Chapter 7: Dorm Life & A Failed Friendship

Here's your text without the asterisks:

Don’t give up on my friend!

Azar puffed out his cheeks, looking genuinely offended that Dante was ignoring him.

Dante did not care.

The red-haired martial artist just kept walking, rubbing his temples. "I swear to God, if you keep talking, I’ll—"

Before he could finish, Azar breathed out.

A simple breath.

FWOOSH.

The entire corridor was suddenly coated in a thick layer of ice.

The walls froze, the floor frosted over, and every single student still lingering shivered violently. Some let out startled yelps before activating their auras to resist the unnatural cold.

Azar tilted his head. "Hmm… it's a little warm in here."

Iris, still wrapped in her oversized puffy coat, smirked. "I’m glad I have my jacket on."

Dante gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to slip as he continued walking. "You're an absolute menace."

The students who had been ready to kill Azar earlier?

They all gave up.

Not worth it.

One by one, they turned away, some whispering about how the academy had gone to hell for accepting him, others just hoping they'd never share a class with him.

Just as things were settling down—

BOOM!

A student came flying through the wall.

He crashed into the opposite side of the hallway, causing the entire wall to cave in, leaving a dusty crater.

Dante and Iris froze.

Azar, however, just blinked. "Oop. There goes a student."

Before anyone could react, from the gaping hole in the wall, a small, round, fluffy creature with demonic wings flapped its way out.

It had pure white fur, small beady red eyes, and an adorable chubby face that made it look incredibly pettable.

Azar’s eyes sparkled.

"OH. MY. GOD."

He immediately knelt down and petted it. "Who’s a cute little death beast? You are! Yes, you are!"

The creature twitched its nose… and then blew his arm clean off.

BOOM!

Azar's right arm exploded, blood splattering across the frozen corridor.

Dante and Iris stared.

Azar stared too.

"...Oh no, Mr. Fluff. We don’t blow off people’s arms. That’s very rude."

The creature huffed, seemingly proud of itself.

Azar simply muttered an intangible word—a sound that made the air distort, as if reality itself had just been slightly rewritten.

Immediately, a new arm formed in place of the old one.

But it wasn’t human.

It was covered in red, scaly skin, the fingers ending in long, curved claws, like something out of a demonic nightmare.

Azar flexed his new fingers a few times, nodded approvingly, and then resumed petting the creature.

"Now then, be my pet, lil guy."

The fluffy demon creature turned its head, stared at Azar, then stuck out its tiny tongue before flapping its wings and disappearing back through the hole in the wall.

Azar gasped, clutching his chest like he had just suffered a heartbreak.

Dante and Iris snorted, failing to hold back their giggles.

"Wow." Dante smirked. "Rejected."

Iris chuckled. "Tough loss, Azar."

Azar slumped. "I just wanted a cute little demon buddy. Life is so cruel."

Dante rolled his eyes. "Come on. Let’s go to the dorms. I’m done for today."

Azar immediately perked up. "Dorms? Oh! Do we get bunk beds?"

Dante grumbled. "No."

Azar pouted. "Boooo."

A portal flickered open, and the trio stepped through into a massive lounge area.

The room was surprisingly cozy, despite being for Misfits. Several black couches were positioned around a TV, the walls were lined with bookshelves and weird relics, and on the sides of the room were individual dorm rooms, each marked with nameplates.

However, a few of the rooms were empty, with no nameplates yet.

Dante pointed at them.

"Pick a room. Not mine."

Azar grinned and immediately walked over to the room between Dante’s and Iris’s.

Dante’s eye twitched. "You—of course."

Azar peeked inside. "Ooooh. This is actually really nice. I’m gonna make it look super homey."

Dante did not care. He sighed, walked into the kitchen area, opened a cabinet, and grabbed an entire bar of chocolate.

Without a word, he bit into it aggressively.

Azar poked his head out of his room. "Hey, Dante. What’s your favorite kind of chocolate?"

Dante took another angry bite. "...Shut up."

Iris, meanwhile, had followed Azar into his new room.

"Need help setting up?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Azar beamed. "You’re the best, Iris!"

Dante, watching from the kitchen, groaned. "I already hate this dorm life."