Dark Magus Returns

The massive amount of magic that had been used had caused a large portion of the building to crumble. Stone, dust, and shattered glass rained down from the upper floors, coating the street in a fine, choking powder. The facility, once a hidden hub of clandestine operations, now looked like a bombed-out husk, its metallic skeleton twisted and exposed against the darkening sky. The sheer power unleashed had fundamentally changed the geography of the battlefield.

Due to the fighting that had been taking place outside, most of those inside the building had already fled, scrambling away in fear of getting caught up in the chaotic conflict unfolding on their doorstep. Only the truly dedicated, the fanatically loyal, or those too slow to escape remained, pressed against the remaining walls, praying for the end of the onslaught.

As for the various factions that were fighting, there was mass confusion among all parties. It was a scene of unparalleled disarray, where alliances shifted faster than the winds of war.

For one, the Dark Guild and the military personnel were locked in a fierce, established skirmish, trading elemental spells and disciplined gunfire. The air was thick with the residue of their conflict. But that battle abruptly ground to a halt when they saw the Cerberus Guild members floating their way towards them. These elite mages, clad in shimmering gold-threaded uniforms, descended with an air of clinical, terrifying superiority. The military and the Dark Guild forces froze, unsure whether to attack this new, powerful threat or continue their previous engagement.

That hesitation had cost them their lives. For the Cerberus Guild members, the details of the conflict were irrelevant; they didn't care about the petty war between the Dark Guild and the government. They were simply there to eliminate all threats.

As the blinding golden energy erupted from their palms, it struck both the military personnel and members of the Dark Guild indiscriminately. The rays of pure light were not merely beams; they were streams of focused annihilation. They consumed the victims almost instantly, leaving behind nothing but scorched pavement and the fading memory of a scream. The power was so absolute, so devastating, that where a person had stood just moments before, there was now only a momentary flicker of smoke and absence.

In a terrifying twist, the conflict had morphed into a three-way battle. However, what the Cerberus Clan, in their arrogant focus on pure magical power, didn't predict was the unpredictable nature of humans when facing annihilation.

The sudden arrival of the Cerberus Guild, with their powerful, indiscriminately attacking magic, immediately clarified the true danger. Both the Dark Guild mages and the military forces, despite their mutual hatred, instantly grasped that the most dangerous enemy was the Cerberus Guild. The threat was existential and immediate. The military hadn't received a direct order from their leader, Varkos, to change targets; they were simply fighting back against the Cerberus forces because it was a fight for their very survival. Similarly, the Dark Guild's immediate objective shifted from conquering territory to surviving the golden onslaught.

So, with this great, unifying threat in front of them, the Dark Guild and the military personnel were now forced to work together. They began executing coordinated attacks, a stunning, makeshift alliance born of desperation, doing what they could to fend off the Cerberus members and push them back. They formed a fragile, temporary frontline, a testament to the primal instinct to survive.

Amidst the raging battle outside, the true heart of the conflict remained in the broken part of the facility. The pale light of the setting sun now shone on the rubble and the gaping hole in the structure. In the half of the facility that was still left standing, Harvey remained perfectly fine. His massive Dark Magic puppet hovered protectively over his body, its opaque shadow absorbing the shockwaves. The puppet's enormous, skeletal hands were momentarily enclosed around him, having shielded him entirely from the blast and the subsequent debris fall.

"I guess taking out one of the top people from the Dark Guild wasn't going to be as easy as I thought," Varkos said, his voice carrying an edge of mock disappointment as he slowly stepped over a beam of concrete.

"You really thought it was going to be easy? When I already got rid of one of your commanders?" Harvey retorted, his voice calm but laced with venom. He didn't waste more words. He thrust out his hand, shouting a single command: "Dark Pulse!"

