Academy Terror (2)

Today was the day the academy would come under terrorist attack.

I hadn't told Seong Hyeon about it.

If things unfolded as they had in the original, a handful of people were scheduled to die—but since I'd be out there diligently hunting the monsters myself, there was no real need to worry.

It might sound callous, but whether those people lived or died was none of my concern. What mattered to me were the protagonist's party, Kim Gabyul, and myself.

If someone wanted to call me twisted for that, I wouldn't have a single argument. But what was I supposed to do about it? This was simply the kind of person I had always been.

Beep. Confirmed.

I passed through the school gates.

Warna Academy was notoriously difficult to enter, but the benefits of admission were just as absolute. The academy held vast archives of data on countless supernatural abilities, constantly updated. Naturally, there were always people hungry for that knowledge—people who would try to infiltrate and steal information. The gates existed as the first line of defense against them, filtering out anyone who wasn't a currently enrolled student, professor, or staff member.

Couldn't someone just climb over the walls? Anyone who tried would be knocked unconscious and bound on the spot by the layers of magic woven into the barrier. The responsible staff would receive an alert, haul the culprit away, and that would be the end of it.

So how did a terrorist attack even succeed?

Sheer numbers. Overwhelm the defenses with raw volume and you could force your way through. It was an unavoidable limitation. Once enough bodies piled up—bodies that had already taken every spell the wall could throw—what was a mere fence supposed to do against the ones walking over them? Under normal circumstances that only added one more corpse to the heap, but with a demon contractor involved, it became possible. Not the low-tier demons ordinary black mages contracted, but the high-ranking ones.

On the day of the attack the air felt heavier than usual. It wasn't my imagination. With hordes of monsters already awake and advancing slowly, stealthily toward the academy, how could the air possibly feel light?

Squirrels and other small animals refused to leave their burrows. Insects and birds flogged their wings harder than ever, desperate to put distance between themselves and this place. Dogs and cats trembled in fear; fish darted about in frantic agitation. And all of it was happening only in the vicinity of the academy. Could anyone believe that?

To some it might have seemed like nothing more than trivial coincidence—my dog just having an off day, birds simply flying more than usual. To me it was something else entirely. Every one of those signs was nature itself warning that something enormous was about to happen.

Spirit users and those with strong affinity for animals would have sensed it to some degree. Sharp-sensed mages and martial artists would be feeling the same uneasy prickle.

I stepped into the classroom. The scene was no different from yesterday.

When exactly does the attack start again?

I knew it was today. I just didn't know the hour. Morning, probably…

Creak.

Homeroom teacher Lee Gil-young entered through the front door like an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary human instead of melting out of the shadows.

"You all seem a little subdued. I feel the same. The air itself feels heavy today for some reason. Still, I have announcements to make. Dormitory applications will be accepted until this Friday. Texts will go out to every applicant on Sunday. That's all."

With that, Lee Gil-young said only what he needed to say and left.

"You applying for the dorms?" Kim Gabyul asked, looking at me.

"Hmm… probably ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not. Dorms come with a lot of restrictions, don't they?"

"True. Then I won't either."

Wait—had Kim Gabyul entered the dorms in the original? I thought she might have, but I wasn't sure. She probably hadn't.

Thud.

"So if we examine this passage, the message the author intended was…"

Thud.

Rumble-rumble-BOOOOM!

"What was that? What's going on?"

"It's coming from outside!"

"Hey! Look over there!"

"What the hell is that?!"

"Those are monsters!"

"What do we do? I didn't bring any weapons!"

"Everyone quiet! We observe the situation first!"

The sounds poured in—monsters charging the outer walls, students murmuring in rising panic, a teacher barking for order. Every noise tangled together into pure chaos and drove straight into my ears.

They're here.

I rose slowly from my seat.

"I did not."

A lie, of course, but I deflected.

"What's going on?" Kim Gabyul stood with me and asked.

"I don't know either. But I have a feeling something big is about to happen."

At that moment the classroom speakers blared a warning tone.

I moved to the window to gauge how many were coming. The other students had already pressed themselves against the glass, staring at the monsters pouring in.

BOOM!

