Chapter 1665: Bruce Wayne and Magic Stone (9)

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After a busy morning, the three of them finally returned to the common activity room to rest, but the atmosphere in the room was unexpectedly heavy. As soon as they walked in, they were met with the attention of almost the entire college.

"What's going on?" Barry asked cautiously.

"Oh, you're back," Kaine replied, turning his head to look at them briefly before ignoring them and continuing to discuss something with other high-grade students.

Little Bruce nudged Barry, indicating for him to join the conversation, but Barry hesitated. Little Bruce rolled his eyes in frustration.

After a while, Kaine knocked on the table and gathered everyone's attention. "I need to emphasize again that the fourth-floor corridor of the main castle is strictly off-limits. If you break other school rules, you might only receive labor as a punishment, but if you break this rule, you're on your own!"

When everyone dispersed, Barry approached Kaine, who was leaning against the door of his dormitory. Kaine shook his head and said, "I heard that someone from Zatara Academy entered that corridor and got hurt, and they're already in the hospital."

"You know we can't manage the college, and maybe someone forgot the professors' repeated warnings and accidentally triggered some anti-magic mechanism. All the grade leaders received punishment, and I don't want to be punished, so Barry, please take care of our students and don't get yourself hurt!"

Kaine looked at Little Bruce, who was standing nearby, and Barry also turned to glance at him before sighing deeply.

That night at 10 PM, Barry intercepted Little Bruce on the stairs of the floating spire. "I knew you'd sneak out. Are you planning to go to the fourth-floor corridor again? Someone got hurt, don't you know that?"

Little Bruce smiled mockingly and said, "That's exactly why I'm going. Either come with me, or go back to bed."

"It's impossible; I won't let you go!" Barry stood firm, blocking Little Bruce's path. Although Little Bruce was slightly taller and stronger due to better nutrition, Barry refused to back down.

Just then, another voice spoke up from behind them. "Barry, I think we should go and see what's going on. At least we should know what hurt that student."

Barry looked at the white-haired girl emerging from the darkness and sighed. "Harley, are you going to follow him and act foolish too?"

"Always," Little Bruce said, pushing past Barry and quickening his pace. "You two can wait here until dawn if you want, but I'm going now."

Barry had no choice but to follow Little Bruce, despite knowing it was a bad idea. As a grade leader and out of a sense of responsibility, he couldn't let Little Bruce go alone, even if Little Bruce was being extremely annoying.

As they walked through the corridors, Little Bruce looked up at the fourth-floor windows of the main castle. The Gothic windows were high and narrow, but symmetrical. The moonlight cast through the windows illuminated the corridor, and they could see a massive shadow flickering in one of the windows.

"What's that?" Barry asked, his eyes wide with fear.

Little Bruce wasn't surprised. "It's not hard to guess. If there's something important in that room, there must be a guardian."

"Professor and grade leaders warn students not to go to the fourth-floor corridor maybe because that guardian is extremely violent and not something students can handle. They're not worried about students stealing treasures but about the guardian hurting students."

Barry realized Little Bruce's point and asked, "Don't you think it's strange that they'd place a guardian that strong in a school, instead of just setting up some obstacles to fool students?"

"It's a trap," Little Bruce said, looking up at the window again. "And I'm guessing the guardian is Tree Demon Sergey."

Barry and Harley gasped in unison. They had seen Pamela's Tree Demon companion, Pato, during the day, and it was enormous, with a diameter of at least four to five meters. If Sergey was similar in size, it would be impossible for students to handle.

As they entered the main castle, they found themselves in a dimly lit hallway with flickering candles casting eerie shadows. Barry felt a chill, and Harley seemed nervous, but Little Bruce pressed on.

The three of them reached the fourth-floor staircase and peeked around the corner, seeing a massive Tree Demon with glowing green eyes and razor-sharp claws. It was identical to the one they had seen earlier, and its presence was terrifying.

"It's a real Tree Demon," Barry whispered, covering his mouth.

Harley blinked, and Little Bruce approached the corridor cautiously.

Earth Magic Defense Network……” Little Bruce uttered the phrase, his tone unusually serious and devoid of mockery. "Those guys who were with me today told me about this. They said it's crucial for the magical realm."

"The room contains the Energy Core of the Magic Defense Network," Harley's tone turned grave, her voice like her own words, though she had only heard of such things before and never witnessed them herself, which made her understanding a bit skewed.

She was aware of the existence of the Green Lantern's energy, but didn't know how it came to be or how it existed. Following that line of thought, it made sense that there would be a core to store such energy.

Barry looked puzzled, while Harley's tone sank lower, "I was one of the first students here, so I understand some things about the magical realm. You know it recently went through a great catastrophe, but do you know why?"

Harley rapidly explained the previous situation in the magical realm with precise words. Barry clenched his fist in anger.

"It's because of those human traitors. How could they be so spineless and compromise with those Angels and Demons? If they hadn't kept retreating, the magical realm wouldn't be like this," Barry said, outraged.

"I heard Master Andrew say that you can't completely blame them," Harley said in a muffled tone. "The Angels and Demons are far beyond human level, and humans can easily fall under their control. Many sorcerers think they have free will, but they're actually under Demon control."

Little Bruce narrowed his eyes, "What if the Director and Professors already know that there are humans who might be under control mixed in with the college, trying to disrupt or destroy the construction of the Magic Defense Network, so they set up this trap?"

"Highly possible," Barry raised his tone. "If this network is built, those traitors will have it worse, but if it's not built, they'll be the ones who benefit the most."

"Ah-!" Harley gasped, and instinctively said, "We have to tell Professor Schiller about this."

"How do you know he's trustworthy?" Little Bruce turned to her, "What if he has another plan and that's why he set up this trap?"

Harley paused, but wasn't convinced by Little Bruce. She understood Schiller better than the others, and if the Energy Core was in danger, Schiller wouldn't be so careless as to leave it there.

Just then, Barry narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Quick, look over there."

The others immediately followed his gaze and saw a dark figure appear behind the Tree Demon. The figure was dressed in black, making it impossible to see their face or physique. They swiftly passed behind the Tree Demon and approached the door.

The three exchanged tense glances as the figure tried to open the locked door. The Tree Demon reacted quickly, swinging its branch-like arm at the figure. The black-clad figure instinctively raised their arm to defend themselves, but let out a low cry of pain as they were struck.

In the brief moment the Tree Demon hesitated, the figure slipped under its arm, jumped out the window, and disappeared. The three rushed down the stairs to the castle courtyard, but the figure was already gone.

The next morning, Little Bruce watched Schiller closely as they entered the dining hall for breakfast.

At the time, Schiller was holding a fork in one hand and eating bread, while his other hand was hidden under the table. Victor, who was working as a waiter, sat down beside Schiller.

"Schiller, what happened to your hand?" Victor asked. "It's injured."

"Just a minor wound," Schiller replied.

"Wow, this is rare. You're not invincible after all. What happened?" Victor asked.

Schiller remained silent, and on the other side, Anna chimed in, laughing, "He was playing with a paper shredder!"

Calmly: What is this?  onTouch  Oh no!

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Next Chapter => Chapter 1666: Bruce Wayne and the Magic Stone (Part 10)