Jester gritted his teeth. He had to finish the Werewolf now.
He slammed his [Thunder Nunchaku] hard on the Werewolf Demon's head. BANG! It struck the forehead accurately. The recovering demon was back into its dazed state. Easily re-caught by Vale's mental storm control.
"Bard! Hold on!" Jester commanded.
Vale's eyes glowed emerald. He slammed his hand onto the Stormlord Lute. Releasing a discordant chord that should be an embarrassment for an advanced level musician like him.
But the disturbing sound did what it should do. It caused pure, crushing mental chaos in the demon's mind. The air seemed to even crack around the Werewolf's skull.
The demon fell down to its knees. Whimpering. Its immense body was shivering. As if it were fighting against deep water pressure.
This was the opening. Jester switched his grip on the Thunder Nunchaku. He needed to end the monster. But the nunchaku wasn't the suitable tool to do so.
It was meant for blunt, rapid force. The demon's hide was too thick and its structure too resilient. It would be hard for Jester to use nunchaku to reliably kill the creature. He needed penetration.
He quickly focused his willpower. Shift!
The [Thunder Nunchaku] vibrated violently. The twin sticks locked together. The connecting chain retracting into the shaft. Sparks of lightning flared. Not just superficial static. But raw, contained energy that molded the metal.
In less than a second, the heavy, balanced nunchaku had elongated. Sharpened. And twisted into a sleek [Lightning Spear].
Jester sprang forward. His agility training was kicking in. Fast. Low to the ground. Utilizing the broken debris for footholds.
The spear in his hand was light. Perfectly balanced. And crackled with enough residual electricity to sizzle the air.
The Werewolf Demon raised a claw. A slow, desperate attempt to strike the young rogue.
Jester didn't try to parry. He slammed his feet to the ground. Stopping suddenly. But, his upper body, his arm holding the spear, still moved forward.
It was a brutal thrust. Driven by his entire body weight. He drove the [Lightning Spear] accurately into the creature's exposed left eye socket.
There was no resistance. The spear plunged deep. Hot metal and pure, focused electricity. Following the path of least resistance... Straight into the brain.
The Werewolf Demon froze mid-howl. Its massive muscles locked up instantly. The powerful mental storm Vale had guided through his music snapped away... as the demon's life force vanished.
It swayed sideways. And collapsed with a deafening, final thud. One that shook the foundational slabs of the academy.
Jester yanked the spear free. It was wet with dark blood, smoking, and utterly lethal.
The classroom had one immediate problem solved. But two remained. And they were the agile, aggressive kinds.
The students' counterattack had lost its focus. The death of Mr. Thistle hit them hard. And the battle outside hadn't shown signs of ending soon. They were on their own at the moment.
The Werecat Demon saw the collapse of its comrade. It shrieked. A high-pitched sound of pure malice. The creature leaped over the overturned desks. Ignoring the visual illusion of Gareth's gyroscope.
Daisy directed her [Cyber Ghostbird] at the Werecat again. Trying to possess and control it once more.
But the Werecat was faster this time. It dodged the ethereal hummingbird with inhuman speed. Twisting mid-air. It pounced wildly at the nearest student... Ben.
The unlucky boy was injured during the first attack. He had just stood up after being healed by Bethany. This student of Marksman specialization class had just summoned his [Draconic Slingshot] when the demon was upon him.
Ben couldn't even scream. The Werecat's claws pierced his torso instantly. He fell backwards. Showering the floor with splattering blood.
Another student casualty in the fight against the new threats.
The Werebat Demon also launched itself down into a dive. It was targeting Clara, who had just completed her runic magic circle.
Terrified, she tried to activate the magic circle with her quill-pen. But the Werebat was too fast. It grabbed her by the shoulders. Lifted her high in the air in a blur. And slammed her against the remaining solid section of the wall.
Clara's body slid down. Leaving a dark smear. Her [Runemaker Quillpen] Soulheart Gear clattered uselessly onto the floor.
One more student casualty. Three dead students in total. Plus the teacher.
The Werebat Demon didn't stay still after killing a student. The scent of blood and terror fueled its attack.
It shrieked. A sound like tearing metal. And twisted its body in mid-air. Preparing to dive toward the cluster of surviving students.
Jester moved before the demon finished its rotation. Grief was a luxury he could no longer afford at the present. He had to keep the others alive.
He reached into his Toonworld inventory. And yanked out a fistful of recently purchased [Shurikens]. They were sharp, stylized metal stars. Designed for utility in a world where logic was secondary to humor and power.
He had not yet practiced throwing shurikens yet. But accuracy was a fundamental part of the Rogue class. And he had a huge number of practice throwing... stones. That should worth something, shouldn't it?
