Shelly scowled, gripping her staff tightly. She wasn’t reckless—she knew Asger was stronger than her, but that didn’t an she was going to back down.
Her mind raced, analyzing her options. If I can’t overpower him, then I’ll have to outmaneuver him.
She shifted her stance, preparing to strike. If I use a combination of wind and illusion magic, I can make an opening—
BZZZT.
A strange sound reverberated through the dungeon.
Then, a sudden booming announcent echoed over the entire dungeon.
[Attention all participants. Due to special circumstances, the tournant has been canceled. All students are to return imdiately.]
Silence.
For a few seconds, no one moved. Then murmurs began to rise from all around as the students—who had been scattered across the dungeon—processed what had just been said.
Shelly’s grip loosened slightly.
"What...?"
Liam frowned. He had expected sothing like this, but not so suddenly.
Asger sighed.
"And just when things were getting interesting."
More students began appearing, drawn toward the large magic portal that had appeared in the center of the dungeon. One by one, they hesitantly walked into it, their bodies vanishing in a flicker of light.
Liam glanced toward Victor, who was standing off to the side, arms crossed.
Victor t his gaze and gave a knowing smile.
"Looks like the real ga is about to begin."
Liam sighed. Of course it is.
______
The mont the students were transported back, they found themselves in the academy’s great hall.
Hundreds of students gathered, their whispers filling the enormous space. The tension was thick, the uncertainty hanging over them like a dark cloud.
Liam stood near the back, watching.
The professors and academy officials stood at the front, their faces grave. Elder Erin was there, along with several other high-ranking officials who looked even more serious than usual.
Victor, of course, was there too, standing in his usual relaxed stance with his hands in his pockets.
Finally, Elder Erin stepped forward and raised her hand, silencing the crowd.
"What I am about to tell you is sothing that will change the course of your lives."
He began, her voice calm but heavy,
The students stiffened.
Shelly frowned. Liam remained still.
Elder Erin took a deep breath.
"Up until now, the existence of demons has been nothing more than a myth to most of you. You were told that they were creatures of the past, that they no longer posed a threat to this world."
He scanned the room, his sharp eyes lingering on certain students.
Murmurs rose among the crowd.
Liam noticed several students shifting uncomfortably. So laughed nervously. Others didn’t believe her.
Elder Erin’s expression hardened.
"But that was a lie."
The murmurs exploded into chaos.
"What—?"
"She’s joking, right?"
"Demons don’t exist!"
"Is this so kind of test?"
Elder Erin slamd his staff into the ground, and the entire hall shook.
"Silence."
The voices imdiately died down.
He gazed at them, his voice unwavering.
"We kept this knowledge from you because we believed the demon threat had been eradicated. We were wrong."
He gestured toward the massive magic projection that flickered into existence above them.
A dark, swirling void appeared on the screen—the dungeon portal. But this ti, it wasn’t normal.
It was infected with dark energy.
Liam clenched his fists. He recognized that power.
Elder Erin’s voice was grim.
"The dungeon you fought in today was infiltrated by demonic forces. The barrier between this world and theirs has begun to weaken. And this—"
He pointed to the screen. The room fell into a stunned silence.
"—is proof that an invasion has already begun."
So students still looked skeptical. Others were pale, their faces reflecting growing fear.
Then, a student hesitantly raised their hand.
"So... what does this an? Are we in danger?"
Elder Erin nodded solemnly.
"Yes."
Another wave of unease spread through the room.
Victor finally spoke up, his voice casual but deadly serious.
"It ans that you’re no longer just students. If you want to survive, you need to start preparing for war."
Liam exhaled slowly. So it begins.
He glanced toward Shelly, expecting her to be shocked—but instead, he saw sothing else in her eyes.
Excitent.
Shelly smirked.
"Well, now things are finally getting interesting."
Liam sighed. Of course she’d enjoy this.
Elder Erin looked at the crowd, his face firm.
"From this mont on, the academy will no longer function as just a school. We will begin ergency training. This is no longer a tournant. It is a fight for survival."
The hall erupted into panic the mont Elder Erin’s words settled in.
Students murmured among themselves, voices rising with fear and uncertainty. So looked around as if expecting demons to appear at any mont, while others stood frozen, unable to process what they had just heard.
"This... this can’t be real, right?" soone stamred.
"We’re just students! How are we supposed to fight demons?"
"What if we die? What if they’ve already infiltrated the academy?"
The air was thick with tension, a storm of emotions threatening to spiral into chaos.
But before things could completely get out of control—
BANG!
A loud impact rang through the hall as Shelly Bell slamd the bottom of her staff onto the floor, creating a spark of magic that caught everyone’s attention.
"Enough!"
Shelly’s voice bood, cutting through the noise like a blade.
The room fell silent as all eyes turned to her.
Shelly stood at the front, her back straight and her violet eyes blazing with determination. She pointed her staff toward the projection of the demon-infected portal.
"If demons think they can just waltz in here and take over. then they’ve got another thing coming."
She said. A cocky grin stretched across her lips.
"I don’t care how many demons crawl out of whatever hellhole they ca from—I’ll take them all down myself."
A hush settled over the hall.
Then—a ripple of confidence spread.
Students began straightening their backs. So clenched their fists, nodding to themselves. The fear that had nearly overwheld them started to fade, replaced by resolve.
One voice rose from the crowd.
"Yeah! If she’s not scared, then why should we be?"
Another followed.
"If we work together, we can beat them!"
Hope had been restored.
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