The shattering of its left piece solved one incredible mystery that is behind that white mask.
It is inevitable that he won't be able to hide his own face anymore.
As soon as he reached the wall, his body rolled on the floor, and had a bad time standing up. All of the candidates were perplexed about the situation. The fact that Aran had dealt a massive blow to him is an impression enough for the whole candidates to cheer in relief.
Saving their lives by negating and infusing all of the masked magician's attacks was a magnificent performance on his part.
Aran landed on the right side, still taking a stance and getting ready for the next attack. Though, despite the shattered demeanor, the masked magician stood up. The left side of his face revealed his left eye that turns out to be purple and his long bangs that are slanged on the right side dangled. His hair color was a touch of dark blue extending from the very hood and its positioning is tied in a ponytail. His nose is pointy and he has a face of a middle-aged man.
The rubble that is getting in his way was blown instantly with his possession of a magic aura. Aran tried to analyze what is going on with him and prepared for his next clash.
"To think that you are the first one to ever destroy my mask. It looks like I won't be able to hide it anymore..." He dismissed the behavior that he was exuding from earlier and started getting serious. This left the other candidates to get wary but Aran stood still. Even with the influx of his killing intent, he didn't lose his concentration.
He placed his hand on his face, grabbing the shards and taking off his mask. He threw it on the ceiling as it flows away in the wind thus, revealing his own face. The face of the criminal who has murdered a lot of people, the face of the magician who had the wits and skills. He is determined to be one of the strongest magicians that they have encountered under the category of scrutinization.
However, the minuscule amount of his reverberating personality had gone under a massive change. The right area of his face is no longer human. His right eye doesn't exist anymore. The skin was torn and the flesh that is keeping them from falling apart is on the verge of corrupting and decaying. He is totally a complete monster at this point.
Seeing his real appearance gave all of them an ominous feeling of dread.
"You... You are really magnificent..." He complimented Aran in a weird manner. He guffawed in a cryptic exhibition. Everyone stepped back in order to get away from him. Even though the effects of the mana limitations have been dissipating, they are still weak and uncomfortable. Julia on the other hand used healing magic to recover from her loss and started stepping forward near Aran.
"Miss Julia!" Aran called to her as he noticed her presence.
"Aran, the knights will be in here at any moment. They are waiting on that door over there. They are waiting for the opportunity to apprehend him. Since you're the only one who can stand up, can you try and entertain him for a little bit?" She asked for a favor.
"Huh? What do you mean? What are you planning to do?"
"I will try to use cancellation and prison magic. I want you to divert his attention from everywhere else and have him use all of his mana. I know that I am persistent and I am asking too much, but I have no choice but to leave him to you. Seeing you battle him, you have extremely defended everyone else, but I don't want to–"
"It is okay, Miss Julia. I don't really mind. You are a great supporter. You want me to keep battling him while you charge your magic spell right?" Aran looked at her with a projected smile.
"Y-Yes..." Julia's responses are twitching in embarrassment, she regrets leaving it to Aran but there was no other choice but to work and coordinate with each other to end this terrorism.
"Don't make that face, Miss Julia. You can count on me!" Seeing the faithful energy from his eyes and confidence in his tone, he reassured his instructor that it is going to be fine. It gave her a sense of confidence as well.
"We're doing this together!" Julia replied.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Aran responded.
(That kid, I know for myself that he doesn't have that much magical attribute in the first place. Yet he managed to cancel and negate all of my attacks while dodging them. Is that kid chanting cancellation magic while slashing it? Or perhaps...) The masked magician took the first dash across the hall to face Aran one more time. His speed became more congruent and his movement is more fluid than usual.
(He's fast!) Aran's perceptiveness didn't quite catch up. However, he still managed to avoid his kick under the influence that he is prepared for the blow.
"You're not going anywhere!" Rushing on the left side of the hall, he tried to grab Aran's arm but he quickly turned his arms to slash him. Seeing this in mid-air, he avoided the swing of Aran's knife and stepped back.
(That was close!)
While they are fighting for another bout, the knights reached the third building of the academy on the west side area.
"Here?" Commander Bill asked.
