Meanwhile...
『 Fire Series: Fire Cyclones! (✦ 4th-Level Spell ✦)』
Fwooosh!
Three massive fire cyclones tore through the air, each spinning with ferocious speed, ripping the air around them.
The monsters caught in the path were torn apart, their bodies disintegrating into wisps of black smoke.
The ground trembled with each impact as the flames burned hot enough to melt everything in its path.
"Six more down," Rose muttered to herself, wiping the sweat from her brow.
She glanced over her shoulder at her team.
They were fighting hard, but the monsters just kept coming.
Beside her, Iris raised her hand.
『 Holy Series: Light Halo! (✦ 5th-Level Spell ✦)』
Iris conjured, and immediately, a bunch of hovering golden halos appeared above everyone’s head, buffing their speed and strength.
"Thanks, Iris!" Lucas grinned, feeling the effects almost instantly.
His sword flashed as he swung it in a wide arc.
Fwip!
Splurt!
The blade cut clean through three zombie heads, their decapitated bodies stumbling before collapsing into a heap.
And just besides him, a flash of golden light shot forward.
Splurt!
Three more zombies’ heads flew out.
"...These zombie creatures are endless!" Ella grumbled, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
They had been killing these creatures for more than half an hour, but they didn’t seem to end at all.
If anything, more would simply appear.
"...Should we go further?" Iris, behind them, asked curiously.
"I’m not sure," Lucas said, wiping his blade on the grass.
"We’re still waiting on Maya. And... Aestrea’s off doing who knows what."
{Be careful. Like I’ve said before, there’s a very malicious figure in this island...}
The Excalibur spoke solemnly.
’I know...’
"GUYS! I COULDN’T FIND AESTREAAA!"
A not-so cheerful voice rang out, making everyone turn around.
There, Maya stood, rushing towards them with her fists coated in green blood. It seemed that she also slaughtered some zombies on the way.
"...Damn it." Rose scoffed.
"...He really simply decided to go fight monsters by himself. How irresponsible... hmpf," Rose added in an annoyed voice.
Maya stopped in front of them, still breathing heavily, looking a little out of breath but not giving up.
"I swear, that guy..." she huffed, catching her breath.
"I thought he’d be around here, but I’ve been all over and haven’t seen him."
Hearing her words, Iris frowned.
"Should we keep going?"
"Mhm..."
Lucas looked at Ella, considering the question.
He took a quick glance at the others and then nodded slowly.
"I’m sure Aestrea’s wherever the biggest mess is. Knowing him, that’s probably where the most chaos is happening."
"Yeah, that sounds like him..." Maya added with a smirk, even though she was clearly irritated.
Ella adjusted her sword, tightening her grip.
"Then let’s go."
However, just as they started moving toward the direction where the battle noise grew louder, Lucas suddenly shouted.
"GUYS, STOP!"
Lucas suddenly stopped.
Immediately, all of them froze at his words.
BAAAAM!
A loud crash echoed, and in front of them, a strange zombie appeared. It was thin, with long, writhing tentacles protruding from its body.
Its strange eyes gazed onto them, its head tilting as it stared.
"Guraahh...?"
The zombie made a low, gurgling sound, almost like it was trying to speak, but in a strange, distorted way.
"...T-this..." Ella frowned.
She could clearly feel that the zombie’s power was above hers.
’Is this the malicious thing you were talking about...?’ Lucas asked inwardly, looking at the creature warily.
{No. The malicious figure is moving, and this creature isn’t. I can’t quite figure out its location, but it should be far from here.}
The Excalibur replied.
Iris, gripping her staff, stepped forward, unsure.
"Ah... guys? Should we attack him?" she asked hesitantly.
Rose took a step back, clearly not trusting the creature.
"I don’t think so," she replied softly, her eyes narrowed.
However, on the other hand, Ella gripped her sword tightly.
"Ella...?" Lucas called out.
"Royal Swordsmanship...!" she mumbled to herself, and immediately, a bright golden light enveloped her sword.
"ELLA, NO!"
Lucas shouted, but it was too late.
『 Divine Punishment! 』
With a mighty swing, Ella’s sword expanded in size, turning into a massive golden blade. The sword came down with incredible force, slamming directly into the tentacle zombie.
BOOOOM!
The impact was very destructive, a massive explosion of energy erupted from the strike, sending a shockwave through the ground.
A deep crater formed, shaped like the blade of her sword.
Ella stepped back, panting, as the smoke rose from the attack.
"Did... it kill it?" she asked, looking uncertain.
Fwip!
She swung her sword, clearing out the rising smoke.
And...
