Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1457: Unshaken Under Pressure

The match-ups had turned out exactly the way Raze had hoped, and with the order of battles arranged, he found himself scheduled to go last. That suited him perfectly. His plan wasn’t only to fight, it was also to watch, to wait, and to prepare for what came afterward.

What he wanted most was the opportunity to present himself directly to Ibarin. Maybe, if his match ended the way he expected, Ibarin would accuse him of cheating, of trickery, or of manipulation. Maybe the head of the academy would descend into the arena personally, trying to deal with the situation himself. And if that happened, it would finally give Raze the chance to expose him, to show everyone who Ibarin really was beneath his carefully polished mask.

If not today, then Raze was determined to make it happen during one of the final events. He believed strongly that by the last day, Ibarin’s anger and pride would be far too volatile to contain. And if for some reason it still didn’t happen, Raze already had a backup plan, a surefire method to drag Ibarin from his seat and down onto the battlefield, where he could no longer hide.

But all of that was for later. For now, the attention of the entire arena shifted as the next two competitors stepped onto the field. Liam walked calmly to his designated spot, the crowd cheering so loudly that their voices blended into a constant wave of noise. On the opposite side stood George, the Central Academy’s representative. The applause for him was just as loud. It wasn’t as though the audience was siding with one fighter over the other, they simply wanted a spectacular clash, and this match promised to deliver exactly that.

Liam held his wand at the ready, the polished wood glinting faintly beneath the arena lights. George eyed the weapon and gave a mocking smirk.

"Are you sure you want to rely on that wand instead of your sword? If you don’t, you might lose this match before it even begins," George taunted, his voice carrying across the field.

Liam’s answer came quickly, calm but sharp.

"If you want me to draw my sword, then prove you’re worth it. From what I’ve seen of you so far, I don’t even need it to beat you."

Their words set the crowd buzzing, anticipation spiking higher than ever. Then the signal came, and the match began.

Many watching believed that the opening moments would decide everything. If Liam failed to land an early blow and George was allowed to bring his gravitational magic fully into play, then the outcome would be all but decided.

Liam didn’t hesitate. The instant the match started, he raised his wand and unleashed a strike of lightning, fast, heavy, and crackling with energy. The bolt ripped through the air, a streak of blinding white and blue.

George reacted with composed precision. He raised his hand, wrapping it in his own lightning magic, weaving the energy expertly. When the bolt reached him, the lightning didn’t explode against his body. Instead, it bent and wrapped harmlessly around his hand. With a swift motion, he redirected the energy downward, slamming it into the ground instead of himself.

"He has incredible lightning control," Panla remarked from the sidelines, her voice filled with awe. "To intercept someone else’s lightning strike like that, he would need not only an affinity and mana equal to the attack, but also nearly flawless mana control. He’s no ordinary opponent. This won’t be easy at all."

But Raze, watching closely, wasn’t impressed in the same way. He knew something the others didn’t. The lightning in that attack hadn’t truly come from Liam. The wand carried the lightning affinity; Liam had only supplied the speed and the force of his Qi. The bolt had looked devastating, but in truth, the affinity behind it wasn’t Liam’s own. To someone like Raze, the trick was obvious.

Then George lifted his hand again. With a dramatic motion, he thrust it toward the ground. His voice carried confidently across the arena.

"It looks like this is where you lose!"

Gravitational magic spread instantly, unseen but crushing, saturating the air and pressing downward. From the moment George had entered the arena, he had been confident. His magic could cover the entire battlefield at once. To him, victory was a matter of inevitability.

The ground beneath Liam cracked and sank slightly, proof that the spell was in effect. But Liam stood there completely fine, not even straining, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

George’s brow furrowed. His spell was active, he could feel the gravitational pull, see the pressure fracture the earth. So why was Liam unaffected? Why was he still standing tall, as if nothing had happened at all?

The reason was simple. Pagna warriors were trained to strengthen their bodies to extremes, their Qi reinforcing muscles and bones far beyond the limits of ordinary humans. The weight George conjured was heavy, but to Liam it felt like little more than a nuisance. He had endured far worse before. The Qi forged by Sha Mo’s energy, the crushing force he had once trained under, was on an entirely different level from this.

"Hah!" Liam laughed loudly, raising his arms into the air with ease. "This is it? This is the so-called gravitational magic everyone was so worried about? Did you pay off the last student just to make yourself look stronger?"

His mocking words spread quickly through the arena, whispers rippling among the crowd. Could it be true? Had George manipulated his earlier opponent? How else could Liam stand so effortlessly beneath such crushing magic?

George grit his teeth and slammed his other hand downward. Instantly, the gravitational force doubled. The cracks in the floor deepened, the stone groaning under the pressure. But Liam still stood unfazed, not even bending his knees. He took a slow, deliberate step forward. The wand in his hand vanished into thin air.

"I expected so much more from a so-called top mage," Liam said, his grin widening. "You’ll never even come close to my level. Let me show you what the real difference between us looks like."

In that moment, Liam summoned his true weapon, the sword that could cut through anything. The blade shimmered as it appeared, and with a single sweeping motion, he sliced through the air. To the crowd, it almost looked like he had conjured a gust of wind magic. But the truth was far more terrifying, the sword had severed George’s gravitational magic completely.

The oppressive weight vanished in an instant. George gasped as he felt it, his mana connection severed, his spell cut apart as though it had never existed.

’These students from Wilton... just how strong are they?’ George thought, his confidence shaken for the first time.

*****

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