(May)

Before they left for the next boss fight, or at least where May thought it would be, she stopped them as she suddenly remembered where they were.

"Wait. Everyone stop. We're so close to the main library here. My family is close. We have to go there first."

James was the first to protest, thinking only of clearing the dungeon and eliminating the dangers.

"But the dungeon core."

"That can wait. My family might not be able to."

James tried to think up another argument, but was obviously fighting a losing battle. May was almost hurt that he cared less than the others. Almost. She knew he cared about few besides Dana. They barely even knew each other. She couldn't say she particularly cared about any of his family.

She didn't wait for anyone else to think of a reason not to and left the hall, slamming the heavy doors open on her way through.

Leaving safe room: Banquet Ball.

She winced at the loud noise, but any damage had already been done. Recognising the danger, she formed two large spikes of glass in her hands.

Glass was the easiest thing for her to form due to its simple structure and materials needed. All she needed to do was create silicon and sodium to bond with the air in a regular formation. This way, she could create whatever shape she needed. So far that was limited to spikes and small spheres the she could fill with all manner of elemental wonders.

The witches class gave her access to elemental imbuement. It was a skill that used up mana to add an elemental effect to a pre-existing liquid. Or in the systems terms, potion. For example, the blue and white liquid she stored in one of her glass bombs was liquid nitrogen with a frost imbuement. It was considered a failure, because as much as she tried to insulate it, and even use Delayed Reaction on it, it continued to constantly frost over her finger tips.

Anything more structurally complicated than that, be it at the micro or macro level, took too long to form, so had little combat potential.

Her glass spikes on the other hand were incredibly useful. While trawling the college with most of the party, she had discovered how easy and quick it was to make them, and also how strong the glass could be if she only used it to stab. She imagined a slashing weapon would break, as would any type of shield or crushing weapon. For now though, this was enough.

So she held them loosely in her hands, the grips specially shaped to fit comfortably in her hands. They were light, and she already had confidence in her ability to use them properly. With one pointed forwards and one back, the thrust and stab combo hadn't failed her yet. Admittedly, she had only used it twice, but the statistics weren't wrong.

She led the party down a long corridor that linked most of the house. Well, not most of it, just a large portion. It was just annoying that it completely avoided the front half. And most of the staircases.

But May had just assumed that was due to various extensions made over the years.

Luckily, she led them to the main library with no issue. James had been on trap watch, and she was still thinking of a joke to make there, but they had reached the library before she could think one up.

Above the door was a carved wooden plaque that read: "andominus croatum ilene droment." It might have sounded like a profound latin quote, but she had discovered long ago that it was just gibberish. Every time she read it, she was reminded that the rich victorian people of the past were a bunch of scum so thoroughly inbred that they died in their twenties from some pretty disgusting things like syphilis. It was not something she wanted to think about every time she wanted to relax in the library, but her dad had insisted they don't destroy anything in the 'retro' part of the house.

She sighed a small sigh of sadness, then readied herself for what might lie inside. The best case scenario was that her family was all alive in there, and had only been hiding out of fear. But that scenario seemed further and further away from the truth as she looked at the door. It wasn't reinforced or barricaded. It wasn't even locked. If anyone was in here, they had better have some good barricades made from books and bookshelves. But that image made her sad, so she shook it from her head and put her hand on the handle.

A hand landed lightly on her shoulder, and she didn't even need to look to know it was Callum. It was a signature move of his. Despite her not feeling anything more than frienship towards him, it was a reassuring all the same, and she appreciated it.

Inside, the library was a mess.

What had once been an ordered gallery-sized room was nothing more than a chaotic pile of broken wood and torn paper. The sight almost broke her heart. She had spent countless hours of her childhood in here, lying in the sunbeams from the tall windows, or wrapped up in blankets against a barely working radiator.

But she saw something that made her blood run cold. There were splashes of blood on some of the books. They were dried with age, but far too big in size and number for it to have been a small scratch.

Somewhere...

Somewhere under there...

Someone lies...

May felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff with a knife in her stomach. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe.

May heard movement behind her and saw James run in front of her.

How long had she been standing there?

Minutes?

Seconds?

What had even happened while she stood in front of her own abyss. The darkness threatened to swallow her. Her family was her life. Had been her life.

"MAY!"

A muffled shout came from miles away. It was far away enough she didn't even recognise it.

The same figure that had rushed in front of her long ago flew back as if it had been struck by a great force. May lazily raised her head and the crevice that had opened in her heart was aggressively torn open. And filled with a burning hot magma.

Through unfocused eyes, May saw several large figures. Large because their once human bodies were coated in crumpled paper and splinters of wood.

Blood covered, and moaning in pain, four of her family members were trapped in cages of shrapnel that wove in and out of their bodies, adding height and strength to their fragile forms.

James was on his feet again. He was attempting to push them back with a stray plank, for some reason not using his gun.

Three more people ran in front of her. The last of them turned and blocked her view with his face.

