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"ANY NEWS ABOUT MAX?" Alexander McLurkin, Max's roommate and the serf who helped build the traps around their dorm, asks as he looks at Keigo who is busy typing something down on his computer.

    Keigo doesn't answer, his eyes glued to the screen that shows different numbers and codes, but when the text turns red, he curses and finally closes his laptop to look back at Xander. "No news on my end. He and Riv...Siren left yesterday but I haven't heard from them since. I'm starting to get a little worried. I just don't feel right about this for some reason."

     "You should trust the kid," another voice says.

     Xander and Keigo turn their heads to see Vesper Hugo Cinna, the former Crème de la Crème Rank 12, and the former Duke of J.S High. He was lying in bed, reading a comic book he stole from his classmate yesterday. Without removing his eyes from the page, he adds, "Max was insistent on meeting Klyde. I told him the risk but he said he could do it. There's no point worrying about him now."

    "Oh come on. Aren't you at least a little concerned?"

     "And what benefit will my concern give him?"

     "God you're hopeless," Keigo complains, standing from his seat and walking towards the door with his laptop in hand.

     "Hey! Don't use God's name in vain!" Vesper adds as Keigo finally leaves the room. He sighs and pulls his phone out, checking if there is any message about his friend's whereabouts. But when there was none, he put the phone back inside his pocket and started walking down the hallway.

     Keigo eventually got out of Serf Sanctum without any fuss. He looked around to check if he was being followed, and when he thought the coast was clear, he started walking towards the Saints' dormitory, only to be stopped by another serf.

     "Keigo, where are you going this early in the morning?"

     Keigo flinched, and then he looked back and saw Stefan Kross, the new division representative of the serfs, looking back at him while holding his infamous chart. "Breakfast is in ten minutes. You don't wanna miss out on the good cereal again," he says to Keigo.

     "Oh, yeah. But I have to go somewhere first so I'll just catch up with you guys later," Keigo answers.

     Stefan glances at the laptop that he's holding but says nothing about it. "Sure, I'll save you a seat," he says to him instead.

     "Thanks." 

     "But by the way, have you heard anything about Max? Shouldn't he be returning today?" Stefan then asks him.

     "Actually, I haven't heard from him either," Keigo answers. He was about to tell Stefan how worried he'd been, but he remembered what Vesper said so he tried to act indifferent. "But I think he's fine. If anything serious really happened, someone should have called us, right?"

     "I guess you're right," Stefan says despite sounding uncertain himself. "Then you better hurry to wherever you're going. I'll see you later."

     Keigo nodded his head and waved Stefan goodbye, finally walking his way to the Saints' dormitory, better known as Saints Haven. Before heading inside, he took a deep breath and made sure he looked good. Finally, after fixing his hair for the hundredth time, he stepped inside the dorm, the door wide open for everyone to just march inside if they wanted. 

     Keigo's heart was beating fast because as soon as he got there, a familiar student in white uniform was sitting right across the entrance, looking more irritated than the last time. Keigo swallowed the lump in his throat and finally bowed at the powerful white uniform. "My king..." he says, looking back at Hedeon Stallion, the third most powerful member of the Rank 1 brotherhood, Busters.

     "You're early."

     To those who might have forgotten, Hedeon was sent as another representative for the exchange program besides Max. Others didn't agree at first, but Uchdryd, the leader who represented their house, stated that they would only accept a brotherhood to be sent to St. George Academy if they were to become a white uniform. J.S High complied, but they soon realized that the catch had no effect whatsoever because the Elites decided to send a king.

    Viktor gave the "Destroyer" two tasks. One was to assist Max in bringing PHD back to J.S High, and two was to find the person who helped Payton Wolfe during the Annual Brotherhood Reranking.

    As a refresher, during the Brotherhood Reranking, Payton Wolfe, the previous Siren, hired the rookie Brotherhood Revels to defeat Busters during their battle. Unfortunately, Kim Hee-Joon took the bullet that was meant for Viktor and ended up losing on his behalf.

    Viktor took his revenge on Revels, who later surrendered to the king after getting defeated during the last brotherhood battle. Since then Viktor and the rest of Busters have been extracting all the information they can get from the members of Revels, but they only got so much.

     As Hedeon stated during his first appearance in the House of Bishops, there are three suspects connected to the unfair defeat of PHD. Besides Magnus McKay, the student from Westberg Academy who joined Mr. Brains & Brawn and was later discovered to have been the one to implant the poisoned bullet in J.S High, there are three other suspects in this injustice. One is Payton Wolfe herself, who bought the poisoned prototype bullet from Salvatore Valor—Elijah Memphis's father. The other is in the House of Pawns, which they already captured, and the last one was believed to be here, in St. George Academy.

