Stone Mage: Revenge of the Villain System

Edelweiss also wore a severe expression when she learned what the troupe member with the Garnet color's true Heartstone was.

That man's still etched in her memory, especially the time he had rendered her helpless and had caused her to meet Cermin, which in turn destroyed her trust in men until Don gave it back.

"Sordido." She said with gritted teeth. "What is he doing here?"

"Only one way to find out." Calla told her.

They stood from their seats slink back to confront this man, while the play still carried on along with Lovushka or Father Spider's narration.

"The Spirit of the Nature, an unseen force, had created both Kings to maintain the balance of its domain. Without the Scavengers, there would be no one to maintain the population and cleanse the dead. Without the King of the Jungle and his court defeating them, there could only be chaos."

Ronin saw people move from his peripherals while observing Sordido, and saw the two women.

Right, he did hear their thoughts for a bit, but it was being drowned out by the several others. This was why he sometimes hated being in such a cramped space where so many thoughts buzzed by his ears.

It's infuriating, and he had to focus hard on some of them.

(I swear, that Sordido is up to no good. All Blanc D'argents are conniving little scums that hides their cunning with their love for peacocking and flamboyance. And I should know, Calla is like that too, but not as malignant. )

He heard Edelweiss think, and sighed. Of course they would find out about Sordido.

'So she's the next harem member to have a fighting arc against this cannon fodder enemies, eh?' Ronin thought.

Father Spider went on.

"It is like how when there is only day, the world would be in heat and no one would appreciate the light of the sun. If there was only night, no one would realize the ease that the quietness of the dead silence has."

"But even when they are supposed to be total opposites, and pitted naturally against each other.... The Lion and the Hyena are actually friendly companions with each other."

Ronin watched what the girls plan to do, and plan to listen in their conversation with Sordido in the peering glass.

The one acting as the Lion laid his head on the Hyena's shoulder. "I can't understand how you can do it everyday, ruling over your scavengers and listening to their rambles, not to mention intervening them."

The Hyena laughed with his devilish laugh, holding his head back. "That is because if I came to despise one of them, I will just eat them."

"Wouldn't that cause strife within your group?"

"No, it creates fear so they may never trifle with me. They wouldn't dare to push me around. "

Ronin only perked up when he heard this conversation.

But then he saw that the girls have finally reached backstage, and went back to focus on their actions.

"I wish I don't have to be just and uphold rules all the time. And I wish you wouldn't have to use fear to get what you want." The Lion complained.

The Hyena sneered. "Hah! That's the way the Spirit had meant for it to be. Even our partnership is a deviance against Nature itself."

The Lion clutched on his sleeves in fear. "What if one day, such partnership will be thwarted by our constituents? By the Spirit itself? You must be more careful, Brother Hyena."

"Why must I be careful, Brother Lion? That is not my nature, I will always do what I like even when you want to be discreet and keep this partnership a secret."

Father Spider narrated: "But what is this partnership they speak of? Well, one day, after having their usual battles with each other over a wild rabbit..."

The once close Lion and Hyena parted, and suddenly went into a fighting stance.

"The rabbits must die naturally, not be tortured and tormented until death by your kind!" The Lion exclaimed.

The Hyena slashed forward. "But we enjoy tormenting these worthless, weak rabbits that only know how to repopulate all day!"

They had a tussle, and fought roughly on stage, trying to pin down one another.

At the same time, Sordido who was peeking behind the curtains got grabbed by two girls, and pinned down on a wall!

"Ugh! What in the Abyss----" His eyes narrowed when he saw them.

"Remember me, 'Sordi'?" Edelweiss glared at him.

He of course remembered Edelweiss very well, the one who caused his brother to strip his powers from him and humiliate him in public.

But he also knew Calla because Rabuka warned him about this nosy little whore.

"Of course its the two of you who figured out." He sneered at him. "But I am not the enemy here."

The fight between the Lion and the Hyena ended, as blood spilled, possibly by having them hit a bag that was inside their costumes, and both of them were injured by the ribs.

The blood mixed from it, and something rose from where the blood had fallen.

It was a trap door that opened to reveal a new character that rose.

"From their spilled blood, they have created a new wild rabbit. It was the first strongest rabbit to exist, something larger and more resilient. The Hare."

"Upon learning this, the Hyena had formed a fascination on what more their blood can do."

The actor playing the black Hyena grabbed the confused and shocked Lion's hand.

"How was that possible!?"

"I..... I don't know. But it's not normal....."

The Hyena became excited. "Exactly! It's not something that the Spirit had made, but ours!"

"The Hare had the strength and the ferocity of the Hyena, but has still the gentleness of the Lion." Father Spider said. "It can defend itself better and move faster unlike the weaker rabbit."

"The Hyena and the Lion planned to keep the first Hare a secret from everyone, and nurture it to reach its full capabilities."

" For the Lion, he simply wanted to satisfy the curiousity of something new."

"But for the Hyena...."

Sordido gave a look outside the stage again. "He needs to be stopped at all cost. I will not let some stupid girls meddle with my important mission, I will never disappoint Big Brother again."

Calla rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of Diamant, stop with the obsession over your brother already! If you are really not our enemy, then tell us what exactly must be done to stop him."

Father Spider gestured as the Hyena looked at this new Hare character with greedy eyes.

"The Hyena wanted to take the Hares and form a whole new jungle that was out of the Spirit's control. A jungle where he and perhaps this new Lion friend of his creates the rules, and no 'Nature' gets to dictate anything."

"Only the 'Nurturing' of both sides together."

Sordido shook his head. "No. I cannot divulge information because I know you girls will intervene."

"Fine, we will report you to the Head Councillor, then." Edelweiss said, her eyes deadly sharp. "Then you will he a disappointment again to your beloved big brother."

Sordido scoffed at her. "I should have had those eels wrap around your pretty neck while they undress you completely for the world to see how behind that righteous facade of yours, you are just like all those sly, cunning whores---URK!"

Calla Lily grabbed his neck and pressed her sharp manicured nails on it, drawing blood.

"That is a good idea, what if I suffocate you right now, and feed you with a Disguise Repelling Potion? Then, I will threw your disgusting true form on stage for everyone to see.... Naked."

Sordido choked. Neither of them were using their Mage Focus against him, so he cannot copy it and repel them towards them. They were smart enough to use actual brute force.

Not to mention he can only copy one Mage Focus at a time. Once he copied theirs, the disguise will be lost and he had to gain it back all over again.

He struggled, and can't believe just two measly women can make him stay still like this. It hurts his ego, and that was what he was concerned more than Calla slowly strangling the life out of him.

".... Fine! We will talk about this on my own terms, outside of the Academy far away from him." He exclaimed. "On the former Blanc D'Argent house."

"And how do we make sure this isn't a trap?" Edelweiss gritted her teeth. "You can control our Mage Focus, and Pavone can cancel them."

"Then bring a Hero Mage with you, clever girl." He scoffed. "Our powers do not work on them."

Calla and Edelweiss looked at each other thinking of the same person:

Don.

Can they really bring Don into this too, when he has a close relationship with Ronin?

Ronin had watched this and knew what they were thinking even when he doesn't read their mind.

'It's time to use those hair strands from Don's hairbrush, I suppose. I just need to find a way to distract him.' He sneered.

The play continued on, as Father Spider revealed:

"But the Hyena's plans were thwarted when one day, the Spirit had turned more rabbits into Hares, and gifted them to be followers of the Lion's Court."

"With the new Hares being tied to the other animals, there will be an army that the Spirit can use against them if they plan to create a revolution in the future."