Into the World of Twisted Wonderland Pt 2

👑 The Beautiful Tyrant: Chapter 68 👑

Once everything was settled and the group performed any last-minute checks, the group stood in the coliseum hallway, waiting for time to pass. "Ten minutes to showtime..." Jamil states as he looks at the clock, with the sound of people moving about, getting their seats.

"They'll be calling on us to stand by any moment now," Vil announces to the group. "Let's get backstage and- ngh!" He winces.

"Are you certain you're all right, Vil?" Rook asks with concern.

"I've taken a painkiller potion and covered up my scratches with makeup," he states, waving his question off. "I'll be fine."

Rook takes a moment to look Vil over. "Oui. If you say so."

"Vil!" Epel calls out. "Um..." he hesitates. "Please let me take the center spot!"

"What?!" Everyone exclaims in shock.

"Epel, are you seriously dropping that on us at the last second?" Ace asks in shock.

"Ace is right," Jamil says. "Why would we change it up right before we go on?"

"Filin' Vil's shoes ain't exactly easy," Grim states, and for once, everyone agreed with him.

"But just look at Vil. He's barely vertical!" Epel states, with the group looking at Vil. It wasn't exactly wrong. After all, he was slouching a bit in pain and after everything that happened, it would honestly be a miracle if he fully recovered within just a few minutes.

"...." Vil quietly let the assessment go on.

"Vil, you said we had to win this, but what if you run out of stamina right on stage?" Epel asks in concern. "I don't wanna see you embarrass yourself in front of an audience!"

"Monsieur Pommette..." Rook quietly says.

"I've kept my agreement with you. I've grown way stronger and more charming than when I first enrolled. I'm not just cute and sweet. I'm a legit poison apple now. I'll take Neige down. So please...!" He pleads.

"Heh..." He chuckles. "You've grown bold," he states. "Worry not, though. As long as the spotlight shines on me...I wouldn't leave the stage even were I to be struck by an errant boulder." The statement shocks the group a bit. "I'm going to keep struggling to the bitter end. I won't lose hope in my victory. That's what real villains do. So give this villain a chance to stay on stage to the very last. After all, I got someone to prove wrong about me," he says to him and glanced at Angel, who gave him a smile in understanding.

Epel looked at him with eyes wide in both bafflement and disbelief, only to sigh. "All right," he says defeatedly. "If you're really set on it."

"Hmph," Vil smirks. "Do you even have room to worry about others, Epel? You tend to start making mistakes as soon as your feel eyes on you. Have you forgotten the way you flubbed the hook at the audition?"

"H-hey! You don't have to bring that up now!"

"You asked me to give you the center role. I expect you to captivate the hearts of the audience, my poison apple."

"...Yes, sir!" Epel says with determination.

"Attention, Night Raven College entrants," a crew members states to the group. "It's almost time to go on. Please stand by!"

"Well, this is it," Vil says.

"Let's go bag ourselves a first place trophy, huh?" Ace states with a smile.

"Yeah!" Deuce agrees. "I worked myself up so much earlier, I'm actually relaxed now!"

"Aw right! I'mma captivate those viewers' hearts!" Epel says with a smirk.

"Just do like we practiced," Jamil states to the freshmen. "Don't worry. We'll do just fine."

"You're right, Jamil. "Let's make the most of this and have fun with it!" Kalim happily says.

"Okay, you guys, listen up!" Grim says with a smirk. "My tuna bonanza is restin' on your shoulders. You better win this! You hear me?!"

Angel rolled her eyes at Grim's declaration. "Put on the fairest show on all, everyone!" She says with a smile to the group, even with exhaustion on her face. "Show them everything you worked hard for this past month!"

Everyone nodded at the two, their determination rising. "Come, NRC Tribe!" Rook exclaims. "Let us away to the field of battle!" Everyone agreed with him and started to head off, with Angel and Grim waving them off.

"Let's get to our seats, Grim," Angel says as he agreed with her, the two heading over to the stands. As she's walking to the stands, a wave of nausea starts to hit her, making her dizzy; however she kept it quiet. She felt exhausted all of a sudden, and wanted to rest, but she wanted to be there for the group, even if it's to just watch them in the audience. She couldn't sleep yet. Not right now.

At the stage, people happily clamored into their seats, cheering when the stage lights up, proving that the SDC was officially starting. "It's the moment you've all been waiting for!" The host announces to the audience with cheering filling the coliseum. "Here, at the National Arcane Academy Culture Fair at night Raven College! The Song & Dance Championship musical presentation is about to begin!" They shouted, earning more cheers from the audience, even Angel was baffled at how loud the coliseum was. It wasn't this loud during the Spelldrive tournament, but, then again, a local event compared to a worldwide event are two different things. Fans really will do anything to show their support she thinks as she observes the audience, which would be usually full of guys, was instead filled with a mixture of both men and women, obviously fans of Vil and Neige from the various items they were either wearing or holding, ranging from shirts, posters, fans, or even pictures from...who knows where. Maybe the reason the coliseum actually felt a bit bigger was because it was filled to the brim with people compared to just the school. "Introducing our first performance!" The host announces, bringing her out of her thoughts. She saw the group enter the stage, smiling at the audience and cameras. "It's the entrants from the school hosting the culture fair, Night Raven College performing...'Absolutely Beautiful'!" They announce as the group easily gets into position, a habit they have done and practiced what looks like thousands of times before. The music starts playing, and without missing a beat, they started their performance naturally. Despite the events that happened earlier today, the group started off strong, almost as if they weren't even tired or injured. They remembered everything they practiced, with Deuce not even making a mistake this time around, maybe from the pressure of everyone around the world was watching after all. In fact, they all seemed relaxed in front of the cameras and audience, seeing how they didn't seem focused on taking a step or watching their positions, instead having fun while following the moves they practiced. And their singing wasn't overlooked. Despite going through Vil's vocal exercises and practice, they all sang beautifully, captivating the audience with their voices as they harmonized perfectly with each other. During the performance, their voices didn't falter once, instead, singing proudly in front of the audience, not wanting to give up what they went through this past month and what happened a while ago. Even Vil showed his determination during his solo, making Angel smile a little as she remembered the words he said to her about proving her wrong. One thing she silently admired Vil for was his determination to be the best and seeing him on stage fully enjoying the spotlight without showing the injuries he suffered was truly the highlight of the performance, though she couldn't say he was beautiful. After all, stage presence can't overlook what he did before. The music start to die down, with the group performing their big finale, getting into position as the music ends, posing for the audience as they look on with slight panting as they await their reaction.