     Hedeon gave this house the entire duration of the Exchange Program to surrender the suspect who assisted in the fall of their previous princes, PHD. He promised that he would be in front of this dorm every day, waiting for that person to come to him, bowing while begging for forgiveness. Unfortunately, the exchange program is ending soon, and not a single person has surrendered themselves yet.

      Best believe that Hedeon is not pleased with this outcome at all.

     "I came as you requested," Keigo tells him. "Shall we go somewhere else so we can talk privately?"

     "There is no need for that," Hedeon answers. "I already asked the members of the Saints to leave the building. And anyone who would dare eavesdrop on us is a fool."

    "Y-Yes, of course. You have a point," Keigo nervously says, pulling his shirt down because he felt like it was choking him. "Anyway, king...destroyer...sir...I mean—"

     "Stop wasting your breath Dynasty and just speak properly."

     "Oh, yes, uhm...you told me to hack St. George's CCTV cameras that dated from August to March, but unfortunately, all the footage except the month of April has been deleted," Keigo explains, and Hedeon sighs, almost like he already suspected it.

     "It seems I have been too complacent. The program is ending and Sinclaire and I will be returning to J.S High soon. We still can't find any clues about who the third suspect is. Viktor will not be pleased," Hedeon explains, and Keigo could only gulp at the thought of what Viktor might do to them if they don't return with Joon.

    "Well, if it helps, I did check the CCTV footage from this month, and as much as I don't want to stick my nose in my friends' business, I found out that the Saints suspect that a brotherhood member might be the only possible suspect. President Justice explained that no one else would have benefited from PHD's loss other than them," Keigo reveals next, making Hedeon scratch his chin.

     "Well we have thought of that already," Hedeon replies a matter of factly. "I actually have two people that I suspect. One is the leader of the Scarlet Letter, Ruby Rose. She was once a student in J.S High, as well as Uchdryd Rease, my other suspect, who was an underling of Checkmate before he became the leader. Payton Wolfe would have chosen one of them since they know the campus better than anyone."

     "Uchdryd Rease or Ruby Rose?" Keigo thinks about the possibility before dropping it. "But wouldn't that be too obvious? Payton is cunning. She might be leading us to believe that it's those two and ignore the other possibilities."

    "You may be right," Hedeon admits. "But remember, snipers can kill you from afar, but you'll still die if I stab you with a knife."

     Keigo gulped again at the terrifying metaphor, and the reaction made the king chuckle.

     "Anyway, I'll have to wait for Sinclaire to return. I would want to know his opinion and what his course of action would be. I'm expecting a lot from him, especially since he achieved so much here already," Hedeon says before finally standing from his seat, instantly towering over Keigo who had to look up just so he could stare at the king's face.

    "Max won't fail," Keigo suddenly declared, and this time, Hedeon grinned.

    "Let's see about that," Hedeon says before clearing his throat and moving away from Keigo. "Well, if there isn't anything else that you're here to report then you may leave. Wait for Joon if he has something else to instruct you."

     "Actually, I do have one last thing to report."

     "And what is that?"

     Keigo opened his laptop and showed Hedeon the screen. The screen showed an error code, making Hedeon furrow his brows in confusion.

     "Do you expect me to understand what that is?" Hedeon asks, and Keigo's ears turn red in embarrassment at the realization.

     "Gosh, yes, sorry." Keigo quickly clicked something on the screen, and then it changed into what seemed to be a student profile of a former white uniform in J.S High. Hedeon wasn't entirely sure who that person was, but based on how excited Keigo looked, this was definitely someone important.

     "Leader Joon told me to retrace the students who were involved with Paradox and Checkmate in the past. I don't know why but this is the most of what I found after pouring all my detective skills to the test," Keigo explains, and Hedeon looked at the photo even closer.

     The student in the picture was pale, and he was wearing glasses that made his eyes look big. Hedeon still couldn't recognize him, but then his mouth almost dropped when he finally saw the name.

     "Wait. T-This is..."

     "Presley Pritchett, J.S High's former Elite Secretary," Keigo reveals, and when Hedeon looked closer at the picture he finally recognized him.

     A couple of years ago, when the Elites were announced, five students were handpicked by the Association who will officially become members of the council. Grey was chosen for president, Levi for vice president, and 4th year Presley Pritchett, who was a chess master with an impressive rating of 2800, was chosen as a secretary. Presley wasn't really popular in J.S High as he was in the chess world, but when he was announced as the Elites Secretary...

