Dark Magus Returns - Chapter 1428: Masks for the Final Day

Chapter 1428: Masks for the Final Day

With the event over, all the students were ordered back to their rooms.

The other academies were mostly pleased with their own performances, they had shown strong skills, and in many cases, they believed they had proven themselves against the Central Academy. In some ways, they had. Their abilities were unique enough to catch the attention of the crowd and even a few important onlookers.

But all of it was overshadowed.

Because of what had happened right at the end, the thing everyone was now talking about… no one seemed to remember the earlier displays.

“I don’t know whether I should be happy that there’s an academy out there doing better than Central Academy in every way,” Lee Roy said with a faint smile, “or worried that there are now more people we’ll have to watch out for.”

He knew tomorrow was no ordinary day. It was one of the largest events in the entire competition, the Single Battle Event. And the rumors about a rule change had turned out to be true. Instead of one student from each academy, two would be allowed to participate. That meant ten competitors in total.

Back at the Central Academy quarters, when Nannan and George returned, there was no applause, no congratulations. Instead, Nannan could feel the weight of glares on her.

“You shouldn’t have attacked her,” Bones said bluntly. “All it did was make us look foolish, and her even better.”

The others murmured in agreement. Nannan didn’t care much about the students’ opinions. What truly made her uneasy was how the teachers would react, especially the principal, Ibarin.

“I know what I did wrong,” Nannan replied stiffly. “I’m not stupid.”

“Yet you go and do something that stupid?” Kayzel shot back. “This wasn’t even a competition between academies, and yet now everyone’s wondering what Wilton Academy can do, rather than us.

“I guess that means tomorrow I’ll just have to fix this myself. Tomorrow’s our only chance to redeem the academy.”

Meanwhile, in the Wilton Academy camp, the mood was entirely different. The moment Safa appeared, the two girls, Chiba and Yolden, rushed toward her, wrapping her in a warm, tight hug.

“You were amazing!” Yolden beamed. “I can’t believe it, you really, really showed up that arrogant girl!”

“You did a good job too, Piba,” Liam said, glancing toward their other teammate. “I know how it is, when a pretty girl starts showing off her skills, well… people kind of forget about the rest of us.”

“It’s true, though,” Piba replied, her tone sincere. “If Safa hadn’t done what she did out there, I doubt we’d be getting this kind of reaction now. She deserves every bit of praise she can get.”

The group continued to shower Safa with admiration, voices overlapping in their excitement. In the middle of it all, Raze rose to his feet. His movements were calm but purposeful, and as he stepped forward, the others instinctively parted to give him space.

“Were you hurt?” Raze asked, his gaze locking on Safa as he studied her carefully. His eyes swept over her like he was making sure not a single scratch had been missed.

“No, I’m fine,” she answered with a small shake of her head. “There’s no real wound on my body, everything’s healed up a hundred percent.” Her smile widened as she spoke, and it wasn’t just any smile, it was the biggest, brightest one they had seen from her yet.

It was bigger than the grin she’d worn when she’d humiliated Nannan in front of everyone. Bigger than the one she’d had while basking in her teammates’ praise. This smile was different. It was warmer, more personal. And all it had taken was Raze asking if she was okay.

“Alright, so… I guess we can just rest for the day now and wait until tomorrow, right?” Chiba said, glancing between the group. “But, with everything that’s happened, are we going to have to go straight back to the dorm again? I mean, otherwise, we’re going to get hounded by the others.”

The teachers exchanged looks. They had wanted to say something, to give their students a proper reward for their incredible performance in both this and the last assessment. A nice meal, a chance to relax, to enjoy the event like everyone else, that’s what they wanted to offer.

But the problem was still there.

After all, these same students had been targeted by Central Academy before, and the teachers weren’t confident they could protect them again if trouble broke out.

“I’ve got a solution for you all,” Raze said suddenly. From his inventory, several masks floated out, drifting gently through the air until they stopped in front of each student.

They caught them instinctively, turning the items over in their hands. The masks were made of a smooth, lightweight plastic, their design simple yet strangely sleek. Even those from Pagna were wondering when did Raze have the time to make these, why did he even put the effort into making these for everyone.

“These masks will alter the appearance of your face,” Raze explained. “That way, the others won’t recognize you. You’ll be able to eat, explore, and check out several parts of the event without drawing unwanted attention.

“But,” he added, his tone turning serious, “be careful. If you use magic, or if magic is used near you, the mask’s effect will be disrupted, and your appearance will return to normal.”

The group nodded, understanding the risk.

“I just thought…” Raze paused briefly, glancing at them one by one. “You should enjoy the event while you can.”

He didn’t say it outright, but the reason was clear enough, there was a chance tomorrow might be the last day of the event altogether.

*****

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