right, his real prey is Malleus Draconia, the Diasomnia housewarden," Jack answers. "He possesses monstrous power. He led Diasomnia to victory two years running. He's the reason we were knocked out of both tournaments without scoring a single point. The older dorm members won't ever forgive that.

"Without a single point...? For a dorm that usually wins the tournament, that had to hurt," Deuce says, shocked.

"You know it," Jack answers, "Our greatest moment of shame—broadcast to the whole world in real time. The upperclassmen want to redeem themselves, but the way they're doing it is despicable."

"And he'll make sure to defeat Malleus, and will do anything to make sure he does it this year," Briar says.

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Grim asks.

"During the Housewarden meeting a few days ago, Crowley was planning on having Malleus be put in the Hall of Fame to keep him off the field entirely," Briar says.

"Really?" Jasper asks, shocked.

"Yes. And the reason why was because of what Jack just said. Because no one was able to beat him in the other tournaments and no one was able to win since he was enrolled in the school. Of course, everyone agrees to let Malleus compete. However, Crowley made it clear that if this year's tournament resulted the same, he will be put in the Hall of Fame, and can't compete in the tournament anymore," Briar explains.

"So in other words, this might be Leona's last chance to beat Malleus," Tanzanite says.

"That's right," Briar says with a nod.

"That's why he's doing this," Grim says.

"Yep. And that's why I need to stop them!" Jack says.

Suddenly, they hear Riddle's voice, "I believe I've heard enough."

Then they turn to see Riddle and Cater approach them.

"Hello, Housewarden Rosehearts. Cater," Deuce says.

"We got your pens back." Sereia says.

Then passes their pens to the boys, "Here you go."

"Aw, thank you Sereia," Cater says, taking his pen.

"Thank you," Riddle replies.

Then Sereia gives the rest of their magestones back to the others, including Briar's medallion.

"There we go," Briar says, after putting on her necklace.

Riddle walks to Briar and notices, "Briar, your necktie has been crooked again, and your uniform is dirty."

"Um yeah. We had to catch Ruggie, so I kind of pounced on him and we rolled on the grass," Briar says sheepishly.

Riddle sighs and says," Another reckless behavior from either you or your dorm mates. I suggest you go get your uniform cleaned up after returning to the dorm."

"Um yeah. But we have something else to worry about," Briar says.

"Indeed," Riddle says, "I cannot allow such an important tradition to be tarnished by personal grudges."

"So what's the sitch, Riddle? We got a plan?" Cater asks.

"As we have no proof of Leona's machinations, nor of Ruggie's assaults, we cannot take this to Crowley. Without solid evidence, that sort of accusation would never stick to someone as sly as Leona," Riddle explains.

Then Ace asks, "So you're saying we need to catch him in the act?"

"Yes. And I have a suggestion to that end," Riddle says.

Then begins the plan, "First—"

But Jack interrupts him, "Stop. I've told you what I know, but that doesn't mean I'm plannin' to join your merry band.

"What? C'mon, Jack, even after all we've been through together? The smiles and the tears?" Cater replies.

But Jack refuses, "Savanaclaw is my dorm, and I'm gonna be the one to settle this. Seeya."

"Do you really think you can stop Leona and the rest of the Savanaclaw dorm all by yourself? Even though you did nothing until now?" Briar sternly questions.

Jack is taken back and angrily asks with his fist up, "What'd you just say?!

"Ouch. Been a while since you've let someone have it like that, Briar," Grim says, surprised.

Deuce has to agree, "It's true, though. You versus your entire dorm? Can't say I see the odds favoring you."

"Jack, I understand that you feel that you need to stop them because they're in your dorm, but If you truly want to stop them, work with us. There's an old saying 'The strength of the wolf is the strength of the pack.'" Briar says.

"What does that mean?" Sereia asks.

"The point is. If you want to stop them, we have to work together as a team," Briar says.

Ace sighs, "You and your talk about teamwork."

After a little time of thinking, Jack decides to agree, "All right, fine. I'll hear you out. But I'm not committing to anything. If I don't like the sound of your scheme, I'm out."

"Man, this guy is impossible," Ace says, dumbfounded.

"Funny, I was just thinking how much he reminds me of you and Deuce," Cater replies.

"Then, if I may continue explaining my plan? The first step is…" Riddle says, and with that, Riddle explains his plan to everyone.