216 Perfect Illusion

"Impossible!" Cullen could not help but yell when he saw the man clearly. How could he not be Ye Qingxuan?! He had clearly seen that it was definitely Ye Qingxuan! Why was it that Ye Qingxuan had been hit, but the one who walked out of the fog was…

"F*ck!" He spun around to look in the direction where Bench Guy had been. Directly behind them, beside their goal…the youth with a concrete block on his head was clumsily kicking the forgotten soccer ball and strolling toward their goal.

"Yo! Did you finally realize?" Sensing their gazes, the student with the headgear looked back, waved and kicked!

Goal! The referee was too shocked to blow the whistle, but no one would deny that the history department had scored another point! But, what was this?!

Under everyone’s stunned eyes, the "Bench Guy" slowly took off his headgear, and revealed the trademark white hair and mocking smile. "It’s just a headpiece. There’s no reason to be surprised, right?"

Finally, everyone realized that Ye Qingxuan had changed identities with Bench Guy at some time…and no one on the field could tell the difference!

"As the saying goes, it’s the darkest under the light." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "I have the same uniform, the same body, and height, but how come you guys got mixed up when I put on a headpiece?"

"When…" Banner gaped at him with red eyes and roared, "When did you switch?!"

Ye Qingxuan gazed at his crazed expression and shook his head, sighing in sympathy. "Idiot, of course, it was at the beginning." The one who had fought Banner, in the beginning, was not Ye Qingxuan! "You thought too highly of me." Ye Qingxuan walked over and looked down on him. "How can I fight against the manticore or all those phantom beasts…It’s just that you mistook Bench Guy for me since the beginning."

"Illusion trick?" It finally dawned on Banner but he still could not accept it. "How can it be an illusion? The manticore can see through any illusion! How did you…"

"Maybe, but you couldn’t. You thought Bench Guy was me at the beginning. Even if the manticore saw through the illusion, it wouldn’t find anything odd, right?" Ye Qingxuan shot him a glance. He shook his head and turned to leave. "The bottom line is, humans can only see what they want to see."

-

He and Bench Guy had switched identities when he had released the beam of light and blinded everyone in the beginning. It was not just the soccer ball that was switched—he was also switched. The entire time, it was not Ye Qingxuan who had fought with Banner, but the disguised Bench Guy. This was the strategy he had discussed with Bench Guy yesterday.

He knew clearly that Banner saw himself as the mortal enemy and would do anything to attack him at the beginning. Thus, he let Bench Guy, who was more powerful and had better attainments in music, take the beating; so that Ye Qingxuan could have the space to move.

To do so, he must be prepared to quickly switch identities at the critical moment. All Ye Qingxuan had to do was put on a headpiece, which was easy. It was hard for Bench Guy to turn into Ye Qingxuan though because he had never learned music from the School of Illusion. But that was okay.

At that time, Ye Qingxuan had laughed and waved a thin booklet. It was what Lola had given him and was the piece he had just learned—Winterreise- Die Nebensonnen, the phantom suns. Now, people finally heard the faint melody in the wind. It faded in and out of existence, resounding like a song in everyone’s hearts.

"I saw three suns in the sky. I stared at the long and hard, and they stared at me too, as if unwilling to leave me…" The spiritual chant was like Cullen’s hymn. The aether echo would only appear after grasping the movement’s essence and be able to sing the mournful melody.

Winterreise was Saint Schubert’s composition and was a highly regarded piece from the School of Illusion. It was comprised of twenty-four different movements, each with a different theme and power: Die Krähe, the crow which brought the premonition of death; Der Wegweiser, the signpost which made one lose direction; Der greise Kopf, the gray head that eroded the will to fight; Täuschung, deception which cast one into a trance…its last piece was Der Leiermann, the hurdy-gurdy man which, if played in full, could force someone down the ranks and become an unsuccessful, good-for-nothing musician for life.

The penultimate piece was Die Nebensonnen, also known as the phantom sun. It represented "a nonexistent fantasy." It could make one see what they wanted to see, even if it was a nonexistent sun. As long as the viewer did not suspect anything, he would quickly be drawn into it. In the end, he would be in too deep and completely unable to extract himself from it, no longer able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. The phantom sun, the nonexistent sun, the nonexistent hope…

The School of Illusion referred to the essence of a music piece as the "fulcrum." The illusion was able to exist in this world thanks to the fulcrum. And the fulcrum of Die Nebensonnen was pain. The pain that was brought forth by life had the name of Helplessness.

Helpless. As long as one had this feeling, one would quickly be captured by the illusion and unable to escape. This was why Ye Qingxuan had said so much to Banner at the beginning to humiliate him. When Banner’s actions hurt Cullen and his teammates, they fell into the illusion as well.