Quickly, Varkos reacted, using concentrated Wind Magic to propel his body sideways, avoiding the initial attack. The black-purple beam of destructive energy vaporized the wall behind him. The Dark Pulses continued to erupt from Harvey's hand with machine-gun rapidity. Varkos, utilizing his mastery of aetheric wind, became a blur, moving from side to side, constantly manipulating the air pressure around his body to dodge the relentless volley of attacks.

As he dodged, he began to spin his body, gathering the wind around him until a powerful tornado formed, momentarily encasing him in a swirling gray vortex. Right after, within the protection of the whirlwind, he focused his energy. Two razor-sharp wind vortexes, focused columns of air pressurized to cut through steel, shot out in different directions, aiming to flank Harvey.

Just like before, the Shadow Puppet's hands began to grow in size, ballooning into massive, black shields of solidified shadow magic. They met the Wind Vortexes head-on, blocking the attacks completely. The collision resulted in a deafening sonic boom, but the puppet held firm, the shadow magic dissipating the kinetic force.

Before Varkos could follow up, a volley of Ice Shards materialized above him and rained down the center toward Harvey. The crystalline projectiles were aimed for a vulnerable spot not covered by the puppet. However, before the ice could connect, Harvey instantly countered, firing three blazing fireballs from his left hand simultaneously. They intercepted the Ice Shards in mid-air, melting them instantly in a hiss of steam that momentarily obscured the view.

"Did you think the only thing I knew how to use was Dark Magic?" Harvey asked, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "The only reason I use Dark Magic, and primarily Dark Magic, is because it's the strongest magic there is! It is the most potent and efficient form of destruction."

Now, the true, combined threat emerged. When Harvey thrust out his hands, firing a double Dark Pulse, his puppet mirrored the motion, emitting two more powerful beams from behind him. Four distinct points of attack were now converging on Varkos simultaneously, boxing him in.

Varkos was forced to rely on his wind magic once again to desperately avoid the coordinated onslaught. He could see, however, that the pattern was tightening and he would soon be hit. In a split second of strategic desperation, he spun his body, encasing himself with as much protective wind magic as possible, creating a dense, swirling barrier, a last-ditch defensive cocoon.

Seeing this change in defense, Harvey instantly changed his attack vector. Instead of relying on the pulses, he moved in closer, capitalizing on the temporary halt in Varkos's movement. With both hands held out, he began to fire a continuous stream of fire, a roaring torrent of intense heat.

The fire joined with the swirling protective wind, the air currents fanning the flames and causing the inferno to twist into a raging, terrifying whirlwind of heat. It was blowing in hot, completely surrounding Varkos's defensive cocoon. Trying to stop the unbearable heat from penetrating the vortex and boiling him alive, Varkos was forced to dispel his wind magic in a massive, outward blast, pushing the fire away and creating a momentary vacuum.

In that single, exposed moment, the very moment Harvey had been waiting for, the Dark Puppet seized the opportunity. It fired its final, concentrated Dark Pulse, hitting Varkos directly on his exposed body. The pulse easily broke through the protective barrier his clothing had been designed to provide, ripping his uniform while striking his chest and part of his stomach. The force of the blow was immense, sending him reeling and skidding across the debris-strewn floor to the ground.

Varkos quickly pushed himself up onto one knee, ready to continue the fight, but the confident, arrogant smile he had worn before was gone, replaced by a grimace of pain and genuine shock. He touched the scorched, aching spot on his chest, the raw energy signature of the Dark Pulse still tingling painfully beneath his skin.

"I have had a lot of fighting experience," Harvey continued, advancing slowly, the puppet following like a massive, silent bodyguard. "It's practically been my job for a long time to take on hardened criminals and exceptional mages. I understand combat psychology and exploiting weakness."

Varkos gritted his teeth, anger mixing with the lingering pain.

"And there's a reason why I'm a War Magus," Varkos finally spat out, forcing himself to his feet despite the searing pain in his torso. "I'm sure you snuck up on Mordain, or fought him while he was already weak. You've never known the true, power we have." The look in his eyes promised an immediate, devastating counterattack.

**

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