After reaching the door that goes to the other side of the academy, the masked magician opened it slowly. He was greeted by candidates who are cowering in fear. The way he entered the room was very subtle. No one expected him to be in this hall. His presence had a major influence to all of the candidates who are staying in the center.
Julia was the first one to step up in the front. She raised her left arm, signaling the candidates to back off and calm down.
"My my, so this is the Fosier Academy. What a very lovely place. It is big and very abstract. And we have a lot of disciples. This is nice." He commended every aspect of the building with his sweet yet creepy tone. Everyone looked at him with fear.
"Don't touch the candidates!" Julia landed near the door to confront the masked magician. When it comes to magic-using techniques, she is by far one of the strongest magicians to ever exist.
The other Masters wasn't in the hall to protect the other students. It was only her and the rest of the candidates. Master Himawari was still under the chamber, acquiring what the masked magician wanted. The knights that have been stationed outside of the border were monitoring the situation very closely.
"Oh, look what we have here. A member of the Magikill federation. It has been so long since I visited that department. I would like to have tea with the magicians there someday. Oh and before I do that, I will take what I need to take in this place first." He said.
"How dare you trespass this place owned by the Masters?" Julia huffed as she charged her mana. While preparing for any danger he might do, she held her hand backward to signal the candidates to get away from him immediately as soon as possible. Everyone doesn't have their weapon and the only one who is armed right now is Aran who still has his Carnwennan blade.
"I just came back to get what is mine. I am not going to kill anybody here as long as you don't interfere with my plan," He answered.
There wasn't anything hateful or aggressive on his part. What he speaks of his plan is indeed true and there is no alteration. He continued to walk until he reaches the center of the hall. The lighting that was emitting from the glowing lamps has been made as a spotlight for his entrance. Being keen on his movements, they started forming a circular lineup while still cowering in fear.
(So that's the rumored criminal huh, his personality kinda sucks.) Aran shrugged Lisa's arm from his shoulder and moved towards the center to get a good look. He stepped up on the front of the crowd to see the masked magician closely.
"W-Wait, Aran! Don't!" Lisa tried to stop him but he didn't listen. She followed him behind his back while being wary of the masked magician's movement.
"You..." Aran left the mass. Despite being withered in his weak condition, he called the masked magician directly in a hoarse voice. Noticing his presence, the criminal glanced at him and wondered.
"What did you do with Huck and Eunice?!" He remembered that Eunice and Huck were supposed to be guarding the garden and training grounds in the south area of the academy. And seeing that he came out of the door they took, he must have taken the back door route in order to get in the first building for the hall.
"Oh, you mean those two pesky little rats who tried to kill me? Well, I just gave them a little beating." His sassy tone eliminated Aran's temper.
"You bastard! What did you 'do' to them?!" His angered emotion made a hit on the masked magician's intention.
"Don't worry..." He walked towards him and placed his hand on Aran's left shoulder.
"...I didn't kill them." He smiled as he engraved the tone to Aran's head for him to remember. The moment he placed his hand on his shoulder angered Julia.
"I said don't touch my students!" She made a quick stance and started blasting very complex wind magic in his direction. A greenish glowing wave full of magical accumulation of molecules was approaching him. Noticing that she has attacked him, the masked magician pushed Aran to the ground and dodged the wind magic by flying towards the ceiling onto the second floor.
"Oh my, that was dangerous. You could've hit your disciple if I didn't use dismantling magic. You seem to be more adept at using wind magic. And it also looks like you're going to be in my way...." As soon as he landed on the rail, he flew again right in the middle of the first floor and started chanting complicated magic.
By waving his hand through the air, he made a barrage of transparent magic circles and fired it in all directions. The effect was devastatingly powerful. By submerging all light energy particles in the surrounding, he created an area where Mana cannot be used. Once they enter this area, it will make them weak and unable to use magic for the time being.
Getting affected by this large-scale attack, Julia didn't stand a chance to attack any further. Most of the candidates have dropped onto their knees and that includes Nikki and Lisa who have been on the back. The whole room is now enclosed with a magic limitation charm. A spell that can weaken an individual who possesses a large mana pool.
However, among the following crowd, only one candidate stood in his place without receiving the same effect that the others have taken. Everyone looked at him including Nikki and Lisa.
"Aran!" Lisa called him. He quickly turned his body to approach her.
"Hey! What's happening to all of you!?" Aran shouted. He didn't feel anything strange. But those who surrounded him were vulnerable.
(My magic limitation didn't work on him? Why is that?) The masked magician was taken aback by the sudden scenery.
"Aran! Get out of here!" Julia is struggling with her magic deformation. She instructs Aran to save himself while he still has the energy to go out.
"I can't! I can't leave all of you!" He hollered out in response.
Testing out the capability, the masked magician blasted another wave of magic limitation charm in Aran's direction but it still didn't drag him down. Aran noticed that he was getting attacked by this spell and that he turned his glaring grimace to him.
"Why?! Why doesn't it work on you!?" He grumbled. He kept on producing the same magic spell and fired it onto Aran's direction but it still didn't work.
(He is firing me with that weakening spell, what is happening? Why doesn't it work?) After a few moments of thinking, he finally realized the cause of the negating effect.
(My clothes! If I remember correctly, Nash said this uniform is enchanted with magic dissonance. I shouldn't be able to take that much damage from a magic spell. But seeing his power, I don't think this uniform can stop his magic even with the magic dissonance. So why is that?) Upon checking his body, he noticed that the leather sheath that encloses his black knife is glowing.
The transparent magic that the masked magician firing at him is getting shattered and the Carnwennan blade is pulling and possessing all of the accumulation of mana.
"My knife is taking all of the mana!" He blurted.