"Yes, Sir! This place is not under his spell at the moment. And it looks like it was getting weak every moment." The knight answered as they went on their position.
"Hmm, that is not surprising. I am pretty sure that he will run out of mana any time soon. He won't be able to keep up using this kind of long-term spell. If we are lucky, we can interject inside the academy as soon as the barrier gets destroyed. We need to leave it at the hand of that boy who is currently fighting him." He answered.
"But Sir, if we prolong this operation for a few more minutes, we would cause more damage throughout the facility. The candidate might get harmed and we need to rescue them as soon as possible. We need to end this operation before the board and the other Masters arrive here." One of the knights has posted his counter to the commander.
"You are right, however, if we risk the chance to go inside quickly and he notices it, he won't hesitate to kill everyone inside. We need to be smart about this decision." He inferred.
"Perhaps we should cast a barrier once we get inside the hall? That would remove all of the licenses that he has for conducting his own barrier in order to prevent trespassing. If we rewrite his spell, we may have the chance to apprehend him." One of the knights has suggested. By infusing their own magical essence and rewriting the magic activation sequence that the masked magician has cast, they can corner him with their own barrier.
"Hmm, that might work at this moment. We will resort to that plan if we failed Plan A." Commander Bill smiled in confidence.
"Plan A? What do you mean by Plan A, Sir?" Concerned, one of them asked.
"The plan A is to believe in that boy..." He answered.
"..."
Going back on their round, the masked magician didn't do anything this time with his magical powers. Instead, he converted from magic attacks to close combat fighting. Aran's movement is getting more refined from the way he moved his legs and arms while trying to transpire a blow. But still, his punches and kicks are not landing, he can feel the overwhelming intensity on every swing and blow he offers. The wind on their point-blank range rippled across the room while the specks of dust are waving on every step they land on the floor.
"Kid, since you're the only one who can spar with me at this point, I will tell you my sole reason for why I am doing all of this!" Held entirely with the distraction of his voicing, Aran has received a kick on his belly causing him to flinch into the ground.
"Aran!" Lisa cried out and tried to stand up, but she still can't move while under a crippled state of weakness because of the barrier.
His fast coordination and reflex got him to stand up on the ground.
"Tsk!" He gritted his teeth and started going face to face with the masked magician.
"I really like your confidence, kid!" He commended him for his bravery. Despite the winding up, he still managed to beat Aran on some blows that are not preceded under his perceptiveness. Five punches on his face, three kicks on his chest, and some elbow smack on his back.
"Guagh!" He draws some saliva out of his mouth, enabling him to feel the pressure and intensity as well as the pain that is swelling through the course of his body.
"Five years ago, I and my crew went on an expedition to find a certain treasure that grants you a regenerating ability. It took us some time to navigate all of the caves on the north. We were getting hungry and weak. But then, the blessing came and I found the regeneration treasure. We were so happy when we finally discovered it. However, when we were about to exit the cave, my crew beat me up and destroyed my face with their knives until I was unconscious and left me dying inside the cave. It turns out that they were only after the treasure so they can have all the money for themselves. You don't know how much I've had to suffer just to find this treasure. I bid my own life in order to obtain it so I can give it to my dying grandmother. But for me to experience a decisive betrayal..." He conveyed his enraging emotion through his story. Deep inside, he was trying to hold back his tears.
Treasure hoarders are common in the kingdom. There was a massive inclination and discovery through the north side of the region where you can find various treasures. And one of them is the Talisman of Regeneration.
A talisman that is capable of healing its holder at an instant degree. It regenerates every wound or illness when it is poured by mana. Many medical professionals and doctors have tried to replicate the effect of the stone but they didn't understand the complexity of its nature. If there's someone on their death bed, the only choice they have is to either get treatment by the use of the regeneration stone or to simply die peacefully.
But it was different for him.
Aran was listening deeply while they are fighting. He stepped forward to confront the man who has had his life turned into a nightmare by traitors.
