Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"Arghhhh!"

"What's going on!?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"This is insane...!"

People screamed as the winds howled around them. Though it was just wind, the dark, ominous energy and the gust strong enough to blow over tables had terrified everyone. But the strange phenomenon didn't stop there. Black clouds began to gather around the castle, unleashing violent bolts of lightning.

Crash! Boom!

"What the hell is this all of a sudden!?"

The thunderous sound woke all the veteran pioneers who had been resting. As soon as they stepped outside and saw the dark clouds swirling above the castle, they were in shock.

Why were the clouds gathering around the castle?

And why was lightning crashing down so intensely?

"It looks like something out of a fairy tale... an evil lord's castle," one of the pioneers muttered, expressing what everyone was thinking.

The dark clouds continued to grow until they covered the entire sun. As pitch-black darkness enveloped everything, people cowered in fear.

Then, whoosh—suddenly, the clouds burst outward in all directions and disappeared. The once-darkened sky immediately cleared, and the sun shone brightly again, as if nothing had happened. Everyone stood there, mouths agape at the sky, which had changed twice in an instant.

"...My lord!"

The first to regain his composure was Ethan. Since the clouds had centered around the castle, it was clearly connected to Justin

At his words, the others blinked awake and rushed toward the castle.

"What did he do this time?"

"Ugh, I'm getting tired of being surprised every time."

Muttering complaints filled with a mixture of astonishment and frustration, they hurried inside. Rachel was the first to run up the stairs and burst into Justin's room.

"Justin!" she cried as she threw open the door, eyes wide with shock.

Around Justin, a dark aura swirled ominously. And on his head, a massive crown emitted a shadowy, oppressive energy. Justin opened his eyes slowly and looked at Rachel with a calm expression.

"...Give me a second. It's not going away easily."

Rachel blinked in surprise as Justin, wearing a sheepish expression, waved his hand to try and disperse the remaining aura.

'This is a bit much.'

Justin clicked his tongue as he tried to brush away the lingering aura with his hand. Unlike before, this dark energy clung stubbornly and refused to disappear easily.

'I'd like to blow it away in one shot like last time,' he thought.

But that would have left the room in shambles. He had no choice but to remove it bit by bit with his hands. As he finally brushed away the last of the aura, he couldn't help but grumble.

"Honestly, these guys put so much effort into special effects."

"Special effects? That was a special effect?" Nathan asked, chuckling in disbelief.

The looks of astonishment on his companions' faces made Justin feel a strange sense of unease.

"Wait, did something happen?"

"Happen? Of course! The entire domain was turned upside down," Zachary replied, still trying to contain his laughter.

"Well, I guess people would be alarmed if black energy was pouring out of the lord's castle."

"It wasn't just that! The sky turned black, and there was lightning everywhere!"

"What?" Justin asked, stunned.

His companions explained everything that had occurred. A sudden black storm from the castle that overturned the feast tables. The sky is going dark as if it were night. The thunder that woke all the pioneers from their rest.

"...It all happened in less than five minutes, but it was enough to scare the civilians into hiding. They've stopped celebrating and are now holed up in their homes," Zachary reported after checking on the civilians.

Justin sighed.

"Sorry about that. I guess I'll have to make it up to them later. Maybe throw an even bigger feast with some mana stones."

"That sounds like a good idea. It would also show the other pioneers that you've grown even stronger. But before that," Zachary's tone became serious as he continued, "there's another issue you need to address."

"What kind of issue?" Justin asked, his face turning serious.

"There was a near-bloodshed between two groups of civilians. Fortunately, you returned just in time to stop it, but…"

Zachary trailed off, but Justin's expression hardened as he asked coldly, "Who are they?"

The civilians, who had been trembling in fear, were quickly calmed. The pioneers had stepped in to explain what had caused the strange phenomena.

"Calm down! It was just a side effect of the lord's class change!"

"It's nothing! It was just a passing event, so you can come out now!"

At that, the civilians let out sighs of relief and started emerging from their homes. Though they didn't understand the details, they were comforted by the knowledge that it wasn't the system at fault, but rather something caused by the lord. They had been worried that something far more terrifying was about to happen, but that fear began to subside.

However, before they could fully relax, another piece of bad news came.

"The lord has issued a command! Everyone, both civilians and pioneers, must gather!"

"Wh-what? Didn't you just say it was nothing?"

"It's about something else! You fought among yourselves, didn't you? The lord heard about it, and now he's furious!"

"...!"

"Now hurry up and gather! It's the lord's direct order!"

The civilians gathered with ashen faces, the newly arrived ones included. Neither group dared to glare at the other; they simply kept their heads bowed, waiting anxiously for the lord to arrive.

After a few moments, the sound of footsteps echoed through the silent crowd.

"Is everyone here?" Justin asked coldly.

"Yes, this is everyone," one of his subordinates replied.

"I see."

With a chilling voice, Justin tapped his staff on the ground. The slow, rhythmic taps seemed to signal his thoughts as he considered what to do with them.

After a long moment, Justin finally spoke.

"Who was it?"

"...?"

"The ones who drew weapons. The ones who were with them. Step forward."

A few people, their faces drained of color, stumbled forward and knelt. Five of them were newly promoted pioneers, and one was an ordinary civilian. Beads of sweat ran down their faces as Justin looked at them coldly.