Page 29 of Witchful Thinking

"Yesterday's incident may have alerted them that we're investigating," Raven replied."Professor Guillet was their test subject, presumably reporting on the 'extraordinary effectiveness' of their amplified wands and defensive accessories."

"And when she was injured..."Diana began.

"Their star demonstrator was sidelined," Raven nodded."They're rushing to showcase before we can prove the dangers."

"Moving forward while we're still dealing with the fallout," Diana concluded."Classic."

"Precisely.I need you both at the pre-tournament inspection at ten in the east practice hall.We must ensure no dangerous equipment reaches our students' hands."

After Raven departed, Diana leaned against the closed door, mortification finally catching up."Well, that eliminates any remaining pretense of professional discretion."

"At least she's practical about it," Alarick said, unable to suppress a smile."No awkward conversations about propriety."

"Just the Headmistress finding us in bed together," Diana groaned."Nothing concerning at all."

"If it helps," he offered, moving closer, golden threads appearing between them, "she clearly wasn't surprised and doesn't seem bothered.She's been remarkably supportive of our...situation."

"Our 'situation' appears to be common knowledge," Diana sighed."Between the gnomes' gossip network, Ceries and Malachai's matchmaking, and now Raven's matter-of-fact acknowledgment..."

"Does it bother you that much?"Alarick asked, his expression growing serious."That people know about us?"

Diana considered honestly.A week ago, she would have been mortified.Now, though...

"Not as much as I expected," she admitted."I'm more concerned about stopping potentially deadly dueling equipment from reaching our students."

***

THE EQUIPMENT INSPECTIONin the east practice hall was already underway when they arrived.Principal Malachai Starcatcher was there, along with a bunch of teachers and two representatives from the Magical Sports Federation.

Dozens of gleaming wands, shields, and protective gear lined the tables, all bearing the Adelweiss logo—a silver "A" surrounded by what looked suspiciously like modified void runes.

"These aren't standard dueling wands," Alarick murmured, his fingers hovering over one without touching it."They've been magically augmented to draw power from the user's core at a dangerous rate."

"And these shields," Diana added, performing a diagnostic spell on a particularly ornate one, "they're designed to absorb and redirect spells, but there's no safety threshold.They'd keep absorbing until they catastrophically overloaded."

For the next two hours, they analyzed equipment and compiled evidence against Adelweiss Magical Arms.

"The tournament equipment from Adelweiss failed three basic safety inspections," Alarick said."And look at these diagnostic readings.The magical signature matches the disruption pattern from Guillet's demonstration."

"It's not just faulty equipment," Diana said grimly."These are deliberately designed to create magical dependencies.Each use makes the wielder's magic more attuned to Adelweiss products and less compatible with standard equipment."

"That's dangerously close to magical manipulation.”

“Which is forbidden under International Magical Law."

Their case was building strongly when a wisp of a raven appeared."Something's wrong with the dueling arena.The practice dummies have activated on their own and are attacking students.And they're getting stronger with each spell cast against them.Mr.Blackthorn, Nurse Maelstrom—your expertise may be needed.The rest of you, secure this equipment."

As Diana and Alarick hurried through corridors, she felt a growing magical disturbance—a discordant vibration that made her teeth ache.

"The practice dummies have been tampered with," Alarick said, expression tense."Someone's introduced void absorption enchantments."

"Can you counter it?"Diana asked, already preparing protective spells.

"Yes, but I need to find the control node," he replied, following the magical signature."It's coming from the arena master stone."

In the dueling arena, a dozen enchanted practice dummies—normally programmed to provide moderate resistance for students—were now glowing with sickly green light and unleashing devastatingly powerful spells.Students cowered behind hastily erected shields as faculty tried to contain the chaos.

At the center of the arena, a figure stood before the master control stone, hands pressed against its surface, feeding corrupt magic into the school's training system.

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