176 AT HEAP
Dan pushed through the panicked crowd, dodging fleeing students and crashing tables until he spotted her.
Eryn stood her ground in the middle of the chaos, wind spiraling around her as she unleashed a tornado skill that sent several Corrosivers hurtling across the hall.
"Dan! What's happening?" she shouted over the noise.
"No ti to explain," he barked. "We need to get out of here…now!"
He grabbed her hand and charged for the main doors.
A surge of energy burst from his body as he slamd into the locked entrance. The reinforced panels shattered under the impact, blowing open in a wave of dust and broken glass.
Students poured out, screaming, chased by the slimy horrors.
Outside, a group of tahuman security guards rushed toward them, with their weapons drawn.
"Miss Eryn! Are you alright? What happened in there?" one of them shouted.
Eryn, breathless and shaken, started to speak, but Dan cut in. "Take her back. She'll be safer with you."
The guard nodded and moved to escort her.
"What about you?" Eryn protested, turning back toward him.
"You don't have to worry about ," Dan said, his voice steady, his eyes already fixed on the hall. "re Corrosivers can't hurt ."
Before she could answer, he was already walking back through the shattered doorway, into chaos.
The security forced their way through the crowd, ushering Eryn toward the armored vehicle as the screams inside the school grew louder.
----
Most of the Corrosivers had rushed out with the escaping crowd. The ones left behind were either monsters or those they had already turned.
No survivors remained.
"Die, you creeps!" Dan roared, dashing forward.
His fists struck only air …. but from those empty swings, bolts of lightning exploded outward, chaining through the hall in a brilliant surge.
"Lightning Chain Strikes — Echo Out!"
Thunder cracked through the hall.
In a single strike, half the Corrosivers burned alive, their bodies collapsing into sizzling sludge. Another strike followed, and the rest were erased in a flash of white-blue light.
Silence followed. Only the sll of ozone and scorched decay lingered.
Dan walked toward the stage. Principal Misk's body lay there, lifeless, his once-proud form reduced to a husk.
"Sorry, Principal," Dan murmured quietly.
He turned to leave … then he froze. A faint sound reached his ears. Crying.
He followed it behind the stage and found a girl crouched in the shadows. It was Cyara Atheris — the proud, arrogant heiress — was now trembling and tear-streaked, her confidence stripped away.
"It's okay now," Dan said, stepping closer. "They're dead."
She looked up, saw him, and imdiately threw herself at him, clutching him tightly.
"What the…hey! Get off !" he protested.
"No! I'm scared! Carry !" she sobbed.
Dan sighed, half annoyed, half sympathetic. He didn't care about the Corrosivers that had escaped or how they might spread.
That wasn't his job tonight.
Carrying Cyara in his arms, he moved through the back corridor, then leapt over the fence behind the school.
Lander and Dorin were already waiting in the van. Dan placed Cyara gently inside as Dorin began treating her minor wounds.
"What the hell happened in there and who is the girl?" Dorin asked, eyes wide.
"She's a survivor
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