Deuce knocked twice on Crowley's office door, then opened it politely, sticking his head in. "Excuse me, Headmaster-- we're coming in," he called. "Sorry for the intrusion..."

"Hey," Ace added as the group stepped over the threshold and back into the long, purple room. " 'Scuse us... How's it hangin', Headmaster?"

Crowley was sitting back behind his desk at the far end of the room. He rose from his chair as they entered, pushing it back in neatly.

"Ah, yes-- hello, everyone," he said, walking forward to meet them. "You're right on time... Thank you for coming, Trappola-kun, Spade-kun... And of course Grim-kun and Miss Prefect." He nodded at Kat, as well as Grim, perched up on her shoulder.

"Hi," Kat smiled, nodding back.

Giving one final nod, Crowley stepped back a bit, casting his luminous gaze across the four of them. "Now-- allow me to get straight to the point."

Exchanging glances with the others, Kat stood up a little straighter, clasping her hands in front of her as the Headmaster spoke.

"Now that it has been roughly a week since the... Shall we say, incident-- at Heartslabyul, I felt it was my responsibility to give you all a thorough explanation on the matter."

He looked back and forth along the awkward, ragged row, face growing serious. "As fledgling mages, it is of the utmost importance for you to understand the malady that befell Rosehearts-kun... And how truly dangerous it is."

The four students shifted uncomfortably for a second.

"Um-- you called it... 'Overblot', right, sir?" Deuce asked cautiously.

Crowley nodded again.

"That is correct," he replied, folding his arms. "Do any of you have any prior knowledge of the subject?"

Ace rubbed the back of his neck, screwing up his face as he tried to think. "Mmm... I think my brother told me a little bit about it before. It's something that could happen to-- like, anybody, right? If they build up too much blot, that is... Besides that-- uhh... No, I can't think of anything else, but..."

He shuddered, grimacing. "...It seems like what Cater-senpai said about 'evil villain berserker-mode' was pretty on-the-nose..."

"Yeah, okay, but BEFORE all that," Grim piped up, sitting up a little straighter on Kat's shoulder. "What's this 'blot' thing you guys keep goin' on about, anyway?"

Ace, Deuce, and Crowley all paused, giving him surprised looks.

"Yeah, I-- I was actually wondering about that, too," Kat agreed sheepishly. "Uh... Can you explain it a little? If it's not too much trouble?"

"Ah-- yes, of course," Crowley mused, touching his chin pensively as he nodded again. "That's right... Perhaps, for the benefit of Miss Kat and Grim-kun, it would be best to start with the basics..."

Perking up, he stepped back a little, lights in his mask's eyes going crescent-shaped again as he beamed. "Very well-- allow me to teach you all you need to know! For I am--"

Kat held her breath.

"--A most gracious man, after all!"

Ding. The Crowley Catchphrase Counter (patent pending) ticked up another notch.

Clearing his throat, the Headmaster rearranged his face back into that serious expression, hands on his hips. "Now. To put it simply, what we call 'blot' is merely a byproduct of the process of using magic... A kind of 'waste product', if you will."

"...Huh," Kat mused, putting a fist to her chin as she tilted her head. "Okay... Like, byproducts in a chemical reaction, you mean?"

"Precisely!" Crowley beamed again, spreading his hands. "Very good, Miss Prefect."

Kat nodded, but Ace, Deuce, and Grim all shifted awkwardly, looking unsure.

Crowley blinked at them, then gave a quiet, resigned sigh, shaking his head. "For example-- take motor vehicles. Just as cars run on gasoline, and, in the process, expel dangerous gases in the form of exhaust, using magic-- that is to say, casting spells... Consumes magical energy. And, in the process, the material known as blot is created."

"...Wow," Kat mused, finger to her chin again. "Okay, I think I get it..."

It looked like this world DID have a hard magic system... Or, at least, a medium-soft one.

Shaking her head again, she continued. "But-- like... What IS it, really? I mean, judging by the exhaust comparisons, and-- well-- what happened the other day, it doesn't sound like it's a GOOD thing..."

Sighing again, Crowley put his hands back on his hips. "That, I'm afraid, is a difficult question to answer... If, indeed, it has an answer at all. Research into the nature of blot has been conducted since time immemorial... And yet, even to this day, very little is known about it. However..."

Stepping back once more, he folded his hands behind his back, giving them another long, serious look. "One thing is known for certain. Whatever its true nature may be, blot is DANGEROUSLY toxic... And excessive amounts of it can wreak havoc on, not merely a mage's body, but their mind as well."

Another brief silence fell over the room.

Kat could practically feel everyone picturing the same thing... It was hanging heavy in the air, just like the black fog pulsing through the garden.

After a second, Ace shook his head, huffing. "Geez-- guess that's why my grandma was always raggin' on me to go easy with the magic back when I was a kid, huh? I mean, she was always like 'stop using magic like that, you're gonna get swamped with blot'!"

