Suddenly, all the communication amulets that were supposed to be offline projected the image of Headmaster Linjos, repeating the same message over and over.
“To all students, we are under attack. Return to your housing immediately. If that’s not possible, seek shelter in the nearest building. To all students…”
While the others were still staring at the Headmaster’s hologram, Lith grabbed Phloria’s hand and made a rush for the exit.
“Wait, there are still people in the mine!” Phloria blurted, out trying to keep up with his pace.
“So what? Do you really think we can protect everyone? If they are stupid enough to freeze out of panic, they would not last long anyway!” Phloria was about to reply, but while squeezing Lith’s fingers she remembered she didn’t want to die.
Once outside, the scene in front of them seemed out of a post apocalyptic movie. People were screaming and running, trampling over all those that fell on the ground or moved too slow, hindering their escape.
The whole town was enveloped by a golden spherical barrier that was now visible to the naked eye. The mine entrance was a wide tunnel that opened in the ground near the outskirts, so it was covered by the array.
The sun was still visible above the horizon, yet black things were swarming the camp, attacking from all directions. Their bodies were naked, resembling only a human figure because they had arms and legs.
They had no facial feature, body hair, or reproductive organs, moving on all four with insect-like movements. Some had remained near the mine, ambushing those that were coming out of it.
A couple of undead jumped towards Lith and Phlroia, emitting a humming sound.
“Stand b…” Lith tried to say.
“Stand behind me!” Phloria cut him short, pulling him back and slamming her conjured tower shield in the face of the first creature. The blue aura from Full Guard was already gushing all around her body, allowing Phloria to perceive every movement around her, leaving no blind spots.
After spending so much time with her father and Lith, she had learned to always expect the worst. Despite the run at breakneck speed, she had managed cast all her best spells, just in case.
Her estoc made short work of the second creature. The gemstones in the hilt emitted a bright light while releasing their power, allowing the blade to cut through their stone-hard skin like it was paper.
– “How can a girl that’s always so afraid of dying charge forward like that?” Lith thought.
“Probably because she has someone important to protect.” Solus pointed out. “There’s something wrong with our assailants. Their movements are sloppy and predictable. Far from what Orion described to us.”–
Lith didn’t remain idle either. His eyes were checking out the surroundings while studying the creatures and Orion’s blades at the same time.
There were no more undead targeting the couple, but Lith didn’t miss how all of them had some kind of mystical ropes wrapped around their limbs, limiting their movements.
“The first barrier makes them weak! Let’s go!” Phloria was about to move when Lith pulled her back.
“Watch out!” Several Plague Arrows, Lith’s fastest darkness spell, struck the two undead laying on the ground.
Phloria only noticed then that each piece, no matter the size, was exuding black tendrils that allowed it to reattach itself to the rest of the body, making all the damage she had inflicted to them meaningless.
Even with their limbs and heads only connected by the tendrils, the creatures were already back at their peak condition. They had simply laid in ambush waiting for their prey.
The darkness contained in the bolts fought against the one reanimating the corpses, making their humming turn into a shrill sound.
Lith barely pretended to chant and form hand signs, quickly unleashing a barrage of Plague arrows on the still writhing creatures.
“Never lower your guard until the enemy turns to dust. Never!” Lith took out the shotel Orion had entrusted him from his pocket dimension.
The death cries of the undead had caused the other creatures to stop their attacks, hissing with hate at the sight of the two running away. They moved to intercept them, only to be cut down like ripe wheat.
Phloria’s movements were small and precise. Years of practice allowed her swordplay to be shapeless, like water. Her form relentlessly changed according to the situation, switching from close combat shield bashing to quick stabs to exploit the range advantage the sword gave her.
With every strike, she released a pulse of darkness magic that was greatly amplified by the blade’s magic, causing the small puncture wounds to turn into gaping holes. The lingering energy ate away the surrounding flesh, shortening the creatures’ life span and making their regeneration slower.
Lith’s movements were rough and amateurish. He only knew a few techniques learned on Earth alongside the basics that Phloria had taught him months ago. Yet he moved like a storm.
To the trained eye, his moves were too big, with lots of unnecessary movements, making them telegraphed. The undead were no experts though. Being short lived like butterflies, they relied on their superior physical prowess to overpower the opponent.
Thanks to the array restricting their movements, Lith was already faster and stronger than them in his natural state. Once he infused himself with fusion magic, the creatures could barely follow his movements.
A thick layer of darkness magic engulfed his shotel and it only grew stronger with each strike. Solus had linked herself to the blade, keeping an eye on its pseudo core, preventing the sword’s control gemstones from overloading from the massive amount of mana Lith was pouring into it.
Each creature that barred his way received at least ten slashes, their bodies turning to ashes before they could even notice having been hit.
Phloria was too busy handling her share of undead to pay too much attention to him, throwing only the occasional glance to be sure Lith was all right. His technique was a mess, but the results left her in awe every time.
If the enemy closed in, the sword would mow them down in a flash. If they retreated, bolts of darkness would send them sprawling on the ground, shrieking in agony.
– “How the heck does he manage to cast that fast even while wielding a sword? His magic storing rings should already be depleted.”– Her confusion didn’t make Phloria lose focus. More and more creatures were coming out of the forest, closing any gap in the encirclement as soon as it formed.
“There’s no end to them!” She barely had the time to yell that hell broke loose.
Professor Ironhelm appeared while riding M’Rook the Ry, followed by a pack of magical beasts. He was wielding a sword and a shield, but with the Ry protecting him, he could focus on the attack, wiping out dozens of undead in a matter of seconds.
