First Class (5): The Tentacle Onslaught
Tentacles surged toward them from right in front of their eyes.
Clang! Ethan gripped his mana blade with both hands and slashed the tentacle away. Leo didn't miss the opening, charging straight in. Golden mana swirled around his full-body armor. His hand shot out like an arrow, seizing the tentacle.
The firmly gripped tentacle. Ethan advanced one more step. He brought his blade down on it immediately.
Crack! The cut lacked enough power, and the blade lodged halfway in.
'It didn't sever! Once more...!'
He yanked the sword free in the direction of the cut, spinning with the momentum to swing it upward in a full rotation.
Splatter!
The tentacle was completely severed, and the cut piece swiftly burrowed back into the ground. Their first success. For a moment, vitality returned to the cadets' faces at the fact they'd taken down one of those death-god-like tentacles.
But—
Hiss!!
The initial encirclement had consisted of nine tentacles. Three more whipped in from left and right like lashes, targeting the cadets' flanks.
Sizzle, crackle!!
At that moment, a streak of blue lightning arced through the air, mercilessly scorching the tentacles' surfaces.
"Where you lookin'? Your opponent's over here."
Izuna, emitting blue lightning, hovered slightly in the air and snapped her fingers. Bolts erupted from her entire body toward the tentacles.
Krunch! Boom!
The struck tentacles twitched and recoiled, but the ones behind pressed on undeterred. Izuna stared them down with a smirk. At the same time, she clasped her hands together.
"You guys havin' a nice show?"
The mana surging from her body converged into a single point.
"This is somethin' even I can only use twice a day!"
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
The mana coalesced into a sphere, sparking intensely as it glowed blinding white. The white orb elongated, its tip narrowing to a razor point—like an arrow. The ultra-compressed mana had taken on physical form. She called this technique White Flash.
Zzzzzt!
Izuna spread her left hand, lightly flicking the arrowhead of white lightning with her right fingertip.
In that instant, the surrounding air quivered faintly.
"Go!"
Boom!!
The White Flash left Izuna's hand. It tore through space at a speed that belied its arrow shape, evoking the image of a straight lightning bolt striking the earth.
The three tentacles charging straight at her had no chance to react before they were engulfed in the flash.
BOOM!
Rumble-rumble!Bang!
Black fragments charred pitch-black scattered along the arrow's path.
"......"
Ethan couldn't help but gasp in admiration at the sight. Fired at invisible speeds, annihilating three tentacles in one shot—its form was like a thunderbolt itself. If she hadn't forfeited for some reason during their finals duel, he might have taken that arrow himself.
The remaining bases of the obliterated tentacles swiftly sank into the ground.
"...Whoa, what's her deal? We had a monster like that?"
"She's a first-year. Daughter of Thunderbolt, they say. But I didn't know she was this good..."
"She's insane. For real..."
The other cadets gaped just like Ethan.
"But these things... Destroy 'em once and that's it, right? They won't regenerate, will they?"
"We can only hope! The one we froze and shattered earlier hasn't come back either, so probably!"
A murmur of doubt rose among the cadets, but it was quickly refuted. The basis wasn't so much logical as an instinctive rejection of the nightmare scenario.
Thud, boom!
While Izuna unleashed electric barrages from midair, the second- and third-years weren't idle. Some protected the injured; the rest clashed with the tentacles. Support cadets boosted others' stats, while energy manipulators sniped openings.
Lien, empowered by a support cadet's mana, ducked low and slid inside the tentacles' reach. Her sword glowed a deeper, larger blue than usual. She slashed through in one fluid motion.
Shlick!
As expected of Crossfield. The blue-imbued blade severed the tentacle in a single stroke. Even after ramping up her output this much, Lien stared at her still-brilliantly shining sword.
'I can keep going! Still got plenty left!'
Liberated from her chronic mana shortage, her lips curved upward naturally.
On the edge of the training ground.
Grrr.
Werewolf-transformed Rakna growled at the writhing tentacle, lowering his center of gravity into a stance.
Rawr!
Whoosh!
