Dark Magus Returns

After Raze had spoken the same phrase again while directly looking at Murkel, the area underneath his feet lit up. Just like what had happened moments before, now a bright beacon of light appeared under his feet.

The major difference was, rather than the light shining on the entire arena, it only illuminated where Raze currently stood--a beam of energy that covered him completely.

'What is this, why is he so confident?' Murkel thought. 'His words that he spoke, could it be... is he really going to?'

When the beacon of light started to fade, Murkel got his answer. Now, where Raze once stood, a large number of people completely surrounded him.

"The Crimson Crane has arrived!" Kizer said as he drew his large sword. "We've been waiting for your call and wondering when this was going to happen!"

Both the Dark Faction and Light Faction members still viewing from the audience couldn't believe it. Raze was true to his word; just as he had made everyone disappear, he had made certain people appear.

Now the entirety of the Crimson Crane was by Raze's side, and it wasn't just them.

"Rayna!" Dame called out.

Rayna glanced ahead to see her younger brother, of all things.

"You... you're here. You have a lot of explaining to do. I thought the least you could do was be at my wedding!" Rayna said.

"Ah yeah, I heard about that," Dame said, scratching his head, but he had to pay attention to the situation that was evolving.

This was Raze's plan from the beginning, what he had made Anna and Alba aware of before they had come to the tournament. He never expected it to turn out this way, but it had.

Raze had studied the special Alterian spell placed in the cave, a way to open a teleportation area to a specific point in Pagna.

It took him a while, but all he needed was some motivation and a reason to break it down.

After figuring it out, he had set up a teleportation spot in the town of Flendon. It would be a one-time thing, but as long as all the members of the Crimson Crane stood in the magic circle.

When the spell activated, he would transport them from one place to another, just like he had done in making the rest disappear.

Only, he didn't really know where he had transported everyone else, but that didn't matter.

Amir was smiling as he saw the members that had come for backup.

"So you did have a plan after all, as expected," Amir stated.

"A plan? A plan!" Murkel said with his arms spread wide open. "The Crimson Crane may be infamous due to their status as wanderers, but they are nothing compared to the people that I have gathered here."

In the middle of his talk, Murkel turned his head as he noticed something from his side. Cronker had the dagger across his face and had moved at a fast speed.

He had launched towards Murkel, his dagger coated in Qi, ready to finish off the head.

However, Murkel didn't activate his Qi, nor did he make a fist; instead, he turned his head back to look at Raze and the others.

Cronker went and slashed his dagger aiming right for Murkel's neck, when a small black needle-looking object had appeared.

Murkel looked at the person holding onto the needle and he could see what looked like a frail old man that was mostly bones, but a deathly smile was on his face.

Cronker looked at his other hand and could see another needle-like object, as long as a sword but incredibly thin.

With the Qi coating it, it was making the object harder. The old man then went to thrust the needle, but Cronker had skidded back just in time, deflecting it with his dagger.

When he skidded across the floor and eventually stopped, a slight stinging pain could be felt on his cheek, a small amount of blood had been drawn.

"This guy… is incredibly fast," Cronker said, as his three students appeared by his side.

"Damn it!" Ricktor clicked his tongue, who was off by the side. "That's Arkon, the old man who leads the special forces in the Erupting Fist clan."

"The person who you said whoever sees his face has never lived to tell the tale," Mada added.

"Correct, with all these members of the Dark Faction, I'm not sure the Crimson Crane arriving will be enough," Ricktor said with a concerned look.

He still wasn't sure if this was the right time or not. Ricktor still hadn't seen enough that convinced him that Raze was the right person to back.

Although the others might be done for, for Ricktor himself, even though he detested his father, a chance for revenge would always come as long as one is alive, and there was a chance that his father would spare him.

Amir had the same thought and looked at Raze, wondering if this was enough after seeing Cronker get stopped.

"I can tell you're worried," Raze said. "You saw them when they helped against Lisa from the Lethal Bite Clan. They have helped me time and time again when I've been in a tough pinch.

"It seems that I have come to rely on them a lot more than I would have liked."

"And that is why I'm worried," Amir replied back. "It took nearly all of them just to take out one of the Dark Faction leaders."

Raze smiled as he went to sit down. He had used a lot of magic again. The distance was important in the spell, and he had transported the Crimson Crane quite a far distance.

What he needed to do now was try to gain as much magic and Qi through cultivating as quickly as possible. He couldn't risk taking another pill after what had happened last time.

It would only work for a limited time, and fainting in a situation like this would practically be death.

"They are a lot stronger than back then… do you think I would be so calm to cultivate at a time like this if I didn't trust them?" Raze said as he closed his eyes. "And besides, we're not alone."

Once again, annoyed by everything, Murkel lifted his fist in the air. His visual Qi created what looked like a black hole around it, then condensed into his fist.

He charged forward, aiming towards the entire group.

"What now, are all of you going to get involved to block my hit this time?!" Murkel asked with a smug smile on his face.

"No, there's no need!" Tilion said, as he pulled out his Legendary ranked shield, with the proud marking of DM.

He charged forward ahead of everyone else, and with his weight behind the shield, he blocked the punch head-on.

The punch hitting the shield had shaken the stadium, but only for a moment. The ripples of Qi that would be seen in the air, they weren't present.

Murkel could see the shield and it looked just fine.

"What, is that shield?" Murkel asked.

"It's an item made by the Dark Magus and can't be destroyed by someone like you," Tilion answered.