WOO! Broke that 5000 word count.
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Ellar, Iris, and Elis stood still behind the protection of the headmaster. Iris's eyes were locked onto Jackal, her mouth wide open, face turning pale. As if able to feel the heaviness that accompanied her stare, Jackal turned his head towards her. His eyebrows shot up and his lips curled into a smile.
"Another familiar face. If it isn't the younger sister of that bitch." Jackal took a step forward but the headmaster lifted the cane, his staff, he had by his side.
"Just a little closer now Jack. If you dare that is." the headmaster said. "You ladies need to run. If you can, go into the library and find Mr. Reader." he whispered to them.
Ellar and Iris both nodded their heads vigorously. Iris glanced over to Elis whom she expected to be readying a spell for a fight but Elis nodded as well. Elis's body itched for a fight, she wanted to fight, but she understood that if she did she'd lose.
Upon seeing an attitude unbefitting of her friend, Iris grabbed onto both Ellar's and Elis' arm, pulling them back into the hallway with great haste. Her feet moving more like a scurrying raccoon's than a human's. Though spurred into action by Elis, Iris already had an idea of how dangerous the men and women of Krestfall were, she had already seen a group of knights decimated by them.
"[Flame Lash]!" Jackal let loose his magic.
Barely making any movements the headmaster erected a barrier to shield the girls from the long whips that were sent out after them. He kept it up even after the whips disappeared.
With the girls gone and out of sight, the headmaster let out a relieved sigh. He held out his staff, now that the students were no longer there, he didn't have to worry about protecting them.
"What's wrong ol' man?" a woman from behind Jackal said, leaning forward. "You crazy or something? Think that you can take us alone?" she smiled, as if confident of their victory.
Jackal pushed her to the side, a circle formed where she was just standing, flames rose up from it and left the ground charred. Sence, the woman, looked shocked, she continued to stare at the black piece of earth, seemingly unable to believe what just occurred. The spell which the headmaster had just cast was of the eighth tier, a middle ranking advanced spell.
What shocked Sence wasn't that the old man knew and had the mana to cast such a spell, since she too could cast it, but simply the fact that the man did not even have to invoke a single word to create the circle under her feet. Many spells, mostly of the higher tier, were presumed by many to require spoken words to effectively use them, otherwise, the time taken would be either too long or the spell lost lots of power, sometimes it wouldn't even cast.
The possibility of the headmaster already preparing the spell came crossed her mind but disappeared as quickly as the conversation between two birds flying past each other in the night.
"I see you have recognized how foolish you are." the headmaster leaned on his staff. "Do you think that the five of you are enough for me?"
All five of them felt a cold chill run down their backs. It took all their willpower to try not to try and shake off the feeling. Jackal licked his lips, what a familiar feeling for him. He thought back to the first time he fought against the old man, an utter defeat.
Jackal lifted his hand to signal for his members to spread. Spreading around, surrounding the headmaster in a large, loose circle, they each prepare a spell on their lips. All of them knew that as soon as the first spell was cast, it would be chaos. Jackal was the first to speak.
"[Fire Bomb]!"
A small, pebble like, ball of fire flew towards the headmaster. All other member shouted after Jackal, sending attacks from all sides.
"[Greater Ice Spike]!"
"[Greater Lightning Bolt]!"
"[Stone Cannon]!"
"[Greater Wind Blade]!"
With a loud explosion, greater than their entrance into the academy, all the spells collapsed onto a single spot. Jackal's allies, all four of them wore a hopeful expression, no one, not even Jackal could've withstood an attack from all four of them at once. Surely there would be no one who could take an attack with five.
Their hopeful expressions dimmed as a golden light shone through the dark and heavy smoke. Inside of the glowing dome, the headmaster stood unharmed and unworried. The attacks from all five of them could not shake his iron will. Detaching his cheek from his staff, he lifted it slowly.
