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INFINITE MAGE

Chapter 79: The Uninvited Guest of the Darkness (2)

Nade picked up a pen and wrote something on his palm. His friends did the same, etching the words carefully.

- I have lost my memory. Those who know the keyword can be trusted. The keyword is Polaris.

Satisfied, Shirone and his group examined their palms. With this mark, even if they lost their memories, they would be able to cooperate.

"Alright, that should do it. Let's go out now."

Regaining his confidence, Shirone exited Estas the Magic Warehouse.

Students were wandering the campus as classes ended. Looking around calmly, Shirone noticed several oddities. Normally, students would move in groups, but now they were all walking individually. More strangely, their movements seemed aimless and disorganized.

"Guys, look at those people…"

"I know. I feel it too. They're just wandering without a purpose."

Nade spotted Gabe, a classmate from Class Five.

"Hey, Gabe! Where are you heading?"

Gabe approached them but responded as if meeting strangers for the first time.

"Who are you?"

Nade was puzzled but quickly shifted his focus to the more pressing matter.

"Never mind that. Where are you going?"

"Where am I going?"

Nade, frustrated, pressed further.

"You’ve been walking continuously. Where's your destination?"

"My destination?"

Gabe looked down at his legs as if realizing something. Suddenly, he looked around, bewildered.

"Where is this…? What's my name?"

Panic-stricken, Gabe grasped at his head. Nade cautiously stepped back, ready for any sudden outburst. Thankfully, Gabe didn't become aggressive, only increasingly distressed.

"What's this noise? Why do I keep hearing these strange sounds!"

As he shouted, his speech began to distort, eventually becoming incomprehensible.

Shirone's eyes shook with shock, realizing Gabe's condition. Yiruki, still unaware of the true nature of the sounds, listened intently.

"What noise? Are you hearing hallucinations?"

Shirone, with a trembling voice, clarified.

"No, he's hearing his own voice."

"His own voice?"

"He's lost the meaning of language. He's speaking habitually but without understanding. Naturally, it’s terrifying for him."

Gabe had completely lost his language structure, now sounding almost primal.

Shirone's group felt a chill. The speed of Gabe's mental degradation indicated that memories were fading rapidly.

As time passed, Gabe's voice subsided, his eyes lost their spark, and he eventually lost motor skills. Simultaneously, everyone on the streets froze.

A haunting silence enveloped the Magic Academy, with everyone standing still like wax figures, devoid of movement.

"What on earth is happening?"

"Anyway, we're unaffected. Although it's not something to be optimistic about, it does give us some room for further investigation."

Shirone examined the people around him. It felt like the world had stopped, similar to Armin's Stop Magic, but time was certainly moving. The occasional blinking of the people indicated they were not frozen.

"Their thoughts... have stopped."

If it were a kind of magic, it was more dangerous than Stop. It could pose a threat to others. In this state, even a child could harm everyone here.

The trio ventured further, conducting a few experiments. They tickled a junior, who burst into laughter, but soon returned to a rigid expression once they stopped. Threatening looks caused eyelids to flicker, proving that their nervous system was still active.

"Interesting. Only thoughts have halted. This could indicate physical limits. But why do this? What's the purpose?"

"Before that, we need to find out who's responsible for this. Let's look around a bit more."

Shirone's group headed north to check if the seniors and teachers of the Advanced Class were in the same state.

Reaching the uphill path, they saw students from the Advanced Class streaming out of the Steel Gate arch.

Shirone's group hid in the bushes.

The movement of the Advanced Class students amidst the general immobility was reason enough for caution.

Among the crowd, they spotted unfamiliar faces—a boy and girl around Shirone's age and a man, out of place with dual swords, clearly not belonging to the Magic Academy.

Lucas whistled nonchalantly, joking around.

"Wow, I've seen some dire scenes in my life, but this is a first. They've all turned into zombies, haven't they?"

Abyss Nova was a spell that blocked the memories of those exposed to it within 24 hours. Without memory, thinking became impossible, rendering it akin to a spell of petrification. The sequence of memory blockage started with the most recent and significant memories.

