Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1396: Wind and Will

The two teams had taken their places, each standing on opposite sides of the arena. Piba and Yolden stood within their designated circles, eyes locked forward as Kayzel and Rupert from the Central Academy stepped confidently into theirs.

“Do you have any idea what we should do?” Yolden whispered nervously. “Maybe… maybe we should just take the loss on this one. It’s not the main event anyway, so it’s not like it matters that much.”

But Piba only offered a soft smile in response.

“I don’t wish to lose,” he said calmly. “And besides, look at the crowd.”

Yolden turned, her gaze sweeping across the gathered students and spectators. That’s when she noticed them, Bones and Nannan, two more students from the Central Academy, watching from below. They wore subtle smiles, their eyes full of silent judgment.

“I was wondering why we kept running into students from Central,” Yolden muttered. “Could they have followed us here? Is this payback for what Chiba did… are they trying to overwhelm us?”

She wasn’t completely wrong. Her intuition was sharp, but she lacked one crucial detail, Kayzel’s personality. If she knew what kind of person he was, she might have guessed more accurately.

“Regardless of why we keep seeing them,” Piba said, his voice steady, “we are mages. Students of Wilton Academy. We train to grow stronger, to improve. I don’t want to throw that away by giving up without a fight. We should do our best, no matter who’s watching.”

Yolden hesitated, then gave a small nod. Piba’s words had struck something in her. She’d been ready to surrender before even trying. Now, she felt foolish for even considering it. They would fight, not for pride, not to impress, but for themselves.

“All right,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “Let’s talk strategy.”

On the other side of the field, Rupert scoffed.

“Look at them,” he muttered to Kayzel. “They’ve cast a silence spell between themselves. Must think whatever trick they’re hiding is going to win them the match.”

Eventually, the discussions ended. The silence spells faded. Both groups nodded to the professor, confirming that they were ready to begin.

“They’re going to be in for quite the surprise,” Kayzel said with a smirk.

The arena went still. A moment later, the bottom of the slab in the center lit up, its golden glow signaling that it was now active, able to be moved by magic.

In unison, Kayzel and Rupert raised their arms. They both cast wind magic, not a complex spell, but pure elemental force. A massive, concentrated burst of wind to push the slab to the opposing side. It wasn’t the most elegant move, but it was fast and direct.

The idea was simple: end it in one powerful push.

But at the exact same moment, Piba and Yolden responded. Without hesitation, they too summoned wind magic, using all the power they could muster in a single, full-force blast.

The slab shifted.

It moved toward Kayzel and Rupert’s side, but not far enough to declare victory. The light on the slab pulsed, indicating that no winner had yet been decided.

“They used the same tactic!” one of the students in the crowd shouted.

Neither team had held back. Neither had played defensive. Both had gambled everything on one explosive move.

I expected as much, Yolden thought to herself, her eyes focused. There are a lot of tricks to this game, but one thing no one’s done yet is try to truly understand their opponent.

She took a breath, thinking through what she knew.

Every student we’ve met from the Central Academy has been cocky. They act superior to every other school. That’s just the average student. So it’s no surprise that the top students feel the same way.

For them, it’s not just about winning, it’s about dominating. Making a scene. They probably planned to finish this match in one blow, right from the start. If we’d tried anything else… it would’ve worked.

Now, the match had hit a deadlock. The slab hovered near the middle, and Piba and Yolden were pouring magic into it, enough to prevent it from sliding any further, but not enough to push it back.

“What should we do now?” Rupert asked, glancing nervously at Kayzel.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kayzel replied, keeping calm. “We have some leeway with the slab. Our wind element is stronger than theirs. Just hold out for a second.”

Kayzel stopped channeling wind and stepped back. He began preparing a more complex spell, something stronger, something bigger. Rupert continued pushing with his wind, but he could already feel the resistance fading. The slab was drifting back toward the center.

“Now’s our chance!” Yolden shouted.

Together, she and Piba ceased their magic, for just a moment. They inhaled, focused, and then released another strong burst of wind magic.

It was the same tactic as before, just raw elemental force, but there was a difference this time.

A soft, white glow surrounded them both.

Moon magic.

Now, with the moon’s enchantment boosting their power, Piba’s wind spell surged forward. It combined with Yolden’s, their magic synchronizing perfectly.

Kayzel’s eyes widened. He reacted fast, canceling the spell he was building. He tried to assist Rupert, but it was too late.

The slab shot across the center line, wind tearing across the field. With one clean push, it slammed into the opposing side and stopped.

The arena went silent.

A second later, the golden light flashed, indicating a winner had been decided.

“We did it!” Yolden cried out. “We actually did it! You were right! We won! We beat them! Hah!”

She collapsed to her knees, overcome with relief and disbelief.

On the other side, Rupert looked toward Kayzel.

“Hey, are you all right?” he asked, unsure. “I mean… it’s just a small event, right? We can win the real ones later.”

But Kayzel’s expression didn’t soften.

“No,” he said quietly. “Didn’t you hear what they told us?”

He clenched his fists.

“We have to win everything. No exceptions.”

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