"Ace! Deuce-kun!" Alice cried out, wanting to run out to them but Trey quickly pulled her back, holding her close to him. "Off With Your Head!" Before Ace and Deuce could even react, Riddle waved his scepter, and the two boys cried out in pain as the wretched collars soon appeared on their necks once again.

"Uuwwaaaah!!!" Ace and Deuce both screamed out. They couldn't believe it! They were back in those heavy collars again! Alice felt as if her breath had been sucked right out of her lungs as she watched her two friends collapse.

Once the two boys fell to their knees, the girls quickly ran to their side, kneeling beside them and checking them over. Meanwhile, Trey sighed and shook his head while Cater put his hands to his face in disappointment. "I saw that coming..." Trey muttered. "Yep." Cater agreed, nodding.

"Oh, goodness! Are you two alright? You're notbadly hurt, are you?" Alice asked her friends. "Ugh...Darn! We didn't even havetime to materialize our magic!" Ace angrily said, slamming his fist on thegrass. "I didn't think we stood this little of a chance..." Deuce added. Kiraturned to Riddle. "Geez, that guy's quick!" she mused.

"Strong magic comes from a strong imagination. The stronger your ability to accurately imagine magic, the stronger and more effective it will be." Crowley explained as he crossed his arms. "Mr. Rosehearts' magic only continues to become even more polished."

He didn't want to say anything else, but he had hoped that the two boys would win. Yet the realistic side of him knew that Riddle would be the victor. "Ffgna... Our difference in skill is so big...!" Grim exclaimed with tears in his eyes.

Riddle scoffed with a mocking grin on his face. "Hmph. It didn't even take five seconds. And you thought to challenge me with that level of ability. Are you not embarrassed?" he asked condescendingly. "Ha! Those naïve fools think they can beat me in this battle. This just proves that I am right!" he thought smugly.

Alice looked at Ace and Deuce with remorseful eyes. "Ace-kun... Deuce-kun...I'm so sorry." she apologized. "I know it was a slim chance, but I really thought it would work! I really thought we would stall Riddle-san long enough for him to break his own rule."

"What are you apologizing to us for, Alice-chan?" Deuce asked. "It's not like you're the one who lost." Ace gently placed his hands on Alice's shoulders. "Yeah," he added, "we only feel bad that you guys tried to cheer us on, and we still lost..."

He then gave her a small, but sad grin. "Pretty pathetic, huh?" Alice said nothing. She could only look at them sadly. "Let this be a lesson to all of you." Riddle said strictly. "This just proves that rule violators are useless in everything they do. It's just as Mother said."

That word made Alice pause. "Huh? Mother?" she asked in thought. "Grh... You're right, rules should be followed. But enforcing absurd rules just makes you a tyrant!" Deuce shouted as he struggled to get back up.

"Excuse me? If one breaks the rules, they are then punished. And in this dorm, I am the rules. That is why those who refuse to obey the rules have no right to complain when I take off their heads!" Riddle snapped, glaring at him. "But that's...that's just wrong! You're the one who's completely wrong here!" Alice yelled.

All eyes soon fell on Alice, who glared at Riddle defiantly. She then stood up and marched towards him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What is she doing?!" Cater asked as he went to try and stop her... only for Trey to quickly block him with his arm.

"Stop, Cater. Just let her go." he told him. "B-Bu-But, she—!" Cater stammered as he looked back and forth between his friend and Alice. He was starting to get worried about Alice's safety. There was no way she could ever stand up to a powerful mage like Riddle!

"What did you say to me?" Riddle questioned as he glared at Alice. "Did you say that I was wrong?!" Alice placed her hands on her hips as she continued to glare at Riddle. "Of course I did!" she answered bravely. "Dorm Leader Rosehearts, you can't just keep using such absurd rules as an excuse to do whatever you wish!"

"Even if they are the rules, that doesn't make you right at all!" Alice then flinched when she saw the fury in Riddle's slate gray eyes as he glared at her. Little veins started to bulge from Riddle's head as he growled angrily.

