Backlash

The silence on the battlefield was absolute, as every eye fixed on the group of students at the front.

The Guardian, which had been thrashing and rampaging just moments ago, was now completely still, seemingly subdued by the coordinated efforts of the elite students.

Kael didn't know what kind of spell or plan they were using to kill something so powerful, but he hoped they'd do it quickly.

Because something felt terribly off.

Even though a lot of people had died, this felt way too easy.

The 'elite' students huddled together in a tight circle, speaking among themselves.

Kael couldn't hear a word from this distance, but their formation and gestures made it clear—they were discussing strategy.

He glanced at Rylen, who had already gone back to sketching a flower in the dirt, completely unconcerned.

Everyone else around him began to visibly relax, thinking that the ordeal was almost over.

But Kael couldn't shake it.

That gnawing pressure at the back of his mind.

Something didn't feel right.

After a few more minutes, the students at the front finally broke apart.

They formed a wide circle around the Guardian.

One of them—clearly a girl with a gentle aura—stepped forward and placed a hand gently on the now silent creature's side.

Light began to build around her.

Thin, white lines of glowing mana uncoiled from the circle, wrapping around each student like a living thread.

Then it flowed, serpent-like, into the girl at the center.

Kael squinted.

It was a beautiful sight—like watching a star breathe, gathering the essence of the cosmos.

The girl at the center glowed brighter and brighter every second that passed until she looked like a living beacon, blinding in her intensity.

Then slowly, that immense energy pulsed through her arm and began seeping into the Guardian.

Thin white cracks of light began spreading across the creature's massive body. They looked like lines of holy infection, crawling over its limbs, face, wings...

The air trembled.

The glow intensified, reaching a crescendo.

Kael had to quickly shield his eyes, the light becoming too much to bear.

The entire battlefield was drowned in a blinding, consuming brilliance

He waited patiently, his breath held in anticipation.

And then... Silence.

The light gradually began to dim.

Slowly, color returned to the world.

The Guardian remained in place, surrounded by fading traces of white, like a ghost of its illuminated torment.

Kael leaned forward, squinting. 'Did it... work?'

The others around him murmured quietly, uncertain.

But the Archive hadn't chimed.

There was no notification.

No declaration of success.

Then came a sight that made his heart drop.

Not from the creature, but from the people around it.

The 'elite' students all began stepping back slowly, a collective, silent retreat.

One even dropped his staff, the clatter echoing unnaturally in the sudden stillness.

Another visibly trembled, his face paling.

Kael's heart thudded against his ribs.

Bum-bum. Bum-bum.

That wasn't a good sign at all.

Then—what followed next was the pressure.

Real, spine-tingling pressure.

It pressed against every bone in Kael's body, like the world itself had tilted forward, crushing them.

The Guardian suddenly stirred.

The massive black stone bindings began to slowly groan as they cracked, unable to hold it any longer.

The holy light evaporated from its form like mist meeting fire, leaving behind only raw, ancient malevolence.

And then It stood....Slowly.

No injuries.

No burns.

Not even a scratch.

It turned its massive head, its empty reptilian eyes scanning the hundreds of students surrounding it as they all held their breath.

And this time, its gaze wasn't wild.

It wasn't mindless.

There was some sort of clarity in its eyes.

Awareness. Intelligence.

Kael took a single, instinctive step back.

He didn't scream.

He didn't even know who he said it to.

He just whispered one word.

"Run."

Then, like a shot fired into a crowded room, the heavy silence shattered.

The Guardian spun.

Its tail, a massive, bladed whip, swept clean through a cluster of students nearby—six bodies launched into the sky like ragdolls, their screams cut short.

Boom!

One landed just a few feet from Kael—broken, twisted, and mangled… but they were clearly still alive, writhing in agony.

Kael stared in horror.

The battlefield stilled.

Everyone stared, frozen, for a terrifying beat.

Until one voice—shaking, human, afraid—cut through the air, breaking the spell.

"RUN!"

Panic.

Utter chaos exploded as hundreds of students bolted in all directions, abandoning all order and reason.

Kael didn't hesitate.

He turned and ran, his legs pumping, the primal instinct for survival overriding everything else.

Behind him, the sounds of carnage returned—screams, spells exploding, bones snapping, magic breaking, bodies shattering against stone.

All Kael could think, as his feet pounded the cracked earth—

"We are so incredibly screwed."