Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1509: The Tide Turns

At first, the crowd was terrified of the Dark Mages who were revealing themselves. It was as though the air itself had turned against them. People stared in disbelief at the allies they had sat beside, worked beside, even laughed beside, now suddenly cloaked in the aura of Dark Magic. They felt betrayed, as if their trust had been broken. They had been raised to detest these people, to fear the Dark Guild, and now they were learning they had been among them all along.

But as the chaos continued, something slowly shifted.

They noticed that not for a single moment did the Dark Mages attack anyone in the stands. They weren’t striking back or lashing out. They weren’t causing destruction or adding to the chaos. They were doing exactly what they had been ordered to do, focusing only on protecting the people around them.

Maybe they would never have accepted such a task if the Dark Magus himself hadn’t commanded it. Maybe they still hated the rest of the world, or maybe they didn’t. It didn’t matter. What everyone saw, what they couldn’t deny, was that they were saving lives. And because of that, for the first time, the Dark Guild was being seen in a new light by several important and influential figures who were present that day.

As if emboldened by that realization, more and more mages began standing by their side, casting spells to stop incoming attacks before they could hit the stands.

Meanwhile, the fighting between Raze and Ibarin raged on, more violent with every passing second, while on the ground the Principals were locked in battle against the Wilton students and the other allies who had chosen to help Raze.

Spells filled the air like storms given form.

Gigantic constructs shaped like ferocious beasts made of lightning, wind, or fire lunged at opponents before erupting into explosions that shook the ground. The Principals weren’t holding back. They were even using combined magic, weaving multiple elements together to create destruction on a massive scale, seemingly without concern for the people surrounding them.

That was when several more students appeared from the underground area, sprinting up into the open. They could have run. They could have escaped. Instead, they moved to the stands to help protect everyone they could. Among them was Lee Roy, and even more surprisingly, students from the other academies who had been competing in the event until now.

"No one can argue about whether we’re doing the right thing or not now, right?!" Chiba shouted, her arms spread wide as she summoned a massive wall of water to block a stray wave of energy that had broken off from the larger battle. The water hissed as the spells crashed against it, absorbing the shock before it could hit the crowd.

"Right! They might have thought we were connected to Raze somehow, but whatever people think, we can’t just run away!" Yolden yelled, his voice hoarse from shouting spells. "We have to protect everyone, or what’s the point of learning magic at all?!"

The other students heard those words and felt the weight of them.

Many of them felt partly responsible for their Principals’ actions. Even the teachers, who had followed their Principals into this chaos, now stood by the students’ sides to help. If their Principals ended up hurting the general public, the blame would fall on all of them, and none of them could allow that. They knew their Principals weren’t truly evil. They were simply caught up in the madness of what was happening.

Liam was fighting his own battle on the field, cutting through waves of magic as he steadily closed the distance to his opponent. Every time he got close, the Principal would slam sparks into the ground, kicking up thick dust, then launch himself away with bursts of wind. The tactic was starting to irritate him.

It happened again, dust exploding, wind blasting. But this time, as the Principal tried to move through the cloud, a glowing line of light appeared on the ground in front of him, blocking his escape.

"You know, there are things that don’t work when you try the same trick again and again," Liam said coldly.

It was thanks to his system, he had predicted exactly where the Principal would move next.

When the dust cleared, the Principal’s eyes widened. Floating around Liam were several glowing weapons, and even more swords were embedded in the ground around him like a trap.

"It’s been a while since I’ve used this," Liam said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I can’t be relying on that overpowered sword the entire time. There are still things I can do myself."

Elsewhere, the others were also faring well.

Safa had been struck by one of the Principal’s spells but still pushed forward, her healing abilities kicking in almost instantly. Even she was amazed, while holding the Lux Spear, her regenerative power was strong enough to heal wounds from a spear strike almost immediately.

Beatrix, meanwhile, was clearly enjoying herself. She was relying purely on her sword techniques, only rarely dipping into her blood-based powers. She was using the entire situation as a training opportunity, testing herself, forcing herself to stay in control.

Dame was chasing another Principal relentlessly across the field. The man was skilled with lightning magic, hurling bolts with enough power to scorch the stone, but they did nothing to Dame. Every blast sparked harmlessly across his body as he closed in, his movements blurring faster each time.

With the way things were going, it was becoming clear to everyone watching.

The Principals were going to lose.

Maybe not this second. Maybe not even this minute. But the momentum was gone. It was just a matter of time.

The central academy students watching from the stands could see it too. They were amazed not only by the sudden aid of the Dark Guild but also by the sheer skill the Wilton students were displaying.

And they noticed something else, something subtle, but impossible to ignore.

The Wilton students were fighting in ways that shielded bystanders, deliberately diverting or absorbing stray attacks to keep others safe, while the Principals weren’t bothering.

"Everything..." George muttered, watching wide-eyed as another of Beatrix’s strikes detonated an incoming fireball before it could hit the wall. "It feels like everything we knew... just flipped on its head."

He swallowed hard, remembering Raze’s words.

"He was right."

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