When Lusian returned to the academy, life seemed to settle back into its usual routine.
Kara continued challenging him almost every day... and losing with the same consistency.
Classes went by without incident.
The qualifying matches progressed exactly as expected.
For a brief moment, even Lusian began to believe that the peace would last a little longer.
Then...
The emergency alarm echoed throughout the academy.
Its metallic shriek tore through the corridors, interrupting every class and erasing any trace of normalcy.
Every student stood up at once.
—Don't panic, —ordered Clara, Class 1A's representative, trying to remain calm.— Proceed in an orderly manner to the combat arenas. It's the emergency protocol.
Her voice was steady.
But her hands were trembling.
Lusian frowned slightly.
"What happened?"
He couldn't remember any emergency of this magnitude during the academy's first year.
The students left the building under their teachers' guidance.
Little by little, the different year groups gathered in the enormous combat arenas.
The atmosphere was heavy with uncertainty.
No one spoke above a whisper.
No one knew what was happening.
Lusian swept his gaze across the crowd.
He found Emily standing with her classmates.
Farther away...
Elizabeth.
The princess was looking at him as well.
Their eyes met for only an instant.
But Elizabeth quickly looked away.
Lusian smiled helplessly.
"She's still embarrassed..."
He didn't have time to think any further.
A roar shook the heavens.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Many students covered their ears.
Others turned pale.
Lusian, however...
stood completely still.
He recognized that sound.
He knew it all too well.
"No..."
"That's impossible..."
The King of the Forest.
The legendary A–Ω Rank Magical Beast.
A creature capable of reducing entire fortresses to ruins.
In the game...
that monster appeared much later.
Never...
not once...
had it attacked the academy.
A cold sweat ran down his back.
"What changed?"
"This isn't supposed to happen."
As he tried to organize his thoughts, he saw Vice Principal Axel hurriedly gathering the professors.
His expression was far graver than usual.
Even the instructors looked tense.
Clara stepped forward.
—What's happening?
Axel looked over everyone present before answering.
—Listen carefully.
His tone was firm.
Yet no one missed the severity in his expression.
—The situation is critical.
A monster stampede has emerged from Cynophelia Forest.
The soldiers assigned to defend the academy are already fighting.
Even so...
they won't be able to hold them back for much longer.
A murmur spread among the teachers.
Allan was the first to speak.
—Are you saying the barrier has been breached?
Axel slowly nodded.
—Yes.
That is why we will evacuate to the capital immediately.
The teachers will protect the retreat.
The Class A students will assist in defending the evacuation columns.
There is no time for debate.
This is a direct order from Director Magnus.
For several seconds...
no one said a word.
Allan Payne, the veteran fourth-year combat instructor, took command without hesitation.
—Form the evacuation groups according to protocol. The highest-ranked students will lead each unit. The teachers will cover the rear. Move!
His voice wasn't particularly loud.
Yet it carried a calm authority that kept fear from turning into panic.
The students quickly organized themselves.
Meanwhile, the rest of the academy became a scene of perfectly coordinated chaos.
Messengers ran between the buildings.
Teachers gathered their students.
Healers prepared bandages and potions.
From atop the walls, Magnus continuously issued orders.
In all his years as headmaster...
he had never faced an emergency like this.
Not even during the war against the Empire.
He knew they were no longer fighting to protect the academy.
They were fighting to buy time.
Enough time for thousands of students to escape.
At the defensive line, dozens of mages raised their staffs in unison.
Columns of fire rained down upon the forest.
Compressed gales tore entire trees apart.
The earth split open beneath the monsters, swallowing dozens of them whole.
But for every creature that fell...
two more took its place.
Mana consumption rose at an alarming rate.
Some mages were already struggling to breathe.
Others could barely remain standing.
At that moment, Axel hurried back.
His cloak was soaked by the rain and covered in mud.
—Headmaster.
Magnus never took his eyes off the battlefield.
—Report.
—Our magical communications have been blocked.
We tried contacting the capital, but someone is interfering with every transmission.
We only managed to activate the old emergency beacon.
If someone recognizes the signal...
reinforcements will come.
Magnus remained silent.
His eyes swept across the walls.
The cracks beginning to appear.
The exhausted mages.