"My turn. Watch yourselves now, make sure not to get too much blood onto the walls." the staff started to glow blue, mana flooded in from the headmaster, power was being poured for the staff to mold. "[G-"
But he stopped when he heard the explosion from another part of the building.
"Hoh. Surprised? Think that I'd challenge you so openly ol' man?" Jackal said.
The headmaster's expression darkened, looking over at Jackal he asked, "What's going on."
"Oh, nothing much. Just had a few members go around the back, not a big deal. You should focus on playing with us." Jackal chuckled to himself upon seeing the headmaster's face. He knew that there was more to the old man becoming the headmaster other than the power that it presented him.
"What are you planning? Is this some old grudge?"
"No no no, nothing that pitiful." Jackal waved away the accusation. "There's a few things we want from here, you probably know what that is right? Arrived here two months ago?"
"That's none of your business Jack." the headmaster raised his staff again.
"Of course it is. Why else would I be here? Ah, you know, I sure missed an opportunity. I thought about attacking in the morning when all of the students were here but I wasn't quite sure about how you'd react. Thought that they'd be more of a problem than an asset, thought that you'd just throw them away." Jackal rubbed his hands together, two magic circles appeared. "Course, If I have to come back again, I'll attack during the day. I'm quite glad that those three girls were here. Better hurry or they'll die, but you have to worry about us before you worry about them."
The headmaster crinkled his nose, the mana surrounding his staff instantly dissipated. Above him, a flaming lance appeared, one after the other they filled the air. Twenty overall, the present members of Krestfall could only stare in amazement.
"Die." he said.
"Maverick." Jackal said. "Now."
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Ellar, Iris, and Elis ran into the library, each gasping for breaths. Their chests were heaving and they used their arms as support. Though the library wasn't too far away from the entrance of the building, having to run under pressure and the general fact that mages in general weren't too fit accounted for their short but heavy breaths.
Ellar coughed into her elbow several times.
Mr. Reader, already disturbed by the explosion earlier held his wand out, ready to do battle with any intruders. He came out from under his desk.
Why was he there? Because hiding behind his desk were a few other students that stayed behind to read. Being a teacher and librarian, his first priority was to protect the students. As soon as the explosion came he instantly corralled them into a single place where they wouldn't be seen if someone entered.
"Who's there?" he yelled out to the three figures he saw before him. He had no idea that they were also students. "Don't come any closer!"
Ellar, surprised by his hostility, though she understood it, tried to speak up but her words got stuck in her mouth, only coming out a little louder than a whisper.
The almost inaudible sound reached Mr. Reader's ears, he allowed his mana to flow freely into his wand, molding it so that a ball of flames stood on the tip.
"Mr. Reader!" Iris called out. "It's us." Elis, next to her, was prepared to make a barrier just in case things went badly.
"Y-yeah!" Ellar said.
Mr. Reader, recognizing their voices, put down his wand and walked over to them.
"Sorry about that girls. We're not sure what's going on so I had to protect the other students." As part of his attempts to protect the students, Mr. Reader had blown out all the brightly lit candles that were enhanced to burn brighter. The only light source that they had came from the moon, whose light was being blocked by the clouds.
The room, especially the corners and upper parts where no windows were present, were shrouded in darkness that was only available in the deepest of pits. The multiple bookshelves, that numbered in the hundreds, instead of providing a sense of wonder, now made Ellar and the others feel uncomfortable. Standing over them like lumbering giants, the bookshelves did nothing more than act as a tool for their already frightened minds to use as fuel for their imagination.
Mr. Reader, able to feel their fear and anxiety, summoned a will-o'-wisp. He sent the round blue spirit over to them, illuminating the tables and allowing the girls to find their way without bumping into anything.
"Mr. Reader." Elis said pointing past the doors. "The headmaster's fighting against the intruders! He's outnumbered five to one!"
He felt a rush of air into his eyes, closing them tightly he blinked several more times. "Y-You mean that the headmaster is fighting five people at once? Where are the guards?"
