The academy walls shook again.
Kael and Hana sprinted through the courtyard as the crimson sirens blared from every spire, casting flashing red light across stone and sky. Wielders shouted in the distance—students and guards alike scrambling to defensive posts.
"They're already inside?" Kael asked, breath tight.
Hana's eyes darted around. "Too fast. That bell's supposed to signal a zone disturbance, not a full breach."
"They've evolved," Kael muttered.
She glanced at him. "Or something let them in."
He said nothing, but the look they exchanged said enough—we're not dealing with wild beasts anymore.
They reached the inner gate where squads were forming up. An instructor barked orders, pushing frightened younger students behind a barrier while older ones formed lines with weapons drawn. Smoke curled from the north tower.
Kael moved toward the front, but Hana grabbed his wrist. "Hey."
He turned.
"Just try not to die before you tell me what your Will is."
A smirk tugged at his mouth. "What if I want to keep you guessing?"
She rolled her eyes, but there was a flicker of warmth. "Then don't expect me to save you again."
He opened his mouth to fire back, but a deafening roar split the air.
The north wall cracked.
Stone burst outward as a hulking silhouette hurled itself through the barricade—eight feet tall, bone plates fused with corrupted flesh, multiple red eyes glowing from its skull. A second Fracture Beast—more evolved than the last. Smarter. Meaner.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
A senior Wielder surged forward—blue lightning sparking from his fists—but the beast moved too fast. It lashed out with a bladed tail, impaling the Wielder mid-charge and tossing him like a ragdoll.
"Fall back! Form a line!" the instructor roared.
Kael's hands clenched.
He couldn't use his powers openly. Not yet. Not while so many eyes were watching.
But if no one stopped that thing, more would die.
Tetsu appeared at his side, panting, a crack running along his cheek.
"We need to slow it," he growled. "Kael, got anything?"
Kael hesitated.
Hana stepped forward. "I can hit it with a heat wave—force it back, maybe make an opening."
"Then do it," Tetsu said, cracking his knuckles. "I'll follow up."
Kael nodded. "I'll distract it."
Tetsu frowned. "With what, exactly?"
Kael met his eyes. "I'll manage."
Before either of them could argue, Kael moved.
He sprinted toward the beast—grabbing a discarded spear along the way—and hurled it with precision.
The weapon struck just above the creature's eye, lodging deep.
It turned with a roar of fury, momentarily forgetting the students behind it.
"NOW!" Hana shouted.
Flames exploded outward from her palms in a wide arc of searing heat. The air shimmered, and the beast shrieked as its front limb blistered.
Tetsu slammed into it a split second later, his steel body glowing as he drove a punch into its knee. Bone cracked. The beast buckled—but didn't fall.
It swiped wildly, knocking Tetsu away, then locked eyes with Kael.
Kael didn't run.
Instead, he stared back, silently daring it to come closer.
The beast lunged—and Kael vanished.
Just a flicker, just a half-step into the shadows. Not enough for anyone to notice. But it was enough to get behind the beast, where Hana's flames still lingered.
He appeared behind its legs and slammed a heavy boot into its heel.
The beast stumbled forward—straight into another lightning strike from the academy's eastern watchtower.
A blast of energy dropped it to its knees. Roaring. Wounded. But not dead.
Kael backed away before the smoke cleared.
No one had seen.
Or so he thought.
From the shadows under the south wall, Kaede Mizuno—arms crossed, one eyebrow raised—watched Kael vanish and reappear again with narrowed eyes.
The beast let out one last wail before collapsing.
The courtyard fell silent.
Smoke curled around Kael's boots.
Tetsu limped back toward him, grinning through a bloody lip. "Still keeping secrets, huh?"
Kael shrugged. "Just lucky, I guess."
Hana approached too, brushing soot from her jacket. "That's one word for it."
Kael looked around.
No more sirens. No more beasts. But a deeper fear settled in his chest.
That was the second evolved Fracture Beast to breach the academy in under a month.
And next time, luck might not be enough.