Chapter 1504: Shadows Before the Crowd
The Eclipse Strike had been a cornerstone of Raze’s skills ever since he had first learned it. It was a deceptively simple technique, one that merged two separate energies into a single devastating force, releasing it all in one focused direction. The stronger his mana, the denser his Dark affinity, and the deeper his well of Qi, the stronger the strike became. Over time, it had grown into something truly terrifying, something that had reached an almost unimaginable level of destructive power.
As Raze’s sword came slashing down, the wave of energy tore loose from the blade, exploding outward. It consumed everything it touched. The energy didn’t just tear across the arena floor, it devoured it, swallowing the ground whole. And not only that, but every single one of Ibarin’s previous attacks, spells that had been lingering and hanging in the air like a storm waiting to fall, were pulled in and erased. They were swallowed entirely, vanishing into nothing as the darkness consumed them.
When the wave came for Ibarin, he had no choice. He slammed his palm down onto the ground, summoning every ounce of strength he had left. The floor trembled as he called up massive walls of earth, layering them one atop another and encasing each in thick shells of ice, trying to harden them as much as possible. His breathing grew ragged as he poured more and more mana into the defenses.
But the darkness did not stop.
Raze’s magic crashed into the walls and tore through them as though they were paper. It shredded stone, melted ice, and devoured everything in its path, continuing forward relentlessly. Ibarin’s teeth clenched so hard his jaw trembled, but he didn’t stop.
He couldn’t stop.
He called every fragment of mana from within his body, from his reserves, from the air itself. Finally, just before the attack could crush him entirely, he managed to force the dark wave to break apart, splintering it into harmless particles of raw energy. The attack dissolved into nothing.
But Ibarin’s body was shaking. His chest heaved violently as sweat streaked down his face. He had survived, but barely.
For the first time, Raze’s eyes softened. He hadn’t expected Ibarin to fall to that strike alone, not truly. Still, he found himself oddly thankful.
If he hadn’t been so afraid of the attack… if he hadn’t been forced to defend himself with everything he had… it might have reached the others behind him,
Raze thought quietly.
An attack of that scale would have shattered the barrier protecting the spectators. It could have torn through the stands and left dozens injured, or worse. Just in case, Raze had already been preparing himself to cancel his own strike halfway through, ready to abandon it if it veered off course.
But Ibarin had stopped it.
“You… you… you!” Ibarin’s voice cracked as he shouted. His body trembled, his eyes wild. “That was Dark Magic. That was Dark Magic you just used!”
More words fought to spill from his lips, but they tangled together, tripping over his shock. His breath hitched in sharp gasps.
He had fought Raze before. He had seen this darkness before. But this, this was different.
The Dark Magic that had been unleashed felt purer than anything he had faced in their previous encounters. And not just purer, stronger. It was as though another unseen force had been pushing behind it, driving it forward, forcing him to use every drop of his magic to erase it.
With that single strike, Ibarin realized something dreadful. Raze was not merely powerful.
The boy standing in front of him might be even stronger than the Dark Magus of old.
That realization chilled him to the core.
And Ibarin was not the only one who had seen it.
There was another thing that the attack had revealed, something even more dangerous than its power.
It had revealed that the student currently standing on the arena floor… was using Dark Magic.
“That was Dark Magic, right? I’ve never seen it before,” one voice whispered from the crowd, trembling with a mix of fear and awe. “But it looked exactly like the old televised footage… or the recordings in the archives.”
“Yeah… yeah, that has to be Dark Magic,” another replied, louder, the edge of panic rising. “Which means… which means that person… he’s part of the Dark Guild.”
“Crap… crap, you’re saying one of the students here is actually a member of the Dark Guild? What are we supposed to do? Shouldn’t we get out of here right now?”
“I mean, what if he’s not the only one? What if this is some kind of coordinated attack?”
“Hey, come on,” someone else cut in sharply. “It’s one thing to sneak in a few people here and there, but to coordinate an entire assault in front of the Grand Magus? No. They’d have to be completely insane to try something like that.”
