Chapter 57: Two strangers

Seraphina’s team was chased by the undead. They had been moving carefully through a densely wooded section of the forest when they suddenly heard a strange noise around them. Seraphina immediately raised a hand, signaling everyone to halt.

"What is it?" One of her teammates asked.

"I heard something."

Hearing her reply, her teammates immediately listened carefully.

The sound became clearer as branches snapped one after another. Something was making its way through the trees, and judging from the noise, there was more than one creature approaching.

The students exchanged uneasy glances.

"Magical beasts?" Someone whispered.

"Probably," another replied, although there was little confidence in her voice.

Seraphina’s hand tightened around her weapon. Whatever was approaching, letting their guard down would be a fatal mistake.

Then a figure stepped between the trees.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

The creature’s body was covered in decaying flesh, with patches of bone visible beneath its rotting skin. Its eye sockets were hollow, while dark blood stained what remained of its clothing. Its jaw hung open as it released a low, guttural growl.

One of Seraphina’s teammates took an involuntary step backward.

"Is that..."

Her voice trembled.

"Undead...?"

The word immediately changed the atmosphere.

Everyone knew what undead were. They had studied them in theory, learned about their weaknesses, and practiced dealing with them under controlled conditions. But seeing them in person was completely different. Especially when there were so many. Even Seraphina felt a cold sensation crawl down her spine. Something about the undead was truly unsettling.

They did not behave like living creatures. There was no hesitation in their movements. No instinct for self-preservation. No fear of death. Because they were already dead.

"Don’t panic," Seraphina said, although she could hear the tension in her own voice. "Stay together."

Her teammates nodded.

A sword user rushed forward and swung her blade at the first undead’s neck. The weapon struck with considerable force. Instead of cutting through the undead’s neck, however, the blade bounced away with a harsh metallic sound.

The sword user’s eyes widened.

"What?"

She looked at her weapon as if she could not believe what had just happened.

The undead continued walking toward her.

"Why didn’t it work?"

The creature suddenly lunged. The sword user immediately stepped back.

"Impossible! My attack had no effect!"

Another teammate intercepted the undead. Her action made the undead halt for a brief moment. But it continued right after.

"Fall back!"

Seraphina stepped forward.

"Everyone, behind me!"

Cold rapidly gathered around her body. The temperature of the surrounding air dropped, and frost spread across the ground beneath her feet.

"Ice Prison!"

A massive wave of ice erupted from the ground and engulfed several undead.

For a moment, everyone froze.

The creatures had disappeared beneath a thick layer of ice.

"You got them," someone breathed.

But Seraphina did not lower her guard. She managed to freeze some of them, but more were still advancing.

Her teammates’ expressions changed.

"There’s more!"

Some of the undead jumped from the frozen block of ice.

Seraphina’s eyes widened.

More undead appeared. They started to surround them. The confidence that had briefly appeared among the students disappeared almost instantly.

Seraphina felt her heartbeat accelerate. She summoned her magic once again.

"Ice Prison!"

Many of the undead were engulfed by the wave of ice once again. However, despite her attack, they noticed the number of the undead kept increasing.

For the first time, genuine fear appeared in her eyes.

"Fall back!"

A voice suddenly interrupted everyone. They saw two figures come out from the nearby tree.

Seraphina and her teammates became wary all of a sudden.

"Who are you?" Seraphina asked coldly.

Their first impression was that they were people from other teams. They were probably here to ambush them.

One of two figures said, "We are not an enemy. For now, let’s escape this place. We’ll explain everything later."

Looking at the two strangers seemingly with no desire for battle, Seraphina reluctantly agreed. Besides, there was a more pressing matter that needed to be prioritized.

"Everyone, let’s get out of here first."

Hearing Seraphina’s words, the others immediately agreed.

Behind them, the undead continued pursuing. Seraphina repeatedly created walls of ice to slow them down. It was effective but only for a short time.

The sound of cracking followed them through the forest. One of the students looked over her shoulder and nearly stumbled.

"They’re still coming!"

"Don’t look back!" Another shouted.

Elsewhere, Lilith’s team was experiencing the same nightmare.

At first, they were confident.

The Villain Department students were not accustomed to retreating from an opponent simply because they were outnumbered. Their training had taught them to exploit weaknesses, control the battlefield, and turn unfavorable situations to their advantage.

When the first wave of undead appeared, they did exactly that. Their attacks tore through several creatures.

For a brief moment, some of the students even smiled.

"See? They’re not that strong."

Then one of the undead rose again. The smile disappeared. The creature’s body was badly damaged, yet it continued crawling toward them.

Another undead rose and another.

Lilith’s expression gradually hardened.

"Keep attacking."

Her teammates obeyed. They destroyed one undead after another. But the creatures kept coming. The students’ breathing became increasingly ragged. Their arms began to ache from repeated attacks. Their mana reserves were steadily falling. Yet the undead showed no signs of stopping.

One student stared at the approaching horde.

"How many are there?"

Nobody answered.

The question itself had become terrifying. Lilith slowly turned her head. They were surrounded. The forest behind them was filled with undead. The trees ahead were filled with undead. Even the spaces between the trees were disappearing beneath the growing horde. One of her teammates swallowed hard.

"We’re running out of mana."

Another looked at Lilith.

"What do we do?"

Lilith remained silent.

She had always prided herself on keeping a clear head when others panicked. But even she could feel fear tightening in her chest. This wasn’t a battle they could win. They weren’t simply fighting an opponent. They were fighting an endless tide.

"This is pointless," she finally said.

Her voice was quieter than usual.

One student looked at her in disbelief.

"Are you saying we should run?"