"Soon enough, someone from the expedition scouting league picked me up from the cave. He saved me, he helped me get back up until I found my way back to a small village on the Western border. It was at that moment where I discovered that my grandmother passed away from arson. They burned down our house and I was left with nothing but regret and confusion. What did I do wrong? Why did they do that? I spent the last years killing treasure hoarders with the intention of harming civilians who get in my way while still holding that affection in my heart. I killed the crew who betrayed me. And now that they are dead, I need to procure the treasure that I have found. It was then discovered that the treasure is enclosed within this academy." He told the full story.
Deep inside, his revenge and thirst for killing were now beyond his grasp of control. But it is now clear that he wanted to avenge his grandmother and to get back the treasure that he had pursued for a long time. He sacrificed almost everything for the treatment of his grandmother who he holds dear.
"Tell me, kid! Why is it wrong for people like me to get revenge?! Why aren't they restraining those who had done something wrong?!" he cried, his presence was getting creepier.
"This guy..." Aran dodged the second kick while circulating around. He sweeps through the floor to avoid the barrage connection of his attack.
After defending, he decided to switch it up and started attacking him. Aran rotated his knife off the backside of his palm as he started going head to head with him. Using tricks in navigating his attention on other blindspots, he maneuvered his arms to connect his punch to the masked magician.
(Just a little bit more... Hang in there, Aran!) Julia is trying to preserve her presence by not accumulating loose energy. By closing her eyes and focusing on the waves of the magic molecule, she had created a prison in a square-shaped barrier. A transparent prison that no one can break with sheer force. She tried to accumulate more magic to increase the level.
Noticing that her preparations are almost complete, Aran took a massive step back to finally get some rest. He is feeling pain all over his body.
"What happened?" Commander Bill asked.
"They finally stopped!" The knight reported.
"Hmm, prepare your weapons, I think we're near the climax now." He instructed everyone and started preparing for the interjection.
(I can see that Julia is ready, but how can I divert his attention? My body feels hot... I cannot feel my left side anymore. If this continues I won't be able to connect my movements. What should I do?) Aran struggled to think of a solution that can apprehend him without noticing Julia's magic interference. By looking at the hall, he noticed the view of the knights that are preparing to enter the academy. Aran nodded his head and started visualizing the current situation once again.
"They're ready..." He whispered. He inhaled an ample amount of some air and exhaled it slowly. Reaching the end of the relief, he started rushing to confront the criminal.
"Hou? You're coming head-on, huh? That's it!" Not realizing that it is bait, Aran decided to take advantage of his twisted mind and sprang on midair. The enemy looked upwards but he didn't see Aran, instead, he saw a compacted modification of several magic circles that instantly dragged him down.
The prison magic worked on him.
"I did it!" Julia shouted.
"Commander!" The knight has reported.
"Let's go!" By breaking the western door, a group of knights instantly cast their barrier magic on the criminal to keep him from breaking the prison spell. However, even with their increasing barrage of magic attacks, he pushed himself to stand up.
"You think... A mere magic spell like this would keep me unstable? It is weak! AAAAAA!" His devastating shout echoed in the hall.
"This is bad! Everyone get down!" Commander Bill huffed as he saved the other people.
"Liberus!" His whole body glowed in an instant, accumulating all of the magic molecules that surrounds him. He started charging a massive explosion chaos blast that can kill a lot of people. It only takes a few seconds to detonate.
(He plans to self-destruct! This is bad I need to–) Aran noticed something on the glowing flare of light. Yellowish electricity is interfering with the detonation of the massive chaos blast.
He glanced on the second floor and find out that the woman who wears a black robe was the one countering the spell that the criminal is trying to incite.
(She's reducing the firepower!) He rotated Carnwennan on the front side of his palm and started rushing through the glow.
"Aran! Don't!" Lisa called but he didn't respond.
"AHH!" With his torque stored on his legs, he made a single descent of slash that cuts through the wave of chaos. The Carnwennan leeched out the magic spell and absorbed all of the impacts.
The glowing destruction was avoided and the vast flare that is covering the entire hall vanished in an instant because of him.
The smoke erupted from the ground, and finally...
The masked magician dropped to the ground with a smile on his face.
"I see... I didn't succeed, huh..." He mumbled.