Chapter 55 Denounce Dark Magic

Chapter 55 Denounce Dark Magic

I immediately jumped out of bed, ignoring Elowen's attempts to stop me, and rushed straight toward the door. "Ms. Moore, I'm going to collect evidence right now! I'll prove to everyone that Darius is innocent!"

I absolutely couldn't let Darius be locked up in the Silent Tower again. If he got locked up this time, no one knew how long he'd be imprisoned. I had promised him I'd take him home to drink the ginger soup my mom made!

The person responsible for this attack could cast dark magic in the music classroom, proving they could move freely throughout the entire academy. The incident in the music classroom was definitely not the end—there were probably clues left in other teaching areas.

I quickly gathered my thoughts and ran toward the academic building.

Along the way, I sensed something weird in the atmosphere around me. Students I passed kept staring at me with strange looks, and snatches of gossip reached my ears.

"That's her, right? The girl who's always hanging around the Voidborn?"

"Yeah, that's her. She's so lucky—not a scratch on her from this accident."

"I always thought the Voidborn was unreliable, and now he's finally lost control, hasn't he? I heard lots of students got hurt and are still recovering in the medical barrier room."

"When is Aethergate College of Magic finally going to kick out the Voidborn? Having him at the academy makes me feel unsafe every single day!"

The comments got harsher.

"Can you all just shut up? All you do is gossip and trash-talk people behind their backs!" Chloe's angry voice rang out.

Her face was pale with anger as she stood in front of those students. "You're all cowards! The Voidborn is way more powerful than any of you, and did any of you actually see him hurt anyone?! You're all so sure of yourselves, but the Voidborn would never randomly hurt innocent people!"

The students who'd been called out looked embarrassed and shot back coldly, "Everyone's talking about this—it's definitely the Voidborn's fault. Plus, a huge part of the academic building got destroyed. The magical architecture repair specialists are still on site fixing it. We all saw it clear as day."

The surrounding students chimed in, their words getting nastier. None of them had actually witnessed what happened, yet they spoke with absolute certainty that Darius had attacked people in public.

Chloe was shaking with anger. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to confront them.

Worried she'd get hurt, I quickly stepped forward and grabbed Chloe's arm.

"Vanessa?"

Chloe turned around and saw me. The fury in her eyes faded a bit, then she frowned. "Let go of me first. They're way out of line—I'm making them take back what they said today!"

I gripped her hand tightly. "Don't be impulsive."

Chloe looked confused. "They're deliberately slandering Darius. Can you really just take this?"

Of course I couldn't stand it. But Darius's trial was about to begin. If we caused trouble now, it would only make things worse.

I shook my head gently to calm Chloe down, then swept my cold gaze across the onlookers. "Instead of wasting time criticizing others, you'd be better off focusing on improving your own magical abilities."

The students present looked at each other. No one said anything. I could see the wariness in their eyes. This was everyone's innate fear of the Voidborn. Even though I was just someone who was friends with Darius, it was enough to make them afraid.

Their expressions shifted several times, but in the end they said nothing and left one by one.

Chloe shook her fist at their retreating backs. "Hmph, lucky they ran off fast! If I hear these rumors again next time, I definitely won't let them off easy!"

I shook my head, then noticed something off. "What's actually going on right now? Everyone I've passed has been acting really strange."

Chloe's anger flared up again at this. She said with a dark expression, "Someone's been spreading rumors on the Grimoire campus forum, saying that the Voidborn lost control again, and that if the professors hadn't stepped in to stop him in time, there would have been massive casualties."

I frowned. "Complete nonsense. If Darius hadn't protected everyone with all his strength, we all would have been in serious danger."

Chloe nodded hard. "That's what I think too! What's even worse is that after smearing Darius, they're also spreading rumors about you..."

She stopped mid-sentence and looked at me hesitantly.

I opened the Grimoire campus forum directly. The pinned posts were all condemning Darius, with users demanding that Aethergate College of Magic expel him immediately. And because I was close to Darius, I'd become a target for everyone's attacks too. People were spreading rumors that I'd been corrupted by dark magic, that I was a follower of dark magic, a traitor to the academy, and didn't deserve to keep studying at Aethergate College of Magic.

The comments on the forum were getting more and more extreme.

