Across Whisperwood, the brutal battles between the students and the masked men abruptly ceased.
On the Class A side, Darius, who had been flaunting his newly refined elemental skills with a mixture of arrogance and desperation, stood over a downed opponent. He threw a final, thunderous spell—but the masked man was already gone. Darius blinked, looking around at the empty space where a dozen dark figures had just stood. "What in the hell? Who are they, where do they come from? Is this part of the test." he muttered and asked the Acranum student behind him, receiving no answer.
The other Class A students, exhausted and staring at the suddenly silent forest, exchanged quizzical, disbelieving looks.
Class B and Class C reported the same eerie, instantaneous disappearance. The relentless tide of dark magic simply receded, leaving the students bruised, bewildered, and deeply unnerved. "We have to leave the forest, this wasn't part of the practical." Lena instructed.
