Chapter 218: Demons [1]

"Weeeeeeee—!"

The siren wailed through the building, loud enough to rattle the glass in the windows. It was the kind of alarm that immediately set your nerves on edge—the kind that meant something had already gone terribly wrong.

I was in Lisa’s room when it started.

"What the hell...?"

Instinctively, I walked over to the window to see what was happening outside.

Lisa’s room was several floors up, giving a clear view of the campus grounds. Usually it was peaceful—students walking between buildings, the occasional carriage passing by the front gate.

But now—

Something was rushing toward the building.

At first, it just looked like a black mass stretching so far that I couldn’t see where it ended. It moved like a swarm of insects, surging forward in waves.

My eyes narrowed.

"...What is that?"

I leaned closer to the glass.

And then I saw them properly.

They weren’t insects.

They were people.

Or at least... they used to be.

Their skin had turned pitch black, as if stained with ink. Jagged horns protruded from their heads—some curved, some broken, some grotesquely twisted. Their movements were erratic, animalistic—nothing like normal human behavior.

Dozens of them.

No—hundreds.

Flooding toward the building.

Just like Clarice had.

My stomach dropped.

"Oh, shit."

I spun around.

"Lisa!"

"H-huh...?" Lisa blinked groggily from where she was sitting on the bed, still half-stunned from the blaring alarm. "W-what’s wrong?"

The siren was still screaming overhead, echoing through the corridors.

She looked confused, disoriented—like someone who’d been dragged out of a dream.

I grabbed her by the shoulders.

"We need to move. Right now."

"What? Why—"

Before she could finish, a distant crash echoed from somewhere below us.

BOOM.

The floor vibrated slightly.

Lisa froze.

"...What was that?"

I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I glanced back at the window.

The swarm had reached the outer gates.

And they weren’t slowing down.

Some of them were already climbing over the walls. Others slammed themselves against the barriers like crazed beasts, clawing and biting.

Thud!

A dull sound came from the other side of Lisa’s tightly shut door—like something heavy hitting the wood.

Lisa and I both froze.

Thud! Thud!

This time it was clearer. Rhythmic. Almost like someone knocking.

Except... no one would politely knock like that right now.

My stomach dropped.

"Uh..."

Lisa looked toward the door, confused.

My mind raced. There was only one thing it could be.

"Lisa!" I snapped. "Get over here—now!"

She was still standing there, stunned, so I reached out and grabbed her wrist. Her hand felt cold as she finally snapped out of it and stumbled toward me.

Just as her fingers closed around mine—

BANG!!

The door exploded inward.

"KEEEEEEEK!!"

The shrill, inhuman screech filled the room as the broken door slammed against the wall.

Demons poured inside.

Dozens of them.

They flooded through the doorway like a grotesque wave, their twisted limbs crawling over each other in their rush forward. The sight was horrifying—like watching a swarm of monsters spilling into the room.

There was no time to think.

I wrapped an arm around Lisa’s waist and sprinted toward the window.

"Hold on tight!"

"W-Wait—!"

CRASH!!

Glass shattered as I hurled us straight through the window.

For a split second we were suspended in the air.

Then gravity took hold.

"KYAAAAAH!!"

Lisa’s scream tore through the air as we plummeted toward the ground far below.

Wind roared past my ears.

Too fast.

If we hit the ground like this—

Just before impact, I activated Furion’s ability.

Mana surged through my body.

The air around us seemed to thicken, slowing our descent as if invisible hands were cushioning the fall.

Our speed dropped sharply.

Instead of smashing into the ground, we touched down roughly but safely on the grass.

I steadied myself and gently set Lisa on her feet.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Lisa was breathing hard, staring up at the building with wide eyes.

"What... what the hell was that?" she gasped. "Why are those things in the Academy...?"

I clenched my jaw.

"I... don’t know."

And that was the truth.

Why were demons here?

Creatures like these shouldn’t even exist in such numbers, let alone inside the Academy grounds.

Yet the proof was right above us.

I glanced up.

The shattered window of Lisa’s room loomed overhead.

A demon was standing there.

It leaned halfway out of the broken frame, its hollow eyes fixed directly on Lisa.

Watching her.

My chest tightened.

They’re not just attacking randomly.

They’re targeting someone.

More specifically—

They’re targeting Lisa.

"Let’s move," I said quietly.

Lisa looked at me, panic rising in her eyes. "Move? Where?"

Behind us, the sounds had already begun.

Shrill screeches.

Scraping claws.

The demons had realized we’d escaped.

Several of them were climbing out of the window, their bodies twisting unnaturally as they crawled down the outer wall of the building.

More were flooding into the hallway above.

It was only a matter of time before they reached the ground.

I grabbed Lisa’s hand.

"Come on!"

We started running across the Academy courtyard.

"W-Where are we going?!" she asked breathlessly.

I didn’t slow down.

"To someone who can help us."

Right now, fighting a swarm like that would be suicide.

We needed someone strong.

Someone who could actually deal with a situation like this.

In my mind, one person immediately came to mind.

If we could just reach them—

Behind us, a chorus of shrieks erupted as the first demons hit the ground.

They were coming.

Fast.

And judging by the way they were chasing us...

They had no intention of letting Lisa escape.

---

BANG!

The explosion echoed across the Academy like a thunderclap.

"AAAAAH!"

"Get inside! Hurry—take shelter!"

Panic spread instantly.

Screams erupted from every direction as students ran across the courtyards and corridors, some tripping over each other in their desperation to escape. Doors slammed shut. Furniture scraped loudly across floors as classrooms were barricaded in a frantic attempt to hold back the sudden disaster.

The Academy, once a place of order and learning, had plunged into chaos.