Rose Olarion:
Arrows flew from all directions. The creatures attacked us, nearly forming a siege. The massive hounds were weak, yet they seed the most dangerous. They appeared suddenly, leaping out of the forest, then vanishing again. We were managing to retreat with the students toward the tunnels. I knew there were students lost in the forest or scattered elsewhere, but I couldn’t risk trying to help them.
I looked back along the trail and saw the students conjuring floating fireballs to illuminate the path.
“Hurry up!” I shouted.
The senior students raised stone walls, creating a safe corridor as we retreated. A group of five orcs charged forward, swinging chains with stone balls at the ends, trying to strike the students.
“Wind Art: Piercing Eagle!”
I spun my rapier and unleashed the spell. The slashing attack shot through the air, leaving a trail of sharp wind before exploding into a small do of invisible blades. The orcs scread in pain—so collapsed dead, others thrashed, covered in deep cuts.
I rushed toward them, but before I could get close, a wave of earth surged from the ground and buried them, dragging them away.
“Princess!” A student from my kingdom approached, visibly exhausted.
“Keep guiding the students,” I ordered, looking toward the end of the trail, where the tunnel lood ahead. The elves had built stone and wooden towers around the entrance and were firing arrows at the orcs trying to advance.
A thunderous crash echoed through the forest as a group of orcs leaped from the trees, brandishing spears. Knights rushed forward to protect us, conjuring flas, but one of the enemy warriors struck one of them with a club. The impact sent him crashing into a tree, his body colliding with a sickening crunch before slumping lifelessly to the ground.
The monstrous hounds’ growls grew closer. Arrows rained around us, fired by archers hidden in the forest.
A roaring wind swept across the battlefield, followed by the deafening crash of a massive wave. Like a tsunami, water surged down the trail, sweeping away the orcs and smaller creatures. A student beside reacted quickly, raising stone columns beneath our feet to keep us from being carried away.
Elven and human students erged right after, their staffs still glowing with the energy of the mana they had conjured to save us.
“Move quickly!” they shouted. “We need to retreat! More are coming!”
Another group of demi-humans arrived, touching the ground before invoking a new spell. The soil ahead softened and began to spread, rapidly turning into a muddy swamp.
“This will slow them down!”
We ran through the forest, following the trail leading to the tunnel. We needed to seal that passage before more orcs arrived. Other students hurled spiked stones into the mud, making it even harder for the enemies to pass.
The rain was helping, preventing the flas from spreading, but its intensity was starting to wane.
Along the way, I spotted a group of orcs that had broken through one of the walls we had raised for protection. They were attacking fiercely, trying to carve a path to the students.
Before I could act, I heard a cry for help from behind.
“We need to split up,” I declared to the others. “Go ahead and deal with the orcs on the trail. I’ll go back to help!”
We divided. While one group pushed forward to reinforce the tunnel’s defenses, I turned and sprinted back into the forest.
The chaos around was overwhelming. Screams echoed through the air, blending with the roars of the creatures and the thunderous blasts of spells exploding in the distance.
"There!" one of the knights pointed. Two students were cornered by orcs.
We fired spells at the enemies, pushing them back just enough to reach the students.
"What were you doing here?" one of the soldiers asked, irritated.
"We were in the forest! We got separated in the chaos and tried to find the group!" one of them replied, panting.
I helped them up, but I noticed one of them had a severe leg wound. The knights exchanged glances, aware that carrying him would make escaping much harder.
"I'm a transmitter," one of the students said. "Put him on my back."
"T-thank you," the injured student said.
At that very mont, an explosion erupted, hitting us directly. I was thrown through the air, tumbling across the forest floor. Part of the wall forming the corridor collapsed. An orc wielding a massive stone hamr had struck with brutal force.
I tried to get up, but a searing pain shot through my arm. I touched my head and felt warm blood trickling down my scalp. My ears were ringing, and the world around blurred. Soone was shouting at , but the sound took a mont to register. More explosions rumbled across the battlefield, shaking the ground beneath my feet. The orcs were launching projectiles that detonated on impact.
"We have to go, Princess! Now!"
My senses finally returned. I nodded, still dazed.
I looked around and saw the fallen bodies of students. The stench of burnt flesh and blood filled the air.
"Help !"
The desperate voice made turn. A student rolled on the ground, screaming. His arm had been torn off, and flas were consuming his body.
I ran toward him to help, but in the next instant, all I saw was a massive stone hamr coming down with crushing force. The sound was grotesque—a wet crunch, followed by blood spraying in all directions. The orc raised its weapon again, staring at with hungry eyes, the hamr dripping red.
"We have to go!"
A knight tried to pull away, but before I could react, an arrow sliced through the air and buried itself in his neck. He clutched at the wound, choking on his own blood, and then a second orc appeared, slamming his head with a club.
Panic took over. My feet moved on their own. I ran without thinking.
Ahead of , the trail was overrun with orcs. They erged from the forest, surrounding the path on all sides.
"AARGH!"
The screams echoed around . The trail was lost. There was no way out.
I turned and plunged into the forest, weaving through the trees. Arrows whistled behind , so grazing dangerously close.
"Over here!"
A familiar voice.
"William!"
I recognized one of my friends from the Student Council.
"Do you have a death wish, Rose? Are you insane putting yourself in danger like that?"
"E-e-everyone... died!" my voice ca out in a panic as we ran. "Everyone who went with died!"
