ocean-life Chapter 13: First Event [3]
Chapter 13: First Event [3]
Hell had descended.
The once lively atmosphere of the academy was nowhere to be found. The scene resembled a battlefield.
"Seungho! Seungho! Save meeeee!"
"Stay right there! I'm coming to get you!!"
"Move, move out of the way, you lunatics!! Those who can survive should survive!!!"
"Ahhhh!!! Where, where is my leg?!!"
Screams echoed from all directions.
Pleas for help and agonizing groans filled the academy.
It was hard to believe that just an hour ago, this place had been filled with laughter.
"...Ugh, this feels disgusting."
I felt a sense of guilt. But I didn't try to justify myself.
I already knew, didn't I?
I had stood by, using the excuse that the protagonist needed to awaken.
My desire to survive had blinded me.
This disaster was the result.
I had a responsibility to watch this scene unfold without saying a word. No matter how painful it was, I couldn't look away.
This was the scene I had chosen, and no matter how hard it was, it couldn't be worse than what they were going through.
"..."
Silently, I looked down from the top of a tall building.
The rooftop offered a clear view of the chaos below.
The cold night wind carried the stench of blood.
"Contact the professors! Tell them to come back immediately!!"
"They're overseas right now! We should call the nearby guilds instead!"
"An A-rank guild is sending support! Just hold on for 20 minutes!!"
"Damn it. I'm going to die without even confessing."
"Save the kids at least! Leave me behind and get the kids out...."
As I looked down, a thought crossed my mind.
In the original story, ten students had died. All of them were students who had been with the protagonist on the outskirts.
What about the guards and teaching assistants? Did they all die, or did some survive?
Well, judging by the scene before me, they probably all died.
"Everyone seems to be in chaos."
From the rooftop, I could see all sorts of students.
Some prioritized their own lives, others tried to save their friends, and some fought back with weapons.
The majority, however, were those who prioritized their own survival.
Students were running toward the shelters in a panic.
In their frantic rush, many tripped or collided with each other. Fractures and bruises were common, and in the worst cases, some pushed their classmates or fainted from the chaos.
"What a disorganized mess."
I understood their actions.
The desire to survive is one of humanity's most primal instincts. But to survive, one must act rationally.
At this point, the best way to increase survival rates wasn't to run but to fight back.
But they couldn't even make such a simple judgment. I had expected more from the elite group known as Seven Stars Academy, but I was sorely disappointed.
"...Is it because it's their first real battle? Well, I've been there too."
Watching them made my chest feel heavy.
After some thought, I realized it was because their behaviour reminded me of my younger self. I, too, had been a child soldier once.
Old memories flashed through my mind like a slideshow. The children running for their lives reminded me of myself back then.
"..."
As my thoughts deepened, my gaze shifted downward.
I stared blankly at the scene below when I suddenly sensed something.
The setting sun cast long shadows, and something clung to one of them. It was a decent attempt at stealth, but not enough to fool an S-rank senses.
The shadow began to move closer to me.
Just as the shadow revealed massive fangs and wings, preparing to pounce—
Whoosh!
A fiery spike erupted from the ground, piercing the monster's wing. The intense heat travelled through the wing, burning its grey skin black.
The monster was weaker than I had expected.
But the consequences of its weakness were unexpected.
Thud───!!!
The massive monster fell from the rooftop.
The impact was loud, and the ground cracked under its weight, sending up a cloud of dust. Instantly, all eyes turned to the scene.
"...We're screwed."
Everyone stared at the monster that had fallen from the rooftop.
Then, their gazes shifted upward.
Naturally, they landed on me.
'How did it come to this...?'
At first, I had planned to kill it quietly.
I was going to cut its throat and leave it on the rooftop. But without realizing it, I ended up killing it in a much more dramatic fashion.
I scratched my head in frustration.
Then, I extended my right hand.
A vast amount of magical energy surged, and a massive fireball formed in my palm.
Looking at the students who were startled by my sudden appearance, I thought to myself.
I hadn't planned to intervene.
But now that everyone's attention was on me, I had no choice but to fight.
'If I get dragged into a class trial for being a bystander, it'll be a disaster.'
So, this was something I had to do.
It wasn't my choice at all.
With that thought, I jumped down from the rooftop.
'I want to live.'
Just as much as I want to live.
The kids who are dying probably want to live too.
That's why this is an unavoidable action.
"Hey, someone's falling!"
"Huh? Isn't that Baek Seung-woo, the teaching assistant? He's a legend in our lab."
"Who cares about legends right now?! Catch him!"
The ground was in chaos.
The teaching assistants and guards were too busy fighting monsters to notice.
I landed as far away from them as possible to avoid getting in their way.
Normally, a fall from that height would have paralyzed my lower body, but I used telekinetic magic to mitigate the damage.
Still, my ankles took quite a beating.
I'll never do that again.
As soon as I landed, I surveyed my surroundings.
In my attempt to land as far away from people as possible, I ended up right in the middle of a horde of monsters.
Ugh, the stench was worse than that of wild beasts.
"You smell disgusting, so why don't you shut your mouth?"
As soon as I finished speaking, dozens of monsters charged at me. What, do they have ears or something?
As they rushed toward me, I rolled my foot against the ground.
Boom!
Magical energy spread out, creating a massive shockwave.
Then, flames erupted from the ground. The flames bound the monsters' movements, and soon, giant spikes pierced through them mercilessly.
