Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1417: The Name That Lingers

Raze Cromwell.

A name once feared, once whispered with caution, now barely spoken at all.

Time had buried the truth beneath layers of rumour and rewritten history. The name Dark Magus still held weight, but few remembered who that person truly was, or where he had come from.

Only in hidden corners of the world, in long-winded documentaries and suppressed archives, did the name Raze Cromwell still appear.

At the Central Mage Academy, though, it was different. Among the professors, those who had been around long enough, everyone knew.

It was a stain on their record. A name they couldn’t quite erase, no matter how hard they tried.

By telling Tink the truth, Raze knew he would be answering a lot of questions. Questions the professor had clearly been asking himself already.

Why was this "student" so knowledgeable about magical formations?

How could someone his age dismantle an elite-level ward like the one protecting the principal’s door?

Why did none of it add up?

"I told you, you wouldn’t believe me," Raze said, his tone steady. "But the truth explains everything. No student my age could possibly know the things I do. And that’s because..." He paused. "I’m not a student."

His voice didn’t waver.

"Right now, I’m living life in a body that doesn’t belong to me. An artifact, one I found long ago, allowed my soul to survive. I am the same Raze Cromwell you knew for six months. And I am the same Raze Cromwell the world remembers as the Dark Magus."

He didn’t give Tink time to react.

Lifting his hand, he let the Dark Magic swirl around it. The black energy twisted, wrapping his arm like smoke until, slowly, it dissolved into the air and vanished.

The professor’s breath caught in his throat.

Even if he wasn’t convinced this man was truly the Dark Magus, one thing was clear, he had access to Dark Magic.

And that was enough to set Tink on edge.

Anyone using Dark Magic was either deeply tied to the Dark Guild... or was the Dark Magus himself. Either option made this situation incredibly dangerous.

He took a cautious step back.

If this was an imposter, it didn’t matter, because the strength of someone who could use Dark Magic so casually was enough to end his life on the spot.

And if it was the Dark Magus, then any attempt to fight him would be suicide.

"Raze Cromwell from back then..." Tink murmured. "That’s who you say you are. But then why are you here? Why are you at Wilton? If what you say is true, then what’s your goal in all of this?" His voice shook with panic.

Raze didn’t move.

"If I wanted to, I could have eliminated you the moment you saw me," he said, calmly but firmly. "I could have erased your body with my magic, and not even the professors would have found a trace of you.

"It would’ve taken days before anyone noticed you were gone, and with the event going on, they probably wouldn’t have cared until it was over."

He took a breath.

"There’s a reason I didn’t do that, Professor Tink. It’s because I’m not the person people think I am."

Tink’s eyes narrowed slightly, his thoughts racing.

Everything Raze had said so far rang with conviction. It was hard to believe this was someone stalling for time. And if he was part of the Dark Guild, then why bother explaining any of this?

The only thing that continued to gnaw at his thoughts... was the knowledge.

The depth of knowledge.

This man knew things no student should.

"You asked why I’m here," Raze continued. "Remember the question I asked you before? About the special magical artifact that might exist in this academy?"

Tink nodded slowly.

"I’m looking for that magic circle," Raze said. "If I can find it, and use it on Ibarin, then the entire world will see the truth.

"They’ll see that Raze Cromwell was not to blame for what happened all those years ago.

"And I’ll expose everything the Grand Magus has done behind the scenes."

Tink stared, struggling to reconcile the man in front of him with the legend he thought he knew.

Would someone obsessed with power really be chasing after an artifact that could clear their name?

Would a power-hungry tyrant risk everything for vindication?

No...

From the conversations he’d had with Raze, both in the past and just now, he could tell this was someone who valued knowledge. A researcher. A scholar.

In fact, he seemed... far more like himself.

Tink’s belief in the stories of the Dark Magus began to waver. If he put aside everything he’d been told, everything the academy claimed, and focused only on the man he had spoken with before, the man who once studied under him...

Then it became harder and harder to see him as a villain.

"I’m not asking for your help," Raze said, his voice softer now. "I would never put you in that situation."

He turned, his back now to the professor.

"But you should know... not a single student has been harmed during this entire event. No one has suffered. Because that’s not my intention."

His footsteps were slow as he began to walk past.

"All I ask is that you ignore what you saw today. And when the truth comes out, when you see it for yourself, you can make your judgment then."

Tink stood there, frozen in place, mouth slightly parted but no words forming.

He didn’t say anything. Not until Raze had walked past him completely.

"...You’re a good professor," Raze said over his shoulder. "Just wait until the last day. I promise you, you won’t regret your decision."

*****

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