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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ebookcover_3.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:Cerberus High: Golden Encore]]
3
4->"''...I’m a goner…''"
5-->-- '''Kazuki Akai''', our hopeless protagonist
6
7''Cerberus High'' is a series of novels written by Paige O'Neal-Beedles, revolving around the titular [[ExtranormalInstitute boarding school for canid breeds]], [[LittleBitBeastly people with canine features]].
8
9[[AC: The books, in order of publication:]]
10
11* ''Cerberus High'' (June 2020)
12
13* ''Cerberus High II'' (March 2021)
14
15* ''Cerberus High Hearts Forever Engraved'' (October 2021)
16
17* ''Cerberus High: Golden Encore'' (April 2022)
18
19[[AC: The main series also has one spin-off novel:]]
20
21* ''Literature/CerberusHighAnotherStory'' (November 2020)
22* ''Cerberus High 1.5'' (included in Golden Encore)
23
24----
25!! This book series contains examples of:
26
27[[foldercontrol]]
28
29[[folder: General Tropes]]
30----
31* AdaptationNameChange:
32** Ember Hertz ----> Ember Burnz
33** Lumaia Isolde ----> Twila Isolde
34** Shun Demdagos ----> Shun
35** Colombe Dreamcatcher ----> Colombe Hopesfall
36* AkashicRecords:
37* AllThereInTheManual: The [[https://cerberushigh.fandom.com/wiki/Cerberus_High_Wiki Cerberus High wiki]] includes all of the characters' likes and dislikes as well as other trivial facts.
38* CityWithNoName: The author seems to avoid disclosing the location of where exactly the story takes place. The only clear thing is what world our characters live in.
39* ColorfulThemeNaming:
40** Kazuki Akai's last name is Japanese for red.
41** Rouge's name is French for red.
42** Blanc's name is French for white.
43* CostumeEvolution:
44* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: Archdemons are the disciples of Hades.
45* ElementalEmbodiment: The Elemental Embodiments are a group of seven that embody the elements of the multiverse. They are forever immortalized in their prime in the Ultimate Forever-Still Space as empty shells until the multiverse is in peril which isn't destined to happen until long after their original bodies have died. Then, these empty shells will be given life and fight as soldiers of the multiverse. These embodiments are:
46** AnIcePerson: Blanc Isolde
47** CastingAShadow: Kazuki Akai
48** GreenThumb: Lyric Angelopoulos
49** LightEmUp: Oralee Callaway
50** MakingASplash: Ganymede
51** PlayingWithFire: Ember Hertz
52** PureEnergy: Miu (the embodiment of aether)
53* FantasticRacism:
54** Canid breeds are viewed as inferior compared to their human counterparts.
55** Imps are the Underworld counterpart of canid breeds with how they are treated in their respective world.
56* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Underworld resembles Victorian England/France.
57* GhostTown: Where the final battle in the Underworld Arc took place.
58** In the AlternateUniverse spinoff, ''Literature/CerberusHighAnotherStory'', this town is revealed to be the one inhabited by Eden Blumenthal. It is abandoned in any other universe besides the one where the spinoff is set in, [[spoiler: making those who live in it anomalies who aren't supposed to exist]].
59* GreatOffscreenWar: The archdemons' battle against the Viscera Purgers following the death of [[SacrificialLamb Casimir]]. It's not even shown in a flashback.
60* {{Hellhound}}: Ember, Cerberus [[spoiler: Kazuki]], and of course, the original Cerberus.
61* HumansAreAverage: Humans in the Overworld possess no kind of supernatural ability.
62* HornedHumanoid: The demons of the Underworld.
63* TheImp: Imps are a race of lower demons that make up the minority of the Underworld. They are characterized by their [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation unusual skin color]], [[PointedEars pointed ears]], and tail.
64* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Demons in this series are just like humans except they have [[HornedHumanoid horns]]. See HumansAreAverage.
65* LittleBitBeastly: The story's canid breeds are a distinct species of humanoids that have physical canine characteristics.
66* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Werewolf-canids don't need the full moon to transform. They can also undergo a semi-transformation where only part of their body becomes were-like.