A massive fireball dropped from the rooftop and slammed into the horde. Monsters caught in the blast went up in flames and crumbled. More giant fireballs followed in rapid succession. Mages must have been raining them down from the roof.

Even so, more monsters were arriving than were being destroyed. Trees erupted from the ground to form barricades; a colossal ice spirit froze swaths of the enemy solid—yet the tide never stopped. Here and there, monsters far larger than the rest began to appear. Bigger than the elephant-sized one I had seen yesterday. Those would be the strongest of the lot.

The moment the heavy hitters showed themselves, the momentum swung to the monsters. Barricades shattered. More creatures flooded in than the ice could freeze. At this rate the academy entrance would fall any minute.

I turned my gaze back inside the classroom. The Korean literature teacher was inscribing reinforcement formulas across the walls and door; Kim Gabyul was helping him.

"Everyone! Evacuate to the auditorium! Follow me!"

Teachers and students who heard the broadcast began streaming toward the auditorium. I fell in at the very back with Kim Gabyul.

A bridge connected the main building to the annex that housed the auditorium, so there was no need to go outside at all—you could walk straight from one to the other. The bridge was built from special materials and layered with magic; its durability was extreme. Even a monster larger than an elephant slamming into it with full force wouldn't completely destroy it.

Up to that point, everything was fine. The auditorium itself had been constructed with war and terrorism in mind, making it tougher than any other building on campus. Activate the systems and it became a perfect shelter.

The problem was that the monster horde finally breached the main building while everyone was still evacuating. Teachers and students were almost at the bridge when the invaders poured in. What had been an orderly retreat instantly became a timed assault.

I glanced back. Students were still lined up behind us, following. With the main building compromised, time was running out. The academy was simply too large; the walk to the auditorium took forever.

Then again, the size wasn't entirely a disadvantage. The grounds were so vast that the monsters needed considerable time to reach this far, and the corridors were wide enough for large numbers of students to move at once.

How did this play out in the original again?

I ran alongside Class 1, turning the plot over in my head. The protagonist had been trying to evacuate when the bridge ahead collapsed and he ran straight into the monsters. When exactly did that bridge go down?

BOOM!

While we were sprinting down the corridor, the wall right beside us exploded outward with a deafening crash.

"…Damn it."

I slammed on the brakes and barely managed to stop. What filled my vision was a massive monster that had smashed its head straight through the wall. It was so enormous that even with only its head inside, the space was completely packed; nothing past ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the neck could fit.

GROOOAAAR!

The monster bellowed.

"Kyaaaaa!"

"What the fuck is that?!"

In an instant the path was blocked. And just as instantly it was clear again. The vice principal had appeared out of nowhere and killed the creature. He had leapt from the rooftop, split the monster clean in half with a single strike, then wrenched its head free of the wall by raw force and shouted:

"First-years! You all right?! As you can see, the academy is under invasion. Any student confident in combat—stay and help take these things down!"

The faces of the students who recognized Vice Principal Kang Geonche lit up at once.

"If the vice principal says so!"

"We'll follow right away!"

At those words, students who believed in their fighting ability abandoned the evacuation and followed the vice principal, free-falling from the bridge out the shattered windows. Kang Geonche was a famous martial artist. Martial artists revere the strong; they respect and follow them. Students steeped in that mindset—those who had trained ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in martial arts—were the first to leap down to slaughter monsters and assist him. A fall from that height wouldn't even injure a proper martial artist.

Right behind them came the mages, who normally didn't get along with the martial artists.

"Those muscle-brained bastards…! Kids, we're going too! We can't lose to them!"

The mages descended more slowly, cushioning themselves with wind magic. Once the mages jumped, the summoners and spirit users found their courage and followed suit. Not far away I spotted Seong Hyeon freefalling, and Lee Jiwoo hanging onto a bird-like spirit as she drifted gently downward.

This is exactly why the casualty list ballooned.

Even for hot-blooded teenagers, this was far too reckless.

"Haa…"

"This is why those fight-only muscleheads…"

"Forget it. Just hurry up and evacuate."

The teachers and non-combat students could only sigh as more than half the student body vanished without any chance of control.