Dozens of monsters within the range of the flames fell helplessly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The larger monsters, whose internal organs weren't pierced by the fiery spikes or whose skin was too tough, barely survived, but in an instant, dozens of monsters had died before my eyes.
The monsters began to retreat.
People swallowed hard as they watched the scene.
It was a fearsome display of power.
With just one move, I had taken down dozens of monsters. In a chaotic battlefield like this, such a feat was no easy task.
But the person responsible for it felt nothing special.
"...Ugh, that hurt like hell."
After hurriedly sending Seo Yerin away, I ran toward the third-year dorm.
My low stamina and agility held me back, but I used magic to enhance my leg strength and managed to increase my speed.
The cost was that I could feel my ankles slowly breaking.
But I couldn't afford to be late.
To avoid being late, I ignored the pain in my ankles and sprinted across the vast academy.
***
Meanwhile, near the third-year dorm.
"R-Run away!!"
"There's nowhere to run! Defend! Defend!"
"Ahhh, ahhhhhhh!"
"Yura!"
The children screamed.
One girl tripped while running and fell. The monster, seemingly enjoying the sight, slowly moved its massive body toward her.
In its path was the fallen girl named Yura.
"Hey, No Yura! Get up!"
"I-I twisted my ankle!"
"Damn it!"
Yura tried to get up, but her twisted ankle made it impossible.
Her friends tried to help her up, but.
"Ugh, ugh...!"
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I-I can't move... my legs are shaking...!"
One friend turned pale and stepped back.
He breathed heavily and pointed.
At the end of his finger was a massive monster. The creature grinned with an eerie smile, its mouth corners impossible to discern.
"T-That thing is using the ambient magical energy to press down on me...!"
"...What?"
It was unbelievable.
A monster using ambient magical energy to pressure its opponent.
This could only mean one thing.
"...Could it be, Fear?"
Fear, is the symbol of high-level monsters that can pressure their opponents with magical energy alone.
Only a handful of monsters can use this ability. If it can use such a high-level skill, it must possess considerable intelligence.
Enough intelligence to toy with its prey.
Hehe, the monster grinned with its massive mouth.
At the same time, all the students felt their legs go numb.
They couldn't fight back. There was no way they could stand against something like that.
"Ru, run away! Hurry!"
"But what about Yura!"
"So what?! Should we all die together? I want to live!"
"Are you even a friend?! Stop talking nonsense!"
The group was divided by the monster's overwhelming presence.
The monster, seemingly pleased with the scene, didn't interfere and simply took slow steps.
Until a cold gust of wind targeted it.
──Swish!
Kyle, trembling, grabbed his weapon and swung it.
It was a thin, portable sword.
Kyle, who had imbued his sword with a gust of wind, was prepared to bisect the monster.
But the monster only looked annoyed.
His sword couldn't even scratch the monster's skin. Not a single drop of blood was drawn.
It was a weaker strike than an A4 sheet of paper.
Thud───!!
The monster lazily swung its front leg.
The half-hearted strike shattered the sword and sent Kyle crashing into a wall. He felt as if every bone in his body had broken.
He was barely conscious, but he had lost too much blood and was feeling faint.
The monster, not missing this, seemed to have a good idea.
Its slow movements gradually sped up.
Half a step, one step, two steps.
Its stride widened, and its speed increased.
The students who had been trying to flee were now trapped by the monster's Fear.
Bound by the pressure, the students screamed and cursed.
Yura, lying on the ground, clenched her eyes shut, but tears and snot streamed down her face as the footsteps grew closer.
Kyle, embedded in the wall, could only watch.
'Move.... Move!!'
Kyle screamed internally.
He was disappointed in his weak and powerless self.
Why am I so weak?
Was it because I was the 1,999th out of 2,000 freshmen? Because my parents abandoned me? Because, unlike my siblings, I didn't even have a shred of talent?
All of those were correct.
He felt a sense of self-loathing. It was disgusting.
His first friends at the academy were about to be helplessly slaughtered before his eyes.
Yet, his limbs refused to move.
'Please! Please move!!'
At that moment, the monster reached Yura.
The monster raised its huge forelegs.
Then he stretches out his legs.
The monster intends to crush Yura.
She tried to crawl to escape, but the guy's front legs were bigger than an elephant's. There was no way she could escape.
Then the monster's eyes turned to Kyle.
"...!!!"
Only then could he understand the monster's thoughts.
The guy is mocking Kyle right now. He wants to have fun by killing Yura in front of his eyes and killing the rest of his friends.
Kyle felt something stirring in his chest.
It was not yet conscious because it was indistinguishable from anger. It would be only when all the friends before my eyes were dead that I would realize it.
At this very moment, the first episode of the novel is about to come to fruition.
Everyone dies, and only Kyle survives.
Through this, the world will be saved and lead to a happy ending.
Except for the children in front of you.
"Pyrokinesis"
Can we just sit by and watch that fact?
A man intervened on the battlefield.
At the same time, the burning desire subsided and something else burned. It was as vivid and hot as a flame before my eyes.
A kind of self-loathing, wondering why I am so weak.
"Hey, I almost missed this."
A man approached me with his fox tail swaying behind his back.
It was a face I didn't want to see.
As soon as I saw his face, I remembered something very old. Even back then, he had a smiling face.
At that moment, something inside Kyle shifted slightly.
In a negative way.
Kyle gritted his teeth until they broke.
***
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