Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1686: A Disruptor (Part 1)

Every person in the assembly was hanging onto the mangled mage’s words as he shouted what he had seen. The air was thick with the scent of iron, and that was when the horror truly set in—the sight of Ponto’s head rolling across the dirt, stopping right in front of the front row of guests.

"We’re under attack! It has to be the Noble Guild!" the mages screamed in a collective panic, leaping from their seats.

The meeting area descended into absolute chaos. Some guests wanted to scatter, running blindly toward the exits, while others backed away with magic circles glowing on their palms, their eyes darting frantically to find the unseen assailant.

They were unable to see a single thing. One mage lifted his hand to cast a defensive barrier, but before the mana could even coalesce, his arm was sliced clean off at the shoulder. The limb fell to the ground with a wet thud.

"ARGHHH!" The mage’s scream was a high-pitched wail of agony that cut through the noise of the crowd.

"What is happening right now?" Liam asked, his voice low and tense. "Are we really under attack? Because I can’t see a single person out there."

"We are. And I have a feeling I know exactly who it is," Raze said.

His whole body had tensed up, his knuckles white as he gripped his sword hilt. The others standing next to him could feel it now—a suffocating pressure. Dark magic mixed with raw Qi was escaping from Raze’s body, leaking out in black, flickering wisps. The wooden floor of the teahouse beneath his feet began to crack and shake under the weight of his aura.

So this is the true power of the Dark Magus? Song thought, forced to take a step back. He felt like the very air was being pulled from his lungs; it was as if he were suffocating from Raze’s presence alone. But what has made him exude this much power? What has made him this angry?

The others felt the shift too. Raze was always strong, but usually, his power was controlled, tucked away like a hidden blade. This time, it felt uncontrolled, a tidal wave of hatred that was threatening to drown everyone nearby.

"What’s with him?" Kelly whispered, her eyes wide.

"He only gets like this when he sees them," Liam answered, his own hand resting on his weapon.

In the courtyard below, the panic turned deadly. Even if the mages couldn’t see who was attacking them, they began casting spells wildly in every direction. An ice bomb exploded on the floor, freezing the legs of several guests who were just trying to flee. Fireballs hissed through the air, nearly hitting their own allies.

"STOP!" one of the more level-headed mages in the center shouted. "Can’t you see? Nothing else has happened for a moment!"

The crowd went still, panting. They looked around; only two people had fallen so far, and the man with the severed arm had managed to freeze his own wound to stop the bleeding. However, the ground was littered with bodies—guests who had been killed by the friendly fire of their own panicking comrades.

"Someone must have hit them by accident," a guest whispered. "But are the attackers invisible? Are they using an enchanted item? Or is it a unique trait?"

"Who cares about that!" another shouted, his voice cracking. "All I know is I have to leave this meeting immediately. If the Noble Guild thinks we’re working with the Dark Magus, they’ll hunt us all down!"

He started to sprint toward the gate, but the moment he reached a certain point in the air, his body simply stopped. His head slid from his neck and fell to the grass.

"What happened? Is it because he tried to leave?"

The others were paralyzed with fear. Suddenly, even those who hadn’t moved felt a stinging pain around their necks. It was as if an invisible wire was being pulled through the crowd at throat level.

"MOVE BACK!" Raze’s voice boomed like a thunderclap.

He leaped from the platform, landing in the center of the panicked crowd. The moment his feet touched the ground, he swung his sword in a wide, horizontal arc. A visible line of black magic, reinforced with Qi, cut through the air. It struck something invisible with a metallic ping, holding steady for a heartbeat before Raze’s power forced it through.

"You fools have forgotten the basics! Wind magic can be compressed and sharpened into a silent spell—it is strong enough to bypass almost any passive protection you have!" Raze shouted. "You’re panicking, but even an invisible attacker leaves traces. They leave mana signatures and cause movements in the air that you can see if you just look!"

Raze knew, however, that even if these people saw the attack coming, they wouldn’t have been strong enough to stop it. This wasn’t a standard mage; this was a specialist.

"This might tingle, but don’t be afraid of the darkness!" Raze commanded.

He swung his sword again, but this time, he didn’t aim for a strike. Instead, a thick, black mist started to pour from his blade, rapidly filling the entire courtyard. It was the Nightmare Veil, the third formation of the Dark Edge sword arts.

Usually, Raze used this mist to create terrifying beasts made of shadow to tear his enemies apart. This time, he was using it as a sensor. As the black mist filled the space, he watched the particles move. In one particular spot where there should have been empty air, the mist was being displaced by a human-shaped void.

"I know exactly where you are," Raze said, his eyes glowing with a predatory light as he locked onto the disturbance. "Trubin!"

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