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AFTER ALL THE HARDSHIPS that everyone experienced in their previous battle, Day 05 has finally arrived, marking the last and final day of the Annual Brotherhood Reranking. Everyone was tuning in as this battle will finally determine the most important titles a brotherhood can achieve.

     The Barons.

     The Counts.

     The Marquis.

     The Dukes.

     The Royals...the Princes.

     And, of course, the most important title of all, the Kings.

     Apart from having such an amazing title, the kings have the most power when it comes to the brotherhood system. When something needs to change within the houses, the king must be able to approve of it first. Like the council president, the kings also have the power to change rules, add rules, and even remove a rule entirely. These privileges come with great responsibility, though, which is why Rank 1 does not only mean the strongest brotherhood but also the most honorable of them all.

     "Viktor," Tanis calls out.

     Viktor, who has been staring out of the bus's window since they left, takes a deep breath and glances at the empty seat beside him. A seat in which a certain black uniform was supposed to be found.

     "If it's not important, I don't want to hear it," Viktor answers before turning to look out of the window again.

     Tanis sighs, and then he takes the empty seat beside their leader before saying, "The place where we'll have the battle and the number of members to battle has been announced in advance."

     "What?" Viktor asks in shock, finally turning his head to look at his right-hand man. "Where? How many?"

     "It's going to be held in the House of Pawns," Tanis reveals.

     "And the members? How many members will be battling against each other?" Viktor asks next, and the expression on Tanis's face instantly changes again.

     "I've thought about it, and you have more injuries than the rest of us. It would be best if you let me battle and—"

     "How many?" Viktor asks again with a much more serious tone, leaving Tanis with no other choice but to reveal the truth.

     "One."

     "O-One?"

     "The battle for the fifth day...will be one on one.

...

All the students of J.S High were at the auditorium to watch the battle that would soon take place in a few hours. They were all still very much unpleased about the results, but after the battle yesterday, President Ian talked to all of them. He didn't explain anything, nor did he reveal what the brotherhoods were planning, but one sentence made everyone hopeful again.

     "Trust your brotherhoods, and we will eventually conquer all."

     Those words alone washed away everyone's doubt. That's why yesterday, despite the tears, they showed the members of Revels what J.S High is really about. They showed that something like this won't break them down.

     This was the House of Kings that Max wanted to see. And this change was greatly influenced by him, even if he realized it or not.

     "Max," Ari called out when he saw Max walking out of the auditorium.

     Ari and Ervin were waiting outside for Max while Felix was out with the other brotherhoods, preparing for the battle. When Max saw his friends, a smile of relief instantly appeared on his face. Ever since the Annual Brotherhood Reranking started, Max hasn't seen any of his friends since they've been hanging out in their respective bases to support their brotherhoods.

    "Hey," Max says with a tired tone, and Ervin sighs and immediately grabs him for a tight hug.

     "You look terrible," Ervin says as Max wraps his arms around his dear friend. He's been completely stressed over the results of the battles, but having his friends beside him like this again instantly made him feel a lot better.

     "I'm sorry if we had to leave you alone the past few days. Have you been lonely?" Ervin asks, and Max hugs him even tighter before letting go of him.

     "Don't worry, I've been holding up," Max replies, turning to look at Ari, who reaches out to him to pat his shoulder. "I'm glad you guys look well. But Keigo, where is he?"

     "He's waiting for us near gate 3, at the East Tower," Ari answers, and Max nods his head as the three of them head to where their dear friend has been waiting for them.

     When they got to gate 3, Max, Ari, and Ervin spotted Keigo holding his luggage. As it has been mentioned before, St. George Academy is the only house that requires its students to stay in their dormitory. Since Keigo still chose to be an underling of PHD, it means that he'll have to stay in their dorms from now on as well.

     "That uniform suits you," Ari teases, referring to the new white uniform that Keigo was wearing, which was the cassock-like uniform that all the students in St. George wear.

     "Guys!" Keigo immediately shouts, running to the three of them to give them a hug. "I can't believe I just joined your group, and now I'm going to transfer schools."

     Ari, Ervin, and Max looked at each other, but then they chuckled and hugged Keigo back, comforting their obviously distressed friend.

     "Well, underlings are given a choice if they want to follow their brotherhood or not. You should have just chosen to stay in J.S High," Ervin then says, obviously joking about it since he knew Keigo enough to know that he wouldn't betray PHD like that.

     "I actually wanted to do just that, but Viktor threatened me, so I have no choice," Keigo then answers, making Ervin's jaw drop. I guess Ervin doesn't know Keigo enough after all.

     "You idiot," Ari then scolds while the three of them break free from the hug. "And I thought I was a bad underling, but you're apparently worse."

     "Oh please, Aristotle, I bet if BND lost instead of PHD, you would have thought of the same thing and stayed here with no hesitation," Max then exposed, immediately making Ari laugh while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

     "Anyway, where's PHD?" Ervin then asks.

     "They already went to the House of Bishops yesterday. I had to fix some paperwork, so I'm only leaving today," Keigo then answers. Right after, he turns to Max and grabs both his hands before saying, "You're going to take us back, right Max? We won't let those cheaters win."

