Chapter 1376: Return to Fire

When Londo shouted, his voice rang out with pure anger. It caught everyone’s attention instantly.

It was completely out of character for the Londo they knew, the quiet one who kept to himself, who rarely, if ever, spoke up in front of a crowd.

And yet, here he was… defending the transfer students. People he barely even knew.

His sudden outburst had pulled the attention of every student present. Both of his fists were clenched tightly at his sides, and the fury in his voice was clearly directed at his fellow classmates.

“Hey… you don’t think Londo’s a Dark Guild sympathizer, do you?” one student whispered.

“With how many students are in this academy, there had to be one, right?” another added hesitantly.

“Listen to yourselves,” Moze snapped, stepping forward. “Does that even make sense? Londo’s one of the top students here. Some even say he could rank higher than Piba if he actually tried. Why would someone like him, who lives a good life, support the Dark Guild?”

Moze was trying to defend him, but his words only seemed to make Londo more furious.

“Shut up!” Londo growled, seething through gritted teeth. “You all know nothing! All of you, living your privileged lives, so far removed from what’s really happening out there. None of you know the truth.”

He took a step forward, his voice trembling but firm with conviction.

“You listen to whatever your families say. You obey the academy, the higher-ranked mages, without question. Why? Just because that’s the way things have always been?”

His eyes scanned the group. “None of you are even trying to see what’s real. You didn’t even listen to what Raze said properly.”

His voice cracked slightly, but he kept going.

“He saved all of you! Pretend for a second he wasn’t connected to the Dark Guild, pretend Dark Magic wasn’t taboo at all. This is how you treat someone who saved your lives?”

Londo’s chest heaved as he let out one final cry.

“All of you make me sick. I don’t want to be in an academy filled with people like you. Blind followers… that’s what makes you dangerous!”

He stopped. His body was trembling, his breath uneven. The adrenaline was burning in his veins, but he had to speak. He couldn’t hold it back, not after everything that had just happened.

Because Londo was almost certain.

This Raze… he had to be the Dark Magus.

Londo wasn’t one of the older fanatics who idolized the Dark Magus of the past. Many who followed the Dark Guild now had joined because of what the new Dark Magus had done, not the previous one.

Londo didn’t know if the old and the new Dark Magus were the same person.

And honestly? It didn’t matter.

Because everything Londo believed in now, every reason he had joined the Dark Guild, it was because of the new Dark Magus.

And everything about Raze, his power, his actions, his strength, pointed to one conclusion.

He was him.

Even if Raze had destroyed the former Dark Guild in the process of achieving his goals, Londo wouldn’t care. What mattered now was that he had risked his life to save them, students who didn’t even know the full truth.

For so long, Londo had believed the Dark Magus was a symbol of chaos. But standing here, watching Raze fight to protect others… that belief had started to shatter.

What he once thought was evil for evil’s sake… was now looking more and more like justice.

And that was why he couldn’t just stand there and let them tear him down.

Bronto stood frozen, trying to assess the temperature of the room. But now, with Dame threatening him just moments ago, he was completely quiet.

His tongue clicked in frustration as he noticed the three instructors step forward.

“I believe what Londo said is correct,” Panla was the first to speak, bowing deeply. “I believe… that we, the instructors, were afraid. Afraid of what you might do next. What desperate measures you’d take by heading to the Magical Exchange. And if we were responsible for that, it would have been… devastating.”

“Agreed,” Luka added. “We still don’t know if what you’ll do from here will be seen as good or bad by others. But the actions you’ve taken so far… they’ve come from good intentions.”

“And more importantly,” Redrick chimed in with a grin, “you freaking saved our lives. So, the least we can do is keep this secret. You’ve earned that much.”

One after another, the teachers expressed their support. They agreed to keep Raze’s identity, and the truth, hidden from the principal. They would carry on as if nothing had happened.

Most of the students seemed to fall in line with the decision as well. But there were more than fifteen of them here.

Not counting the top-ranked students or the instructors, that still left over nine others, including Londo, who needed to stay silent.

“Well, I guess we’re all in on the secret now,” Piba said with a shrug. “Whether we like it or not.”

Moze looked at him, frowning. “What do you mean by that?”

“If they find out Raze is a Dark Mage and part of the Dark Guild, what do you think will happen to us?” Piba asked flatly. “You’ve seen it. They don’t take this stuff lightly. They might decide we helped him. They might get rid of all of us just in case.”

He glanced around at the group.

“If they find out we knew and said nothing? That’s even worse. We’d be branded sympathizers. The best thing we can do is keep our mouths shut and move on.”

Liam, quietly observing, analyzed everyone’s facial expressions through his system.

He could tell… Piba’s words had worked. The fear had settled in. Enough to silence them.

Raze, watching it all unfold, finally let out a small smile.

“We’ve all been through a lot,” he said. “So let’s head back. The portal’s ready. Let’s return to the academy.”

****

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