He shook his head again. "And here I thought she was just trying to stop me from makin' a mess..."

Kat snorted a little, putting her fist to her mouth.

Ace glanced back at her, eyes twinkling as he flashed a small grin. Then he looked back at Crowley as the headmaster sighed again, folding his arms and nodding. "Indeed... The greatest power often comes hand-in-hand with the greatest risk. Not even the greatest of mages can cast spell after spell without consequence... Sooner or later, it always takes its toll."

"Fnyagh!" Grim spluttered, going stiff on Kat's shoulder as he bristled in panic. "N-No way... Are you sayin' that if I keep using magic whenever I want, then sooner or later I'M gonna end up sick or somethin', too?!"

Crowley shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant... As long as you use it prudently, that is. You see, magic is..." He trailed off, one clawed finger tapping his chin.

"...Hmm. Perhaps, in this case, seeing it for yourselves would be more expedient-- and simpler-- than a mere explanation..."

Taking a few more steps back, he straightened up in a businesslike manner, clearing his throat as he folded his arms behind his back. "Ahem. Ghosts-- your attention, please!" He called to the air. "There's a little matter I require your assistance with!"

Kat blinked.

She exchanged a puzzled look with Grim on her shoulder, then glanced around at Ace and Deuce. Both boys were shooting glances around the room, looking uneasy.

Nothing happened for a few seconds.

Then a glowing white mist rose through the floor behind Ace, materializing into the shape of a medium-sized ghost. This one was wearing what looked like the jacket of a janitor's uniform, along with a matching, slightly crumpled hat.

"Heeheehee-- you called, Headmaster?" It creaked cheerfully, flicking the brim of its cap with a nod.

"GWEH--!!" Ace yelped, bristling as he whirled around, raising a hand defensively and drawing back. "Wh-- Eh? Huh? Hey-- wh-what's all this?!"

The air started getting chilly, and Kat shivered. She was starting to get deja vu again... Except this time, she knew EXACTLY what this situation reminded her of.

"If you would be so kind-- perhaps you could help me give these young students of mine a lesson in-- shall we say, 'hard knocks'?" Crowley continued, raising his voice a little over the sound of eerie laughter and chatter growing louder and louder.

...Great.

Kat groaned a little, eyes darting around from corner to corner as more and more ghosts appeared.

In fact, one actually popped up mere inches from Deuce's face, making him shriek and jump back. "Alright, boss-man-- you got it!" It beamed, pushing up its sleeves theatrically. "We'll go a couple rounds with these youngsters, no problem!"

There were about-- five? No-- six? Ghosts now, all in the same janitorial uniform. Grinning wickedly, they closed in on Kat and the others from all sides.

Ace and Deuce backed up, grabbing their pens out of their pockets and falling into defensive stances. "Oh, come-- y-you gotta be KIDDING me!" Ace protested, looking back and forth between Crowley and the grinning ghosts. "C'mon, sensei-- SERIOUSLY?!"

The ring of ghosts shrunk further and further, and Kat backed up too, pulling her hoodie tight around herself.

With one last step, all three of them bumped back-to-back into each other. The collision actually sent Grim tumbling forward off her shoulder with an angry shriek.

"Now, my beloved students-- ready your magical pens!" Crowley called, spreading his hands with that wide, self-satisfied beam on his face. "This special lesson facilitated by none other than I, your most magnanimous Headmaster, is only just getting started!"

...That's it, Kat thought to herself. I fuckin' hate this man.

Author's Notes:

Ya boi Crowley being semi-responsible again!

At least, right up until he sics a bunch of ghosts on everybody as a 'practical demonstration'. Smh.

(Well-- okay, it's not like they were in serious danger, probably, but... Really, dude?)

It's not like he's gonna ruin it even FURTHER soon by press-ganging a magicless, extremely underqualified teenager into private detective work in a literal villain school full of arrogant delinquents...

It's like he does ONE thing right, then immediately has to make up for it by doing a whole busload of 'definitely NOT right' to make up for it. FFS, man.

...I've sprinkled a little more... 'Variety'? Into the staff ghosts? Than there actually are in-game? Outside of event-specific ghosts, like the Ghost Marriage/Phantom Bride or Endless Halloween/Spectral Soiree ones, the only 'unique' sprites they have are the chef ghosts, while the others all seem to be variations of the Ramshackle trio with mix-and-matched accessories (hats, capes, hoods, etc.)

(And 'unique' can really only be stretched so far, since the only ghost who isn't one of the 'main' ghost bases is Eliza, lmao.)

...I think I'm gonna stick with the time skip fights, apart from, like... 'important?' Ones? I.E. the overblot fights, possibly some others depending on how I'm feeling? I liked doing Deuce's delinquent smackdown more than I thought I would...

Idk, we'll just have to see.