Free Web NovelChapter 108: Day 4
Fireworks were shot into the morning sky again.
"Dear people from Loogam and guests from other nations! Today is the day when the finals of the tournament will be held!" the announcer stated through the magic tool, which made his announcement reach even the ears of the guards stationed at Loogam’s outer walls.
Before the third day concluded, the semifinals had taken place, ending with Sylvia and Lily emerging as the winners of each respective match.
"Now, who will win it all today? Will it be the white-class student Sylvia Pyril, who showed us why she’s called a white-class student? Or will it be Lily Hayth, whose skills surpassed even those of her peers in her class?"
Only a few hours were left until the finals started. And yet, a large crowd was swarming around the arena, wanting to go in already.
"It will be a fight between the two tournament favorites! A match you can’t pass!"
Even though it was his job, the announcer seemed a lot more hyped up than usual.
"But speaking of a match you can’t pass... After the final matchup, there will be a special event, or rather, a special match!"
It was the first time, the people and guests heard about it.
Even on the streets, the people were speculating about it.
"What is that guy talking about...?" Olivia wondered sleepily as she had just woken up in her room in a luxurious inn.
"A two-on-two match! A match between the current bigshots of the academy and students, whose names are trending throughout the academy!"
"It’s the first time, I’m hearing about that." Ophelia stated after she entered Olivia’s room.
"Xander and his little brother, Cail Maystra, versus Belian Ziva and Mika Elbar!"
"Huh?"
The two sisters let out a blunt sound at the same time.
In the meantime, at Loogam’s borders.
A group of roughly 20 coat-wearing people was approaching the border.
At that time, it was Xander’s turn to guard the eastern gate of Loogam.
He and another member of the disciplinary committee were standing right in front of the gate so that they could inspect the people, who wanted to enter.
The other people, walking on the wall, were also on the same committee.
However, as it was still early in the morning, almost everyone was tired.
Even Xander’s partner at the gate was barely awake and kept on yawning. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"..."
With a stern gaze, Xander looked at the incoming group.
On a closer look, there was a tall and bulky person underneath a coat, who was pulling a cart behind him with people sitting on it.
And despite getting closer to the entrance, the person did not attempt to slow down.
"Shouldn’t we stop them? They kind of look suspicious..." his partner suggested drowsily.
"No. They’re VIP guests so there’s no need to stop them." Xander replied.
"VIP guests...? I thought they’re all here already?"
Xander glared at him threateningly.
"Are you saying that I made a mistake?"
"!"
The person flinched.
"N-no, o-of course not!"
Then, the person with the cart silently passed between them.
"..."
Unnoticed by his partner, Xander handed over a piece of paper to a person on the cart.
"Anyways, get a grip. With the security focused around the arena today, we have to be even more on guard here." Xander stated firmly after the cart entered the capital.
"Y-yes!"
Also at the same time, in front of Mika’s dorm.
The whole white class, Lily and the Tiam siblings gathered.
"He wasn’t in his room either." Belian said.
"There were also no traces of him in the academy." Sylvia added.
"And we didn’t hear anything about him in the VIP lounge." Yarjak stated.
"Yes, after he went to search for that Xander guy, there was no news about him." Sara elaborated.
"Harik and I checked out the other facilities but we also didn’t find him." Rachel reported.
"..."
Lily was in thought.
"Yarjak. Sara. It would be for the best if you returned to your lounge. I have the feeling that this case may be more dangerous than we think..." Sylvia suggested sternly.
"But it’s partly our fault for letting him go alone!" Sara argued guiltily.
"Sara, she’s right. As much as I want to help, we have to consider our position here." Yarjak said.
"You can leave this to us. We will find Mika." Sylvia tried to reassure them.
"No. You two will go. Rachel, Harik and I will do this. You two have a match, did you forget?" Belian chimed in.
"We still have some time, don’t we?"
