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Ace panted, exhausted from the long fight they just had. Honestly, Vil overblotting right before they had to perform just felt like something he should have expected. He had seen the blot rising in Vil's magic, but hadn't thought to say anything because he technically wasn't supposed to be able to see that.
Honestly, they were lucky that Deuce had managed to unlock his Unique Magic in time. This fight might not have ended as well if he hadn't. Ace checked on the magical signatures of the others, making sure there wasn't too much damage. Other than Kalim, who had holes in his magic already, everyone seemed to just have some blot build up from magic overuse. Vil's magic was stained as well, but rapidly recovering.
Then, a voice called out from behind them. “Well, well. What do we have here?” Ace had already noticed the bright magical signature making its way over a while ago, but the others startled at the unexpected voice. Honestly, this guy's magic was so bright that if Ace wasn't already blind, he would have gone blind from the piercing white color that took up the entire ruined stadium.
“You're-” Vil started, but was cut off by the same voice. “I thought I'd arrive a bit early, and what do I find but a stage laid to waste?” For how bright and excited his magic was, the guy sure did have a deep voice.
“Heya Sunspot.”
“Oh, hi, Hornton!”
Ace and Yuu spoke in unison, waving in his direction. A moment passed, and suddenly startled exclamations rang out across the area. Ace didn't see what the big deal was (not that he could actually see). It was just the guy that wandered around Ramshackle sometimes, what was the big deal?
“Oh, hey! So you're that Hornton guy who wanders around the Ramshackle Dorm garden late at night,” Grim chimed in, hopping onto Yuu's shoulder. “I heard about you from Yuu. You really do have horns growin' outta your head! Myah hah hah!” Oh, that was the first time Ace had gotten a physical description of Sunspot, or Hornton as Yuu called him. Ace could never make out his form clearly due to how bright his magical signature was, so he wasn't able to get even a vague idea of how the guy looked like he was for most people.
The conversation went back and forth, before finally Vil told them exactly who this was. “This is the housewarden of Diasomnia, Malleus Draconia.”
What. Malleus Draconia? The Malleus Draconia? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Who else at NRC would have a magical signature as bright as him!? And Ace had been calling him Sunspot for months now! At least Yuu was in the same boat, having called him Hornton.
“Oh yeah, Ace! You also called him a nickname! I can understand why Yuu doesn't know him, but how do you not know who Malleus Draconia is?” Epel asked, turning towards the card soldier. Ace didn't quite know how to explain that he couldn't tell who anyone was because he was blind, and had developed a sort of magical vision that allowed him to see magical signatures in people and objects, which was why he didn't know it was Malleus.
“Ehhhh, I don't get out much, that's all!” Smooth deflection, surely that won't raise any red flags. He may not be able to see Rook, but he just knows that the guy was staring at him intently.
Luckily everyone seemed to let it go. They talked a little while longer, learning that if they had been unable to stop Vil's overblot, no one would have been coming to save them. Ace hadn't thought about it too much, but he did notice that all of the magical signatures around the coliseum had disappeared. Malleus informed them that the RSA students were performing near the gym, which had attracted the crowd away.
Honestly, that worked out well in the end. No one was here to see Vil overblot, and no one was in danger other than the NRC Tribe. Still, with the coliseum destroyed, they wouldn't be able to perform. Just as Ace thought it, Malleus's magic began to glow even brighter than it already was.
Next thing any of them knew, the entire coliseum was fixed in an instant. It was unbelievable how powerful this guy was, being able to just throw around that amount of magic with no consequences. Still, the stage was fixed, and they had a performance to put on.
Ace was still going to call Malleus “Sunspot,” though. The guy was just too damn bright, and Ace was blind!