Dark Magus Returns

The Light Faction warriors who were part of the organization had managed to gather all the necessary details, and now it was time for them to march off to the closest city, rather than returning to the arena.

Cicle, one of the organizers along with the thirty top clan heads, had already headed off to escort the Demonic Faction. They didn't want them to stay in the Light Faction for much longer as it was making them uneasy and consuming a large part of their resources.

Carriages had already arrived for them, hurrying along across the land. Inside the carriage with all the other participating students was Kaylie, along with Lince, while the other adults had gone with the others.

"You don't think the Light Faction will try to do something, do you? Is that why you decided to come with us?" Beret asked.

"I doubt it. It seems like they were genuine in sending us back. They don't want a fight because they seem confused by all of this; perhaps they expect that we might handle the situation ourselves," Lince answered.

"And the situation, is that to do with Mantis and Jake?" Brack asked as he stared out of the carriage window at the scenery, his wounds having improved from his match.

However, he was slightly concerned. After all, Sha Mo had kicked him out of the Behemoth Clan, and the person who had accepted him in was Jake; he was meant to be part of the Crimson Crane as part of his protection.

"We'll have to let things be," Lince said. "If you're asking what will happen to them when they come back, then I wouldn't worry too much. Jake is linked to the Crimson Crane, and the Crimson Crane is linked to the Neverfall Clan through the marriage with Rayna.

"After they performed well against the Behemoth Clan, there aren't many clans that will go against them for these two reasons. However, with Mantis as well and everything, I doubt even Belil will let them just come back with open arms without any questions being answered.

"Sha Mo will spread the news and try to brand the Crimson Crane as traitors, until they manage to explain these things. In the end, we can't help them, and they brought this upon themselves. If you're worried, I'll look after you until the time comes."

Brack thought about it for a while until he eventually shook his head.

"No, once we're back in the Demonic Faction, if you can just take me to the Crimson Crane base, that will be fine. Whatever happens after is fine."

Lince smiled; he was surprised one person had made quite the impression, not just on the students but the adults as well. Lince couldn't help but be extremely curious about this person.

"I was wondering, did you see what happened before we teleported away? I know we were all busy with the Light Faction, but I saw it—his hair color changed to white," Kaylie mentioned.

"I did see that... I'm aware of special masks that can be created to hide one's appearance; our clan is quite skilled at that ourselves," Lince answered. "But that change, it wasn't a mask, nor did it seem like a special type of hair dye."

"White hair is quite unusual for someone his age," Beret commented. "Unless it's to do with one of the special arts he's learned."

"Remember, nothing is making sense at the moment; we have all just been transported across the Light Faction continent in an instant," Lince replied. "But, you're right; there aren't many students with white hair. It makes you think—if he was part of the Dark Faction academy, someone as skilled and strong as him might be given the nickname White Dragon."

Everyone in the carriage turned to look at Lince; they had paused, frozen in place. Because of his words, they all could imagine it as the truth. No one from the Dark Faction could be considered the White Dragon or fit that description. However, the mysterious student 'Jake,' who had appeared out of nowhere, could.

Not only that, but it would make sense why he had gotten so upset.

"I'm just making connections that are loosely connected!" Lince chuckled. "None of you have to take what I say seriously. Come on, I can't even imagine the set of circumstances for all of that to happen in the first place."

---

Traveling with the large crowd of people from the tournament to the nearest city was Marcus and his special Alter squad. All of them were practically walking across the vast land because there weren't enough carriages to accommodate everyone, at least not until they reached the city. The Light Faction warriors were positioned at the front and back of the group, pushing people along at their own pace.

Of course, if people wished to go their own way instead of to the city, they could do so; they just needed to report to one of the Light Faction members first to make a record of it.

"Did you receive any new orders?" Tanya asked.

"Nope," Marcus replied. "Other than to just head back to our usual position. I saw some other people move, so I wouldn't worry about it much. And to be honest, I wouldn't worry too much; it's not our problem to deal with."

Although Marcus said those words, when looking at Barlan, he could see he had a lot on his mind. So he walked over and gave him a big old slap on the back. A slight cracking noise was heard.

"OWW!" Barlan shouted. "Why did you hit me so hard?"

"You looked troubled, so for a moment, I wanted to snap you out of it," Marcus answered. "Besides, I didn't realize they made you Algersians so weak. I know you don't rely on physical strength, but it wouldn't do you any harm to put some muscle on your body at some point. Anyway, what have you got on your mind? Is it that mage?"

Barlan couldn't lie as he gave a nod.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious. Alters pay close attention to otherworlders, but in particular, they pay close attention to you Alterians. I thought it might be because the leader is an Alterian himself, but it seems more to do with your magic causing trouble in this world.

"It's clear as day; back there, he used a lot of magic, and I doubt all of that was an order from Alter."

"You're right. The spell he used and how he was able to pull it off—it was amazing. That wasn't the talent of a 4-star mage, but clearly, the magic he used wasn't beyond it. Someone able to do such things would be considered a genius," Barlan said.

He started to think back to the links and what he had seen Raze do before when he had tricked Marcus and the others. It wasn't the first time Raze was able to pull off such things.

"I think I might have underestimated him as a mage, and in a lot of ways." Barlan didn't say one more thing; he was deeply wondering; someone that skilled had to have had their name spread throughout Alterian, and someone so young would be known by everyone, yet he had never heard of him, so who was he?

"Should I tell you what I'm worried about in all of this? That mage is part of Himmy's group. Whatever happens, Himmy will now have to suffer the repercussions from what that mage had done. I liked the guy…but I'm quite sure that I might not be able to see him again."