"If words fail to describe the situation, then images do. If images fail to describe the situation, then sound does. If even that fails, then the heart does. If that cannot, then does the situation really need to be described? Instead, it should just be known."

Underneath the school where chaos is still taking place, the majority of the creatures still reside underground. One creature, in particular, is freed by its brethren and falls to the floor.

Three years ago, Lod had been on death row for a crime he did not commit. He had tried to appeal but had found no luck down that avenue, he had had suspicions of a bribe going on somewhere, possibly due to his involvement with a certain high-ranking official's daughter. When Lod had been offered the chance by the academy to continue living, he had taken it knowing very well that he might be a test-subject to the end of his days.

What had awaited him was far worse.

At first, Lod had been cordially greeted by a funny man, at least to his senses. He was squat, had a bulbous nose, and pointed ears, all signs of being involved in bio-magic, which was not something that Lod knew about. No, to Lod, he was just a funny-looking man. Lod had been introduced to students who had made lights shine around him, but he had felt no different for it.

For a good while, Lod had a happy life, even with his status as a convicted murderer.

This was not to last though, Lod was the first subject of Bernhart's to be turned into a battery, one of many that would power the school and make it a phenomenon within the magical world. One able to maintain a high-magic environment in a low-magic environment.

To some, Lod was Bernahrt's first victim, to other's one of his many successes while attending the school as a professor.

Lod had been toiling in cleaning the lab as one of his additional duties when he was told to take the day off. This did not make him excited, though, the only time they did this was before a major experimental trial, and he knew it. Lod though had been complacent and compliant, so when he was asked to step into a green tube, he did.

Only now, after three years, was he once again outside of a tank. He breathes the fresh air but finds it tastes far to dry.

'I wonder why…'

Lod looks up and sees a hideous thing going around and hitting buttons next to the containers.

'What is that thing, and what are those creatures inside the tanks.'

Lod gets up slowly and walks over to get a closer look.

The moment he leaves the pile of goo from his tube, his mind goes blank, and he starts to lose consciousness.

In his final moments, Lod sees a reflection of himself in the tube holding one of the creatures.

'Oh, they're like me.'

The pores seal, but the difference in magic from the rich goo to the atmosphere is too much, and they reopen and close, pulling in more and more magic.

Lod feels sleepier and sleepier before turning unconscious, never to wake again.

And a creature is born.

…

Alex struggles into consciousness.

'Where am I?'

Alex notices that he's being carried, and looks around to find the two students who he had saved earlier.

'Ah. I must have pushed myself a bit too far. I'm glad that these guys are returning the favor…'

Alex notices that the one who had been struck down is not among them.

'She must have died.'

Alex feels a weight press down on his heart for a moment, before he shakes it off and tries to notify his current carriers that he is now awake.

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"You know, we should have left him there." Says one student that Alex is almost positively sure is the same guy from his earlier episode at the prison.

'It feels so long ago…'

Alex remembers how his earlier confrontation with the man.

'I know that I kneed him in the groin, but that doesn't mean he has to be a jerk about it…'

Alex taps the shoulder of one of the students, and the gasp in surprise, quickly letting him down from the stretcher they had been carrying on their shoulders.

Godert starts talking about how they thought that he might be a goner, but since he still had a pulse they took him with them.

'It's times like these that I really want to respond, we were going to fix this issue tomorrow too, fat chance now though.'

Alex bows, hoping to express some sort of gratitude, when a large explosion rocks the surroundings.

'What's that!'

Alex turns and sees a cloud of dust expanding into the air.

'Should I go back?'

Alex ponders the notion for a moment before shaking his head.

'I'd probably hurt more than I'd help, and if I faint again without anyone friendly around, I might just die in there.'

Alex shivers considering what might happen if one of the creatures found him before a teacher or a student.

'Not like they'd be able to tell the barely alive form the dead in that place.'

Alex turns, and starts goes back to the waiting group of students.

'I just hope that everyone will be okay…'

…

Reynold looks at the ajar doors to the forbidden research sector.

"Leticia?"

Leticia nods while looking to Reynold.

"You need to go back now. Your father and kingdom need you, and we could really use the support of the western duchy and the town. Alarms should have been sent out, but who really knows in this mess."

Leticia shakes her head and looks to Reynold determinedly, "Even if they didn't ring, the town should have a general idea of what's happening from the escaping students, and through them so should the duchy. I'm staying with you, Reynold."

Reynold smirks, "So be it. You should have some training in martial arts due to your family, no?"

Leticia nods, "Give me a pair of daggers, and I should be able to do something."

Reynold nods, before concentrating for a moment before placing his hand on the wall. He draws two earthen daggers out of it before handing them to Leticia.

"Usually, I'd have to chant with such a spell, but right now, I'm pretty sure I'd fail with this much magic power."

Leticia looks surprised for a moment.

"It's not like they're not advantages, with as I am now, we might have a chance of defeating the whole swarm."

Reynold looks over to Leticia.

"Which brings me to my point, do you want to play a game?"

Leticia's brain short-circuits for a moment, before rebooting.

"Um… maybe now isn't the time?" Leticia says, subdued and confused.

Reynold laughs, "When else will we get to play a game like this, Leticia? How about whoever gets more of them treats the other to dinner, what do you think?"

Leticia's head snaps up, and she smiles, "I would like that very much, but don't you have an advantage?"

Reynold thinks seriously for a few moments, before conceding her point, "That's definitely true, how about I need two for every one you get."

Leticia shakes her head, now more confidently, "That's still not fair, Reynold, and you know it."

"Well, how about 10 to 1 then."

Leticia stops for a moment, wondering if she heard correctly.

"Are you okay, Rey?"

"I'm fine, but it looks like I'm not going to be able to control how much magic I let into my voice for much longer," Reynold says while struggling, before stopping for a few moments.

He breathes deeply before continuing, "And I didn't say you can call me Rey yet."

Leticia nods, worry creeping into her gaze, "Well, do you want to go in then?"

Reynold shakes his head, "Not only do I not want to, I don't think we should. We can use this choke-point for now, and it's more than likely that if they still hold any semblance of intelligence that they would set an ambush. it's only if they start to do something tricky that that would have to charge in."

They wait there for a few minutes for creatures to emerge, and a few do, but not many come out.

So far, the count is 3 to Reynold, and 1 to Leticia.

"Looks like you're beating me Le-"

Then a booming sound envelops the academy, and Reynold quickly drags Leticia closer to him while shielding them with another silent spell.

'I've got to say, this whole silent magic sure is convenient, let's just hope it's worth the cost.'

Reynold waits for a few moments, before causing another mini-explosion an escaping the rubble.

'Well, there goes the academy support system, and any students and faculty remaining in the academy.'

Reynold's regretful eye traces the now devasted central part of the academy.

'Looks like they blew it up somehow, maybe they still hold more sapience than I thought. I would think that after being submerged in liquid with such a high concentration of magic and then being exposed that they would naturally go insane, but maybe some of them retained some semblance of sapience.'

Reynold powers up his own version of the Irkian Academy interface(the very same thing that the academy's version had been built off of) and would have done so earlier if he hadn't of needed to provide magic power to the academy anyway. He sees that a majority of the intruders had survived, or at least he assumed. One advantage of the academy interface was its ability to differentiate between friendlies and hostiles, his own only gave location and transmitted the names, it was less magic intensive that way.

'Though I might need to think about changing it up a bit if I survive this, and my magic doesn't go haywire.'

Reynold looks over to Leticia and grins.

"Well, let's get started then, shall we?"