     "This isn't what he looked like," Hedeon points out.

     "Well, you're right. But this is what he looked like before he became a member of the student council...and before he was marked as Checkmates' property," Keigo revealed next.

     "Joon told you about this, didn't he?"

     "He did. He explained that Paradox and Checkmate had two quote-unquote, 'properties' that they officially marked. For Paradox, it was Levi and Hee-joon, and for Checkmate, it was Presley and Uchdryd," Keigo explains further, making Hedeon furrow his brows in confusion again.

     "Okay, but what's his connection with all this? Why bring him up all of a sudden?"

     "That was my question too, so I did a little digging. Apparently, as soon as he graduated, Presley was winning these chess competitions left and right. He didn't really come from a rich family, but he suddenly had these big sponsors knocking on his door like it was Halloween. At first, I thought it might be normal since he's pretty famous in his own right, but then I saw a list of his sponsors, and look here..."

     Keigo showed something on his screen again. This time it was three familiar logos. One was a logo of Kierspe Food & Wine Inc., the second logo was Tengfei Industries, and the third one was...

     "Sinclaire Corp.?"

     "Yup, two members of Paradox are sponsoring him," Keigo explains. "For some reason, unlike the other guys who were properties of the previous royals, Presley Pritchett is the only one who kept in touch with Paradox even after they graduated. It seems like he serviced them so well they rewarded him like this."

     "So you're saying?"

     "He might still have contact with the other members of Paradox. He might know where the others are hiding," Keigo revealed, and before Hedeon could even react, the bell suddenly started ringing, followed by an announcement that echoed throughout campus.

     "Attention students, please proceed to the Garden of Eden immediately. I repeat, please proceed to the garden immediately."

    "What is it this time?" Hedeon says in irritation before turning back to Keigo. "Do you know where this Pritchett is?"

     "A year ago he announced his retirement so he's not as active, but I heard he visits this elite chess club in Moscow from time to time. I'm trying to get inside their system so I could see when Presley might visit again, but I still can't seem to hack it," Keigo explains, to which Hedeon nodded his head in understanding. If it's in Moscow, Russia, then there's someone he knows who practically has connections in the entire country.

     "Alright, I'll relay this to Viktor myself. You should head back and join the others. Thank you."

     Keigo touches his chess and bows to the king before heading out. As soon as he reached the garden, Stefan and his other friends were already waving for him.

     "Keigo! Here!"

     Keigo ran to their side where the rest of the Serfs' Divisions were standing. "What's going on? What's the announcement about?"

     "We don't know yet," Xander answers.

     "Hopefully it's an announcement about the food because I'm sick of eating unseasoned chicken," Vesper says while picking his teeth with a toothpick.

     Xander, Keigo, and Stefan ignored what the white uniform had to say as the rest of the Divisions arrived at the garden. Soon after, the Saints and the Brotherhood arrived as well. Some were even wearing their pajamas.

     "Everyone's here. Something big must have happened," Keigo thought to himself as every division was talking amongst each other, curious as to why they were asked to gather this early in the morning. But as Keigo was looking around, he suddenly felt uneasy when he saw the brotherhoods grinning, specifically the members of Checkmate.

    "Attention, students of St. George Academy!" someone suddenly shouted, making everyone turn to the fountain in the middle of the garden. When they saw who it was, they were instantly surprised because standing before them was a Xian Chu, an officer of the Brotherhood Association who supervised the voting on the implementation of the White Uniform Protection Code a few days ago.

     The students were surprised to see him again, but when they settled down, Xian suddenly pulled out a long paper.

    "Attention, House of Bishops, starting today, April 18, 2024, the Brotherhood Association, with the approval of the five acting officers, has officially declared the full implementation of the Brotherhood Protection Code," Xian announces with no warning, making everyone in the garden drop their jaws in shock. Even those who were still sleepy now became wide awake thanks to the sudden news.

     "Did I just hear that right?"

     "It already got approved? That fast?"

     The divisions got noisy in an instant. White Uniform Protection Code meant Brotherhood Protection Code, and Brotherhood Protection Code meant only one thing...Brotherhood Customs. They already expected this to happen, but they didn't expect it to be approved so soon.

    "The brotherhoods who submitted their Customs have now been approved, and the House of Bishops may now officially participate in Brotherhood Battles. Those who refuse to recognize these changes will face deliberation. That will be all."

     All the brotherhoods started jumping and cheering for joy while the white uniforms couldn't help but be worried. This was the consequences that they had to face. But at the same time, it was the consequence that they were willing to endure compared to the hardships they got from the Division Program.

