Dark Magus Returns - Chapter 1580

Chapter 1580: The Betrayer (Part 2)

The Dark Guild struck again, swift, silent, and brutal. They relied on the one weapon they still held in this endless war: surprise.

This time their blades were turned not toward the enemy, but toward one of their own.

Harvey had made his decision long before they reached the site. Even if not every man under Varkos knew about his dealings with the Cerebus Guild, it didn’t matter anymore. They were his men, and loyalty would make them fight for him. That meant they were a liability.

If a battle broke out, it would cost the Dark Guild dearly, so Harvey chose the cleaner path. End the problem before it could spread.

I’ll stop this here, he told himself grimly. Even if I have to stain my hands again.

When the ambush began, it was merciless. The Dark Guild moved through the fog-filled streets like reapers, their shadows merging with the smoke. They crept close enough to see the reflection of their blades in their victims’ eyes before striking.

One by one, Varkos’s soldiers fell. There were no warning cries, no chance for retaliation.

The civilians nearby, however, were not so blind. The first screams came from the workers on the factory floor, and soon the chaos spilled into the streets.

“It’s the Dark Guild! The Dark Guild are here!” one of the townsfolk shouted, his voice cracking as people began to scatter.

By now, hundreds of eyes were watching from windows, rooftops, and even air-trams gliding overhead. Many had been expecting an attack, the factory was known to belong to Gizin’s network, and everyone believed it would eventually be targeted by Raze’s forces.

Not for a second did any of them imagine that the Dark Guild was killing its own allies. To the public, it could only mean one thing, the righteous avengers of the Underside had finally found another den of the Cerebus Guild to purge.

Inside the factory, the muffled blasts and echoing screams reached even the top floor. The Cerebus Guild members stationed there could feel the tremor of magic rippling through the air.

“What’s going on out there?” one of them demanded, his hand already glowing with energy. “Have your people turned on us?”

Varkos’s expression hardened. “No. They wouldn’t move without my word.” He stood abruptly, heading toward the window.

The Cerebus mage twirled his hand, summoning a spinning sigil in the air. The circle expanded into a portal of light, revealing the scene below, smoke, fire, and bodies. The Dark Guild, clad in their black robes and masks, were attacking ruthlessly.

The mage turned on Varkos, eyes blazing. “You betrayed us!”

Varkos stared at the vision in disbelief. “No… we didn’t.” His voice was hollow. Through the shimmering portal, he could see his own men dying, men he had trained, men who had trusted him, slaughtered by the very organization they had been ordered to work beside.

The Cerebus mage shut the portal with a flick of his wrist. “It looks like your little alliance has been discovered,” he said coldly. “Or maybe the Dark Guild is exactly what we always thought, murderers dressed in black pretending to be heroes.”

He stepped toward the door. “Either way, I won’t die in this building. Come on, we need to fight our way out.”

Without waiting for Varkos’s answer, the Cerebus operatives charged down the stairwell. They were confident, too confident, that without the Dark Magus himself present, they could wipe out anyone in their path.

Varkos remained standing in the ruined office, the sounds of battle echoing below. His fists trembled.

“Will they be able to handle it?” he muttered to himself. “The Dark Guild are powerful, but they only ever won because of Alen’s help. The last assault proved that, half of their members were wiped out.

“If only they hadn’t attacked first,” he whispered bitterly. “Then maybe the Cerebus Guild and I could have stood together against them.”

A voice drifted from the far corner of the room. Low, calm, and laced with contempt.

“And that,” it said, “is exactly why I attacked your men first, because I knew you would say that.”

The shadows along the wall seemed to breathe. The corner of the room, already dim, turned into a pool of living darkness, swallowing what little light remained.

From it stepped Harvey.

His face was half-hidden beneath his hood, but his eyes burned with a cold certainty. The darkness clung to him like armor as he walked forward, every footstep echoing softly on the cracked floorboards.

“It was you,” Varkos hissed, stepping back. “Did the Dark Magus order you to spy on me?”

“The Dark Magus didn’t order anything,” Harvey replied. His voice carried no hesitation, no remorse. “I’ve been suspicious of all of you since the beginning. That’s why I got rid of the last War Magus, before he could cause any more trouble.”

He lifted his gaze, meeting Varkos’s in the flickering light. “Some called me paranoid. Others said I went too far. But seeing this now…” He gestured toward the window, where magic flashed and the faint cries of dying men echoed up from below. “I can see I was right.”

“You!” Varkos shouted, fury replacing fear. “You were the one who killed Mordain! I was right to side with the Cerebus Guild. The Dark Guild will be the end of Alterian, not its salvation!”

He slammed his hands together, runes igniting instantly along his arms. A deafening pulse of light erupted between them.

The explosion shattered the entire room. The walls tore apart, glass and steel raining down as the upper floor was consumed in fire.

The shockwave ripped through the factory, shaking the entire structure. Flames licked upward, swallowing the remnants of their confrontation.

Down below, both Dark Guild and Cerebus forces paused mid-battle, staring upward at the burst of white light that had devoured the second floor.

“Sir!” one of the guild members shouted, shielding his face from the heat. “Was that, ?”

But before anyone could answer, the ceiling collapsed.

****

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