Chapter 200: The Wounds of Ambrose

The enormous barrier shimmered above Ambrose Academy, its translucent surface enclosing the entire institution.

For several moments, the instructors gathered nearby simply stared at it. The immediate threat had passed, but the destruction left behind was impossible to ignore.

Cracked walls, collapsed corridors, shattered windows, and bloodstained stone floors served as reminders of what had happened.

Elowen stood among them, breathing heavily.

Her emerald robes were covered in dust, and several strands of green hair had fallen loose around her face. Her mana had been completely depleted by the spell. Even standing upright required considerable effort.

Nevertheless, she forced herself to remain composed.

"Continue the search immediately," she ordered. "Check every building, corridor, classroom. Do not assume that every demon has been eliminated until the entire academy has been inspected."

The instructors nodded.

"Those who are still capable of fighting should assist with the search. Everyone else must focus on rescuing the injured and bringing them to the designated shelters."

One instructor glanced at her.

"Professor, you should rest. You’ve completely exhausted your mana."

"I’ll rest when the situation is under control."

Her response left little room for argument.

The instructors quickly divided into groups and departed in different directions. Some headed toward damaged buildings to search for any remaining threats, while others continued evacuating the injured students scattered throughout the academy.

Above them, the barrier continued to shimmer.

Absolute Enclosure had been activated successfully. It restricted entry and exit to those permitted by Elowen, while its structure interfered with spatial manipulation, making it considerably more difficult to open another fissure within its boundaries.

However, the barrier was not designed to identify infiltrators who were already inside.

---

At the western shelter, several instructors carefully inspected the students who had been brought there.

Some were unconscious. Others sat against the walls, clutching their injuries while trying to suppress their pain.

The atmosphere was heavy.

Even those who had escaped serious injuries struggled to hide their fear. They had entered the academy expecting ordinary examinations and lessons. Instead, they had witnessed their classmates being slaughtered before their eyes.

Among them sat Aris Velloria.

Her head remained slightly lowered, and her expression carried the exhaustion expected of someone who had barely survived the invasion.

In reality, however, Sephtis was perfectly calm.

Her talent, Identity Assimilation, had allowed her to assume Aris’s appearance and reproduce her memories with remarkable accuracy. Under ordinary inspection, nothing about her identity appeared unusual. She had also carefully concealed her mana signature, leaving no obvious trace of her demonic nature.

As far as the instructors were concerned, she was simply another injured student recovering from the invasion.

Sephtis quietly observed her surroundings.

Several instructors moved between the beds, checking the conditions of the wounded and directing those who needed immediate attention toward the healers.

Then her attention shifted toward the distant sky.

The faint outline of the enormous barrier was barely visible from the shelter.

So they’ve sealed the academy.

Her expression remained unchanged, but her thoughts grew colder.

The barrier was powerful enough to restrict movement throughout the institution. Even if she wished to leave, doing so without permission would be difficult.

She had no intention of exposing herself just yet.

For now, remaining inconspicuous was the safest choice.

---

Elsewhere, the rescue operation continued.

Instructors moved through damaged corridors, carefully lifting injured students and carrying them toward the nearest shelter.

Some could still walk with assistance. Others had to be carried on stretchers or makeshift platforms.

A young instructor hurried through a corridor with another instructor beside him. Between them, they supported a student whose uniform was soaked with blood.

"Stay with us!" one of them urged. "We’re almost there!"

The student barely responded.

His breathing was shallow, and his face had grown frighteningly pale.

"Give him a healing potion!"

The other instructor immediately uncorked a potion and brought it toward the young man’s lips.

"Drink this! Come on!"

A small amount passed between his lips, but his breathing had already grown too faint. The potion could slow the bleeding, but it couldn’t repair the damage quickly enough.

The instructor checked his pulse again.

Nothing.

The young man had died.

For a moment, neither instructor spoke.

They had been carrying him in the hope that he might survive if they reached the healers in time. Yet, despite their efforts, they had arrived too late.

The instructor slowly lowered his hand.

"...He’s gone."

The words were quiet, but they carried a weight neither of them could ignore.

They carefully placed the student’s body on the ground before covering it with a cloth.

There was no time to mourn.

Other students still needed their help.

---

As the rescue operation progressed, the injured were gathered inside the designated shelters.

The healers worked without pause.

Students in critical condition were prioritised. Those with minor injuries received healing potions and basic treatment from the available staff, allowing the more experienced healers to concentrate on the most serious cases.

Among the healers was Vespera.

The Saintess moved between the injured students, her platinum-blonde hair falling neatly over her academy uniform. Although dust and faint bloodstains marked her clothing, her expression remained composed.

She extended her hand over an injured student.

A gentle radiance emerged from her palm.

"Divine Grace."

The light spread across the student’s body, penetrating the damaged tissues and gradually closing the wounds. The remaining traces of demonic energy were purged, allowing the student’s condition to stabilise.

Vespera withdrew her hand only after confirming that the immediate danger had passed.

"Move the next patient here."

Her voice remained calm, but the exhaustion in her eyes was becoming increasingly difficult to conceal.

