Chapter 85: Book 3 - The Merchant from the Depths: Chapter 5; A Group Counterattack
The screen turns on as the title card plays "Chapter - 5; A Group Counterattack".
Azul looks at him asking "Oh, are you…?" but then frowns as he states "No, I don't see an anemone on your head. I'm afraid we're having a staff meeting right now. If you don't have a stake in this matter, I must ask your leave for us to sort this out internally."
Jack growls as he tells Azul "You think I don't have a stake in this? I was planning on studying on my own and out scoring these guys in a fair competition. And now you're ruined that. I think I DO have a stake here!"
Yuu says "Uh-oh. They've offended Jack's principles." before facepalming thinking 'This is the last thing I need right now.'
Grim spots them due to Jack's shouting from before as he shouts at them "Yuu? Jack? Are you here to save us?!"
Jack angrily says "Don't get me wrong. I'm disgusted with every last one of you. Why would I side with the slimeball offering shady backroom deals OR the guys who chose to let others do their work for them?"
Ace is nervous but also slightly irritated as he asks Jack "What are you here for, then?"
But before Jack has a chance to answer Grim says "Actually, I think Jack's right. He's given me the wake-up call I needed." He then smirks as he shouts "If you wanna win, you gotta snatch that victory yourself! In other words… If I can snatch my contract from Azul by force and tear it up, it's null and void!"
The same Pomefiore student that spoke up earlier says "Hey, now that you mention it…" As the other same Scarabia student finishes for him by shouting "Who needs specialties when we've got numbers?! GET HIM!"
Yuu rubs her temples as she says both loudly and quietly "Speaking of principles, some folks around here could use them…!"
Azul does another long shrug as he says "Dear me. I really didn't want to resort to violence, but alas."
He pauses as he looks to the left, into a shadowy part of the lounge as he says "Jade. Floyd. Play with them for a bit."
Just then Jade and Floyd walk out from that same shadowy area as Jade says "Understood, sir." Floyd also smiles, kinda insanely as he says both happily and excitedly "Oh man, I get to squeeze 'em all?" Then laughing a little before finishing with "Niiice!~"
They then start the battle of the anemones verses, mainly Jade and Floyd with Azul only joining in occasionally more from the back.
Jade and Floyd fought how you would typically expect that people will fight like. While Azul used contracts as both shields and weapons of defense and they didn't break no matter what was thrown at them.
But even with the numbers advantage, they didn't win against the coordinated attacks of the Octavinelle trio. Most of the students lie on the ground.
Floyd says, rather bummed out and disappointed by it being an easier fight for them "Geez, what a bunch of wimps. They're barely worth squeezing." Azul also seems slightly disappointed in how they fought as he says "It's like a whole school of feeble small fries."
Those in the main cast somehow managed to remain standing, although all with clear injuries or pain, or as for Yuu' case, didn't participate in the fight all together.
Ace holds his arm in pain as he yells "How many kinds a magic can this Azul guy bust out?! I call shenanigans!"
Jack was fighting less, mostly just making a stance and occasionally throwing a punch or two out. He then asked "Did Azul's golden contracts deflect all of your attacks?" Deuce seems to be in less pain, or at least in better handled pain as he makes a pained noise before saying "This is just showing me how hard I lean on my specialty normally…"
Ace then complains as well "Without his fire magic, Grim's nothing more than your garden-variety weasel." Grim floats up to Ace's face, clearly dizzy as he forces out "Myah… I ain't a weasel…" as he points an accusatory finger at Ace before falling to the ground with a small thunk.
Azul then rather pridefully explains to them as he shows off one of the contracts "You have all signed these golden contracts. An official contract is completely unbreakable, regardless of how many bodies you throw at it. No magic can harm this document in any way." He then chuckles evilly before continuing "As long as the sea anemones stay on your heads, you will have no choice but to follow my orders."
He then smiles as he demands, disguised as a question "Why don't you start cleaning up the lounge? You can handle ingredient prep work afterward. Go on, now. On your feet and get to work!" His tone slowly revealing the more of a demand it is the longer he spoke.
Ace had sat down in an attempt to get some of his energy back so he complained "Is this for real…?"
Azul then looked back over to Jade and Floyd as he told them "Jade. Floyd. You're in charge of instructing the new staff." Jade and Floyd answered respectively "Yes, sir." and "Yessir!"
Azul then walks up to Jack and Yuu, mostly unscathed by the fight, as he asked them "You're… Jack Howl from Savanaclaw Dorm. And you're Yuu from Ramshackle Dorm, I believe?"
He then told them with a straight face and cold eyes "I would appreciate it if you took your leave now." He then put on a fake pleasant smile again as he told them "Why don't you come by as customers next time? You're welcome whenever you like."
He then walks away, as he goes about to do whatever business he has to attend to.
Jack growls after he's far enough away. He then looks at Yuu and tells her "C'mon, Yuu. We'd better fall back and regroup."
Yuu looks at them as she thinks 'But what about Grim and the others?' but then remembers their fight and Azul's cold face as he told them to leave. So her eyes harden as she looks back at Jack nodding as she tells him "All right."
The two then walk out to regroup.
The screen fades to black as "To be continued" plays before it turns completely off.
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