Chapter 322: The Survivors

With both shamans down, Thomas jumped up and yelled, "Take that you filthy fucking demons!" He followed the statement up by firing a third time.

The captain didn't look up from his fallen shamans as he snatched the bolt out of the air and snapped it between his claws. Blue life essence surged and lessened around his body. He threw down the broken shaft and spat on it.

"Good job Thomas," Frey said as he spotted the two corpses. "But it may not be over just yet." He pulled the noble to his back and waited with a bead of sweat trickling down his cheek.

When the smoke finally cleared, the captain raised a hand into the air and shouted a single word. His warriors seemed reluctant so he shouted again.

"Frey, they're hesitating," Elero said as she leaned towards her enemies. Frey merely looked over his shoulder at her, the calm before the storm, should she keep testing his patience.

Wind billowed as the demons took to the air, swirling about the chamber as a mass of bat-like wings.

"I can't find the captain," Thomas complained as he tried to scan through the shifting mass. "They're all just flying around each other as one big meat shield. Are they all going to dive at us?"

"See Frey?" Elero scoffed. "Alexander warned you about displaying that power. They're going to tell others about you, then come back here with reinforcements."

Frey cursed as he took notice of the hole in the roof. "I knew the risk. I don't regret my decision."

With the fervent flapping of wings echoing throughout the chamber only Elero with her keen senses noticed that the door leading to the first-year classrooms opened; the seal was broken. Stepping through the doorway was a mage dressed in a light blue robe. He peeled back his hood to reveal himself as a middle-aged man with a short, greying beard and mismatched eyes; one black and the other yellow.

A strange, bracelet-like artifact, similar to Lance's, floated from the door to his outstretched arm. He followed the trio's gazes upwards and a tiny spark of red flickered in his eyes, quickly snuffed out. "I'm much stronger than my kids, you animals." A magic circle appeared as a mass of mana erupted from his body: "Compound magic: Standing Graves." As he pushed mana through the magic circle, tiny bursts of green and blue light shot through the swarm. "You three," he said, finally acknowledging the trio. "Run."

Both Frey and Elero grabbed Thomas by the collar and booked it, not even bothering to look. Heavy thuds cracked the stone where they had been moments ago. They dove down the dark stairwell and bounced down the painful steps.

It was silent by the time they managed to stop themselves. Thick layers of dust clouded the sunlight at the top of the stairwell, where a confused Lance emerged from behind a statue. "What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," Elero groaned as she got to her feet. "I just got here and I'm already sick of all this magic-stuff. Seemed like one of your people finished the fight for us."

"One of my people?" Lance scratched the stubble on his chin. He led the way up to the sight of a bloody battlefield, courtesy of the intruding mage. It was as the name of the spell implied; corpses were propped up by stone spikes emerging from their chests, creating a standing graveyard. The thudding was the sound of the demons crashing down like hail.

"By the goddess," Elreo gasped. "If this was an instructor, then what can Doevm do?"

Thomas frowned as he scanned through the cloud of dust. "Can any of you see the corpses of those two shamans?"

Two heads very slowly turned towards Thomas while Lance just cocked his head to the side. 'Are all knights this strange?' he thought.

Thomas gave a nervous smile: "What? I only want to see how good my shots were. Also the captain might have handy stuff, like more black powder."

"Or a muzzle," Elero suggested.

"Lance," a voice called as the intruding mage walked over.

Lance smiled as he recognized his friend: "You are as brutal as always, Trenton."

Trenton chuckled: "And you're still as stubborn as a dwarf. Even blown off the top of the academy you still find some way to survive. I knew you would." He cleared his throat and yelled over his shoulder: "Everyone. It's clear. You can come out now." From behind him came students of all ages, most of which were dressed in simple robes. When they locked eyes with the bloodied trio however, they froze.

"It's alright," Lance explained. "They're our back-up from the Knights' Academy."

Trenton looked the three up and down and gave a slow nod: "And much needed too. That summon would have broken straight through our shabby little door."

"Wait," Thomas hesitated. "You were watching? How?"

