Chương 44: When the Lights Went Out

For several seconds, nobody moved. The Royal Academy, which had always been filled with the quiet hum of magical lamps and protective barriers, had suddenly become completely silent. Not dim. Not weakened. Dark. Every source of artificial light had disappeared at the same instant. Leo stood in the ruined training arena with one hand resting near the hilt of his sword. He could hear the breathing of the people around him, followed by the hurried footsteps of students who had not yet realized what had happened.

Then someone screamed from the corridor.

"What's happening?" Another voice answered from somewhere farther away.

"The lights aren't responding!" Professor Elara immediately raised her communication crystal. Nothing. She tried again. The crystal remained dark. Her expression changed.

"Everyone stay where you are." A student nervously laughed.

"Professor, it's only a power failure." Elara turned toward him.

"No." Her voice was quiet enough that the student stopped smiling.

"That isn't possible." A low vibration passed beneath their feet. The stone floor trembled. Leo closed his eyes. There it was again. That pulse. Only now, it was no longer coming from one direction. The sensation seemed to travel through the entire city. Like something beneath the capital had found a way to move through its foundations. Leo opened his eyes.

"Professor." Elara looked at him.

"Something is moving." Before she could respond, a violent crack echoed from the western side of the arena. A section of the wall split apart. Students shouted and stumbled backward as several pieces of stone collapsed onto the floor. Elara immediately stepped forward. Aegis Dominion. A broad defensive barrier expanded from her body and covered the students. The falling debris struck the barrier and shattered against its surface.

"Move!" she ordered.

"Everyone toward the central courtyard!" The students began running. Leo remained behind for a moment. A faint red glow had appeared between the cracks in the arena floor. It was not coming from the academy's magical system. It was something else. Something that seemed to be breathing. Leo approached it. The glow disappeared. He stopped. A strange silence followed. Then— A hand burst through the stone. Several students screamed. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen.

Please report the violation. The creature pulled itself upward. It looked vaguely human, but its body was covered in black mineral plates. Red lines ran beneath its skin like veins filled with molten metal. It raised its head. Its eyes opened. There were no pupils. Only red light. Leo drew his sword. The creature lunged. Moon-Cutting Step. His body vanished from its path. The creature's claws tore through the ground where he had been standing. Leo appeared behind it. He rotated his sword through a tight arc.

Silver Crescent. The blade struck the creature's back. A deep cut opened across its armor. But no blood came out. Instead, a cloud of black smoke escaped from the wound. The creature turned. Leo's eyes narrowed. It isn't alive. The creature swung again. Leo blocked. The impact forced him several meters backward. His boots scraped against the stone. The strength was considerable. Far greater than the constructs they had fought during the Convergence. The creature charged again. Leo lowered his stance. Broken River.

He redirected the creature's arm rather than stopping it directly, allowing its momentum to carry it past him. His sword followed immediately. Heaven-Splitting Line. The strike passed through its torso. The creature stopped. A vertical crack appeared across its body. Then it collapsed. The red glow inside it faded. Leo stared at the remains. Something was written across the creature's chest. A symbol. He had seen it before. On the fragment from the training construct. His expression became colder.

Someone had been preparing this. The central courtyard had become chaotic. Students from both academies had gathered there while instructors attempted to maintain order. Magical barriers had been activated around the perimeter, but their light flickered continuously. Professor Gareth stood on the central staircase.

"Nobody leaves the courtyard!" Several students shouted questions at once.

"What happened?"

"Are we under attack?"

"Where are the other instructors?" Gareth raised his voice.

"We are investigating the situation." A loud explosion interrupted him. The western wall of the academy erupted outward. Stone fragments flew across the courtyard. Several instructors immediately activated defensive spells. Guardian's Bastion. Multiple barriers formed over the students. A creature emerged from the smoke. Then another. Then three more. The courtyard fell silent. Gareth's expression hardened.