"Damn it! You leave me no choice, kid. I'll have to knock you out as well!" Losing his temper from getting nowhere, he waved his purple coat and started dashing toward Aran. If magic doesn't work on him then he will have to beat him in close combat.
"Aran, behind you!" Lisa warned him.
His tremendous speed was extraordinary. Aran was paying attention to his movements but his eye cannot keep up with his quick repercussions. As he landed in his direction, he tried to hit Aran with his spinning kick. However, Aran avoided the hit by hair's breadth, enabling his perceptiveness in the second-degree level.
(Concentrate! Remember what William taught you... The foundation to every movement. Feel the environment, do not overthink, and just focus on your surrounding. Analyze the formation of the light energy particle.) By expanding his perception and three-dimensional view, he applied what he learned from his training with William. A very particular trick to know the exact location and motion of an individual. By dispersing through the void with its glowing specks of dots and creating a massive time dissonance effect that slows the accompaniment of their real body.
"There!" Aran opened his eyes and rolled his body quickly to the left, dodging the masked magician's kick. He countered the hit with his punch. His body flung into the wall, destroying one part of the pillar. The masked magician immediately stood up and wiggled his body to throw specks of rubble.
(How did he know that I was going for that?!) Aran stood up and unsheathed his knife.
"I commend you for dodging that! It was impressive. However, let's see if you can counter this!" Irritated by Aran's ability to guess his attack, he started firing fireballs on him.
"Aran, be careful! His magic spell can directly shred your body resistance. If that happens, you would get dragged down immediately!" Still writhing in pain, Julia gave a piece of advice to Aran as he dodged the fireball magic spell.
(What should I do? Can the Carnwennan absorb his magic attack? If I dodge his spell, it would harm the other candidates. There's no time to hesitate! I need to take all of it. This building might collapse!)
The first fireball went into the ceiling as Aran accidentally flung his knife. The explosion is larger than usual. Its area of effect damage is more impactful than when he fought the two earlier. He leveled his magic in such a short amount of time. Still, despite the occurrence, he fired his spell again and again directly to Aran.
However, as the ball of light approaches him, the knife that can cut through the cloak of the night immediately negated its effect. It absorbs all of its magical accumulation, making the fireball vanish in an instant without exploding. Aran with his swift movement took all of the fireballs at his will with precise control. By negating the magic, he can easily save the building from collapsing.
"What?! Why isn't my spell working!?" He kept on pounding his energy by exaggerating his mana to the highest degree possible. Despite the recollection effect, it didn't work on Aran's blade.
Their combination of attack and negation lasted for another two minutes of a play. Every control of his accurate shot is getting negated by Aran's slashes. The fact that he doesn't get tired even while enduring his headache is really commendable at this point. Every candidate that was weakened earlier is starting to get up from their position. Noticing this, the masked magician smirked and took the advantage of hitting somebody else with his fireball magic to distract Aran.
However...
Before reaching the woman and her other friends, Aran quickly pivoted his body to connect his slashing technique and negate the fireball. He managed to save them.
"You're playing dirty! Focus on me!" Agitated by this, he suddenly dashed across the hall to get a closer distance from the masked magician.
(He's fast! No, the other two that I have encountered are faster than him, I can deal with this guy easily!) His quick reflexes enabled him to bait Aran on a square fighting style.
(I know that I am lacking speed in terms of my own abilities, however, I pushed my body for nothing!) By reaching the other side of the hall, he stepped in quickly on the masked magician's position. This created a blindspot that the masked magician didn't notice.
"What?!" Shocked by the sudden vanishing of Aran, he turned his gaze all around the direction.
"I'm here!" By making the wall as his springboard for the launch, he quickly assailed his body on a straight formation while his left leg is twisted on the right, performing a direct thrust of his sidekick. He landed a clean blow to the masked magician's face. With the impact he received, the left side of his mask shattered to pieces, getting a revelation of his left face.
***
Outside the academy, Commander Bill and the rest of the knights have reached the front gate. He noticed interference with their ability to enter.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"We can't enter the academy, Sir! It looks like he activated a certain magic spell that has a barricade. He enclosed the academy with his magic. We have been trying to destroy it but it looks like it can be only removed if we eliminate the one who is casting it." One of the knights has reported.
"Damn it! He got us! Try the other location. There must be a certain path that he hasn't been able to enclose yet." He instructed the other knights. They have moved once again to check the building on the west.
"What's the situation inside?"
"It's bad, he weakened everyone who is inside the hall. They can't stand up or anything," A scout reported.
"Then what the hell is he still doing inside if he already made everyone vulnerable?" Commander Bill asked. Adjusting his scope, he glanced through the big glass window that is available for the view outside the academy.
"It looks like he is fighting someone! Is it a master? No! It is a candidate! Someone is countering him!" He reported.
"What?!" He didn't believe the report without seeing it for himself. He pulled the knight out of the scope and moved his eye on the lens instead.
He saw Aran dealing with the masked magician's attack by negating his magic. His extraordinary skill at handling the knife caught his attention, leaving him astounded by the fact that he is protecting all of the people inside the hall while they are vulnerable.
(That kid... How did he manage to defend himself in that state? He must be trained by someone. His movements are professionally executed. Is he a senior candidate?)
"Sir! We found a path that is accessible! Should we barge in and save all of them?" The report came back. Commander Bill removed his face from the lens of the scope and started updating everyone.
"We will go directly on that path, but we are not going to barge in. Our top priority is to capture him in his vulnerable state without alerting him. If he notices us on the move, he will not hesitate to take everyone as his hostage. We need to be careful with this! Go tell the others! Prepare for the rescue operation! It is time to make our move!" He instructed the knight.
"Yes, Sir!" he responded.
(Kid, please hang in there for us!)