Therefore, the phantom sun shone on them, letting them see what they thought was real. Under all of this support, Ye Qingxuan’s illusion was practically perfect, as long as he did not speak.

This was why Bench Guy did not say anything directly to Banner. If he did speak, he imitated the unclear and hoarse voice…because if he did speak and revealed his own voice, the enemy would sense his identity.

Only Ingmar had realized instantly because the School of Revelations was the School of Illusion’s nemesis, but he could not do anything other than watch the student council be played by Ye Qingxuan. In the end, he left because he could not stand it any longer.

-

When Egor learned of this, he sucked in a cold breath involuntarily.

"This kid…does not seem like Abraham’s student at all," Ludwig lamented.

"Yes." Egor nodded. "No one would have thought that an Abstinence teacher could have a student that likes to make illusions."

"You misunderstood. That’s not what I mean." Ludwig shook his head. "Even beasts have inherited genes. A dragon’s child is definitely a dragon. A venomous snake’s offspring can spit venom as well. But that Abraham is like a dying lion and he produced…" He paused and glanced at the youth on the field. He seemed to see an invisible web under the youth’s feet, as well as the enemies trapped in the web. They could not move no matter how they struggled. The prey’s energy was sapped bit by bit until they did in the asphyxiation—before that, even death was a dream.

"…a student like a spider." Ludwig sighed and looked away. Hopefully, it was a misconception.

-

Soon, someone broke the silence by slapping the chair’s armrest in fury. Hearing his angry voice, all professors felt a chill go down their spine and spread through their body. They looked toward the front in fear. It was the principal who was furious?

"Enough! This is too much!" Maxwell stood and yelled angrily. Everyone blanched, but his next words made them incredulous. "How is this soccer?!" Maxwell demanded. "All of you are competing with music scores, but what about soccer? Where’s your soccer playing?! Where’s the soccer we agreed on? All of you are brutish. Where are your soccer skills? These ugly techniques are worse than stuffing the ball into the goal with your hands!"

With that, he suddenly paused. As if he had thought of something, he sank into deep thought and murmured, "Picking up the ball…stuff it into the goal…wrestle…it can work!" He looked up with bright eyes. "That’s a good idea. Everyone can put on armor, pick up the ball and toss it into the opponent’s goal…What if we do that for next year?"

Upset, everyone looked away. The principal was going crazy again and had let his imagination run wild.

"Principal, please stop before things worsen!" Sydney, whose patience had been tested during the entire game, finally exploded. He glared at the excited and determined Maxwell with unwavering anger. He stated seriously, "If this continues, the prestigious reputation of the Royal Academy of Music will be ruined in your hands! The school board will not let you do this! And what is the significance of this type of child’s play? It will only increase the students’ pain and hatred! Where is the educational significance? If this continues, the academy will become a vortex of hatred!"

Maxwell was taken aback. He glanced at Sydney with a slightly arched brow. "Oh?" He chuckled. "So you think that this is just child’s play?"

Stared at by those ancient eyes, Sydney did not know what to do. The just and responsibility in his heart vanished, replaced by vague regret. Maxwell patted his shoulders like coaxing a child and pressed him back down into his chair. Sydney froze. He wanted to struggle, but the hands on him felt like a vice, immobilizing him.

Before him, those deep emerald eyes were like the deep ocean. They contained hidden currents and indescribably scary things. Maxwell looked at Sydney’s stunned eyes and caringly helped him tidy his collar, stating, "I really like your straightforward way of speaking. Your brash suggestions are cute too, but for some suggestions, I hope that you can think more carefully before you stand up. Don’t forget who you are and don’t forget who they will become."

Sydney did not know what to say. He did not understand what Maxwell meant.

But Maxwell just studied the students on the field, off the field…looking at those faces, his eyes grew compassionate.

"These are future musicians, gentleman. These are heroes that are born from the cradle that is the Royal Academy of Music. Since we are a cradle, we shouldn’t talk about those fake and polite things. Since they want to become heroes, they should not expect gentle treatment either. You are all teachers—you are their educators. If you want an infant to become an adult, you must be cruel. If they cannot even win in this ‘child’s play,’ then how will they fight against demons? Actually, I don’t mind if your students embarrass the academy, but please consider their lives and safety."

No one spoke in the silence. Pushed into the chair, Sydney’s shoulders trembled. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out in the end. It was fortunate for him that he did not say it.

"Let the game continue," the principal ordered lightly.

Everyone exchanged glances. Someone stood out and asked cautiously, "What should we do about Banner using beast fusion?"

