One...two...three...four.... five.

A cracking sound resonates throughout the demon's body as it twists towards us. Then finally, it lets out a painful roar.

At that moment everyone snaps back. Our worst nightmare is about to come true.

Consumed with fear, everyone begins to run towards the exit as all other paths have been cut off by the rubble. The hallways are filled with cries of terror as all the students push each other around, trying to be the first one out.

Some of the students only somewhat managed to snap back. They can't take their eyes off the demon as they try to move, tripping over themselves. And the rest....completely overwhelmed. They end up giving up on escaping.

Swept away by the crowd of panic, I get dragged to the centre of it and find myself on the ground. I'm lucky to be at the end of the crowd so thankfully I don't receive any serious injuries.

Or so I thought.

I move my arms that were previously covering my face from all the students and sit up.

The demon is standing right before me...

It reaches out its arm, grips my hair and lifts me up by it causing the hair to come loose from the ponytail I had.

It hurts.

I'm hanging in mid-air when my gaze finds itself aiming at the ground. I notice one of its strange feet.

"A human....foot?

In my confusion, I look a bit further, noticing what is left behind.

The corpses of students that couldn't escape - brutally murdered.

The fear once again overwhelms me. I stop fighting back and let my arms hang as faint tears run down my cheeks.

Suddenly, the left wall, where a classroom is built, releases a blast. Nolen Spriggan emerges from the dust that is left behind. He uses his halberd to stab the demon in its side, thrusting it into the opposite wall and going through into the next classroom.

What powerful force he built up.

I end up being dropped onto the ground.

"I have been saved..."

My irregular breathing is slowly going back into its usual pattern.

I'm still looking at the ground, trying to process what just happened when I hear someone yelling from my rear. Footsteps can be heard as they get louder and louder with each step.

"...una...YUUNA!"

I direct my view to the person's direction as the tears are still visible.

It is Enmei.

He grabs my arm beneath my shoulder and pulls me up.

"What are you doing!? It's too dangerous here, are you trying to get yourself killed?"

I'm not able to answer due to the shock.

He gives up on waiting for an answer and starts dragging me out of the building.

I look back as I can still hear the sounds of the ongoing battle.

We are outside when Enmei starts talking again.

"I thought you were tougher than this. To think a single demon was enough to make you look this fragile. And you're planning to go out and travel? ... What a joke."

He strikes a nerve.

I swing my arm to get out of his grip and yell back at him.

"That's rich, coming from someone that was one of the first people to get out of there with your tail between your legs...you wouldn't have been able to do any more than I have! Go back! Go back in there and stare directly into its eye sockets as it's gripping you, about to slit your throat! I dare you!"

Enmei puts on a smug face.

"Heh, we both know it can't do as much as touch me with my power gifted to me by the dark lord!"

I can't believe the nerve of this guy.

"What?! Are yo-".

He places his palm on my face.

"H-hey, what are you-"

"Anyway, it seems I've achieved my goal as you are talking again."

He removes the palm.

That's right, I was so overwhelmed, I couldn't think straight. He did it to bring me back to my senses.

I let out a sigh, I wish he could have used a better method.

As we are standing here, another wall gets blasted, and the instructor flies out together with the building's debris.

"Let's go."

Headed to the shelter we meet the rest of the group; they have been waiting for me the whole time.

"What the hell took you so long?"

Hidiku says while looking at Enmei at the front, as we run through the street surrounded by houses that are still standing.

Lena that is running next to me, looks at me and notices the mess I am.

"What happened to you? Are you okay? Did the demon touch you?"

She is clearly worried.

"I'm fine, it's just a few scratches."

"And wet panties."

Enmei tries to crack a joke. Big mistake as he's right before me.

I kick him in the back.

Charlotte, running behind me, lets out a sigh.

"Man, I wish I was there to witness it."

"I didn't wet myself!"

We are about halfway there when Nolen yells from all the way back.

"Watch out!"

Himarin, at the very back, was the only one to hear him.

