Both Ace and Alice braced themselves for the oncoming onslaught of the sharp roots of the rose bushes when suddenly...

"DOODLE SUIT!!!"

A split second later, a bright white light surrounded the two. The rosebushes suddenly exploded into an array of sparkling playing cards, which floated in the air around Alice and Ace. Riddle's slate gray eyes widened as he staggered back. "...?! This is...?!" he breathed out in shock.

Even Ace and Alice both stared in amazement when they saw that the rosebushes had suddenly turned into large piles of playing cards fluttering harmlessly towards the ground like flower petals.

"...H-Huh?! We're alive...? And what are these?! Playing cards...?!" Ace asked frantically as he watched the playing cards fall to the ground. "What...What just happened?" Alice asked. "Alice-chan!" she heard a voice call her name. She then turned and saw her friends rushing towards her.

Once Deuce, Grim and the other girls all reached her, they all immediately wrapped her into a huge hug. "You're okay, Alice-chan! Thank goodness!" Aria exclaimed. Alice choked back a sob and welcomed the incoming hug from her friends.

Even Aria had shed a few tears as she hugged her a little tightly. She and the others then looked back and saw Riddle staring in disbelief as he watched his deadly rose bushes suddenly turn into a harmless shower of playing cards.

"What happened to my roses?!" Riddle asked before he raised his voice angrily. "WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!" Even Grim and Deuce were amazed by the sudden transformation. "The rose trees have all been turned into cards! This is..." Deuce began to say before a familiar voice spoke up.

"It was me."

Riddle gasped as he turned around... only to see Trey standing protectively behind Ace and Alice, glaring at him defiantly while holding his magic pen tightly in his hand. "Riddle... this has to stop, NOW!!" he shouted.

Cater stared at the playing cards in utter surprise as he recognized what this type of magic was as the cards' symbols disappeared. "It's Trey's "Doodle Suit"?! Eh... What's going on...?" he asked as he looked over to his friend. Grim then hopped onto Alice's shoulder and pointed at his and the other boys' necks.

"The magic-sealing collar is gone too!" he exclaimed. Sure enough, the collars around their necks were gone. "I told you, didn't I? My "Doodle Suit" can overwrite anything for a short period of time. So... I overwrote "Riddle's magic" with "my magic"." Trey explained.

As he spoke, he never took his eyes off Riddle. Not this time. He wasn't going to back down, nor was he going to run away. "You're kidding... That's possible?! That's a total cheat move!" Cater exclaimed with wide eyes.

Riddle stared in disbelief as Trey stood before him, but there was no malice or anger in his expression. The way he stared at him was like that of a disappointed parent getting ready to scold his child. And if Alice looked closely enough, she could also see just a bit of sadness in Trey's eyes.

Instantly, she knew... this was the moment when Trey finally had to step up and take responsibility. This time, he was going to stand his ground and tell his best friend exactly what he needed to hear. He had been avoiding it for so long, and now... it had all led up to this.

Riddle started to get even more angry. "Keh... Off With Your Head!" he shouted as he pointed his staff at Trey, aiming to seal his magic away. But when he shot out his magic, playing cards were the only things that flew out from his staff's magic gem. Riddle's eyes widened, refusing to believe that this was happening.

"I said off with their heads! Why won't anything but card suits appear?!"he shouted with rage. "Riddle, stop this. Please...I'm begging you, you have to stop this! If you keep going like this, you're just going to isolate yourself further!" Trey shouted as he approached his dorm leader, who gasped as he backed away.

"Look around! Look at what you're doing to yourself! Look at everyone's faces!" He pointed over at the students who were all huddled together behind him. Riddle paused and trembled as he looked over towards the other students.

He looked around the nightmarish garden and the expressions on all the students' faces. They were all completely horrified, shaking uncontrollably as they looked at Riddle. There was once a time where they had seen Riddle as a respectable leader.

However, over time as Riddle began to show his cruel, tyrannical behavior, all they saw before them now...was a monster. "H-He was being serious...?" one Heartslabyul student asked worriedly. "He went way too far..." another student added. "A m-monster...!" a third student said fearfully.

Their dorm leader had just attempted to kill one of his students, a first-year, no less... including an innocent girl... but that didn't seem to be what Riddle was paying attention to.  His entire body shook as he looked down at his gloved hands. His slate gray eyes were wide.

"Huh...? Trey overwrote my magic...? Does that mean your magic surpasses mine...? But...But that's not possible!" Riddle told himself. "There's no way that's the case!" Trey said as he approached him, desperately trying to reach out to him and calm him down. "Riddle, calm down a bit and let's talk this out."

Riddle then turned and glared at Trey, his eyes full of unbridled rage. "SILENCE!!" he screamed as he quickly pointed his scepter at Trey, who gasped as he stepped back, raising his hands in defense.

"So you want to tell me I'm wrong, too? Even though we've been upholding these strict rules this whole time?!" Riddle asked, his voice breaking with betrayal, tears brimming near the corner of his eyes. "I've been enduring and enduring and enduring this whole time! I... I... don't believe you!"

"No! Riddle, settle down! Please!" Trey argued. But Riddle refused to listen. The tears were now streaming down his cheeks. "I... I've endured so much! I sacrificed everything!! And now... now...!" His voice faltered as his hands trembled.

He then clutched his staff in his fist as his eyes blazed with fury. "NO!! I refuse to believe that it was all for nothing!!! I REFUSE, DARN IT!!!" The area was beginning to grow unstable as the ground suddenly shook and the wind started to get stronger. Everyone stood strong to keep their balance as they all looked towards Riddle. This wasn't good.

Alice was becoming really scared. A terrible feeling of foreboding crept over her. She didn't know what was happening, but she could tell that the terrible disaster her vision had foretold was about to occur. "Oh, dear! What is happening here?!" she whispered fearfully.

Suddenly, she felt the sharp, painful pulsations shoot through her heart. Her breath hitched as she struggled to keep her balance. "Mr. Rosehearts, you mustn't! If you keep using magic, your magic crystal is going to be covered in "blot"!" Crowley cried.

"What... blot...?" Alice whispered as she looked over at Crowley with alarm. Blot? What did he mean by that? She could hear the genuine fear in his voice. When she looked back at Riddle, she saw that the magic crystal in his staff was now completely black.

Black blot was starting to drop out of it in torrents, and it began to pool around Riddle's feet. Inky black tendrils sprouted out from the blot puddle and wrapped themselves around Riddle's legs, but Riddle didn't notice. His face was completely red with rage. He was in no mood to listen to Crowley's warnings.

How dare everyone suddenly turn their backs on him?! Why won't they listen?! He is the Dorm Leader of Heartslabyul! He is the one who abides by the rules without any question!

"I am... I AM–!!! Absolutely, definitely CORRECT!!!!" Riddle screamed at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, a strong pulsation swept through the entire Rose Maze, knocking everyone off their feet.