Darth Kars was already boiling with anger at the derision Pillar Voldemort had openly shown when he ordered him out.
There was nothing left for him in this accursed world anymore.
He had already miraculously created a Multiversal Interdependency between the Force and Ripple in the form of Void Fist.
But the price he had paid…
A puny, priestly bitch had fooled him, over and over.
Then that bitch's Master—the Five-Crowned Prince—did the same, somehow surviving the Void Fist.
Still, Darth Kars had considered himself the strongest Contestant below the 5th Set.
That had become a joke, too, when he saw Cash… before she obliterated his Death Star.
Meanwhile, the Order of Immortal Lotus had used him to frame Yellow Warlock for crimes he had not known whether he had even committed.
Once the Inquisitors had gone, the Order had seemingly lost interest in him as well.
If it hadn't been for the Pillars raging War upon this world, Darth Kars was sure they would have all but forgotten about him.
To make matters worse, Kira of Quasi Cipher Pol turned him into a puppet of lust, making a fool out of him as well.
Fool…
That's how the entire Primordial Tower would remember him — him, a Sith, one of the strongest 12th Floor Contestants to ever exist.
Darth Kars didn't want that.
That's why, despite the Leader of Hyperspace Raiders calling him back after losing the Death Star, he hadn't left.
There weren't many ways he could redeem himself now, Darth Kars knew.
Kira was dead… somehow.
The priestly bitch… was beyond his grasp.
He couldn't kill the Mirrors without the fear of facing Timeline Backlash, either.
With the Pillars out for blood, it was only a matter of time before the Mirror Timeline ceased to exist. If that happened, no matter how many Backlashes he piled up, they wouldn't pose any threat.
Still, for the Pillars not to win this War in one go suggested something in itself.
Darth Kars wasn't a fool.
He truly wasn't.
As long as the Mirror Timeline existed, She stood a chance of surviving.
So, despite having the ability to kill the Storyline Characters from the Mirror Timeline, and despite the Order of Immortal Lotus and Pillars asking him to do so numerous times, Darth Kars dared not step over that line.
That left him only two ways to redeem himself.
Kill Yellow Warlock or Cash.
Rip them to pieces!
And that was all he had been thinking, over and over, when the BOOM shook the Hogwarts Castle standing atop Mount Greylock.
Darth Kars' Perception had already covered everything, including the miles of illusion-inducing mist that surrounded the mountain.
No Contestant or Character could approach without him learning of them.
So, remembering Voldemort's words, Darth Kars concluded that the Mirrors must have infiltrated from inside to save their Villanelle and Sirius.
And that made this explosion the most foolish thing in his eyes.
Which meant things weren't as simple as they looked.
Before Darth Kars could unravel the mystery using his Super Intelligence, though, a yellow spot appeared in his eyes, his red pupils turning redder instantly.
His mind, independent of him, tried to reason that Yellow Warlock couldn't have appeared within Hogwarts without him knowing of it, either.
At the end of the day, the Five-Crowned Prince was a Contestant of the 9th Floor.
Even if he had hoarded an enormous amount of Attribute Points in Perception, the value of Darth Kars' Perception would still tower over that number.
So, Yellow Warlock couldn't fool his Perception.
As Voldemort had claimed, only the Timeline's protection enjoyed by the Major Storyline Characters could achieve such a feat; that, too, under special circumstances.
But, under the influence of rage, enhanced by the lingering lust within him, Darth Kars failed to grab onto those reasons.
All he saw was the yellow spot coming straight toward him, as if mocking him.
Because why wouldn't Yellow Warlock try to run away, knowing that one of the strongest 12th Floor Contestants was standing in his path?
Why?
It could only be because the Five-Crowned Prince didn't consider him a threat.
So, forgetting everything else, Darth Kars charged like a stream of bronze light, pulling back his fist.
All he wanted was to destroy Yellow Warlock right here and now.
He didn't even consider that his punch might obliterate everything beyond the enemy, including some of the Pillars.
Time paused.
Inch after inch, Darth Kars moved toward the yellow-cloaked figure, as it came toward him… to meet its doom.
However, just as he punched, constricting the Space so that Yellow Warlock wouldn't be able to even dodge, something odd happened; something surprising; something disastrous.
The yellow cloak unfurled by itself, revealing a girl with golden-white hair and dark green eyes.
Darth Kars, shocked beyond bounds, found himself incapable of pulling back his punch.
Before his fist could annihilate that girl, though, the yellow cloak, matching his speed, wrapped itself around him.
Darth Kars punched.
It was like waving a hand in darkness.
He couldn't see, hear, or sense anything, but he did feel eyes upon him; gazes cast on his existence from afar… extremely far… across dimensions.
Then, the darkness spat him out.
Darth Kars fell, his body rolling in sand.
He flicked himself up and looked around.
The strange, yellow cloak was nowhere to be seen.
In all directions, he was surrounded by nothing but sand.
Instinctively, Darth Kars tried to cast his Perception over the entire planet to get back to the Pillars.
This time, though, he met a wall.
"Come on, now…" a familiar voice entered Darth Kars' ears, making him look to his left. "What's the rush?"
It was him — the Five-Crowned Prince, wearing a black jacket and jeans, his short, black hair shifting against the cold wind.
But it wasn't the wall his Perception had met, Darth Kars knew.
It just couldn't be.
So, slowly, Darth Kars looked over his shoulder…
… where the burnt-faced Cash stood, surrounded by flickers of blue, spiritual flames.