67* PlaceOfPower
68* PurgatoryAndLimbo:
69** The Sea of Darkness is where those who have their existence erased and early versions of Forever-Still Spaces reside.
70* RuleOfThree: This series is dedicated to this rule. So much so that all the episode/chapter titles are three-worded.
71* SacredFlames:
72* WorldOfHam: The author has a penchant for writing extremely hammy dialogue.
73
74[[/folder]]
75
76[[folder: Cerberus High]]
77The series's first entry follows Kazuki Akai, a fifteen-year-old [[HumansAreAverage human]] orphan, who is transferred to Cerberus High because of an incident five years ago. Kazuki is about to give up and accept his sorry fate until he meets Sherbet Summers, a quirky tanuki that befriends him and becomes his bodyguard, guaranteeing his safety. Kazuki soon becomes hellbent on weeding out all evil that plagues the infamous school  all while trying not to lose his humanity as more and more secrets about the infamous school are revealed.
78----
79
80* EleventhHourSuperpower:
81** Kazuki's [[spoiler: Cerberus form was achieved by absorbing the departing souls of Sherbet and Axel]].
82** Neo ascending and [[spoiler: becoming a god.]]
83* AcademyOfAdventure
84* AdultsAreUseless: As shown with all the ParentalAbandonment and zero adult authority at the school.
85* ArtificialHuman: [[spoiler: Kazuki was created by Hades to appear human on the outside but was provided with the blood of the demonic entity, giving him abilities, unlike any human or canid breed that has ever existed.]]
86* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Apparently how the school’s hierarchy works. Who knows.
87* AxesAtSchool: Given the lack of adult authority.
88* BackFromTheDead:
89** [[spoiler: Vincent brought Rey back after finding him dead and alone as a child.]]
90** [[spoiler: All the Overworld characters who had fallen in the Underworld come back to life after Kazuki defeats Neo.]]
91* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Kazuki's cat Cherish was [[spoiler: beaten to death by his three foster brothers.]]
92* BirthdayBuddies: Kazuki and Oralee were both born a few minutes apart on the 14th night of September 15 years ago.
93* BladeLock: Occurs during Neo and Kazuki's fight. The friction of the two blades causing [[SwordSparks sparks of light and darkness to fly into the air]].
94* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: Cerberus High is notorious for being a place you don’t wanna go to.
95* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: When Kazuki has a mental breakdown in Chapter 7 after finding out the AwfulTruth, Sherbet and Axel visit him to find out what's wrong only for the human to snap at them. Hurt by his words, Sherbet runs off with Axel chasing after her before they are both ensnared by Elliot's Pandora's Box. Kazuki defeats the cryptid and the three make up just a day later.
96* CerebusSyndrome: The story takes on a much darker tone in the Underworld Arc as more of Rouge’s hidden past begins to unfold before our heroes’ eyes.
97 * CheerThemUpWithLaughter: When Kazuki was feeling a little down after his fight with Axel, Sherbet proceeded to joke about how popular he's gotten and how she should start protecting him from fangirls now. This succeeds in making him laugh.
98* CollectiveGroan: In Chapter 17, When Axel informs everyone about [[spoiler: Rouge's disappearance]].
99* ColorCodedCharacters:
100** Kazuki: Orange
101** Sherbet: Pink
102** Axel: Indigo
103** Xiomara: Purple
104** Blanc: White
105** Ember: Beige
106* DarkWorld[=/=]TheUnderworld: Rouge's homeworld.
107* DeathByAThousandCuts: Axel suggests this as a way for Kazuki to improve his pain resistance. Except, you know, without the death part.
108* DeathOfAChild: Two examples.
109** [[spoiler: Kazuki's three foster brothers being consumed by Kazuki's Zipping Burst.]]
110** [[spoiler: Rey dying from sepsis from having all of his fingers on his left hand cruelly amputated.]]
111* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu?: Kazuki managed to defeat [[spoiler: Neo in his immortal god form with the assistance of his friends’ souls.]]
112* DistantFinale: The epilogue takes place one year later on Kazuki’s 16th birthday.
113* ExtranormalInstitute: Cerberus High is a boarding school for canid breeds.