“Run away, kids! Don’t look back! I’ll take care of the survivors.”
Lith sprinted forward, storing the sword back in the pocket dimension and taking Phloria’s hand to be certain of not losing her amid the chaos. The closer they got to the town, the more magical beasts they encountered.
Past a certain point, the bindings grew so strong that the undead became even slower than an average human, making it child’s play for beasts and Professors alike to turn them into mincemeat.
Phloria regretted leaving behind her fellow students, but Lith didn’t allow her to slow down for even a second. They reached their house, stopping only to open the door and ran inside as soon as the magic lock recognized them.
Even under the adrenaline rush, they couldn’t help but stare at their new surroundings. The inside was much bigger than the outside. The hallway they were in was at least one hundred meters (328 feet) long and five (16.4 feet) wide.
It was a dimensional magic masterpiece, stretching the space enough to turn the small cottage into a single floor hotel. Each side of the corridor had ten doors, leading to as many apartments. The furniture was rustic. Aside from a long carpet on the floor and magical stones to light it, the hallway was empty.
They couldn’t care less, starting to search for their name tags on the doors. They would have been quicker if they checked one side each, but their hands seemed to be glued together.
Their room was almost a replica of the one they lived in at the academy, just five times bigger. The furniture consisted of five beds with as many nightstands and closets. There were only two bathrooms though. One for the girls, one for the boys.
“What took you so long?” Friya asked them with a tired expression on her face.
An unbearable sense of guilt gripped Phloria’s stomach. She had completely forgotten that her sister was with them in the mine. She hugged Friya so hard she squeezed the air out of her lungs.
“I’m so sorry, sis. I didn’t mean to leave you behind! I’m so glad you are all right. Please forgive me.” Phloria sobbed, leaving Friya flabbergasted.
Lith instead was amazed by how she was still without a scratch, just like them, but had managed to beat them to the house without even breaking a sweat. Even he was still panting from the mad rush.
“What are you talking about? You’ll cry later, Quylla and Yurial need our help.”
She pointed at the two youths, laying on their beds. Their uniforms were torn up in multiple spots, showing the signs of a lost fight. Their skin was deadly pale, their breath was short and shallow.
“Those idiots actually ran to get to the house, almost getting killed. They should have Blinked, just like us!” At those words, Lith and Phloria became beet red from embarrassment. In the heat of the moment, they had completely forgotten about the spell, relying by instinct on much cruder methods to escape.
“I already closed their wounds, but I can’t give them any more life force without endangering myself. They need your help, Lith.”
Lith nodded, chanting the spell and using Invigoration at the same time to check his companions’ conditions. The situation was more dire than Friya believed. Not only was their life force fading away, but also some kind of toxin was attacking their mana cores.
Lith was shocked by the discovery, the god of death was supposed to be a fake mage. He neutralized the toxin, extracting it from their bodies before injecting part of his life force. Their breathing immediately became regular, their complexion healthy.
Friya was about to ask about the liquid floating over Lith’s hand when someone knocked on the door.
“Is there any injured here? I’m Professor Vastor, let me in please.”
Professor Vastor was still as round and bald as an egg, his waxed handlebar mustaches were still flawless despite the sweat running from his head.
“Oh gods, not my precious stars!” He rushed to the beds as soon as he recognized his students. Only after performing a complete check up, Vastor sighed in relief, sitting on a bed to catch his breath.
“Great job removing the toxins, guys. Most people would miss it until it’s too late. Those goddamned undead freaks. Only a madman would create such creatures. Too dangerous and wasteful.” His comments left them speechless, but only for a second.
“Who cares for their efficiency!” Phloria yelled. “Are Quylla and Yurial going to be all right?”
“What the heck happened?” Friya joined the fray. “Wasn’t the attack supposed to happen only during the anniversary?”
“Can I keep the toxin?” Lith chimed in, storing half of it in his pocket dimension, just in case. “I would only use it for research purposes. I promise.”
– “I wish I had a body to bash your head right now.”– Solus scolded him.
The girls glared at him, clearly sharing Solus’s outrage.
Vastor laughed out loud, dissolving the tension.
“Yes, of course they are all right. Otherwise I wouldn’t be so calm. As for your other questions, I only have bad news. First, every time the god of death changes his target, he launches probing attacks before the anniversary. Consider today’s invasion as a rehearsal.
Otherwise we wouldn’t have moved so far in advance. I wonder how he managed to find us that quickly.”
“That was just probing?” Phloria felt weak in the knees.
Vastor nodded.
“Well, yeah. Those are hardly greater undead. No magical powers, limited intelligence, no strategy at all. They simply swarmed the camp to test our defenses and reaction time. As for you, mister Lith, my answer is a no.
“One hundred points for extracting the toxin in such an unaltered state. The alchemists will wet themselves in excitement when they see it.” Vastor’s eyes shined like a kid unwrapping his Christmas present while storing the toxin in an alchemic vial.
“It was a group effort.” Lith said, hoping to quench the three girls’ anger.
– “Nice try, Scrooge. I don’t buy it.” Solus pouted. –
“Then one hundred points to each of you.” Vastor said, too happy to even bother to remember that Phloria wasn’t part of the Healer specialization.
Phloria and Friya smiled, accompanying the Professor to the door. One could never get enough points.
– “Two out of three is still a good result.” Lith thought. –
“Jerk!” They said to Lith in unison as soon as the door was closed.
“Girls, the rooms aren’t soundproof for security reasons. Wait for me to get away before beating him.” Vastor yelled.
– “Or not.”–