"Gurahh."
A weird noise reached her ears.
The zombie was still standing, its tentacles wriggling.
It had extended one of its hands, and a glowing green shield had formed around its body, protecting it from the attack.
"Damn it..." Read exclusive adventures at freewebnovel
Ella muttered under her breath, gritting her teeth.
But before she could attack him again—
—Lucas intervened.
"Ella, stop! He doesn’t seem to want to hurt us!" Lucas warned, positioning himself between the monster and Ella.
Then, he stepped forward, cautiously, and looked directly at the zombie.
"...What do you want?" he asked cautiously.
To his surprise, the zombie responded.
It moved, its tentacles reaching out and pointing toward the north.
"Gurah, gurah!"
Lucas blinked, unsure.
"You want us to go there?"
"GURAH!"
The zombie nodded vigorously, its tentacles shaking with excitement.
Lucas turned to look at the north, where the trees of the forest stood tall. In the distance, he could see flashes of light shooting into the sky.
But one of them stood among all of them.
A silver-colored one.
"Aestrea is there..." Lucas whispered.
{That’s also the direction the malicious figure is in...}
His heart skipped.
"Is he in danger?!"
{Maybe.}
"Guys, let’s go to the forest then!"
Maya raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? Why? Don’t tell me, you’re actually going to trust a zombie?" She sounded both confused and annoyed.
Iris was quiet, clearly unsure.
She glanced at Rose, who didn’t say much but had a neutral expression on her face.
"...I think we should go too." Ella glanced at the forest for a moment.
She remembered Aestrea had headed that way before, and the fact that the zombie was pointing in the same direction couldn’t be a coincidence.
"Ahhh... damn it! LET’S JUST GO!" Maya grumbled, stomping her feet toward the north side of the forest.
She was still reluctant to trust the zombie, but seeing the others agree, she puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
—
It took them a while to reach the place where Lucas had sensed Aestrea’s mana signature.
BOOOM!
Another explosion echoed in the distance. Lucas narrowed his eyes and followed the sound, determined to find Aestrea.
"...Gosh, we still haven’t found anything!" Maya complained, crossing her arms.
"No monsters, no students... nothing!" she grumbled.
"There should be students up ahead," Iris said, pointing toward the source of the explosions.
"Yeah, but stilllll!!!!" Maya whined.
Lucas chuckled at the banter between them.
Both of them were always the two who kept the group alive.
But then—
BAAAM!
A figure was sent crashing toward them.
Lucas’s instincts shot to life.
Thud!
He stepped forward and caught the body before it hit the ground, the weight of the impact nearly knocking the air out of him.
"Are you okay?!" Lucas asked, quickly turning to Iris.
Iris nodded, and immediately, a golden light flowed from her staff and surrounded the brown-haired figure.
『 Holy Series: Holy Heal (✦ 3rd-Level Spell ✦)』
In seconds, the figure gasped for air, his eyes snapping open.
"Cough, cough!"
He coughed, spitting over green blood into the ground.
"A-ah... fuck...!"
he groaned, trying to move but wincing in pain.
"Hey! You okay?" Lucas repeated, kneeling beside him.
The boy blinked, his gaze clearing.
"Wait... a second... Lucas?" he mumbled, still dazed.
Lucas frowned.
"E-Ethan!? What happened?"
"A-ah... I w-was with Aestrea... then a weird creature appeared... we fought it... until it threw me... hard—cough, cough!"
"Aestrea?" Ella’s voice snapped like a whip.
"Where is he?!" she demanded, her eyes hardening.
Ethan weakly pointed behind him.
"Alright!"
Fwoosh!
Without another word, Ella shot forward like a streak of light.
"ELLA, WAIT!" Lucas called, but Ella didn’t hesitate.
Lucas shot a quick glance at Maya and Iris.
"You two stay here and take care of Ethan. I’ll go with Ella."
"Mhm!" Iris nodded.
"Roger!" Maya added.
Lucas didn’t waste another second.
He sprinted forward, leaving a black trail behind him.
And once he reached the scene, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"...What the hell is that?"
Before him stood a grotesque creature, its body easily over five meters tall.
Tentacles writhed around its bloated, decaying form, and thick vines sprouted from its flesh, twisting like snakes.
It was a nightmare come to life.
"Fucking hell!" Ella’s voice rang out from the side.
Fwip!
She dodged one of the creature’s long, thick vines as it swung toward her.
"Ella!" Lucas shouted, charging forward.
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He swung his sword in a clean, vertical slash.
The vine sliced through with ease.
Quickly, Lucas grabbed Ella’s wrist, pulling her out of range of the monster.