The tentacle and Rakna charged each other simultaneously. Their immense speed whipped up the air. Just before collision, in a split-second—
Rakna twisted his body razor-thin.
Swoosh!
The tentacle grazed past him. He slammed his claws into its side, ripping through the outer layer as he went. Unidentified black fluid sprayed; Rakna sliced past.
He immediately twisted back with overwhelming elasticity. His claws gouged the training ground.
Leaping onto the tentacle, Rakna wrapped his legs around it and sank his fangs into the gash, savagely tearing at the wound. The tentacle flailed wildly, smashing him into the ground, but he endured with all his might. Unable to withstand the onslaught, chunks tore free. Rakna clamped his forepaws tight, straining his jaw, neck, and shoulders to rip it out with everything he had.
Snap-crack!
Finally, with a ragged tear, the tentacle split in two. The severed piece vanished into the earth in an instant.
Grk!
Confirming the tentacle neutralized, Rakna hurled the stump to the ground and dashed back to aid his comrades.
Catching a brief breather amid the frenzy, Ethan surveyed the battlefield.
The one he'd severed first, three incinerated traceless by Izuna. One by Lien, one by Rakna. Total six.
'That leaves three.'
The situation wasn't bad. Destroyed tentacles burrowed away and stayed gone. Fewer tentacles meant less pressure, more breathing room.
'Lucky it ends after one hit. If they regenerated...'
Chills ran down his spine at the mere thought. He shoved the horror from his mind.
Meanwhile, in the rear, Cecile poured everything into creating the platform. Lips bitten tight in utter focus, blood trickled unnoticed.
"Almost... Just a bit more!"
Cold emanated from her fingertips, spiraling up the barrier into stairs. 20m, 30m... The ice platform soared to dizzying heights, cold sweat trickling down the watching cadets' backs.
Rumble!
Suddenly, a tentacle lunged for the platform. And it—
"How dare you!"
Leo rocketed in, batting it away. The tentacle recoiled, spinning once. It faced him head-on, sharp tip aimed. Screech, skreee. Twisting with eerie sounds, it bent as if poised to strike, tip twitching invitingly.
Was this monster taunting him? Fury boiled Leo to his scalp.
"You bastard!"
Leo lunged, punching.
Thud! Boom! Crack!
Gauntlet met tentacle, gold and black blurring in afterimages. Mid-exchange, Leo's brow furrowed faintly.
'...Something's off.'
The tentacle's attacks had changed. Group fights were just wild swings and thrusts, right? But this one was different. Sharper, more systematic. Dodge a left stab, and it retracts instantly. No chance to grab.
Shh-shh-shk!
Rain-like stabs poured. Leo jerked his head, batting them away.
Clang!
He smacked the tentacle hard. It retreated; he stepped forward—only for it to S-bend, tip facing front.
'Left stab.'
Again? Exchanges revealed patterns. Just a monster after all. As it moved, Leo twisted—
But.
Whip!
"!"
It shot downward, not left. Fooling him, it coiled his ankle in a flash.
"You crazy...!"
Whoosh!
Before he finished, Leo's massive frame soared like paper. The tentacle whirled him overhead like a giant lash, then slammed him vertically into the ground.
Kaboom!!
Debris flew. Dust blanketed his golden armor. The tentacle yanked him up, hurling him at the massive barrier behind.
BOOM!!
A tank-crash roar echoed. Leo crumpled from the impact, and before him—
Whirr!
For some reason twice as thick now, the tentacle's tip loomed shadowy. It spun like a drill, poised to pierce his armor.
Then.
"Now! Grab it!!"
Crash!
Body-enhancer cadets rushed in, latching onto the spinning body and yanking it to the ground.
"Hold tight!"
Lien skidded to a halt, slashing the bound tentacle.
Shlick!
A clean blue sword-strike severed it. The stump burrowed away; a second-year yelled.
"One more down! How many left?!"
"Didn't count... Not one?"
"Almost got 'em all! Not much longer!"
Hope lit the cadets' faces. The end was near.
"You okay, Leo?"
"Ngh... Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, everyone."
Leo grimaced, rising slowly against the wall.
"That last one was weird... Like it was setting up. Moved like a damn person."