"How dare that foolish girl talk back to me?!" he thought furiously. She truly is like Alice from the Queen of Hearts legend! Maybe she is Alice! Riddle then waved his scepter at her. "OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!" he screamed. "AGH!!!" Alice cried out as a collar appeared on her neck, too, causing her to drop to the ground.

"NO!!!" Cater screamed in horror. "ALICE!!! ALICE-CHAN!!!" Ace, Deuce, Grim, the three girls and Trey ran to her side. Alice tugged at her collar, trying her hardest to pull it off. Even though she didn't have any magic to start with, the collar still hurt as she felt it clasp around her throat.

"Ugh... it's heavy...!" Alice grunted as she found herself being weighed down by the collar. "...I can't get it off me!" Now she knew how Ace felt wearing that collar. Kira glared at Riddle, enraged that he would have the nerve to collar her friend like that. "Hey, that's so not cool, dude!" she snarled.

"Riddle, what are you doing?!" Trey questioned, shocked by Riddle's actions. "She doesn't even have magic!" Riddle crossed his arms. "This is what she gets for trying to defy me!" he shouted. "But... But you—" Alice started.

"I am the one who decides what is wrong here! If you can't even follow a simple rule, just what was your education like?" Riddle asked mockingly. "You were probably born from parents that can barely use magic and didn't receive much in terms of schooling before coming here. How pitiful."

"The fact that you and your female friends are only allowed to attend this school because you have nowhere else to go is laughable! You're not adequate enough to be here! You're nothing more than a worthless, magicless girl!!!"

Those harsh words struck a chord in Alice's heart. The whole Rose Maze fell silent as she stared at Riddle with wide eyes. Then, in a flash, someone appeared in front of her in Riddle's place: a man with glasses wearing a business suit and holding a cane in his hand, staring down at her with a cruel scowl.

"I can't believe I raised such a worthless daughter! If you can't do what I tell you to do, then what do I need you for?! You're the reason your own traitorous mother left you! I wish you and your sister have never been born!"

Soon, the image of the man was gone, replaced by Riddle, who was now smirking at her with the same cruelty as he glowered down at her. Alice's sky-blue eyes then began to blur as horrible memories came flooding back to her.

Unshed tears swam in her eyes before she bit her lip and buried her face in her hands, letting out a heartwrenching sob. Trey gently placed his hand on her back in an attempt to console her while the other girls all glared at Riddle. How dare he say something like that to her?!

Even though it was true that they didn't have any magic, that statement was still uncalled for. "You moron...!" Deuce shouted as he and Ace both stood in front of the girls, glaring furiously at their dorm leader. Ace turned back to look at Alice and his blood began to boil when he saw the tears streaming down her lovely cheeks.

How dare Riddle make Alice cry like that?! This time, he has gone too far! "SHUT THE HECK UP!!!" Ace yelled at the top of his lungs as he suddenly rushed towards Riddle with a clenched fist. Before anyone could do anything...

WHAM!!! Ace slammed his fist against Riddle's left cheek at full force, sending him sprawling down to the ground. "Guuhh...?!" Riddle gasped as he collapsed to the ground with a thud. The golden crown fell from Riddle's head and landed on the grass. Everyone gasped and were left speechless when they saw what Ace did.

Even Crowley was flabbergasted as he didn't expect this to happen. Riddle knelt on the ground with wide eyes, trying to process what had happened. He couldn't believe what had just happened. His left cheek now sported a red blemish. 

"Riddle?!" Trey and Cater both shouted in shock as they ran over to him while the rest of the students were left in absolute shock. "Mr. Rosehearts?!" Crowley called out. "Eeh...! He punched the Dorm Leader?!" the Heartslabyul students all exclaimed, aghast. "No way!" Kira gasped.

"He hit him right in the face with a beautiful right hook!" Grim said with a wide grin on his face. Jazmin then glared at him and smacked his head in anger. "Grim! It's nothing to cheer about!!" she yelled at him, reminding him that only magic was allowed in the duel, not physical blows.

