Dark Magus Returns

Everything around Reno almost went silent. He didn't quite know what was happening to his senses. Every step he took forward toward Raze, he could feel a stronger surge of power.

Yet, what was this power? How could one emit it when they were still asleep like Raze currently was? He still hadn't gotten up from the floor; he was still lying there just sleeping.

'I have to continue to take another step forward, I have to keep going forward, but why, why is it so hard to force my body to? It's almost as if it doesn't want me to!' Reno thought to himself.

It was a crazy thought to have, and he could see the mages almost trying to target him soon. So, ignoring his fears, ignoring what his body was trying to tell him, he continued to take a step forward.

Another step through the sand, closer than before, and the strange feeling had intensified. Every cell was vibrating in the other direction, trying to pull him away, and the sick feeling was growing in his stomach.

Still, trying to ignore his gut feelings, he got one step closer, and that was when he learned that it was just a step too far.

"You…" The sound around Reno had almost drained. The look on the mage's face, the color of the sand, all of it was draining away from him, and all he could hear was a soft whisper of a female voice.

"You, stay away…" The voice said.

Before Reno could do anything else, before he could properly act, he felt a great pressure on his chest. He was unable to see anything; all he could hear was the voice.

As it pressed on his chest, he felt a large surge of power in the area. His legs were lifted up from the ground, and he saw his entire body go in the completely opposite direction.

"Reno?" Tilon's head was tilted, confused by what he just saw. No one was next to him; he still had at least another five meters or maybe more before he would reach Raze, so what was going on?

Right then, Reno's body crashed into Tilon, sending them both tumbling into the sand. When they finally stopped, Reno managed to look up and glanced towards Raze's body.

"What was that?" Reno asked, feeling his heart racing and the strong power through him. His whole body was covered in sweat.

It was the first time, in a long while, since he had felt a type of true fear, and his body was reacting to it. Everything had somewhat returned the color and the sound in his ears, but now he was even further.

"Hey, hey, hey, what happened? Did the commander guy knock you away?" Tilon asked.

The commander seemed to be observing the rest of the Crimson Crane. After dealing with Amir, he was trying to see who was the most troublesome to get rid of, and his eyes had landed on Alba.

She had managed to kill another one of the squad leaders with her skill and perseverance and was now battling with another.

"I guess, with her gone, there isn't really any more that can trouble us," Eston thought, lifting up his hand and pointing it toward her.

The glow started to surround his hand until he was interrupted by a cry.

"AHHHH!" A mage screamed from the side.

Turning his head, Eston could see the mage that was screaming; his arm was bent the wrong way, his bones were sticking out, and blood was on the floor.

Yet, there were no warriors next to him; he was only standing next to other mages.

The mage was in incredible pain, screaming at his broken bones, before a large force was felt on his knees. A loud cracking sound followed as he fell to the ground, his knees caving in and his legs bending the wrong way.

Lastly, a twist of the head silenced the screams, as the rest of his body fell to the floor.

The mages next to him took a step away, unsure of what had just happened.

"How did he… how did the mage die? It looked like someone twisted his head. Is it a type of spell?" One of them guessed.

They were looking towards the other warriors. They were the only enemy they were going up against. So it was only right for them to think that this attack had occurred from them.

Yet, they were scattered and so far away, at least from the mage that was hurt in question. Soon though, the startled nature of them changed, and they started their attack on the Crimson Crane members again.

They had their hands held out, ready to cast spells, that was until one mage met the same result again. This time, his fingers twisted, breaking apart, then it went to his wrist, snapping, right before his head was caved in and blood splattered in the air.

The mage had fallen to the ground, another one suffering a cruel fate.

"What is going on? Is it some type of ghost?" Some of the mages started to point their hands and spells right where the last victim had died and continued to fire away.

Yet, it did nothing but disturb the sand in the area, leaving a hole in the area.

"Did we get rid of it?"

"Get rid of what, the sand?"

"The ghost that's killing us!"

Using this as an opportunity, Kizer swung his sword and managed to slice a few of the mages apart, while others were lifted in the air from the outburst of the attack.

"Whatever it is, it seems like it's on our side!" Kizer said as he continued to fight.

However, Reno, who was still next to Tilon, wasn't so sure about that.

"What's going on? I've always considered you the smartest out of us, so do you know why is everyone getting taken down by some invisible force?" Tilon asked.

Reno wasn't quite so sure either, but he couldn't forget the strange feeling he felt, the voice that sounded in his head, and then the push right after.

'Could it be… is this all coming from Raze? But how could he do such a thing while being unconscious?' Reno thought.

He didn't want to say it out loud, for it sounded like a madman, and even from the things he had seen so far, it still felt like this was out of the realm of possibility.

That's when he was keeping a close eye. There had to be a link; not everyone was getting attacked.

The spells continued heading towards the Crimson Crane members, and now with Reno's powers, he was the one blocking the attacks that were going to hit Tilon, but he was still worried about Raze.

That's when he saw a mage lifting its hand, pointing it at none other than Raze. The magic started to flow, and just before he could finish his spell.

His elbow popped up with part of the bone ripping through the skin, and right after that, a loud crack was heard, and an indent was seen on the chest.

Blood filled the mage's mouth before falling to the ground.

"I can't believe it, anyone that's targeting Raze… is being killed. What is this, is this his doing?" Reno's hands were shaking, and he didn't even realize it.

'No, it was that voice, that female voice, what is going on here?'