Chloe stood beside me, her face full of concern. "Vanessa, are you okay? Don't believe these rumors—we all know what kind of person you are."

I closed the forum page and shook my head gently. "I'm fine."

The malice Darius had endured was a hundred, a thousand times worse than mine.

I looked up at Chloe. "Rena's regular rehearsal times are fixed, right?"

Chloe nodded. "Her rehearsal schedule has always been very consistent. Only this time when the accident happened was a last-minute change."

I latched onto the key clue. "This rehearsal wasn't part of Rena's original schedule?"

"Right, a senior student got injured at the last minute, so she filled in to help with the rehearsal."

As soon as Chloe finished speaking, she caught on and asked tentatively, "You think someone deliberately arranged this?"

I nodded, my expression serious. "Currently, Darius is the only dark mage officially registered at the academy. The fact that Rena and her group got trapped in danger was most likely someone's carefully laid plan—a trap specifically set for Darius."

Chloe gasped. "So that's what happened!"

"We're running out of time. Let's split up. You go ask that senior about the situation, and I'll go search for clues in the academic building."

Chloe nodded seriously. "Okay, but please be careful."

"Don't worry."

After parting with Chloe, I immediately headed to the music classroom. The floor where the incident happened had been completely sealed off with magical barriers. I walked around the perimeter, trying to find a way in.

"What are you doing here?"

A stern voice sounded behind me. I turned and met Royce's cold, sharp gaze.

"I came here to look for clues left by other dark mages," I said honestly.

Royce snorted, looking me up and down with eyes full of doubt. "Other dark mages?"

"That's right. Darius would never deliberately hurt his classmates. There must be a hidden dark mage who set him up."

Royce laughed coldly and shot back, "Vanessa, you're making up stories for personal reasons. All the teaching professors carefully examined the scene. Apart from traces of Darius's magic, they found no second source of dark magic energy at the scene."

Royce blocked my path. "This area has been completely sealed off. Unauthorized personnel are forbidden to approach."

He stared at me intently, not giving me any chance to move forward.

My heart sank. With Royce stationed here, I had no way to investigate the scene. And there was no second source of dark magic energy at the scene... This didn't make sense at all.

I shot one last look at the sealed-off music classroom behind him and turned to leave.

I contacted Chloe through Grimoire, and we met up at the academy cafeteria.

Chloe walked up to me with a worried expression. "I didn't get any useful information from that senior. She really was injured in the accident and is still recovering in the medical barrier room. She was completely shocked by this dark magic incident and showed no unusual behavior at all."

I sighed softly. "I didn't get anywhere either. The music classroom is completely sealed off. Royce stopped me, so I couldn't get in to investigate."

Chloe's expression grew more anxious. "So what do we do now? We can't just stand by and watch Darius face an unfair trial."

I bit my lip, my mind racing, trying to find a way out of this mess.

A possible approach suddenly appeared in my mind. I immediately stood up. "Chloe, I need to go out."

Chloe nervously grabbed my wrist. "Where are you going? The dorm curfew is about to start."

"I'm going to Mage's Row Tavern to find Tristan. Tristan is also skilled in dark magic. He was dismissed from the academy years ago because of a dark magic incident. He might know hidden secrets and clues about the academy."

"But today isn't the weekend. The academy has clear rules—students aren't allowed to leave campus during the school week without permission. If you're caught, in serious cases you could be expelled!"

Chloe gripped my hand tightly and wouldn't let go.

The cafeteria was crowded, and you could hear students discussing Darius everywhere. Everyone had labeled Darius as a dangerous Voidborn and decided that this accident was his doing. But the truth was the opposite—he was the hero who saved everyone.

I pried Chloe's fingers open one by one, my attitude stubborn. "Darius faces his trial tomorrow. This is our last chance."

I looked straight into Chloe's worried eyes and said, each word deliberate, "I won't give up on saving him. I promised I would do everything in my power to protect him."

Chloe looked deeply at me and slowly let go of my hand. "I understand. Please be careful and come back soon."

"I will."

I turned and quickly left the cafeteria.

Along the way, I avoided crowds and moved fast. The moment I reached the school gate, a sudden sense of warning crept up my spine. I immediately turned to look behind me.