Chapter 57 Recording with the Magic Mirror

Chapter 57 Recording with the Magic Mirror

I whipped my head around.

Rena walked in, supporting a girl whose face was still pale. The girl raised her hand and said, "Before I passed out, I activated the recording function on my magic mirror."

Mondo gestured for the professor beside him to step forward and take the magic mirror. After everyone confirmed it wasn't damaged, Mondo had Elowen channel magic into it.

Under amplification magic, the mirror's images appeared clearly before everyone.

In the footage, Darius was already completely exhausted, yet he kept channeling magic into the protective barrier. My anguished cries served as the rawest soundtrack for the scene.

The entire hall fell into dead silence. The students who had been constantly accusing Darius all shut their mouths. A collective gasp rose from the crowd.

"A Voidborn really saved us? How is that possible?"

I let out a long breath of relief and looked gratefully toward Rena and the girl beside her. Rena gave me a gentle smile.

Elowen withdrew her hand. Mondo announced on the spot, "The current evidence is sufficient to prove Darius's innocence. Release him immediately."

"That's great, Vanessa, we did it!" Chloe cheered, rushing over to hug me and jumping excitedly.

My eyes grew moist. I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from lifting.

I looked up toward Darius in the distance. He was watching me too. His eyes, which had been dull and lifeless before, were now filled with bright light.

Just then, I remembered something and shouted, "Judge! Since the magic mirror can prove Darius's innocence, it might have also recorded the real culprit!"

The triggering of dark magic must require human activation.

Mondo nodded slightly, turned to Elowen, and said, "Play the images again."

Elowen channeled magic into the mirror once more, and the images reappeared. Everyone held their breath, focusing intently on the scene.

Soon, a black figure appeared in the corner of the image.

"It's that person—"

Before I could finish, the magic mirror exploded. The images vanished instantly.

The alchemy professor, who was closest, immediately stepped forward to try to repair it. A moment later, he shook his head helplessly. "There's no way to fix it. This is just a low-end magic tool, with only one or two uses. Plus, the magical image information recorded this time was too large. If there's even the slightest operational error during playback, it will be completely destroyed."

Operational error… destroyed…

A chill ran through me. My gaze involuntarily fell on Elowen.

She was quietly looking at the shattered pieces on the ground, saying nothing, her face full of guilt.

Did she really do it?

I instinctively clenched my fists. I really didn't want to suspect Elowen. Since I entered Aethergate College of Magic, she had helped me a lot. But all the suspicious points now seemed to point to her.

Although we hadn't found the dark mage who caused this chaos, at least Darius had cleared all suspicion and escaped the crisis.

Darius was mentally and physically exhausted. After returning to his dorm, he collapsed and fell asleep. I didn't disturb him and gently closed the door.

At dinner time, I went to the cafeteria to pack a hearty meal. I even saved the chicken leg that the academy supplied in limited quantities—one per person—to bring to Darius.

"Darius, are you awake?"

I pushed open the dorm door and asked. I found him sitting on the sofa, quietly reading a magic tome. My heart tightened. I quickly walked up to him and said, "Darius, you…"

Although the truth about the dark magic explosion in the music classroom had been revealed and Darius's name cleared, all the students were still shaken by that out-of-control disaster. Darius had inevitably become the focus of everyone's gossip.

I placed the food on the coffee table, reached out to firmly grasp his hand, and closed the tome. "You slept all day. You must be starving. I brought you lots of food. Let's eat first."

Darius lowered his eyes, his long lashes trembling gently. My heart ached for him. I softly comforted him, "Darius, don't be sad. We've already proven to everyone that you weren't the perpetrator—you're the hero who protected everyone. If it weren't for you, none of us would have survived that disaster safely."

Darius gripped my hand in return. He slowly looked up, his gaze falling on me with concern. "I don't care what others think of me. I just feel guilty that I've dragged you down. If I weren't a Voidborn, you wouldn't be caught up in all this trouble."

"Darius," I interrupted, my tone somewhat serious. I really didn't like this self-deprecating talk. From the moment I chose to stand by his side, I never once thought about who was dragging whom down. Our relationship didn't need such distant formalities.

