Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1613: Coming Back

With both Dame and Liam present, the balance of the battle shifted completely. Moments ago, Liam had been alone, exhausted, forcing himself to think of desperate ways to deal with an enemy that refused to stay dead. Now, with Dame at his side, the two of them were finally able to finish off the masked man together.

Liam controlled the red energy sphere that trapped the masked Cerebus member. He manipulated the flow of the blades, creating a small opening, just enough of a slot for Dame to force his arm through. The red energy rotated and hissed like a living storm, but it moved aside on Liam’s command.

"Go," Liam said.

Dame didn’t hesitate. He thrust his arm into the sphere, pushing past the layers of energy until his hand found something solid. The masked man’s body was in that strange state of constant healing, reforming no matter how many times it was destroyed. Because of that, he couldn’t move properly. The pain, the endless regeneration, and the confined space made it impossible for him to resist.

Dame gripped onto whatever physical part of his opponent’s body he could reach, an arm, a shoulder, it didn’t matter, and began absorbing. The masked man’s magic power flowed straight into Dame’s body, robbed from him in a torrent he couldn’t stop.

At the same time, the red energy swords Liam had created remained hovering in place, all of them still piercing through the masked man from every angle. With his magic drained and his regeneration failing, there was nothing left to sustain him anymore.

In the end, it was the red swords that actually killed the masked man.

The energy stabilised, then faded away. The scattered fragments of the man’s body didn’t reform this time. The mask fell, clattering onto the ruined ground, empty.

Liam let out a long breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding.

"Wow," he said, shoulders relaxing. "I never thought I would have to rely on you for that part."

He glanced at Dame with a crooked smile.

"But I guess it all worked out in the end."

"I know you’re pretty upset about it," Dame replied. "But honestly, I’d say it was completely your victory. It’s pretty crazy how these masked men were healing. If anything, they’re the ones that are cheating with this whole ordeal."

Dame looked around at the fading red light and the shattered debris.

"And what is this?" he added, nodding toward the lingering energy. "I’ve never seen you do anything like this."

Liam couldn’t help it, his chest swelled with pride. He had been waiting for someone to ask.

He smiled, ready to brag about what he had accomplished.

"It seems that lately we haven’t really fought anyone where I’ve had to use the full extent of my powers," Liam said. "I’ve been unlocking the new system that Zon gave me, and I’m pretty sure I could maybe beat all of you now. Maybe even Raze."

"Ha!" Dame responded instantly. "That’s a good joke."

Liam pouted slightly, but he couldn’t deny the truth.

Even he didn’t completely believe his own words. Beating Raze? That was a stretch, even he knew that. But against the others, at least, it might actually be possible now. The thought alone made him feel a little more confident, even if he tried to play it off.

Dame turned his head, looking back toward the distance.

"I don’t think we’ll be able to help Raze," he said. "We’d just get in his way."

Far away, a massive source of energy raged and expanded. The air shook. Light flashed again and again, bright enough that even from here it was hard to look directly at it.

"But there are still Cerebus members fighting against the Dark Guild," Dame continued. "And we don’t know the state of the other masked men. We should deal with them first."

Liam nodded.

"Yeah. You’re right."

The two of them shared a brief look, understanding each other without needing to say more. Then they took off. With their combined speed, they raced across the battlefield in search of the others.

With how difficult the masked man had been to kill, Liam was almost certain that there had to be at least one person among their allies who wouldn’t be able to finish the job. The idea worried him. If even one masked man was left undefeated, it could lead to disaster later.

There was one person, though, who had already achieved something different from the others.

Safa.

She had already managed to do what many couldn’t, hold her position while aiming for a breakthrough.

Right now, she was sitting down, legs folded beneath her, doing her best to reach a new realm. Her eyes were closed, her expression calm on the surface, but tension lingered in every part of her body.

"Protect her at all costs!" a man shouted.

Using his wind magic, he jumped up and landed right in front of Safa, placing himself between her and the incoming enemy. They stood on a bridge, the stone and metal structure cracked and damaged by previous spells. Before he could even reinforce his stance, a fireball slammed into his chest.

The explosion sent him flying backwards, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

Safa heard everything.

Even with her eyes closed, she could hear the blasts, the footsteps, the cries of pain. She was still trying to circulate her Qi, still using her God Eyes from within to monitor the flow inside her own body, but the noise outside was impossible to ignore.

More impacts. More shouts. More silence afterward.

She could feel that the fighting around her was coming to a stop. The sound of clashing magic grew quieter and quieter.

That only meant one thing.

Those on the underside who had been trying to protect her had all been defeated.

What do I do? Safa thought, panic creeping in despite her efforts to stay calm. Do I try to keep circulating Qi while fighting? Or do I give up on becoming a Seven Star Mage?

Her heart pounded in her chest. Sweat formed on her forehead.

For now, she opened her eyes.

She had been keeping them shut to help circulate her Qi more smoothly, using her God Eyes to see the internal pathways and guide the energy. As soon as she looked around, she could see that her instincts had been right.

A group of mages were still standing, around five of them, from various guilds in front of her. When she turned her head slightly, she could sense more presence behind her as well. They were surrounding her position.

The underside fighters who had tried so hard to protect her were collapsed on the ground, too hurt to get up. Some were groaning, others barely moving at all.

"I have no choice," Safa whispered, fingers clenching around the Lux spear. "If I don’t fight now, then I will die as well."

She steeled herself, muscles tightening, ready to jump up and call forth the Lux spear’s full power. But just as she was about to move, a blazing fast fireball shot past her.

It smashed into the chest of a mage standing in front of her, throwing him backward.

He didn’t even have time to react.

One fireball was followed by several more. They flew forward in rapid succession, each one slamming into a different target. The air filled with the harsh roar of explosions. The mages who had been surrounding Safa were hit one after another, their formation breaking apart almost instantly.

Along with the fire, there was a nonstop clicking sound, sharp and rapid, coming from behind her.

The mana in the air flared wildly.

She could hear groans, shouts, the frantic cries of people who had been confident only moments before. Now they were panicking, clearly under attack from someone strong enough to disrupt them all at once.

What’s happening? Safa wondered, her eyes wide.

"You keep going through your breakthrough," a voice said.

Footsteps approached. As he walked past, she saw only his back at first, but that was enough.

She knew exactly who it was.

"Although we don’t trust the Dark Guild," he said, "and I vow I will get my revenge on them... that doesn’t mean we should abandon the people. Everything we have done is for the sake of the people. So we are here now to help them as well."

He looked at the underside fighters on the ground, then forward at the remaining enemies.

"And that includes the people of the underside as well," Alen said.

Safa stared at his back.

Her hesitation faded, replaced by determination.

If they were willing to fight for her, then she wouldn’t waste this chance.

She closed her eyes again and focused, pushing herself toward the breakthrough she had been chasing, toward becoming a Seven Star Mage.

***

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