"D-Dead." Ellar said in response. "W-We saw them l-laying on the ground."
"How about the other teachers?" he asked.
"M-Miss Ein, she's, she's..." Ellar looked down. She tightly gripped her right hand.
Mr. Reader wanted to ask more but could tell from Ellar's actions that she didn't feel comfortable talking about it. He glanced over to the entrance. If the headmaster was fighting alone, there's no way that he would be able to win, no matter how powerful he was. Mr. Reader didn't know the headmaster's strength but he knew that if the enemy were going to attack, what was basically a government building, the school they would have to be skilled.
He thought about what would be the best course of action. Staying with the children here or assisting the headmaster. Currently, there was no danger but there would be if the headmaster were to lose, then he'd have to protect the students alone. He trusted that they could defend themselves but he knew that the strength between the boys and girls hiding in the library, who were 3rd years and below, would be lacking when compared to those who defeated the headmaster.
Mr. Reader wasn't particularly fond of the headmaster, their first meeting was pleasant enough but they were simply formalities. Being hired two years earlier, Mr. Reader was one of the newer teachers. Not much time was given for him to get to know the headmaster, and from what he's heard, the headmaster wasn't too good of a man. Earlier in the year, the first day in fact, he allowed a student, of another race no less, get humiliated by a noble.
But, the librarian knew that all staff members held great magical prowess. Fighting alongside one, especially the headmaster, increased the chances of victory greatly and would be the best course of action to protect the children.
"We need to evacuate." Iris stepped forward.
"I-I'm staying." Ellar responded.
"What are you saying El? You can't fight those guys." Elis said. "It'd be suicide. Besides, staying here will only make the teachers worry, if Mr. Reader has to take care of us then he won't be able to go and fight."
Elis stared up at Ellar with her hands on her hips. She knew that now wasn't the time to be her usual self, she had to be serious, and that included her words. Elis understood why her friend would want to stay so badly, Miss Ein was injured, in fact Elis wanted to stay as well, Miss Ein was as much her teacher as Ellar's.
"I-I" Ellar stammered.
"El." Iris put her hand on her shoulder. "Elis and I, we both understand why you want to stay but it's best if we can leave. Look at Elis, she's itching for a fight but she won't go out there because she knows it's crazy. Trust the teachers, they're pretty strong right? Eventually guards will be here too, but we have to go."
Ellar's hand ran up her forearm several times, finally she said, "All right. I'll go."
"So you're saying that we're in a good place to escape?" Mr. Reader asked.
"Yeah." Iris said. "They're in the lobby, if we head out the back then we should be okay."
He nodded his head in consent. The thought to leave the building had crossed his mind but he didn't know how close the intruders were and thus didn't want to risk the lives of the students.
"Let's go then."
From behind the counter, five students stood up, two were third years and the rest were second years. Since this was the first year that non humans were let in, the five of them were all human, three boys and two girls.
*BOOM*
The heard a sound resound through the entire academy, in fact, the whole city could hear it, even those furthest away could feel the rumble of power.
"I'll lead the way." Mr. Reader said as he started towards the large wooden doors. His skin froze over and he hastened to stop himself as he saw a figure by the door. Throwing his hands up, he erected a shield large enough to cover what needed two large blocks of wood to usually close.
*BOOM*
Another explosion shook the academy. Mr. Reader warily watched as the smoke started to clear. Somehow he managed not to be blown away by the attack.
"HIDE!" he screamed.
Everyone did just that, scattering from the desk that they no longer felt was a good hiding place, four of the students ran to the right side of the room, one still hid under the desk. Ellar, Iris, and Elis, each hid together under the tables. They felt relatively covered by the surrounding chairs whose wooden legs gave them comfort.
"[Steam Shot]."
"UAAWAH!"
Mr. Reader flew back as he took an unexpected hit. As he laid on the ground trying to recover his breath, he moved his hand to the area where he took the attack. Feeling around, pain shot through his chest, the skin felt like it would tear as easily as paper of he moved his hand too much. He hurried himself back to his feet. A warm wave of air wrapped around his face from under his chin. He did his best to resist the burning sensation and spread his feet apart, watching for another attack.
