I scurried through the halls, adrenaline pumping, until I could sense Vil's presence down one of the halls. I slam to a halt as silently as possible. Flushing my back against the wall, I scooted down far enough as the wall would let me until I was right at the edge. I peered over the edge carefully as to not expose myself to see Vil, his back to me and phone in hand.

"Mira, Mira. Please enlighten me."

"Hai! What would you like to know?"

"Currently, who is the most beautiful of all?"

"The first web result that I obtained using the keywords "beautiful" is....Neige LeBlanche."

Vil fell deadly silent. His breathing turned from normal to strained, forced almost. He inhaled deeply and screamed in a rage-injected voice... "............NEIGE!!!" He threw his phone at the wall with so much vigor, the screen cracked and shattered on impact.

"MNGH!!" I covered my lips with both hands as the scream nearly left my lips from the sudden action. I saw the glass scatter on the ground as he stormed off, leaving his ruined phone where it was. As soon as I was sure he was a good few feet away, I left my spot from behind the wall and walked over to where his phone laid.

"What the fuck has gotten into him?!" I whispered, grasping the skirts of my costume. But then....

I saw....The puddle. It's getting bigger....

"Charlie!" I whipped my head to the side and saw Grim scurry up to me. He tugged at my skirts with his paws and whispered to me, "What's going on with you? You just screamed and fled the area like you saw a ghost! They said Rehearsals are over, so Deuce wanted me to come grab you so we can get a bite! Why are you stalking Vil??"

"....Grim...." I knelt close to him and whispered back as best I could. "He's planning something. I know it! And whatever it is he's got up his sleeve, I HAVE to be there to expose him. Let's roll!" I grab him and haul him close to me and we take off down the hall after Vil as silently as possible.

——————————

It was a bit of a long walk, but after a while, the Ramshackle duo finally saw Vil stop right in front of a door.

"Okay, so he's right outside one of the dressing rooms, but who's exactly?" Grim whispered, as they saw Vil lift a hand and knock quite fast on the door.

"Coming~!" someone shouts from inside. The door opens to reveal Neige. "Ah, Vii-kun! What's up?!" Immediately, Vil plastered a fake smile on his face.

"We never spoke much during the rehearsals. So I came here to have a proper talk wit you."

"Oh! Glad I wasn't the only who thought of the same thing!"

"Speaking of, where'd your little friends go...?"

"You mean Dominic and the others? They went to go check out the exhibition booths! They really don't like staying put in one place..."

"So...you're alone, then...?" if it was possible, Vil's smile got even creepier, setting Charlie on edge. Without looking down, she quickly unlocked her phone in hand and got into the camera app, set it to 'video' mode, and pressed the 'record' button, holding the phone close to her and in a clear shot where both Neige and Vil could be seen on screen.

"....I must say, your performance was quite perfect." Vil starts. "Most of the crowd was entranced by your cuteness. You have always been like that."

"So was yours!" Neige compliments. "I may not be able to pull off such a song, but the dance was amazing! I was so fascinated by it! But what caught my eye even more....was...what's her name? Oh! Charlotte!" Vil visibly tensed. "She was by far one of my favorites! Her voice is like a choir of angels when she sang! And her dance...ah, she moved so much like a ballerina and an acrobat! She was beautiful even without the lighting onstage! I even had a chance to speak with her backstage! She's such a humble girl.... I still don't even know why she'd be stuck here when she could be somewhere better....." Neige frowned. "There's so many tough and aggressive men around these parts....she could get hurt! But she did tell me she knew a few defense techniques so, I hope she'll be out scratch-free!"

"....Same..." Vil spoke between gritted teeth, his voice has taken on something more sinister. "Thank you, regardless. It seems like we're both candidates for the win." Then he smiles. "Neige, aren't you parched? Try this apple juice of you will. It's a current favorite of mine." From behind his back, he produced one of the bottles, that same familiar bottle from the shipment Epel's family made.....

"Oh! That's right, I remember seeing that on your Magicam recently! I've been meaning to try it one of these days, I guess it's my luck! Thank you!" Neige takes it.

"Of course. My pleasure....." Vil smirks as he watches Neige unscrew the lid and raise it to his lips. Charlie felt her heartbeat pick up.

"Shit! I need to tell Neige but I can't blow my cover or else Vil will catch me!!!" she hissed under her breath. "What am I gonna do?!" However, it seemed like her answers had been heard....

"Neige-kun!" a voice from the other end of the hall calls out. Neige and Vil look over and Grim yelps. Charlie covered her lips as she slinked further behind the wall. It was Rook!

"I apologize for disrupting. A few of the staff are looking for you. They needed to go over something for your performance." the blonde informed. "My dearest Snow White.....pardon, Neige."

"Snow....y-your dialect, are you perhaps-"

"Oh! It seems I became to thirsted in my search for you!" Rook's sight moved to the glass bottle in his hands. "That juice you're holding seems quite what I need. May I have it?"

