Within the marbled palace walls of Taglagas, and even further into the King's chambers laid several lifeless beings who dared to threaten the royal family.
"To think we have allowed these kinds of scum to step foot in my house--- our ancestral home." Said the King with a grimace painted on his face.
"It appears this has been a long time in the making, my King." Metero Star said as he looked down upon the bodies before him, some of whom still had the audacity to laugh maniacally in their dying breath.
He then with a glare allowed his mana to flow to his hand, all before giving one final blow to the remaining few.
The situation in the castle had been cleared up with no casualties among the royals. However, some guards were injured by the sudden erratic betrayal of other employees.
"Make sure to check every one of them, lock up all the servants that aren't in their place, and detain all relatives of the assassin!" Ordered the Magic Knight Captain Aestero.
As actions were taken to mitigate the damages within the castle, King Nohad paced his room in doubt, before calling forth the presence of the royal family and other nobles present in Taglagas.
Moments after, the Kingdom's borders were shut to prevent further invasions from the unknown adversary.
"What we do know is that the one responsible for the barrier around the school is the same one who ordered an attack on our King." Said Metero while he waved a letter that he retrieved from the leader of the assassins' pocket.
He then glanced outside and saw the school enveloped in darkness. The King and the other nobles looked as well, with deep fear brewing from their scenery.
Yet King Nohad among all of them felt the most burdens of hopelessness weighing on his shoulders.
As the ruler of the kingdom, he was meant to carry the responsibility of possessing both wisdom and decisiveness, yet in that moment, he was neither.
Likewise, none of them could seem to figure out their enemy's intentions. They were also uncertain on what actions they were to take.
Metero sensing the desperation amid the situation, decided to read the letter out loud,
"Tread with care, Nobles of Taglagas. Lest you desire a field of corpses upon your kingdom, refrain from intervening."
"They claim to be capable of wiping out who-knows how many of our people."
"It may very well be a bluff, sire."
"...And yet, if it is not, is it safe to assume we are facing wielders of destruction magic or aura?"
"Given the size of the high level barrier, I believe it is rather likely."
Their words only brought each other more terror as they all began to manically share the same thoughts within that room.
'A widescale bomb.'
The King clasped his hands together with both eyes shut and sighed to himself. He then with regretful eyes looked to the nobles and leaders before him.
"We are uncertain of the scope of damage they can cover in our Kingdom. Let us first investigate if there's even the slightest hint they are merely giving us a scare."
The nobles nodded, preparing to be dismissed to call for the assistance of scouts and adventurers.
All of them agreed to put on hold the recapturing of the school as they all had reason to believe things would only escalate to a grim situation.
Not to mention they still trusted the school administrator to actually win against the perpetrators threatening their peace.
"Otherwise..."
King Nohad then continued with a serious gaze,
"Be ready to evacuate with the people."
Given the circumstances, the King couldn't help but remember an old tragedy in the noble summit, as what he felt from the looming danger back then, was now returning all the same.
If this is truly the same organization from the past terrorism, I don't think anyone can stop their destruction.' Thought the King.
Had it not been for a mage, nay a friend sacrificing her life in the summit, he knew that bombing would have changed the world's entire course.
"Go forth with the guidance of Aurora and Magi."
"As you command." Replied all with a firm resolution to end this farce.
******
The valiant protagonist party was by then scouting an area within the dormitory. Its high ceiling and stretched out walls glistened against the building's lights.
Before heading there, they were surprisingly briefed telepathically by the Principal regarding the situation.
The emergency communication device set up by Escuel Co. had managed to bypass the barrier that was preventing detection and communication magic and aura alike.
The downside being, it was not at all clear and merely possessed a limited range. Nevertheless, it worked and managed to convey their director's last message,
'Protect the people and protect yourself."
Already, they struggled with the former, as layers upon layers of fatigue were beginning to catch up to them.
Within the royal hues of the soothing halls were now monsters seeking to attack any and all they sighted.
To the protagonist party who just recently spent all their energy fighting, facing hordes of monsters in their condition was already too much.
Still they persevered and defended the building, as who would the protagonist's party be, if they didn't do everything in their power to face danger head on.
Little did they know, in the shadows some loomed and observed them, grinning from the spectacle and efforts that would surely be all for naught.
Under their shadowy palms, Andrew and the rest traversed through a predetermined road, further exhausting themselves while nearing the destination.
"How I pity these youth."
Said the Burly man whose emotions were vastly different from his words.
