"Riven... You’re not mad at me, are you?"
The silence of the library nearly swallowed Ash’s voice. She and Riven sat alone, a stack of books between them, a half-empty cup of tea, and a silence that trembled with tension.
"Ah... what? No, of course not. Why would I be mad?" Riven mumbled, forcing a tight smile.
"You remember..." she leaned on the table with both elbows. "Back when I said I’d take your money. I never even apologized."
Her lazy eyes drifted downward.
"It was just to get Athey’s attention. Stupid, really... I shouldn’t have dragged you into it."
"It’s... it’s fine," he said quietly.
"Is Roy still bullying you?"
"No. Atheron talked to him. I don’t know what he said, but since then, Roy’s been too scared to even look at me."
Ash smirked, leaning back in her chair.
"Atheron this, Atheron that... He’s always at the center. Haven’t you noticed how different he’s become since last year?"
"Maybe," Riven nodded softly. "By the way... Ash, that ring on your finger..."
A deafening crash exploded outside, like the sky itself had crashed into the earth. Then came flashes of magic, followed by a blast echoing through the air.
Riven flinched. His eyes froze in fear.
Ash’s lips curled into a smile, a spark of life lighting her features.
"Sounds like something interesting out there... Want to come check it out with me?"
Meanwhile, Saddler and I were surrounded.
Hundreds of vicious silhouettes swarmed in the dark — crooked backs, sharp claws, bodies thin as shadows but twice as deadly.
They didn’t attack alone — they moved in packs, breaking through our defenses from every angle.
I struck like lightning — flashing from one to another. I carved through them with light, my hands glowing with radiant energy. Enhancement Technique. Each blow landed like a hammer cloaked in holy flame.
Saddler’s fists struck like sniper rounds — precise, rapid, fatal. His palms lit with laser-thin flashes that sliced monsters clean in half.
He was a war machine. A juggernaut in human form.
Still, I hesitated. My back was exposed.
Three leapt from behind. Their claws gleamed with bloodlust—
Saddler smashed into them with a flying kick. The impact tore the beasts apart midair, like paper.
"Where the hell were you looking, priest?! Trying to die before our rematch?" he barked.
"I was testing your reflexes!" I snapped, masking my fear. "Think I can’t sense danger at my back?"
Truthfully, I wouldn’t have made it. But I wasn’t about to admit that to him.
"Try not to die, yeah?" Saddler grinned. "If your head’s pounding, that means it’s still on your shoulders!"
He was thrilled—this battle was where he felt most alive.
A skinny monster lunged toward him from the side.
A shot of light blasted from my finger, vaporizing the beast mid-leap. Saddler glanced back, still moving, and laughed:
"Now that’s what I call teamwork!"
But the monsters kept coming. More and more. Something was summoning them.
The earth split open — roaring like an earthquake.
From the shadows burst Sylas, riding a hunk of stone like a skateboard. He plowed through the horde, smashing creatures with slabs of rock.
Behind him charged Tyrion, his snow leopard blazing with blue fire. It tore through the monsters, leaving frozen carnage and a trail of icy death.
What the hell were these two idiots doing here?!
"Atheron! Saddler!" Sylas shouted. "You guys too?! What are these... things?!"
The four of us closed in, standing back to back, surrounded.
Dark spirits. Eye-less, formless, they assembled in a crescent formation. Dozens of them.
"Here!" Sylas shouted.
He stomped the ground—earth surged up, forming a stone barrier. As the creatures slammed into it, we bolted through the gap.
Ash and Riven stepped outside the Academy.
Ash and soot danced in the wind, swirling across the torn-up earth. The ground looked like it had been raked by a titan’s claws. Everything was coated in an inky-black substance that smoked like molten wax.
Towering in the distance stood a long, twisted creature — like a worm that had turned sorcerer. In its skeletal fingers it held a staff, its tip crowned with a glowing stone that flared blood-red each time it rose.
Black smoke erupted from underground, like the breath of hell itself. From it crawled clawed abominations, their eyeless faces distorted, their movements impossible.
Riven trembled, taking a step back.
"I... I can’t feel anything from them. Not a trace of energy..."
"Of course you can’t," Ash replied coldly. "They’re not alive. Not even undead — unreal. Illusions? No. They have bodies... but it’s like they don’t exist."