114* FamilyPortraitOfCharacterization: Kazuki notes the opposing auras between Rouge’s parents Casimir and Blair when he finds a family portrait in the patriarch's journal.
115* GroupHug: In Chapter 28 after our main characters return to their homeworld from the Underworld.
116* IAmWhatIAm: Throughout the story, Kazuki has trouble coming to grips that he isn't as human as he previously thought. In his final battle against Neo D. Fowler in the Underworld, Kazuki Akai discards his vow in preserving his humanity by [[spoiler: temporarily absorbing the departing souls of his fallen friends to become the Cerberus Beast]]. It is then that Kazuki finally accepts who and what he is: not quite human but not quite a canid breed either.
117* InnBetweenTheWorlds: Kazuki’s Forever-Still is used as a rest point for the Overworld characters as they traverse the Underworld.
118* InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn: Subverted. During the final battle of the first novel, [[spoiler: Sherbet and Axel follow Kazuki to the decisive showdown against Neo, but when the battle seems hopeless, they give up their souls for Kazuki to transform into Cerberus!Kazuki and fight Neo alone.]]
119* KidsAreCruel: Illustrated with a lot of backstories. Namely Rey’s with the imp having all his fingers severed on his left hand as a toddler by a bunch of older kids.
120* KnightOfCerebus: The story took a much darker tone with Neo’s introduction in the Underworld Arc
121* LightDarknessJuxtaposition:
122** DarkIsNotEvil: The archdemons who are the pillar of the Underworld have an ability called the [[BlackSwordsAreBetter Eternal Onyx Blade]].
123*** Kazuki wields two separate weapons of darkness [[spoiler: and has it in his blood]] but has [[ThouShaltNotKill sworn to never kill again]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast after the incident at his foster home]]. He comes to understand that killing must be done if he is to defend the weak and helpless.
124** LightIsNotGood: The Viscera Purgers is an organization created with the objective of constructing a utopia by sacrificing all Hades's archdemons and anybody connected to them through blood. Their cloaks are white, and every ruler who ascends to power wields the [[{{BFS}} Ephemeral Platinum Saber]], a blade fashioned out of real light.
125* MarkOfTheBeast:
126** A marking you get on the left side of your neck when you first set foot in the school as a sign of officially becoming a Cerberus student. This mark fades away as quickly as you receive it; it only returns whenever one steps outside the school.
127** In his [[spoiler: Cerberus]] transformation, Kazuki's Mark of the Beast becomes enlarged and appears on his chest.
128* MentalWorld: The space within Kazuki’s heart and mind where he communicates face to face with Rouge.
129* MsFanservice: Rouge.
130* TheNineties: This book is mainly set in 1995, while the epilogue takes place in ‘96.
131* TheNoseKnows:
132** Canid breeds have a strong sense of smell. This proves how Sherbet was able to instantly tell that Kazuki was human.
133** Rey has a very keen sense of smell and becomes disgusted when he finds out how much Kazuki smells exactly like Rouge.
134** It was implied in [[Literature/CerberusHighAnotherStory Another Story]] that [[spoiler: Eden]] had inherited his ability to sniff out all of Hades's archdemons and their descendants from his father Vincent.
135* NumberOfTheBeast: These satanic numbers appear on the school's MarkOfTheBeast brand.
136* OfficialCouple:
137** [[spoiler: Kazuki and Axel]]
138** [[spoiler: Sherbet and Ember]]
139* ParentalAbandonment: Most students attending Cerberus were cast off like trash by their parents to ultimately die in the notorious school.
140* {{Pilot}}: The unfinished Prototype Comic that was made in 2018 focusing on the A Mere Human Arc
141* RedLightDistrict: There is one in the Underworld that is brought up twice in the book.
142** Rouge is lured to the middle of the Red Light District by Neo who disguises his presence with Kazuki’s.
143** Neo takes Rey to a LoveHotel in the Red Light District where [[spoiler: he kills him]].
144* ReincarnateInAnotherWorld: [[spoiler: Rouge was meant to reincarnate in the Overworld away from the cruelness of the Underworld. Kazuki was created to be that otherworldly body her soul would be put in.]]
145* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: The initial goal for our characters is to rescue [[spoiler: Kazuki]] from the Underworld. However, this changes when [[spoiler: Rouge is kidnapped and a new threat arises]].
146* TheReveal: In Chapter 11 it is revealed that [[spoiler: there is no school headmaster to begin with]].
147* RuleOfSeven: There have been only seven archdemons throughout the Underworld's history.
148* SchoolOfNoStudying
149* SoulJar: [[spoiler: Kazuki was created to only be just a body for Rouge's soul when she reincarnated. However, the reincarnation was botched and Kazuki was given a will of his own while Rouge's soul slumbered within his heart.]]
150** During the final battle in the Underworld Arc, [[spoiler: Kazuki absorbs the departing souls of Sherbet and Axel to transform into Cerberus Kazuki. As Kazuki is fighting Ascended Neo, his friends' souls are inside the stones of his head.]]
151* StrangerInAStrangeSchool:
152** Kazuki Akai is the TokenHuman attending a school meant for delinquent canid breeds.
153** Blanc was the only canid breed when he attended his all-human private school.
154* TrappedInAnotherWorld: [[spoiler: Kazuki gets thrown into the Underworld after a ritual to exorcise Rouge from his body goes horribly wrong.]]
155* WhamEpisode:
156
157[[/folder]]
158
159[[folder: Cerberus High: Another Story]]
160''Cerberus High: Another Story'' is a SpinOff novel by Paige O'Neal-Beedles, revolving around the events of an alternate Underworld separate from the one explored in the original Literature/CerberusHigh novel where Casimir Bellerose's unorthodox ways lead to his archdemonship being stripped and his marriage being destroyed. But this is not his story. Instead, it's the story of his young daughter Rouge and her new life as [[SecretIdentity Sapphire Lilidew]].
161----
162* AlternateSelf: Coupled with being in an AlternateUniverse, this installment takes place fifteen years in the past. This causes many characters to appear not only much younger but also different in the sense of alternate universes.
163* AlternateUniverse
164* AnArmAndALeg:
165** [[spoiler: Requiem cuts off Eden's left arm containing Cerberus during their first fight.]]
166** [[spoiler: In Eden and Requiem's second and final battle, Eden loses the rest of his limbs after breaking free from the stone zombies which held onto him.]]
167* AndIMustScream[=/=]{{Transflormation}}: In Requiem's utopia, [[spoiler: Neia, Lita, and Akuji become fused with the Tree of Life. Eden is horrified to learn that purger children are still conscious in the state they were in]].
168* BigBad: Requiem. He's the alternate universe counterpart of Rey who became the second-generation head of the Viscera Purgers instead of Neo/Neia.
169* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Eden dies after saving his world and it is revealed that he reincarnated Requiem, blessing the imp with a better life.]]
170* CosmicRetcon: With the combined power of Adam's '''White Onyx Blade''' and Kazuki's '''Hades: Raging Blood Burst''', Eden [[spoiler: erases Requiem's existence and undo all the damage he caused in the Underworld]].
171* ChildhoodFriends: Eden and Colombe's relationship is stated to have been this.
172* DeadGuyOnDisplay: After Nadia is murdered by [[spoiler: Requiem, Akuji, and Neia]], her body is hanged from the iron fence of someone's home with bullet holes riddling her. Sapphire is the first to come across her and is naturally horrified believing this to be a sign directed specifically at her.
173* DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler: Sapphire was treated like the book's protagonist until her death, which causes Eden to take up her protagonist role.]]
174* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler: Not only does [[DecoyProtagonist Rouge]] die but Eden does as well at the end of the book.]]
175* TheEighties: Although not explicitly stated, since [[Literature/CerberusHighII Cerberus High II]] takes place around 2015, this book is set in 1980.
176* LightDarknessJuxtaposition: Same as the first book but with this installment explaining that [[CantLiveWithoutYou Oralee can't exist without Kazuki, due to light not being able to exist without darkness.]]
177* OminousAdversarialAmusement: When Requiem tells Eden that it's impossible to kill him Eden laughs after remembering that [[spoiler: he has just the ability to defeat someone immortal]].