     Max smiles and nods his head after hearing Keigo's request. "Don't worry, I'll do everything I can to bring justice to what they did to us. Apart from that, I'm also going to look for any clues that might be connected to my past. I haven't explained a lot to you guys yet, but once I figure things out, I'll definitely tell you everything."

     "Hey, Max, don't worry about us," Ari then reassures him. "You can sort things out without telling us everything. We'll wait until you're ready."

     Max looked at his friends, who were nodding in agreement, and that immediately made Max feel relieved. He really is lucky to have friends like them.

     "It's a shame that Felix can't be with us today," Max then says.

     "But it's okay since we know he's working hard for Crazy 8," Ervin answers.

     "Yeah. I was so proud of him yesterday that I almost ran to the battle grounds to kiss him," Ari then joked, which made his friends look at him with grins on their faces, instantly making Ari's ears turn red like his hair.

     "T-That was a joke! Stop making it weird," Ari quickly defends.

     Max, Ervin, and Keigo laugh at the response, but they don't try to tease their friend any longer.

"Well, I guess we should say our goodbyes so Keigo can get going," Ervin says, and in an instant, reality hits them like a truck, especially for Max. The future of their house is literally on his shoulders. Max is the only person who can help change their fates. He's the only one capable of making sure both PHD and Keigo return to J.S High in one piece.

     "You know, we could have just told everyone that the Revels cheated. I know that President Janus is already aware of it too, but it would have been much less of a hassle," Ari then says as he grabs Keigo's luggage so he can help him with it.

     "Well, we do still need solid evidence. We never found Payton's connection with any of the members of Revels, and they could easily say that they just found those bullets by chance. If we want to take them all down, we have to be extra careful," Max then answers as the three of them walk Keigo to the car that's been waiting for him since earlier.

     Ervin opens the car door as Keigo steps inside. Ari also placed his luggage down in the trunk before closing it.

     "Looks like everything's settled. Do your best, Keigo. We'll see each other soon," Max then says.

     "As a dweller in a house where I don't know a single white uniform? I'll try my best," Keigo then answers with a smile before finally closing the door. Keigo waves goodbye as the car starts driving off. As soon as he left, Max took a deep breath and looked back at his friends. "Let's head back to the auditorium. The 5th battle is about to begin, and I can't wait to see how it will turn out."

     "Oh yeah, Max, once this brotherhood battle is over, are you ready to find out what your rank will be too?" Ari asks while the three of them walk inside the building.

     "I'm more than ready," Max answers with a grin. "In fact...I'm practically dying to find out."

     [At Thomas L. High School, Training Camp]

     "Good day, everyone, and welcome to the House of Pawns! I am Professor Gale Filberg, and I will be your host for the last and final battle of this year's Brotherhood Reranking!" Professor Gale announces while standing in the middle of a pit that was just a few meters away from an obstacle course that cadets would usually use for practice. 

     Thomas L. High School, just like the other brotherhood houses, has a unique design that perfectly fits the school's image. For instance, St. George Academy (House of Bishops) is a cathedral, J.S High (House of Kings) is a castle, Roland's School for Boys (House of Rooks) is a prison cell, D & F High School (House of Knights) is a French chateau, and Thomas L. High School (House of Pawns), is none other than a military camp.

     As this was the last day of the battles, everyone was filled with excitement and adrenaline. This was the battle that would determine the king, and seeing how Busters have been ranked 1 since the reranking started, there is a high chance that they will reclaim the title.

     "As the brotherhoods are preparing at the barracks, let me first explain the mechanics of today's battle. Like any battle, we will have two brotherhoods battle against each other for twelve minutes. The first to put their flag down on the enemy base wins. Both opponents are also allowed to use their weapon of choice, but they are only allowed to bring one weapon, so the brotherhoods must choose wisely. As for the battle grounds, there won't be any, so pardon to Busters and the others who are used to those fancy high-tech grounds they build in their houses," Gale explains, making the students laugh.

     Battle Grounds are a huge factor in a brotherhood's victory, which is why most brotherhoods have a specific member who designs them (e.g. Rome of Jokers and Felix of Crazy 8). Unfortunately, in the House of Pawns, there are no battle grounds. They don't have a stadium or any mechanical area where a floor will be lifted from underground. All brotherhoods in Thomas L. High School battle on cold land that sometimes become muddy when it rains. This was one of the hardships of being in the lowest house.

     "Now, as it has been announced this morning, the number of members to battle is only one, so like the weapons, it is important to choose who will perform the best. Leaders aren't necessarily going to be the perfect choice," Gale explains further.

     While the others were already betting on who the winners would be, the screen showed another image.

     "Now, here is how the battle will commence. We have seven rounds in total. This was based on the ranks of the previous battle, so the first round will be Jokers and Revels, and then Cigarettes and Crazy 8. The two brotherhoods who will lose in those rounds will battle for the position of Counts, and the losing team will claim the title of Barons."

     The black uniforms of the House of Pawns start cheering as the titles start flashing on the screen. Barons and Counts may look like the lowest title when you're in J.S High, but overall, these titles are extremely impressive. Others wouldn't even care if they didn't become kings. Having those titles alone would be enough.