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"[Electro Sphere]."
The sudden appearance of such a bright light blinded him. Thinking on his feet he stepped lightly to the side bumping into a table but dodging the attack.
"[Lightning Bolt]." said a different voice than the one who launched the earlier attacks.
This time, Reader was prepared, he instantly threw up a barrier to stop the blow. The lightning crackled then faded into nothingness as it clashed with the golden dome. Upon hearing the second person's voice, he knew that he had to stall for time.
Falling into a crouch, he placed his hands on the ground.
"[Earth Pillar]."
The ground around the entrance to the library sprung upwards and blocked off the path.
"[Stone Cannon}."
But they were destroyed by the large chunk of rock.
Mr. Reader, knowing that a few of his students were hidden under the tables, dodged to next attacks while moving to the side. Throwing up barrier after barrier, ducking and twisting his body to the side, Reader did his best to avoid all the attacks. Very rarely would he have the time to throw his wand up to counter attack. The two enemies, which he could only get glimpses of because of the light emitted from their spells, coordinated their attacks in such a way that he'd be pressed if he tried to retaliate.
"[Fireball]."
A barrier stopped the shot. Mr. Reader, being the librarian, was conscious about the destruction of the books that was taking place. Though he wanted to block every attack with a barrier so the books behind him wouldn't get destroyed, he didn't have much of a choice as using a barrier too much was an easy way for a magician to be drained of his magic. Instead, he chose to use it sparingly only on fire spells which would spread and overall be the most destructive.
"[Lightning Bolt]."
He prepared to dodge.
"[Fireball]."
Suddenly stopping, he put his arms up to create a barrier but it was too late. Lightning struck him square in the chest, flinging him back into the bookshelf behind him, which was too large to be knocked over by his puny weight. As if to mock his efforts to protect as many books as he could, the fireball was larger than the previous ones and headed straight for him which would also ignite the objects he held so closely to his heart.
As a young boy, he wasn't very fond of books, he hated them to be exact. The reason he disdained books was due to the fact that his last name was Reader. Being born as the third son of a middle class family, he didn't go to school as his father didn't want to spend the money to send another child to school.
He spent his time playing with other children who did not attend any nearby schools. Being merely children, they made fun of his inability to read, though they could not read either, they did so because of his last name. Mr. Reader, also being a child at the time, blamed his humiliation on his last name and on the horrid things that were called books.
Believing those to be his plight, he continued through his entire childhood without learning to read a single letter. Upon reaching his teenage years, he fell in love during the start of summer, the girl of whom he set his eyes one was an intelligent beauty. He vied against other men for her heart. Eventually, the two grew close and began an official relationship.
Yet strain was put upon their relationship once she started going to school again. The talks that he had with her were nothing more than simple ones, degrading down into short questions and answers. The girl grew tired of the relationship and ended it. Mr. Reader, being unable to let go at the time started his quest to gain knowledge and started teaching himself how to read with the assistance of his older brothers.
As he delved deeper into the realm of heroic tales and into the riveting studies of scholars, he realized just how much of a simpleton he was before. The books that he once hated became his favorite past time, the girl whom he once so desperately sought was nothing more than a somewhat pleasant memory for him. After learning to read, he went and thanked her for breaking up with him.
The fireball came, fully intending to end him along with his passion.
"Barrier!" Iris shouted. A thin layer of mana shielded him from danger.
"So there are others here." One of the men said while wagging his tail.
"Came from under the desk." the other said ducking down to look.
Elis reacted quickly, after sending a fireball their way, she tackled the two onto the open ground with nothing to act as cover. Though it would normally be a bad idea, the fireball that Elis launched rapidly started to envelope the table with its flames.
Both men, though they were ready to attack at a moments notice, were caught off guard by the dangerous move. The man who looked under the table backed up as the fire started spreading.