"Prepare yourselves." The creatures charged. Leo arrived moments later. He stepped through the broken entrance and immediately saw the battlefield. The instructors were fighting desperately to prevent the creatures from reaching the students. Amon stood near the center of the courtyard, sword in hand. A creature attacked him from the side. Ironwind Step. Amon shifted his weight and slipped beneath the claws. His sword flashed upward. Rending Gale. The creature's arm was severed. It immediately regenerated.

Amon's expression changed.

"You've got to be kidding me." Masha stood several meters behind him. She extended one hand. Rosefire Lance. A concentrated spear of pink flame struck the creature directly in the chest. This time, its regeneration slowed. Alice understood immediately.

"Their bodies are resisting physical attacks!" She raised both hands. Verdant Bind. Roots of condensed magic erupted from the ground and wrapped around the creature's legs. Amon looked at her.

"That actually worked!"

"Then stop talking and attack!" Amon grinned.

"Gladly." He rushed forward. Leo watched them for a moment. They were improving. Not dramatically. Not enough to make them powerful. But their movements were more coordinated than they had been months ago. Amon struck from the front while Alice restricted the creature's movement. Masha waited for an opening. Then— Rosefire Burst. The creature's core shattered. It collapsed. Amon lowered his sword.

"One." Leo stepped past him.

"Don't count them." Amon frowned.

"Why?" Leo pointed toward the academy walls. More creatures were climbing over them.

"Because there are too many." Amon's smile disappeared. The instructors formed a defensive line. Gareth stood at the front. His hand rose. Grand Arcane Barrier: Sevenfold Wall. Seven enormous layers of magical protection appeared around the courtyard. The creatures collided with them. The first barrier cracked. Then the second. Gareth gritted his teeth.

"Everyone stay behind the barriers!" Leo looked toward the academy towers. Something was wrong. The creatures were not attacking randomly. They were moving toward specific locations. The eastern tower. The underground halls. The old archive. And beneath all of them— The same direction. Leo understood.

"They're not here to kill the students." Alice looked at him.

"Then what are they doing?"

"They're looking for something."

"What?" Leo did not answer. Because he had already realized the more disturbing possibility. They were not looking for something. They were trying to reach it. A sudden pressure descended over the courtyard. Every creature stopped. Every instructor stopped. Even the students became silent. Leo felt the hairs on his arms rise. The ground beneath the academy began to tremble. Once. Twice. Then the entire courtyard shook violently. A deep sound emerged from beneath the earth. Not an explosion. Not a roar. A heartbeat.

BOOM. The barriers flickered. BOOM. Several windows shattered. BOOM. The seventh barrier cracked. Gareth looked toward the ground.

"No…" Elara approached him.

"What is it?" Gareth's face had become pale.

"The underground seal." Leo heard him. So did Alice.

"So the rumors were true," Elara whispered. Gareth nodded.

"Something has begun breaking through." Another heartbeat shook the academy. This time, a thin red line appeared across the courtyard floor. It expanded slowly. The students backed away. Leo looked at it without blinking. He could feel the pressure beneath the stone. It was enormous. Ancient. And unlike the creatures surrounding them, whatever was below did not feel mindless. It felt aware. Then a voice echoed through the academy. Not through the air. Through the stone itself.

"Four hundred and twelve years." Everyone froze. The voice continued.

"That is how long you kept me beneath this city." A crack spread across the courtyard. Students began screaming. Gareth raised his sword.

"Everyone prepare for evacuation!" The voice laughed softly.

"And now…" The ground split. A column of dark red light erupted into the night sky.

"… you have finally opened the door." Far above the academy, the clouds began to turn crimson. Leo stared upward. For the first time since arriving in the capital, he felt something that had nothing to do with curiosity. It was instinct. A warning buried so deeply within him that he had almost forgotten its existence. Run. Leo tightened his grip around his sword. He did not run. Instead, he looked toward the eastern district. Whatever had been waiting beneath the capital had finally begun to awaken.

And the academy was standing directly in its path. End of Chapter 44.