The monsters tore into the instructors, their claws ripping through flesh as they dragged the broken bodies into the crimson fog. More beasts emerged from the mist—muscles like steel cables, tendons stretched taut as bowstrings, eyes burning with bloodlust.
Annette pressed her back against the main entrance, beneath the stone archway that led to the inner compound. The instructors stood closer to the outer walls, closer to death.
Still, they fought. One instructor lunged forward, lightning crackling between his fingers. The bolt struck true, felling the monster that leaped at him. But two more pounced with terrible speed, their claws working in perfect sync to tear his arms from his shoulders before he could blink.
The fallen monster rose again, jaws snapping shut around the instructor's head in one fluid motion. It dragged him backward into the red mist, leaving only a crimson trail.
Two fresh beasts burst from the fog, racing toward their next prey.
Annette's teeth ground together. She understood now.
Her gaze found the Head Instructor, whose barked orders had drawn him several steps forward. With a single leap, she closed the distance and fixed him with a burning stare.
"This academy will fall. And I will not forget that you helped orchestrate its destruction!"
The Head Instructor's face twisted, but before he could speak, Annette soared upward in a tornado of fire. She rolled forward, sending violent winds that scattered both monsters and instructors alike.
Something moved beneath the flames. Fast—a silver flash that vanished as quickly as it appeared. A bone-crushing sound split the air, and the ground shuddered beneath their feet.
The nearest crimson monster exploded in a spray of flesh and blood, its steel-like tendons snapping like broken guitar strings.
Vida cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck, deep shadows still carved beneath her eyes. She looked like she needed sixteen hours of sleep, which made what she'd just done seem impossible.
"Ah... tch. I hate this. Wish I could just sleep for like sixteen hours before needing to fight."
The academy track pants hid her powerful thighs, but even her loose shirt couldn't disguise the curves that seemed to flow in perfect harmony with her strength. This body that granted her such power was the same one that had cost her everything—her clan name, her acceptance, branded as an imperfect creation.
Annette glanced at her and grinned like a wolf. The tornado of fire expanded, consuming everything in its path. When the flames cleared, the monsters lay charred and still.
The ground that had crawled with beasts moments before was now silent and empty. Every crimson monster was dead, and the surviving instructors stood with their mouths hanging open, blinking in disbelief at what they had witnessed.
Annette's feet touched down, and she walked slowly toward the mist, her voice cutting through the silence as she addressed the instructors.
"All of you, pull back."
The instructors looked at her with newfound respect and quickly began their retreat, leaving her and her apprentice alone in the outer compound with the lingering crimson fog.
Annette stopped before the mist and slipped her hands into her pockets, studying it with a dark frown.
"What are you going to do now? Every creature you throw at me will be destroyed, until you have nothing left to send."
The mist offered no response. Instead, it began to swirl. Then larger, more twisted monsters burst forth in trails of crimson light.
But they weren't fast enough to catch a Sage like Annette off guard.
A wall of fire erupted and slammed into the first beast, hurling it backward. Vida met the second with another crushing blow.
But this time, the monster didn't explode. Its thick muscles rippled as it was thrown back, rolling across the ground before coming to rest near the mist.
The creature sprang to its feet and charged again. Vida drew back for another punch. But as it flew forward, the beast suddenly dropped low and lunged with razor-sharp fangs. She sidestepped just in time—the monster only tore away a strip of fabric from her side and left a shallow scratch across her skin.
The beast whirled around, fixing her with menacing eyes that seemed to savor the taste of her blood.
But before it could lunge, its partner crashed into it with a torrent of fire. Both monsters rolled and tumbled away from each other. Annette sent another wave of flames rolling forward like burning wheels—they slammed into the beasts, consumed them, and exploded skyward. The fire burned intensely before slowly dying down.
The monsters tried to move, but they were badly burned, their bodies blackened like charcoal.
Annette looked at Vida with a stern expression.
"Finish them."
Vida hesitated. Annette caught it instantly and shouted.
"Do you think those things are human? Kill them, Vida!"
She gritted her teeth and surged forward. As she moved, sparks of light danced around her fist, forming a sleek gauntlet with razor-sharp knuckles. She raised her hand and buried it into the monster with explosive force.
A shockwave rippled outward. The creature convulsed once, then went still. She moved to the next beast and crushed its head before standing up.
Annette was already facing the mist, ready for whatever came next.
Until her expression changed. Because there was a sound.
Something groaned like an ancient beast about to die.
"Huh...?"
She stared at the walls, frowning as she listened carefully.
Then she heard it again. A gentle, low creaking—as if the metal wall was being torn apart from within.
Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening.
"The wall... it's... tearing?"
The seemingly unbreakable Academy wall groaned again, this time louder and more painful.
Everyone heard it just as clearly as Annette had.
They all stared at the wall, horror draining the color from their faces.
The mist remained silent, waiting for them to break under the terror of what was coming.
The wall groaned heavily again. A thin crack suddenly appeared on the surface. Whatever was trying to break through had to be massive, fast, airborne, and incredibly strong.
Such a creature should be impossible. Though nothing was truly impossible in this world of Drifters and Rifts and Monsters, there were rules—subtle laws that governed each monster's form and power.
This was why the wall should never break. But none of that seemed to matter now.
Everyone below stood frozen. Fear gripped their hearts so tightly that no one could move. Even Annette could only watch as the walls groaned in pain, about to be shattered by something that filled her with true dread.
The next sound that echoed through the air...
The entire wall trembled, then exploded. The metal splintered like glass under divine wrath, bursting outward in molten fragments. Each piece sang through the air like death-bells, crashing into towers, embedding in pillars, piercing the ground with thunderous force.
One chunk of metal tumbled through the air and slammed into the archway leading to the inner compound, causing it to crumble under its crushing weight.
Another crashed into the row of cherry trees, destroying their beauty and sending them toppling into each other.
A massive piece flew deep into the inner compound, rolling and tearing up the concrete before smashing into the grand fountain at the Academy's heart. It settled in the water with a splash. Water spilled everywhere, and the statue of a man holding a book collapsed over the stone.
Silence fell, but it wasn't peace. It was the quiet that came before something final.
The air trembled. Not from heat. Not from power. But from presence.
Annette's lips parted, her breath catching. She'd faced monsters born from Rifts, seen warped horrors and unspeakable mutations. But this... this was something else.
The wall groaned once more.
And then the creature slowly stepped through.
A limb—that was the only word for it—emerged first. Thick as a building's support beam, covered in plates of black armor laced with glowing crimson veins. Each step left scorched prints behind, as if the very ground recoiled from its touch.
Then came the head—long and twisted like a dragon's skull, crowned with jagged horns that pulsed with bloody light. A single slit of an eye opened.
Just one.
It looked down at them all.
And smiled.
Vida's fists clenched, but her knees shook.
"What the hell is that...?"
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[A/N]
I apologize for the late update recently. Been trying to put my life together and make sure I don't fail at being a human being. Haha
Never stop supporting me. I noticed y'all don't be giving me power stones and Golden tickets anymore. This is a call to action!
Send those golden tickets! Send those power stones!
Goodbye.