"Huh?" Riddle looked to him a little dazed as he muttered, "Trey overwrote my magic? Does that mean your magic surpasses mine?"
"There's no way that's the case." Trey denied it firmly and called out desperately, "Riddle, calm down a bit and let's talk this out."
"So you want to tell me I'm wrong, too?" Riddle looked to him with an alarmed look, "Even though we've been upholding these strict rules this whole time?"
He started to show a torn expression of betrayal and shouted, "I've been enduring and enduring this whole time! I... I... don't believe you!"
Lotus scowled when she could feel a strange energy coming out from him. She turned to Crowley and asked quickly, "What's going on with him magic, Headmaster? It's really unusual."
"Mister Rosehearts, you mustn't!" Crowley scowled and shouted over to him, "If you keep using magic, your magic crystal is going to be covered in 'blot'!"
Blot? What's that?
Once again red in anger, Riddle shouted, "I am... I AM!!! Absolutely, definitely CORRECT!!!"
"Riddle!" Trey rushed out in horror only to be pulled back by the headmaster.
It was then that Lotus could feel the energy in Riddle get darker and darker. She scowled as she realized that things were starting to go out of proportions. At least, the barrier won't collapse, but she can't say the same for the interior of the array. At this rate, she can't even be sure about Riddle's state of mind.
She scowled at the thought of the fragile situation when she noticed the jewel on riddle's magic pen went from tainted red to a harsh black and darkness enveloped Riddle before revealing him in a strange outfit similar to that of the Queen of hearts with red and black torn dress-like trench coat and black torn sash and crown. An eye was flaming red against his haunting pale skin. His aura was very, very dark!
From her perspective, he was almost no different from a haunting ghost!
"His aura is completely black!" Yuu pointed out in bewilderment.
Riddle cackled, "Thos foolish enough to disobey me, I have no need of them in my world. I am the law in my world. I am the rules! No other response than 'Yes, Lord Riddle' is acceptable!! It's off with the heads of any who disobey me! Ahahaha!!"
"Ahh, look at this mess!" Crowley groaned in horror as he exclaimed, "A student has gone into overblot right in front to me!"
"Overblot?" Lotus frowned and looked to the headmaster.
"What the hell is overblot?!" Grim cried out in bewilderment, "That guy's got a wicked air to him now!"
If Lotus was correct, Riddle would've been no different to that of a demon or devil from her world. Is it possible for this to happen here?
"Overblot is a state that wizards must avoid at all cost." Crowley responded with a frown, "He's being caught up in a storm of negative energy that has made him lose control of his emotions and magic."
"I don't really get it." Grim responded in confusion.
"Me neither." Deuce responded in a panic.
"Ah, crap!" Cater scowled, "In plain terms: He's fallen into a dark berserker state!"
"His life is in danger if he keeps using magic like this." Trey responded with a frown.
"His life?!" Grim cried out in bewilderment.
"Right now, the safety of the other students is the top priority. I shall evacuate the other residents." Crowley stated firmly to them, "Mister Rosehearts must be brought back to his senses before he runs out of magic. Losing his life would be terrible, but worse than that... Now, I need you all to go get other dorm heads and teachers to assist..."
Ace cried out before he could finish launching a large gale of wind at Riddle as a large black figure appeared from behind the young possessed student, "GAAHHH! Eat this!!!"
"EH?!"
The upperclassmen and Crowley stared at him in shock when they saw him fighting back.
"Come forth! Cauldron!" Deuce summoned a cauldron that fell on top of the black thing behind Riddle.
"Fffgnaaa!"
Grim quickly conjured up a large fireball and shot it a Riddle who swipped it away after getting out from under the cauldron and avoiding the gust.
"What are you fools doing?" Riddle scowled and glared at them.
"W-w-whoa, what are you thinking?!" Cater shouted in horror.
"He's only in danger like this!" Grim pointed out desperately.
"I won't be able to sleep well with him like this. And..." Deuce frowned.
"He still hasn't said, 'I was wrong. I'm so sorry' yet!" Ace reminded them with a scowl.
Lotus sighed in exasperation but a smile showed on her face when she saw Ace like this. Seeing them with such determination, Trey was surprised, "You all..."
He nodded, "Got it! I can overwrite his magic with my doodle, even if its not long. Finish this quickly! Headmaster, please work on evacuating the residents."
"That's right!" Cater nodded and brought out his pen, "What's gotten into you, Trey? You know you can't beat Riddle!"
"Only challenging guys know you can beat, that's too lame!" Ace pointed out to Riddle with a frown.
"That isn't cool at all!" Grim agreed with a frown.
Deuce nodded, "I can't think of anything else that can bring him back to his senses quickly."
"Yeah, I can't lose him. I..." Trey stated solemnly, "Still have so much to tell him."
"Let's all work together to stop Dorm Head Riddle!" Yuu called out standing beside Grim.
