Chapter 219: Demons [2]

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.

But it wasn’t enough.

They just kept coming.

Dark figures poured through the shattered gates and broken walls like a flood that refused to stop. No matter how many were pushed back, more followed behind them.

The Academy was being swallowed by sheer numbers.

"This is bad..." I muttered under my breath.

Students who had tried to fight were already scattered across the grounds, some groaning in pain, others lying unnaturally still. Blood stained the stone pathways that only hours ago had been filled with laughter and casual chatter.

At this rate... the casualties would be catastrophic.

My grip tightened around my sword.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of helping everyone.

Not when this many enemies were rushing toward me.

Crackle—zap.

Electricity began to surge along the blade, crawling over the metal like a living thing. The air around me hummed with energy as sparks leapt from the edge of the sword to the ground beneath my feet.

A mass of Demons rushed forward, their numbers easily in the dozens.

Too many to handle one by one.

I exhaled slowly and stepped forward.

"Lightning Slash!"

I swung the sword in a wide arc.

BOOOOOM!

A blinding flash tore through the courtyard as a wave of lightning exploded outward. The ground trembled beneath the surge of mana, and the crack of thunder drowned out the chaos for a brief moment.

"ARRRRGH!"

The creatures caught in the blast convulsed violently as electricity surged through their bodies. One after another they collapsed, smoke rising from scorched flesh.

The swarm that had been crowding the area seconds earlier was now little more than a charred pile of twitching bodies.

Electrical barbecue.

The smell of ozone filled the air.

I lowered my sword slowly, the blade still buzzing faintly with leftover energy.

But the silence didn’t last long.

From beyond the broken gate... more movement.

More shadows.

More Demons.

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

They were still coming.

Endless.

Like a tide that refused to retreat.

I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead and adjusted my grip on the sword.

---

My mana reserves were already running dangerously low, and we were barely managing to hold the front line.

"Ugh...!"

A wave of dizziness hit me, forcing me to steady myself with my sword.

"Are you okay, Louis?" Lisa’s voice came from behind me, tense but steady.

"I’m fine," I muttered, though the words felt heavier than they should have.

For a moment my vision blurred. Using this much mana continuously was taking its toll. My chest rose and fell as I forced myself to breathe slowly, pushing the fatigue back just enough to stay on my feet.

I couldn’t afford to collapse here.

Not now.

I tightened my grip on the sword and forced my focus back onto the battlefield.

These things... the Demons.

Creatures with twisted, demonic bodies—jagged limbs, blackened skin, and glowing crimson eyes that burned like embers in the dark. They looked less like living beings and more like nightmares given flesh.

And there were too many of them.

Where the hell did they all come from?

Another Demon lunged toward me with a guttural screech. I reacted on instinct, stepping forward and slashing diagonally across its torso.

The blade cut clean through.

The creature dissolved into a cloud of black particles before its body even hit the ground.

But before the particles finished fading, two more were already rushing in to replace it.

"Tch."

No matter how many I cut down, they just kept coming.

It felt like trying to empty the ocean with a bucket.

I cut down another one that leaped from the side and took a brief step back, using the small gap to catch my breath.

There’s no end to them.

At this rate, my mana will run dry before we even reach our destination.

Behind me, Lisa continued casting spells one after another.

"Wind Lance!"

A sharp gust formed beside her, condensing into a spear of compressed air before shooting forward. It tore straight through three Demons in a row, scattering their bodies like ash in a storm.

But even that powerful spell didn’t slow the tide.

More shapes crawled out of the darkness ahead.

Lisa lowered her staff slightly, her breathing growing heavier.

She was reaching her limit too.

Sweat clung to her forehead, and the glow of mana around her staff had noticeably dimmed.

"We can’t keep this up forever," she said quietly.

"I know."

What we needed right now wasn’t more strength.

It was time.

Even a few minutes to recover our stamina and let our mana regenerate would make a huge difference.

But the Demons weren’t going to give us that luxury.

Another wave surged forward, claws scraping against stone as they rushed us.

"Stay behind me," I said.

I stepped forward again, raising my sword.

Electricity flickered faintly along the blade as I forced the last bits of mana through it. The crackling light illuminated the corridor for a split second, revealing dozens of red eyes staring back at us.

Too many.

Way too many.

Still—

I swung.

The lightning arced outward, tearing through the first few monsters and forcing the others back just long enough to create space.

For a moment, the battlefield fell into a tense pause.

Just a moment.

I exhaled slowly.

"Lisa," I said without turning around, "how much mana do you have left?"

"...Enough for maybe two more large spells," she admitted.

Not good.

If we kept fighting like this, we’d collapse before we got anywhere close to the objective.

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Author Note

Thanks for reading and supporting the novel until now.

I hope you will continue to do so.

The novel will be ending soon.

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