“Insane or not, did you even see that attack?” another shot back. “That wasn’t just strong, it was strong enough to go head-to-head with the Grand Magus, and he was taking it seriously. That can’t just be anyone from the Dark Guild. No normal member could do that.”
The whispers swelled into a tide, voices overlapping, rising louder and louder as the realization began to spread.
“Wait…” one guest said, his words slicing through the noise. “A Dark Guild member who uses a sword… and is unbelievably powerful… We’ve seen him before. We all saw it, broadcasted everywhere. This has to be him. This has to be the Dark Magus!”
“What? No… isn’t the Dark Magus supposed to be some old man? And isn’t he dead?”
“Are you living under a rock?” another scoffed. “Not the old one. The new Dark Magus. The one who used sword skills and set the entire Dark Guild into chaos in the first place.”
The ripple became a wave. A wave of shock. Of awe. Of fear.
Guest after guest started reaching the same conclusion.
The person standing on the arena floor, the student who had just unleashed that monstrous attack, was the new Dark Magus. And unlike before, this time, everyone could see his face clearly. There was no mistaking him.
And Raze knew it.
He knew what their eyes were seeing. He knew what their minds were piecing together.
This was the risk he had accepted.
He had known from the moment he chose to strike that after taking down Ibarin, everything would change. The other three Grand Magus would not be easy to eliminate, not when it was now obvious that he was coming for them.
The veil was gone.
The whispers grew louder.
Some of the crowd began to rise from their seats, thinking that perhaps they should flee, that staying might be foolish, even suicidal. Yet only a few actually moved.
Because the truth was undeniable,
Watching a fight between the Grand Magus and the Dark Magus was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
And none of them wanted to miss it.
****
*****
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Chapter 1505: The Principals Take the Field
“Isn’t this our chance to get out of here?” Bones asked, his voice low, glancing nervously at the chaos below.
“And go where?” George replied sharply. “The only reason we’re still alive is because the man down there is fighting against the one who wants us dead. If he loses, if the Grand Magus succeeds, then I imagine all of us will be in trouble.”
“Well, isn’t that why we went to Alen in the first place?” Nannan said, her arms crossed. “Because he can protect us even if that happens?”
Alen didn’t respond. He couldn’t.
Because deep down, he wasn’t sure.
They were going against the Grand Magus. Sure, maybe he could create a resistance, maybe even gather a force strong enough to put up a fight, but then what? If Raze was gone, if the head of the Dark Guild fell here and now, would they even be able to function without their leader?
The truth was harsh and unrelenting: the only opposing force in the entire world strong enough to challenge the Grand Magus was the Dark Magus himself. Seeing Raze’s last attack, seeing the devastation he had unleashed, Alen knew that now.
“What are you doing!” Ibarin’s roar shook the arena. His wind magic surged outward in a violent gust, cutting in a precise direction. The blast sliced straight through the reinforced glass of the observation deck, shattering half of it into glittering shards.
The glass rained downward, threatening to fall upon the guests who had been watching from above. Gasps filled the air, but before anyone could scream, several powerful mages in the audience raised their hands. Their magic flared, catching the glass and redirecting it away from the stands, sending it spinning harmlessly into the distance.
“Don’t you understand who stands in front of us right now!” Ibarin shouted, his voice cracking with rage. “That man is the Dark Magus, the enemy of all Alterian! We need to get rid of him!”
As Ibarin’s words rang out, Raze had already moved. He thrust his hand forward, unleashing a Dark Pulse, a sharp blast of condensed darkness that shot toward Ibarin like an arrow.
The Grand Magus’s enchanted Balzer glowed, activating a shimmering barrier that absorbed the impact of the attack.
But that was only the beginning.
A spinning tornado of fire came next, summoned from behind, crashing against Ibarin’s barrier and forcing him back, driving him into the arena wall with a resounding crack.
