"Hm? Wonder why Grand Mage Luke is making such a big deal about sending the students back to school," one of the guards muttered.

They stood in a dimly lit secluded chamber… it was one deep beneath the Academy.

This place was a no-go zone for students.

Most didn't even know it existed.

Here, the Empire's forbidden weapons were stored… artifacts that were too dangerous to keep even in the Imperial Palace.

By the King's decree, they were hidden under the Academy, guarded day and night by ten elite soldiers.

Five were mages, each at the fourth circle.

The other five were swordsmen who could rival Knight Commander Mira in raw skill.

Together, they were an unbreakable defense or so they believed.

"Well, whatever it is, it won't reach us here," a swordsman said, sipping ale from a silver cup.

"We're underground, far from the main buildings. Only the Principal and a professor or two know about this place. So what could possibly ha—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

His instincts rang in his head.

Every guard in the cavern reached for their weapons, whether it was a spear or a staff…

Footsteps made it's way toward them and it got louder the closer the owner of those feet came.

But how? This was buried hundreds of feet below ground.

Who could've found it?

A figure stepped into the torchlight, and the guards' tension loosened.

"It's just a lich," one swordsman said, lowering his blade slightly.

Indeed, a lich stood before them… it was seven feet tall and his skull wrapped in a violet flame that flickered like a candle.

"Though he does look… strange. Even for a lich," another guard added.

"Did any of you geniuses stop to wonder how a lich even found this place?" the most paranoid of them asked with his sword raised. "You think one just strolled through our wards?"

The lich tilted his head, the blue fire inside his eyes flickering brighter.

"You're the only smart one in this bunch of fools," he said, his voice was like a wind blowing through tombs. "But that doesn't mean you'll be spared."

The words had barely left his mouth when something blurred through the air.

The next moment, silence.

Ten bodies fell in unison… they were sliced neatly in half.

The cavern floor was painted red.

The lich sighed, shaking his skull. "Drinking ale while on duty? They don't even have priorities anymore."

He reached for the fallen cup, lifted it to where his mouth should've been, and tilted it back. L

The liquid slid through the hollow bones of his jaw and splattered uselessly onto the floor.

"…Fuck."

He dropped the cup and stepped toward the massive vault door.

It stood very high, forged from an alloy said to be indestructible known only to the Emperor and his personal smiths.

Layers of magic and seals covered it.

The lich placed a bony hand on its cold surface.

"Decay."

The metal hissed.

The seals flared briefly before crumbling to dust.

In seconds, the door melted away like wax, leaving behind only the smell of burning magic.

The lich… Hex entered.

Mountains of gold glimmered before him, enough to buy entire kingdoms.

Weapons, artifacts, and forbidden scrolls filled the room… everything was here.

He ignored them all.

He was here for one thing.

After a few minutes of searching, he found it resting on a black pedestal.

A headband.

Hex's flaming eyes dimmed with something close to emotion.

He picked it up and carefully placed it around his skull.

The violet flames around his skull brightened to crimson.

"Curse Summoning."

The words echoed like thunder.

Dark energy rippled through the ground and began seeping upward.

The air above the academy began to stir

…

"You promise you'll explain later?" Esme asked.

She and Rain stood near the hall's exit.

Esme's coat was still stained with soot from earlier, but she was happy now that she survived.

Rain nodded. "Yes."

Esme adjusted her satchel. "Good. I'll head back to the alchemy lab. If I can replicate the potion, we can make more before the next attack."

If she could mass-produce the mana amplifier, every student could triple their magic power… even for just ten minutes, it could change everything.

She didn't wait for a reply.

Esme ran off toward the laboratory with her footsteps fading down the corridor.

Flare had already left with Sybil to get her treated.

That left Rain.

She entered the Grand Mage's office and at the center stood a blue orb on a pedestal, glowing brightly.

It was the core of the barrier surrounding the Academy.

"Good. You're here," said Grand Mage Luke, seated behind his desk. "Your actions and Torrent's saved many students. You both did well."

Rain bowed slightly. "Thank you, Grand Mage."

Luke turned his chair toward her. "Now… we have a situation."

"Situation?"

He nodded grimly. "The Principal was summoned to the Empire before this started. So for now, he's out of the picture."

Rain frowned. "Then who's leading the defense?"

"That's just it." He sighed. "We are."

He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Do you want the good news first or the bad?"

"The good first," Rain said quietly. It was always better to soften the blow.

"That's it."

Rain blinked. "That's… the good news?"

Luke gave a tired shrug. "Pretty much."

Her lips parted. "Then what's the bad news?"

"The bad news," Luke said, his tone dropping, "is that a barrier has surrounded the entire Academy island."

Rain's eyes widened. "A… second barrier?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes, its massive. It's preventing all forms of teleportation, communication, or flight. No one can leave. No one can enter."

Her stomach dropped. "So we're trapped."

Luke's hand rested on the orb. "Exactly. It's a strong barrier magic made with corruption and there's such a huge concentration that I can't do anything from here."

He looked up at her. "That means no reinforcements and the Empire can't reach us."

Rain's throat went dry.

"So… it's just us."

Luke nodded. "Two Grand Mages and several professors with a few prodigy students. That's all."

He ran a hand through his hair.

He stood and walked toward the window. "Some professors are helping… Mynes is out there, keeping morale up. But if the barrier holds, this Academy becomes a cage. And every monster outside will tear it apart."

Rain followed his gaze.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Do you hear that?"

A pattering sound echoed against the barrier.

It wasn't rain.

It was a bit heavier.

Rain stepped closer to the window. "Is it… raining?"

She opened the glass pane and froze.

Shapes were falling from the clouds.

Dozens.

They hit the barrier and splattered leaving behind black stains that hissed against the surface like acid.

Some began to crawl on the ground outside the barrier, forming twisted figures of smoke and bone.

Luke's expression hardened. "Cursed spirits."

Rain's eyes widened. "It's raining curses…?"

She had never seen something like this… ever in her two lives.

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