After hurrying out the door, she slammed it open to find that the water had become murky and dark. She scowled and hurried towards the mirror where she found Ruggie bewildered and Leona observing the situation calmly as Azul was cackling in a demented manner as student began to collapse around him as he began to absorb the aura around him.
Hearing the door slam open, Ruggie turned around in bewilderment, "Lotus?! L-Leona, what exactly is Azul absorbing from everyone? People are collapsing one after another!"
"It looks like he can take everything from someone with his unique magic if there's no contract in place." Leona said bluntly, "My guess is that the contracts acts like a check and balance for his magic, right? ...Lotus?"
Staggering out of the dorm, she grimaced and walked out to see the scene before turning to them with a nod, "Ah... Looks like being careful wasn't any good..."
"Eeeh?!" Ruggie's eye widen in bewilderment when he heard this, "That's freaking terrifying!"
"Yeah." Leona agreed with a grimace, "That forbidden class of magic is gonna build up an excessive amount of blot in an instant."
"Bad news..." Lotus added, "This morning I noticed that his gem was still tainted with blot when he left the dorm."
"Th-Then-!" Ruggie shouted in panick, "He's going to overblot is what you're saying!"
Lotus nodded with a grimace, "I've already talked with the twins and sent them a message a while ago, in case this happens. With Prefect's side getting their magic back, Jade should be making his way back now that he's got a good idea of what's going on."
Leona looked to her with a frown before he furrowed his brows and scowled. He could smell the blood on her. He took a step towards her and glared, "You-"
"Azul! Just what are you doing?!"
He was cut short when Jade and his brother rushed over in a hurry as the vice-dorm leader tried to reprimand the dorm leader. The Prefect and the dorm leader arrived to the scene as well with a shocked look over their faces as they noticed the change in their surroundings and the passed out students on the ground.
"Uhwah..." Floyd shuddered as he looked around in disgust, "what the hell is happening?"
"Geh!" Ace took a step back in surprise, "Things are crazy right now!"
"Is Azul..." Deuce staggered back in bewilderment, "on a rampage?!"
"He's absorbing abilities from students left and right." Jack pointed out instantly.
"Eeek..." Grim jumped onto Lotus in fear before glaring at the lion guy, "Leona! This is because you picked on him, isn't it?!"
"This is my fault?" Leona grumbled with irritation, "You're the ones who told me to turn his contracts into sand."
Lotus grabbed Grim by the scruff and placed him down with a sigh, "He already did what he agreed to do according to what you said. The fault this time is the words you used to tell him that, Grim. Moreover..."
She frowned as she noticed Azul finally taking notice of them, "I thought I saw Azul's magic crystal was tainted by blot... Looks like I wasn't wrong..."
Irritated, she sighed to which Jade nodded with a frown, "If this goes on, he'll really overblot as you said..."
"Jade, Floyd, ah..." Azul smiled in a rather twisted manner, "you've finally come back to me. Those bastards went and destroyed all of my previous contracts. So..."
He looked to the two with a sneer, "Please give me your strength, too. Give it to me!"
"Stop this instant." Jade stated firmly without flinching away from Azul's gaze, "You know that you can't control your unique magic properly without a contract in place, it's too strong. If you keep on like this, you know what will happen!"
"It's all gone, you know, everything... Aha ha ha ha..." Azul's laughter began to growl out of control as his eyes finally seemed to have shown a fanatic greedy glint to them then he scowled at them, "I don't wanna go back to the way I was before!"
"Uummm..." Floyd grumbled in annoyance, "Y'know, you're way lamer right now than you ever were before."
"Ah..." Azul smirked when he heard this, "Is that so? You're aware I am a stupid, clumsy octopus that can't do anything by himself."
"So I'm going to keep taking until I'm the best version of myself I can possibly be." Azul stated having clearly lost himself, "A beautiful singing voice, powerful magic, everything belongs to me! Give it all to me!"
It was then that Lotus grimaced when she felt a pain in her head and staggered back carefully not leaving her gaze off of Azul's figure that was quickly overcome by a black sludge.
"The hell is that?" Floyd shuddered uncomfortably at the sight of the black sludge, "Black mud is coming from Azul... That's not ink... right?"
"He's using his magic too much." Jade answered dumbfounded, "He's accumulating blot beyond safe levels! At this rate... He's going to overblot!"
It was then that a sudden flash of blue appeared and seemed to strike down the ink that was just about to reach for Grim just as Lotus reached out to snatch him back.
"The other guys!" Ruggie stammered in bewilderment.
"It's fine!" Lotus called out as she staggered back against the magic glass walls, "I already asked an acquaintance to keep their customers inside if he noticed anything strange is going on outside..."
