Novian’s POV

The battlefield was chaotic. My heart pounded in my chest as the crackle of lightning arced between my broadsword. Every strike I delivered didn’t even dent the creature. The sloakard’s skin was absorbing every blow. It shouldn’t have taken this much.

“Iris, how are the drones holding?” I shouted, barely sparing a glance as I deflected a swipe from the creature’s claws.

The impact rattled my arm, nearly numbing it from the force.

“They’re doing what they can, Novy!” Iris’s voice crackled through my helmet as her drones buzzed around the battlefield. Blasts of energy streaked through the air, slamming into the creature’s hide, but the damage was minimal. “It’s like fighting a wall!”

I cursed under my breath. This wasn’t going according to plan. Elara, off to the side, hefted her gatling gun, its barrels glowing with heat from constant fire. She gritted her teeth, unloading rounds into the creature’s flank before her weapon transformed into a massive axe with a swift motion. She swung upwards, meeting one of the sloakard’s swipes, her blade barely digging into its flesh but still unable to cause significant damage.

“Damn it,” she growled, pulling the axe free with a sharp twist. Her fiery red hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat, the glow of her fire affinity sparking around her as she prepared for another attack.

“Kaeygo, where are you?” I shouted, eyes scanning the battlefield.

Suddenly, a massive form slammed into the sloakard from the side, knocking it slightly off balance. Kaeygo, in his monstrous shapeshifted form, roared as his claw-like socrilium slashed at the creature. For a moment, I thought we had an opening. However, the sloakard retaliated with a vicious swipe, almost sending Kaeygo flying into a tree, but he shapeshifted into a bird just in time.

The creature reared back, its glowing red eyes glaring at us with fury. Its body began to change, the black scales turning darker, almost like they were absorbing the light around us.

The fight continued.

"We won't last much longer!" I cursed.

Elara stood close, her gun spitting rounds of fire-infused energy at the creature. Her flames licked across the corrupted’s body, but the sloakard shrugged off the damage.

"We must continue to hold on!" she ordered, swinging her weapon into its axe form and charging forward. She brought it down with all her might, aiming for its legs, but it barely stumbled.

“How is this even possible!” Kaeygo shouted.

Drones buzzed around Iris as she fed the team real-time data, analyzing the creature’s movements.

"Guys, its skin is too thick," she said. "We won't reach the core at this rate!"

"Use me, Songstar, I am your only chance of survival..." A voice whispered into my mind.

Acalon…your power is not needed. I can transverse through this.

"Then you're as good as dead! Well... that would benefit me regardless!" it laughed, a sinister echo in my mind, mocking my hesitation.

Was it really not possible? Even for me? A Songstar?

“Novian!” A voice shouted, catching my attention as I dodged out of the way of a stray claw swipe. “We need to open up its neck!”

Just who? Lucien…? How? No. I needed to act fast.

"I’ll follow your lead!" I yelled. I needed to act fast. "Everyone, provide cover fire!"

Without hesitation, Iris sent her drones back into the fray, bursts of energy hammering the sloakard from above. Elara, switching back to her gatling gun, unleashed a relentless storm of bullets, targeting the creature’s arms and legs, trying to slow it down. The combined assault with everyone else gave us enough time to break through.

Lucien…

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He wasn’t supposed to be here, wasn’t supposed to be fighting at all, but there he was. His face was twisted in pain, but his eyes held an unwavering determination. I couldn’t help but respect him for it, even though part of me wanted to yell at him to get to safety. However, for some reason, I found myself trusting that determination.

We charged forward together, my sword buzzing with the stored energy of my lightning. As we got closer, I could feel the creature’s heat, the oppressive weight of its presence. It was overwhelming, but we couldn’t stop. Not now.

WOOSH! WOOSH! WOOSH! The arrows from Aurelia zipped past us, throwing the creature slightly off balance. The sloakard kept charging forward. BANG! Kaeygo, as a giant creature, collided with the sloakard. The sloakard recoiled from the hit, then lashed out with a vicious swipe of its massive claws, knocking him aside. It roared again, preparing for another strike. Iris deployed her drones to distract the creature while Elara swung her axe upward, hitting the sloakard's hand away.

