Chapter 118: The Aftershock
Coleen’s screams tore through the sudden, horrifying mayhem, desperate. "Eirin! Eirin!" She lunged forward, her arms outstretched, a frantic, futile attempt to get closer to the shattered concrete ring, to reach her friend.
Trixtan moved faster, his reflexes honed by countless brawls. He immediately got a hold of her, his firm grip, pulling her back just as a monstrous, bird-like creature, its talons gleaming, swooped low, nearly snatching her. "We need to hide, Coco!" he yelled, his voice strained above the shrieks and roars, trying to pull her away from the gaping maw of the ruined barrier.
Tears streamed down Coleen’s face, hot tracks through the dust that now coated her skin. Her body trembled, wracked by fear and helplessness. "E-Ei got—she got taken away by those monsters!" she choked out, twisting in Trixtan’s grasp, her tear-filled eyes wide and pleading as she faced him. "You’ve got to help her, quick! Please, Trix!"
Trixtan looked up, his gaze sweeping the tumultuous sky, but it was too chaotic. Giant, shadowy shapes dipped and soared amidst the black miasma that boiled from the breach, making it impossible to discern which bird had seized Eirin, where it might be carrying her.
"Okay, I’ll chase after her," he promised. "But for now, you have to get inside. It’s not safe out here."
With a powerful surge, he pulled Coleen from the exposed bleachers, sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her towards the safety of the main building of the academy, dodging falling debris and swooping monsters as he ran.
The academy grounds had transformed into a battlefield. Scarlett Jenkins, a furious whirlwind of arcane power, and Mr. Blade, his usual theatricality replaced by grim determination, were at the forefront, doing their best to subdue the torrent of grotesque creatures pouring from the sky.
Scarlett’s hands glowed with emerald light, sending pulses of energy that incinerated the monsters, while Mr. Blade, channeling his mana, conjured swirling gusts of wind, desperately trying to push back the encroaching tide. But they were too much of a force, their numbers seemingly endless.
The monsters were also releasing miasma everywhere, a thick, black vapor that seeped into the very ground, choking the air, making it heavy and suffocating, and hindering the professors.
All professors had arrived, their faces grim, their powers unleashed, trying to help, creating defensive shields and launching counterattacks. Some of the braver, or perhaps more foolish, students were also fighting the monsters, their individual mana sparking in the dimming, miasma-choked light, while Scarlett, her face strained, her brow beaded with sweat, used all her formidable mana to restore the shattered barrier, channeling immense energy into mending it all.