"Ah....sure! Be my guest!" Neige decides not to question it and hands him the bottle.

"I thank you. Now hurry and head to where you're needed." Rook's eyes darken. "And whatever you do, never look back."

"Huh? I-I don't understand what yo-"

"Don't speak! Just go!" he demands.

"R-Right!!!" Neige spun around and zipped out of there like he was told. Charlie followed him to make sure he was gone from within earshot before turning to watch the leaders. Vil's eyes had followed Neige flee, before they set on Rook and became filled with animosity.

"Rook, why?" He growled between his lips. But the hunter never answered. From down the hall , he had a feeling a particular someone was watching from the shadows, anticipating his next move. He knew from the moment Charlotte ran from the audience he had a feeling she was going after Vil. But he didn't want to go after them both. Yet. He needed to wait for an opportune time. And it was when the crew had announced it was break, that was the signal. Without warning, he stood from his place and slowly stalked the halls of the coliseum, trying to find his King and the Seer. But something had overcame him while he was on the prowl. An image of a girl flashed by his sight. She was wearing an elegant blue dress with fluttering bell sleeves, cinched at her upper arms and exposing her shoulders; her skirts moved like ocean waves as she walked. Her hair was down and curled into beautiful wave-like curls, as a crown braid wrapped around her head like a halo. The girl's back was facing him, but then she turned and she smiled. Her eyes glimmered like starlight.

It was gone before he had a chance to fully memorize it. But all he was aware of was the fact that he felt his heartbeat pickup, his breathing became ragged and his mind was filled with questions. Who was that girl? Why was he shown that? What did it have to do with him...? But the only thing he had time to note about of the girl was that....her eyes....They were as bright as the stars in the night sky. Just like...like....

He didn't have time to think about it. He was on a mission, and if he should fail, it would cause turmoil in his heart, like the sharpest arrow striking it. Giving him immesurable pain....Pain like his heart pulsing blood from an open wound.....pain like a star falling from the sky....

Pain like he saw in Charlotte's eyes when she became demented and accused him of conspiring with the Queen.

He walked faster. He found his target. And he saved the Royal Sword student from the Queen's grasp in time. Now with his back to the wall, the Queen looking down on him as a traitor and the lone Madamoiselle watching them from her spot, he pressed his lips into a smile.

"So...heavenly...the scent....just the smell makes me imagine a red apple within my minda gift from Epel's homeland which is exceptional. I shall taste this myself, my dear Roi du Poisons."

Vil froze as he saw him tilt the bottle. Charlie watched with wide eyes.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

"Rook, STOP!!!"

Someone smacked the bottle out of his hands, the glass shattering as it hit the ground, the contents spilling everywhere as everyone watched.

'Now!' she thought. She stormed out from behind the wall. "Busted, shithead!!!"

"Roi D'or! Madam Charlotte and Grim as well?!"

"Kalim! Why'd you knock the bottle out of Rook's hands just now?!" Grim asked a tired Kalim.

"Ah....thank god I made it in time!"

"What have you done...?" Vil's voice was shaking. Suddenly, the liquid from the glass bottle turned an ugly green-ish and purple color.

"HA! Caught ya!" Charlie pointed at Vil.

"As I figured...." Kalim nods. "This juice was laced with a curse from his Unique Magic!"

"Nyani?!"

"Same. I knew he would pull something as low as feeding a poison to Neige of all people!" Charlie snarled at Vil.

"I had a feeling something horrible was about to happen when I saw you after Neige performed during the rehearsals. That was the same expression Jamil had on his face before he went insane....and when Charlie screamed and fled the area, I just had to see for myself."

Vil looked between him and Charlie, then his eyes went to Rook last. "....Rook, why would you throw away your own life like that...? You knew better than anyone. You know what would happen once you devoured it!"

Rook answered in a solemn tone, "I wanted to believe that you, YOU....the one who had shed blood, sweat and tears to get where you are, would never do something as horrid as this. I truly believed you wouldn't do something to tarnish who you were. Yet all the same, even if you went as far as to cursing the juice, I wanted to prove it myself and stake my own life in place of another. I had wanted to experience beauty so maddening, so tenacious. I cared not whether it was a fruit that had been poisoned."

"Rook, can you even hear yourself?!" Kalim shrieked. "I'm not letting that happen!"

"You believed a madman!" Charlie interfered. "You were obsessed over a VILLAIN!! And I have proof!" she holds up her phone for all of them to see.

"Wha-wha?! Charlotte, you-"

"Yea. I videotaped everything!" she didn't deny and faced Vil as she talked. "From the moment my third eye awoke to something horrid happening, I wanted to be there myself to see Vil sink to the lowest of the low! I recorded everything on my phone as graphic proof of your desperation! And once this baby goes up online and sees what you tried to do, and the media catches wind of this, you're done for. Everything you worked hard for is gonna go down the drain! No one will see you as the perfect model anymore. All they'll see is a monster who craved for being on top; one who didn't give a damn if they had to kill another rival just for the sake of being number one! I always knew you were a shallow bastard underneath, and THIS proves it! I warned you: that thin sheet of beauty will not hide who you truly are underneath! Like in chess, one Queen will fall and I'll see to it MYSELF!"