Lucien darted to the side, his newly-formed weapon — a strange, flexible blade — whipping through the air like a dark serpent. With precise timing, he lashed out, landing a single strike at the sloakard’s neck. I saw the crack form, a small fissure in its impenetrable hide.

“NOW!” Lucien’s voice was strained, but the command was clear.

Without thinking, I channeled every ounce of my remaining energy into my socrilium. Lightning danced along the blade’s edge as I swung with everything I had, the crack in its armor widening. Time seemed to slow, the hum of my weapon the only sound as I drove it deep into the creature’s core. The lightning surged, overwhelming the beast.

GRRRIISSSSS! The sloakard shrieked. Its body convulsed as my lightning surged through it, its arms flailing wildly. Its massive legs gave out beneath it, and it collapsed onto the ground, writhing in agony. Smoke rose from its joints, and the once-impenetrable armor of its skin began to disintegrate.

“First Form: Thunderclash Raging Dragon!” I roared.

The sloakard let out one final, blood-curdling shriek, its body convulsing violently. It collapsed to the ground, thrashing as the energy coursed through it, before finally going still.

I stood there, chest heaving, my weapon still crackling with residual energy. The creature lay defeated. We had done it. We’d won.

“We did it.” I said.

“We did it!” Iris cheered.

“It’s finally over.” Kaeygo replied.

“Well done everyone,” Elara said. “Especially you two.”

“Good job,” Aurelia said.

But this victory felt strange. Too costly. Too difficult for what should have been a simple fight. Something wasn’t right.

I turned to Iris who was scolding Lucien.

"You really, like, had us worried,” she said, though her tone was light.“Like don't do that again."

“Good…” He said.

Aurelia was just in time to catch him before he passed out.

“Lucien…” I muttered, still catching my breath. “Who exactly are you?”

As we all lay and stood on the field tired, a rather large shuttle zipped into existence and began to descend along with a person descending.

“...Instructor Kossi?” I said.

She landed.

“This is Kossi preparing the portevacs,” She said, talking into a mic. “You did well, everyone.”

“With all due respect, Instructor Kossi, what happened?” Elara said, her voice stern.

“Tampering,” Instructor Cefin said, hoping off the shuttle. “We weren’t aware until late into the first night. The Prism was already tampered with so that no one could enter or escape.”

“Just who would, like, do that!” Iris said.

“We don’t know. We’re looking into that case now,” Instructor Cefin said. “However, it seems whoever it is, is targeting the students. We were lucky enough for Instructor Kossi to tap into their system and teleport many of the students out already.”

As expected of Instructor Kossi. She’s the strongest technomancer of our time with the affinity of space.

“Then the reason we weren’t teleported?” Kaeygo asked in an annoyed manner.

"You are Silvion's top students. Your goal is not only to annihilate destruction but to protect humanity," Instructor Kossi interjected. "More of your questions will be answered at a later time. For now, let the medical team examine you all and prepare for portevac."

“Wait, what about Lucien?” I asked.

"His body is completely shattered. He's lucky to be alive right now," Instructor Kossi said. "But he'll live."

“Alright.”

With no further questions, Elara, Aurelia, Kaeygo, Iris, and I were examined and given a red bracelet.

“All clear for portevac.” A medical officer said. “Prepare for teleportation.”

We sat there, completely exhausted, waiting for the countdown to portevac. Everyone around me looked just as worn out. Elara leaned her head against her gun, her usually fiery eyes dulled by exhaustion. Aurelia quietly inspected her bow while Kaeygo massaged his shoulder. Iris, though tired, was the only one who looked like she had energy left to spare. She fiddled with her gadgets.

I stared blankly as the bracelet began its countdown.

{5.}

{4.}

{3.}

{2.}

{1.}

{Initializing Portevac.}

BAMPH.