Chapter 305: Arlo or Noah? Let’s Find Out

Noah jolted awake, gasping for breath, his heart pounding against his ribs. Sweat clung to his skin, his sheets damp and tangled around him.

For a moment, he couldn’t move, the image of the ruined academy, the blue fire, and Lady in Dark’s laughter still echoing vividly in his mind.

He sat up slowly, rubbing his face with both hands, forcing his breathing to calm down.

The room was quiet. Pale dawnlight hadn’t yet touched the sky, and the world outside his window was still dark, waiting for the sun to rise.

He pushed himself out of bed and headed for the shower, letting the cold water wash away the sweat and the lingering dread.

When he was done, he dressed automatically, buttoning his uniform with mechanical movements. But his mind wouldn’t stop spinning.

At the window, he paused. The academy grounds lay peaceful, creating an illusion of calm.

They were no closer to finding Lady in Dark or the Puppeteer. So why was she still haunting his dreams? Why was she still threatening him?

Were they somehow getting closer to uncovering her? No. That couldn’t be it.

She could read minds. She’d know exactly how far they were from her truth.

So what was she trying to accomplish?

Noah exhaled slowly, his gaze unfocused. His thoughts drifted back to the demon Edric had shown him. To her white hair, and that aura that had pulsed through the cage.

It had been wrong and twisted, but there’d been something hauntingly familiar about it.

Lady in Dark’s mana had felt the same.

Was it possible?

“Is she… a demon?” he murmured to himself.

The idea settled in his mind, unwilling to disperse. But even as he said it, something inside him resisted.

No. Lady in Dark didn’t truly feel like the demon. She was something else. Very similar, but… different.

She might be something much worse.

But even with that, a question still rattled in his brain.

What if she was connected to the demons?

He turned away from the window, packing up everything he needed for class.

The sun was already up, and students were streaming through school grounds to the cafeteria.

Noah dumped everything he needed in his spatial ring and was soon out of his dorm building.

He stepped out into the crisp morning air, the faint warmth of dawn creeping across the academy grounds.

Even now, the earlier unease from his dream still lingered in the back of his mind, but he pushed it aside.

Right now, he needed focus.

His boots clicked softly against the cobblestone as he made his way towards the cafeteria.

The chatter of students drifted faintly through the air, blending with the rustling of leaves.

Inside, the cafeteria was already alive with noise. In the gold-tier section, the tables were filled with students chatting and laughing between bites of breakfast.

Noah scanned the room, his eyes finally locking onto a familiar figure, Arlo Kael, seated at the far end, calmly stirring his drink.

Without hesitation, Noah walked over. The usual energy of conversation around him dimmed slightly as students noticed his approach.

Arlo looked up, raising a brow. “Morning,” he said with a smile. “You look serious.”

Noah stopped beside the table, meeting his gaze. “Arlo Kael,” he said evenly. “I challenge you to an official ranking duel.”

The words dropped into the room like an explosion.

For a moment, there was silence. Then the entire cafeteria erupted in murmurs and shocked gasps.

“What the fuck did he say? Please tell me I heard wrong!”

“He challenged Arlo, you idiot! You heard right!”

“No way! Are they fighting again? Did something happen between them?”

The whispers multiplied, spreading through the hall like wildfire. Some students leaned forward eagerly, while others exchanged wide-eyed glances.

The air buzzed with disbelief, and before long, the news had even caught the attention of the rest of the cafeteria.

Arlo blinked, clearly caught off guard, but only for a moment. Then a slow grin spread across his face.

“You’re challenging me?” he said, amusement in his tone.

“Yes.”

Arlo’s grin widened. “Well, well. This is unexpected.”

He leaned back in his chair, eyes glinting with curiosity. “You’re not still mad about me switching your soup with mine, are you?”

Noah didn’t smile. “No jokes, Arlo. Do you accept or not?”

A flicker of seriousness crossed Arlo’s expression. Then he stood, the wooden chair scraping softly against the floor.

“All right,” he said, his tone calm but his eyes alive with excitement. “I accept.”

The reaction was immediate.

The students around them burst into excited chatter. Some cheered, others whispered fiercely to their neighbors.

“Noah’s strong, but Arlo’s got experience. He’ll win for sure.”

“Are you kidding? Noah beat Frederick when he was with Princess Ines that day without even trying. Arlo doesn’t stand a chance.”

“They’re both monsters. This is going to be insane.”

The tension in the air thickened, charged with anticipation.

Arlo smirked, glancing around at the crowd that had begun to gather. “Looks like we’ve got an audience already,” he said under his breath.

