Dark drew the Magic Guide Card of "Leomon" from his sleeve and channeled magic into it to awaken it.
Then he took out "Popplio" and "Drifloon" in their full-strength states and used Sacrificial Summoning to call Leomon forth from the Magic Guide Card.
The Leomon that appeared before everyone was tall and imposing, yet its left eye was still parasitized by the demon seed, giving it a ferocious visage.
Professor Silf needed only a single glance before drawing a Magic Guide Card from her card pack and waving her hand to summon.
As a soft note rang out, sweet rain and dew suddenly fell from midair, giving off a fresh, clean scent.
Bathed in the rain and dew, Leomon's expression visibly eased.
It covered its left eye, panting faintly.
The sweet rain and dew slowly slid down its cheeks, and as if guided by some will, gathered toward its left eye.
A flash of pain—and then, at a speed visible to the naked eye, the demon seed in Leomon's left eye withered and dried up, finally turning into a pinch of black powder that was washed away.
The bloody red in Leomon's eyes finally receded, and that aura of madness gradually dispersed.
Dark let out a heavy breath and stretched out his hand toward Leomon.
Leomon raised its own hand and pressed its paw-pad into his palm.
Their gazes met.
Leomon's eyes had regained their clarity, as if to say: "I've recovered. Rest easy."
At last, Dark could rest easy.
Immediately after, Leomon's body turned to light and slipped back into the Magic Guide Card.
Dark carefully stroked the card's face and returned it to his card pack.
Watching how deeply he treasured his Magic Guide Spirit, the professors couldn't help but smile.
...
With the match imminent, Dark thanked Professor Silf and quickly took his leave.
But he didn't go far. Instead, he found an empty seat nearby and sat down to watch the final match.
The spectators' enthusiasm seemed inexhaustible. When "Dark Night Baron" Noah Sharp and that sixth-year student stepped onto the competitors' platform, the shouts still echoed across the entire arena.
Both competitors were far from unpopular.
The sixth-year's name was Joseph Bruno, nicknamed the "Azure Sky Knight." He specialized in Flying-type Magic Guide Spirits—nearly all of his Magic Guide Spirits could soar through the air.
In a Magic Duel, Magic Guide Spirits with flight capabilities always held an extra advantage.
When dueling the "Azure Sky Knight" Joseph Bruno, the moment you fell even slightly out of rhythm, your Magic Sphere would be dragged into an endless, ferocious onslaught and swept away in a single wave.
That was, broadly speaking, the "Azure Sky Knight's" style.
By contrast, the "Dark Night Baron" was the all-rounder type, covering every angle.
The brilliance of the duel between the two was beyond question, and before Dark knew it, he was watching without blinking.
The fifth- and sixth-year competitors had essentially mastered everything the academy taught in its regular curriculum. From Field Cards to Secret Ritual Cards, they wielded every type with ease.
Of course, from a god's-eye view, one could always spot a competitor's shortcomings here and there.
But competitors aren't emotionless robots.
They have feelings, they have a sense of self, they're affected by their physical and mental states. Even something glaringly obvious can be completely overlooked in the heat of battle.
Some spectators love to nitpick, or to pick apart a duelist's on-the-spot performance based on hindsight conclusions, spewing profanity all the while.
That is truly unreasonable.
Dark observed the duel between the "Dark Night Baron" and the "Azure Sky Knight" attentively, constantly absorbing the strengths of both sides, and gained a great deal.
In the end, both competitors summoned their strongest Magic Guide Spirits one after another.
The "Dark Night Baron's" "Crimson-Ridge Black Dragon" roared across the arena.
The "Azure Sky Knight's" "Azure Fiend Butterfly," on the other hand, split into countless clones, dense and overwhelming, blotting out the sky.
The final result was beyond everyone's expectations.
That immensely popular "Crimson-Ridge Black Dragon" was actually drained of its very marrow by the "Azure Fiend Butterfly's" clones and dropped dead on the spot.
"Azure Sky Knight" Joseph Bruno claimed the final victory!
...
"A sixth-year is a sixth-year after all. On the very eve of his graduation, competitor Bruno has once again given us the most spectacular duel. Let's give him our warmest applause!"
...
Amid thunderous, ear-splitting applause, Dark adjusted his collar and rose from his seat.