And in the distance...
the gigantic silhouette slowly advancing through the trees.
Every one of its footsteps made the earth tremble.
The King of the Forest.
Magnus closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Then he spoke with absolute calm.
—Perfect.
Axel looked at him in surprise.
There was no frustration.
No despair.
Only resolve.
—Stay here.
Keep the magic circle stable for as long as possible.
I'll reinforce the front line.
Axel opened his mouth.
—Headmaster...
Magnus interrupted him.
—If the walls fall...
the evacuation will be over before it even begins.
We cannot allow that.
Without another word, he descended from the wall.
Rain hammered against his armor as he walked toward the knights defending the main gate.
At the same time, the columns of students began leaving the academy.
Under the rain.
Through the mud.
With the roar of the King of the Forest growing ever closer.
During the evacuation, the column passed through a small village located halfway between the academy and the capital.
Something immediately caught Andrew's attention.
There was no one there.
The doors of the houses stood open.
Some meals still sat untouched on the tables.
A hay wagon had been abandoned in the middle of the road.
Even several lanterns were still burning, as though the villagers had vanished in an instant.
There was only silence...
and the rain drumming against the rooftops.
Andrew frowned.
—This doesn't make any sense.
Elizabeth looked around.
—What's wrong?
—I pass through this village almost every week.
I know this place.
At this hour, it should be full of people.
Elizabeth tried to find an explanation.
—Maybe they evacuated when they received the warning.
Andrew didn't answer right away.
He slowly scanned the streets once more.
There was no luggage.
No animals.
Not a single corpse.
Only...
emptiness.
—Maybe... —he murmured, though he didn't sound convinced himself.
For a few moments, the group continued forward in silence.
Then Andrew smiled faintly.
—By the way...
What happened with Lusian?
Elizabeth looked at him in surprise.
—What do you mean?
—Normally, you never leave his side during emergencies.
And since this morning...
you've been avoiding him.
Elizabeth looked away.
—Nothing happened.
—Elizabeth...
I've known you since the day you were born.
Whenever you answer like that...
it means the exact opposite happened.
A faint blush spread across the princess's cheeks.
—I told you nothing happened.
Stop insisting.
It's annoying.
Andrew was about to reply.
But a shout from the front interrupted the conversation.
—Enemies!!
Allan drew his sword.
Ahead of the column, about a dozen figures cloaked in black robes blocked the road.
Dark, putrid mana seeped from their bodies.
An odor like rotting flesh filled the air.
—The Demonic Cult... —Allan muttered.
As though their appearance had been a signal...
the earth began to crack.
Dozens of skeletal hands emerged from the mud.
The corpses buried beneath the village began rising one after another.
Elizabeth took a step back.
—Were there bodies buried beneath the village?
—No...
Andrew answered, his expression hardening.
—They buried them here.
The cultists had turned the entire village into a graveyard.
Alejandro was the first to step forward.
Leonardo followed.
Benjamin Armett.
Roxy Briggs.
And several upper-year students advanced alongside the princes.
—Fall back! —Allan roared.
His voice echoed through the entire formation.
—They're Magister-level enemies!
Students, retreat immediately!
No one had the chance to obey.
One of the cultists vanished from where he stood.
An instant later...
he appeared directly in front of Allan.
The instructor instinctively raised his sword.
Their weapons collided.
BOOM!
The shockwave carved a trench through the muddy ground.
But Allan was hurled several meters backward.
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Andrew's eyes widened.
Impossible.
Allan Payne was a Magister–Delta.
No ordinary opponent should have been able to push him back like that.
Allan realized it as well.
"No..."
"It's not his strength."
He quickly regained his footing.
He tried to gather mana into his sword.
Something was wrong.
The energy responded...
but much more slowly than normal.
His aura was weak.
Far too weak.
At the same time, Cordelia attempted to cast a fire spell.
The flames appeared...
but they were barely half their usual size.
Cassandra frowned as well.
—My mana...
The other professors began experiencing the same thing.
Their spells.
Their physical enhancement.
Their perception.
Everything had weakened.
Allan understood the truth.
—It's a demonic seal!
His voice thundered across the formation.
—It's draining our mana!
Find the source before engaging!
Because if we keep fighting like this...
we'll be slaughtered.