The Devil's Spawn

ACT II: A GUT FEELING

"I may or may not fail another class again, and don't even bother asking me which one because I think I will fail everything," Nana informed with a sigh but strangely, the ravenette did not look all that bothered. In fact, he is now grinning from ear to ear.

"That's because music is the only thing occupying that pea for a brain of yours," King grumbled in reply. Despite his harsh tone, the concern that filled his golden irises stated otherwise. "Try hard because you clearly aren't, unless you want to repeat until you become an old man."

Rather than be offended at the raven-haired male's lovingly harsh words, Nana looked like he was about to cry instead, touched that his cat-like friend who refuses affection cared for him, albeit in his own blunt way.

"King!" Nana cried before throwing himself onto the said boy. King was quick to push the ravenette off of him which resulted in Nana whining to the dark-haired girl.

"Oh boy," Prism sighed but accepted Nana in her arms as he dramatically crashed into her and wept with zero tears. Still, being a music major with his interest solely in making music, the dark-haired girl could understand why Nana tends to put little to no effort into the rest of his subjects — aside from them being boring, of course. If Prism could, she would spend most, if not all, of her days indulging in her love for the unknown rather than rot in school.

Kou had to hold Yue back from jumping on Nana and ripping the ravenette off of his little sister, and it sure was not easy with how stronger the brunette was compared to him.

"You tiny pest," Yue gritted his teeth. Seeing them interact, Prism almost forgot they were the same age. Nana just isn't gifted with the height that Yue has, nor the brains — as her brother stated rudely one time, earning him a scolding from his little sister when Nana complained.

"Hehe!" Nana laughed as he ignored Yue, or rather he ignored the tall brunette’s aura screaming bloody murder, and continued to cling to the dark-haired girl. Most of the time, Nana thinks, Yue is too overprotective of his sister. It made him pity Prism for she could not do much, not with her brother’s keen surveillance whenever the two of them were together.

"Okay! This semestral break," Amber muttered whilst furiously writing on her notepad that she always carried around. So I can jot down juicy stories anytime and everywhere! It's what she said to Prism one time when the dark-haired girl asked. On the other hand, Rose was the opposite with her being more chill but is just as curious as Amber. Her shy nature makes Prism wonder how Amber got to rope the bespectacled girl into most of her crazy antics. After all, Rose is what one would call a goody-two-shoes, too kind and too meek for her own good.

"What about the semestral break? Is it going to be extended?" Onyx chimed, his cerulean eye that was not covered by an eyepatch lighting in curiosity. He had always worn the eyepatch just because he liked the aesthetic of it, and while it was no doubt weird to the onlookers, even to his friends but none said a word, and none questioned his fashion taste seeing as how he is a bigshot in the modeling industry. Surely it was just his style of fashion?

"In your dreams," Hori commented with a snort to which Onyx only laughed off.

Closing her notebook with a plop, Amber looked up and flashed a bright smile, as if glad that someone asked. "Why we will pay a visit to the infamous Devil's mansion of course!" She declared, chin raised and hands on both sides of her hips, and it just shows just how proud she was of the idea she thought up on a whim. And while she thought of it due to her wanting to get out of her home during the break, it was not a lie when Amber says she is interested in the past that surrounded the late Hellstine family's home, of how such a wealthy family had come to ruin, unfortunately consumed by death.

"Wait, we are going to where now? Please repeat that." Leon, who remained quiet the whole discussion of the rumor, ripped the earbud off his right ear to make sure he was not hearing things.

"You heard me, I know you did! We are going for a spooky adventure so buckle yourselves up!" Amber grinned from ear to ear, contrasting the grimace on Leon's face that made the said redhead even grumpier than he usually looks like.

"Amber, this is one of the times I think your ideas are brilliant!" Prism exclaimed, her pair of stormy-gray eyes already gleaming with excitement.

"Yeah — wait, hey!" The brunette pouted at her friend's claim but Prism was too excited to hear nor realize what she just said to care.

"Seriously?" King already sounded tired but Prism figured it's how he is every day, tired of everyone's crap. "What kind of article do you want in your magazine that we have to physically be there? You are not even an occult club member," came a barrage of King's complaints, and Prism couldn't help but chuckle loudly as he sounded as if he was whining. This was probably the most he had uttered since arriving in the club room.

"So are you," Amber countered before jutting her lips out. The brunette had her arms crossed in front of her defensively. "This is a collaboration between the newspaper club and the occult club! Isn't that right, Pri? And you don't even need to come so stop complaining!"

"And let Pri go into some weird place that might have dangers lurking in them? Yeah, no," the boy deadpanned, the teal undertones on his dark hair seemingly glowing under the sunlight.

