In free fall, Cyril drifted toward the damaged wall. Shards of metal protruded from its surface that he soon met head on.
As it detected the impact, his necklace activated, and a barrier appeared around his body, protecting his skin against the sharp metal.
He grabbed a pipe on the way, but it buckled under his weight and broke, only slightly slowing him down.
Hitting a few more objects on the way, he finally reached the floor with a quiet boom.
After a few seconds, Cyril got up and dusted himself off.
A butterfly quickly flew down, landing on his shoulder, her antennae twitching in worry.
"I am unharmed." Cyril whispered, making sure of Morpho's safety as well.
He stretched his body and looked around.
The bottom of the elevator shaft was dark, with only a glaring red light illuminating his surroundings.
On the floor lay piles of rubble, along with his fellow students. They were in a much worse state than Cyril, with visibly broken limbs or pieces of metal stuck in their flesh.
Only a few managed to endure the fall relatively unharmed.
"What just happened?" Rose walked over, her face pale, a faint flickering light still surrounding her body.
"The Tower was attacked."
"How could such a thing happen?" Cedric said, crouching in front of the injured. He looked relatively unharmed.
"...Let's think about something else for now." He cast a healing spell, though it had little effect aside from easing the pain.
"Is anyone here proficient in healing?"
Rose slowly walked over, silently treating the wounded.
At this moment, Myra dropped in the middle of the group, a faint light around her. She looked like a cat landing on all fours and just as unharmed after a fall.
However, as Cyril wanted to walk over and ask her a question, a creaking sound from above attracted his attention.
"The Platform!"
"Get out of here! Now!" Cyril shouted and grabbed the nearby lying students, hurling the ones he could reach into the passage nearby.
Myra and, after a slight delay, Cedric hastily carried those unable to move.
Everyone who could walk immediately ran away into the dark passage leading out of the shaft.
A few seconds later, the wide platform dropped, hitting the ground with a deafening boom.
Inside of the corridor, Cyril observed the resulting rubble blocking the shaft, then turned around.
"Couldn't you be gentler?" A student quietly mumbled, rolling in pain.
"Should've left this guy to his fate."
Cyril went a little deeper into the corridor while the rest were focused on recovering.
From this direction a rapid clacking noise came louder and louder. Something was approaching and fast.
Myra walked over, a frown on her face.
"It's them."
At this moment, from the darkness, a humanoid figure lunged. Their pitch-black nails elongated and frighteningly sharp.
Before Cyril had the time to move, Myra dashed forward, on her hand a claw shape made of light.
She quickly jabbed the creature in the neck, puncturing it, the blood splashing her.
Making one last twitch, the figure went limp.
Myra took her hand back, and the body fell to the floor with a bang.
The other students all looked in this direction, their mouths open in an O shape.
"What- what did you-!" Someone exclaimed in a panic.
"Look closely! That wasn't a human." Cedric interrupted, his face pale.
With his reminder, the group looked away from the bloodied Myra.
On the ground lay a creature, its skin of a red shape, its body obviously deformed in many places, its mouth full of sharp fangs like a beast. On top of its head were two tiny horns.
"A demon!?" The people yelled in fear, their faces becoming even worse than they were before.
...
Everyone entered the nearest door they could find, seeking shelter from the dark.
"How could such a thing happen to us!?"
"Surely help is soon going to arrive..."
Sitting in what appeared to be a storeroom, the people huddled together, their faces pale.
They were taking turns maintaining the light spell.
With Rose's help, the wounded were treated, though they were still unable to walk on their own.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Cedric stood at the center, his voice quiet.
"This place is home to many powerful mages." He turned towards Myra, who was leaning on the wall nearby.
"Where is Elvira Arken? She was with us..."
Myra shrugged, her face calm. "Maybe she decided not to help."
Cedric frowned. "She wouldn't abandon students like this. Something must've happened."
Myra's expression remained unchanged.
"We should move, let's find an exit by ourselves." She said, making a step forward.
"We should stay put. Many are injured, we can't risk meeting demons in such a state." Cedric shook his head.
The other students echoed his thoughts, their eyes staring at Myra with disapproval.
Myra lightly bit her lip, having been asking this repeatedly for the past 15 minutes.
Cyril stood nearby and observed everyone's actions.
I am not waiting any more.
"I'll go on my own." He said and immediately moved.
"These people are deadweight anyways."
"I am with you." Myra raised her hand and followed him.
Rose stood up with a frown and followed her.
"Hold on!" One of the students exclaimed.