She reacts to the call out and looks at Nolen.

He's laying belly down on the ground as he's warning us. He is too injured to walk properly. The demon is standing right next to Nolen as it's doing a stance of some sort. It seems like it's about to throw something.

Himarin tries to focus on the thing it's holding. It was a chunk of the debris that once formed our academy.

"You guys, heads up!"

The rest of us turn around and notice the two at the back in response to her call out.

The demon tosses the chunk.

We manage to dodge it and it zooms past us, but soon we realize we weren't the actual target it was aiming for. The demon was aiming for a building in front of us on the left side of the street.

Lena manages to dodge the second wave of debris as the chunk hits the house, causing it to break on impact and spread even more rubble.

Himarin uses her power to break anything that is falling down on her.

The rest of us get cut off from the two as the debris from the destroyed house blocks the road.

Stuck on the side with the demon, injured by the second wave and unable to advance.

Everything is up in dust.

[Lena's Perspective]

Himarin walks up to the newly formed wall of what once used to be a house standing here.

I cover my mouth to prevent the dust from getting into my lungs as Himarin calls out to the rest of the group.

"Are you guys alright? Can anyone hear me?"

Nobody's answering.

We need to get there, fast.

Himarin deeply inhales as she gets into her fighting stance, then lets out a swift yet powerful strike into the rubble wall. A hole blasts open, creating a safe path for us to cross.

"What kind of a monster are you..."

She looks at me and tilts her head in confusion.

"What do you mean? This is normal."

[Yuuna's Perspective]

"Ow...my head."

I sit up and put my hand on the top of my head as a loud sound woke me up. I then pull it back, it's red.

My vision is distorted.

"Is that...blood?"

I try to stand up and look around the place. I find the source of the blast; It came from the wall of debris which Himarin and Lena are passing through.

I turn towards them, but my legs fail. I fall to my knees.

"Yun-yun!"

Himarin runs up to me.

"Hold on, I will heal you. I need to get everyone so we can at least reach the shelter. Once we are safe, I will make sure to patch you up properly."

Himarin has supportive abilities, she can heal and make force fields around people that can block a certain amount of damage. The amount depends on how much energy she uses on a person.

Lena investigates the surroundings.

"Where's the rest?"

As the smokescreen made of dust breaks up a little, two approaching figures can be seen.

It's Charlotte. She's supporting Hidiku as he's too injured to walk on his own. Charlotte only has some minor bruises.

She smiles and salutes.

"Hey there!"

Sitting Hidiku down, she starts healing him.

As I'm recovering and my vision is becoming stable, I look around. Someone is missing.

"Where's Enmei?"

Lena, being the only one that isn't busy right now, leaves to search for him.

[Lena's Perspective]

The dust isn't completely gone yet, but I can hear something faint in the direction I'm heading in right now.

Step after step, it is more apparent that the thing I'm hearing is Enmei groaning.

The smoke finally clears and Enmei is spotted.

He is lying beneath a pile of rubble from the house adjacent to the one that was just destroyed. He struggles trying to lift it off his trapped legs.

"I found him!"

Himarin promptly finishes healing me when I notify everyone.

She runs up to us and assists me as she's trying to lift the debris off Enmei. It goes pretty fast with Himarin's strength.

Once it's all moved, Enmei tries to sit up.

"Are you alright?"

Himarin asks him out of concern while crouching next to him.

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks."

He tries to stand up but fails and falls over. Luckily for him, I manage to catch him in time and sit him back down. It is clearly his left leg.

"Let me look at it."

Himarin, leans towards him and starts touching all over his leg - he responds with painful grunts.

"Watch where you are touching!"

I walk up to my injured friend, lift my leg and stick my foot straight into his mouth.

"Be so kind and shut up, your sister is trying to help you here."

Then I notice Yuuna from afar, staring at us awkwardly from where she was being healed, so I wave at her with a smile.

"Looks like it's broken, I will need to use more energy."