The three girls made their escape into deeper parts of the library as the two were distracted.
"I'll get the girls." the dog man said. "You should finish off that teacher."
"On it." the man sent a blind spell flying in the direction of where the teacher once was. "Hmph. He moved." annoyed, the man started chasing after him.
"Ladies." the dog man said. "If you come out now I promise that I won't kill you." his words, despite not being of a friendly nature, were true. He wasn't interested in claiming their lives, his only orders were to dispose of troublesome opponents like the teachers. He waited for a response. "Maybe I should've said that we wouldn't harm them instead." he muttered to himself. "But then I'd be lying."
Ellar, Iris, and Elis split and each hid in their own place. Iris, unable to find a good place and also unable to hide with her friend in time, pressed her back against one of the large bookshelves, she relied on the darkness to hide herself.
Elis, being slightly shorter than the other two, chose to hide by crawling into the shelves in the aisles where the books were being rearranged and thus left small opening for her to stuff herself in. Sandwiched between books, Elis laid on her side on the bottom row.
Ellar chose to hide between two bookcases against the wall, unlike the other places, this one wall had a slight indent which made it easier to hide her already small frame. Like Iris, she pressed her back against the wall.
The dog man, somewhat enamored by the thrill of the hunt, began exaggeratedly sniffing his nose like a full dog would. Despite being of the dog man species, he was much closer to a humanoid than he was to being a dog, but his nose was still significantly better than that of a human's.
Slowly but confidently, he walked around the left side of the library, exploring for any hidden people. "Here kitty kitty kitty." he said. "I can smell your fear you know?" Coming to a sudden stop, the dog man threw his arm out and hit one of the third year girls, sending her tumbling back into the bookshelf.
Mustering his courage, the other third year, a boy, turned the corner, just ahead of them, and launched an attack to defend his classmate.
"[Lightning Bolt]!" he shouted.
Ducking, the dog man fired a steam shot which hit the boy's chest, sending him rolling on the floor. Ellar, who was the closest, felt relieved to hear his weak, but nonetheless, breaths of air.
The girl whom the dog man hand knocked back, threw out her fist, an action quite unbefitting of a magician, and hit him squarely on his nose.
Too surprised and in pain to react quickly, the girl was able to run and pull the boy out of the way.
"Fine!" the dog man yelled. "Have it your way! I'll come and hunt you all down!" he wiped constantly at the blood falling from his sensitive nose. Annoyed he walked towards where he last saw them go.
Ellar watched as the intruder stood before her, his eyes weren't focused on her but she knew that he could feel someone nearby. She held her breath and pressed her back against the wall with even more force, hoping that the almost nonexistent light from the moon would not shine itself off her white uniform.
When the dog man passed by, Ellar was barely able to control her sigh of relief. Luckily, it came out quiet enough that he couldn't hear it. But her body, not feeling the best, forced out a cough after the deep breath of air.
He instantly twisted his body, "[Fireball]!" he shouted.
The fireball dissipated on her barrier before it could catch onto anything.
"[Waterball], [Frost Shot]!"
His barrier easily turned the waterball to dust but was broken by the force of the frozen arrow. Still, he easily avoided the spell.
Breaking into a sprint, Ellar dashed down the isle before her, passing by tons of books laid on top of one another.
"[Greater Lightning Bolt]."
Compared to the speed of the bolt and her reaction, Ellar was a moment too slow, the thin and incomplete barrier she created shattered under its strength. She fell onto her back. The pain in her chest was heavy, she felt like the wind was just knocked out of her, the force which she had to use to move her fingers tired her. Her whole body felt hot, cold sweat started dripping from her forehead, more and more she started to cough.
The dog man, aware that his prey was in sight, quickened his pace, he didn't want something like before to happen where they got away. As he was about halfway to the end where Ellar was, Elis, concealed by the books and his tunnel vision, stuck out her leg to trip him.