Hands clasped her face, soft on her cheeks, but she could barely register the pressure. She stared past Callums pained face as he shielded her from wave after wave of splinters.

He was yelling at her. Screaming. His mouth violently called her name. He was crying. But that didn't matter to her. A flash of fire erupted behind him, and he faltered. He collapsed as fore spread cross his back.

Her heart jolted for a second as she feared for his life, but he was still breathing on the floor, just horribly burnt.

She looked back up from his curled up body and saw horrible destruction.

Of the four abominations that had risen from the piles of paper, only one had been defeated. It lay twitching and bleeding in a burnt and festering mess. The others were all damaged but still fighting. They were faring much better than her allies.

Dom had lost an arm that was being held by her youngest sibling. Her seven year old sister.

"... Jess?..."

May managed to choke out her sisters name.

At the sound, it turned and walked towards May.

James appeared out of nowhere again and tackled it to the ground. He had lightly impaled himself on the spikes emerging from its torso and was using the butt of his pistol to hammer it's head in. He took a punch to the ribs and was launched backwards, bleeding from at least a dozen puncture wounds.

May watched with half open eyes as her friends fell one after another to the monsters that were so familiar to her.

Dana was the final one standing and was pouring fire over what was once her mother.

"No..."

May didn't know what she was protesting to. The silent but agony filled screams of her mother, or the spiked fist that swept towards Dana.

It caught her in the arm, and she too was launched far harder than should be possible by another human, slamming into the wall hard enough to shatter half the bones in her body.

And then she was alone. May was still there in the same spot. Any sort of movement threatened to tear her in two.

Her friends. Her allies lay in bad states, bleeding or burning. Dom and Callum had passed out from the pain of their injuries. Dana and James were stunned or dazed. It was only her and the three remaining monsters.

They shambled towards her, one of them still burning from Danas fire. It collapsed only a few steps from her, almost in front of Callum.

A voice in the back of her mind told her to do something. It screamed at her to do anything. Save them. Save yourself. Save someone.

May took in a deep breath, which felt like the first one she had taken since walking into the room.

Calmly, she raised a hand, realising she was still holding a glass spike. it was useless now. She was so useless, just letting everyone die around her. but she would make ammends. she would end it. all in one fiery blow.

In one fluid movement, she absorbed the spike, converting it into a few dozen alchemical essence. At her feet, she made a bubble of glass, several inches thick to cover Callum. He would be safer now. with enough air to breath, hopefully he would heal enough to save himself from suffocating.

And the others? They should live. they would live. even if she wouldn't.

Two monsters stood in her way. One was her father, another her younger brother. He was only 14.

they hesitated to advance. some part of them was likely still fighting what they had become and wouldn't attack her.

good.

that would make things easier. not emotionally, but physically. May doubted there was anything that would make what she was about to do anything less than unbearable.

They stared at her, waiting for her to make the first offensive move. But she ignored them and walked briskly past each of her downed companions, covering each in a dome of glass. Their view of her would be warped, but at least they would live through this.

With her friends safe, May used as much of her alchemical essence to fill the room with methane as she could. She created it so fast and in such volume that there was a strong breeze, and the pressure in the room increased massively. Her mana was almost running out. She could hold her breath for only a few more seconds, and the shambling monsters weren't affected. She realised she hadn't even analysed them. She had no idea what they had become.

Splintered Abomination

Level: 47

Hp: 5682/5710

Mp: 284/1397

The description was right. This was... wrong. no. it was more than wrong. this was something never to be found.

In her final seconds, May allowed herself one tear. Her eyes were watering already as the methane stung, but this was for her friends. Her family. Herself.

May held up her hand extending her middle finger to the world, knowing that she would be gone soon.

Bunsen's Flame.

(James)

Dana stared at him from the other side of the room, her body fractured and ruined. He was in no better state and in what he thought would be his final seconds, he maintained the eye contact. it was all they had left.

May passed him and covered him in a dome of glass, obscuring his view. he tried to protest, but he choked on his own blood.

Why would she even do this? those things had shown more than enough strength to break through this glass no matter how thick it was.

james checked his stats and felt nothing but despair.

he was bleeding from multiple deep stab wounds, and while he was still breathing for now, he had only seconds before he bled out. It was hardly the way he wanted to go.

through the distortion, he could make out May passing by each of their downed allies, then standing defiantly in front of the two monsters. A sharp acrid smell began to enter the dome. he recognised it almost immediately as an explosive gas, and everything clicked into place.

James smiled at what May was planning to do. it suited her personality perfectly.

But James would never get to see it reach its bloody conclusion. his health dropped below ten, slowing as the last measures of vital blood left him.

James' vision went dark, and just before he closed his eyes, a bright orange light bloomed behind his barrier. in a split second, the air inside the dome was heated to a ridiculous degree, and as the explosion continued,the glass began to crack.

James ignored everything before his eyes, as all he could see was a perfect image of Dana, the girl who had stuck with him, who he had grown to love so much more in such a short time. Shrouded in fire, she was his saving grace.

Your health has been reduced to 0.

You have Died.