178* RichesToRags: Blair and Rouge abandon their rich life with Casimir for their own safety and live out modest lives with new identities.
179* RestartTheWorld: After Vincent passed him the torch, Requiem made it his goal to purify the world and make a sanctuary where his people could live happily. [[spoiler: He succeeds in this.]]
180* RetGone: [[spoiler: Everyone in Eden's town gets wiped out by Requiem's universe reset. This is due to it being an anomaly that is not supposed to exist in any other universe.]]
181* SecretIdentity: Not wanting to be roped into Casimir's mess, Rouge and her mother leave Casimir and go under new identities. Rouge becomes a blond by the name of Sapphire Lilidew.
182* SignificantAnagram: The last name of Rouge's alias Lilidew is an anagram of "[[spoiler: will die]]" making it "[[spoiler: Sapphire Will Die]]" unscrambled.
183* TakenForGranite:
184** In Requiem's new world, [[spoiler: all the demons have been turned into rocks]].
185** When the zombies restraining Eden become petrified on Requiem's command, Eden's remaining limbs also turn to stone. [[spoiler: Eden breaks free at the cost of becoming a quadruple amputee.]]
186* {{Telepathy}}: Elysium Rouge and Eden use this to communicate with each other after the latter [[spoiler: becomes deaf and mute]].
187* YouRemindMeOfX: When Eden is devastated when finding out the sheer gravity of Requiem’s universe reset, Elysium Rouge is reminded of Kazuki who fell into the same despair.
188* LikeASonToMe: Why Elysium Rouge is unable to kiss [[spoiler: Eden]] on the lips.
189
190[[/folder]]
191
192[[folder: Cerberus High II]]
193[[DistantSequel Twenty years after the first book]] [[SpinOffspring sees a new generation of Cerberus High students as the main characters.]] The most noteworthy being Kasumi Akai-Amsel, [[HappilyAdopted the adopted daughter of Kazuki and Axel]], a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed [[LittleBitBeastly black fox-canid]] who becomes excited at the prospect of [[GenerationXerox leading life similar to both of her fathers at her age]]. This sentiment of hers becomes a horrible reality with the return of an old foe and a premonition of the world ending in where all the creatures of the shadows crawl out of the woodwork.
194----
195* AbstractApotheosis: [[spoiler: Miu is the physical embodiment of the love between the two Overworld gods Shun and Inugami.]]
196* AttackReflector: Anyone who tries to break down the Pandora's Box encasing the school would have their attack reflected back on them. Laelaps learns this the hard way when he tries to cut the barrier down with his katana; luckily, Nagisa is there to patch him up.
197* AwfulTruth: The fact that everything about [[spoiler: Nagisa]]'s character was fabricated since day one, including [[spoiler: his love for Kasumi and that his death was used as a means for Red Star's resurrection.]]
198* BabiesEverAfter: In the epilogue which takes place five months after the ending shows [[spoiler: Xiomara]] finally giving birth to a baby girl named [[spoiler:Twila]].
199* BadMoonRising: The night of the crimson moon heralds the end of the world.
200* CassandraTruth:
201** No one believed Xiomara's doom's day premonition until the night of the red moon finally came.
202** Those who believe in the existence of cryptids are seen as tinfoil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorists.
203* CellPhonesAreUseless: The Pandora's Box encasing the school makes calling and receiving phone calls impossible.
204* ChekhovsGun: The white feather Kasumi relies on to bless her with good dreams at night. [[spoiler: Miu is revealed to have given her this years ago which she now uses to protect Kasumi and her friends from being victims of the darkness.]]
205* ChunkyUpdraft: [[spoiler: The reverberation of Red Star colliding with Seraph Miu's sword with her super star form caused the school below them to levitate and break away.]]
206* DistantFinale: The epilogue takes place 4 months after the ending.
207* DistantSequel: Set twenty years after the conclusion of the first book.
208* DreamWeaver: Kasumi is blessed with good dreams every night she puts [[spoiler: Miu]]'s feather under her pillow.
209* TheFashionista: Ascelin and Laika are shown to have a passion for fashion.
210* FeelingTheBabyKick: Played for drama.
211* TheGhost: Conrad and Oralee are mentioned but never make an appearance in this part.
