Hope is da wae

The next day, Shin was feeling giddy. He could already see how pissed off Kamoshida will be.

The culprit for his annoyance was leisurely waiting for the aforementioned shitstain. Ann and Shiho too had arrived and were discussing with Ryuji.

"I know what you wanted to say, but it looked like a kid trying to sound like an adult." said Ann.

"Hey, that ain't true." replied the other blond.

"And that logo..." Shiho didn't finish her sentence.

"Uhh, but at least it got everyone excited, so it's all good, yeah?"

The trio saw Shin approach, so they turned to greet him. As the black-haired teen was about to relpy, Kamoshida appeared. He grabbed one of the many calling cards scattered over the bulletin boards.

"Who's responsible for this!?" he shouted.

"Look at that. A predictable reaction for someone who knows what we mean by distorted desires." piped in Morgana from the inside of Shin's bag.

"I think it's hitting him pretty hard." said Ryuji.

"Did you do this!? Or was it you!?" Kamoshida shouted at random students.

The crowd gathered around the scampered quickly as effeminate shouts rang throughout the hallways. Seeing the rest of the students flee, Kamoshida quickly pointed his rage at the group.

"Was it you two!?" he said, huffing and puffing as he approached.

"What are you talking about?" asked Shin.

"So, you're playing dumb? Eh, it's not a problem. You'll be expelled soon enough anyway."

Suddenly, the group's vision shifted as they could see King Kamoshida.

"Come... Steal it, if you can!"

Their sight returned to normal and Kamoshida left.

"Judging from his reaction... I'm sure we had an effect on his palace!" said Morgana.

"Does that mean the Treasure appeared? We'll be able to get it today, right?" asked Ann.

"It's not just "today", but ONLY today. The impact of sending a calling card doesn't last long, and it cannot be repeated. This will be our only chance at stealing the Treasure."

"One day's more than enough for us." said Ryuji, confidently.

-INTERMISSION-

Back at Kamoshida's Palace, the group of 5 stood in front of the door to the throne room, which was opened wide."

"So, Shiho. Hold this." said Shin, handing the girl a bag.

"Huh?" she asked, obviously confused.

"There's a lot of medicine in there. Don't lose it. If someone gets hurt, pass them something from the bag."

Shiho nodded resolutely. She was aware that she had no combat prowess, but she still wanted to help however she could.

"Still, what the hell is going on here? The door's just open and there's no soldiers around." said Ryuji.

"This place's probably unmanned now that they all got assigned somewhere else. Either way, we win as long as we can steal the treasure! Let's keep going!"

As there was no Shadow around, the group went straight to the Treasury. They could see that instead of the place where the white cloud-like thing was, there was a giant shiny crown.

"Aww yeeeaaaah! The Treasure has appeared!" said Morgana.

"It's huge!" that is what she said.

"What do you think!? Just like I said! Now we can steal it! Ahh... This shine brings tears to my eyes..."

"Why is it so shiny? Isn't it supposed to be Kamoshida's desires?" said Shiho.

"T-Treasure..." muttered Morgana with stars in his eyes.

"Uh, the cat's acting weird." commented Ryuji.

Before anyone could say anything, Morgana leaped onto the crown and started meowing and purring loudly.

"Calm down, Fay. Remember what we came here for." said Shin.

Startled, Morgana jumped down from the Treasure and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Oh, um, yeah... Forgive me for displaying such an insolent sight in front of a lady."

"You were completely out of character too. What was that about?" asked Ann.

"I couldn't stop it either... To think I'd be drawn to human desires this much... Doesn't that prove that I'm human!?" said Morgana.

"How should we know...?" deadpanned Ryuji.

"A-Anyways, you guys need to carry it!"

"Tch! All you do is bark orders..." muttered the blond boy.

It almost seemed as if they could get the Treasure without any fight.

"Still, that was easier than I thought. I thought for sure there'd be some kind insane trap or something."

'You just had to tempt fate, didn't you?'

The four teens carried the crown down the stairs and were about to exit the throne room, until a golden volleyball hit the Treasure. The pervert king himself jumped over them as cheers could be heard in the distance. His speedo-wearing self landed in front of the throne and stretched out his right hand. The crown shrunk at a visible rate as it flew in his hand. Out of nowhere, Ann's copy hugged his other hand.

"I won't let anyone have this! This proves that I am the king of this castle! It is the core of this world!" he said.

"That rat bastard... That's how he sees me, isn't it!?" said Ann.

"Yo, pervert. Were you waiting to ambush us?" asked Ryuji.

"I just made it easier to find you. I'll dispose of you myself. Right here, right now."

"That's our line, you sexually-harassing douche-bag!" shouted the blond boy.

"What a selfish misunderstanding..." muttered the bastard.

"How is it a misunderstanding!? You were doing things that you kept in secret from others!"

"People around me were the ones who kept it a secret. Adults who want to share in my accomplishments, students who have the drive to become winners... They willingly protect me so that we all may benefit from it."

