The massive silhouette, slowly moved its arms, drawing an arrow on a huge bow, coming close to destroying its opponents.
"Excellent form and the silhouette acts on your wishes. However, you'll need to work on your speed, you won't always have time like this." Solomon said calmly before hitting the ground with his staff.
Rea nodded. She was already glad that Solomon had praised her, she knew her father well and knew it was the best she could hope for.
A massive magical circle appeared beneath the silhouette as several lightning bolts flew out of it. They filled the silhouette, making it bigger as well as its bow which now had five arrows.
"Fine, now you can start. Aim just beyond the horde so you don't hit the teachers. They're exhausted and won't be able to defend themselves now." Solomon said quietly, watching Rea's every action closely.
Rea sighed, pointed her staff forward, and said, "Fire."
Whooooooooooooosh.
At the same moment, the silhouette fired, launching five arrows filled with lightning energy directly at the monsters who were still trying to break through the defenses.
Instincts forced the monsters to retreat as far as possible from where the arrows fell, but they had too little time to move a safe distance.
Each arrow exploded, releasing outward purple flames with violent lightning bolts that went from one monster to the next, gradually killing dozens of them.
"Raaarrk!!!" The monster growled as it retreated into the forest, as did the others. They fled quickly, dissolving into a mist that might have saved them from pursuit, though the teachers were definitely not up for it.
"Damn... That was impressive." One of the teachers muttered, falling to the ground with a happy smile.
"Hah, that's Mr. Solomon, he's one of the strongest mages I know. We're really lucky to have him here." His mate sighed in relief, and raised his head, looking up at the sun as if it were a symbol of their victory.
The third teacher looked around carefully, then turned and headed toward Solomon and Kaira with a confident stride.
"Mr. Byron, it seems the students were lucky to have you at the academy." Solomon said respectfully, holding out his hand.
Byron nodded, responded to the handshake, and turned to Kaira. He had thick black hair, a short beard, and deep hazel eyes.
"Mrs. Kaira, do you realize that you are entirely responsible for everything that happened today?" Byron stared at her sternly.
Kaira lowered her head, "Mr. Byron, I don't want to make excuses, but, today's situation is unique. Usually, there aren't that many monsters here."
"Silence!" Byron said strictly as his voice echoed around, "You, as a teacher, have an obligation to check the area before you bring students here. Furthermore, a few days ago, monsters with Fate Energy rose out of the ground, and you knew that many of them may have been hiding in this forest."
Kaira didn't answer anything, she just looked down guiltily, she had no say in the matter now.
"Mr. Solomon, what do you say?" Byron inquired with a slight wave of his hand.
Solomon glanced at the students, then sighed, "You're right, Mrs. Kaira was being careless, and we'll discuss her punishment at the council. However, we should also consider that the students are safe and Mrs. Kaira has done everything to protect them."
"That's not entirely true..." Kaira muttered as her face darkened, "Before we could get to the split rock, the monsters snatched some of the students."
Byron flinched as his eyes went wide. He clenched his fists tightly, his sweat came out and his veins bulged, losing a student was the greatest tragedy for any teacher, especially like this.
"Yeah... I saw." Solomon nodded, "Well, let's get back to the academy and deal with the consequences."
"Agh...?" Rea was puzzled, "Father... We're not going to look for them? Maybe we can save someone!"
Solomon put his hand on her shoulder as his gaze grew deeper, his amethyst eyes seeming to stare straight into Rea's soul.
"Do you really think so, or is it just another stupid idea you've got in your head? You yourself saw one of the students in the monster's jaws, and that was over an hour ago. There's nowhere to hide in this forest, the only defense is power." Solomon said coldly, "All the students that were snatched are definitely dead by now."
Rea gulped. She had nothing to say, and neither did the others.
Solomon headed toward the students who were hiding in the split rock. Though the monsters had already retreated, they were terrified.
"Listen to me, all of you." Solomon said sternly, drawing everyone's attention to himself, "We will now leave the misty forest and return to the academy. I and Mr. Byron will be in the front, the others will follow us. Does anyone have questions?"
The students shook their heads, all they wanted now was to get out of here as quickly as possible.
"Good." Solomon nodded.
He didn't take a step forward, intending to lead the students away, however, he frowned heavily and turned, directing his gaze toward the fog.
Step. Step. Step.
A tall silhouette emerged from the mist - it was a monster, covered with hundreds of razor-sharp scales and with long claws. Its body was enveloped in an unusual black mist as only its blue eyes were visible, instilling fear in everyone who encountered it.
"Looks like someone decided to stay and try to stop us. Well, I'll have to deal with it." Solomon turned toward the monster, who had suddenly disappeared, and Solomon's eyes went wide.
At the same moment, the shadow was in front of the student, pointing its claws directly at his neck.
"No!" Solomon exclaimed as powerful electric shocks erupted from his hand, raining down on the shadow.
The monster quickly jumped back, but that was enough time for the apprentice to have a wound on his neck, blood rushing out in a powerful stream.
Solomon frowned, as a potion appeared in his hand that he quickly poured into his student's mouth, saving him at the last moment.
The monster looked at his bloody claws and pulled out his long tongue, licking the blood from them.
"Agh..." The monster wheezed, "Next time I won't miss..."