"A-Ace?!" Deuce shouted. He and Alice were also taken aback by Ace's actions. They knew that he wanted nothing more than to smack Riddle in the face, but they never thought that he would actually do it.

"Man, I don't care anymore. This duel? Becoming the Dorm Leader? Really couldn't give a toss about any of it." Ace said in a harsh tone as he looked down at his dorm leader. As Riddle slowly gained his bearings, he held his wounded cheek as he looked up at Ace, still shocked by the initial hit.

He winced when he felt his cheek throb with pain. "Ow... Eh? He hit me...?" he asked in disbelief. "Darn right I did!" Ace shouted. "And I'll do it again, too! How dare you insult Alice-chan like that?! She's more amazing than you'll ever know!!"

Alice's eyes went wide as Ace continued to speak. "Kids aren't their parents' trophies, and kids' achievements don't determine their parents' worth. The reason you're such a dastard isn't your parents' fault! I finally understand that!" he declared.

"It's your own darn fault for never making a single friend who had the guts to tell you off for being a controlling tyrant." Riddle stared at Ace in wide-eyed shock, not believing what he had just heard him say.

"What... are you saying?" Riddle questioned. "Yeah, okay, growing up under an obsessive mother was probably some kind of heck. But is all you have to say "mama this" and mama that"? Try thinking for yourself!" Ace shouted at him. "You're no "Crimson Ruler"! You're just a baby that's good at magic!"

A tense silence washed over the Rose Maze. Nobody dared to speak a word. Everyone was silent. Then, Riddle gritted his teeth as Ace's harsh words sank in. His words had struck him more painfully than when he had hit him.

Riddle's heart began to twist as his words began to stir something within him. "A...baby? Me...?!" he questioned, his voice angry as he slowly stood up. He glared up at Ace, his eyes wide and full of hate and anger. "You don't know anything... You don't know anything about me...!" Riddle snarled.

"You're right, I've got no idea. There's no way I would!" Ace countered. "What the heck do you think I'm supposed to understand when you keep up this kind of attitude? Don't be stupid." Whatever was stirring inside Riddle's soul had shattered into pieces as a familiar harsh voice rang in his mind.

He gripped his head, trying to block out those harsh words. "Enough, enough, enough!! SHUT UP!!! My mother was correct! That means I'm correct!!" Riddle shouted as he took a step back, his body shaking with rage.

Alice's eyes widened, realizing how far the situation was escalating... and she also realized that if things continued, it would not end well. "Riddle, calm down. The duel is already over!" Trey shouted as he placed his hands on his childhood friend's shoulders in an attempt to calm him.

"It's as Mr. Clover says." Crowley said, stepping up to put a stop to this quarrel before things got any worse. "The challengers are disqualified due to attacking physically! Continuing to escalate goes against school regulations!"

The Heartslabyul students all looked at each other before turning to their 'Queen'. Riddle panted, seemingly starting to calm down... until one of the students clenched his fist and stepped forward. "The new kid's right! I can't handle this anymore!" he shouted.

Then something flew through the air and hit Riddle right in the head, smashing against it with a loud 'crack' and a 'splat'. "Huh...?!" Riddle gasped in disgust when he saw that a raw egg was thrown at him, its yolk dripping down his wine-red hair and onto his pristine white dorm uniform.

Trey gasped. "...?! Is this...an egg...?" he whispered before he looked around. "Did...Did one of the students throw it?" Riddle's slate gray eyes were wide, shocked that a student of his dorm would be so bold as to throw an egg right at him. "He's right! I've had enough of this!" a voice suddenly shouted.

"Just 'cause you're strong doesn't mean you can boss us around!" a third member shouted. They've all had enough of this! They won't tolerate any of this any longer! This has gone far enough! "Wh-What the-? They're havin' a complete change of heart..." Grim said in astonishment.

"Is this how you gentlemen truly feel?" Crowley asked. He certainly had no idea that Riddle's strictness with the rules would escalate into this. Before long, all the Heartslabyul members were yelling and cursing at their Dorm Leader, saying how unfair he was to them and how they wanted their freedom.

