66: Crisis

The next day things resumed like normal. Amelia was teaching in class like normal. Nobody suspected a thing. Everyone believed Leona's excuse for closing the dungeon for the day. Honestly I still haven't blown off enough steam. So today I might aim for the very bottom of the dungeon.

Surprisingly Azamar was absent today. But I couldn't care less. I just wished class ended sooner. I'm not in the mood for this shit. And in a way my wishes were granted.

*Earth shaking*

"Whoa!"

"Ey…What's going on?"

"Is this an earthquake?"

Everyone was agitated and it was natural. The earth started shaking violently. And after a moment.

*KABOOM*

The sound of an explosion could be heard. What the hell is going on? A few moments later someone burst into the classroom. It was that Zeldris fellow that I crushed during the entrance exam.

"Amelia, there's an emergency! All students must evacuate the campus!"

"Eh? Lord Zeldris, please calm down. What is this about?"

"All the monsters in the dungeon have escaped! The principal ordered an imediate evacuation."

"Oi… is that for real?"

"Are we doomed?"

"We're not gonna die, are we?"

As the students started to get scared, Amelia asked another question.

"But, lord Zeldris, what about the barrier? It should have been impossible for the monsters to break it."

"I don't know what happened. But someone disabled it. We're going to be overwhelmed soon. So save the questions for later."

"Class, you heard it. Everyone needs to evacuate!"

Fools. That is the worst possible decision to make. If everyone starts running and leaving school, the monsters won't stop. They'll break through and destroy the city. The logical solution isn't to run away, but contain the chaos in here. 

This isn't actually that bad. At least I'll get to blast more stuff. As everyone was entering the hallway and running right, towards the exit… I had to go left.

"Hey… where do you think you're going? That's the wrong way."

"Where do you think? I'm going to stay and fight!"

"Are you out of your mind!? Monsters from beyond floor 20 are emerging. Regardless of your status as a trouble maker, you should just…"

"If the monsters get into town it's over. The military in here is light and won't be able to handle it. Make no mistake. I'm not doing this for anyone's sake. I just got used to living here. That's all. 

Nelia, Sylvia, Shizu, drive all the monsters towards the arena. It's easier to take care of them there. Lumi-chan, if anything tries to leave school grounds, turn it back or tur it to dust. Bessie, you're coming with me. We're going to block the dungeon."

"Roger!"(x5)

"Lady Yurishia!!"

Cynthia and the 9 Worshippers called out to me.

"Lady Yurishia, please, we want to help as well."

"Good. Then save anyone who can't fend for themselves. Make pairs of 2 and use the 2 man block formation. Push the monsters back."

"Yes!!

------

A hint of madness could be seen in Azamar's eyes.

"Hey, I did what you asked. I deactivated the barrier. The procedure you taught me worked."

“Things are going to progress very fast indeed now. The ball’s rolling, and it’s only going to speed up from here. There’s no stopping now, not until we achieve the future I wish for.”

"Remember your end of the deal."

"Not to worry. I'll lure Nelia here. After that all you need is… to kill her. That will cancel the master-slave contract. And then, if you use the necromancy spell I taught you…"

"She'll be mine! Hehehe. I will admit, you're full of surprises. Normally it's impossible to resurrect someone. But the magic from what ever world you come from is different. I'll enjoy this very much."

------

Nelia, Sylvia and Shizu managed to redirect the monsters to the arena. Some teachers also gathered there. Nelia despaired when she saw how low morale seemed to be among them. Leona spotted her and walked over to her.

“I’m glad you’re here. Things are getting out of hand.”

“Yeah. Is this seriously all our backup? Where's the principal?"

Nelia looked around the arena, trying to spot him, but there was no sign.

“The principal’s busy right now. More importantly, come, join me. We need to kill them or they will overwhelm us with sheer numbers…"

The students who are stronger and stayed behind to help, seemed reluctant to join. Nelia didn’t like how silent and emotionless everyone looked, despite needing to fight right now. Something was off about them. In fact, something was off about this whole situation. The feeling of unease Nelia had grew stronger. 

“Hey, Leona. Is it just me or...”

“It’s not just you. Don’t let your guard down. Something strange is happening here. Same for you two. Sylvia, Shizu, be careful.”

Goosebumps rose on Shizu's ears. Her floppy ears stood straight up. Her instincts screamed at her to get out of here.

“Everyone, run—”

Before Shizu could finish her warning, there was a bright flash.

A bright burst of light assaulted the arena. The group quickly turned away, but they were already blinded.

A second later, there were a number of meaty thuds.

“Agh!?”

“Gah!”

“Gwaaah!?”

They were immediately followed by a series of screams. Not screams of surprise, like the screams the students had given when the light hit them, but screams of pain. After that, there were a few loud thumps as people fell to the ground.

Amidst the chaos, Sylvia drew her weapon and readied herself.

She just barely managed to block the thrust that came for her.

Like the others, she’d been blinded by the light. But thanks to her years of training, months of experience, and excellent senses, she was able to fight back even while unable to see.

At the same time Leona slammed whatever was attacking them.

Finally their sight began to return.

“Wha...” They have been prepared for something terrible to happen, but this was beyond any expectations.

"The students… are dead? And… dimensional monsters are controlling the regular monsters? Just what in the world is happening here?"