The Golem Mage

659: The Five That Makes Up The Dark.

659: The Five That Makes Up The Dark.

While Alec was busy with his own affairs, the rest of the team was preoccupied with theirs, still in disbelief that they had made it to the finals of the Inter-Academy Competition.

One person particularly taken aback was Beatrice.

The journey had been a rollercoaster ride for her, and now she found herself taking a stroll outside their living quarters, wandering through the open area behind their new home.

A small noise caught her attention, and as she turned to its source she realized it was on the other side, so she peered over the fence into the quarters occupied by another team.

There, she saw the captain of Onyx Academy, seated cross-legged and deep in cultivation, while his elder sister Morgana sat around, keeping watch as he tried to heal his internal wounds.

Noticing that Dorian was merely healing his wounds, Beatrice decided to divert her gaze, only to hear the same sound again, this time louder.

It was clear that she wasn’t the only one who heard it; even Morgana, who had been vigilantly observing her pale-faced brother, stood up and looked in the direction of the noise.

As someone stepped into view, Beatrice squinted her face, trying to recall where she had seen the mage standing before Morgana.

Though she felt that the face looked familiar, but she still struggled to pinpoint how she knew the person, as if there had been no lasting impression on her.

And it was true she had seen the person standing before Morgana before, because the newcomer turned out to be Maria Darkbliss, even her face was still partially covered with a veil as she walked toward Morgana.

“Hold up!

Don’t take another step forward, or you’ll be cut down!” Morgana warned, a small dagger manifesting in her right hand, as a flash of tattoos appeared around that arm before the weapon manifested, indicating that the weapon was either part of a spirit equipment set, or perhaps a strong spirit weapon.

“It seems it has been so long that even you don’t recognize a member of your own clan,” Maria replied, her voice surprisingly calm and low.

“Member of my clan?

I might not know most members of my clan, but I’m sure you’re not as your aura is completely unfamiliar, which means you’re not one of us,” Morgana stated.

“Tch!

Quick to jump to conclusions, allow me to introduce myself.

I’m Maria Darkbliss, a candidate for the heir position of clan patriarch.

Surely you know who I am now?” Maria said, bowing slightly in courtesy.

“The Darkbliss family line!

They were banished from the Ancient Dark clan long ago,” Morgana replied with a snort, finally understanding Maria’s connection to the clan.

“Yes, we were banished, but only because the Voss family conspired with other branches to kill our last representatives and framed him, all because they feared his power and didn’t want him to become the next leader,” Maria explained.

“Spare me the history lesson.

It’s recorded that your ancestor was a traitor who betrayed the ancient Dark clan,” Morgana retorted.

“The victors write history, don’t they?

But that doesn’t matter now.

I’ve come to defeat the junior champion of the clan and have the ancient Dark clan reconsider our banishment,” Maria said, pausing to glance at the pale Dorian, who was deep in cultivation with his eyes closed.

“But it seems I arrived too late.

He’s already been defeated and is in a precarious situation.

I’ll have to make do with what I have now till he is fully healthy, let’s spar under the codex of the ancient Dark clan,” Maria Darkbliss declared, shocking even Beatrice, who was observing from the dark, at how quickly Maria had turned the conversation into a challenge.

As Maria took a stance, summoning a short sword in her right hand, Morgana frowned at the turn of events.

She had considered calling for guards to remove the intruder, but with Maria invoking the Codex of the Dark clan, she couldn’t refuse, it meant she would have to battle Maria compulsorily until there was a winner among them.

The ancient Dark Clan is unlike other ancient clans because its core members are divided into five family branches, which span through even their inner yard, and outer court as they didn’t accept many clans as side branches to marry too, but instead they collect retainer clans with dark powers or elements.

And Whenever a patriarch passes away or wishes to pass on their responsibilities to the next generation, a contest is held among the five strongest mages from each of the families, with the winner becoming the new patriarch and leading the clan while the four who lost become new elders of the clan.

This tradition of having different heirs compete for the patriarchal throne is why the Darkbliss family has both Clarissa and Maria as heir prospects, even after moving to Estonia City.

Their commitment to the clan’s historical culture remains unwavering.

But while the ancient Dark Clan might have considerable strength in numbers, the divisions among the families are the primary reason they are not considered a significant threat by other ancient clans.

Infighting often occurs, as they tend to create problems internally when external battles are lacking.

Currently, the ancient Dark Clan is made up of only four families instead of five, as the Darkbliss family was expelled before the last patriarchal battle.

And their power can be explained as the Darkbliss family, known for their specialization in dark curses; the Voss family, which focuses on necromancy; the Duskveil family, renowned as the best Dark Mage combatants in the clan; and the Nightshade family, who oversee the shadow units and are often hired as assassins due to their exceptional stealth skills and ability to eliminate anyone they have marked.

Lastly, there is the Nocturnis family, adept in most things related to the soul or dark practices of the soul.

These four families minus the Darkbliss are what make up the ancient Dark Clan, and they are often perceived as eerie and malevolent because of their spell types.

Before their banishment, the Darkbliss family was considered the crown jewel among the families.

Despite having many weaker members, they consistently produced one super genius each generation to lead them proudly in the heir ascension battles.

As a result, whenever the patriarchal contests took place, participants from the Darkbliss clan often emerged as the victors.