At Cindralock academy, the air inside the grand conference hall was thick with panic and the scent of fear and sweat was very profound. Outside the chamber doors, voices rang out in hushed panic.

Students, clergy men, instructors and boots stomping across the marble floors, and the distant sound of alarms echoing through the walls. Arcane barriers flickered faintly across corridors, humming with unstable energy as panicked mages tried to reinforce them.

Inside the conference room, the atmosphere was no calmer.

The members of the high council say around the long black table, but the usual calm order of their meetings had shattered. Papers were scattered, the glowing candles flickered from every sudden gush that slipped through the open windows, and even the golden insignias on the walls seemed to tremble from the movement outside.

Marshal Dafon Vreth stood at the far end of the table, his armour still scorched and dented from his last encounter with shadow creatures. Sweat glistened on his shaved, clean head under the flickering light. When the Chancellor, Hans Wagner spoke his voice carried no hesitation, only a grace , iron weight that made everyone in the room sit up ready to hear the information.

"Marshal Vreth," Hans said, leaning forward, his eyes sharp beneath furrowed brows. "Give your report. What's happening as we speak..."

The Marshal straightened immediately, his deep voice filling the tense silence.

"Sir, out scouts just returned from the dense forest beyond the schools grounds. A horde of Shadow creatures has been sighted advancing from the northern part of the forest. Their numbers are overwhelming..."

He paused, his gaze shifting toward the Vice Chancellor. "Among them are two entities. One we have come to know as Regazan, the same creature that nearly ended our dear Chancellors reign several weeks ago..."

The room felt that, going instantly silent. Only the faint hum of rune lights was the only sound.

Hans's finger drummed once in the armrest of his chair, the sound echoing like a ticking clock. "Abd the second...?"

The Marshal's voice dropped lower. "The second... Is something new. The scouts say it looked... Aware, intelligent. It laughed at them, sir."

A few heads turned sharply. Elara Voss adjusted her glasses, her usually calm face now drawn tight with unease. "Laughed? Looks like we've got another abnormal on our hands..."

Vreth nodded grimly. "They described it as a tall, sleek humanoid looking. It's skin was the signature shadow creature kind. It has eight arms emerging from a muscular torso, two doubling as legs that bend or twist at will. The scouts said..."..

He swallowed continuing. "Its eyes... Red, with W-shaped pupils. It's fingers ended in a tiny suction cups. And it wore what they called a 'mantle hood.' pulsing like cloak, glowing with Anti-arcane energy in its purest form."

He clenched his gauntlet, the metal creaking. "They said it looked right at them... Then smiled."

The words hung in the air for several seconds.

Professor Aldric muttered a curse under his breath, the mechanical lens of his eye whirring anxiously. "So they allowed the scouts to leave alive, that would mean they want us to know that they're coming..."

Dean Lyria gently tucked her hair backwards and placed her hand on the table rather forcefully. "Then why now? Why strike the academy again so soon after the last incursion? And why the academy? Why not go for the city?".

Before anyone could answer, a faint rumble shook the chamber floor. Outside, the muffled screams of students grew louder, followed by the sound of shattering glass.

Archivist Maveen rise half way from his seat, the talismans hanging from his rive slicking together. "They're already testing the barriers," he whispered. "They're here!"

Hans Wagner's jaw tightened. His bandaged arm trembled slightly, the pain if his wound flaring again, but that was not going to affect his resolve as his eyes never left the table.

"They're coming now," he said quietly. "Because they know the one person who could stop them isn't here."

Another sharp silence followed, everyone knew who exactly he was talking about.

Levi.

Vice Chancellor Elara Voss's voice cracked softly as she looked up from her notes.. "so, they fear him that much?".

Hans nodded once, his expression grim. "They do. And they should. Because if I remember properly Regazan called Levi their natural enemy... But with him gone, they've decided to strike to take as much positive energy as they want. That's their goal, it's to harvest the harvest the Arcane energy from our students, from us. Luckily for us, the semester is over and most of the students are on vacation..."

The sound of what sounded like thunder cracked outside, not from the sky but from a collapsing barrier. The rune lights flickered violently svd the room turned half dark.

"Marshal Vreth..." Hans ordered sharply, standing despite the pain in his legs. "Mobilize, fortify every entrance. I want every combat ready instructor I. The field immediately.".

"Yes sir." The Marshal turned briskly and left the room.

Hans turned to the others. "Elara, coordinate the evacuation protocols. Get the remaining boarding students into the catacombs. Lyria, Aldric, you'll lead the first line of defense..."

"Korvessa..."

The witch was already in her feet, her smirk had already been wiped off by the severe urgency of the situation. "Don't worry," she said, adjusting her hat. "If that laughing bastard makes it to the courtyard, I'll personally cut the grin off its face..."

Hans didn't show any expression on his face, not even a smile, but there was a subtle nod of approval in his eyes..

"Good. You'll need every ounce of your strength. Tonight we face an even greater challenge than the last time we were attacked..."

"... If only we were closer to the city we would have had real Reaper support, being a Reaper school it's kind of redundant to have Reapers posted here, never the less we have some of the strongest awakened present..."

Outside, the chaos built to a fever pitch, students rushing across the grounds, Arcane energy surging in waves and lights flashing like distant lightning strikes. The ground quaked again, louder this time.

From the open window, a shriek tire through the air with a high pitched frequency, layered with the sound of dozens of throats screaming in unison. The temperature dropped instantly and the smell of Anti-arcane drizzled everywhere.

Korvessa looked out of the window, her eyes narrowing as black shapes began crawling over the outer wall like a living tide. "Tch! They're here!" She whispered.

The Chancellor raised his voice over the growing noise. "Protect the students at all cost. I suggest we engage the intelligent ones first so as to not give them time to adapt..."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.