"Profit...!?" muttered Ryuji.

"There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that! Including naive brats like you and that boy who tried to kill himself! There is no wrong in using my gifts for my gain! I'm a cut above all other humans!"

'Above like hell. Even if you force those girls to have your way with them, you're probably still a bottom.' thought Shin.

"I'm not like you, mediocre peasants! I'm a demon who rules this world!" said Kamoshida as he changed shapes.

The new form was a huge four-armed, pink-skinned, horned version of himself. The Treasure was on top of his head, seemingly even bigger than it was in the Treasury. A very long purple tongue waved in front of the group occasionally. In his upper hands were a glass of wine and a riding crop, while the lower ones held cutlery.

"The heck!?" shouted Ryuji.

"Gyahaha! I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want!"

The monstrosity started by barraging the team with volleyballs, but they had little effect. He had tried the same thing a few more times, but it had quickly become apparent that it didn't do anything.

However, the group couldn't kill him either, as every time he took a substantial amount of damage, he took a sip from his trophy.

"Smash that thing!" shouted Shin.

Hearing this, Kamoshida couldn't help it but be wary. He leaned over the trophy protectively, as Shin, Ryuji and Ann kept attacking him. Just when he was about to call his slaves to take some of the heat off him, he felt the trophy in his hands break.

Morgana had smashed the thing with a concentrated wind blade. Kamoshida was about to explode from anger, however, he was helpless as the constant attacks had put him in a precarious position.

"Looks like I have to bring out the big guns! Slaves! Bring over you-know-what!"

The monster readied his right arm.

"Glad to see your arm is fine over here. I was worried this'd be too boring otherwise." said Shin.

"Grrr! Let's see what you'll say after I make my killshot from when I was active and kicking it!"

Mishima had arrived holding a volleyball. This one seemed no different from the ones Kamoshida used to attack before.

"Too slow! Mishima, you worthless chump!"

The blue-haired teen passed the ball to Kamoshida, who jumped up and swung his hand at the volleyball with all his strength. Before it could reach its target, the volleyball got sliced into ribbons. The cause was none other than Arsene, who Shin summoned while Kamoshida jumped up. He needed Arsene as the Pixie he was using earlier to smack down the monster didn't have any sharp parts.

"I knew it... I can't go all out with Mishima providing the backup. Shit-for-brains! Get off my court! Next slave! Get out here! Hurry up with my damn ball!"

Shiho's lewdly-clothed copy appeared holding a ball.

"I've brought your ball, king Kamoshida, just like you asked."

"Now that's a good girl!"

Once again, Kamoshida took his sweet time preparing his arm to throw the ball, taking even longer than last time. Meanwhile, most of the team continued attacking Kamoshida, who was starting to get frustrated. Just when he was about to bark the order to pass the ball, Shin used a Jack-o'-Lantern to throw an exploding fire ball at the copy of Shiho.

Already at his snapping point, the monstrous Kamoshida stood up and directly attacked the team. He swung his knife at Ryuji, who barely managed to raise his hands up to protect himself. Unfortunately, that proved to be insufficient, as he was flung away and knocked out.

Shiho, who was in charge of the bag with medicine, rushed to him. The girl rummaged through the bag for the right medicine. She did find it in the end, however, she couldn't use it on Ryuji as another body quickly approached. It was Morgana, who had just defended Ann from an attack with the crop. The impact was a little too strong for the cat-like being.

Shiho raised her head to check on the remaining fighters. Ann was the main target of the barrage of volleyballs from the leftover slaves, while Shin was engrossed with Kamoshida's attacks.

Swinging wildly, the monster cared little whether he hit some of his slaves or the enemies. One of his hits impacted with a statue nearby. As she was busy dodging the balls, she didn't notice the rubble on the way until she hit it. Thankfully, she was quick enough to stop and breathed a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, Kamoshida noticed that and threw his crop at her, which immediately took her out.

Down to their last fighter, Shin fought valiantly for his friends.

Nah, kidding. He was waiting for this.

Shiho was feeling dread. Ann, her best friend, had been knocked out, while Shin, whose relationship with her was somewhat complicated, was being pushed into a corner.

"No..."

'Are you finally fed up?'

Shiho suddenly gripped her head in pain.

'Those friends of yours... might die if you don't do something... Will you really let that happen?'

The girl screamed out in agony.

'I see... That's enough... I art thou, thou art I... Show the world the strength to stand tall even after seeing all of humanity's evils... Never feel despair... Be the shield defending your close ones... Always keep hoping!'

Shiho stood up, a new mask adorning her face.

'Good grief. It was somewhat tiring to run around like that. Looks like all that effort wasn't for nothing.' thought Shin.

"Come on! Simurgh!"

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Confidants:

Igor (The Fool) - Rank 2

Morgana (The Magician) - Rank 1

Ann Takamaki (The Lovers) - Rank 1

Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) - Rank 1

Tae Takemi (The Death) - Rank 1