Noah adjusted his collar, unfazed. “Then let’s not keep them waiting.”

Arlo gave a low laugh. “You always were dramatic.”

Together, they began walking towards the exit, the buzz of excited conversation trailing behind them.

Students immediately began to rise from their seats, abandoning half-eaten plates as they followed. The sound of footsteps and murmurs filled the corridors as the crowd swelled.

“Arlo versus Noah,” someone whispered. “This could decide who’s really the strongest in the gold-tier now.”

Noah ignored the whispers, his mind on what he needed to do. Arlo walked beside him, rolling his shoulders casually, his grin never fading.

“Tell me something,” Arlo said as they neared the arena. “Why now? You’ve never cared about rankings before.”

Noah’s eyes stayed forward. “Because I need to be free.”

Arlo chuckled. “Free of what?”

Noah turned to Arlo with a smile of his own. “Free to investigate without having to respond to promotion exams at the end of the month.”

Arlo’s grin widened again. “I guess we’ll have to frolic together in the middle of the rankings.”

And so they stepped into the open sunlight of the dueling arena, a sea of students already filling the seats around them.

They both stood facing each other at the center of the arena, none of them moving. They simply stared at each other, as if waiting for something.

The crowd of students quickly grew impatient, murmurs spreading through them.

“What are they doing? Why aren’t they fighting?” One asked his friends, confused.

“Come on already!” Another student yelled

Arlo tilted his head slightly, his grin still on his face. “You ready?” he called.

Noah gave a slow nod. “Whenever you are.”

The tension stretched thin. Then Arlo raised his hand.

“I quit,” he said.

Confusion quickly spread through the arena. Then came the chaos.

“What?!”

“He quit?!”

“Is this a joke?”

“They brought us all here for this?”

The stands erupted into outrage, voices overlapping as students stood up, shouting. Some jeered, and others laughed in disbelief.

“This is the biggest bait of the semester!” someone yelled from the front row. “We came here to see a fight!”

A chant began, spreading through the crowd. “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Noah didn’t even glance at them. He looked at Arlo instead, his expression blank. “So,” he said evenly, “does my rank change or not?”

Arlo chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. By quitting, I forfeit. That means you win. Congratulations, you just went up a rank. I drop down one. Everyone else below me shifts down too.”

Noah nodded once. “Good.”

Without another word, he turned towards the exit. Arlo followed beside him.

The noise behind them grew louder, with boos, laughter, and groans of disappointment filling the air.

The students were rowdy, frustrated that the duel they’d come to watch had ended before it began. But no one dared to interfere. It wasn’t as if they could stop Noah and Arlo if they wanted to.

The two of them walked side by side, leaving the arena behind, the chants fading into the distance.

They didn’t speak until they reached the quiet of the academy gardens. The air was cool, ducks swimming about in the pond ahead of them.

For a while, neither said anything. The water simply rippled softly as a breeze passed.

Finally, Arlo broke the silence. “All right,” he said, folding his arms. “We’re alone now. What was it you wanted to tell me?”

Noah stopped walking and turned towards him. His voice was low. “She came to me again. Lady in Dark.”

Arlo’s smile faded. “In your dreams?”

Noah nodded. “It wasn’t like before. She showed me something. A vision of the academy in ruins. She said it was just a possibility, but…” He hesitated. “She warned me about you again. Said your curiosity would get you killed.”

Arlo’s expression darkened, though he tried to mask it with a half-smile. “Sounds like her kind of mind game.”

“That’s not all,” Noah said quietly. “I’ve been thinking about her mana. It felt almost identical to the demon’s aura that Edric showed me. Not exactly the same, but close.”

Arlo’s brows furrowed as he absorbed that. “You’re saying Lady in Dark might be a demon?”

“I don’t know,” Noah admitted. “But she has to be connected to them somehow.”

Arlo went silent for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the rippling pond.

Then, slowly, he said, “What if I’ve been looking in the wrong place this whole time?”

Noah looked at him. “Meaning?”

Arlo turned back to him, his green eyes lighting up. “Up till now, I’ve been searching for irregulars. Things like suspicious people, unexplained events, or anything out of the ordinary.”

“But if what you’re saying is true, then maybe I should change my focus.”

He crossed his arms, thinking aloud. “Instead of searching for people acting strange, I should be searching for signs of demonic influence.”

Noah nodded slightly, a grim expression settling on his face. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Arlo smiled, though there was no humor in it. “Good. Because if she’s tied to the demons…”

He looked towards the water, his reflection distorted by the ripples. “Then we’ll find her.”

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