"She's right, Vil!" Kalim faced him down as well, anger swirling in his eyes. "What you did was completely low!! You said it yourself: we'd give a performance so show-stopping that people wouldn't care who we are!? Now look at you...!"

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

The few strands of Vi's hair covered his face as he chuckled lowly, "....hahahaha.....to be honest, I wanted to see that for myself as well. And now, I see the truth...No matter what I do, I'LL NEVER WIN!!! You were right, Ugly Duckling....I was desperate......I wanted to get rid of him with my own two hands!!"

The eye struck once more.... The image of a mirror shattering.

Poisonous puddles, releasing an even darker vapor.

And Vil standing over her lifeless body....his appearance and aura completely changed.

Charlie chokes on her gasp. From the ground, the juice had spread into an even bigger puddle, releasing vapors of poisonous purple fumes into the air.

"Fgnna! The juice is spreading!!" Grim leapt onto Charlie's shoulder for safety. "I-It's heading right for us!!"

"And what's with this smoke?! I-It's clogging my-" but Kalim began to cough harshly.

"Charlotte, Kalim, shield your noses!!" Rook commands.

"Why?!" she asked, doing so.

"It's Vil's Unique Magic: Fairest One of All! He imbues a curse upon whatever he physically touches, and the poisoned liquid is seeping into a mist! If we breathe it in, we'll be rendered immobile!"

"L-Let me try something...! Ærtsu: Enchanto Eclipse!" Without thinking, Charlie makes the Opal to appear in her hand. The stone shimmers in her palm as she beckons a round yellow bubble-shaped dome to shield all of them from the toxic fumes. "I-It might not hold for long sealing out the vapor, but I'm keeping it up as much as I can!"

"Ch-Charlie...." Kalim croaks weakly.

"Stay with me, Kalim! Please!! I'm not letting you die!!!" she commands, despite the shakiness in her voice.

"I-I don't understand...one bottle couldn't have became this mess, unless....NO!" Rook gasps in horror.

"No...Don't look at me!!!" Vil screeches, gripping his hair like he had gone mad. "Don't look at me like I'm the most loathesome!!! Why? I just wanted to be the most beautiful in the world, and yet I'm... Ugly! Disgusting! Horrid?!?!" The fumes of the vapors began to hit the shield, causing it to crack. Charlie feels the shield starting to give out.

'No! I won't let anyone die!!'

"Roi du Poissons, that's not true at all!"

"He's right! Both Neige and Rook were not hurt by anything you did! You have not done anything wrong yet, so please...! Open your eyes, Vil...!"

"SILENCE!!! What would you know?!" Vil snarled, "Even if the world forgave me....I'll never forgive myself!!!" The fumes began to produce black sludge.

"Oh no....it's that black ink! Like Jamil..." Kalim felt himself becoming weaker by the second. The shield began to form more spider cracks from the growing fumes, seeping inside the shield, floating towards Grim and Charlie.

Grim started to hack his lungs out. "No....the fumes are seeping in!!"

"I won't waver, I won't. I will not!!!" Charlie forced herself to strengthen the shield more, but the fumes began to flow through her nose. Suddenly, she felt her lungs begin to clench and squeeze against one another. The air felt like it turned thin all of a sudden... the poison slowly began to traversed through her body. She gasps as she felt her body begin to shut down..."Oh no...it's getting harder to breathe..!"

Vil cackles as a crazed look overcame him like all those before, who submitted to the darkness. "Yes, that's right! Everyone aside from myself should just rot and lose their beauty! And then... I will become the most fairest!!!!"

As the darkness over Charlie's eyes vanished, Vil's appearance has changed drastically. His skin became pale as death, as webs of black ink covered his forehead, arms and neck. A golden crown reminiscent to the Evil Queen's was perched on his head. A black and gray translucent veil covers his head, floating down to his waist. A headdress of golden peacock feathers with jade jewels circled his head like the sun. Under his left eye, black tears flowed down his face an his eye was alight by a blue flame. He wore a royal blue robe, sleeves circling and bunched at his shoulders, the white collar was shredded and coated in ash. The robe's cape draped down his back, molding into a long train at his feet and attached to rings at his fingers. The sleeves faded into black feathers, accented with gold when they were lifted by his hands. On each finger were golden talons, like....the Headmaster's.....

A rusted gold corset cinches his waist and spikes of white stick out like stalagmites on a wall. The top embroiders the same rusted gold, a red jewel dotting the centerpiece. The edges of the robe were shredded, showing the inside of quilted red lining and exposing black thigh-high boots.