     This is also where the power of the student council will be tested. If the Saints can't balance the White Uniforms and the Brotherhoods, then their house will fall into despair again in no time.

         "Oh yeah! I've waited for this moment!" Elijah exclaimed as the rest of the Red Tigers cheered. Even Scarlet Letter and the Archers looked excited. The only ones who weren't as impressed were the Gallants and PHD, two brotherhoods who had already experienced the Brotherhood Customs in their old houses.

     "Heard you didn't submit a custom," Blade asks Chandler Heptinstall, Gallants' leader.

     "We have the same ideology as the princes, BND. Customs will corrupt your brotherhoods eventually. They are never good," Chandler seriously says, making Blade giggle.

     "That could be true," he says with a smile. But then, the smile turns into something more serious as he adds, "Or it could have been a pretty stupid move."

     Chandler was about to retaliate with the statement but then the members of Checkmate started walking towards them. Chandler only looked at Uchdryd once and he instantly instructed his brotherhood to move away, knowing full well something was about to happen.

     Uchdryd Rease, the leader of Checkmate, approaches Joon who looks bored out of his mind. But just when Uchdryd got close, Killshot and Blade immediately blocked him from their leader.

     "What do you think you're doing?" Killshot asks, his expression serious.

     "Hey, relax, I just wanted to chat," Uchdryd answers with a smug look on his face. "I'm just a bit curious as to what your leader feels about this now that the customs have finally been implemented. Because I'm sure out of all of us here, you guys still have the best custom. The Banquet, right? You only ever invited one and look what happened."

     "We're not going to—" Before Killshot can even ask Uchdryd to just leave them alone, Joon stops him and says, "You're wrong. I already invited two people to our banquet."

     "What?"

     "And only one of those two arrived at the location."

     Uchdryd was confused, unsure if Joon was bluffing or not like last time. But as Uchdryd looked at the cold leader's face, his eyes suddenly widened from shock at the realization.

     "M-Max? You invited Max to your banquet?"

     Joon, still expressionless, walked up to Uchdryd until he was facing him. "We only invite those who we deem worthy. Only those with pure intentions can dine with us."

     "Pure intentions? What do you know about pure intentions, Joon?" Uchdryd asks, and Joon instantly remembers everything that Paradox and Checkmate forced them to do in the past. The mere thought of it made Joon clench his fist, but Blade touched his shoulder just in time, calming the leader down in an instant.

    "What do you want, Uchdryd? You got what you always desired. Brotherhoods in this house now have power, just like in J.S High. That's what you always wanted right? That's why you assisted Max," Blade says to him this time.

     "Oh stop acting like you don't know why I'm mad," Uchdryd voices out, his expression suddenly different. "Your custom...it's your fault..."

     The white uniforms and the other brotherhoods started looking at them, curious as to what they were even talking about. When the Saints saw what was happening too, Levi immediately ran towards them to intervene.

     "What's going on here?" Levi asks, pushing Uchdryd away from Joon but the lord of pride didn't budge.

     "I begged you...back then when I was still in J.S High...I was the one who begged you," Uchdryd says, confusing the others.

      "Uchdryd stop. What are you doing?" Levi insisted, yet his efforts were ignored.

     "I was the one who begged for an invite, remember?" Uchdryd finally revealed, surprising the others. "I wanted you to invite me to your banquet. I needed you to fulfill my request, even if I had to do all those stupid trials. But instead, you sent one to Levi. And because of you, he got transferred here. Because of you, he had to suffer again."

     Everyone started whispering at each other while Joon remained composed. Levi was telling Uchdryd to stop and just let it go, but for some reason, Uchdryd was more hostile than usual.

     "I waited for this moment, Ice Prince. The moment you arrived here, I had everything planned out," Uchdryd says, reaching out and grabbing Joon by the collar. Blade and Killshot immediately pulled their weapons out, pointing them at the Lord of Pride, but before they could even do anything, a familiar siren sound suddenly echoed around the happy halls of St. George Academy for the first time, instantly making everyone's hair stand in terror.

     "Kim Hee-joon...I declare war against your brotherhood. I'm no longer the man you used to look down on back then. This time, I won't lose to you. This time, you'll bow to me."

- END -

A/N:

To those who missed the Q&A on Instagram, I posted them on my story highlights so you can read them all again. To those who didn't know about it, you can check them on my Instagram at wickedauthor_n. You'll find answers to some of the questions everyone has been curious about regarding KOTH. Thank you!