Chapter 87: Gajia Academy 16 - What an attack!

The surrounding forces began to have their morale boosted as the battle continued. The sight of finally seeing a single demonic individual fall at the hands of their forces fired everyone up, and soon, one demon after another began falling across the battlefield.

"Demonic idiots!!!"

Of course, the demons were not foolish enough to continue taking the defenders’ tactics head-on. As their numbers began to spread apart, one demon raised his voice toward the endless crowd of demons and pointed toward the center of the battlefield.

"Don’t go wandering off! Get back to the center, or these bastards will use their numbers against us!"

The demons began regrouping as they realized the danger of being surrounded. Their movements became more organized, making it increasingly difficult for the defenders to isolate them.

Akuma gritted his teeth as he watched the battle unfold. "Tsk, if only I were stronger, I could have led the battle better."

Then, a sudden realization struck him. He quickly looked around the battlefield, searching through the countless people fighting around him.

"Wait, where are my classmates?"

Akuma turned around and searched through the chaotic battlefield. What he saw made his expression stiffen as countless demons, humans, and other races clashed across the port, with bodies already scattered across the ground.

Then, one particular body caught his attention.

It was the lizardman who belonged to his group, one of the students under his command. His body was motionless among the countless fallen warriors.

"Abnour Mal is dead?"

Akuma’s eyes widened as he looked farther across the battlefield. Another familiar body immediately caught his attention among the fallen.

"Cassio is dead as well?"

Fuck.

He could only swear internally as frustration filled his mind. He was supposed to be one of the five prodigies of Gajia Academy, yet at this moment, he felt like he was barely capable of doing anything.

He was merely a placeholder, someone who had been given the position because he happened to be slightly ahead of the others. There would always be someone stronger coming to take his place, and Akuma knew that if he did not become stronger, he would eventually be left behind.

Akuma looked around once again. The other Gajia students were fighting tirelessly against the demons, while griffons filled the skies and launched projectile magic toward the battlefield. Humans and dwarfs continued gripping their weapons tightly, refusing to back down despite the chaos surrounding them.

Then, Akuma noticed something strange.

Wait... why is that group of humans standing over there?

A group of humans stood toward the corner of the battlefield, seemingly separated from the main forces. They had barely participated in the fighting, and their strange behavior immediately caught Akuma’s attention.

Before he could investigate further, a loud voice suddenly rang out from somewhere among the demons.

"UNLEASH!!!"

A demon suddenly threw a large red stone toward the battlefield. The object was nearly the size of a human’s head, and its dark red surface pulsed with an unsettling light.

Akuma’s eyes widened as he recognized the strange object. The Blood Stone continued flying through the air before landing near the suspicious group of humans.

Wait, don’t tell me...

Another figure immediately cast light magic onto the Blood Stone. The moment the light touched its surface, the stone released a powerful burst of energy that enveloped the nearby humans.

The group of humans suddenly began trembling as their bodies started changing. Thick black fur rapidly spread across their skin while their fingers twisted into long, sharp claws.

Their teeth grew into vicious fangs as their backs expanded and their muscles swelled beneath their clothing. Their bodies became larger and more monstrous, while their eyes turned feral and deep growls escaped from their throats.

Akuma stood frozen as he stared at the transformation. His eyes widened as the appearance of the creatures became unmistakable.

Werewolves?

The truth finally became clear to him. The group of humans had never been ordinary soldiers, and they had been hiding their true identities among the defenders from the beginning.

The battlefield, which had already descended into chaos, suddenly became even worse. The defenders had believed they were fighting alongside their own people, yet a hidden force had been waiting among them all along.

The demons had infiltrated the battlefield.

And the humans standing beside them were part of the plan.

--

One man slowly stepped forward from the corner of the battlefield, wearing a dark robe that covered most of his body. His white hair and wrinkled appearance made him look like an old man, yet the strange red particles surrounding his body immediately made it clear that he was no ordinary human.

He slowly levitated into the air as the red particles continued swirling around him. He spread both arms wide and looked down at the battlefield with a strange smile.

"Welcome, my beloved fellow inhabitants of the Southern Continent."

Everyone nearby turned their attention toward him, their faces filled with confusion. Nobody understood who he was or what he was trying to accomplish.

"Are we enjoying the party?!"

The old man laughed as he looked around at the chaotic battlefield. His voice echoed across the port before his smile widened.

"Then how about we enjoy it a little more?!"

Suddenly, the red particles surrounding his body began moving toward the battlefield. They spread across the ground and gathered around the corpses of the fallen, climbing over their bodies before slowly being drawn back toward him.

One corpse after another began releasing the strange red particles. The particles connected to the old man as though they were being absorbed into his body, causing the amount of red energy surrounding him to grow larger.

The old man lowered his head for a moment before slowly raising it again. His wrinkled face formed a sinister smile as he looked down at the battlefield.

"Blood Bath."

"What is he doing?!"

Willow looked around in confusion as several dead demonic individuals lay scattered around her. She could feel something strange happening, but she could not immediately determine what the old man was attempting to do.

Then she looked toward the corpses.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Suddenly, one of the dead bodies twitched. Its fingers moved slightly before its muscles began contracting, causing the corpse to slowly rise from the ground.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Willow’s eyes widened as she looked around. The other corpses were beginning to move as well, their muscles twitching and their bodies slowly responding to something that should no longer exist within them.

"AHH! They’re suddenly moving!" A human warrior shouted in panic as a dead demon directly in front of him suddenly pushed itself off the ground. Its lifeless eyes opened as its body rose once again, despite having already been killed.

Willow immediately sensed the danger. Whatever the old man was doing was far too outrageous to allow him to continue.

She opened her palms, and a glowing mass of magical energy began forming between them. The light gradually condensed into a powerful object as she stared directly at the old man.

"I can’t let you do whatever you want!"

Suddenly, a girl jumped directly in front of the old man, forcing Willow to stop and create some distance between them. Her sudden appearance caught Willow off guard, especially since she had not sensed anyone approaching.

"Willow Daye, the strongest magician in Gajia Academy! I can’t just let you attack Gramps, nya!"

Willow stared at the girl in confusion.

A girl? What is she doing here?

The girl wore a dark outfit with a strange hat resting on top of her head. Her black hair fell around her face, while her long bangs nearly covered her eyes, making her expression difficult to read.

She raised both hands and began forming something from the magical energy surrounding her. A playful smile appeared on her face as she looked toward Willow.

"I am Pandi! I’m Gramps’ daughter, hehe!"

"Well, Pandi, it seems like you’re no ordinary kid. To think you can form objects like that, you’re a Tier 2 as well."

"Blah, blah! I don’t care about your stupid tier system! Humans are worthless! Fuck you humans! Humans make Gramps mad, so I’m mad too! Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Willow stared at her in confusion as Pandi’s body suddenly began twisting and rotating unnaturally while she continued to rant. Her movements were so strange that Willow could barely tell what she was looking at anymore.

What a lunatic!

Pandi’s body twisted back into its normal shape, and she straightened herself as if nothing had happened. She gave Willow a small, innocent smile before speaking ant.gain.

"Sorry... I just showed you a not-so-cutesy side of me."

Her smile widened, and the innocent expression on her face suddenly disappeared.

"But you’re not Gramps, so I’m free to kill you!"

She swang her dark blade into willow in an instant

She’s fast... To think she could strike me that quickly.

Willow Daye thought as she raised her hand, forming a wall of fire just in time to block Pandi’s attack. The flames erupted between them, forcing Pandi’s strike away from her body.

"As expected, you can block my attacks... though it’s unfortunate that thousands of humans weren’t able to."