Explosions continued to shake the forest, shards of stone and wood flying in all directions.
We kept running, dodging debris and the marching hordes of orcs, their drums and war horns booming through the night.
"We have to reach the students!" I insisted. "Sealing the tunnel is our only option! The mages can keep it closed until reinforcents arrive!"
William remained silent, then crouched behind a tree and raised a finger, signaling for to stay quiet.
"There are more of them... a lot," he whispered, pointing.
I pressed myself against the tree, trying to catch my breath. I took a deep breath to calm myself before peeking out.
"Where?"
There was still a risk that they would seal the tunnel and leave us trapped outside.
"There..."
I followed his gaze, trying to spot the threat. But before I could see anything, a searing pain tore through my body.
I looked down and saw the blade buried in my stomach.
"W-w-what are you doing?" I staggered back, feeling my strength waver. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.
William watched with a cold, determined expression.
"My mission was to kill you," he said, raising the knife. "I couldn't let anyone take that from ."
His eyes glead with sothing sickening.
"If I kill you... I will ascend even further."
Nathan Evenhart:
"For a mont... we were almost discovered," Beatrix whispered, still breathless.
"Yeah..." I replied, relieved, trying to calm my racing heart.
"But I heard you," a deep voice spoke behind us.
Every hair on my body stood on end.
The mont we turned, we saw him.
There he was.
Standing still, watching us—the black figure with glowing red eyes.
ASPECT OF TI!
Imdiately, the world around us took on a bluish hue, as if everything were subrged in frozen water. Even in the darkness of the forest, ti had co to a complete stop.
"What’s happening?" Beatrix asked, her voice cutting through the silence of frozen ti.
I turned to her, seeing her still holding her scythe up.
"Professor! We don’t have ti. I can’t explain right now, but we need to run. When ti returns to normal, go straight to the group. I’ll keep the demon occupied."
Without hesitation, we started running. The world around us was frozen, the orcs standing like statues among the trees, their empty eyes fixed in random directions.
"What is this, Nathan Evenhart? What kind of power is this?" she asked as we ran.
I didn’t answer. The effort of keeping the Aspect of Ti active was rapidly draining my mana. In less than six minutes, it would be completely depleted, and it would take days to recover. A growing pain began throbbing in my eyes, as if they were about to split in half.
With every step, the tension grew. We wouldn’t get far before I was forced to let ti flow again.
Finally, I stopped.
This should be far enough.
"Interesting trick!"
The deep voice ca from behind .
My blood ran cold.
Impossible. He’s not frozen in ti!
Before I could react, an overwhelming force struck from behind. It felt as if a wall had collapsed on top of . I was hurled forward, flying through the trees as pain exploded through every fiber of my body.
I deactivated the Aspect of Ti imdiately, channeling my mana to reinforce my body. My impact shattered tree trunks around before I finally crashed to the ground, groaning in agony. The blow had been devastating.
I forced myself to stand, ignoring the pain, only to see the black figure now standing before Professor Beatrix.
ASPECT OF TI!
I activated it again, freezing everything around us. But he... he kept moving as if ti had no effect on him at all.
In shock, I released the frozen ti.
"He... he also has an Aspect of Ti?" I murmured, unable to hide my disbelief.
The black figure turned toward , his glowing red eyes burning even brighter.
"You are the bearer of Jormungandr," he said.
The rain poured down heavily, each drop amplifying the weight of the tension. Beatrix and I remained motionless, analyzing our enemy.
"Two Light Elves?" He let out a cold laugh. "What a beautiful irony..."
His eyes moved slowly between and the professor.
I need to hold the demon off so the professor can get them to the elevator!
"Nathan! Get to safety! I'll hold this thing off!" Professor Beatrix shouted, raising her scythe with determination.
I looked at her for a brief mont. She wouldn’t last a minute.
My mind raced, desperately searching for a solution. There was no ti to argue. Instinctively, I pointed toward the clouds above and summoned lightning, commanding it to strike down upon the creature.
The first bolt tore through the sky in a blinding flash, but before it could reach the demon, he raised a hand. For a mont, the air around him seed to distort, and the lightning struck against a black barrier that ford above him, dissipating without causing any harm.
He stared at , his crimson eyes gleaming with sothing between amusent and contempt.
Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, he raised both hands, conjuring sothing that pulsed with an eerie energy. A black sphere ford between his fingers, surrounded by a vibrant purple glow.
"You Light Elves... you were supposed to wield the elents of plant or light," he said, his voice cold and dripping with mockery. "Well... that was before you were mixed with humans."
Without warning, he hurled the sphere toward us.
My body reacted before my mind even processed the danger. Instinctively, Beatrix and I leapt back. The impact was devastating. The sphere exploded, creating a shockwave that sent flying.
The world spun.
My body crashed through trees and branches before finally rolling across the mud. Pain erupted in every part of , but I forced myself to rise.
The professor ran toward , her eyes filled with concern.
Before we could react, he appeared once again.
"But we... wield the elent of Darkness," he said with a tone of satisfaction.
Slowly, he removed the black mask covering his face.
What I saw left completely stunned.
His skin was gray, almost tallic. His hair was a deep black yet shone like a starry night sky. But what caught my attention the most... were his ears—long and pointed.
"I am a Dark Elf!" he declared.
Reviews
All reviews (0)