Cater sighed in exasperation but a smile appeared on his face, "Aah, shit! Understood. I'm really not cut out for this kind of thing!"
"Ugh, fine..." Crowley gave in defeatedly and said before leaving quickly, "As soon as I finish evacuating the other students, I'll be back! Hold on until then!"
"This guy, that guy, you all have some nerve..." Riddle screamed in anger, "I'll take all your heads off at once!"
"Riddle's body can't keep this up." Trey stated with a grimace, "We have to stop him before it's too late... Doodle Suit!"
Riddle scowled, "Shit, shit! You're in my way, Trey!"
"Alright!" Grim smiled wide, "He's sealed Riddle's collar attack with this!"
"He can't keep it up for long. We're still in a pinch here." Cater reminded them.
"While I'm sealing 'Off With Your Head', hurry!" Trey shouted with his pen in hand.
Lotus frowned as she noticed a strange whiff in the air. It was a familiar smell and she frowned as she noticed Riddle begin attacking rather quickly with immense strength. She turned on her ability and hurriedly pulled Little Jun with her.
"Big Sis?" Little Jun called out to her in confusion.
"Someone is trying to hurt Riddle." Lotus noted with a frown.
"Really?" He stated to her in bewilderment and looked around frantically, "Where is he? I'll beat him up!"
Lotus smiled and patted his head, "You have a good sense of smell, right? Use that to track them down. When you do, you can go ahead and attack them. Kick them out of this realm."
"Got it." Little Jun responded and hurriedly ran off as Lotus pinpointed his location with her energy marking on him. It was only five minutes later when there was a loud neigh not to far from the entrance and a strong kick sent a black shadow flying back into the mirror in a flash.
Lotus raised a brow realizing that he's found the guy a little faster than expected with a strength stronger than she had thought. The guy was sent flying out the mirror without looking back. There was a loud crash as she could hear Riddle shout out furiously, "Bringing in animals from outside is strictly prohibited!!!"
There was a thrashing behind her as she struggled a smile of apology in her mind before reaching out to pull Little Jun back.
"Who brought a horse into the dorm?!" Crowley cried out in bewilderment.
"I'm not a horse-!!!" Little Jun tried to cry out dismay but was shut by Lotus who frowned.
"Let it go for now. Focus on what's more important right now." Lotus reminded him quickly, "Those guys can't see that you're not really a horse."
"It's not that I'm not really a horse, Big Sis." He groaned agrievedly, "I'm really not a horse..."
Says the one in a bridle right now, but she can't really refute that he was one either. May as well keep her silence not to further hurt his childish heart.
"Is Riddle okay?" Little Jun asked her in concern as he watched Riddle fight off the other five desperately in anger and madness.
Lotus frowned, "Not right now. I'll need your help later, okay?"
His eyes widen in hope and nodded, "Okay, okay! What do I do?"
"This guy's magic is endless!" Ace cried out in bewilderment.
"Absolutely, definitely I am correct!" Riddle hollered in anger, "If not, then what did I endure it all for..."
"Riddle..." Trey grimaced.
"Trey, focus!" Cater shouted, "The moment you don't we're done for!"
Surprised, Trey nodded his head and looked back to the battlefield, "Sorry!"
Having fought against him for fifteen minutes straight, Lotus watched carefully for an opening without rest. She looked to Little Jun who has been staring at Riddle the entire time. Occasionally, he would deviate his attention to Carter to which she had to scold him for having lost his chance. Lotus thought for a bit with a frown, but didn't say anything as she waited for his chance.
After half an hour, Lotus scowled when she saw that the thing behind Riddle began to move about once more. She looked around to find a frightened hedgehog and picked it up curiously before shaking her head. As much as she wanted to throw it, It'd be bad if something happened to it when they find it. She sighed and pulled out a long needle before tossing it straight into the point where she felt had the strongest current in the black shadow behind Riddle. Pierced there, Riddle reeled back in pain just before Ace could hurl another gust of wind. Surprised, they looked to Riddle in bewilderment.
"Wh-What just happened?" Cater questioned in confusion.
Whoops...
"Forget that." Grim called out with his blue fireball on stand by, "Is the battle over now?!"
"Was..." Riddle murmured in pain, "I wrong...? That can't be right... Mo...ther..."
Suddenly, Little Jun reared back and gave out a loud cry startling everyone who looked around as the sound echoed around the dorm. She looked to Little Jun and found that he had already locked eyes with the monster as he hid behind a bush. She rushed back just in time to be dragged into the fray as she could feel her consciousness slip into darkness.
When she awoken, she could see that she was in the kitchen of what looked to be a cottage. However, the place was devoid of any color.
"Happy eighth birthday, Riddle."
Lotus jolted up in surprise and turned to find a black shadow of a woman in Victorian dress. Her hair must've been in a bun as she brought out a cake before a small red hair boy.
