Chapter Text
"Wait so, how did this happen again...?" Riddle asked, watching a shrunken Cater play with the croquet hedgehogs. The small guy had a bamboo muzzle on his mouth, preventing him from speaking full sentences and only letting out small "hm hm..."s and clapping, as if he were a child.
"It went like this..."
Flashback in alchemy class...
"Vil! Vil! What do you think would happen if I put this in?" Cater asked, holding up a very familiar looking red flower that had stamens resembling spider legs.
"Great Seven! Cater! Where did you get that!?" Vil quickly snatched the flower, holding it up close to him. The flower was in full bloom with the stamens extending outwards, giving it its signature look.
"I found it on my way to school! It was really cammable, too! Is...something wrong with it?" Cater tilted his head, showing that he didn't know the flower was considered...taboo? Was that the right word?
"We...shouldn't put this in the cauldron. I'll tell Professor Crewel about the flower. Hold on to this for now." The blonde gave the flower back to the ginger as he left their space momentarily to call the teacher.
It's just a pretty flower, what kind of harm can it do? Cater thought to himself. He looked at his left and his right, making sure no one else was looking before dropping the flower in the concoction. The liquid in the cauldron began to swirl and turned red. "Looks like blood..." He mumbled before taking out his phone, planning to take a picture when all of a sudden the mixture suddenly started bubbling and rose to the top, producing mist. Cater coughed, trying to clear his vision with his hand by fanning the air.
What he failed to register was that it had produced a big explosion, knocking him backwards into a shelf and shocking the other students present. "Sweet god! Cater!" Lilia rushed to the aid of the ginger, dropping the wooden ladle and began to check if he had gotten hurt.
"Yes sir, he said he found it on- Oh my god!" Vil's eyes widened at the scene he came back to. His shared cauldron with Cater was knocked over and whatever they were mixing earlier was gone. The other students were gathered around the unconsious ginger, who was slumped over. "What happened to him??" He asked as he rushed over.
"We don't know, we were just minding our own business and suddenly we heard an explosion." One of the students answered.
"Diamond!" Malleus gasped and cradled his boyfriend, laying his head on his lap. "Say something." He pleaded, observing his face for any signs of life. Cater's hand twitched a little, relieving the students who were watching the scene unfold.
"Ahhgg...uhhhggg..."
"Speak up, whisper my name if you feel any pain." The fae instructed as he watched Cater's body began to twitch.
"Bah, he looks fine. He's just sleeping-" Leona's comment was cut off as a loud growl echoed off the lab.
"EEEAAAUUGGGHHHH!!!"
The ginger's eyes shot open and he pushed Malleus and, to the surprise of the others, it sent him flying to the wall. "What the?! But how!?" Trey exclaimed, shocked at the sudden strength. Did the explosion do that...? He thought as he watched Cater rise to his feet and gasped at the sight. His green eyes had gained slit pupils and his alchemy gloves were ripped to show that his nails had grown longer, akin to that of claws.
"H-Hee! D-Don't hit me!" Idia took shelter under a table, using his hair to hide his face.
"Cater! This isn't funny! Calm down!" Vil scolded as he tried to restrain the ginger, only to be given a kick to the stomach that pushed him back. "Gah! There goes dinner later..." He groaned. The students began to scramble to either defend themselves or flee and hide. Drool began to drip from Cater's mouth as he scanned his surroundings to find a potential target.
For some reason, he felt really hungry...and needed something to eat badly!
No, a cup of instant spicy noodles wouldn't satisfy his appetite.
He needed...a human.
His eyes locked on to Rook and charged to him, pinning the hunter to the floor. "Non! Non! I don't think I taste good!" Rook pleaded, actual fear present on his face.
"Cater Diamond! Cease your behavior immediately!" Crewel scolded, holding a roll of rope in his hand as he carefully approached the two. The hunter fought back against the ginger, using a nearby bamboo stick to defend himself. Crewel watched as Cater's body began to swell in size and he grew a little bigger. How interesting. He has transformed into a creature capable of super strength and body modification but needs to feast on humans to survive. He noted, being sneaky to avoid alerting the ginger.
"Get your hands off him!" Vil yelled as he tackled Cater to the side, rescuing Rook.
"GRAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!! "
Cater freed himself from the model's hold, pushing him aside and locked on to Malleus. He took a step back and launched himself to the fae, his arms outstretched.
"MALLEUS! WATCH OUT!" Lilia warned, watching as Malleus was about to be the ginger's next target...
...only this time, no blood was shed. The third years watched as Cater stood in front of Malleus in a protective stance, surprising them. "Diamond...? Are you alright?" Malleus asked, only receiving small growls as a reply.
"Draconia, step away from him." Crewel instructed. The other students had assumed defensive stances, save for Idia, who was still hiding due to the outburst.
"Grrrghhh!!" Cater growled, as if to warn the others that anyone attempting to touch him or Malleus would become his first meal. On instinct, Malleus grabbed both of his hands, restraining him. The ginger began to thrash around, trying to free himself and gave Crewel the window of opportunity to tie his upper body and feet with the rope.
"Alright, let's have a looksee here..." Crewel took Cater's face in his hand and began to examine it, being careful not to stick his finger in his mouth. The ginger gave off dangerous sounds, trying to get him to back off but the teacher knew what he was doing. Using two pairs of pointer and middle fingers, he forcibly stretched Cater's mouth open and observed the newly grown fangs that were not there before. The next words he spoke caused the entire room to gasp.
"A demon. He's been demonified."
"T-That's impossible!" Trey said, looking at his fellow dormmate who was trying to close his mouth and snack on their teacher's fingers.
"This was the work of a red spider lily. It seems that it was dropped into Diamond and Schoenheit's mixture and had a negative reaction to the recipe, causing the chemical explosion that turned him into the vicious creature." Crewel concluded, removing his fingers before they became the demon's food. Malleus' heart ached at his lover being referred to a "creature" but sadly, it was true.
"This is reversible, however, the flower needed to cure his state, wisteria, requires careful cultivation before it can be harvested and used for the antidote. Until then, he will be stuck like this."
There was a ray of hope in those words, even if it would take a while. "Now then." Crewel turned to the drooling demon and began to whisper a spell. Cater's eyes began to close and his head dropped, falling asleep. Reaching into his pocket, the teacher summoned a bamboo muzzle and tied it around his head, securing it and making sure the ginger's teeth sunk into the material and undid the ropes. "Draconia, you will be in charge of taking care of him, seeing as he retained some of his memories that involve you only and lost the ones that focus on the others."
Malleus nodded, carrying the sleeping boy into his arms as he listened to Crewel's instructions. "See me again once he awakens. Demons require human blood and flesh in order to survive and use their powers, however, I can convince and influence him to see us as family and his only food source will be spicy items."
End flashback...
"So professor Crewel basically hypnotized him to not eat humans?" Riddle concluded. Cater was now on his back and doing small kicks in the air, like a baby amusing himself.
"Rightfully so. Though, I admit that I miss his usual way of speaking. I am not used to him being very silent." Malleus confessed, a thought that Riddle shared, seeing as the Magicam influencer always brightened up the room with his smile and loud conversation starters.
"Mmmm!" A muffled voice called. Malleus looked up and saw Cater, now in his fully grown form, waving for him. The fae stood up from where he was seated and hugged the demon, ruffling his hair.
"I believe it is now lunch. Til we speak again, Rosehearts." Malleus waved and held Cater's hand, leading him to the cafeteria to give him his daily intake of spices.