Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1642: Escape The Underside (Part 1)

Two immense battles raged across the Underside—one wrapped in blinding torrents of Light Magic and Divine Qi, the other drenched in swelling, oppressive waves of Dark Magic. From afar the conflicts looked like two storms colliding, each threatening to swallow the city whole.

Amid all this chaos, Alen and his group had reached the remaining Shelters. They burst inside carrying urgency in their voices, barely able to catch their breath before explaining the situation.

"Everyone, you have to move—now!" one of the men shouted. "The Underside isn’t safe anymore, not in any direction. The only chance you have is to escape upward. We’ll use whatever magic we can to help, but you must hurry!"

The people inside balked at first. The idea of going aboveground—where the streets were crawling with Gizin’s forces—sounded like stepping from one danger into another. But as soon as they saw the looks on Alen’s men, the panic in their eyes, the exhaustion lining their faces, they understood this wasn’t some exaggerated warning. It was a desperate plea.

Having split earlier, Alen’s forces had gone to all three remaining Shelter locations. They’d already met Beatrix, Dame, and Liam. To their surprise, each group had somehow held its ground against the Dark Mages. Some mages were still scattered around, but most had retreated temporarily after failing to break through the defense. They were regrouping, believing they simply needed more numbers to win—unaware of what Harvey had become or the scale of destruction already unfolding.

That small window of calm gave Alen’s side one sliver of hope: enough time to evacuate as many civilians as possible.

"Harvey really has become that dangerous?" Liam muttered, watching the frightened families gathering as quickly as they could. "If he’s turned into something that big a threat... maybe I should help Alen and the others fight."

"Help the people first!" one of Alen’s men shouted before Liam could move. "We get them out, then you can go. If we don’t evacuate now, there won’t be anyone left to save."

Liam clenched his jaw but nodded. He stepped back, then leaped upward using Qi, smashing the floor beneath him as he propelled himself toward the rooftops. He had no enchanted boots, no flight magic—only sheer physical force to throw himself above the buildings.

He landed on the highest roof nearby and scanned the horizon. He didn’t need long to find what he was looking for.

A massive shadowy figure—Harvey’s monstrous puppet—was striding through the Underside. Limbs like colossal spears carved into the stone as it moved. The air around it twisted from sheer Dark Magic density.

"Yeah," Liam muttered breathlessly, "that... looks terrifying."

He dropped back down, landing near the crowd. But as soon as he returned, he noticed another problem spreading through the anxious voices below.

"How are we supposed to get everyone up there?" one of the men asked, gesturing to the ragged ceiling of the cavern. "Most of the ladders and access shafts were destroyed when the attack started."

"I’ve gathered as many wind mages as I could," another man replied, "but there are too many people. We’ll run out of mana long before we can send even half of them up."

They debated frantically—who to send first, which method to use, who could escort the children. Every option felt flawed. Sending kids up alone was dangerous. Sending adults up drained the mages too fast. And the puppet’s destruction was getting closer every second.

"If we tell them we can’t get everyone out," one man whispered, "they’ll panic. It’ll turn into a disaster instantly."

The same issue plagued the other Shelters. Panic was beginning to grow everywhere.

Until one person sighed loudly.

"I guess I’m the one that has to save you all," B muttered, sounding more annoyed than heroic. "Even though I don’t particularly care."

She still held the special magic staff—the artifact capable of altering the ground itself when infused with Qi. She stepped forward, slammed the staff down, and the earth shuddered violently.

Buildings groaned as they twisted and folded into new shapes. Walls cracked open. The ground split into geometric pieces. Then, rumbling like a waking beast, a giant stone tower erupted upward beneath the crowd, lifting them in one massive pillar of transformed terrain.

"Everyone, get in the circle!" B commanded.

Alen’s people herded the civilians together. A barrier snapped into place around them—rough, hastily formed, but strong enough to keep them together as the earth rose. Higher and higher the tower climbed, pushing them toward the ceiling of the Underside.

Once they reached the top, the land didn’t stop changing. Bridges formed from the stone, spanning gaps and fractured edges, creating crude but stable paths that led straight to the surface. For the first time since the attack began, the civilians had a way out.

Liam let out a breath of relief. "Alright—now we have a plan! Everyone head toward that Shelter and get onto B’s tower. That’s the route up."

Dame saw the same miracle unfolding and immediately directed his own group toward it. The flood of bodies began to move—families holding onto each other, children clinging to their parents, wounded leaning on whatever support they could find.

But just as hope began to form, a new dread took its place.

Because the giant puppet—Harvey’s monstrous fusion—had turned. Its many eyes of swirling shadow fixed on the towering pillar of earth reaching upward.

It raised its massive arms.

Dark Magic gathered at its limbs like storm clouds condensing before a lightning strike.

The air hummed with killing intent.

Dame’s heart dropped. Liam froze. Even Alen, who had faced impossibly strong enemies before, felt the cold surge up his spine.

If the puppet unleashed its full power on the tower...

If it destroyed that pillar...

It wouldn’t just kill a handful of people.

It would wipe out everyone escaping through that route.

And now, the puppet was aiming directly at them.

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