"Your birthday cake this year is a low-sugar, high lecithin cake made with soy flour and nuts." The woman stated bluntly.
Hearing her words made Lotus raised a brow in confusion. Low-sugar, high what-now?
"Thank you, mama." The little boy responded before hesitating nervously, "But, uummm, I... Just once, I really want to try a tart covered in bright red strawberries..."
"How could you say such a thing!" The mother responded in outrage, "That pastry is a mount of sugar that's more like poison. One slice will exceed your ideal daily intake of carbohydrates. Today, we're having a tuna sautee with plenty of docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acid. Aah, but at age eight your ideal caloric intake is less than 600 calories per meal so don't wat more than 100 grams."
The boy nodded slowly in disappointment with her gray eyes to the ground, "... Yes, mama."
Finally, Lotus understood. This is Riddle's memories. That person is a biological mother and the little boy before her is Riddle dressed as what little boys in victorian style used to wear with the white shirt and blue pants. It was unusual finally seeing what children from proper families wore, but if this was how it was like then she has no say.
"For so long, a strawberry tart was what I wanted to eat."
As the scene slowly dissipate, they finally saw what looked to be the Riddle they knew as words flashed across them. Lotus and Little Jun saw him as the little kirin was overjoyed to have seen him.
"In the cake shops around town, they're on display in the window, tarts that look like jewels."
Another scenery of his mother strictly lecturing a young riddle passed by them.
"My every moment was crammed to the brim with every possible discipline." Riddle continued, "Time spent learning extended until I could do it. But for me, this was 'normal'."
This time, there was a knock on the window as Lotus saw the small black figures of children outside. Riddle looked over from his seat and reached out to open the window to find the two children. Soon enough, they discovered that the children were none other than Trey and the cat-like figure Che'nya. Both were inviting the young Riddle to play croquet with them.
"Playing with Trey and Che'nya was so much fun." Riddle stated to no one but himself, "I learned new things, played new games. They taught me so much. From that day on, during my self-study time, without telling mother, I left my room."
Sure enough, the child continued to go outside to play with the other two children.
"Atop a pure white plate, a brilliantly red strawberry tart." Riddle said softly, "For me, it shined. brighter than any jewel. The first bite was wonderfully sweet, it was better than anything I'd ever had. I savored each bite and got lost in it... Losing track of time."
Sure enough, the mother caught him as he lost track of time eating the tart for the first time. His mother was thrown into distraught and dismay over her son as if he had been corrupted! The words that came out of her mouth wasn't that of a parent's worry over where her children had gone or what happened to him, but more of having fun behind her back and breaking the rules set for him. To play rather than study during that hour. Lotus frowned in confusion. Was this how a biological parent should act?
She should probably ask someone about that later since Riddle only has one perspective of a family.
"If I broke the rules, my time for fun was completely taken away. That's why the rules mother makes I have to follow." Riddle stated solemnly, "In this town, mother is the most respected that makes her correct."
"But..." Riddle hesitated with a look of sadness and confusion flitting across his face, "tell me, mama. Why? Why does my chest hurt like this? Just on my birthday would be fine, I want to eat a bunch of tarts. I want to play outside for hours. I want to make more and more friends. Tell me, mama, what rules should I follow to make this pain go away?"
It was then that the surroundings disappeared into a deep darkness with sparkles and cards of different suits drifting around Riddle's body as he descends into the darkness. Lotus sighed in relief at the sight of him and patted Little Jun's shoulder. The kirin's eyes lit up as he hurried over with Lotus like a jellyfish in the water before landing next to the body. Lotus used her energy to form a small platform around them as the body ceased to descend and Lotus bent down for a better look. seeing a red brocade dress. She froze in surprise and found herself in a wearing a red dress decorated with gold, silver and white flowers. Her hair was once again a flaming crimson of red and gold. She didn't have the time to check her eyes as she bent down barefooted next to the body as a ringing sound echoed in the air from the gold bell around the gold anklet around her ankle and another around her wrist.
Ripples of gold vibrated in the darkness as Lotus, no...
As Peony asked, "If it hurts, why didn't you sought out your mother? If you disliked it so much, why didn't you just leave the house?"
"H-h-hrmmm..." Riddle grimaced as he slowly fluttered his eyes opened.
Before him stood a girl with the same flaming red hair as the person with the strange horse creature. However, he couldn't quite see her face in the darkness aside from the purple pupil that shone in the dark like a snake. Confused, he slowly sat up to find himself in a strange place with cards surrounding him. He turned to her in bewilderment, "Where am I? H-How long have I been here?!"
"You've been here for a long time..." Peony responded, "This is your mind."
"M-m-my mind?" Riddle looked to her in confusion, "Who are you?"
"Me?" Peony pondered for a bit, "You can call me Peony. Little Jun and I came here using my soul imprint as the entrance."
"Your imprint?" Riddle's eyes widen in surprise, "Then, you're-!"