It was Arin's task to lead those whose memories had been blocked. Specialized in mental magic, she had led the Advanced Class students to the courtyard where Shirone's group had encountered Gabe.

'Shadow of Capture.'

There, she cast another spell. Her shadow undulated like tentacles, threading through the shadows of the people around her.

This unique form, not present in the Four Way Formation, was a standard for mental mages known as the 'tentacle form.'

The tentacle form allowed for a finer and more flexible control of the Spirit Zone, compared to the Four Way Formation. However, it took considerably longer, requiring at least 20 minutes to pass through the shadows of all the Advanced Class students.

While Arin worked, Lucas passed time by eyeing the female students. Their noble status evident in their pale skin and delicate fragrance. His snake-like gaze settled on a girl who caught his fancy.

"Look at this one."

Even in her memory-lost state, the girl's eyes were clear. Her retro-styled hair, with red highlights, partially covered one eye, but her beauty was unmatched among the students.

"She looks feisty. I like wild women."

Just as Lucas's hand reached out to Amy, Canis grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around.

"Lucas, stop it. Maintain some dignity."

"What? You're lecturing me now?"

"Any foolish behavior will not be tolerated."

Lucas laughed derisively. Was the Parrot Thieves' Guild's reputation so diminished?

"What's the harm in having a bit of fun? I heard it's all for revenge anyway."

"This is revenge to reclaim our master's dignity. I will not tolerate vile acts."

"And what will you do if I don't comply? Fight here?"

"I'll terminate the contract."

Lucas scoffed, stepping back. He knew all too well the risks of revealing aggression in the Spirit Zone.

"Fine. I won't do anything to miss out on my pay."

"Remember, if you interfere again, I won't hold back."

"Such fuss over a bit of fun. Where's our master anyway?"

"Master is preparing something important. We're to handle this simple matter ourselves."

Arcane was currently hidden, recovering the mental energy expended casting Abyss Nova. Canis, however, chose to keep this information hidden.

"Yeah, sure."

Lucas turned away, his eyes briefly flaring with intensity.

'He must be resting somewhere.'

Lucas understood the concept of equivalent exchange in magic. A spell that blocked the memories of hundreds was not something an ordinary mage could cast. Even an archmage would be significantly weakened for a while.

'This charade won't last, kid. I won't miss this entertaining opportunity.'

As Arin finished her task, the Advanced Class and Advanced Class students began to move en masse. Shirone's group emerged from their hiding only after the crowd had dispersed. It seemed the intruders intended to take the entire school somewhere.

"Who are those people?"

"No time to ponder. They might not do anything for a while, but once they reach their destination, anything could happen. And the teachers are captive too."

Shirone remarked.

"The magic that the girl cast looked like dark magic. Could this situation be their doing?"

"It's unlikely. Such a large-scale spell requires an enormous Spirit Zone. Two are too young, and the third, armed, is likely not a mage."

"A third party involved, then?"

"It seems so. Let's focus on tracking them. If danger arises, we can intervene."

"Controlling the Magic Academy... Madness, especially with dark magic..."

With an ominous sense, Shirone's group followed the trail of the unwelcome visitors.

Ethella, dressed as she was the day before, remained in the training hall, motionless in meditation. Her eyebrows twitched, and her face contorted in agony. Clenching her teeth, her body shook violently.

The entire building vibrated with her, dust raining down. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and she fell forward, gasping for air.

"What was that?"

She couldn't pinpoint it, but it was a form of dark magic that infiltrated the mind to block memories. Its malicious nature pushed Ethella's vigilance to the extreme. Had it not been for the Karsis Order's laws, she too would have lost her memories.

'Dark magic in the academy?'

Checking the time, she realized it was well past class hours.

'I've been trapped by the evil spirit for over 12 hours?'

Considering Ethella's supreme mental fortitude, it was an incredibly powerful spell. What puzzled her more was that no one had come to check on her.

She wasn't the only target.

With this realization, Ethella rushed out of the hall without even changing her clothes.

A flash streaked across the sky above the Magic Academy, then plummeted to the ground like a magnet. A man landed without a sound.

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