Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1481: The Loss Of Power

The clash between Qi and pure mana had shaken the arena to its very foundations. The combined strike of Raze and the Wilton students had been so overwhelming that it tore a hole through the veil of wind and dust, momentarily clearing the air above. Light poured through the gap, but the lower half of the battlefield remained shrouded in the storm. From the audience’s perspective, the fight was still hidden, yet they could feel its weight, the pressure of energies colliding, the earth rumbling beneath their feet, the vibrations rattling the reinforced barrier.

The barrier itself was groaning under the strain. Recognizing the danger, the teachers stationed around the coliseum poured their mana into it, reinforcing the walls in desperation. If either the Qi strike or the raw mana beam had escaped into the stands, no amount of shielding would have saved the crowd.

Only two men truly understood how fragile the situation was: Raze, who had lived his entire life walking between destruction and survival, and Ibarin, who knew the depths of what had been unleashed.

’What is happening in there?’ Ibarin thought, his eyes narrowing. ’Why did they erect such a screen of dust? Why would they conceal the fight unless... unless Wilton has found something new?’

For a brief moment he considered halting the match, declaring it too dangerous. But his pride, and his fear of exposure, held him back.

’No. Not without a valid reason. The spell that cloaks the arena was conjured by the Wilton side. If I interfere now, they can claim victory by default. And those pills... those pills were given to me by Gizin himself. There is no way they can lose. No way.’

His lips curled into a grim smile, though it never reached his eyes.

’It’s a shame, really. Those pills will ensure their victory, but at a cost. With them, the students will never again walk the path of magic. Their mana cores are broken even as they shine. They will burn brightly tonight and be left with nothing tomorrow. Still... what is one life, or one future, weighed against my position? Idore won’t even care if his son Kayzel is ruined.’

Inside the storm, the Wilton students exchanged uneasy glances. They had just witnessed their allies, people they thought they understood, repel an attack that should have been impossible to withstand. They could not comprehend the power they had seen.

At least when Liam fought with swords, or when Dame struck with his fists, they could explain it away as skill or rare technique. But what they had just seen was something else entirely. A single punch, charged with an invisible force, had shattered a colossal beam of mana. To their eyes, it looked as though the Wilton group had cast magic of a kind no one had ever taught.

The realization was dawning on them, these students were far stronger than anyone had imagined.

Raze, meanwhile, wasted no time. Lightning sparked beneath his feet as he vanished from sight. He reappeared in a blur beside one of the glowing Central Academy students, seizing them by the arm and hurling them away. With his free hand, he conjured a mass of wind magic, blasting it outward to scatter the others and buy himself a moment.

He knew that after unleashing such a large-scale attack, the students would need time to recover. That time was all he required to test his plan.

As he pressed his hand against the chest of the glowing student, Raze’s eyes hardened. The orange radiance surrounding their body began to flicker, weakening, and then it started to flow into him. The glow dimmed, fading as if siphoned away, until it was no longer theirs but his.

He was using his extraction technique.

’Their whole bodies have been transformed into living mana cores,’ Raze analyzed, feeling the strange energy pour into him. ’But the stars that orbit the heart, the anchors of a mage’s being, are broken. If they continue to use this state, if they burn their lives like this, the heart itself will implode. They won’t just lose their power; they’ll die.’

He tightened his grip.

’The only thing I can do... is absorb it all. Strip them clean of this power. They’ll lose their stars, they’ll never cast magic again. But it’s better than letting them burn alive.’

The beauty of his extraction lay in its speed. What would take others minutes or hours, he did in seconds. And because the mana was not buried deep within but blazing on the surface of their bodies, it was child’s play to draw it out.

In moments, the student’s glow disappeared entirely. They sagged in his grasp, unconscious but alive. Raze let their body drop to the ground without ceremony, his gaze already shifting to the others.

"What the hell, how did he do that?!" Bones shouted, panic slipping into his voice. "He erased the energy! That’s not possible!"

He unleashed a barrage of beams in his fear and fury, but Raze was already moving. Qi surged through his limbs, lightning arcing down his legs. He weaved between the attacks, every step impossibly fast, until he launched himself forward. His hand clamped down over Bones’s face.

The moment contact was made, Bones screamed. His glow sputtered, then vanished, siphoned away by Raze’s relentless extraction. His body went limp, and Raze tossed him aside like broken cargo.

One by one, Raze repeated the process. Each student tried to resist, but resistance was meaningless. Their raw mana beams could not catch him, and the closer he drew, the faster their power became his. With every contact, the glow faded, their bodies collapsing into exhaustion. The once-proud champions of the Central Academy fell like dominos.

When Raze’s hand touched George, he felt something extra, something heavier. He drew not only the borrowed mana but also George’s unique affinity. Gravity magic. The sensation of weight and pull filled his veins for a moment before settling within him.

’So this is gravity magic,’ he thought briefly. ’Another piece to add to the arsenal.’

It wasn’t what he had been aiming for, but it was useful nonetheless. Extraction always gave him more than he planned, and this battle was proving no different.

Finally, only one remained.

Kayzel.

Unlike the others, he did not flinch when Raze appeared before him. He did not struggle when Raze’s hand closed over his face. His glow weakened, but there was no panic in his eyes, only something close to recognition.

"You..." Kayzel whispered, his voice steady despite his failing strength. "You might actually be able to do it. You might really be the one to take down the Grand Magus."

And then his glow, too, was gone.

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