C79
Nade picked up a pen and wrote something on his palm. The friends who were watching did the same.
- I lost my memory. Whoever knows the keyword is a trustworthy person. The keyword is Polaris.
Shirone and the others spread their palms in satisfaction. With this mark, they would cooperate even if they lost their memories.
"Alright, are we good? Let's go now."
Regaining confidence, Sirone left Eastas.
Students who had finished their classes were coming and going in the schoolyard. When they regained their composure and looked around, they noticed more than one or two strange things.
Students who would normally walk around in groups of three, three, five, were moving individually. Most strangely, they were walking busily, but their paths were all over the place.
"Guys, those people..."
"I know. I felt it too. They don't have a destination. They're just walking around aimlessly, right?”
Nade found an acquaintance in the crowd. It was Gabe, a classmate from Class Five.
"Hey, Gabe. Where are you going?"
Gabe approached, and then asked in a dry tone, as if dealing with a stranger for the first time.
“Who are you?”
Nade pouted his lips. However, since he already heard what Shirone had experienced, he didn't care and asked his question.
"Never mind, where are you going now?"
“Where am I going?”
Nade spoke as if he was frustrated, tapping his chest.
"You were walking continuously. Where is your destination?"
"Me?"
Gabe looked down at his legs. Then, like someone who suddenly realized something, he began to look around.
"Where is... this place?"
"Hey, get a hold of yourself. Why are you acting like this? What happened in the last few days? Did you see anyone suspicious?"
"Do you... know me?"
"Of course I know you. How could I not?"
Gabe's face went pale. Suddenly, he grabbed Nade's shoulder and shook him.
"Then tell me! Who am I? No, where is this place? My... what's my name?"
As the frightened Gabe clutched his head, Nade slowly stepped back and prepared for an unexpected situation. Fortunately, Gabe didn't turn aggressive. He was just going crazy.
"What is this noise? I hear strange sounds! Why do these sounds keep coming!"
Gabe's tongue began to twist as he shouted as he looked around. Eventually, he made incomprehensible strange noises.
Shirone's eyes widened in shock. He realized what state Gabe was in. On the other hand, Iruki listened to the sounds around him as if he hadn't noticed yet.
"What noise is he hearing? Is it hallucinations?"
Shirone spoke in a trembling voice.
"No, he's listening to his own voice."
"What? His own voice?"
"He can't remember language. He's habitually speaking but doesn't understand the meaning. So he have no choice but to be afraid.”
Gabe had completely forgotten the language system. Eventually, he seemed to have forgotten even the syllables and yelled like a primitive person.
Shirone and his companions were alarmed. Considering the speed at which their minds were deteriorating, their memories were disappearing quite quickly.
As time passed, Gabe's voice faded, the vitality in his eyes disappeared, and eventually, he lost the ability to move. At the same time... everyone in the vicinity stopped moving.
A terrifying silence came to the magic school. It was as if everyone had become wax figures; there was no sign of movement from anyone.
"What on earth... What's happening?"
"Anyway, we're safe for now. We can't be optimistic, but there's still room for further investigation."
Shirone examined each person one by one. It felt as if the world had stopped, like Armin's stop magic. But time was definitely passing. Moreover, people occasionally blinked their eyes, so they weren't completely frozen.
"Their thoughts... have stopped."
If it was a type of magic, it had a more dangerous effect than Stop magic. It could pose a threat to the opponent. If one put their mind on it, even a child could harm everyone in the area.
The three of them went into the crowd and conducted a few experiments. When they tickled a junior, he burst into laughter. But as soon as the tickling stopped, his expression immediately hardened. When they threaten and about to stab their eyes, he blinked. It meant that his nerves were still alive.
"Wow, only their thoughts have stopped. This is unusual, isn't it?"
"That means they have physical limits. They won't be able to stand for long. What on earth is the purpose of doing this?"
"Before that, we need to find out who did this. Let's look around a bit more."
Shirone and the others headed north. It was to make sure that seniors and teachers with high magic levels were in the same situation.
Upon arriving at the uphill road, they saw the graduating students pouring out from under the steel gate arch.
Shirone and the others hid themselves in the bushes.
The fact that only the Graduating Class was moving while everyone else couldn't was a good enough reason to be cautious.
Among the crowd of the Graduating Class, they saw unfamiliar faces.
They looked like peers similar in age to Shirone, a boy and a girl, and a man who was out of place in a magic school, wearing dual swords.
Lucas whistled and shook his head.
"Hwiyu, I've seen many gruesome scenes in my life, but this is the first time I've seen such a dreary scene. They've all turned into zombies, haven't they?"
Abyss Nova is a magic spell that blocks the memory of those exposed to it within 24 hours. Without memory, it was impossible to think, so calling it an inanimate magic spell was not an exaggeration. The order in which memories were blocked started with the most recent and most memorable.
Arin was in charge of guiding those whose memories had been blocked. Specializing in mental magic, she brought the graduating students to the schoolyard where Shirone's group had encountered Gabe.
'Shadow of Capture.'
She cast another spell there. Her shadow flowed like tentacles, intertwining with the shadows of the people.
A unique form that does not exist in four-direction. But for mental mages, it was a standard tentacle form.