Lilith glanced at the approaching undead.

"Yes."

The student hesitated.

"But we’re Villain Department students. We don’t run from—"

"Do you want to die?"

The student fell silent.

Lilith’s eyes hardened.

"Because that’s what will happen if we stay."

She spread her shadow across the ground.

"Everyone, stay close."

The students immediately moved toward her.

"Shadow Passage."

Darkness swallowed them.

The undead lunged forward, but their hands passed through empty air.

The team reappeared several dozen meters away.

Even after escaping, the students kept looking behind them. They were afraid the undead would somehow emerge from the shadows and follow them.

For the first time, several Villain Department students understood something they had never experienced during their training. They were not the ones controlling the situation.

They were prey.

Jeannette’s team was in an even worse position.

Most of their members specialized in body strengthening. They had always relied on their physical abilities to overcome difficult opponents.

Normally, that gave them confidence. Now, it terrified them. Every punch they threw seemed meaningless. Every weapon strike accomplished almost nothing. One student slammed an undead into the ground with enough force to crack the earth.

He stared as the creature slowly pushed itself upright.

"No..."

His breathing became heavier.

"No, stay down."

The undead continued moving. The student backed away.

"Why won’t it stay down?"

Another undead rushed toward him.

He barely managed to dodge.

"There’s too many!"

The team was beginning to break apart.

Jeannette saw fear spreading across their faces.

These were students who had trained together, fought magical beasts, and endured countless physical trials. Yet none of that training had prepared them for an enemy that simply refused to die.

"We can’t keep fighting!" Someone shouted.

Jeannette looked around.

The undead were closing in from every direction. She felt panic rising in her chest. If they stayed on the ground, they would be overwhelmed. If they ran, the undead would chase them. There was nowhere to go.

Then she looked upward.

The massive tree towering above them caught her attention. An idea immediately came to her.

"We’re going up!"

"What?"

"Trust me!"

Wind exploded around Jeannette. The students felt their feet leave the ground. Several of them shouted in surprise as the powerful current lifted them upward.

"Jeannette!"

"Hold on!"

"Don’t let go!"

One student grabbed another’s arm as the wind carried them toward the branches. They finally landed on a massive branch high above the ground.

Everyone immediately looked downward.

The undead had gathered beneath them. For a moment, nobody spoke. They were breathing heavily. One student laughed nervously.

"Haha. We made it."

Another looked at the countless undead beneath them.

"Did we survive?"

The nervous laughter immediately stopped.

Jeannette’s expression darkened.

They had escaped the horde, but they had not escaped the danger.

They were trapped.

The tree had become their refuge and their prison at the same time.

"We can’t stay here forever," one student said.

Jeannette stared into the crimson forest.

"I don’t have enough mana to cast that spell again."

Her voice was quiet.

For the first time, she found herself in great danger. She wondered if the instructors knew what was happening.

And if they did...

Could they save them?

None of the students knew the answer. Outside the forest, the instructors were facing a different kind of fear.

They could no longer see their students and they could no longer communicate with them. And now they could not even enter the forest.

Rovan slammed his fist against the invisible barrier.

"Open!"

A crimson ripple spread across the surface.

Nothing happened.

He struck it again.

The barrier remained.

"Damn! Why won’t it open!?"

His voice echoed through the area.

Selene grabbed his shoulder.

"Rovan, stop. You’re wasting your strength."

Rovan raised his voice.

"Our students are in there!"

Everyone fell silent.

Rovan stared at the crimson barrier with barely contained fury.

"We can’t just stand here."

His voice became quieter.

"What Selene meant is that we need to think of another way to break in," Garrick suddenly said.

Hearing it, Rovan calmed down a little.

"Do any of you know how to break in or remove the barrier?"

They looked at one another. None of them could answer. This barrier wasn’t the same barrier they erected. Someone other than them summoned it.

"I think we need to find the one responsible for this barrier," Garrick said.

A strange laugh came from behind them.

"Hehehe."

The four instructors turned.

Two unfamiliar figures, one had small stature and the other one was tall, stood several meters away from them.

The moment Rovan saw them, his fear transformed into anger. He immediately drew his weapon.

"Who are you?"

The tall man smiled.

"The one you’ve been looking for," one of the two replied.

Rovan raised his weapon.

"So you’re the one responsible for this barrier?"

The man’s smile widened.

"That’s right."

The instructor’s expressions hardened.

"What is your goal for doing this?" Liora asked.

The smaller one answered calmly.

"Isn’t it obvious?"

Rovan took a step forward.

"Release them."

The man laughed.

"You still don’t understand."

He pointed toward the crimson barrier.

"Those students aren’t prisoners."

He paused.

"They’re sacrifices."

The instructors froze. For a moment, the only sound was the distant wind moving through the trees.

Rovan’s eyes widened.

"What did you say?"

The tall one smiled.

"The ritual has already begun."

Rovan’s grip tightened around his weapon until his knuckles turned white. Behind him, the other instructors looked toward the forest.

Their students were still inside. They were probably fighting for their life. And the people responsible for their safety could do nothing. The realization hit them harder than any attack against the barrier.

The man looked at their horrified expressions and smiled.

"By the time the ritual is complete, none of you will be able to save them."

Rovan’s eyes burned with rage.

"We’ll see about that."

He raised his sword. Mana flowed out all over his body as magical energy was enveloping his sword.

This time, however, there was something different in his expression. It was no longer frustrating. It was desperation.

Somewhere beyond the barrier were the students he had sworn to protect. And he had no intention of standing by while they were being sacrificed to whatever these two mentioned.

"Hehe. So impatient," said the taller one.