They even started to throw whatever objects they could find at Riddle. "Give us back our freedom!" some of them shouted. "Let us eat whatever we want! We're tired of living like this! Step back, you tyrant!"

Poor Trey and Cater looked on helplessly as the angry mob of students continued to throw objects at Riddle. All the while, they threw insults at him, calling him a tyrant and how they've had enough of his demands. The poor boys had no idea on what to do.

"Stop it! All of you, stop it!" Crowley yelled, trying to pacify the crowd, but the students were all too angry to listen. Meanwhile, Riddle just stood completely still and silent in the center, the expression on his face unreadable.

Alice clenched her hands so tightly her nails dug into her skin. She can't bear to watch this ugly scene any longer. This can't go on like this! She knew how they all felt about Riddle's ways, but cursing him and throwing things at him wouldn't solve anything.

"Enough! All of you, stop this!" she yelled. Even though her voice was soft as a dove's coo, it was loud and clear enough to make everyone stop shouting and cease their throwing. Everyone, including Grim, Ace, Deuce, Trey and Cater all turned their attention towards Alice. "Alice...?" Ace asked.

"Being violent will solve nothing! You're only making things worse for yourselves!" Alice said in a firm tone. "Now, let's all try to calm down and sort this out in a civilized manner." She then turned to look at Riddle, her brows furrowed with worry. "Riddle-san, are you alright?" she asked.

Alice then felt her heart freeze when she saw the expression on Riddle's face. To say that he looked angry was a huge understatement. He was downright infuriated, his face turning red with pure rage. "Who did it?! Who threw this egg?!" Riddle howled as he looked among the crowd of students, searching for the culprit.

All of the students fell completely silent...yet there was no fear in the air. No...It felt more like deliberate defiance. There was a heavy pause in the air...before Riddle started to chuckle.

However, it wasn't a humorous one, at all. It was dark and low... sounding unhinged as his soft chuckles turning into mad cackles as he grabbed his head. "Hmm... hahaha! AHAHA!!" They've all made a grave mistake by poking the hornet's nest, now this time, Riddle was out for blood.

"You can't handle it? I'm the one who can't handle it anymore!!" Riddle yelled as he glared at his dorm members, his face as red as the painted roses. "No matter how many times I take off your heads, no matter how strict I become, you all keep breaking the rules!"

He then sighed as he wiped the egg remains off his face. "Each and every one of you...are just selfish idiots! Fine, have it your way. If you won't come forward, I'll just punish all of you! Then it's off with all your heads!" he snarled as he pointed his scepter at the Heartslabyul students, making them all back away in fear.

"Riddle, wait! No!!" Trey cried as he tried to stop him. But it was too late. "OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!" Riddle shouted as he waved his magic scepter. At his command, many collars started to appear on the rest of the Heartslabyul students' necks.

And all of them were terrified. "Waaahhh!! Get outta here!" one student screamed. "Guwah...!! The collar...!" Students were screaming in panic left and right as they ran around to avoid getting hit by the spell. Some of them actually managed to push a few of their friends out of the way to take the brunt of his magic for them.

All the while, Riddle continued to laugh madly. "Ahahaha! How's that? None of you can touch me! I knew it. Strictly enforcing the rules does make me the most correct!" he proclaimed with a mad, sinister smile plastered on his face.

"Oh, boy! This is getting really ugly." Kira said, getting apprehensive about the whole scenario. Jazmin turned to Kira. "Well, even though we don't have magic, we can't just stand by and let this happen." she said. "But what exactly can we do?" Aria asked. "I don't know, but we'll try and think of something!" Jazmin said firmly.

"Stop this at once, Mr. Rosehearts! This isn't like you at all!" Crowley shouted. Cater began to back away, turning to Trey. Unfamiliar fear and panic were evident in his leaf green eyes. "Trey, this is bad... If he keeps casting magic like that..." he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Ngh...!" Trey groaned in frustration. He couldn't take any of this anymore. He couldn't let his friend fall deeper into this pit of madness. Something just has to be done about this! Trey then took a deep breath and marched forward towards Riddle.

