Grey and his companions soared through the skies atop his massive Wind Bird, a majestic creature whose feathers shimmered in streaks of azure.
The creature's wings sliced through the air with incredible speed, the wind screaming past their ears and whipping against their faces like biting frost.
Below them, the lush terrain quickly gave way to the outskirts of civilization as they flew past Lunaria Academy and into the wild beyond.
Soon, a plume of thick black smoke curled into the sky like a mourning veil. The smell of burning wood and scorched earth hit their senses.
As they drew closer, the Goltas village came into view—a settlement now gripped by chaos.
Panicked villagers ran in all directions, some dragging children behind them while others stumbled through debris. Half-toppled houses smoldered, their wooden beams blackened and cracked.
Then came the sound—low, guttural, and chilling.
Moans. Groans. Cries that didn't belong to the living.
Dozens of them lumbered and dashed across the village, much faster than the usual shambling kind.
They tore through the unprotected with feral frenzy, blood dripping from their jagged teeth as they feasted on those too slow to escape.
And then, even worse—skeletal figures appeared. But these weren't mere bones animated by weak spells.
These skeletons were armored in ghostly silver and gripped bone-forged swords and cracked shields, moving with disturbing precision and speed.
They darted through the chaos like death itself, cutting down villagers in quick, brutal flashes of white.
Screams of pain and destruction rose into the air, blending with the sound of crackling flames and splintering wood.
"I feel like I'm going to throw up," Vanica muttered, her face pale as she watched a zombie rip into a helpless villager.
"C'mon! Let's go!" Grey snapped, eyes narrowed as he commanded the Wind Bird to dive.
Before they touched the ground, Grey made a swift gesture.
In an instant, two dozen razor-sharp wind blades exploded from the bird's wings, streaking through the air and tearing apart a group of advancing zombies.
Blood and blackened flesh splattered across the ruined streets as the undead fell.
With a powerful gust, the bird descended, stirring a shockwave of wind that blasted back the encroaching horde.
The moment its claws hit the earth, the first years leapt off, forming a defensive arc as panicked villagers took notice of the students in their academy robes.
A flicker of hope lit up the terrified eyes of the survivors.
"You know the drill," Grey said coldly, stepping forward as wind swirled around his boots. His gaze was fixed on the undead ahead. "All of you—clear out."
As if sensing the authority in his voice, the villagers began fleeing the battlefield, their screams echoing behind them.
Some tripped and stumbled, others accidentally trampled those too slow to rise, but they kept running—desperate to escape the slaughter.
'Their aura... it reeks of death,' Grey thought. 'Dark. Ancient. Like something ripped from the pits of hell.'
Suddenly, a voice shattered the uneasy silence.
"Students of Lunaria…"
The words didn't come from a villager. They came from a zombie.
The students froze, startled by the eerie calmness in its voice. The creature, rotting yet upright, stood among the carnage like a general on a battlefield.
"I don't know how you managed to get here," it continued. "By my knowledge, some of the undead should have been blocking your path at the academy while I wrapped up matters over here."
Grey's eyes narrowed. "And to my knowledge, zombies don't speak. So… who are you?"
The creature took a step forward, its skeletal fingers clenching into fists.
"Me? I'm the God of Dead Creations! The Necromancing King—the very one Lunaria Academy turned its back on and banished for practicing forbidden arts."
Grey tilted his head slightly, unfazed. "So what now? You came for revenge?"
"Revenge?" the zombie scoffed. "No, that would be petty. I am not petty."
"Then what do you want?"
"Destruction," the undead king growled, eyes glowing with a sickly green light. "I want Lunaria reduced to rubble. When I'm done there, the other academies will follow. I will burn every institution that stood against me."
Grey laughed, taking a casual step back. "Keh keh keh… And you say you were once part of Lunaria? Have you forgotten so quickly the power that protects that place? Captain Amir. The Principal—a subordinate of the Emperor. Not to mention the Vice-Captain and the third years."
The undead king snarled. "If I couldn't handle them, I wouldn't be standing here. You children insult me by showing up with a measly ten-man squad! It's humiliating to the God of the Undead!"
Grey's eyes glinted. "A god of the undead, huh? That's cute. Too bad you're speaking to the God of Mages."
As the words left his lips, wind began to coil around Grey's body, forming a vortex of howling power. The zombies instinctively recoiled.
"You think you can handle three hundred of them alone?" the necromancer sneered.
Even as he spoke, the earth cracked open and more zombies erupted from the soil, followed by skeletal warriors brandishing weapons.
Grey didn't flinch. He cracked his neck, smiling.
"If I couldn't, I wouldn't be here."
The horde charged—over three hundred undead sprinting forward in unison.
"Tch. I hate being underestimated," Grey muttered. "If you wanted a chance, you should've brought at least a thousand."
The winds around him exploded in volume, spiraling into a roaring cyclone.
"Fusion Magic!" Grey roared. "Rajin Spiral!"
A colossal vortex of lightning entwined with wind burst from his outstretched hand, spiraling like a god's wrath toward the incoming swarm.
The sky seemed to split as the tornado slammed into the undead, shredding them to pieces and carving a deep trench into the battlefield.
When the dust settled, only silence remained—and pieces of what once were enemies littered the ruined earth.
Grey stood motionless, hands in his pockets, staring at the destruction with a cold frown.
He sensed it before he saw it. In a blink, he leapt high, avoiding a skeletal spear that shot up like a lightning bolt.
Twisting mid-air, he landed and slammed a palm into the ground, raising an Earth Wall just in time to block a downward swing of a skeletal sword.
"Thanks to your little performance," the necromancer's voice echoed, "I've gauged your strength. Clearly, zombies are beneath you. So behold—my true soldiers!"
The ground erupted once again as over two hundred skeleton soldiers burst free, their eyes burning with unnatural light.
"How many undead does this freak control?" Raze asked, sweat forming on his brow.
Without a word, he reached out and tapped Scarlet's shoulder, copying her Fire Magic. Twin flames erupted in his hands.
"I guess…" Jay stepped forward, water spiraling around his arm until it formed a glimmering blade. "We're about to find out."