When Raze saw the beast regenerating, a part of him had already expected it. Deep down, he had hoped it wouldn't be the case, but he knew better. Even if he used a large-scale attack combining Qi and elemental magic, it still wasn't guaranteed that it would be enough to eliminate this creature.

After the beast recovered its head, it immediately opened fire again, sending several jet streams of water directly toward Raze. In response, he used his lightning steps, fused with Qi movement, weaving between the strikes with flawless precision. He dodged each one and eventually returned to the same position he had started from.

For a moment, his gaze shifted to the others, the students, the teachers, and the remaining Pagna members.

"I can always figure things out later," Raze muttered to himself. "But right now, while I still have the power to protect them… I should do that."

With a sharp stomp of his foot, Qi erupted in a wave from the ground before him.

Watching this, Dame's expression changed, a chill running down his spine. A small smile appeared on his lips.

"It's been a long time since I've seen him use that," Dame said softly. "If he's pulling that out… then I guess it means he's truly serious."

Raze began to go through the Descending Steps. But this wasn't just the traditional form of the technique. As he progressed through each step, Qi built up inside his body, and so did something else.

Raze was gathering Dark Magic.

Both energies were being channeled to the hilt of his sword.

By the time he reached the fourth Descending Step, he kicked off from the ground. At the same time, he activated the fourth form of the Dark Edge Sword Arts, Void Pulse.

A combination of Dark Magic and Qi blasted out behind him as his sword pierced through the stomach of the dimension beast. The energy burned through the creature's defenses, eating away at its form. The regenerative ability that had once seemed unstoppable now slowed drastically, almost to a complete halt.

Panic spread among the students and teachers alike. Sweat formed on their foreheads as they watched the impossible unfold before them.

"Is that… what I think it is?" Redrick asked, his voice barely audible.

"If you noticed it, then we all did," Panla replied quickly. "That was the power of Dark Magic."

Raze wasn't finished yet. With the beast reeling from the first strike, he pushed onward. Continuing through the Descending Steps, his body moved with perfect precision until he reached the final step and was airborne.

From above, his sword began to glow with the full energy of his seven-star core.

"The Dark Edge Sword Art that covers the widest area… the Second Formation, Eclipse Strike!"

All of the Qi that had built up within him surged into the attack. Combined with his magical affinity, something enhanced since forming his Dark Core, the strike reached a level beyond what anyone could have imagined.

When he swung his sword, the very atmosphere responded.

The entire field in front of the students was consumed by darkness.

A wave of dark energy crashed into the beast, slamming it into the ground. The entire landscape rumbled beneath the force of the impact. The sheer magnitude of the power sent tremors through the earth, making it impossible for the students to stay balanced. Some of them screamed, not from pain, but from fear. The overwhelming power, the strange magic in the air, it felt too foreign, too unnatural.

Londo, meanwhile, couldn't take his eyes off the dark magic he had just witnessed.

No one in the Dark Guild has this level of magic, he thought. It's impossible. It should be impossible. And not just that… he's using it with a sword?

Londo's mind spiraled back into memory.

There had been one time, one incident, where someone in the Guild was seen wielding both a sword and Dark Magic. That event had been broadcasted worldwide. A mysterious individual capable of matching the Dark Magus in power.

If that person had this level of magic, Londo realized, then it would explain everything. It would make sense… but could it really be true?

Is that person… the new Dark Magus?

Londo began replaying his earlier conversations with Raze in his head, their walk, the strange aura, the things Raze said, how he carried himself.

Raze didn't act like someone who answered to anyone. But at the same time, he didn't act like someone looking for recognition either. Londo had been smug in their conversations, but maybe it had all been misplaced. This level of magic, this depth of control, it could only come from the Dark Magus themselves.

As the magic began to clear, Raze landed gently on the ground. The area beneath him had been utterly devastated. All the greenery that once filled the landscape had disappeared. Even the rocks near the river's edge, the entire riverbed itself, everything was gone.

That included the beast.

Raze walked forward across the barren field. Amid the ruined ground, he spotted one thing left behind, the Power Stone.

"With a strong water core like this," Raze said to himself, "if I use the Extraction Technique, it should increase my affinity."

Without wasting any time, Raze knelt by the crystal and activated the Extraction Technique right then and there. The energy flowed into his body, his affinity with water slowly improving, a key element he had always been weaker in. This made everything that had happened inside the dimension worth it.

Once the extraction was complete, the Power Stone crumbled into nothing but scattered particles.

Raze turned toward the students.

There was no longer any threat. The portal stood open behind them. They could return to the academy at any time. But none of them were moving.

They just stood there, completely frozen, unable to process what they had seen.

They had just witnessed someone use Dark Magic. Not just anyone, Raze.

And now he wasn't sure what to do.

Should he walk over and explain himself? Should he just turn around, walk through the portal, and disappear from the academy entirely? Maybe meet up with the others some other way?

What was the right move now?

What was the situation?

"All of you saw that, right?" Chiba asked, his voice breaking the silence. "What he just used… that was definitely Dark Magic."

"Of course it was," Bronto said, stepping forward. His face was serious, his tone confident. "Unlike us, who claimed to be members of the Dark Guild, not a single one of us could use actual Dark Magic… because we weren't true members.

"It's quite clear now. He is a member of the Dark Guild."

****

****

For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below.

Instagram: Jksmanga

Patreon*: jksmanga