The tentacle form was more versatile than the four-direction form, as it could be used like a thin thread to control the spirit zone.
However, it took much longer, and it took at least 20 minutes to pass through all the shadows of the graduating students.
While Arin worked, Lucas spent his time checking out the female students. They all had fair skin and a pleasant scent, as befitting nobles. Scanning their figures with the eyes of a snake, Lucas found a woman to his taste and stopped in his tracks.
"Oh, look at this one."
Even in her amnesiac state, the girl had clear eyes. Her vintage-style bangs, tinted with a hint of red, partially covered one eye, but she was the most beautiful among the students..
"She must have quite the personality. I like fierce women."
The moment Lucas's hand reached out to Amy, Canis grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around.
"Lucas, stop it. Restrain yourself from such undignified behavior."
"What? 'Stop it, Lucas'? Are you lecturing me now?"
"I won't let you get away with pointless acts." ‘
"Pfft!"
Lucas let out a deflated laugh. Had the prestige of the Parrot Thieves fallen this far?
"Hey, what's so serious? From what I've heard, it's a revenge play anyway. What's wrong with having a little fun?"
“This is revenge to regain Master's pride. I won't forgive any vile behavior."
"What will you do if you don't forgive me? Are you going to fight me here?"
"I'll terminate the employment contract."
"Haha! Kid, you seem to be mistaken. I was hired by Arcane, not you."
"It's all the same. Arin is casting Shadow Capture. If you interfere with the operation, I can fire you at any time. Of course, if you harbor any discontent..."
A whirlpool of abyss appeared in Canis's eyes.
“I will kill you on the spot.”
Lucas sighed and stepped back. Having defeated countless mages before becoming the vice-captain of the parrot thieves, he knew how dangerous it was to show hostility in the Spirit Zone.
"Fine, let's drop it. If I don't get paid, I'm the one at a loss."
"I'll make it clear. If you interfere with our work again, I won't hold back either."
"You're awfully picky for a co-workers. I haven't even seen this so-called Master's face. Where did he go?"
"Our master is preparing something important. He means for us to handle such simple tasks ourselves."
Arcane was currently in hiding, recovering his mental strength after using Abyss Nova. However, there was no benefit in revealing this, so Canis concealed the truth.
"Sure, sure, whatever you say."
Lucas's eyes shone intensely for a short moment after answering evasively and turning around.
'Hng, I'm sure he's hiding somewhere.'
Lucas was well-versed about the mage's equivalent exchange. A spell that could block the memories of hundreds of people would be beyond the reach of an ordinary mage. Even if they were an archmage, it was certain they wouldn't be able to exert their full power for some time.
'Enjoy your bluffing while you can, kid. There's no way I'm going to miss out on such an interesting opportunity.'
Once Arin's work was finished, the Graduating Class and Advanced Class students began to move all at once. Only after they got out of sight did Shirone and the others get out of the bush. From what they had observed, it seemed that the whole school was being taken somewhere.
"Who on earth are those people?"
"We don't have time to think. Nothing may happen for a while, but we don't know what they'll do when they arrive at their destination. Besides, the teachers were captured too."
Shirone said.
"The spell that the girl cast seemed to be dark magic. Could this situation be their doing too?"
"It's less likely, I think. To cast a spell of this scale, the size of the caster's Spirit Xone would have to be enormous. Two of the three people are too young, and the third one, wielding a weapon, is more likely not a mage."
"So there's a third person involved?"
"It seems so. For now, let's focus on tracking them. If someone is in danger, we can step in then. It won't be too late."
"Taking over a magic school, they must be insane. And using dark magic too..."
With an inexplicable sense of foreboding, Shirone and his companions followed the uninvited guests.
------------------------
Ethela was staying in the training hall, wearing the same outfit as the day before. Her eyebrows twitched, not moving an inch as she sat cross-legged. Her forehead wrinkled, and her nostrils flared. As she clenched her teeth, veins appeared on her neck, and her body began to shake violently.
Deudeudeudeudeu.
The building shook along with Ethela's body. As the walls and ceiling vibrated, dust poured down. Finally, she opened her eyes with a flash and gasped for breath, collapsing forward.
"Haah! Haah!"
Ethela's body was soaked with cold sweat after her overnight battle with the nightmare that had come at dawn.
'What on earth was that?'
She couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but it was something that infiltrated the human mind and blocked memories. Although dark magic belonged to the orthodox school, the malice contained in the magic was intense enough to push Ethela's guard to the extreme. If not for the laws of the Karsys Monastery, she too would have been rendered immobile and lost her memories.
'Dark magic. But it should be strictly forbidden within the school.'
Ethela checked the time. Although it was as bright as midday due to summer, there was still time left after school classes had ended.
'Does that mean I've been trapped in the nightmare for over 12 hours?'
Considering Ethela's exceptional mental strength, it must have been a very powerful spell. What was even more baffling was that no one had come looking for her, despite her having missed the entire day of classes.
It wasn't just her.
Realizing this, Ethela rushed out of the training hall without even changing her clothes.
------------------------
A flash of light streaked across the sky above the magic school. Then, as if drawn by a magnet, it curved towards the ground and plunged down. Without even a sound of impact, a man landed.
---
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
