Going for the Bet of Ranking
Alice has seen Iruma do amazing things since the start of this school year such as beating him in a duel, taming the guardian of Cut Throat Valley, summon one of their teachers as his own familiar, creating the giant pink tree, and even became friends with the Student Council President.
Alice had thought there would be nothing else for his Master Iruma until now at lunch break.
"What? So, you want to… climb the ranks?" Alice asked making sure he heard that right.
"Iruma, exactly." Iruma nodded while petting on Clara's head who napping on his lap.
"For now, all I wanna do is climb from Alef to Bet. If you don't mind, I was hoping you'd be willing to show me how to do that." Iruma said, then Alice stands up immediately surprising the boy.
Iruma gasp upon seeing Alice suddenly crying like crazy with rivers of tears.
"(I almost thought Master Iruma had no interest in rising in the ranks, but I knew it must've been secretly eating away at him.)" Alice thought sobbed.
"Huh, what's wrong?" Iruma asked, feeling weirded out and worried of this reaction coming from Alice.
"(And why wouldn't he be?!)" Alice thought shouted.
"(Master Iruma did something unpresented such as making the Guardian of Cut Throat Valley his pet yet his rank was immeasurable! He obviously can't be ranked on the same scale as the rest of us demons, but that's no reason to place at the lowest rank of Alef!)" Alice thought recalled the flight exam.
"Believe me! When you were rank an Alef, I was just as displease and confuse as well." Alice said right up to the shocked Iruma.
"I was becoming numb from all of our degenerate classmates who lack ambitions, but moving up in the ranks is a demon's pure pride! Let's get you to the top!" Alice excited for this.
"Now, it's time to prepare!" Alice declared.
"Uh, yeah, sure." Iruma said, just going along with this.
"Prepare for what?" Clara asked as she just woke up from Alice's loud ranting.
"What else?!" Alice yelled surprising the two.
"For Master Iruma to quickly soar to the highest rank of Yodh! And then reign over… the entirety of Babyls!" Alice shouted loudly for all the other students to have just heard that, and this would cause Iruma to go shock in pale.
"Wow, Iruma is going to reach raise up his rank! Isn't that cool!" Eiko amazed.
"Let just hope he doesn't let it go over his head." Gaako said.
"Promotion, please!" Clara asked Camu Camu who just says "No" to her and told her to go away.
"Huh… Hey Azz, I'm totally fine with just getting to Bet rank." Iruma exclaimed to Alice as he does not like the attention which confuses the hair pink demon a bit.
"What, but I thought…" Alice puzzled of this.
"Iruma, I should've known all this commotion was your doing." Bachiko walked through the crowd.
"Oh, hi mom!" Iruma gasped.
"I-I was just telling Azz that I just wanted to go up to Bet." Iruma explained a bit.
"I see, so he went overexcited. Kids these days." Bachiko shook her head sighing.
"Listen Azz, Iruma is taking things slow to build himself up to a great demon and doesn't want to rush things like the rankings. Just keep that in mind." Bachiko explained to Alice.
"(Taking things slow? Oh, I see now! Master Iruma is trying build up his statue as a demon to everyone before deciding on increasing his rank, he wants everyone to know his might when the time is right!)" Alice thought believed, which is totally wrong.
"I apologize, Master Iruma. Your mother has made things very clear to me now." Alice apologized with a bow.
"Thanks for helping me, mom. But I think Azz may have taken that a little too seriously." Iruma whispered to his adopted demon mom.
"Better than him trying get you to become Yodh too soon." Bachiko shrugged.
"Let this be known… Master Iruma will prepare himself to raise up to the rank of Bet where he shall begin his path of conquest!" Alice announced to the other students.
"This is becoming too much for me!" Iruma embarrassed as he covers his face with his hands.
"Bet? That's it?" One demon student confused.
"Didn't you hear what Asmodeus said? Iruma might go for a higher rank after Bet? Another demon student pointed out.
"I'm so devi-hype!" One demon student with two mouths excited as the students leave.
"Oh, but if Iruma becomes a Bet then he and I won't be in the same rank anymore!" Eiko gasped of realization.
"You could try ranking up too, you know." Gaako said.
Then some of the students from the Misfit Class also heard the sudden announcement from Alice about Iruma which got their attention.
"That sounds like fun." Lied said.
"Now, let us go, Master Iruma!" Alice smiled at his blue hair lord.
"O-Okay…" Iruma said, might as well go see what Azz has in store for him to raise up in the rank.
"Don't forget your third crazy devi-wheel." Bachiko said pulling Clara away from an angry Camu Camu.
"Yeah, yeah, come on! Take me away!" Clara dared them too.
"Don't make this any weirder!" Bachiko shouted.
(Underground Hallway)
Iruma, Alice, Clara, and Bachiko are walking together down the stairs that would lead them to the Misfit classroom but this time they are going further down past that, and they appear at an open area with white lines that Iruma thinks those are for sports like back in the Human world.
