The radiance of the Star Eyes grew ever brighter.
A miniature image of the entire castle gradually surfaced within Medea's eyes, and a smile curved at the corner of her lips.
For tonight, she was merely a Spectator—but that did nothing to stop her from projecting herself into the scene.
In truth, most diviners had a certain "role-playing habit," and could effortlessly place themselves into any given point of view.
"Today truly is a fine day…"
Medea murmured softly, her gaze sweeping about.
Protagonists and supporting cast, the righteous and the villainous, the lights and the stage—all were in position. Next came the moment the play would begin—wait!
"Why is he here?"
"Who?"
Medea's startled cry drew a response from the others in the carriage.
Medea stared at the shimmering "stars" somewhere within the castle, and after a long moment said, "Dark Demon."
...
The entire castle had been sealed off.
Every last dormitory building had been shut out behind a barrier.
And yet, of all things, there was one person who had stepped out of the dormitory tower before curfew arrived.
Was this the inevitability of the plot's development, or the guidance of fate?
After her initial surprise, Medea couldn't help but grow all the more intrigued.
Amid her excitement, she finally recalled the original purpose for which she had accepted the invitation to serve as a professor—
To observe this year's students up close, in order to interpret a prophecy connected to the stars, the black mist, and the abyss.
And now, the "Child of the Stars" she sought had already stepped onto the stage.
"Somehow, I feel this might be a pleasant surprise?"
...
"What pleasant surprise? I don't like unexpected changes!"
However, the voice inside the carriage had turned severe.
Medea smiled cleverly. "Don't be so anxious, Sarah. Don't you want to see who's really the one worth betting on?"
Sarah Silf murmured, "Medea, it seems you really aren't cut out to be a professor."
Medea spread her hands and couldn't help but laugh. "Well, isn't that because there's no one more suited than me? Or would you rather go find someone else?"
Professor Silf ignored her. "Why has Dark appeared inside the castle? Has he run into trouble?"
Medea narrowed her eyes and watched for a while.
The castle's layer upon layer of walls obstructed her line of sight, but she had never relied on the naked eye to begin with.
After a long moment, she said, "I see pitch-black filth beside him. Without a doubt, he's run into trouble."
Seeing Professor Silf grow restless and eager to act, Medea reminded her, "The ritual has already begun. Dark's appearance is itself a variable. If you interfere as well, I hardly need to remind you of the consequences, do I?"
Professor Silf fell silent at once.
Medea then continued, "Since it was you who sought me out, and I've made the arrangements according to your wishes, I hope you won't squander my efforts. What we need to do now is simply wait. Still, I'm curious—how exactly did Lia manage to persuade you?"
Silf lifted her head to glance at Medea, and upon her perpetually stern face there suddenly appeared a trace of a brilliant, dazzling smile.
"Why would you think it was she who persuaded me?"
...
Before the teachers' dormitory.
"BOOM!"
The tempest sword, wreathed in swirling air currents, hacked once more against the void—yet even this strike, augmented by "Swords Dance," could only stir up ripples.
Dark observed the ripples in the barrier with a grave expression, and a realization suddenly dawned on him.
This strike of Gatomon's, the very instant its force was applied, had been transferred and dispersed across the entire barrier. In the end, the force at that single point became so exceedingly feeble that it could do no damage to the barrier at all.
"So that's how it is."
Recalling Gatomon, Dark couldn't help but muse, "But a barrier of this strength—who on earth could have set it up? And more than that, in a secret passage it would be one thing, but who could erect a barrier like this inside the castle? Do they really think the professors are just—wait, could it have been set up by the professors themselves?"
A sudden flash of insight left Dark instantly speechless.
He looked carefully toward the teachers' dormitory, and abruptly felt a jarring sense of reversal—"the one gawking at the melon ends up eaten himself."
"No, no, this is all wrong!"
Dark paced back and forth a couple of steps, then once again took out the "Drifloon" Magic Guide Card to examine it closely.
Perhaps because "Drifloon's" condition had indeed improved, he was gradually able to think things over with a calm mind.
The "Drifloon" Magic Guide Card no longer emitted light; there was only a faint red glimmer flickering on the card's surface, with the occasional turbulent flow of mixed red and purple darting across it, signifying a kind of instability.
Dark couldn't help but frown. "Do I really have no choice but to follow the guidance of the 'Drifloon' Magic Guide Card and head to the place indicated by that red pillar of light?"