"Lotus?" Grim looked to her in confusion, "What's wrong with ya?"
Lotus smirked as her voice squeaked, "Nothing. Just feeling a little worn out from chasing after Azul... Geez and I just healed up too..."
The blot moved away as a dark figure cloaked in black with a gray undertone appeared. It was Azul, but his eyes had a pale blue gloss over it and blue energy was emitting from his left eye. His legs were gone replaced with eight tentacles. a black glossy crown sat around his head and strange black corals on his shoulders. The blot remained acting like as if they were underwater refusing to disperse away. A seashell pendant hung around his neck as he stood there with gills on the sides of his torso just above a few decorative spiky seashells in a musky blue.
Behind him was a large woman figure who had a cracked seashell glass container with blot leaking out and a gold crown on top. It wore a once piece black dress and eight tentacle legs much like Azul followed with long black gloves and the seashell pendant.It very similar to Azul down to the coral around neck and shoulders. However, in her hand was a large black trident which Azul did not have in his hands as it pointed towards them.
"Ffgna!" Grim cried out as he noticed the form he had taken, "He's an octopus where his legs should be!"
"He should be a merfolk like Jade and Floyd but the form of an octapus." Lotus responded when she grimaced in pain and stopped talking at once.
"That's what Azul looks like underwater." Jade explained with a nod when he noticed something wasn't right about her.
Almost immediately, Yuu realized that something wasn't right. He reached over with a frown before saying, "Lotus, just don't talk, okay? We'll get you to the nurse's office as soon as everything is over."
As he gave a hand so she could sit down on the ground, Lotus smirked and looked up, "I'll be fine, just need to catch my breath... Just focus on saving Azul. He still has a favor he owes me, you know."
Seeing the determined look in her eyes, Yuu shook his head with a sigh of disappointment, "Even now..."
"What's behind him?" Floyd pointed out with a scowl, "I can't squeeze something that big!"
Leona took a hold of his staff with a grumble as he reminded them, "Our priority is bringing Azul back to his senses."
"Or we're all gonna become anemones!" Ruggie reminded them nervously.
"Lotus." Yuu turned to her with a worried expression.
"I'll be fine." Lotus smiled, "I'll still be able to dodge, so focus on the battle, but..."
She let go of his arm and said to him firmly in a whisper, "Do you see where the dorm leader is looking?"
Yuu looked towards Leona and saw him watching the every movements and positions of the enemy. He nodded, "Yes, what about it?"
"He can see the smaller details, but who was it that saw the bigger picture back in the Savanaclaw dorm, Yuu? Just as Riddle was able to come up with an idea to counter the plans he had, what did he do when it all fell apart after there was an overblot?" She said with a smirk and rested her back against the glass which lets him know that she's finished her piece.
Confused, Yuu hesitated before he nodded and hurried to everyone else. Lotus watched as Ace and the other joined in to battle. Yuu started giving out directions. She watched closely to which she smiled.
"Why are thou smiling?"
She raised a brow and looked around curiously with her ability when she noticed the other not noticing the voice. Seeing the unusual amount of energy around her and the blinding aura that enveloped her, she noticed the flicker of movements in the darkness of the ocean and chuckled, "Who would've thought? ...Heh... You were here all along..."
"Why are thou smiling?" the voice asked insistently, "Are though happy?"
"For what reason do I need to laugh?" Lotus responded mentally with a breeze-like smile, "I smile because I feel like it. Because I'm happy, because I'm proud, because I'm sad, because I'm irritated, because I'm angry. I don't need a good reason to laugh... Sir... How long has it been since you've last laughed? Being chained up here for so long."
There was a moment of silence before the booming voice continued, "Short... Yes, it hast been too long since then in the eyes of the young, but this length of time is no different than a day to us... To laugh under the light, To share a meal amongst the company of others and feel the waves and trees on my back..."
"I see..." Lotus watched the battle continue quietly.
"Let's make a deal. Come on, make a deal with me..." Azul tempted them urgently in a frenzy like manner.
"Normally, I'd e cool with making a deal but, right now, not a chance." Floyd rebuked with irritation.
"I agree." Jade concurred with a nod as they tightly held their magic pen in hand.
"Ah! Behind you! Jump!" Yuu shouted just as he noticed the large tentacle of that woman creeping behind them.
"Gah!" Grim cried out in tears when a suction cup got a hold of him.
"Grim!" Deuce's eyes shot wide open in shock.
"That idiot!" Ace scowled and reached out to grab a hold of him but soon saw a tentacle reach out to him.
"Ace!" Deuce shouted in horror.