"Where are we?" Iruma asked.
"This is Babyls' underground gym." Alice answered.
"I never knew an insane place like this was under our classroom, I'm blown away!" Iruma amazed of the place.
"It's huge!" Clara exclaimed exciting.
"Hey, Connor! Hey, Murf! You can run around all you want down here! And I'm rolling!" Clara started rolling down the stairs all the way to the floor level.
"But they're not doing the running." Iruma chuckled.
"Seriously? Why even bother telling her shoes they can run when she's just going to roll like that?" Bachiko asked. She could never figure this girl out at all.
After everyone caught up with Clara on the floor level, Bachiko steps in front of the three students to do a little explaining.
"Okay, listen you. If you want to raise up to a rank then you will need to pass the periodic promotion exam and really get a good mark on it." Bachiko said.
"Promotion…?" Iruma asked.
"Exam?" Clara confused as Iruma is.
"Yup, this exam is one week away and this exam you will need to get your body in shape because… You'll be playing some Execution Cannonball!" Bachiko grinned.
"Execution…!" Iruma shocked.
"Cannibal?" Clara said getting the last word wrong.
"Cannonball! Can't you at least pretend to try!" Alice yelled angry at Clara.
"Asmodeus, you do the explaining on this one." Bachiko decided to pass on the little lecture to Alice while she takes out her snack.
"Now listen up, this is very important." Alice said to his two friends.
"Execution Cannonball was once use as a way to suppress the sudden outbreak of demons battling over their territories. It was nothing short of a total massacre. We used weapons called caimans, when they bit down on their prey, they wouldn't let go until only bloody shreds were left." Alice explained about the exam event.
"The first of them to enter an enemy's castle and eliminate everyone in said would emerge victories." Alice mentioned how the game ends.
"That's horrifying!" Iruma gulped in fear.
"Yeah, the game was really brutal with so much death happening that the number of demons in the Netherrealm would have gone way down and way messier than now." Bachiko stated.
"For real! Like the demons themselves becoming endanger species!" Iruma gasped.
"I guess you could say that, but luckily for us that all change into a better less bloody sport over the years." Bachiko assured.
"She is right, nowadays we use this ball instead of caimans. It's safer." Alice showed them the green ball with the Babyls' emblem.
"That's doable." Iruma relieved as Clara nods.
"And to conserve time and money, we now use these territories mark by lines instead of castles." Alice gestured over to the white line rectangle.
"Super effective!" Iruma said.
"Those who are hit, must move to the sidelines." Alice started explaining about the rules.
"Make sense." Iruma nodded.
"Let's get this thing started!" Clara excited as she moves to the sideline of the field.
"But even from the sidelines, you can come back as soon as you hit an enemy with the ball." Alice added.
"Valac, you conger up the Curse Puppets so we can have enough players." Alice ordered.
"You got it!" Clara nodded as she makes creates the Curse Puppets from her magic pockets with them going on both sides of the field.
"Alright, practice begins now!" Alice declared.
Everyone started, which also means the Curse Puppets are doing their part, to practice the dodging of the cannonball though Iruma is already good at dodging until the moment came crashing down when Iruma got the ball in his hands.
"THIS IS JUST DODGEBALL!" Iruma yelled feeling a little frustrated.
"I sort of piece it together during the rundown…" Iruma exclaimed on one knee.
"Is everything alright, Master Iruma?" Alice asked.
"(It looks like Iruma is having a moment, like thinking this game could be easy since it's on the down level like this.)" Bachiko thought guessed.
"(But I think Iruma is forgetting one thing…)" Bachiko thought narrowed her eyes.
Just when Iruma was feeling calm of this demon dodgeball game, something fast flew past his head and slams into a spiked rock, this scared Iruma and turn to see the culprit of the ball thrower.
"Sabnock, what?!" Iruma gasped.
"A death battle to climb the ranks? Thou did not disappoint!" Sabro smirked.
"Oh, there you are. We're bored, so how about letting us play too." Jazz walked in with the rest of the Misfit Class.
"Let's play, let's play!" Lied and Elizabeta said in union for excitement.
"Harmony is the greatest virtue." Allocer stated.
"This is such an annoying pain…" Agares yawned on his floating cloud pillow.
Then everyone got in position and Sabnock threw the ball strong like before heading right for Gaap.
"Get ready for maximum merriment!" Sabro shouted exciting.
"Special Technique: Wind-Sword Kill!" Gaap cut the ball in half and each half were sent to different targets.
One half went for the frighten Kerori and the other going for Agares, but they were able to defend themselves from the flying half balls with Kerori using ice to catch it and Agares form a rocky wall to defend himself though annoyed of the loud noises.
"I'm not done yet! Take this and this and this and this!" Sabro threw more of the balls fast and strong like they energy blasts.
"That guy is a beast!" Jazz commented as he and Lied watch this.
"You boys want candy?" Clara offered some candies to them.