"A tentacle did that? Hallucinating?"
"No hallucination. For sure."
Then.
"Platform!! Tentacle at the platform!!!"
A third-year's desperate shout from the opposite barrier. A tentacle erupted from the ground, approaching the platform. Ethan, scanning around, locked on and poured all mana into his left hand. A blue spear formed instantly.
"Hngh!"
Grinding his teeth, he hurled it with full force. The spear flew straight.
Krunch!
It pierced the tentacle. Nearly bisected, it lost power and slithered underground.
"Nice one, top seat!"
With Ethan's mana spear piercing the last visible tentacle, silence fell over the training ground. No more ground-shaking eruptions, no air-slicing whooshes.
A full minute of tense quiet. Cadets began collapsing one by one.
"...Is it over?"
"Not coming. It's done!"
"Hoo, ended! Finally!"
"Cecile! Take it slow. It's over!"
Relief sighs and ragged breaths erupted. Sweat- and dust-caked cadets supported each other, gathering. Lien and Leo slumped against the wall; pale Cecile leaned on her ice platform, hand to chest.
"Everyone okay? Check the injured!"
Tension shattered in liberation from hell.
"Hoo, hoo..."
A bit from the wall, Ethan—having speared the tentacle—headed to the group, counting on fingers.
'Finally over? Izuna three, Lien one, Rakna one. My first one, the spear one... Wall cleanup one... Adds up to...'
Eight. One missing.
His heart sank.
Rumble-rumble!
"Cecile! Dodge!!"
Too late for exhausted Cecile. The ninth and final tentacle erupted from the side, barreling straight at the defenseless girl.
"No!"
In that instant, a gray blur streaked through the air.
Boom!
Grrrrr!
Rakna, closing the gap, body-slammed the side; the trajectory veered. It grazed Cecile's cheek by a hair. Lien beside her drew instantly.
Shlick!
One elegant stroke. The last tentacle split and fell. The stump burrowed frantically like the others.
True silence. All nine shadows gone.
Lien sheathed her sword, glancing at Cecile amid heavy breaths. Cecile sat limp, clutching her chest with trembling hands.
"...It's really over now, right?"
Ethan nodded slowly at Lien's question.
"...Yeah. All done."
"No."
The unexpected voice shattered the quiet; all heads turned. Izuna, who'd been hovering, touched down. Still wreathed in blue lightning.
"Izuna. No? What do you mean?"
Izuna's gaze pierced the empty center of the training ground, ignoring the cadets.
"Izuna? We got all the tentacles. Isn't it really over?"
Ethan asked puzzled; Izuna replied in a cold, sunken tone.
"Yeah, Ethan. Ten tentacles total including the first, and we neutralized them all."
"Then what's not?"
Izuna pointed at the ground where severed tentacles had vanished.
"Felt off the whole fight. Why do they flee when damaged? Even half-cut, the rest could've fought."
"......"
She brushed back sweat-matted hair.
"If it was serious about killing us, it'd thrash to the end with whatever's left."
Silence from the cadets. They'd vaguely sensed it too—the academy system glitch only here, the barriers' rise. But with tentacles gone and exhaustion, no need to dwell. They'd mention later.
"Decisively... Tracing where those tentacles extended from, they all converged to one point."
Izuna looked to the empty outer edge. Dense mana began condensing in her left hand again.
"So... Come out already!!!"
Crackle-crackle!
White Flash. White lightning formed instantly, streaking toward the outskirts.
Boom-rumble!!
The all-devouring bolt raced straight at unseen speeds. And at its end—
Halting.
Zzzzt!
The intense white flash stopped in midair, blocked. No—caught.
"......!"
Dust cleared, revealing silhouettes. A purple-haired woman holding a tablet with blank expression, and beside her, a black-haired man clutching the White Flash.
Shrunk.
The man clenched his black hand; the space-rending white arrow crumbled powerlessly, scattering.
'Caught the White Flash...? With his bare hand...?'
Izuna's eyes widened in shock.
As the arrow faded, the man lowered his hand and raised his head. And then—
"Pass."
His red eyes flashed as he grinned ear-to-ear.