Himarin goes back to her previous position and starts healing his leg.

"Let me help you."

Charlotte arrived at the scene.

"Thanks."

Himarin moves to the left of Enmei, the side where the academy is, to make some space for Charlotte, as the two are on the other side.

At the same time, Nolen manages to get back on his feet.

[Nolen's Perspective]

"Damn demon, what are you after?!"

My blood boils as it's endangering the kids.

It looks at me, then he looks back and points their way.

"Son of a-"

The demon does a sudden jump, so strong the force of its legs bouncing off the ground could be heard from afar.

[Himari's Perspective]

Enmei, leaning on his arms placed beneath him as he's being healed, looks up at the sky and notices the demon that appears a few meters directly above him as it's falling down.

"Heads up!"

With our fast reactions, Lena and I spot the enemy fast enough for Lena to grab Charlotte and pull her out of the way while I grab Enmei and toss him towards the rest.

As the demon lands on the spot where Enmei was previously being healed, the impact of the landing sends dust into my face, forcing me to cover it with my arms.

The dust is gone, and the view is clear again.

The demon is standing between me and the rest, separating us from each other as buildings in the street surround us.

Not good...

It looks at me with the same grin it had given me earlier while extending its arm.

Out of caution I take a few steps back.

What is he doing!?

As the demon slowly follows me, Enmei gets behind it and swings his great sword, but he's too slow for the demon's reaction speed and gets knocked back a few meters by its arm.

"Stay back, it's too dangerous!"

I extend one of my arms and put my palm flat towards the group, indicating that they should stop.

As the eldest of the group, I take the responsibility of protecting the rest upon myself.

I take in a deep breath as the demon proceeds to slowly pursue me.

"Go on without me! I will join you once I get this thing off my back. Lena, take care of them for me!"

Everyone now has worry on their faces as they are wary of the danger before us.

Anger comes over Hidiku.

"Quit spouting nonsense, there's no way in hell I'm leaving you here with this monster!"

"Listen to me, would you! I will get the instructor back on his feet. Besides, you know how fast I am first-hand. I'm sure I will have no problem outrunning it. Or what, do you not believe in your older sister!?"

I yell back at him while still stepping back.

"Yes but!-"

Yuuna grabs Hidiku's arm before he gets to continue.

"It'll be best if we listen to her."

She then proceeds to drag him as they leave towards the shelter.

"Thank you..."

As they are running further and further causing the gap between us to expand with each second, I stay standing still while watching them. Emotions begin emerging; loneliness and sadness.

I'm scared...

Suddenly I feel like crying, even if it's just a tiny bit.

Enmei stops his advance and looks my way.

"We'll come back for you with reinforcements! Just hold on for a bit!"

A shine runs over my watery eyes.

No Himarin! You mustn't cry! Stand tall, become an example for the younger ones!

I give myself a few words of encouragement, I can't let myself be seen like this before my siblings. So I give him smile instead.

"I'll be waiting."

Enmei finally runs off and joins the rest.

Now then...I should heal the instructor before anything else.

I dash towards instructor Nolen as fast as I can before the demon gets to interrupt.

As I'm just an arm length away, I create an orb, ready to hand it over to the instructor.

[Yuuna's Perspective]

As we are running down the street, Charlotte starts looking puzzled.

"You think she has some kind of a plan?"

Hidiku starts thinking for a bit.

"She's probably planning to use her vitality orb."

Hearing about this "vitality orb" for the first time makes me curious.

"I'm guessing it's for healing purposes?"

"Yes, she can form her energy into a shape of an orb. It fully heals anyone it touches, but it also takes all of her healing powers away for a long time.....but it has a catch."

[Himarin's Perspective]

Neither of us expect it when Nolen suddenly leaps back, straight into the academy's wall which causes me to miss with the orb.

"With her current ability, if she isn't able to deliver the orb within three seconds, the orb bursts into nothing, still draining all her healing powers and ultimately becoming a complete waste. Unable to heal anyone, including herself."