Darius froze, a confused expression on his handsome face. He opened his mouth slightly, softening his voice. "Vanessa, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

A suppressed emotion surged in my chest, constantly pushing against my rationality. I stared into his eyes, my tone serious and firm. "Darius, I'm asking you—what exactly is our relationship in your mind?"

His eyes flickered. He wanted to lower his head and avoid my gaze. I quickly raised my hand to hold his chin, forcing him to look at me. "Answer me."

Darius pressed his lips together. "I like you, but…"

I stared firmly into his eyes, not giving him any room to escape. "But what? I'm right in front of you. There's nothing to worry about."

His lips parted slightly. After several struggles and hesitations, he finally said softly, "Being with me, my identity will bring you endless trouble. If you stay away from me, all these problems could be completely avoided." As he spoke, his eyes gradually reddened. The grievance churning in them was particularly heartbreaking.

I could no longer contain the surging emotions in my heart. I leaned in and kissed his lips, which were about to speak again. They were soft and warm, far more real than his repeated concerns.

Darius's body stiffened instantly, his pupils contracting as he stared straight at me. I raised my hand to cup the back of his head and whispered during a brief pause for air, "Close your eyes."

He obediently closed his eyes, his ears quickly turning crimson. His docile look only deepened my feelings. Overcome with emotion, I reached for his robe.

His eyes flew open, filled with intense emotion. "Vanessa…"

"Don't talk. Listen to me."

The temperature in the room gradually rose, while outside the window, tree shadows swayed gently in the wind.

The next morning, I woke up and saw Darius's sleeping face close to mine. Remembering everything from last night, my cheeks suddenly flushed. I blinked slightly and leaned in to gently kiss the corner of his lips.

Darius was awakened by my movement, his eyes still carrying traces of sleepiness and weariness. He reached out to pull me into his arms, tightening his embrace. As if seeking comfort, he nuzzled against my neck.

I nestled comfortably in his arms, lazily staying in bed for a while. It wasn't until class time approached that we got up together.

My gaze fell on the food we hadn't eaten last night. Those two chicken legs, though cold now, still looked quite tempting. I couldn't help but swallow.

Darius noticed. He waved his hand, and all the leftover food on the coffee table was sent into the trash can by his magic. "Let's go. We'll have breakfast in the cafeteria."

I looked regretfully toward the trash can. He raised his hand and pinched my cheek. "Eating leftover food can harm your body. If you get sick, it'll affect your studies. Not worth it."

I had no choice but to give up and follow him to the cafeteria.

After last night's intimacy, Darius and I were especially close, inseparable. We sat side by side. I picked up a sandwich and held it to his mouth. "Open up."

His ears visibly turned red. At my urging, he obediently opened his mouth and took a small bite. Looking at the sandwich with only a tiny bite taken, I frowned slightly and pushed it forward again. "Take a bigger bite. You didn't even get to the filling."

He replied softly, "Okay."

We finished breakfast intimately, holding hands and chatting as we walked toward the academic building.

But as soon as we entered the classroom, the smile on my face froze instantly. Our usual seats had been doused with holy water, and someone had deliberately drawn a light magic circle on them. The light magic aura, meant to symbolize purity and justice, now carried a bone-deep malice.

Many classmates turned to look at us, their eyes full of mockery and scrutiny. Anger surged through me. I demanded loudly, "Who poured holy water on our seats and drew a magic circle?"

No one answered. I looked around. Everyone who met my gaze quickly looked down and away.

I laughed coldly. "You dare to do it but won't admit it? This is blatant bullying. I'm filing a complaint with the academy right now."

Aethergate College of Magic had zero tolerance for bullying. Once verified, it would be severely punished. In serious cases, students would be expelled.

The classroom remained silent. I immediately took out my magic tome, preparing to write a complaint.

A slightly cool hand suddenly grasped my wrist. Darius shook his head gently at me.

"Darius?" I looked at him in confusion. "Don't worry, I'll pursue this to the end."

"No need. Let me handle this." He smiled gently, raised his hand to tidy my messy hair, his voice soft but incredibly firm. "I can't keep letting you stand in front and shield me from all the criticism and harm. Before, when it was just me alone, I could ignore and yield to all this harassment. But now it's different. I'm no longer alone. I have you. If I keep being weak and yielding, you'll just get bullied along with me."

