"It was a man… no, not a man. A monster. He smashed through the academy's outer gate like it was paper and came straight toward the training field. He was laughing the whole time—like he enjoyed it… like he came just to kill everyone here!"
Another student, his uniform torn and dirt-streaked, quickly added, "It was an assassin. He was fast—too fast. Like lightning. We tried to stop him, but none of us stood a chance. He was too strong…"
He paused, swallowing hard, then looked at the center of the ruined field.
"But then Edwin, Elysia, and Jin stepped in. They fought him. All three of them. They held him off."
The crowd of professors, still standing in silence, slowly turned their eyes toward the trio in question.
Edwin stood with his sword still in hand, blood seeping from the wound on his side. His clothes were ripped, his face bruised, but his eyes burned with quiet resolve.
