Twenty minutes passed since Itsuki left for the men's room.
The healer finished organizing the bottles filled with ingredients back on the shelf. She turned towards the couch where Sayaka sat and looked beside her. Itsuki hadn't come back.
"The boy who went to the men's room... has he not returned yet?" She made her voice loud enough for Sayaka to hear her.
"No, he hasn't," Sayaka lowered her gaze slightly to answer.
"Well, he couldn't have spent that much time there... hmm." The healer turned towards Daimon. "Can you help me check on him?"
Hearing the healer actually request something of him brought butterflies to Daimon's heart.
"Yes love, I shall check on my dear classmate, make sure he didn't get lost in these labyrinthine hallways." Daimon adjusted his robe and strode toward the door.
He walked down the narrow corridor, calling out Itsuki's name.
"Oi, Naoya!"
However, there was no response. After a while of shouting his name from outside the men's room, Daimon finally stepped inside only to find that Itsuki wasn't there.
Tsk... that turnip must have wandered about... gotta find him or else I will look bad in Amari-chan's eyes... Daimon thought as he stepped out of the area, walking towards the main campus to continue his Itsuki search.
As he stepped outside into the crowd of students walking by, something happened.
Rumble...! Rumble...!
The ground beneath their feet began to tremble slowly. For most people they wouldn't notice, but Daimon noticed immediately, due to his high affinity for Honshitsu.
...
Meanwhile, in the training fields, the Bronze segment of the first years practiced sword forms using their natural elemental abilities, all being supervised by their Sensei, Daichi Morimoto.
"Again!" Daichi shouted, then turned to the other duos. "Your stance is too wide, narrow it by half a foot!"
The students quickly adjusted their positions to fit the Sensei's description, and just when one of them was about to attack, she stopped mid-swing.
"Wait," She lowered her sword, pointing upwards. "Do you see that?"
The other students followed her gaze.
"See what?" her duo partner asked.
"Those things popping up in the sky."
The other students strained their eyes to look deeper.
"Oh, I see it too," one of them exclaimed.
"What is that?"
Then it became a commotion. Their Sensei, who was instructing the students on the other side, Bronze segment has a lot of ability users, walked over to where he heard students muttering to each other.
"What is this commotion?" He asked, waving his wooden sword.
"What are those things popping up in the sky, Sensei?" One of them asked, directing his gaze upwards.
Spaces in the sky tore open in different places at once, and from these rifts, weirdly shaped beings fell out. They had no definite form. Some might call them an abomination, but in the native tongue they are called Verythras, and that translated to: 'beasts that don't belong in any world.'
THUD…!
The first creature successfully landed in the yard. The impact was hard enough to cause cracks on the ground beneath, dust cycling everywhere as every student in the area ran uncontrollably.
Even from where Kairo was training, in the Gold segment meditation waterfall, over 40 meters away, he could feel the presence of the beast that landed, and it wasn't only him. Other students felt it too.
"RUN!" Daichi shouted aloud to all the Bronze students.
"Main building, now!"
Countless wooden swords clattered against the stone as all the students sprinted towards the main building.
Daichi jumped from where he was and landed in front of the savage beast. He carefully analyzed it before slowly drawing his sword.
"Runt Tier, huh…"
GR-RRRAAAAGH…!
The beast's roar was very loud, enough to shatter all the glass of the nearby buildings. Then it charged at Daichi.
Daichi started walking slowly towards the beast's raging charge, his sword burning with fire.
He let out a long sigh as he vanished and appeared right in front of the beast, his blade already mid-swing, wreathed in spiraling flames.
"Kaimetsu Kō—Ashen Descent!"
BOOOOOM…!
A massive shockwave of fire erupted outward, consuming trees, rocks, and ground alike. Everything within a five-mile radius turned to ash and smoldering debris.
When the smoke cleared, Daichi stood at the center of a blackened crater, sheathing his sword back to his hip.
Other instructors who were training their students indoors all burst out of the building with insane speed. They moved in coordination and synced perfectly.
"Barrier formation!" The head of guards shouted, commanding all the guards in the academy to form a 7-layer Kekkai barrier formation.
The guards at the perimeter immediately all started doing specific hand signs in unison, and slowly translucent walls of energy rose to enclose the main building and the students running toward it.
Five other instructors including Ryo joined Daichi, who was standing on top of the barrier, waiting for the beasts to land on it and immediately eliminate them.
Down below in front of the ladies' dorm, a Verythra beast landed there before the guard had sealed up the whole area.
This Verythra wasn't savage like the other beasts. It had intelligence. It had a human-like form but with several arms coming out from its back.
Then the beast looked around and noticed no presence around. Then it came out, chuckling in the air.
"Kukuukuku, those puny huma," Its words were cut short as the beast jumped back with its fastest speed, dodging a scythe and a katana that both landed on where it was standing.
"Wow, you've got good instinct," a lazy voice came from above.
The beast looked upwards and saw a young boy lying down on the roof.
Huh? I could have sworn I didn't sense any presence here. How did he...
"Argenti, you bastard, what are you doing in the female dorm?" Another voice, but this one came from a girl only wearing a bathroom towel as she walked out of one of the rooms.
What?? I didn't sense her either. Who the hell are these people?
"Nieves-san, I was sleeping up here when I sensed a strange presence." Argenti raised his head, rubbing his eyes as he called back his weapon.
"Yes, I felt it too…" Nieves turned to the beast who was shocked that even by its presence, these two students were not scared of it at all.
Oh hell no… these two are scary. I need to find a way to get out of here fast…! The beast turned the opposite direction and ran for its life.
"Ah! He's getting away!" Short Nieves attempted to chase the Verythra, but as she took the first step, her towel almost came undone.
"AHHHHH!" She screamed in embarrassment. She quickly placed her towel back and turned back to Argenti, who had already fallen asleep.
"ARGENTI, YOU BASTARD, GO CHASE AFTER HIM!!" She screamed at the top of her voice.
The impact alone made Argenti stumble from the roof to the ground.
Thud!
"Arg, my head." Argenti slowly raised his head up to see angry Nieves pouting at him.
He let out a long sigh. "Fine, fine... I'll get him."