Next, once the "Azure Sky Knight's" victory interview was over, it would be time for the award ceremony.
After such a long wait, he finally had another chance to set foot in the secret passage.
He straightened his spine and strode toward the competitors' corridor.
...
Joseph Bruno, a sixth-year student of the Magic House.
He wore his lush, azure hair long, had a rather slender build, and his features looked somewhat delicate. Combined with his habit of keeping his hair long, he gave off a distinctive air.
Since he could defeat the "Dark Night Baron," Joseph Bruno was naturally no obscure, ordinary student.
He had begun to distinguish himself as early as his third year, served as a prefect in his fourth year, and after resigning in his fifth year, he fell silent for a time—transforming from a spirited duelist into a scholar devoted to deep research.
Word had it that he had recently submitted a staff-retention application, aspiring to become one of St. Marian's Academy's teaching professors.
A professorship at the academy was, in fact, an extremely coveted position.
Every year, many students of the magic academies wished to stay on as staff, but this was like a thousand armies and ten thousand horses crossing a single-log bridge—no, it was even more brutal than that.
At least one person could make it across a single-log bridge.
The academy's retention applications, however, often ended in total annihilation.
...
Joseph Bruno quickly handled Judy's interview, moving the proceedings along to the final award ceremony of the Dueling Festival.
At the staff's invitation, Dark Demon once again stepped onto the stage.
The two final victors of the Easter Dueling Festival now appeared before the audience at the same time, sparking yet another wave of fervor.
Senior Judy gave the arriving Dark a slight smile and said, "I imagine both competitors can hardly wait. Although this session of our Easter Dueling Festival isn't perfect, being the first of its kind, we do still have an award ceremony. Now let us invite two professors of the dueling course to present the awards to the victors of this competition!"
The applause was thunderous.
And so two professors of the dueling course stepped onto the stage amid the applause.
One of them was tall—over two meters in height—yet with excellent proportions, like a bronze-skinned, short-haired beauty scaled up in perfect ratio.
The other had hair and beard all white, yet stood with a ramrod-straight spine and abundant vitality.
They were none other than Professor Pava Jones and Professor Hans Fox.
Dark had come to know this Professor Fox back during his assessment battle at the Dueling Club, so he was no stranger.
Amid the elegant music, the two professors each took a flat box covered with red cloth from the staff's hands and walked toward Dark and Joseph Bruno, one after the other.
Professor Jones quickened her pace, walking up to stand before Dark.
The enormous figure pressed close with an imposing, overwhelming aura, and Dark hurriedly steadied himself.
"Well done."
Professor Jones bent down and gave his head a hearty rub, then lifted the box in her hands and pulled back the red cloth.
There in the box lay, quietly, a medal and a small golden hammer.
Professor Jones lifted out the medal engraved with "Easter Dueling Festival Victor" and pressed it gently onto Dark's chest, letting it affix smoothly.
Only then did she pick up the little golden hammer and hand it over.
Dark took the hammer and said softly, "Thank you."
Professor Jones rubbed his head once more, then turned and strode away.
After Professor Fox gave the medal and golden hammer to Joseph Bruno, he too walked over this way.
Dark had a deep impression of this outwardly strict professor, but he never expected that as Professor Fox passed by, he would deliberately turn to show him a smile and give him a nod.
Though a little dazed, Dark still responded at once.
"Perhaps this is what a professor is."
...
After the two professors left the stage in turn, Senior Judy said a few words of introduction, then very naturally gave a tug at her side—suddenly pulling out a colorful piece of brocade cloth.
Immediately after, a rectangular table appeared in everyone's view.
Atop the table, at this moment, stood two enormous Easter eggs, quiet and still.
"At last we've reached the thrilling moment. Now let us invite the two victors to present the final act for this Easter.
I hear that both of these eggs were specially crafted by our professors. Aside from the designated prizes, they can even yield all sorts of wondrous prizes—like an adorable little piglet!"
Judy winked at the audience and said playfully.
"Eggs whose contents even the professors themselves don't know are sure to bring the two victors a huge surprise. So, let's invite the two victors to come open the prizes!"
...
Judy's explanation was very sudden.
Dark's brow couldn't help but twitch. He had never heard that these final Easter eggs came with such a mechanism. If a pig were smashed out right here on the spot, wouldn't that be terribly ungraceful?
