The next day of the competition came around. People were still perplexed as to why Ayato wasn't on the participation list.
Today's events were Tri-Fall, Target Lock and Magic Chase.
Target Lock was a 1v1 event where the two participants would start at the same time. Targets would appear. Whoever could destroy the most targets within the time limit would win.
Isamu didn't get into the next stage. In the first match, he lost to Kaede Asanagi. Even if her Blue Eyes were banned, her mana sense was still exceptional.
The second match was against Lotus Magic High School. They blocked his view and messed with Isamu. Although it wasn't against the rules, it was a disrespectful act that no other school would carry out.
Magic Chase was a race. It was between four schools. Only 4 participants were allowed. It was a race, using only physicality and magic to get to the end. Attacking others was allowed as long as the spell wouldn't damage them critically.
So far, in terms of points, Hortensia A and B were in 1st and 2nd place, a phenomena that shocked everyone. Orchid was 3rd and Lotus were 4th, bringing Auralia up at 5th. Lycoris was 6th, Astrantia was 7th and Iris was 8th.
Winning or losing today could completely swap the positions of some teams.
Incidentally, Lotus and Auralia only had a 5-point gap. Although, Auralia were in trouble of being overtaken by Lycoris and Astrantia, who were tied for points. There was a 15-point gap between them which could be easily fixed by a single win.
After tomorrow's break, it would solely be combat-based team games. They offered more points than the current events.
Miyako, Saya, Emika and Retsuya were having a meeting in Retsuya's room. They all sat on his bed. While they appeared serious, Retsuya had an inkling that what they were going to discuss would be bad.
"Wait, so why are you doing this in my room?"
"What, so you want to enter a maiden's divine space?"
Emika asked in a monotone voice.
"A maiden's...? Whatever, what are you guys discussing that you had to move to my room to discuss."
Retsuya sighed, unable to keep up with the ideas that these girls had in mind.
"This,"
Saya said, putting a tablet in the middle of the bed for everyone to see.
It showed a recent news article.
"The Mage Killer is in New City...?"
New City was a city extended off of Chiba. It was around a quarter of the size of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. It was built, and is still regularly in development, back in the 2080s.
It was also where Auralia was along with the Stellar Star arena. Some considered New City a part of Tokyo, despite it not being connected. It was a weird sense of possession among the Japanese.
"The Mage Killer has been getting popular lately. It's perhaps stupid people who are impersonating him."
Retsuya said.
"It doesn't matter. We're going to stop him."
Miyako said with a smile on her face.
Retsuya scowled when he saw Miyako's smile. It seemed like the other girls were on board with it too.
"We should just wait for the Association or Anti-Magic to do something."
Anti-Magic were a police force for magicians. They mostly had ordinary people but magic items helped them deal with black magicians and anyone else out of line.
They weren't exactly popular since they mainly responded to the Council.
"Anti-Magic? They don't do anything. If they did..."
Miyako muttered with a bitter expression.
"Anyway, we'll be taking care of the Mage Killer or his imposter! It seems that they're nearby in District 7."
New City has 12 districts, similar to how Tokyo has 23 wards. The Stellar Star arena was in District 11 while Auralia was in District 3.
"They'll probably move during the night. We'll go now and stake out the first district."
Miyako explained.
"Yeah, we'll take him out and stop the killings."
Emika said, cracking her knuckles. Saya nodded, eager to go along. Retsuya was the only one not on board. He remembered how Ayato reacted when Miyako declared that she was going to hunt down the Mage Killer.
"I don't think you guys should do this."
Retsuya said, looking at the article. He picked up the tablet.
"If you don't want to come, that's fine."
Emika told him.
"It's not that. This article says that the Mage Killer currently has 37 confirmed kills. They were all professional magicians who worked for the Association. We're just students, we'll..."
He cut himself off. The girls already had the idea of what he was trying to say.
"If you're worried about us, then protect us."
The brown-haired girl said while standing up. She got her phone out and dialled someone.
"We're going anyway. If you're objecting to us going since it's dangerous, then work to protect us."
She told him before talking to someone on the phone. Retsuya didn't want to. He just wanted them out of trouble completely. He was hesitating.
(I should stop them and tell Ayato. No, but even if I tell him, they'll still go...)
"Fine, I'll go with you."
The girl smiled at Retsuya's answer.
·———·
Ayato nervously watched Magic Chase. It was the final match of the day. The finals. It was Kiara Kyouya versus Haruto Ando.
The other two participants were far behind them. Kiara was parrying the mana bullets that Haruto shot at her.
Hortensia A was in 1st and Orchid was in second. Hortensia B was 3rd and Auralia was 4th. With this, it would determine whether Auralia would stay 4th or go up to 3rd.
Lycoris was in 5th place. After Magic Chase was the finals for Target Lock. If Auralia lost here and Lycoris won their final, then Auralia would move down to 5th again.
That couldn't happen since Auralia wants a steady position at the start of the team events on the 5th day.
In other words, Auralia would have to win against Hortensia B here or be in a worse position on the 5th day.
They were running at an even pace. Kiara wasn't attacking. She didn't even face Haruto at all. Haruto was attempting to disrupt her pace and flow of concentration.
(She's narrowly dodging each of my mana bullets, even the exploding ones I'm throwing at her feet. What is she planning? She's concentrated. That's bad for me. She came first last year like this.)
"I guess I'll use my Magic Seal."
He said, spreading his fingertips.
"Arrow of Inferno."
A flaming crossbow formed on Haruto's hand. He pulled back the flaming string and let go.
The arrow flew in front of Kiara, blowing up the ground in front of her.
[Oh! Haruto Ando uses his Magic Seal to stop Kiara Kyouya in her tracks! It looks like it works! He lost last year because he didn't focus on Kiara but it seems like he isn't making the same mistake!]
"I got her! Victory is mine!"
As he celebrated, he saw the finish line. It was a straight line. The distance was around 700 metres. It was a clear victory for Haruto. No one was behind him. Even if Kiara recovered, she wouldn't be able to catch up.
Haruto smiled.
"It's my victory!"
He announced.
From the stands, Ayato smiled. He knew that Kiara wasn't done.
"Confident, much?"
A voice asked. A shadow passed Haruto.
It was Kiara. She was sprinting in jet-black boots. They boosted her speed and within seconds, she zoomed past Haruto and reached the finish line at an abnormal speed.
She skidded as she attempted to stop. The jet-black boots faded and she looked up at the camera. Kiara pumped her fist into the air as a victory stance.
[Oh! And with that, Kiara Kyouya boosts past Haruto, winning Magic Chase and securing 3rd place for Auralia at the end of tonight!]
Everybody cheered, seeing Kiara's miraculous comeback.
[It was all thanks to those mysterious black boots once again!]
Kiara Kyouya's Magic Seal was Shadow Creation. She was able to make things out of shadows, whether they were living things or not. She wasn't able to make humans, however.
Due to this Magic Seal, Ayato occasionally teases her by calling her the Princess of the Night.
At the end of the 3rd competition day, Auralia managed to secure 3rd place. However, not all the action was over.
There was an incident soon to happen in District 7.