He fell to the floor and Elis screamed, "IRIS GET EL!" Elis broke into a run, heading the opposite way of where Ellar was.
Iris came from around the corner and bent for Ellar.
"[Lightning Bolt]!" the dog man cast the spell while still on the ground.
Iris was barely able to lift and throw both herself and Ellar out of the way.
Turning around at the end of the aisle, Elis flung a spell, "[Fire Bomb]!"
Throwing out two, another explosion rung through the building. Elis, wondering if she had gotten him, stayed still, trying her best to peer into the smoke. As it cleared, it became clear that none of the fire had caught onto the bookcases, she instantly threw herself out of the way.
A lightning bolt struck the wall, a small chunk was missing from it now.
"Goddamn kids!" he yelled. His hands crept up the sides of his head, grasping tightly onto his hair.
"Push!" a boy from the second year shouted. Unknown to the dog man, the students that he hadn't found yet were throwing their bodies against the bookcases.
"[Great Gust]!"
Try as they might the bookcase would not move. However, Iris had a solution.
"Use [Earth Pillar]!" she shouted across from the other side of the room to them. "We're clear of the aisles!"
The second year girl who used great gust, bent down and sent mana rippling through the earth. Forming into compact and tight shapes, the pillars shot out of the ground and collided with the bookcase. Upon impact the bookshelf wobbled but was pushed sternly to one side by the pillars.
As one fell, another one was pushed by it and so, like dominoes, they all came crashing to the earth.
The third year students emerged from the pathway leading up to the upper part of the library. The third year boy was unconscious but in stable condition thanks to his friend healing him. The second year students, along with the third years, rushed over to Iris and Ellar.
"Elis! Are you okay?" Iris shouted across to the other side.
Peeking out from the other side Elis gave a wide grin and held her fingers up. "YEAH!" she responded.
"We'll go help Mr. Reader." One of the second year boys said. "Come on let's go."
They started but stopped in their tracks as the bookshelf started to rise up. From under it, a mud wall was rising, the person behind the controls was the dog man.
"Honestly, I meant what I said before, but now all of you have to go." he held his arms out in front of him and electricity sparked between the two. The blueish, whitish, electricity traveled down his arms and into his legs. He bared his fangs and closed the gap between them in an instant.
"Barrier!" Elis cast a safety net for them.
The dog man hit the barrier with his claws but it didn't break, he shot a lightning bolt at Elis and charged his hands with mana, coating his hands in electricity. With another swipe the barrier shattered, he reached for Iris who held onto a faint Ellar.
"[Burst Hit]!"
The dog man was sent crashing into the wall. One of the second year students rushed up to cast paralyze.
"Sorry kids." A swords teacher ran up to them. "Is everyone okay?"
"H-here." Iris reluctantly handed him Ellar.
Simply from looking at the roluk, the teacher, Mr. Gais could tell that her condition was bad. He slipped off his glove and felt her forehead.
Iris, looked past him hopefully but with a hint of dread mixed in.
"Mr. Reader!" she said. Her dread faded as she saw him.
"Ahaha. Glad that everyone seems to be okay." he held onto his arm which had blood dripping down it. His face was pale and his face was covered in bruises.
Elis, who shielded herself from the lightning bolt, walked over to them.
"Is El okay?" she asked.
Mr. Gais lifted her up over his shoulder. "I'm no doctor but I recommend that we go see one. Her health right now isn't very good. Mr. Reader, do you know any advanced healing spells?"
"Sorry, I only know a high tiered intermediate one."
"Guess we'll have to work with that for now. If you can, heal her while we get somewhere safe."
"Where will we go? Are we leaving?" the girl from the third year asked, she was still supporting her friend with her shoulder. His situation wasn't bad but he required a helping hand to move properly.
"We don't have much time, going up would be bad so we have to-"
*BOOM*
Another wave rattled the ground and echoed through the hallways.
The swords teacher looked towards the lobby where the sound came from. Waving his hand he said, "Let's go."