She had already treated numerous students during the invasion. Even with her extraordinary healing ability, the continuous use of Divine Grace was demanding.

Still, she continued.

There were too many injured students, and too few people capable of treating them.

Not far away, Lucian remained unconscious on a nearby bed.

He had lost his right hand during the battle. Vespera had managed to stabilise his condition and purge the remaining demonic energy, but she could not restore what had been severed.

His recovery would take considerable time.

Seraphina was also still unconscious. Although Vespera had treated her serious injuries, the exhaustion caused by her excessive mana consumption meant she needed time to recover.

Neither had regained consciousness.

A short distance away, Kaelen Draven sat on an empty bed while another healer examined his left arm.

His expression remained stern despite the pain.

The arm was broken, and several other injuries covered his body. Compared with some of the students, his condition was far less severe. Nevertheless, the damage he had sustained during the battle was considerable.

"Your left arm is badly fractured," the healer explained. "You’ll need time to recover. Avoid using it until the bones have properly healed."

Kaelen glanced at his arm.

"Understood."

His gaze briefly shifted toward the entrance.

He remembered the demon that had detonated itself after he delivered the finishing blow.

He had been too close.

The explosion had caught him and the students nearby before he could react. Four students had died, while three others had suffered severe injuries.

Kaelen’s jaw tightened.

He had defeated the demon, yet that victory had come at a terrible cost.

If I had noticed what it was planning sooner...

His fingers tightened against the edge of the bed.

"...How many?"

The healer looked at him.

"How many what?"

"Students. How many didn’t make it?"

The healer hesitated.

"The final report hasn’t been completed yet."

Kaelen lowered his gaze toward his injured arm.

He said nothing more.

---

Gradually, the search throughout the academy came to an end.

The instructors inspected every accessible section of the grounds, from the damaged classrooms to the underground passages.

They found no remaining hostile presence in the areas they had searched.

Nineteen of the twenty demons who had invaded the academy had been eliminated. The only attacker who had escaped was the spatial manipulator responsible for opening the fissure, as Professor Garrick had previously reported.

However, the destruction the demons had left behind was far from over.

Several instructors began collecting the bodies of the deceased students. Each body was carefully identified and recorded before being moved to a designated area.

Some had been found in damaged corridors, others beneath collapsed structures, and still more in isolated sections of the academy.

The instructors worked in silence.

Every name added to the list represented a student who had entered the academy expecting to return home after their studies.

Now, they would never return.

---

Several hours later, Elowen remained in the academy’s central courtyard.

Her mana had begun recovering, but she was still visibly exhausted. An instructor stood nearby, ready to assist if she lost her balance.

She had spent the past few hours coordinating the search, rescue, and treatment operations. The situation was finally stabilising, but the reports arriving from different sections of the academy offered little comfort.

An instructor approached her.

"Professor Elowen."

She turned toward him.

"Have you finished compiling the casualty report?"

"Yes."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Twenty-two students have been confirmed dead. Fifty others were injured but survived. Twelve of them remain in critical condition, while the rest are currently stable."

Elowen’s expression tightened.

"Twenty-two..."

"Four students were killed during the demon’s self-detonation. Another died from his injuries while being transported to a shelter. The remaining seventeen bodies were recovered from different sections of the academy."

The instructor lowered his head slightly.

"We’ve also confirmed that all the professors survived. However, several sustained injuries. Professor Kaelen Draven is in the worst condition among them, with a broken left arm and multiple other injuries."

Elowen remained silent.

Twenty-two dead.

Fifty injured.

Twelve still fighting for their lives.

For a moment, she simply stared at the ground.

Considering the number of demons that had invaded the academy and the overwhelming difference in strength between them and most students, the casualties could have been considerably worse.

The professors had responded as quickly as possible, confronting the demons before they could inflict even greater losses. Some had fought while injured, while others had abandoned their own battles to rescue students in danger.

Their intervention had undoubtedly saved many lives.

Without their timely arrival, the death toll could have been several times higher.

But that did not make the lives already lost any less valuable.

Elowen had spent years watching students enter the academy, each carrying their own ambitions and dreams. Some wanted to become powerful mages, others hoped to serve the Empire, and many simply wanted to build a better future for themselves.

Now, twenty-two of them would never get that chance.

She slowly drew a breath.

"Have the families been informed?"

"We’re preparing the reports. The academy will contact them as soon as the identities of all the deceased have been formally confirmed."

Elowen nodded.

"Make sure every family receives an accurate account of what happened. Do not leave out any details."

"Understood, Professor."

The instructor bowed before stepping away.

Elowen remained where she was, staring at the damaged courtyard.

The academy had survived the invasion, but its protective wards had failed to prevent the attackers from entering.

Nineteen of the twenty invading demons had been eliminated. One had escaped. Fifty students had been injured, and twenty-two had lost their lives.

Yet the most troubling question remained unanswered.

What had allowed the spatial fissure to bypass Ambrose Academy’s detection wards without triggering them?

Until she understood how the academy’s defences had been bypassed, Elowen couldn’t consider the institution truly safe.