"You can't possibly abandon us! What if demons come?"
"Ha! Suddenly they value the strength you possess!"
"Then hide better." Cyril sent them a glare, silencing everyone.
A somewhat tense silence ensued that was soon broken by a friendly voice.
"Don't worry. I am confident we can handle this on our own." Cedric exclaimed, gathering everyone's attention.
"Thank you, Cyril, for deciding to take on the demon's attention. It would be bad if they found this place."
"Your butterfly is also a capable tracker, giving you good chances of finding help. We count on you." He nodded with a smile.
As people heard him talk, the spark of blame disappeared from their eyes, replaced by something softer.
Cyril gave Cedric one last look before wordlessly moving away, followed by Rose and Myra.
Cedric sighed, then smiled wider.
"Regina, Bonzo. I'll be relying on you." He turned towards the students from class II. They had no visible injuries.
Regina silently nodded, taking out a dagger from somewhere.
"Leave it to my poisons!" Bonzo exclaimed, ruffling his messy hair.
...
"I thought you would stay, Rose." Myra said as the three walked down the dark corridor.
In the air nearby, a hovering source of light followed them, a spell cast by Myra.
"I am not a coward. My magic should be enough to deal with any ghoul." Rose said, though her face was still a little pale.
"Besides, this is a rare opportunity to explore what is underneath the Tower."
"I've never even heard the Tower has an underground level!" Rose said with a spark of excitement in her eyes.
"That's right!" Myra nodded in agreement. "This is a good opportunity."
Cyril silently walked ahead.
"That Cedric! Trying to bless us with his saintly kindness? Who asked for his meddling!?" Rhamn fumed by his side.
It's fine.
Cyril shook his head, getting rid of the negative thoughts.
Then, a door on the path suddenly shook, a force hitting it from behind.
The three stood still, raising their vigilance to the maximum.
After a few more bangs, the door was ripped off its hinges, falling on the ground with a bang.
From it crawled a few ghouls, immediately lunging in their direction.
Myra dashed forward, plunging her hand through the chest of the closest one.
Making a quick spin in place, she hurled its corpse into the rest, knocking some off their feet.
Cyril had already cast a fireball, it soon flying into the pile and exploding in a blast, killing them.
The surviving one stumbled away, its body a little burned, but before the ghoul could go far, a lightning bolt reached it.
It fell to the floor, twitching for a few moments before becoming limp.
"Phew." Rose supported her knees and exhaled, her pupils shaking for a bit.
"Good job, guys!" Myra raised a fist in the air before slowly approaching the door the ghouls came from.
Cyril observed the burned pile of bodies, Morpho on his shoulder twitching her wings in excitement.
My casting speed is faster now... I should avoid using too much mana.
He walked up to Myra. "Is that claw spell hard to learn?"
"Not at all, though it does take a bit of time. Sorry, I should've offered it to you before."
That's a shame. I need to find a weapon.
Cyril shook his head, then glanced around the room they've entered.
It was a laboratory of some kind, with cabinets filled with various vials, materials, and unusual tools.
Most of the room was taken up by restraint beds lined up in rows, their surface muddied by blood.
Lying sporadically in places were the butchered corpses of humans in white coats. Their faces, if intact, still kept a terrified expression.
"Gods...!" Rose quickly looked away, taking a few deep breaths with a pale face.
Myra patted her back and cast a spell. Soon a pleasant breeze swept the room, making the smells much more bearable.
"Finally! We need to learn that spell too..."
"Thank you," After recovering, Rose looked back, now only a frown on her face.
"How are you two so relaxed about all this?" She mumbled in complaint.
Cyril pretended not to hear that as he explored the room, the rest soon joining him.
Why am I so casual? I've never seen a dead body before.
"Because you are not a weakling."
He opened a cabinet, finding piles of paper inside with strange diagrams on them, depicting a ghoul's body.
What is this?
He carefully read through them. Within was carefully documented information about the demon's biology.
They've trying to add a barrier-piercing effect to their claws...
"Much more stuff here than in demonology lessons!" Rhamn exclaimed, her red eyes beginning to shine brighter.
Noticing his distraction, Myra came closer. "What is in it?"
"The Tower is doing experiments on ghouls, trying to make them stronger."
"Why would they do that?" Rose tilted her head.
Myra shrugged, "The Empire probably wants to make themselves another weapon. Nothing surprising."
Cyril sent her a look. "I guess so."
He then put the papers back when they were and moved to explore the rest of the room.
Rhamn all the while had an excited expression, like a child in a playground.