When Lusian returned to the academy, the routine seemed to have been restored. Kara continued challenging him with stubborn persistence and losing with equal consistency, classes went on with their usual monotony, and the ranking battles progressed without incident. Everything changed in an instant when the emergency alarm thundered through the corridors, slicing through normality like a blade tearing silk.
—Do not panic. Exit in an orderly manner toward the combat arenas —announced Clara, the representative of Class 1A, her voice firm despite the tension. She followed protocol, but her hands trembled.
The students, uneasy but disciplined, obeyed. Soon, the arenas filled with second-, third-, and fourth-year students. Lusian searched for Elizabeth in the crowd; he found her in the distance. Their eyes met for barely a second. She looked away as if the contact burned.
The general murmur died instantly when a roar tore through the air. More than one heart stopped. Lusian recognized it immediately.
The roar of the King of the Forest. The legendary A–Ω beast.
A creature that, even within the game, was feared. And yet... it was there.
How is this possible...? he thought. This wasn't supposed to happen. There is no record of an attack like this on the academy.
Before disbelief could settle, Axel, the vice director, ordered the teachers to gather. Clara approached quickly, her face as pale as the rain that had begun to fall.
—What's happening? —she asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.
—Listen carefully —Axel said, his tone carrying a gravity unlike his usual composure—. The situation is critical. A massive stampede of monsters has emerged from the forest. The regular soldiers are unavailable: they've been deployed to contain the emergency. The teachers must guarantee the students' safety while we evacuate toward the capital.
—How... how are we supposed to do that? —Allan asked, alarmed.
—There's no other option —Axel replied—. Director Magnus has given the order. The soldiers will hold back the monsters. You will evacuate the students. The Class A students are the most capable; use them as support and leave as soon as possible. Allan, coordinate the retreat.
Without waiting for a response, Axel walked away with determination.
Allan Payne, a veteran fourth-year combat instructor, took over without hesitation.
—Form the groups according to protocol. Call the top-ranked students to lead each evacuation unit. We move now.
He said it calmly, and that calm held morale together like a shield as everything began to fracture.
The grounds turned into a whirlwind of movement. Magnus, the director, shouted orders relentlessly. In all his years leading the academy, he had never faced something like this. He knew the only sensible course was to buy time.
If the walls fell, there would be no defense left.
On the front line, the mages synchronized their power. Flames and wind currents merged into elemental storms that scorched the monsters. But the tide seemed endless, and mana was being consumed at an alarming rate.
Axel returned, drenched, with bad news.
—Director —he reported, his voice tense—, communications are being interfered with. The devices are not responding. We've used the old signal to request assistance. If the capital recognizes it, we'll get support... though it hasn't been used in decades.
Magnus remained silent. His eyes scanned the cracked defenses, the line of exhausted mages, the immense shadow approaching from the forest as if nature itself were marching against them.
Finally, he spoke.
—Perfect. Stay at the front of the magic circle. I'll go down and reinforce the knights. If the walls give way... it will be the end.
He left with the determination of someone who understood there was no room for defeat.
The groups began to move under persistent rain that turned the ground into mud.
During the journey, they passed through a village that seemed abandoned. The doors were open, tables set, even some lamps still lit... but no one was there. Only the echo of an interrupted life lingered in the damp air.
—An abandoned village... that can't be right —Andrew commented, leading one of the groups alongside several teachers—. I pass through here every week. It's always been full of villagers.
—Maybe they evacuated to the city when the emergency was announced —Elizabeth suggested, searching for a logical explanation.
—Maybe... —Andrew murmured, unconvinced.
He glanced at her sideways. He knew his sister well, and the silent tension she showed whenever Lusian's name came up did not go unnoticed.
—By the way, what happened with Lusian? —he asked with a casual smile that wasn't entirely convincing.
Elizabeth tensed slightly.
—Lusian? Nothing. Why do you ask?
—Because you didn't insist he join our formation. And it seems like you're avoiding talking to him. I know you, Elizabeth... did something happen between you two?
She lowered her gaze.
—I told you nothing happened, Andrew. Don't insist. It annoys me. —Her response was sharper than necessary.
Andrew was about to reply when Allan's shout from the front cut through the air like a blade.
A group of men in black robes blocked the path. A rotten, heavy mana emanated from them, like damp decay.
Cult members.
Immediately, Alejandro, Leonardo, Roxy Briggs—Andrew's fiancée—Benjamin Armett, and others stepped forward alongside the princes. Around them, shadows and earth began to split open, allowing the undead to rise from their own graves.
—Fall back! —Allan ordered—. They are Magister-level warriors, it's too dangerous for the students!
The idea was to regroup in the village and keep the students away from the battle, but before they could do so, one of the cultists lunged at Allan with brutal force. The teacher blocked the strike, but the impact sent him flying several meters back.
For someone at Magister–Delta level, that was unthinkable.
Something was weakening them.
A demonic seal was devouring more than sixty percent of Magister-level mana, reducing their defenses to that of a Lord. In real combat... that difference meant dying in seconds.
Cordelia, Cassandra, and the other teachers noticed it almost at the same time. Their spells were less effective, as if something were draining their life force.
Allan clenched his teeth.
They had to find the source of that magic... or they would be annihilated.