The worm-thing snapped its head toward them. Its face — human, but pale and withered.
Its jaw split unnaturally wide, and a bone-rattling screech pierced the air.
All the monsters howled in unison and charged.
Riven froze, paralyzed by fear.
Without hesitation, Ash grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward.
"What are you doing?! You wanna die standing still? Run!"
"W-what do we do? Do we... run? Is that the plan?"
Ash laughed—and in that laugh, a spark of fire returned.
"The plan? SURVIVE, genius! Now hold onto your glasses!"
She hurled him ahead and spun on her heel, arms wide.
"I don’t know who you freaks are, but I don’t like you! BURN, you idiots!"
A massive fireball burst from her palms, swirling through the air before slamming into the horde like a blazing meteor — burning everything in its wake.
A hovering energy orb remained behind, shooting plasma bolts into the next wave.
Ahead, Riven threw up his hands:
Spinning sigils formed above him. As beasts dove from above, the arcane orbs collided, exploding into a cascade of light, erasing every trace.
Ash gave him an approving nod as she passed:
"Straight ahead! Our people are there!"
At the second exit of the Academy stood Lirael and Aimer. The earth shook beneath their feet, as if a volcano stirred below. Dust fell from the ceiling, smoke poured from the halls.
"What... is happening?" Lirael whispered, clinging to her friend’s sleeve.
"Sounds like a battle... and we definitely don’t want to be part of it."
Lirael tightened her grip. Her instincts screamed: Don’t go.
A wave of dust erupted from the corner—and five monsters crashed down behind it, sliding across the ground.
"Back!" Aimer shielded her friend.
But then we burst from the same corner—Atheron, Saddler, Tyrion, and Sylas—with dozens of monsters at our heels.
Tyrion hurled arcane orbs. His leopard ripped through beasts. Sylas summoned stone, crushing them flat.
I spun like a whirlwind of light. Saddler slammed the ground, creating explosive shockwaves.
"Who the hell are they fighting?!" Aimer gasped.
Lirael gripped her tighter.
"We can’t go near... We’d only get in the way."
They looked up. Creatures skittered along the walls like insects. One growled, and the girls ran toward us without hesitation.
"Riven! Ash! You got hit too?!"
"Of course!" Ash shouted. "We had a whole swarm chasing us. We got away, but..."
"Did you see... the worm?"
"Yeah. It’s at the main gate. With more of them than I could count. It’s the summoner."
"Damn it..." I cursed. "Lirael and Aimer were still inside! If they—"
"I-I’ll go after them!" Riven cried, panicked.
"We’re here!" came Lirael’s voice. The girls rushed up, breathless, eyes wide with fear.
We formed a tight circle.
Everyone activated their techniques — summoning spheres, enhancing limbs, fortifying their bodies.
"Defense positions! Use everything you’ve got! Burn your mana if you have to—just survive!"
The enemy was everywhere — on rooftops, in walls, in the gardens.
Were there any other survivors? We didn’t know. No word from the teachers.
Why hadn’t the alarm sounded? Was the crystal blind to the threat?
"Eighty... no. Over a hundred," Riven muttered, spinning.
"It’s that worm. His staff... it’s summoning them," Ash gritted her teeth. "As long as he’s alive, this won’t end."
"I know. This nightmare won’t stop until we kill him. Damn it... they caught us off guard."
"You want to charge him?" Saddler narrowed his eyes. "Forget it. You’re not immortal. And we’ve got girls with us."
"No time!" I shouted, clenching my fists. "Don’t you get it?! We have no choice!"
I had never shown such rage. My eyes burned with fear for everyone’s life.
I looked at Lirael, at Aimer. Their eyes clouded with terror. But I couldn’t let them die.
"You stay here. I’ll go alone."
"If I take out the summoner, we might have a chance. Otherwise—we’re dead."
Aimer stepped forward, her voice trembling:
"No... Atheron... Please don’t. You’ll die."
I clenched my teeth. Yes, it was a death sentence. But if I didn’t try—we’d all die.
And just as I stepped forward—
He dropped to his knees, slammed both palms on the ground—and light erupted beneath us. A vortex began to form.
"Riven, what are you—"
A portal swallowed us.
Riven had used a forbidden spell. He sent us away.