"Just like you said, this could be dangerous. Do you really want to risk an injury right before the finals?"
"Do you think I care about that? We’re talking about a missing person here. A small injury is nothing to be afraid of!"
"I understand your feelings but you have to consider the people coming to Loogam just for this event. What do you think they would think if a participant can’t compete at their best condition? Nonetheless, it’s the final match."
"Tch..."
Sylvia averted her gaze.
"Rachel, can you ask the people around the arena if they saw Mika? Harik and I will look for him in the capital."
"Yes!" Rachel replied firmly as she headed to the arena.
Belian quickly took command again.
"I will check the capital’s northwest side. Can you cover the southwest side?"
"Sure!" Harik responded sternly before he went.
Thus, the other four were left behind.
"Let’s head back then. Those three will surely handle this." Yarjak said.
"Wait..." Lily muttered pensively.
She turned to Sylvia.
"Let’s search for Mika, too! I’m too worried to focus on the match." she suggested.
"B-but Lily-"
"Heh, I knew you would say that." Sylvia huffed, cutting off the concerned Yarjak.
"Then, let’s also search for him in the capital!"
She faced the Tiam siblings.
"Sorry, guys, but we have to go now." Lily said with an apologetic smile.
"H-hold on-"
"Good luck!" Sara cheered for them.
Then, Sylvia and Lily split up from there.
Lily headed to the northeast, whereas Sylvia searched in the southeast.
Due to it being still morning and due to the most people gathering at the arena, the streets were emptier than usual.
Syliva ran aimlessly and checked every alley.
She ran and ran, losing her sense of time slowly.
Shifting her gaze from the right to the left and vice versa, she forgot to look at the front, accidentally bumping into someone’s shoulder.
"Ugh!" she groaned as she tumbled to the side.
"S-sorry." Sylvia followed up.
"..."
But the person, whom she bumped into, seemed unfazed and kept on walking.
"..."
Baffled, she watched that person walking while pulling a cart with around 20 people on it.
She shook her head.
"I have to focus...!"
She took a look at a nearby clock.
"I have roughly an hour left until I have to head back..." she murmured.
And before she was about to move on, she noticed something in the alley right beside her.
"?"
For a moment, she swore that she saw a person with a coat, whose ends were fluttering when the person cut the corner.
Without realizing it, she followed that person in the alley.
She increased her pace until she eventually began to run.
After she cut one corner after another as if she was in a labyrinth, she finally saw the person’s back.
"Wait!"
"?"
The person, who was walking at a normal pace, turned around.
But due to the person wearing the coat’s hood over his head, the face was not visible.
Sylvia walked over to that person.
"May I ask what you’re doing here?"
It would be weird to anyone if they saw such a suspicious individual moving in the alleys while the tournament was ongoing.
She reached her hand out to the hood but the person instinctively jumped back.
The person then decided to take on a fighting stance.
"Looks like I won’t get anywhere without fighting..." Sylvia muttered disappointedly.
She, too, prepared to fight.
"I’m a bit in a hurry so I will go all out from the beginning, okay?"
Her gaze was sharp and stern.
At the same time, the walls around her and the ground beneath her began to freeze.
Then, the ice on her feet began to spread up to the next corner. A high ice wall emerged there, blocking off the person’s escape route.
However, the person seemed unfazed and turned its back to her.
"?"
The person touched the wall with a hand.
"What is that person thinking?"
"!"
But her eyes widened quickly afterward.
Darkness spread from the person’s hand and engulfed the icewall slowly.
"Darkness...?!"
There was only one group of individuals that was capable of using darkness.
Demons.
"No way... Here and now of all places...?"
The icewall disappeared.
Sylvia was shocked.
However, in that time, the person was about to escape.
Should she follow after that demon or should she go back and report it?
Without much time left, she followed her instincts. freewebnovёl.ƈom
She had a faint feeling that Mika was involved.
Thus, she went after the demon.
