Chapter 56 Temporary Inspection of the Dormitory

Chapter 56 Temporary Inspection of the Dormitory

Empty. Not a soul in sight.

I could have sworn someone was watching me just moments ago. Was it my imagination?

An ominous feeling slowly spread through me.

I took a deep breath, calmed myself, and quickly left Aethergate College of Magic.

Outside Dorm 719.

Urgent knocking sounded, and Gabriel's voice came from outside the door. "Open up. A large number of magic insects bred in the lab have escaped. The college needs to conduct emergency room-by-room inspections and distribute insect repellent potions."

No response came from inside.

Gabriel frowned and repeated his announcement.

Still silence.

He turned to look at Elowen behind him, his tone seeking approval. "Ms. Moore, no one is answering. According to college regulations, we can break down the door to conduct the inspection."

Elowen stared expressionlessly at the closed dorm door.

Gabriel waited a moment, then continued, "Ms. Moore, the escape of magic insects is a high-risk incident. Once they get close and parasitize someone, the victim's life will be in danger."

Something flickered in Elowen's eyes. After taking a breath, she nodded slightly. "Break it down—"

"Wait," I interrupted from behind them.

Elowen turned around and looked me over from head to toe. "Vanessa, it's so late and you're not in your dorm. Where have you been?"

My fingers, hidden behind my back, clenched involuntarily. I lowered my eyes, my tone calm. "I couldn't sleep, so I went outside to look at the night sky. I just got back." I looked up, putting on a naturally confused expression. "Ms. Moore, everyone visiting so late at night—has something urgent happened?"

Gabriel took over and explained the situation. "Lab magic insects accidentally escaped. We've been ordered to check each room and distribute protective potions."

I nodded to show I understood and waved my wand to unlock the door. "I see."

Student council members followed Gabriel, carefully searching every corner of the dorm.

Elowen stood at the doorway, silent the whole time, but I could constantly feel her gaze on me.

When the search ended, Gabriel shook his head slightly at Elowen. "No trace of magic insects found."

Elowen nodded and handed me a small bottle of pale green potion. "This is emergency insect repellent. Keep it safe in case of emergencies."

"Thank you all for your concern, professors and classmates."

The group left the dorm one by one. Elowen deliberately stayed at the back of the line.

Before leaving, she looked at me. "Get some rest early."

As her words fell, she stepped away.

The moment the door closed, my tense body finally relaxed. The clothes on my back were already soaked with cold sweat.

I grabbed the glass on the table and gulped down the cold water.

That was close.

A few hours ago, after I left Aethergate College of Magic, my uneasy feeling kept growing stronger.

Just before the commuter magic vehicle reached the stop, I changed my plan at the last moment and turned to run back to the dorm at full speed.

On the way back, I could see professors leading patrols in many places. Everyone looked tense, hurrying through various parts of campus.

I quickened my pace, using basic wind magic to boost my speed.

When I reached the bottom of the dorm building, I straightened my messy clothes before going upstairs to my door.

The ice-cold water slowly calmed me down.

I sat down on the sofa and began sorting through this whole strange affair.

All the coincidences tonight were too deliberate.

I had originally planned to leave campus overnight to visit Tristan and gather information, but at that exact time, lab magic insects escaped and the college immediately initiated a full room check.

Someone accurately predicted my travel plans and deliberately created an emergency to trap me, yet I couldn't find a single concrete clue.

Currently, the only people who knew I was going to see Tristan were Chloe and Elowen.

The two names appeared in my mind one after another.

I shook my head hard, unwilling to harbor baseless suspicions about them.

But there were no other candidates in my range of investigation.

I let out a long sigh, walked into the bedroom, and buried my face in the pillow.

Darius, what can I do to clear your name?

The next day.

I got up early and went straight to the campus infirmary.

In the music room incident, Rena and the other orchestra members were all recuperating here.

When I arrived, quite a few of the injured had already woken up.

When they saw me, their expressions were full of gratitude.

"Thanks to you all arriving in time that day, otherwise we would have had a hard time surviving."

Bitterness welled up inside me. I could barely force a smile.

