Amidst the charred remains of the battlefield, Yomiya Sou stood alone, the ashes swirling in the wind like echoes of yesterday's defeat.
His hands were buried in his pockets, his head bowed slightly. The oblique sunlight fell on his face, but it failed to illuminate even a trace of light in his expression.
-Until a clear voice broke the silence.
"How long are you going to stand here?"
Shiranui carried his wand on his back, his face devoid of emotion, but his tone carried an unusual firmness.
Yomiya Sou didn't turn around. "I'm thinking."
"Thinking about how to lose less miserably?"
"Thinking about how to win."
Shiranui raised her eyebrow slightly. "Then you should be back at the Magic Division, not squatting in the ruins like a stray cat."
Yomiya Sou was silent for a moment before finally speaking:
"My former magic was false."
"I relied too much on illusions, playing cards and performances. I only tricked opponents, but never really confronted them."
"Against a monster like Onimaru Setsura, 'tricks' are meaningless."
"That's why I decided to rebuild my deck."
He lifted his head slowly, his gaze sharp as a blade. "I will create a new system of magic - one that no longer evades."
A gleam flickered in Shiranui's eyes. "You're trying to create 'reality-based illusions'?"
Yomiya Sou nodded. "No more deception, no more lies - I will weaponise illusions themselves. Using 'Visual Logic' and 'Sensory Attacks' to disrupt judgement and the rhythm of the battlefield."
"Using reality to guide falsehood, using falsehood to ignite reality."
"That will be my second trump card."
Shiranui fell silent before holding out his hand.
"I will help you build it."
"And see for myself if you're truly 'awakened'."
Magic Department - Strategy Room Mitou Karuma pushed open the door to find Shiranui and Yomiya Sou meticulously sorting through stacks of magic cards, categorising them while jotting down notes and reorganising combinations.
Mitou raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Back from the dead?"
Yomiya Sou chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"Almost died. Just came back to see if there's anything left to salvage."
Mitou Karuma threw some intelligence reports on the table.
"These are the latest movements of the Archery Division. Hōdō Saya is fighting to hold the fort, but her position is slipping."
"I suggest I take the next match to stabilise the situation."
But Yomiya Sou asked quietly:
"How is Saya?"
Mitou paused, then said slowly: "She said that if the Magic Division doesn't rise again, she'll hold the line until the end."
"You know what she means."
Yomiya Sou closed her eyes and murmured:
"She's always like that, carrying everyone's hopes alone."
Mitou Karuma patted him lightly on the shoulder. "Then go and win. Whether for her or for yourself - give the Magic Division a future to stand on."
Midnight - Abandoned Training Hall Yomiya Sou sat on the training platform and flipped a newly designed magic card in his hand. The black card with golden patterns shimmered in the dim light: [Reality-based Illusion No.0 - Boundary-Breaking Phantom Eyes] He murmured softly:
"Reality is the deepest illusion."
"Illusion is the truest form of pain."
In the mirror, his eyes blazed with violet flames, his magical power flickering in the still night.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Higashigumo Academy, internal conflicts within the archery department reached a boiling point.
Hōdō Saya stood alone at the edge of the archery range, surrounded by the senior council members of the division.
"Your emotions cloud your judgement."
"Your favouritism towards Yomiya Sou has compromised the neutrality of the Archery Division."
"If this continues, we will have no choice but to let the Vice Captain take command."
Saya bit her lip and made no reply. Instead, she slowly raised her bow, drew an arrow and aimed it at the distant horizon.
She whispered to herself:
I believe in him".
"If even I stop believing... then truly nothing will remain."
Meanwhile, in the swordsmanship department, Tendou Kyōichi slowly sheathed his wooden sword and gazed into the night sky beyond the dojo entrance.
"Yomiya Sou."
He spoke in a low voice: "Are you ready?"
"A magician who cannot face his own heart is nothing but a pitiful trickster."
"Come."
"If you are truly awakened - come to me and prove it."
再起之誓
龙牙场残败的一角,夜见苍独自一人站在焦黑的大地上,灰烬随风扬起,如昨日战败的残响.
他双手插在兜里,微微低着头.阳光斜照在他脸上,却照不出那张脸上的半点光明.
——直到,一道清亮的声音打破沉默.
"你打算一个人站在这里多久?"
白蓝背着魔术棒走来,面上没什么情绪,但语气却比平常多了几分强硬.
夜见苍没回头:"我在思考."
"思考怎么输得没那么难看?"
"...思考怎么赢回来."
白蓝微微挑眉:"那你应该回魔术部,而不是像流浪猫一样蹲在废墟上."
夜见苍沉默了一下,终于开口:
"我之前的魔术,是假的."
"太依赖幻术,纸牌,表演.光靠迷惑对手,却从未正面对抗."
"对鬼丸刹罗那种怪物,'骗术'是没有意义的."
"所以我决定重构我的卡组."
他缓缓抬头,目光如刀:"我要构筑一套——不再逃避的魔术体系."
白蓝眼底闪过一丝光:"你想构建'真实系幻术'?"
夜见苍点头:"不靠掩饰,不靠虚假,而是将幻术本身武器化,用'视觉逻辑'与'感官攻击'干扰判断,干扰战场节奏."
"——用真实引导虚假,用虚假引爆真实."
"这是我给自己的第二张王牌."
白蓝默然点头,伸出手.
"我来帮你搭建."
"...也顺便试试看,你是不是真的'醒'了."
魔术部·作战室
御堂狩真推开房门,看见白蓝与夜见苍正将一张张魔术卡分门别类,一边记笔记,一边重组组合.
御堂挑眉:"哟,活过来了?"
夜见苍笑了一下,略带自嘲:
"差点死了,回来看看还能不能抢救."
御堂狩真把几份情报文件扔到桌上.
"这是弓箭部最新动向.凰堂纱夜在努力稳住阵脚,但她的位置不保."
"我建议,下一场战斗由我出面,先稳一局."
夜见苍却轻声问道:
"...纱夜她,还好吗?"
御堂顿了顿,缓缓说道:
"她说,如果魔术部还不重振,就由她来守到最后一刻."
"你知道她是什么意思."
夜见苍闭上眼,喃喃:
"...她总是这样,一直背着大家的希望."
御堂狩真轻拍他肩膀:"那你就去赢.为她也好,为自己也罢.给魔术部,撑起一点未来."
深夜·旧演练室
夜见苍坐在练习台上,手中翻转着一张黑底金纹的全新卡牌:
[真实系幻术No.0——破界幻瞳]
他轻轻念道:"真实,是最深的幻术."
"幻术,是最真实的痛觉."
镜中,他的双眼泛起紫焰,魔力在静夜中微微跳动.
而此时的东云学园另一边,弓箭部内部矛盾开始爆发.
凰堂纱夜正独自站在靶场边缘,被弓箭部的长老议会成员团团围住.
"你的感情影响了判断."
"你的对夜见苍的袒护,已经影响了弓箭部的中立性."
"...如果再这样下去,我们只能让副部长代理指挥."
凰堂纱夜咬着唇,没有辩解,只是缓缓张弓,将一箭指向远方.
她轻声自语:
"我相信他."
"如果连我都不相信,那就真的...什么也不剩了."
与此同时——
剑术部,天道京一缓缓收起手中木剑,看向门外天边夜色.
"夜见苍."
他低语道:
"你准备好了吗?"
"魔术师若不能直面自己的心,那只是个玩弄把戏的可怜人."
"来吧."
"如果你真的醒了...就来我这边——证明给我看."