Soon enough, the three rush out of the facility with no trouble.

Riddle sighs, "Whew... At least we got through that in one piece. Ortho and the Phantoms could ambush us at any moment, though." Then turns to the others, "Make sure to stay close to me."

"Don't worry, we'll stay close," Tanzanite says.

Azul gets annoyed, "Leave it to the star student to safeguard his far less capable peer. How very kind."

"Could you quit it with the sarcasm? I never said you were incapable," Riddle questions.

"But it's true," Azul says, "After all, I've never once scored higher than you on anything in our entire time at school."

That catches Riddle off guard, "...What? You were trying to beat my grades?"

"Really?" Tanzanite asks.

"Is that so wrong?" Azul questions.

"No, I'm just surprised," Riddle replies, "The thought never crossed my mind before.

"My, my. That's quite the insult, you know," Azul says, "I have remained consistently in the top 10! Are you saying that I am not a worthy rival?"

"Well, yes," Riddle says, "Your fingers are in far too many pies to truly compete with me."

"I beg your pardon?" Riddle questions.

And with that, Riddle says, "Not only do you run the Mostro Lounge, but you also have your stock investments and such. And I hear you're still doing your backroom "consultations" as well. Jade's also mentioned you often leave campus on your days off under the pretense of market research. Not to mention, I've seen your exam study guides when I've confiscated them from my dorm's students. Helping so many other people must take a considerable chunk out of your own study time. You might get perfect scores on tests if you gave your studies your full attention. But you don't. You spend your valuable time and knowledge doing analysis and crafting guides that help others get better grades. Meanwhile..." Then begins to sound serious, "I've devoted all my time to academics and magic for as long as I can remember. And you expect to outscore me?" And soon shows a smug face, "That, as you say, is quite the insult."

Azul and Tanzanite flinch in response.

Then Riddle frowns, "I don't have to put up with this."

"I didn't mean it as an insult," Azul quickly says, "Doesn't everyone want to go for the top spot?"

"That's fair. It's commendable to aim for first place, of course," Riddle says, "And if you focused solely on your academics, you might claim the top spot. I suppose we'd both be in the top spot, though.

Suddenly, they hear a very loud screeching sound. The three quickly turn to the staircase down to see a Phantom coming up at them, and there's more than one.

"Phantoms!" Tanzanite calls out,"

"When did they get this close?!" Azul exclaims.

Riddle gets in front of them and begins to cast his magic, "Azul, Tanzanite, stop staring and get back!"

"Riddle, be careful!" Tanzanite cries out.