Raze did not stop. He pressed forward, gathering power into the hilt of his sword. Dark Magic converged with his Qi, swirling and condensing until the formation of the Void Pulse began to take shape.
Kicking off the floor with explosive force, he rocketed forward, dark flames flaring behind him as his sword came thrusting down. The blade was aimed to pierce through whatever defenses Ibarin still had left.
But Ibarin was not alone.
In an instant, intense gusts of wind burst from Ibarin’s hands, forming a shield, straining against the strike to keep Raze at bay. And then, from above, came even more spells, layer after layer of magic, several types at once, all raining down toward the same point.
Raze gritted his teeth. He could not allow the impact point to be his opponent’s body. He could not let himself be caught in their combined strike.
So he met them head-on.
He drove his sword into the precise point where all the magic converged, thrusting with every ounce of strength he possessed.
The clash was deafening. Dark Magic exploded outward, swallowing fire, wind, and light alike, ripping through every spell in its way. The energy tore through in a perfect line, clearing the attacks and leaving behind a gaping tunnel of empty space.
The crowd gasped.
One man, one single person, had just stopped a coordinated barrage of spells, spells that had been cast by some of the most skilled mages in Alterian.
Because these weren’t ordinary mages.
The magic hadn’t just come from Ibarin.
It had come from the other four Principals who had been silently observing until now.
When Ibarin had called for help, it was them he had been speaking to. Each of them was a mage of fearsome skill, each of them possessing strength on par with a Seven-Star Mage, the same level of power that Raze himself carried.
They weren’t just random Principals of minor schools. They were the leaders of the most prestigious magical academies in all of Alterian, each one renowned, each one feared. It was expected for them to be exceptional, to be capable of holding their own even in a battle of this scale.
Whatever their personal feelings toward Ibarin might have been up until now, none of it mattered.
Because to them, the Dark Magus was not just a threat to the Grand Magus. He was a threat to their world, a threat to their students, a threat to the peace of Alterian itself.
He needed to be eliminated, here and now, before he became something they could no longer control.
But not everyone saw it the same way.
Far below, hidden beneath the arena floor, students were gathered in a protective chamber, waiting and watching as the battle above raged on.
“Should we get involved?” one of the BIMM students asked nervously. “Should we go out there and help?”
“No.”
Lee Roy’s voice was quiet but firm. “No… this has gone beyond us.”
He said no more, though there was a storm of thoughts running through his mind. There was something strange about the Grand Magus’s actions, something that gnawed at him. And something equally strange about the Dark Magus as well.
But if he spoke those thoughts aloud, if he said what he really believed, he knew exactly what would happen.
People would call him a madman.
So he stayed quiet.
****
*****
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Chapter 1506: The Principals’ Siege
The Grand Magus didn’t fight amongst each other, but every single one of them knew the others’ capabilities. Over the years, they had all displayed their strength in one way or another, showing enough power to prove they were worthy of the title they carried. Among them, there were only two people who knew every detail of their abilities. One was Idore, who had tested each of them personally before they became Grand Magus. The other was Raze, who had crossed blades with all of them individually, studying their styles and their habits through direct combat.
Raze hadn’t been able to push them all to their absolute limits, so he didn’t know the full depth of their power, but he understood the hierarchy that existed between them. That silent, unspoken ranking was something even the Grand Magus themselves seemed to acknowledge. For example, it had always been said, almost accepted as fact, that Enaxx was the weakest of them all.
And when it came to raw magical strength, that much was true. Enaxx had barely crossed the Nine-Star level. But what made him dangerous was his unique trait, an ability that made him nearly impossible to handle in battle and allowed him to bypass raw power entirely. Ibarin, by comparison, possessed greater strength as a mage, a true Nine-Star with fearsome power, but he lacked the edge of a unique affinity. The others each had their own special advantages as well: Gizin with his strange pills and enchanted garments, Idore with his stockpile of crafted artifacts, and Trubin, shrouded in mystery, yet carrying the title of strongest among them all.
