Raze's response had stunned most of those in the Dark Faction, including Mada and Ricktor, whose understanding of things was being challenged. The long history they had learned from their clans and the world as they knew it seemed to be falling apart in their eyes.
Meanwhile, Amir and Olag both had their mouths open wide in shock. It was clear that they were taken aback by Raze's answer, and their reactions alone told everyone there that Raze was right.
"You know, I am not one to believe in fate," Amir said. "But as I got to know you more and more, and the fact that you know the Noctis Clan's original techniques, I believed that you would know more about this."
Raze didn't say much else because he didn't know how much they knew—whether they were aware of what he had discovered, such as the fact that the Dark Faction founder, Bofan Kilikola, was just like him, a mage from Alterian.
"You are correct; our item, the Golden Globe, was stolen from us by Bofan, the Dark Faction founder."
"We are still unclear about his goals in stealing such an item because, from what we know, Bofan never used it, or at least not in a way that affected Pagna entirely."
"Hey, what are you doing still giving them all a lecture?" Olag said, slamming his hand on the chalkboard. "Don't you think we deserve some answers? How did this man know that Bofan stole something that should have been beyond his lifetime?"
"What are you doing talking to Raze like that?" Rayna said, baring her teeth. "You know very well that he doesn't need to answer you. You are the ones telling us everything."
"And if he wanted to, he could get rid of all of you here, and we would happily help."
Olag, recalling what Raze had done in the training room, decided to pull back a bit. The classroom they were in was a fraction of the size of that room.
Thinking about it, Raze did want to give them an answer, but he wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do.
He had listened to Bofan's log that had been left in the hands of the Neverfall Clan. The log talked about the item.
Also, from the information he knew, Bofan was on the run. Raze never got a clear answer, but the reason why was obvious.
They were after Bofan—maybe both the Bonum Society and Alter—trying to get their hands on the item.
Right now, Raze was listening to things from the Bonum point of view. There was a chance Bofan had found out that someone in Bonum wanted to use the Golden Globe for something else.
Similarly, if he visited Alter, they could just spin the same tale but make it out that the Bonum Society were the bad guys.
One of the God-tier artifacts they had kept was stolen, and now they were looking to retrieve it.
The important thing was that Bofan most likely hid the item, and if he had the power, the Globe was either in Pagna or now in Alterian.
'The Globe itself doesn't even matter too much to me other than using it to get back to Alterian. If it's in Alterian, then it's out of my hands, but I could ask Harvey and the others to try and find it,' Raze thought.
That's when something clicked in his mind. In the Dark Faction, there was a librarian who claimed they knew more about Bofan.
He could tell him more about the Dark Faction Founder.
Maybe then Raze would have a better understanding of why the Dark Faction Founder had done what he had done.
"It was an educated guess," Raze answered. "The Golden Globe was here in the Dark Faction, so that leaves the other factions."
"It couldn't have been Alter, and from the way you said things, it didn't seem like any of the clans had used such an item."
"I learned a bit about the Dark Faction Founder and learned he had gone missing rather than having died or lost a fight, so it was the most likely guess."
There was silence for a moment, as if everyone was waiting to see if Amir and Olag were willing to accept that as an answer.
"I see," Amir replied. "At the end of the day, the fact is the Golden Globe was lost at the hands of the Dark Faction."
"Alter believes that we still have the item and has been going against us."
"Wait!" Safa said, raising her hand as if she were in school. "Is that why you became Vice Principal of the Dark Faction Academy? Because you believe that the Golden Globe is still somewhere here in the Dark Faction?"
"Oh, I like her," Olag said, rubbing his hands together. "You are smarter than the rest of these sods. We have been planning to take down the Dark Faction and turn over every single rock! But Murkel and his allies have always been in the way."
"What was the plan then?" Anna asked. "What was the plan you had when you went ahead and disturbed the tournament , using this guy?" She pointed at Mantis.
"The plan was to create an opportunity. Things weren't looking good; the Dark Faction and the Light Faction were planning to form an alliance to get rid of the Demonic Faction."
"We needed a way to break the ties and pull their focus elsewhere. Mantis was going to be revealed as a spy working for the Dark Faction."
"While my involvement, as well as a few others, would indicate the Dark Faction was planning an attack."
"We needed to weaken the Dark Faction, and we happened to succeed. Regardless, all is well now for us, and things will be much easier thanks to all your help."
Amir then started to wipe away the chalk from the board and drew the academy, writing the words "Dark Faction" below it.
"After all, there is now a new Dark Faction leader, so we won't have to worry about that anymore."
Amir wrote the words right underneath the drawing of the academy and the words: **Dark Faction - Raze Cromwell**.