Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1519: An 8 Star Mage

Through Raze showing the truth of what Ibarin had done, it was clear to everyone that the Grand Magus had been a corrupt man.

Yet even so, one rotten apple didn’t mean the whole orchard was spoiled.

Some of the crowd clung to that thought desperately, whispering it to themselves. They wondered if the Dark Magus and the Dark Guild had known all of this beforehand, if they had deliberately targeted Ibarin as part of some larger plan to turn the world against the rest of the Grand Magus.

Their minds twisted and tangled in conflict. They didn’t know what to do. They didn’t know what to believe.

But not everyone felt the same hesitation.

Some still harboured strong hatred for the Dark Magus. Their eyes were sharp, their hands twitching, as if they were just about to make a move, until they saw something that made their hearts freeze.

The Pagna warriors had jumped down.

They landed in perfect sync, forming a solid wall in front of Raze as they turned their backs to him and faced the crowd.

The same four who had bested the principals stood there like immovable pillars, silent but commanding. And they weren’t alone.

Several other mages leapt down from the stands, robes flaring as they landed. More and more joined them in a fluid rush until they had formed a wide circle around Raze, an unbroken barrier of bodies and power.

The crowd began to murmur. They were noticing something.

Every mage who had moved, every one of those who had taken position to protect Raze... they all had one thing in common.

They were Dark Mages. Members of the Dark Guild.

And among them, two very familiar faces stepped forward from the protective ring, Londo and Kelly. They had come down from the spectator stands as well, their presence crackling like live lightning.

"No one will do harm to the Grand Magus!" Londo’s voice boomed across the arena. His eyes swept the crowd like sharpened blades. "He protected all of your lives! He vanquished the dark evil in our world! And yet... I can see it in your eyes. Some of you still wish to do him harm."

He raised his staff, slamming the butt of it into the cracked stone.

"We will protect him, and we will do so at all costs. So don’t any of you dare even think about moving!"

The words rang like iron, each syllable hammered into place.

It worked.

Not a single person dared take a step forward.

The truth was, it would have been an easy task. Raze was sitting motionless in the middle of the arena, locked in the vulnerable state of his breakthrough. Even a small group could have finished him off before he could defend himself.

But now, with the Dark Guild standing like a living barricade, the thought of attacking him at all felt impossible.

"I’m glad there are those here to protect him," Nannan whispered, relief loosening his tense shoulders. "I thought we were going to have to make a move."

"Did you forget?" another voice said beside him, bitter and hollow. "We no longer have our powers. We’re utterly useless. Even if we tried, we wouldn’t be able to stop anyone. But look at him... that man doesn’t need our help anyway."

They weren’t wrong.

The pulsing ripples of mana rolling off Raze were growing stronger and stronger.

Each wave came quicker than the last, the intervals shrinking like the space between heartbeats in a sprint. The tempo was building, faster and faster, until at last,

A final surge erupted outward.

A blinding ring of mana burst from Raze, slamming into the backs of all those standing guard around him. The shock jolted their feet, almost knocking some off balance, but they gritted their teeth and held their ground.

And when they risked glancing back over their shoulders...

They saw him.

A new, energised Dark Magus, standing tall, mana flowing around him in thick ribbons that shimmered like living shadows.

Raze lifted his head, eyes like storms, and then he moved.

He raised one hand, casting his wind magic into the air. The spell carried his voice across the arena so that everyone present could hear him.

"My goal," he said, and the words struck with the weight of thunder, "the goal of the Dark Magus... and of the Dark Guild... has only ever been Ibarin. From the very beginning of this event."

His gaze swept the crowd.

"I did my best not to get anyone else involved. Not to let anyone else be harmed. Unfortunately, I was unable to protect everyone... including those at Wilton. Including Wilton himself."

Gasps rippled through the stands.

"Wilton had no involvement in any of this," Raze continued. "The students were unaware of everything that took place. We tricked our way in. We forced our way here. I want to make that clear."

His voice hardened like drawn steel.

"There is no need for a senseless witch hunt. Because the witches you wish to hunt... are standing right here in front of you."

A charged hush fell across the arena.

"We won’t stop here," Raze declared. "I won’t stop here. I know many of you believe you’re living a good life. You see nothing wrong with the way Alterian is run. And that is because the Grand Magus have been pulling the wool over your eyes, casting this illusion."

He took a step forward, mana swirling off his boots like curling smoke.

"There are many, every day, who are hurt by the actions of the Grand Magus. Like the evil I have revealed to you today. I will continue to pull their crimes from behind the curtain. I will tear down their facades. I will make the world see who they truly are.

"And I will eliminate them.

"One by one."

His shadow stretched long across the arena floor, flickering in the storm of magic whipping around him.

"I will change Alterian... forever."

The declaration cracked through the arena like a lightning bolt.

Then Raze’s voice turned sharp and commanding.

"As for everyone in the Dark Guild... we shall commence at our meeting point in a week’s time, to plan our next attack, for the whole world to see."

His eyes burned like black fire.

"Spread what you saw today," he ordered. "Tell them. Tell the world... that the Dark Magus has slain not only Ibarin... but also Enaxx.

"And now...

"There are only three left."

Dark magic exploded from his feet in a sweeping wave, rising like a midnight storm. It twisted upward, curling through the air like smoke as it thickened into a dark blanket that rolled over the arena.

****

Author’s Note

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