Jester threw the shurikens. Not with finesse. But with raw, brutal methods.
Clang! Thwack! Skritch!
The multi-shuriken flew and struck the Werebat's massive, leathery wings. And its skull. They hit with the force of small caliber impacts.
The demon was too tough for the unpowered projectiles to pierce deeply. But the sudden, sharp, localized pain was enough. The demon's flight trajectory stuttered. It pulled up from the dive. Banking dangerously close to the ceiling. Confused by the sudden barrage.
"Bard! Everyone!" Jester's voice cut through the reverberating classroom. Edged with a cold, desperate urgency. "Werecat first! Finish it! I'll keep this bastard here busy!"
He reached his hand back into his toon inventory again. This time, he didn't grab the shurikens. He grabbed [Stones]. He had more than thirty [Stones] from the enemy drops in Toonworld Dungeon.
The Werebat Demon regained its composure and launched another, faster dive.
Jester stood his ground. He became a living, breathing, stone-launching turret. The smooth projectiles materialized instantly in his hand. And thrown with an unnerving, almost mechanical precision.
Unlike the case with the shurikens, he had a lot of practice throwing stones.
The Werebat was fast. Its movement was like a blur in the air. Yet, Jester's aim was faster. Driven by the pure, concentrated focus that transcended regular training.
Eight out of ten of his throws reached their targets. The stones pelted the demon's body like hail. Focusing primarily on its leather wings and face.
The demon roared in frustration. Its skin was durable. But the constant, concussive impacts distracted it. Chipping away at its ability to maintain its breakneck speed. It was forced to weave and dodge. Keeping it engaged and away from the vulnerable students.
Jester didn't think about the strangeness of pulling stones from nowhere. He only thought about the next throw. The next trajectory. The next critical interruption.
Behind him, Vale immediately returned to his focused, cold execution. He was an Initiate Transcender Tier. And while his chosen energy source, Mana, was standard; his Soulhear Gear, the Stormlord Lute, was anything but that.
Vale again activated the instrument's core power by strumming discordant notes. Channeling a stream of Arcane Energy into the strings.
The sound that erupted was not exactly enjoyable piece of music. But for its purpose, it did work really well.
The already battered Werecat Demon suddenly staggered. Its massive limbs stiffened. Its roar turned into a strangled, gurgling whimper. It slammed its hands against its own head. Trying to tear out the source of the mental storm in his mind.
"Now!" Vale shouted. While strengthening the [Mental Storm] power with more discordant sounds.
The surviving students surged forward. Desperate to avenge their lost teacher and classmates. And to end the threat that had endangered their lives.
Noah, his face streaked with sweat and blood, charged forward. Treating the combat like a brutal tantrum throwing.
His [Blazing Cauldron], a ridiculously heavy, bronze vessel usually used for alchemy concoction, was used as an actual hammer. He slammed the massive pot into the side of the Werecat's ribcage.
The impact was sickeningly loud. CRACK! A dull, crushing sound. The Werecat recoiled. Its resistance was weakened under the mental assault. But its hide still refused to break.
Maya flick her [Firemaker Paintbrush]. Burning ink splattered forward like a dart. It impacted the demon's body. The ink droplets immediately burst into searing blue flame. Charring to the creature's fur and burning through the muscle.
Finn used his [Shadow Mallet]. Aiming for the monster's shadow on the ground. The mallet easily connected. Sealing the creature's movement further. Although it didn't actually damage the demon all.
But, Liam was different. He charged and drove his [Silverstar Sword] deep into the demon's shoulder. Trying to sever tendons and cripple the Werecat Demon. Severely damaged the monster's skin and flesh.
The Werecat was crippled. Burning. And mentally tormented. Yet it was not dead. It was still struggling to fight back against the combined assaults.
This was the moment Daisy chose to act.
She sprinted precisely where Clara stood before. Just in front of a damaged blackboard. The fallen girl had completed a rune magic circle. Etched into the blackboard with her [Runemaker Quillpen]. It was fully drawn. But it lacked activation energy.
Daisy didn't hesitate. She called her [Cyber Ghostbird] and controlled it to touch the magic circle.
With a deep breath, she channeled a surge of her own Mana into the mechanical bird. As it touched the precise center of the complex geometry.
Mana rushed out. Far more potent than the energy Daisy used to activate the rune magic circle. The drawn lines flared violently. Transforming into glowing, ethereal silver in color.
The rune circle was activated.
The effect was instantaneous and absolute. A wave of oppressive, binding force erupted from the floor. Encompassing the entirety of the ruined classroom.
It was the raw, unyielding power of arcane constraint...