"I doubt it's going to be dangerous though," Hiro said and everyone agreed that he was right. Aside from trespassers — which will be them soon but they are far from dangerous so it's alright! — there could be other dangerous things like wild beasts or something, the estate is far from the hustle and bustle of the busy city.

"Well, you never know. It's best to remain vigilant always, and there's no harm in doing that to ensure your safety," King retorted with a grumble before shrinking into the shadows, and it was an indicator to Prism that the raven-haired male is feeling tired from having to deal with lots of people and their antics. The dark-haired girl could not help but feel sorry for him knowing how he disliked crowds — although he never complained about hanging out with them, and that alone is enough to tell the rest that he sees them as his friend too — so Prism left him alone even when she wanted nothing than to cling to him more.

Fortunately, the ravenette never minded her clinginess, which was bad since it led her on.

"Are you all really not that curious about the Devil's mansion? Not even a bit of what transpired on that one unfortunate day? Do you guys not want to get to the bottom of this case?" asked Amber in the hopes of convincing everyone in the room. Prism understands why they are hesitant, the past that blanketed the mansion is quite disturbing with all the cults and killings. The family kept a lot of secrets and no one sane enough would attempt to solve such a big, and possibly dangerous, case.

Sure, this case was big once, making headlines all over the world. But none of that changes the fact that the unfortunate incident had been ten years, people were over it after the case got closed and people had eventually forgotten about it. It had been too long that no one batted an eye, especially of this generation who happened to be young when the tragedy inside the dubbed Devil's mansion happened, so who sparked the sudden interest of the students in this old and forgotten case? And what could be their goal?

"I don't mind going," Rose voiced, although it was too quiet for anyone but Prism and Amber to hear.

Prism felt a jab on her sides and saw the brunette giving her the side glance. Thankfully, Prism understood what she wanted and backed her up.

"Well, if you do not want to then it's fine but I'll go with Amber and Rose."

"Are you kidding? As long as you are there then I'll go — ow!" Kou winced from Yue's harsh pinching and moved far away, a cute pout on his lips.

"It's better than studying anyway!" Hiro grinned and to Prism's surprise, Hori agreed. The twins must hate studying, but then who doesn't?

"I do agree that this case has made me curious," Sora butted in, somehow already standing behind Prism, after placing his book on the wooden table. "So I'll go as well."

"We are so gonna die," King muttered dejectedly.

"Of fun!" Nana added, not wanting the atmosphere to turn dark. "We can count that as a hangout between friends!" He then turned to Leon, his eyes sparkling and his eyelashes batted.

"Maybe sir Leon could bring some—"

"No," Leon cut off, already knowing Nana meant wine and no, he will not bring any wine during the trip to avoid accidents. To Leon, Nana while sober is already a menace to society, one may confuse him with being drunk already and the redhead couldn't agree more.

Eventually, everyone agreed, even Yue much to Prism's surprise as he was one to support her with her interests but not partake in it. It was to keep an eye on everyone, he said. Sometimes, the younger girl wonders why he talks like a grandpa.

Prism immediately sent messages to Sky and Princess who aren't present, not wanting them to feel left out. She did not expect them to reply instantly but felt elated when they agreed to her and Amber's whims.

There's only one week left before the semestral break starts. The deadline for the occult club's monthly activities won't be until the end of their well-deserved break. And the ones excited the most about the upcoming trip were Prism and Amber.

"Finally, a good article that will surely grab both believers and non-believers alike!" Amber fist-bumped the air, her other hand holding the notepad trembled in anticipation.

King, however, had a frown adorning his soft features all the way home. When he said they would die, he had a feeling that they might just be that, dead.

King hated the strong foreboding that gnawed at him ever since he learned about the so-called Devil's mansion.

But he can't ruin this stupid trip that Prism is so eager to go to. King would be damned if he were to be the cause of the sparkle in her eyes to diminish. It was just a gut feeling after all, King believes everything will be fine.

Ever since King was young, he had attracted several dark and sinister entities. It used to scare him but after realizing it did him no harm, King got used to it to the point that it no longer plagued his dreams. But he knew something horrible was bound to happen.

Thankfully, as he grew older, King's weird blessing, or curse as he liked to think of it — a part of him that he still hated — stopped abruptly. King felt like he was a normal fellow again, but that did not mean the scars left by his experiences disappeared just like that. Thus, his relationship with others became strained, making it harder for him to form a bond with other students, until Nana, his band mate, and his other loud friends — being Prism, Yue, and the others — came into the picture, of course.

Alas, to his dread, the moment he entered Elysian Royal Academy, his frightening curse came crashing back onto him.