"...Riddle, that's enough!" Trey shouted. "Hey, you! Not everything is going to go the way you want! Throwing a tantrum when things don't is what makes you a baby!" Ace said, not backing down in his reprehension on Riddle. However, his words were only fueling Riddle's rage.

Riddle's face turned completely red as his eyes turned into pinpricks in anger. "Take that back this instant! Do you want to be run through?!" he raged. "No way! Absolutely not." Ace said, not backing down. He wasn't going to let himself get pushed around by him any longer. "Ugiiiiiiiiiii!!!" Riddle screamed in rage.

"Riddle-san...Please! Please, you have to calm down! You need to stop all of this!" Alice pleaded, calling out to Riddle. "Please! Listen to reason!" But her words fell on deaf ears. Riddle only seemed to get angrier and angrier. Then Riddle snapped his attention towards the sky blue-eyed girl, mad with rage.

"SHUT UP!!! DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE YOU KNOW ME!! YOU DON'T KNOW A THING ABOUT ME!!" Riddle shouted as he slammed his staff down against the ground, creating a massive shockwave that caused several people to fall off balance.

Riddle let out a rage-filled scream as his magic exploded, engulfing him in a tornado of rose petals and crimson streaks of aura. His temper was set ablaze, and it turned into something else. Something far worse than anyone could've imagined. "This is bad! Everyone, get out of here, now!" Cater shouted urgently.

The Heartslabyul students all screamed in terror as they quickly ran away. In a blink of an eye, the Heartslabyul dorm was starting to fall into ruin. The clear blue sky had turned into a bleak, creepy reddish hue, mirroring Riddle's rage.

The leaves of the Rose Maze's hedges turned ghostly white, and a heavy purple mist spread throughout the maze, giving the landscape an eerie atmosphere. Everyone could feel shivers creeping down their spines. Suddenly, the ground beneath them quaked with a giant fissure appearing in the middle of it.

The rosebushes were suddenly uprooted from the ground as the roses on them withered. The grass became brown and dead with red paint spilling all over like pools of blood, and the flamingos and hedgehogs scattered around in a wild panic.

Alice stared, horrified as she held Grim in her arms, the cat monster whimpering in fright as he clung onto her. "Wah...?! The rose trees are all starting to float around the garden...!" Grim exclaimed in fear.

"This is a huge amount of magic! Is he really going to come after us with all that?!" Deuce shouted, not believing what he was seeing. "Rose trees, heed my call! To pieces with them all!!!" Riddle chanted, and soon after, the roots of the rose trees began to form into huge spikes, much to Ace's shock.

The sharp roots of the rose trees were now aimed towards Ace as their target. "This is bad! Dodge!" Crowley shouted, trying to move and get the rest of the students to safety before any more chaos ensued.

The demonic rose trees then shot towards Ace at full speed, ready to rip his body to pieces. Alice let out a gasp. "Ace-kun, hurry and escape!" she yelled frantically. Ace quickly turned and ran away as fast as he could, only to trip and fall on a broken teapot.

As he turned around, Ace let out a horrified scream as he saw the rose bushes flying toward him, ready to impale him! "NOOOO!" Alice screamed in terror as she quickly ran towards Ace. As soon as she stepped in front of Ace, Alice spread her arms wide and stood still, preparing to use her body as a shield to protect him.

Everybody gasped in shock when they saw what Alice was doing. Even Ace couldn't believe what he was seeing, his cherry red eyes widening with disbelief. "ALICE, NO!! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" he shouted. "Ace-kun! Alice-chan! NOOOO!" everyone shouted in horror as they made a futile attempt to reach them.

Alice shut her sky-blue eyes tightly, her fate ready to be sealed. "Gh...!" Ace grunted as he immediately pulled Alice down and wrapped her into a protective hug, using himself as a shield as the branches closed in on them.