Chapter 70. A Death with Honor
Chapter Warning
This Chapter contains graphic scenes of violence, including a monster brutally attacking and killing multiple people. Readers can expect depictions of blood, gore, severe injuries, and death.
Reader discretion is advised.
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Every student trapped in that clearing stared at the abomination before them in pure horror. Ten of their classmates now lay dead at its feet. Desperate to flee, they found their bodies simply wouldn’t obey no matter how hard they tried to command themselves to run, something else seemed to be in control of their limbs instead. Yet when they tried to step backward, their bodies moved just fine. At first, the terrified students couldn’t make sense of it. But a few managed to steady their thoughts enough to notice the pattern they couldn’t cross beyond a certain boundary. The students from the magic department caught on almost immediately, and several of them cried out in even greater panic.
"Ahhhh, it’s placed an area restriction around us! None of us can leave, no matter what we do! Ahhhh, what do we do? What do we do?!"
The moment the rest of the students heard this, their panic surged even higher. Their first fear was simple they couldn’t escape the area; they were trapped here like sacrificial lambs. Their second fear ran deeper: this thing could use magic. As more and more of them grasped what that meant, the panic began to give way to something worse resignation. There was no surviving this. How could they possibly fight something like that?
"... That’s it... this is where I die. I am sorry mom, I am sorry, dad. Your girl is going to die here right now. I hope you forgive me." Natasha started crying.
When Elizabeth learned about the restriction from the other students, her sense of the situation grew even grimmer. A monster capable of using magic had to be at least Rank Five or higher, though typically limited to lower-tier spells. But this thing had cast an area restriction and even without deep knowledge of magical theory, Elizabeth knew that area restrictions were a high-level spell. To cast something like that, its rank had to be far higher still. In her head, she estimated it couldn’t be lower than Rank Seven, and she didn’t dare guess how much higher it might actually be. She had no idea how she was supposed to keep everyone alive until Necrotize arrived. She took a long breath, and then shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Everyone, get a hold of yourselves! If we give up like this, we’ll have thrown our lives away for nothing! If we don’t stand together against this thing, we will never make it out alive. We outnumber it by far, and if we fight together, we can hold our ground against it. I have no doubt our professors are doing everything in their power to save us right now. And wherever Lord Necrotize has gone, I know he’ll do everything he can to reach us as fast as possible. Until then, we have to survive."
Hearing her words, most of the students turned to look at her and so did Xath’rael. As it listened to her speak, its mandibles clicked and twitched with something like excitement. Elizabeth raised her sword, pointing it straight at Xath’rael, and continued.
"And I say we fight back. We just watched our classmates die in front of us. Some of them were our friends, some of them people close to our hearts. But at the end of the day, we are all children of this empire. And we never let the deaths of our brothers and sisters go unanswered. I say we won’t wait for anyone. We won’t depend on anyone else. We will fight this battle ourselves. And if death comes for us here, then let it be a death with honor."
Hearing this, the students stared at the abomination before them for a long moment. Then their eyes drifted down to their fallen classmates bodies torn open, organs spilling out, every one of them lifeless, their eyes empty of any light, staring into an endless dark. The blood-red glow pouring down from the sky above only deepened the shadows around them. In that moment, they thought about what awaited them. They couldn’t escape. They would likely die here, and for nothing. But could they really let themselves die like that without landing even a single blow in return? They refused. They couldn’t accept that. If they had to die here, then at least let them die having struck this thing at least once. A death like that would hurt far less than dying without a fight.
At Elizabeth’s words, a fire ignited once more among the students but this time, it burned brighter than anything that had come before, like molten rock bursting free from a volcano. Those who had collapsed to the ground slowly gathered their strength and pushed themselves back to their feet, every one of them turning their gaze toward Xath’rael. Xath’rael watched all of this unfold before it, but it made no move, launched no attack. It simply stared out at them with something like pure fascination.
Every student readied themselves where they stood. The combat department students drew their weapons. The magic department students began charging their spells. The summoning department students called their spirit animals forward to the front lines. The alchemy department students pulled out their crafted devices. And the divine studies department students fell back behind the group, beginning to cast buffs over everyone present.
Fire burned in every one of their eyes. None of them would back down now. They would fight with everything they had. Watching this unfold, Elizabeth felt a measure of relief settle over her though her real task still lay ahead. Her left hand trembled faintly. She had said a great deal to rally them, but she had no idea whether she herself could actually pull this off. Just then, she felt a soft hand close around hers. She looked down and found Lyra holding it, smiling up at her. Seeing this, Elizabeth allowed herself a faint smile in return, then turned her gaze back to the abomination before her, raising her sword toward it.
"Charge."
The students erupted into a frenzy the moment the order was given.
Most of them charged straight at Xath’rael without hesitation. The Combat Department students led the assault, weapons drawn, moving with lethal speed. Swords, spears, and blades flashed as they swarmed the monster, striking every vulnerable point they could reach.
"Ahhh, die you fiend!"
"Die! You killed my friend die, just die!"
"I won’t die a meaningless death! I’ll take you with me, you ugly piece of shit!"
Some drove their swords deep into its hide, others slashed at its legs, while spear-wielders thrust straight into its chest with all their strength. Behind them, the Magic Department students had already finished their chants.
"Wind Spear, go!"
"Luminous Slash, go!"
"Fireballs, go!"
Spell after spell tore through the air, slamming into Xath’rael one after another. Each impact exploded against its body, releasing thick plumes of dark smoke. The Summoning Department students joined in next, calling forth their spirit beasts. A wave of ethereal creatures materialized and hurled themselves at the monster, tearing into it with spectral claws and fangs.
Meanwhile, the Alchemy Department students hurled vial after vial of experimental potions. The containers shattered on impact, releasing corrosive liquids and toxic mists that ate away at the creature’s form, filling the area with colorful, choking smoke.
The combined barrage was overwhelming. Smoke and magical residue completely swallowed Xath’rael, turning it into a hazy silhouette wrapped in swirling clouds of every color.
"Did we... actually damage it?" one boy asked, breathing hard.
A nearby student nodded grimly. "We hit it with everything we had. No matter what rank that thing is, there’s no way it walked away from an assault like that unscathed."
A few others murmured in agreement, a flicker of relief crossing their faces. For a brief moment, the tension eased.
Then a single massive claw ripped out of the smoke.
"Watch out!" Elizabeth screamed.
But her warning came too late. The claw moved like lightning. Four students didn’t even have time to react. In one brutal swipe, their heads were severed cleanly from their bodies. Blood sprayed upward in gruesome fountains while their headless corpses remained standing for a horrifying second before collapsing to the ground with heavy, sickening thuds.
Elizabeth clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached.
The sight should have broken the students. Instead, it ignited a blazing fury inside them. Fear was burned away by pure rage. They were no longer fighting just to survive they wanted vengeance.
But that rage faltered the moment the smoke began to clear.
Xath’rael emerged.
Not a single wound marred its body. No cuts, no burns, no scorches nothing. It looked completely untouched, as if their desperate all-out attack had been nothing more than a light breeze. The monster slowly tilted its head, its grotesque features twisting into what could only be described as a delighted grin.
It was laughing at them.