Dark Magus Returns

With the first match of the event having been decided, there was major excitement in the air. There were practically fighting words between these two contestants, so there was some buildup in history.

Right now, even though it was only students that they were witnessing, they felt like they were seeing a big match between that of the Demonic Faction and the Light Faction, that could very well be emulating what would happen in the future.

For one, Ulyn was the strongest student in the Light Faction, so there was a lot riding on his shoulders, whereas 'Jake' wasn't even considered the strongest from the Demonic Faction; there was a lot riding on Ulyn's shoulders.

This was felt the moment he left the Light Faction viewing area, as he felt cheers so loud it shook the ground beneath his feet. He looked to the crowd and lifted his hand in response to them.

'I can't disappoint all of these people. I have worked hard every day, pushed myself to the bone every day for this moment. I climbed to the top of the Light Faction academy with honor.'

'Besting my skills and defeating everyone in my path with no underhand tricks, because I will be the one that is to sit at the top of all of this one day.'

There were strong emotions stirring through Ulyn, and he then went to grab a hard solid object that was beneath the cloth that he was wearing. The solid imprint could be seen slightly as he held onto it for a few moments, bringing back memories in his head.

Before the event had even started, Ulyn had been asked to meet with Kawak, the Clan Head of the Aurora Clan. It was an expected visit.

Him being part of the Aurora Clan, and having a relation to the Clan Head, he had been asked for a visit. The Clan Head Kawak and Ulyn were in the main room of the Aurora Clan.

A room filled so bright with white, that it was hard to see details of anything else inside the room, or even find an exit. It was a space that felt unreal in the world of Pagna.

Ulyn on the floor, kneeling to greet his Clan Head.

"The upcoming event is very important for not just the Light Faction, but also the Aurora Clan," Kawak stated. "You have done well, to rise to the top in the academy, besting even Beatrix's student."

"Thank you, sir," Ulyn replied.

"Last year, the Dawnblade Clan seemed to get ahead of us… they have been troublesome for us in a number of ways, that you will understand in the future as you rise in the clan. You have done well to not ask questions and follow our code."

"Which is why I wish to present you a gift."

Kawak moved over across the white space, almost floating in the air. He then handed over a strange-looking circular medallion. When Ulyn took it, he could still tell it wasn't an ordinary item, as he felt power similar to that of Qi coming from the object.

"Thank you," Ulyn replied. "Is this an artifact from another dimension?"

"It is indeed. This artifact attaches to the user's body and will benefit you greatly in your Pagna journey; you must wear it for the tournament," Kawak stated.

Ulyn felt his heart almost skip a beat at that moment. "I thank you for this gift truly, and to hand me such a great artifact, but… isn't the Martial Arts Tournament, a place to show our hard work and skill? To show the clan's techniques and what we have been doing at the academy the entire time."

"Of course, to someone of your age, they would think of the Martial ArtsTournament as such a thing, and the general public believes it as well. The fact that you think of it like that means we have done our job," Kawak answered.

"But if only I have an artifact, wouldn't that be unfair?" Ulyn asked.

"The Demonic Faction that will do anything to increase its power, and the Dark Faction that will do anything to win, both of these factions have an advantage because of their way of thinking, so isn't it only fair for us to use something."

"I understand it's hard for you to think this way, with the rules of our clan and the way our students have been brought up, so I shall give you peace of mind. If you wish to use your own power to win this tournament then so be it."

"That item will only activate if you are in trouble, so if you are strong enough, then the artifact will never activate, and this is an order, not a discussion."

Ulyn had taken his place in the center of the stage thinking of all of that. If he was to use the item and win, and the people in the crowd knew what he had done, what would they think?

If the item was discovered as well, his fellow Light Faction members at the academy, would they think that he had achieved this position due to the artifact he had on him, rather than his hard work? He couldn't give all of that up.

Raze stood opposite him, but just like he said in his interview, Ulyn wasn't really focused on him. To him, the Demonic Faction student was just a stone in the way of his path.

He drew his sword and held it lightly in his hand in front of him. 'So far, there are three that I have to worry about. After defeating this Jake, I will defeat the Black Tiger, the red-headed eye patch boy, and Hannah. With them out of the picture, I will rise and best Beatrix to become the new beacon of light the Light Faction needs.

'I will train the Light Faction to become strong and not need to use things like artifacts to win their fights!' Ulyn thought.

Standing opposite, the student held his sword by his side, with a single hand.

"And now, for the first match an exciting match will prevail, who will win, nobody knows!" The announcer shouted, and a loud sounding horn resounded in the entire arena signaling it was the start of the battle.

Immediately, Ulyn moved forward toward Raze, shortening the distance between the two. 'I will defeat him swiftly, showing the power of everything I trained for.'

When coming closer, he noticed something, a buildup of Qi in the sword, but it wasn't around the sword, it wasn't all gathered towards the hilt. As he moved closer, the buildup of Qi was immense, and Ulyn had a bad feeling.

Just as Ulyn got close enough, that was when Raze made his move.

"The Fourth Formation, Void Pulse Formation!" Raze thrust his sword forward, and his Qi exploded in ripples behind the sword.

When the sword was thrust forward, pulses of Qi were sent back behind him, and it had hit Ulyn right in the center of his chest. The powerful attack had cracked the artifact underneath the chest area and sent Ulyn flying through the air.

His body was sent back too fast for any of the middle stage warriors to act, and he had crashed into the arena wall, falling to the ground, and passing out.

Just like that, the match was over.