He glanced casually to his side and found that the sixth-year student beside him seemed to have been moved as well?
So who exactly was pulling this stunt?
...
Up in the ring-shaped strip of spectator seats, Professor Kazel was grinning from ear to ear.
...
Dark's gaze shifted, and he noticed Kazel sitting behind Professor Silf. His expression instantly darkened.
What was up with Professor Kazel? Could he have caught something from Professor Lily?
"Student Dark?" Judy called out softly.
Left with no choice, Dark picked up the little golden hammer and strode over.
Judy then said, "You may freely choose either of the two eggs."
Upon hearing this, Dark turned to look at Joseph Bruno and said, "Senior Bruno, why don't you choose first?"
The corner of Joseph Bruno's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He pointed to the nearest egg and said, "I'll take this one, then."
Dark nodded and walked over to stand before the other egg.
The two took their places before the eggs and, at the same time, raised their little golden hammers.
Judy took the opportunity to say, "As everyone knows, dueling competitions do place some demands on a duelist's card luck. Competitors with good card luck always travel more smoothly down the path of dueling.
Now let's see—between the first-year Dark Demon and the sixth-year Joseph Bruno, who exactly is the favored child of the Goddess of Fortune?"
"The Goddess of Fortune?"
Listening to Senior Judy's words, Dark couldn't help but smile.
He'd love to make the acquaintance of the Goddess of Fortune—though he wasn't sure whether she'd deign to grace him with her presence.
Mid-thought, he suddenly heard the sound of an eggshell cracking beside him and turned his head.
It was that sixth-year senior, who had already brought his little golden hammer down hard.
"Crack!"
The little golden hammer struck that enormous Easter egg, instantly triggering a rainbow-colored light array. Ring after ring of colorful light spread outward, drawing even those with little interest in the act to look on.
Joseph Bruno furrowed his brow slightly, then noticed fine cracks appearing at the top of the egg.
The cracks quickly spread, and intense light burst out from within them, dazzling and blinding.
"Crack!"
With a crisp snap, the entire eggshell shattered and clattered to the ground.
And the prize within the egg was finally exposed to everyone's view.
Standing right beside him, Dark naturally saw it most clearly.
What appeared within the shell was a white gate card and another Magic Guide Card with a blank face.
"Just a white one?"
Dark pondered a moment.
Gate cards were divided into five ranks: white, blue, purple, orange, and gold.
A white gate card couldn't bring anyone else into the secret passage, and could enter and exit only once a month.
A blue gate card could bring at most one person into the secret passage, and could enter and exit only twice a month.
The rest followed by the same pattern.
A gold gate card was the highest rank, able to bring four people into the secret passage and enter and exit five times a month.
The limits on the number of people and the number of entries were meant to keep the secret passage from undergoing overly violent changes due to too many people entering, and were also for the students' safety.
It was just that the final reward of this Easter Dueling Festival being merely a white card still caught Dark a little off guard.
He'd always thought Professor Kazel shouldn't be so stingy.
"Was Senior Bruno's luck simply too bad?"
He couldn't help but wonder.
...
Joseph Bruno, of course, had no idea that these gate cards were ranked.
As a fixed reward, he had known in advance that the egg would yield such a gate card—in fact, it was precisely to obtain this gate card that he had come to compete in the Dueling Festival.
Placed side by side, the two cards before him made the difference obvious at a glance.
Bruno first put away the gate card, then reached out to take the other Magic Guide Card.
But the moment he touched it, he suddenly sensed a faint ripple of magic and reflexively snatched his fingers back.
Yet in that instant, the magic within his body had already been drawn out.
That half-finished Magic Guide Card, rigged in advance, automatically fused and automatically triggered, abruptly bursting forth with a searing white light.
And then a plump, round, pink little piglet leapt out from within the card's face.
"A pig really did get smashed out!"
Just as the audience burst into astonished exclamations, a second, a third… more and more pigs came leaping out of the card face, one after another.
Nine pigs sprang out in one breath, each a different color.
Joseph Bruno instinctively wanted to touch a card and summon, but in the end he could only show a trace of a helpless smile, letting the nine little piglets knock him to the ground and lick him frantically.
"It's a holiday, after all—let's let everyone have a bit of fun."
So Bruno thought.
But beside him, Dark Demon was breaking into a faint sweat.
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