In the midst of these thoughts, he suddenly noticed Gatomon's ears prick up, and Leomon, standing at his side, said in a low voice, "Someone's coming."
Though Dark had not heard any footsteps, he did not doubt Leomon's words in the slightest.
He tucked the "Drifloon" Magic Guide Card into his sleeve and asked, "Which direction?"
Leomon raised a hand and pointed toward the interior of the castle.
Dark nodded slightly, then took up his Mana Pen and touched it to each of the Magic Guide Spirits one by one, recalling all of the first-tier Magic Guide Spirits into their cards.
Without "Paradise" unfurled, these Magic Guide Spirits were constantly draining his mana at every moment; better to summon them later when needed.
As for the second-tier Magic Guide Spirits, which took longer to summon, he left them all outside for now.
As a result, all that remained at his side were Leomon, Gatomon, Honedge, Sylveon, Miltank, and DemiDevimon, still in its familiar form.
Even with six of them still present, it was a far more streamlined lineup than his previously bloated retinue.
He glanced at DemiDevimon, having it take the lead to scout the way, and then set off of his own accord toward the direction where the person was.
Anyone who could appear inside the castle at this hour was either a participant or an intruder.
And since there was already an intruder like himself, the odds of running into another were considerably lower.
So he leaned toward this being a "participant."
Utterly ignorant of tonight's affairs as he currently was, he needed to acquire the necessary information as quickly as possible.
And finding a "participant" to question directly was clearly a good idea.
...
By the time he returned to the castle's interior, Dark soon heard distinct footsteps, which made him realize the other party had no intention of concealing themselves either.
"Who could it be?"
Dark's mind churned rapidly.
The first person who came to mind was "Lia Goethe."
As the most suspicious individual at present, the existence of "Lia Goethe" was an enigma.
Even simply pinning her down as the instigator of tonight's events had a high probability of hitting the mark.
But if it truly were "Lia Goethe," she was hardly likely to come walking over so openly.
"Then, is it Professor Medea?"
"It couldn't be Virt Gold, could it?"
In an event like this, the likelihood of someone bearing a special identity such as "Son of the Hero" being involved was, of course, quite high.
Dark reasoned along ordinary lines of logic while the sound of the footsteps drew nearer and nearer, the two of them rapidly closing in on each other.
Just before the answer was about to be revealed, Dark suddenly detected a hint of discord in those footsteps, and then it struck him all at once—a suspect he had nearly overlooked, one whose presence had been gradually fading.
The Hero of the Spear—Ryan Hacks!
...
"Good evening, Professor Hacks."
Watching Ryan Hacks emerge from around the corner, Dark displayed a trace of an elegant smile and offered a courteous greeting.
"Dark Demon, it's you?"
Professor Ryan Hacks couldn't help but frown once he made out Dark clearly.
The Dark Demon who appeared before him, though clad in pajamas, was closely trailed by several Magic Guide Spirits that lent him a commanding aura—especially the tall, mighty Leomon, which was not to be underestimated.
By comparison—
Ryan Hacks himself was propped up on nothing but a single cane.
He wore an ordinary professor's uniform, neatly groomed, and the prosthetic eye and prosthetic limb custom-made for him by Professor Kazel made him look no different from an ordinary man.
Despite his advanced age, the gradually recovering air of martial valor about him still rendered him rather dashing.
Originally, he no longer needed that cane.
Yet he had never set it aside.
It was precisely the sound of that cane striking the ground that had exposed his identity.
Dark had prepared himself mentally beforehand, and so appeared all the more composed now.
"Professor Hacks, one of my Magic Guide Spirits developed some problems during the match. It suddenly flared up just as I was about to sleep, and I had no choice but to go find Professor Kazel…"
A flicker of obvious anguish crossed Leomon's face.
In a spot where Ryan Hacks couldn't see, Gatomon gave its thigh a vicious pinch.
Ryan Hacks noticed Leomon's expression, and with a slight shift of his gaze he said, "I just heard a loud noise a moment ago. What was that about?"
Dark said helplessly, "A barrier appeared outside the castle. I tested it a little but couldn't break through. Professor, do you know what that barrier is all about?"
Ryan Hacks abruptly frowned. "A barrier? No wonder everything around suddenly went quiet a while ago. Take me to have a look."
Dark drew back a little, letting Professor Ryan Hacks come up beside him before beginning to head back. "You can reach the barrier at that doorway over there. Professor Hacks, are you having trouble sleeping tonight?"