"(This isn't layback at all!)" Iruma thought gasped.
"So, you're finally remembering that these people are demons meaning we're super stronger than humans in your former home world." Bachiko walked up to her adopted son.
"I am… I don't think I can climb the ranks, not like this? Ameri will be so disappointed." Iruma exclaimed as he fell on his knees.
"Well, then you're going to need some training." Bachiko stated.
"Did you say training, Lady Bachiko?" Alice asked as he overheard little of the conversation.
"Yeah, I'm thinking about helping Iruma to start doing some offense then just dodging." Bachiko answered.
"Oh, does that include training him in your family's Bloodline Ability because I have yet to witness that power in action!" Alice excited with his eyes becoming stars.
Bachiko mentally gasp upon hearing about teaching Iruma her Bloodline Ability which she knows demons will want to question that on Iruma, but that also brought up some bad memories from several years back when she used to teach some students about something and how they all quit on her.
"(Damn it, those idiots…)" Bachiko thought clutched her fists and gritted her teeth.
"Mom, are you okay?" Iruma asked, his soft voice brought her back from the dark memories.
"I'm fine, just thinking about your training for the next week once we get home." Bachiko said as she walks away.
"Oh yeah, everyone of the Misfit Class, listen up!" Bachiko shouted getting their attention.
"Just to let you know that I informed Kalego about you being here for the Execution Cannonball exam, so you're off the hook for today. But be prepared for when he gives you some extra lectures or homework, or maybe both." Bachiko informed.
"Oh crap, she just had to say that!" Lied freaked out.
"Iruma, come on. We're going home early." Bachiko said.
"Yes, mom!" Iruma stood up and follow his mom out of the gym.
(Sullivan's Home)
"Okay, you ready to start training your throw?" Bachiko asked holding the ball to Iruma.
"Yeah, sure though I'm a bit concerned that the cha-I mean grandpa is here." Iruma looked over to Sullivan standing next to them.
"When I heard that you two were leaving school early, I knew it had to be a mother-son moment I wanted to capture on the devi-lens!" Sullivan giggled explaining.
"Of course, that'd be your reason." Bachiko and Iruma said at the same time.
"Okay, now try throwing the rock over there." Bachiko pointed at the rock about over fifteen feet across from Iruma.
"I don't know, I'm a terrible thrower." Iruma stated nervously.
"Just try throwing the ball so I can see what I'm working with." Bachiko ordered.
Iruma nodded and comply as he ready himself to throw the ball, with some advice from Sullivan about his stance, and then threw the ball as hard as he could only going as far as six half.
"Yeah, you're a very weak thrower." Bachiko pointed out bluntly.
"I told you so…" Iruma said weakly.
"Hey, don't go sad on me. It just means we need to work on strengthening your arms to throw properly, your dodging skills is crazy but you'll need to learn on how to fight back at some point." Bachiko stated as she picks up the ball.
"Well, I was going to suggest having him use the Libera spell so he can destroy the competition!" Sullivan said.
"What, no! I don't want to destroy anybody!" Iruma gasped.
"Sorry, Lord Sullivan, but I want Iruma to pass the promotion exam without using magic." Bachiko said surprising the two.
"Really? I was basically thinking the same thing, I don't wanna win with using grandpa's magic." Iruma explained.
"Good, because I was thinking of having a special reward for Iruma when he pass the exam and get promoted to Bet." Bachiko said.
"Really, a reward! What kind?" Iruma asked.
Bachiko started to smirk as she spins the ball fast on her finger with the tip of her finger starts to glow of her demonic pink aura.
"Iruma Barbatos, if you can pass the exam and claim the rank of Bet then I will teach you our family's Bloodline Ability known as Full Mark!" Bachiko declared surprising Iruma so much.
"(Bachiko, it would seem you have started to grow more than I realize!)" Sullivan thought and held Iruma's hands casting a little spell on his adopted grandson's hands.
"Here, I use a little magic to strengthen your hands to catch the ball because you could feel some pain. This is to help with that." Sullivan said.
"Wow, thank you very much, grandpa!" Iruma thanked smiling so cute that Sullivan squeals and hugging himself.
"Are you okay?" Bachiko asked.
"I need to hold onto the moment in my memories to have it forever!" Sullivan giggled.
"Oh yeah, I also asked one more person to help with this training and you better believe he's not going to hold anything back for the entire week." Bachiko turned around seeing that demon.
"I am here, ready to help with Iruma's training to pass." Opera greeted with a cage basket of balls inside and one being hold in their hand.
"Oh, good luck with them!" Sullivan chuckled which got Iruma worry.
KO a new chapter is done and hope you all enjoy it!
The Execution Cannonball is right around the corner as Iruma is gonna train hard in order to get the promotion of Bet, and it looks like there's gonna be a special reward for him as Bachiko promised to teach him the Barbatos Bloodline Ability.
KO comment, favorite, and follow through of how this story will go!