Chapter 167

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> *I'm not the one who put Sera in danger! She's a target because of all the enemies she's made in the past! She's the one who lost her ability! She couldn't defend herself to that's why I stepped in! This all happened because of her!*
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*- John*

## Synopsis

Blyke researches potential criminals in the hopes of kickstarting his vigilante career. The file on Lance of Newside feels like an even match-up, but even then Blyke contends with the doubts in his mind. Despite his objections to working as a vigilante again, Blyke kept thinking back to how John had overpowered him and the rest of the Royals. The devastating memory fuels his desire to get strong as quickly as possible. Blyke decides that the best tactic would be to stay low and leave immediately after defeating the criminals in order to avoid garnering attention.

Meanwhile, John receives the report on Seraphina from Cecile. She tells the Shadow King that there had been three fake Joker attacks on the former Ace. Despite being powerless, Seraphina managed to take down the first one single-handedly. And she wasn't troubled by the other two, thanks to Cecile taking care of one and Arlo scaring away the other. The last part makes John uneasy, and he asks about Arlo's business with Seraphina. Not realizing his agitation, Cecile explains that the two appeared to be on amicable terms again, thankfully making her job of protecting Seraphina redundant. John demands elaboration, and his mood sours further once Cecile tells him that Arlo and Seraphina were seen walking together and conversing. Most distressingly, the news that he was a topic of their chat triggers a flashback of Adrion warning him about Claire gathering people behind his back. John loses his temper and snarls that Seraphina should have avoided Arlo like he told her to and returned to him instead.

Cecile remembers that what John wanted from the beginning was to ensure that Seraphina never associated him with Joker. She wonders if that desire of his is what's holding him back from making his status official. Hoping to curb the steep decline of the social order, she tries to bring up a point he doesn't seem to realize: Seraphina is far from clueless. She is certainly aware that John is Joker by now. But she's sick of waiting for him to offer his protection, so she acquired it by rekindling her partnership with Arlo. It wouldn't have come to this if not for the Joker impostors trying to live out their shared dreams of humiliating her. But this problem could easily be solved if John did one simple thing.

Just as Cecile's advising John that taking responsibility for what's happening is the best possible way to get Seraphina back on his side, she gets violently slapped to the ground by him. John angrily insists that him becoming Joker was Seraphina's fault, not his. He had to take drastic action because she went and made enemies and lost the means to fight her own battles. The shocked Cecile thinks that anybody but John being at fault for this chaos is crazy talk. John then kneels down and asks Cecile what words Seraphina had to say about him. He barely gives her time to gather her thoughts before he starts trying to shake the details out of her. Cecile screams that she's unable to give John any worthwhile answer due to her being too far away from the conversation at the time. Dissatisfied with this response, John calls her "*worthless*" as he walks away. In the empty classroom, Cecile remains on the floor, resenting the King she sided with.

Later that night, John sits in his dorm, wondering if Seraphina would go down the same path as Claire. His attempts to call Seraphina are just as fruitless as before. With his temper reaching a boiling point, he angrily breaks his phone and ponders why Seraphina continuously refuses to take his side.

## Appearing Characters

* Blyke
* ***Lance*** (picture)
* Remi (flashback)
* Volcan (flashback)
* Alana (flashback)
* Cecile
* John
* Three Fake Jokers
* Seraphina (flashback)
* Arlo (flashback)
* Adrion (flashback)
* Claire (flashback)
* New Bostin Students (flashback)

## Appearing Abilities

* Energy Beam (flashback)
* Aura Manipulation
* Lightning (flashback, copied)
* *Conjure: Vines* (flashback)