Perhaps that was the root of Ibarin’s complex, the reason he was always so desperate to prove himself. However, there was one thing he was infamous for, something Raze had experienced once before as the Dark Magus, his Breakthrough.
That Breakthrough was devastating, a violent surge of power that could shift the entire flow of battle and overwhelm even the strongest enemies.
’The only good thing,’ Raze thought as he braced himself, ’is that because of the risk, he won’t use it unless he truly believes he has no other choice… but this is going to be annoying.’
An array of spells suddenly came screaming toward him, tearing through the air like a barrage of cannons. Lightning flared down Raze’s legs as he darted forward, his movements sharp and precise. Massive bursts of magic detonated all around him, shaking the ground, and though he slipped through most of them, the arena was small, there were only so many places left to go.
A giant serpent made of flames lunged toward him. Raze cut it apart with a clean slash, scattering the blaze into embers, only for several bolts of lightning to streak at him from above. He thrust out his palm and released a shockwave that shattered the bolts midair. The moment he landed, slicing wind spells came sweeping across the floor from Ibarin himself. Raze flipped high over them, landed hard, and swung his sword in the same motion.
“Crimson Slash!”
The blade flared, releasing a sharp crescent of energy infused with Qi and wind magic that shot across the arena like a scarlet streak. But even that was blocked, the mages worked together perfectly, their combined defenses rising as one to counter it before it could even reach them.
This was exactly what Raze had warned others about.
Individually, mages were vulnerable. But together, they were nearly untouchable.
They instinctively covered each other’s weaknesses, weaving their spells into flawless layers of defense. It was the opposite of how Pagna warriors fought, every strike driven by pride and isolation, and it was infuriating to deal with.
Raze clenched his jaw. Would he really have to start using the Dark Edge Sword Arts, cutting them down one by one? But if he did that, would he have enough energy left to defeat Ibarin, especially if Ibarin entered his Breakthrough state? Raze didn’t want to use the pills that would shorten his lifespan, and even if he did, he doubted he could defeat all of them and still survive what came after.
Another wave of spells rushed at him, stronger, faster, and more coordinated than before, blazing arcs of fire, lightning, and wind closing in. Raze prepared to block, his stance tightening,
And then something else sliced across the arena.
A massive strike of Dark Edge Sword Art tore through the air, cleaving through one of the incoming spells and erasing it. A flash of light followed, then a crack of lightning, and finally a huge blow that released a storm of Qi mixed with blood aura, scattering the remaining attacks like they were nothing.
The arena fell silent as the dust slowly cleared.
And when the haze faded, everyone froze.
Standing there on the battlefield were the other Wilton students.
“Whoa… they came to help?” someone in the crowd gasped. “I didn’t expect that. I mean I expected people to help the Grand Magus but not the Dark Magus”
“Wait, does this mean all of the Wilton students were secretly part of the Dark Guild this whole time?”
“Look closely, it’s not all of them,” another voice said quickly. “It’s just four of them. But if they’re helping the Dark Magus… then they really are part of the Dark Guild.”
At the front of the group, Safa glanced back at Raze and smiled.
“It looked a bit unfair with them calling in the other Principals like that,” she said. “And besides… you told us to make sure everyone was okay, right? So we’re here to help.
“You do what you need to do…
“And take out the Grand Magus.”
*****
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Chapter 1507: Fear the Unseen
The crowd was still stunned that the students had stepped in to help. They quickly noticed these weren’t just any students either, they were the notable ones, the standouts who had displayed incredible feats throughout the recent events. The thought that all of these talented people were secretly part of the Dark Guild was unsettling. How many gifted individuals were hidden within that group? And why did they all seem so young?
“They went in to help?” Bones muttered, eyes wide. “Those guys are doomed. Sure, Raze might be one thing, but the others can’t possibly handle this. Hey… you’re not expecting us to step in there as well, are you?”
“We can’t,” Nannan replied sharply, her gaze flicking toward Alen. “Even with our powers, if we jumped in and went against the Principals, then everyone else here would move in as well.”