"Huff...!" Ella gasped, steadying herself.
"Where’s Aestrea?" Lucas asked, scanning the area.
"He’s... there," Ella pointed.
And in just a few meters away from them, three creatures just like the one in front of them, were fighting against Aestrea madly.
His eyes were completely focused as he dodged its attack and tried to inflict damage.
But the monsters were fast, and Aestrea didn’t have the time to cast spells or perform a sword art.
"Shit... we need to help him," Lucas spoke, gripping his sword.
"Yeah... let’s end this one quick!"
Ella said, her eyes narrowing as she gripped the hilt of her sword.
Fwoosh!
She was the first to rush forward.
The creature’s vine whipped through the air, aiming straight for her.
With a quick step to the side—
SWOOSH!
She barely avoided it, the vine slicing through the air where she had just been.
Ella didn’t hesitate.
She swung her sword downward.
SHING!
The blade cut deep into the creature’s vine, severing it with ease. The monster screeched, but it was only a moment’s delay before it swung another vine, this one aimed for her legs.
Ella jumped back just in time.
THUD!
The vine slammed into the ground, cracking the earth beneath it.
Lucas, right behind her, was already in motion.
He sprinted past her, sword held tight. He leapt into the air, twisting his body.
SLASH!
His sword came down hard, slicing through one of the creature’s long, slithering tentacles. The creature let out a sharp hiss, its body writhing.
But Lucas didn’t stop.
He spun mid-air, landing with a heavy thud, and brought his sword up again, aiming straight for its core.
"Demon Slaying Sword Art...!"
『 Corrupted Sword 』
With a swift, upward swing—
SWOOSH!
A spray of black flames flew from his blade, forming an ’X’ in the air.
It crashed into the creature’s chest with a loud CRACK, making its solid body catch on fire. It staggered back, roaring in pain as the flame spread across its decaying flesh.
But the creature wasn’t done. It lashed out with more vines, trying to strike at Lucas.
He sidestepped, dodging the attack.
SWISH!
The vine flew past him, grazing his shoulder, but Lucas ignored it.
Instead, he took a step to the right, giving Ella access to attack.
SHING!
Ella’s sword met the creature’s thick hide, creating a loud clash, but the monster’s skin held. Ella gritted her teeth and swung again, aiming for the vine-covered limbs.
With a powerful swing—
SLASH!
This time, she sliced clean through one of its tentacles. The creature howled in rage, but Ella wasn’t finished.
She ducked under another vine as it swung overhead and aimed a horizontal slash at the creature’s midsection.
SWOOSH!
The blow landed, but the monster twisted its body just in time, minimizing the damage. It then swung another vine directly at Ella’s head.
CRACK!
The vine slammed into her sword, pushing her back, but Ella held firm.
She slid back a few feet, breathing heavily, her eyes fixed on the creature.
Lucas was already moving again.
He closed the distance, pushing forward with all his strength, enveloping his sword with his golden mana.
SHING!
SHING!
SHING!
His sword flashed in rapid succession, each one struck the creature’s hide, cutting deep into its body with a sickening crunch.
SPLURT!
Blood sprayed from the wounds, but the creature didn’t fall. It screeched, enraged, and swung its vines in every direction.
But then—
—THOOM!
The ground shook as it lifted one massive tentacle, slamming it down toward them.
BAM!
Lucas barely had time to react.
He jumped to the side just in time, but the shockwave from the hit sent him tumbling backward.
"Dammit!" he growled, his chest heaving.
But there was no time to rest.
The creature was rearing back, preparing for another strike.
"NOW!"
Lucas suddenly shouted.
And Ella from the side, raised her sword to the sky.
"Royal Swordsmanship..."
『 Divine Punishment 』
In an instant, the sword grew in size, glowing with a fierce, golden light. Without a second thought, Ella swung it down with all her might.
SCREEEECH!
Sparks flew.
The creature shrieked in pain as it tried to hold the giant blade back, its vines straining against the weight.
But Ella gritted her teeth, pushing more power into her strike.
"DIE!" she shouted.
BAAM!
The giant sword slammed into the ground, splitting the creature clean in half.
Its body fell apart with a sickening SPLAT, pieces of rotten flesh scattering across the battlefield.
"Ah... it’s finally dead..."
Ella exhaled deeply.
"Yeah..."
But then—
A loud roar echoed in the distance.
Their heads snapped toward it.
"Aestrea!"
Ella’s voice rang out, and without a second thought, she bolted forward.
And seeing this...
Lucas couldn’t help but bite his lip.
But he followed her nonetheless.