One of them noticed my low spirits and asked softly, "Is there trouble?"

I nodded slightly but didn't go into detail about Darius's current situation. Instead, I asked, "Before the attack, did you notice any unusual details?"

The first boy to speak thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. "During rehearsal we kept making mistakes. The whole team stopped to rest, and I saw someone completely wrapped in a black robe pass by in the hallway."

I immediately pressed, "Are you sure?"

He answered with certainty, "I won't remember wrong."

The others beside him started recalling too and chimed in one after another.

"I saw it too. That person was wrapped up tight, and I thought their behavior was strange at the time."

"That's right, a black-robed figure did pass through the hallway."

A thread of hope rose in my heart.

At the same time as the incident, Darius was with me and Zach during our competition. Many teachers and students could testify to that.

He couldn't have been in two places at once, so this testimony was the most crucial alibi.

The only problem was that all these people had been invaded by dark magic, so the tribunal probably wouldn't accept their testimony.

But I couldn't give up. Trying was better than sitting around waiting.

The trial venue was set in the college's grand auditorium.

The contrast in just a few days was heartbreaking. Not long ago we were receiving commendations in this auditorium, and now it was holding Darius's trial.

The auditorium was packed. The people present were filled with a mix of anticipation and tension.

"This accident caused deaths. That Voidborn will definitely be expelled from the college, right?"

"Of course. Keeping him at the college means we'd have to live in fear all the time."

The discussions around me cut deep.

Two professors escorted Darius into the venue.

The moment I saw him, my nose stung and my eyes grew hot.

His normally pale complexion was now deathly white. His silver-gray hair hung in disarray, his head lowered, his whole demeanor listless.

The noisy auditorium instantly quieted. All eyes focused on Darius.

Vice Principal Mondo served as the presiding judge for this trial and took his seat at the main platform.

His gaze fell coldly on Darius. "Today, we convene to try the case of Darius allegedly using dark magic to deliberately harm students at this college."

I clenched my fists and stood up. "Your Honor, I object."

All eyes in the venue instantly turned to me.

Darius jerked his head up, complex emotions in his eyes, quietly watching me.

I took a deep breath and stated loudly, "On the day of the incident, someone saw a black-robed figure in the music room hallway, but during that same time period, Darius was in the lab, accompanying Zach and me through our entire competition."

Mondo inquired, "What you're saying—can anyone provide corroboration?"

Several injured orchestra members who came with me stood up together. "We can testify."

Mondo continued questioning, "The black-robed person's build—was it similar to Darius's?"

This question caught me off guard. The orchestra members looked hesitant.

One person stated, "The build looked fairly close."

Another shook their head in denial. "No, the black-robed person was quite a bit taller."

"I thought they were about the same height..."

Their accounts couldn't be unified. My heart sank little by little.

Mondo raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. The scene immediately fell silent.

He cleared his throat. "All witnesses have been affected by dark magic, and their testimony descriptions are inconsistent. I judge that their memories have been tampered with by dark magic. This testimony has no legal validity."

I gritted my teeth, filled with reluctance. Was there any other way?

"Your Honor, this ruling is unreasonable."

Chloe suddenly stood up, anxiously arguing, "Before and after the incident, Darius was with us the whole time. We went to the music room together and that's when we discovered everyone trapped in the dark magic array."

Luke immediately stood up in support. "When we arrived, all the magic instruments in the room had already been corrupted by dark magic."

Mondo didn't waver. He raised his hand in dismissal. "Your testimony is equally invalid, for the same reason."

"But..." Chloe wanted to continue arguing, but Mondo had already looked away and ignored her.

Luke gently pulled Chloe's arm, urging her to sit down.

Chloe looked at me with guilt. "I'm sorry, Vanessa. We tried our best."

I pressed my lips together tightly, my gaze locked firmly on Mondo.

There had to be another way.

Darius's gray eyes watched me quietly, gently shaking his head to signal me to give up.

I couldn't possibly give up halfway. I had promised to stay by his side and help him prove to everyone that Voidborn don't hurt people without reason.

"In the absence of valid new evidence, this court officially rules—"

"Wait."

A weak voice came from the auditorium entrance.