Trenton simply gestured to his robe: "I'm sorry I couldn't act faster. The demons would have rushed in the second I unlocked the door, and not all of us can run." He pointed to his left sleeve, torn at the shoulder, where a bandaged stump dripped with fresh blood. As more students emerged from the doorway, Lance noticed a theme among them. Dirtied bandages, irregular stitching, and missing limbs; no student had made it through the battlefield unscathed.

"Alright," Elero clapped her hands together and started towards where the others had come from. "Let's keep moving. We have to find a way up." No one followed her. She turned around and gestured for her friends to follow.

"Elero and Thomas," Frey said. The battle had finished, but he still carried a heavy intensity. He signaled to follow him to a spot where none of the students had gathered. "We need to have a little chat."

Elero looked at Thomas and crossed her arms: "He sounds like a dad about to lecture his kids."

Thomas stumbled after the giant with his shoulders drooping and his head lowered. "Welcome to my world."

The two instructors watched as the three distanced themselves. "So Lance," Trenton inquired. "What's your plan here? You know the protocols should an event like this happen."

Lance averted his gaze, not out of shame, but he didn't know what else to call it. He wanted to say "I came back for my disciple" and mean it. Instead, he was silent. Excuses wouldn't work anymore.

Trenton was always merciless, to both his enemies and his friends. "You said it yourself when we first dragged Cerlius here: instructors follow different rules than the students. We both know you should have retreated to the Knight's Academy."

Lance sighed and leaned in so only Trenton would hear him: "On our way back here, I saw smoke rising from the Knight's Academy. There wasn't a cloud above it either, which indicates a third party attacked it. My guess is, it's the Resistance. The three I'm with had a correspondent inside that contacted them with a note."

Trenton swallowed his saliva, took a deep breath, and cursed. "Goddess, protect us." He pulled at his hair and looked off in deep thought. "Ok. Ok. Ok I can...maybe think of something. We are magicians after all. We have magic." He stole a glance at the injured group of students. "Fuck. You better have a good reason to go with those three."

Lance shook his head: "I am sorry, I really do not have a good reason. I don't know what I am doing. I just wanted to do...something. It is stupid, isn't it?"

Trenton very slowly put a hand on Lance's shoulder, and forced a smile: "Yeah it is, but I am happy nonetheless."

"How can you be happy?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "I am indulging in a selfish, stupid risk. Why else would the demons launch such a confident attack other than for the vault? You may be the only one who knows that I have the key, but I doubt the demons came here without a method to track the key down."

Trenton's grip tightened, as did his smile: "They would just break into the vault given enough time. It is not like there's anyone left to stop them. The best option is to snatch it away from them before they can figure out what happened."

A distant roar echoed with enough force to shake the walls. Battles continued to wage above their heads. The collapsed stairwell was only a momentary haven, and they both knew it. At the sight of blood dripping down Trenton's torn sleeve, Lance bit his lip: "I doubt I will make it out of here alive."

Trenton kept staring with that strange, forced smile of his. Lance almost wanted to slap him so the mage could stop pretending. He had been expecting yelling, screaming, hell, even a lecture, but that trusting smile was worse than all of it combined. Trenton chuckled: "You? Dying? I can not see that happening to a stubborn bastard like yourself. When death comes for you, you'd probably find some rule to quote on how you should keep living."

Lance finally had enough: "You act like you are not even going to try to talk to me out of this!"

"That is because I do not want to talk you out of this, old friend."

"What is with you?" Lance shoved Trenton's arm off his shoulder. "You have always kept my head straight, no matter how unwilling I was to listen. I said I don't have a reason to be here, as there is no rule to follow in this circumstance. There is nothing."

"Ever since Sozo died, you've been different,'' Trenton stated. "You were given her position as the secret successor to the Head Mage. You became so obsessed with proving your loyalty that you might as well wear a collar."

"I was just following the rules," Lance argued.

"Like her," Trenton barked. "You follow the rules like her. You smiled like her. You became her and erased yourself. You haven't truly smiled in over a decade. I've tried Lance, I really have but I couldn't get you out of the place you locked yourself in. Only you have the key. Do this, whatever it may be. For once fight for what you want, not the Head Mage, not me, and not a dead woman, you." He jabbed a finger into Lance's chest and collapsed.