212* HappilyMarried:
213** Kazuki and Axel.
214** Xiomara and Blanc.
215** Ember and Sherbet.
216* HarassingPhoneCall: [[spoiler: Elliot]] disrupts the peace of Kazuki's and Axel's quiet Tuesday morning with a phone call that reveals he's still and is currently planning the end of the world.
217* TheInternet: Due to the story being set in 2015, there are some references to the internet here and there.
218* LightDarknessJuxtaposition:
219** DarkIsEvil: The Cryptid Clan.
220** LightIsGood: Miu is mainly dressed in white and is the BigGood of this book.
221* NamedWeapon: Sword of Supernatural Calamity.
222* NeverSplitTheParty: When students start being sent to the Sea of Darkness en masse and the main characters are trapped within the school, Ember advises that they stick together at all costs. This means sleeping together as well.
223* TheNewTens: The story is set in late 2014 while the DistantFinale takes place in early 2015
224* NumberedSequels: This book only has a roman numeral and lacks a subtitle.
225* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: Since Miu embodies the strongest element, her wielding the Sword of Supernatural Calamity is bound to have more devastating effects on the world than if it was someone else.
226* PowerOfLove: What empowers Miu as she embodies the short-lived love between [[spoiler: Shun and Inugami]].
227* PregnantBadass: Downplayed with Xiomara, she doesn't fight but is shown riding a motorcycle to the school in the third act.
228* PuttingThePalInPrincipal: Ember and Sherbet are far from being authoritarians as headmaster and deputy headmistress of Cerberus High.
229* RooftopConfrontation: Kasumi confronts Miu wielding the Sword of Supernatural Calamity on the school's rooftop after telepathically hearing her cries for the second time in the night.
230* SavingTheWorld: The main goal for our characters.
231* ShowWithinAShow: Resolute Blood is an anime that [[{{Otaku}} Laelaps and Teumessia are both fans of]]. No one knows what kind of anime it is.
232* SpinOffspring: Kazuki's daughter is the main character of this book with Blanc and Xiomara's son Ascelin being a close ally of hers.
233* SuperPoweredEvilSide: Corrupted [[spoiler: Miu]].
234* WeAreEverywhere:
235* ZettaiRyouiki: Grade A for Kasumi, Corrupted [[spoiler: Miu]], and armored Red Star.
236
237[[/folder]]
238
239[[folder: Cerberus High 1.5]]
240----
241* AbandonedWarehouse: The Fractured Youths's headquarters.
242* AttemptedRape:
243* BrownNote: Blake Rutherford has the capability to whistle in a frequency similar to that of a dog whistle. Canid breeds who are affected by this aren’t able to avoid the auditory assault by covering their ears as the whistle plays inside their heads, giving them the sensation of their brain melting and seeping out. Blake exploits his foes' weakened mental state to predict their future movements and [[take their powers]].
244* DesperatelyNeedsOrders: Most of Xiomara’s assassins were relieved at the league’s dismantlement after her defeat against Kazuki. However, others were furious and wanted someone to give them orders to incite more chaos.
245* FightClubbing:
246* TheGrimReaper:
247* {{Interquel}}: 1.5 is placed in 1999, four years after the events of the CHI while being 16 years before CHII.
248* MistakenEthnicity: Blue Phoenix is a hellhound who suffers from albinism, giving her the appearance of a frosthound-canid. Because of this, she is treated more favorably than other hellhounds.
249* MurderInc: The Fractured Youths is a hitman syndicate composed of Xiomara’s former assassins.
250* TheInternet: Because it was the 1990s, a lot of shady activity on the surface web flew under the radar. The Fractured Youths took advantage of this by sending out inquiries to random emails and even posting on Resolute Blood forums in search of potential clients.
251* InvisibilityCloak:
252* Professional Killer: This book’s adversarial squad is a small offshoot of hitmen.
253* [[RedArmbandOfLeadership Purple Armband of Leadership]]:
254* TechnicolorFire: Because of Blue Phoenix’s albinism her flames and blue Instead of red.
255* SerialKiller:
256* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney:
257* TrackingSpell:
258* UnrealisticBlackHole:
259

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