Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1515: The Grand Magus lost? (Part 2)

The crowd was constantly whispering and murmuring to one another in low, uneasy voices. There was none of the roaring excitement from earlier, none of the cheers that had once echoed through the arena when the first clashes had begun.

Because now, reality was finally sinking in.

The Grand Magus had gone wild during the battle, his attacks tearing through the air like storms, almost striking the crowd themselves. The only reason many of them were even still alive was because the Dark Guild and others had stepped in, protecting the spectators and shielding them from the stray blasts.

But that wasn’t what anyone was focusing on.

What they were seeing now... was something almost unthinkable.

The great Grand Magus, the person they had all practically worshipped as an unshakable pillar of Alterian, was lying on the ground, completely beaten, pinned there beneath the weight of the Dark Magus himself.

"Hey... shouldn’t we try and stop him?" one voice whispered from the stands.

"Stop him?" another hissed back. "You think someone who could defeat the Grand Magus is going to be stopped by us? Look at him, the Dark Magus doesn’t even seem hurt."

"But if we don’t... if we just stand here, are we really going to say we watched the Grand Magus die without doing anything?"

"Do you actually want to fight him? Because if you go down there, you’ll be going alone." The man’s voice cracked. "There are still those students who defeated the Principals, and they’re standing with him. Do you think they’d let you get close?"

"And don’t forget..." another added softly, "many people in this very crowd used Dark Magic. They fought side by side with him. Do you think they’ll just sit there and watch you attack the Dark Magus?"

That simple truth sank into everyone’s minds like ice.

Even if they wanted to move... none of them dared to take a single step forward.

The most stunned of all were the Central Academy students.

"He... he really did it." Bones’ voice trembled. "That damned student... he really took down the Grand Magus. How is that even possible?"

"We all saw it," Nannan replied, still staring blankly at the arena. "We saw what happened. The power he used... that wasn’t just magic. It was something else completely."

"Can you see it now?" George said, folding his arms proudly. "Even someone that strong was using my special affinity! That’s how great it is!"

"I can’t believe we actually went against someone like that," Kayzel muttered. "No wonder we lost so badly... Now I don’t even feel that bad about it."

Standing further back, Alen’s eyes stayed locked on Raze and the fallen Grand Magus.

There was relief flickering in them, because Ibarin was still alive.

This was a delicate, razor-thin line to walk. If Raze simply struck Ibarin down now, it would all be over.

And yet, killing him would undo everything.

People didn’t simply believe what they saw, they believed the story behind what they saw. And right now, the people had no context. If Raze killed Ibarin on the spot, they would twist it, invent reasons. They would say the Dark Magus only protected them as part of some long, sinister ploy.

So... it was time for Raze to give them the story himself.

Raze stepped toward Ibarin.

The Grand Magus lay crumpled, his body trembling. He couldn’t even lift his own head. Without mana to support him, he was nothing more than an exhausted old man.

Raze raised a hand, easing the gravity magic that was pinning him down, just on his head. He left the rest of the crushing force in place, but at least now, Ibarin could lift his face to speak.

Raze’s voice rang clear, carried by magic so that every single soul in the arena could hear.

"Right now, my words, and yours, will be projected to everyone here," Raze said. His gaze was like sharpened obsidian. "There’s a reason I’ve kept you alive."

A cracked laugh rattled from Ibarin’s throat, flecks of blood staining his teeth.

"A reason? A reason?" he coughed out, his voice raw and hoarse. "We all know why you’ve kept me alive. You want to humiliate me. You want to show the world how much stronger you are, so they’ll fear the Dark Magus!"

His voice rose to a roar, echoing off the shattered arena walls.

"You, Raze Cromwell... you’ve always had a grudge against me! Since the day we met, you couldn’t stop meddling! No matter what I did, you had to interfere, you had to appear, you had to prove yourself, every time!

"And look at what you’ve become... You killed countless people, just to prove you were better than me. And now you stand here to do the same again!"

Ibarin’s voice cracked. He wheezed, coughing violently, blood spattering the stone.

Raze stood still, listening silently, his expression unmoving. Then, slowly, he shook his head.

"I thought as much," he said quietly. "So this... this is how you truly saw things. This is the mind of someone who clawed their way into the position of Principal, who stole the title of Grand Magus... and still can’t see the truth."

"LIES!" Ibarin screamed. His whole body jerked against the gravity pinning him, but he couldn’t even lift an arm. "Lies! Do you think anyone will believe scum like you, Dark Magus?"

Raze crouched down. His shadow fell across Ibarin’s bruised, bloodied face.

"Then let me ask you a question," he said. "And I suggest... for once in your life, you answer honestly."

The arena went deathly silent. Even the wind seemed to stop moving.

"Where," Raze said, his voice dropping to a cold whisper, "is Wilton Junior... the Principal of Wilton Academy?"

*****

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