"Just as I pity their fate."
Replied the man whose stature was smaller than the other's, yet with eyes that were far more golden than the rest that stood with him.
"I swear on our friend, I'll kill them all after what they did to---!"
The lady whose pupils shook in anger stopped herself, upon being reminded to be calm by the smaller man.
Even upon being told to remain calm, none of them wished to berate her for her outburst. Afterall, for their fallen comrade and thwarted plan, all of them were deep inside boiling for revenge.
Meanwhile, under the now dimmer lights, the half-elf Rizaul was the only one who felt a strange presence.
Among all of them his detection truly was the greatest, and so he informed his friends long before that something truly felt amiss.
They all took note of his words and thus cautiously went on their way, yet quickly their attention was averted, as a new foe presented itself.
A giant silhouette amid the spacious hall had leapt to the air with a giant weapon.
"An awakened Minotaur!" Namiku yelled out as they all dodged the heavy swing of its axe, its full force upon landing causing cracks on the intricate tiles.
It then raised its axe in the air and swung it downwards over his head, piercing the skull of a low ranked monster beneath it, and forcing the blade all the way through the ground.
With their quick reflexes the protagonist party managed to dodge, yet had they not, they would be forcefully thrown away like some of the weak monsters around them.
It was a grotesque scenery that grew even more so upon seeing the Minotaur smile. In that moment they knew that the creature enjoyed what he did.
"All of you… Will end here… Under our master's will." The monster snarled with drool falling onto the floor.
It then without warning began closing its distance towards them while swinging its axe in every direction.
With its huge body and towering build, most would think that Minoraurs were slow, yet in truth they were one of the fastest A-rank monsters to exist. Upon their awakening, they would acquire the ability to transform their rage into greater strength.
Note glanced over to his friends who avoided the monster's hits. He saw how they stood tall and held their ground, yet while clearly exhausted and struggling.
'Tsk…this damn timing.' Note gripped his blade seeing his friends fend off attack after attack.
Had he not been in good condition, the situation would be far more dire.
"I guess I take back my complaints for not participating." Note muttered to himself.
He then swiftly changed his stance, shifting his weight onto both his legs, before causing a silver hue of aura to crawl to his sword. His taffy hair then appeared misty as his aura began to hastily flow.
In an instant, his silver aura, following his blade, immediately stopped all the monsters around him from advancing. With his swordsmanship, even the Minotaur with his frivolous axe and skills that could jump upon them without warning, was unable to act.
That was why all of them were amazed with Note, even the shadows that were observing them.
From behind Note's back, he could sense his friends trying to catch their breaths, all in that small portion of rest he gave them from subduing the other monsters.
He then glared at the Minotaur, whose horns were enamored with decorative twigs, before speaking with hints of irritation.
"I wish you gave them a break before you got here, you waste of good horns..."
The Minotaur snarled and charged at Note, leaping into the air with its full weight. Yet his advance was parried by the young knight, whose experiences proved its efficacy.
As Note and the Minotaur exchanged hits with one another, Rizaul was still trying his best to uncover the looming danger he was sensing.
They all fully trusted his keen detection, and so even in the midst of battle what brewed in their minds was the possibility that a trap laid ahead.
Given the situation where Note was leading and trying to take all the fighting, it was a gesture for them to rest, which they all understood.
Still they grinded their teeth as they watched their friend in the heat of battle, with the intensity and stakes rising when the minotaur started entering an enraged state.
Its axe and body frightfully emitted faint hints of its aura; red eyes glowed brighter against its grey and leather like skin.
Catching them all off guard, the minotaur then jumped towards all of them much quicker than before.
Yet just before landing a powerful blow with its axe, Note arrived in the nick of time to force the swing in a different direction.
He then sped up in his movement, leaving after images of silver. Every movement he made as he parried was swift and intentional.
Much like how water flowed, Note's swordsmanship was like the sea, seemingly calm and shallow, yet able to pull and drag the strongest with their own force.
He parried all the swings with ease, using only his blade to reflect the force and direct it to the approaching monsters.
Redirection and avoiding immediate danger from stronger opponents, were some of the many skills that led to Note being hailed as a genius.
Because of those instances the Minotaur was baffled, ultimately causing a delay in his movements.
That moment of weakness wasn't missed by the rest of Note's friends as they immediately managed to charge and put a hole in the chest of the Minotaur, killing it in the process.
Yet before they could even celebrate, the impending doom they failed to avoid in the shadows, had finally stepped out into the light.