A warm wave of emotion surged through me. I never thought that Darius, who had always been so patient, would choose to change himself for my sake.

"Vanessa, Darius, why don't we just let this go?" A classmate stood up to play peacemaker. "It's just a harmless prank. You're not hurt. There's no need to make a big deal and damage the friendship between classmates." He pointed toward the front of the classroom. "There are still empty seats up front. You can just move there."

"Why should we?" I looked at him coldly. "Since you're so generous and kind, how about I take it out on you? I promise I won't hurt you. We're all classmates—why don't you do me this favor and let me vent?"

The classmate was instantly speechless, his face full of displeasure. "Vanessa, what kind of logic is that? That's not what I meant at all!"

"If you can't accept being harassed yourself, what gives you the right to be generous on our behalf?" I snorted and gave Darius a look.

He understood immediately. Magic patterns lit up on the back of his hand.

"Stop!" The professor strode into the classroom, his gaze sharply sweeping over us. "It's class time. Why aren't you in your seats? What are you trying to do?"

"Professor, our seats were doused with holy water and had a light magic circle drawn on them. We can't sit down for class," I explained clearly.

Darius added, "We asked who did it, but no one admitted it. We were just about to file a complaint to have the academy investigate thoroughly."

Only then did the professor notice the strong light magic aura on the seats. His brow furrowed tightly. "Who did this? Step forward voluntarily and you'll receive a lighter punishment. Once you're found out, you'll be expelled immediately!"

After he finished speaking, several students reluctantly stood up. They all looked unwilling. "We did it."

One of them said with resistance in his voice, "We didn't do anything wrong! His identity is special and too dangerous. What if his power goes out of control and kills us all?"

The professor's expression was stern. "Darius is an officially enrolled student of this academy and should be treated equally. For deliberately bullying a classmate, you are all assigned to clean all the bathrooms in this entire academic building for one month, starting immediately after class."

The students clenched their fists unwillingly but didn't dare contradict the professor to his face. They could only sullenly agree.

As they were about to sit down, I stopped them. "The punishment isn't enough. You must apologize to Darius publicly and clean the seats immediately."

The students looked at the professor. Seeing that he didn't object, they slowly bowed and apologized. "We're sorry. We were wrong. It won't happen again."

Only after they had completely cleaned the seats did I pull Darius back to our original spot. Even though we were the victims, after sitting down, I still sensed the strange looks from surrounding classmates. Everyone's eyes seemed to suggest that we were making a mountain out of a molehill, causing trouble for no reason, and wasting everyone's class time.

I pressed my lips together and gripped Darius's hand tightly. These people were just too narrow-minded and tedious.

After morning classes ended, Darius and I went to the cafeteria for lunch. As soon as we sat down, the atmosphere around us instantly became quiet. Many students picked up their trays and left. A large area around our seats suddenly emptied out.

A complex emotion flashed through Darius's eyes. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

I could see his low spirits. I made my voice light and casual, scooping a generous helping of food onto his plate. "Don't mind them. With fewer people it's quieter, and the food tastes even better."

His cheeks turned slightly red. He also raised his hand to serve me food. "You eat more too."

"Tsk tsk, I could see you two being all lovey-dovey from far away." After Chloe and Rena finished eating and passed by, Chloe teased us with a smile.

"Exactly. We're all stuffed, and you two had to rub it in right in front of us," Rena added.

I smiled and gripped Darius's hand tightly. "Can't help it. Darius is just that wonderful."

Darius's ears turned nearly translucent red. He didn't pull his hand away, just responded softly.

Chloe and Rena's smiles grew even brighter. "It's really great to see you two so sweet together. We wish you both happiness forever."

"Thank you."

I didn't have classes in the afternoon, so I went to the academy library alone. My current abilities were still too weak. When facing sudden crises, I often found myself powerless. I hated feeling so passive and helpless.

My previous match with Zach had sparked a strong interest in potion fusion techniques. The library should have relevant professional texts. I planned to study them in depth, improve my abilities, and strive to use them skillfully next time.

Lost in thought, I hurried into the library. Guided by the library spirit, I went straight to the alchemy book section.

"Alchemy and potion fusion…" I searched for books. Finally, I found a tome that fit my needs, but a hand snatched it away first.

"It's you?" I looked at the person in front of me, completely surprised.