"The matters of the School of Royalty should be taken care of by the School of Royalty." The principal waved his hand without any care and swept away the nuisance. "We’ll talk about other matters after the game."

-

The game continued, but it could be said that it had long ended. The student council’s dignity was destroyed the moment Banner had attacked. Plus, he had not been successful. No one had realized that everything they did was part of someone else’s plan. If not for Banner’s surprise attack, they probably would not have noticed it was an illusion until the very end, right? It would have been even more embarrassing if it was revealed at the end. This game was completely humiliating.

No matter who spoke now, they would be unable to gather their morale. Everyone went through the actions as if their heads were not in the game. Banner had been forced off the field by Cullen and sat in the replacement spot wordlessly. His eyes were blank, like a mental patient who had been injected with an overdose of stabilizer. He mumbled something, but no one could hear clearly.

The game ended ten minutes later with three to nothing. The history department had won and entered the final round.

Naturally, Ye Qingxuan chose to quit. He announced that they would leave the game and not participate in the next round. After paying the fee of two thousand points, they were still first place. It was all thanks to the points from Banner.

"What a good comrade," Ye Qingxuan thought, shaking his head in lamentation.

Then he transferred four-thousand points to Bench Guy, who accepted it without a word. But Ye Qingxuan still felt guilty. "To be honest, four thousand isn’t a lot, but it’s all I can give you to ensure the ranking…I owe you the rest. If you need any help, you can find me at the history department at any time. Even if it’s something outside the school, I have some connections to help you."

Bench Guy smiled and shook his head, rejecting him politely. "But can you help me with something inside the school?" he suddenly asked. "I need your promise."

"What is it?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "I’ll help you, as long as it’s not too hard."

Bench Guy was about to speak but stopped as he looked behind Ye Qingxuan in confusion. Ye Qingxuan turned back and saw the pale and frail student—Banner.

He had shaken away his teammates and walked over. His eyes were eerie and his lifeless face was filled with hatred. He tried to grab Ye Qingxuan’s collar, but the youth dodged his hand.

"Banner!" Cullen growled behind him, trying to force down his anger. "How long are you going to keep up the tantrum?"

Banner froze. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his hand back and glared at Ye Qingxuan. He rasped, "Do you think you won? It’s not over yet!"

"Why don’t you think about how you’ll face the school’s interrogation?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Beast fusion is forbidden."

"You think I’m destroyed like this?" Banner cackled in anger. "Stop dreaming! The School of Royalty won’t let anything happen to me! I’ll just disappear for a few months until everything is over. I won’t lose a hair! But you, you’ll pay for what you’ve done!"

"Ha." Ye Qingxuan just scoffed and was too lazy to say anything else.

Seeing the totally annoying smile, Banner practically lost all control. His face was white and also had the eerie wildness of a skeleton. He jabbed at Ye Qingxuan’s chest and muttered in his ear, enunciating each word, "Listen, I’ll do everything I can to make you, your failure senior, and that other white-haired b*stard disappear. I’ll make your teacher, that old dog, get tossed back to his steel cage…Everything you took from me, I’ll take it back from you in thousand-fold!"

Ye Qingxuan did not reply and kept smiling, as if he did not hear anything. His eyes silently grew cold though.

Crack! Banner’s voice stopped abruptly. The crisp sound shocked everyone, including Cullen, who was behind Banner.

It was a slap. A crisp slap. And it had come from the man with the headgear who had not said a single word.

"Enough, Banner!"

"You…" Banner’s movements slacked and he gaped at the man.

The headgear guy hid Ye Qingxuan behind him and said harshly, "You’ve disgraced the Adrian family!"

The voice was so familiar that Cullen froze and forced down Banner’s anger. They gaped at the man before them in disbelief. Under everyone’s eyes, Bench Guy lowered his head and slowly took off the headpiece. He revealed a hard and cold face. His features were sharp, as if he was a statue carved from marble, and were awe-inspiring. The most eye-catching feature was his steel gray eyes, which had an unusual dignity and solemnity.

Everyone fell into silence instantly and began doubting their eyes.

"Ga…Gavin?" Banner finally processed everything and stared blankly at him and Ye Qingxuan behind him. "You—you…stood on their side?"

"It’s you who didn’t stand on my side, Banner." Gavin looked at him with disappointment and retorted, "How many chances did I give you?"

"Chances? You gave me chances?" Banner laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke. He suddenly raised his voice and roared, "I’m the one giving you chances! I’m the one who can represent the Adrian family! Not you!"

The onlookers gaped at the argument between the brothers. No one dared to step forward.

Emerald and steel gray, the two brothers stared at each other. One was filled with eeriness and wildness, the other was filled with extreme disappointment. They were so similar and yet so different.