It was surprising to think about. The stadium was filled with mages, powerful ones too, far from average, and yet not a single one had taken it upon themselves to join the battle. This was because, for now, they believed the Principals and the other Grand Magus could still handle the situation. But if Alen knew Raze as well as he thought he did, then those people Raze had brought from the other world… they would be no ordinary people either.
And that was quickly proving to be true.
The Principals began focusing their attacks on the newcomers at the edge of the field. Since they no longer had to hold back or hide their powers, the Wilton students struck back with full force. Dame immediately activated his gauntlets, punching the air to shatter several bolts of lightning before they could hit him. He then leapt from his position, launching arcs of Qi like explosive spears, though the Principal in front of him narrowly dodged using wind magic.
It wasn’t enough. Dame’s body flared with light as he activated his Lightning Body, boosting his speed to a blur. He could endure hits, charge straight through spells, and deliver crushing physical blows up close, exactly the kind of fighting style that countered mages.
Safa, meanwhile, thrust her spear forward, channeling her Light energy into a concentrated beam. It lanced through the air like a laser, crackling with Qi, and forced several Principals to scatter. Their casting was cut off mid-spell, light disrupting the formation of their magic circles before they could even complete them.
Beatrix looked relieved. For the first time, she could finally use her sword openly, her strikes wrapped in sharp bursts of Qi. Several waves of flame surged toward her, but she cut them apart one by one, her movements fluid, almost like a deadly performance on stage.
Liam, on the other hand, simply raised his voice.
“Hey, Raze!” he shouted across the battlefield. “Do you mind giving me my sword back? I can handle this a lot easier after you do that.”
Raze lifted his hand, and the familiar blade appeared instantly, shimmering in the air. He flung it across the battlefield, and Liam caught it with a grin, already turning to face the Principal before him.
“Don’t kill them,” Raze ordered firmly. His voice carried across the arena as he amplified it with wind magic so that even the crowd could hear him. “They are only following orders… but don’t risk your own lives either.”
The fighting only grew more intense.
Frustrated, Ibarin spread his arms and unleashed two massive vortexes of wind shaped like serpents. They tore across the battlefield with deafening roars. Raze stepped forward, planting his feet and raising his sword. Dark magic and Qi surged into the blade as he swung, meeting the twin storms head-on.
The vortexes clashed against his strike, and Raze gritted his teeth, forcing his power outward. He wasn’t just trying to block the attack, he was trying to disintegrate it completely, using the corrosive nature of his dark energy to eat away at the spiraling winds.
At the same time, his mind was racing.
The combined battle, the Wilton students versus the Principals, and his own clash with Ibarin, was putting unbearable strain on the barrier that protected the crowd. That was why he had chosen to meet Ibarin’s attack directly instead of dodging. If he let the vortexes continue unchecked, they would have smashed through the barrier and injured everyone watching.
’Since Safa is fighting, I can’t rely on her to keep the barrier up,’ Raze thought. ’Her Light magic would have come in handy… but if that’s not an option, then I can only do one thing.’
“EVERYONE!” Raze shouted, his voice echoing like thunder as he amplified it with wind magic. “The fighting is about to get intense. You should leave the stadium! If you stay, you will get hurt, and if you choose to remain, then that’s your decision. The Grand Magus will not care if any of you are caught in this.”
His words rolled over the battlefield like a warning bell. The crowd shifted uneasily, fear flickering in their eyes.
“Those who are strong enough, protect the people by your side,” Raze continued. “Deflect the attacks. Shield the weak. Do whatever you must.”
Then he drew in a sharp breath.
“I have one more order.”
He paused for a single heartbeat.
Then his voice tore across the arena like a war cry.
“FEAR THE UNSEEN!” Raze bellowed. “Everyone who hears those words, and knows their meaning, you are to protect the crowd at all costs! Use whatever you can! No longer hide your identities!”
His dark aura flared as he shouted his final words.
“Because today… is the day the world will learn… the cruelty of Ibarin, the Grand Magus!”
*****
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