     "In the next round, the winner between Revels and Jokers will battle with Busters, while the winner between Cigarettes and Crazy 8 will battle BND. The losing teams will once again battle with each other for the title Marquis, while the winners will fight for the king title," Gale then says, and the mere mention of king made everyone start cheering even louder.

     "The two brotherhoods will battle in the final round, and the losing team will claim the title, Dukes, while the winner... will be considered the new Kings of the five houses. So are you guys ready!?" Professor Gale shouted, and the students instantly got up from their seats to start cheering.

     Having the last battle in Thomas L. High School was really symbolic, especially since there are no white uniforms in this house. All the students in Thomas L. are members of a brotherhood, and this battle will definitely inspire them to strive harder so they will one day participate in this reranking as well.

     "Now then, let us begin the first round! Starting with the brotherhood that was ironically created to mock the brotherhood system. Let us all give a warm welcome to Jokers!" Gale shouted, and the door to one of the barracks opened to reveal the participating member for Jokers.

     Everyone was expecting that it would be their leader, Master Joker, but to their surprise, it was the second youngest member of the group, Vanich Cheon. Van was holding their group's clown mask. He walked out of the barracks and went to a large circular pit which was surrounded by students in black. When he arrives at his base, Van takes a deep breath and wears the mask.

    "He's not holding any weapon," a student notices as Van cracks his knuckles, acting like this isn't going to be a challenge.

     "Moving on to the next contender...the newbies who skyrocketed from Pawns to Kings. Thomas L. High School's dark horses, the Revels!"

     The next contender came next, and as expected, it was their leader, Meirion March. Surprisingly enough, Meirion wasn't supposed to battle for his brotherhood, but after an unforeseen 'incident' in J.S High, the rest of his members were left injured, leaving Meirion the only member who was capable to still battle.

     "I am not gonna be embarrassed here," Meirion angrily mumbles to himself as he walks his way to their base, holding onto the bandaid on the side of his mouth before looking at the brotherhoods in the House of Pawns who were shouting offensive words at him. It seems like the Revels didn't have a great reputation here, either.

     "The House of Pawns has treated us like shit for years. Now that we're in J.S High, I'm gonna show them how wrong they were for belittling us," Meirion continues to say, clenching his fist before looking at Van, who was standing in front of him wearing Jokers' famous clown mask.

    "And I'll definitely make these boastful bastards pay."

     While Meirion was getting ready, Van took a deep breath and turned to the black uniforms, trying his best not to show how terrified he was to be surrounded by them. To be honest, being in a school filled with white uniforms is way better than a school that only has brotherhoods. The thought of studying here definitely sent a chill down Toni's spine.

     But at the same time, it made him even more excited to show them what he's been planning to do.

     "The battle will begin in 5...4...3...2..."

     A gunshot was heard, and Vanich and Meirion instantly ran toward each other, the cheers almost making them cover their ears because of how loud they were.

     When Meirion got close to the Jester, he immediately pulled the gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Van. Meirion thought the battle would be easy since Jokers decided to choose someone like Van to battle for them. He thought they had no choice but to put him out since Van didn't participate during yesterday's battle. But little did Meirion realize that Van's still a member of a strong brotherhood for a reason.

     "Master Joker says hi," Van says, quickly grabbing a handful of dirt from the floor before throwing it at Meirion's face.

     Meirion curses as he removes the dirt from his eyes. But while he was doing so, Van kicked his hand, accidentally making Meirion drop his gun on the floor. While Meirion was searching for his gun, Van was already running towards Revel's base to put his flag down. Meirion couldn't believe how fast he was, and underestimating his was definitely a mistake. So Meirion decided to leave his gun so he could run towards Joker's base instead.

     He ran as fast as he could without turning back. After a couple more steps, he arrives at Jokers' base and easily puts his flag down, instantly making the campus drown from the sound of sirens.

     "Yes!" Meirion shouted in excitement. But while he was celebrating his easy victory, the students of the House of Pawns suddenly started laughing, confusing him.

     "The winner for the first round, Revels!" The host, Professor Gale, announces, which only makes the audience laugh even more.

     Meirion didn't understand why they were laughing at him. But while they were laughing, a slow replay flashed on the screen. Meirion looked at the screen and watched it carefully. He saw what Van did to him earlier with the dirt, and then he saw him running towards their base to put his flag down. But when Van was literally a step away from winning the battle, he suddenly...stopped. Van stopped and didn't move, giving Meirion time to successfully put his flag down. As soon as Meirion saw this, he immediately clenched his fist in anger and embarrassment.

     "I don't even know who the real clown was!" A student shouts, angering Meirion even more.

     "What kind of bullshit is this?!" Meirion complains as he turned to look at Vanich, who was walking towards the gun that Meirion dropped earlier. After picking it up it, he walked his way to the Revel and stopped in front of him. He removed his clown mask so Meirion could see his expression. To Meirion's surprise, Van was smiling from ear to ear, instantly making the hair  on his skin stand.

     "King's orders," Van says before handing the gun back to Meirion. "Let's see you cheat your way out of this one, rookie."

- END -