Ryan Hacks smiled at him. "No need to probe. I entered the castle to track a suspicious person. It seems someone really is looking to stir up trouble tonight."
Dark's thoughts spun, and he asked curiously, "What sort of person?"
But Ryan Hacks shook his head. "I don't know. I only saw her back—she ran very fast. If my right leg were still intact…"
Dark: "Could you describe her back for me?"
Ryan Hacks: "Just a woman's back. If I had to name a distinguishing feature, it would be her hair—red like blood."
Dark's gaze flickered faintly as the clues in his mind began piecing themselves together at high speed.
Lia Goethe.
Ophelia Brad.
Olivia Copernicus.
A woman with long, blood-red hair.
Although there was no conclusive evidence that they were the same person—
By this moment, Dark had already come to link them together almost instinctively.
Of course, he wouldn't be so rash as to confirm it one hundred percent.
Once they reached the doorway.
Dark slowed his pace slightly, and Professor Ryan Hacks overtook him, continuing forward another couple of steps.
Then, just as he was about to collide with the barrier, he stopped with remarkable keenness.
"This barrier…"
Ryan Hacks stretched out his hand and pressed it against the barrier.
And then, mere seconds later, from the spot where his five fingers pressed, water-like ripples abruptly welled up, spreading wider and wider to form one enormous circle after another.
…Dark's eyelid twitched at the sight, gaining a deeper understanding of the "Hero of the Spear."
Perhaps the destitute figure Professor Ryan Hacks had cut when he first arrived had left too deep an impression on people.
Every time he habitually recounted his own exploits, he always gave off a sense of "boasting."
So much so that the students had gradually overlooked the fact that he was the "Hero of the Spear."
But he truly, genuinely was the "Hero of the Spear"!
...
"Whew…"
As Dark grew increasingly alert, Ryan Hacks had already withdrawn his hand.
He turned and said, "I've seen this barrier before—it reeks of an astrologer. For a barrier of this type, sunrise and sunset are key junctures. As day and night alternate, the barrier will undergo changes, and it will most likely dissolve outright."
Dark frowned slightly and said, "In other words, as long as we wait until dawn, we'll be able to get out?"
"That's about right. In fact, whether my guess is correct or not, we'll be able to get out by daybreak." Ryan Hacks blinked and pointed toward the teachers' dormitory behind him.
Dark rolled his eyes and said, "So then, Professor, what should we do next? Wait here?"
Ryan Hacks said, "My suggestion is that you wait here while I go catch the person. By the way, do you know how many astrologers there are in the academy?"
"I don't." Dark said offhandedly. "But I think this astrology-related barrier is most likely Professor Medea's handiwork. What do you think, Professor Hacks?"
Ryan Hacks hoisted up his cane and walked forward a couple of steps. "Very good. Your thinking is exactly the same as mine. It seems we're bound to have a great deal in common."
Dark asked casually, "Then, Professor, could you tell me why you came to take up a post at the academy?"
Ryan Hacks smiled. "To teach and nurture students… just kidding—it's because the benefits are good, of course! Look at me now: I've got my hand back, my leg back, even my hair has grown out. Swallowing my pride and volunteering back then was probably the most correct choice I've made in these past ten-odd years."
Dark nodded solemnly. "The teaching benefits at St. Marian's Academy really are quite good."
Teacher and student chatted back and forth, sentence for sentence, and the atmosphere was unusually warm.
Dark did not follow Ryan Hacks's suggestion to stay here and wait for dawn.
Nor did Ryan Hacks bring the matter up again.
The two of them simply strolled along chatting, and in the blink of an eye had returned to the castle's interior.
Dark deliberately walked in the direction indicated by the "Drifloon" Magic Guide Card, though of course he could hardly explain this in detail to Professor Ryan Hacks.
Ryan Hacks spoke of going to catch someone, yet he revealed not the slightest bit of related information.
Even so, neither of their footsteps ever ceased.
And moreover, the direction they advanced in nearly coincided with the direction indicated by the "Drifloon" Magic Guide Card.
To ensure his rate of mana recovery, Dark also recalled "Sylveon" and "Miltank" into their Magic Guide Cards, leaving only Leomon and Gatomon, along with Honedge and DemiDevimon.
After the two of them ascended to the castle's third floor, they encountered a large patrol of Golems.
But Ryan Hacks merely waved his Sorting Card at the Golems, and dispersed them all.
In this way, by the time the two of them came to a halt, they had already arrived before the statue Dark knew rather well—that statue of the great Magic Guide Master.
____
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