[Sophie's Pov]
Walking through the academy grounds surrounded by other students doing the same, I felt a lot more sluggish than usual on my way to class.
The one-week break that we had gotten was now over, and although it had been nice to relax for a bit, it still felt like it had been too short.
"Sophie! Wait up!"
Looking even more sluggish than me, however, Anna's short legs slowly dragged her petite body toward me, unfortunately not creating much of a bounce in her upper body. However, when looking at her, I couldn't help but feel that something was off.
"Did you... change somehow, Anna?"
"Hmm? What are you talking about?"
In the end, I figured that it was probably just my mind playing tricks on me.
"Nothing. Shall we go?"
"Yeah, let's go."
Like this, we kept moving forward toward the sophomores' hall where our homeroom was located, with me unable to let go of the weird feeling that I got when looking at Anna.
*BOOM!*
Suddenly, a large sound echoed throughout the area, instantly putting all the students, including us, on edge. In the distance, behind the many buildings, we could see smoke start to rise into the air.
"-What was that?!"
"-An explosion?!"
As everyone around us panicked, it didn't take more than a second before I got a message on the digital device sitting on my arm.
[Where are you?]
Naturally, it was Arthur who had sent it, most likely having heard the same sound as us and therefore getting worried about my safety.
[I'm right in front of the main building]
While I was answering him as quickly as possible, a hand suddenly took hold of my sleeve. Looking down, I could see Anna intensely staring at something.
"Sophie! Isn't that..."
"Bobby?!"
Standing on the outskirts of one of the many parks spread around campus, a brilliantly white wolf was sitting down while looking at us for a second before he stood up and turned around.
Because of the ensuing panic that had started to grow inside the other students, no one else seemed to have noticed Bobby's presence, as everyone was busy to try and gather together with their friends and comrades.
*BEEEEP!*
Then, the emergency siren rang out, as if to confirm the fact that something serious was going on. A second later, the voice of our principal rang out.
*Dear students of Ainu! Please make your way to the big lecture hall in the main building without panicking. Please follow the teachers if need be.*
It had been a very curt and succinct message to us, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that he decided to only say the important parts to save time.
"Sophie, let's go! We have to go with..."
"I'm not going."
"What are you talking about?"
Despite Anna trying to drag me to the main building, where the principal had told us to gather, I still couldn't stop thinking about the wolf that we had seen.
'-Are you sure about this, Sophie? It might be a trap.'
'-I know. But... I can't just let it go.'
Taking a step away from Anna, to show her my intentions of not going to the lecture hall with her, I gave her a slight smile.
"I'll be with you in a bit. I just have to check something out first."
Crossing her arms, making her black hair fall to the side as she tilted her head, Anna didn't seem to be all too happy about my decision.
"Shouldn't you at least wait for Arthur then? Also..."
"I'll see you later, Anna! Please go ahead without me!"
With that, I was already off as there was no way I could idly wait for Arthur as I didn't know how long it would take him to arrive. Therefore, I ran forward to the big park where I had seen Bobby enter, more than aware that I was acting on impulse.
****
[Jessica's Pov]
*Dear students of Ainu! Please make your way to the big lecture hall in the main building without panicking. Please follow the teachers if need be.*
'What's going on?'
After having heard the sound of a huge explosion on the backside of the academy, a part that held nothing but open training grounds, I was quickly making my way there, lifting my body into the sky with the inherent ability of my Manual.
Having already talked to the principal as soon as we heard the explosion, we had already found out that the academy was somehow now separated from the outside world, with all communications having been shut down, barring communication within the campus.
The problem with this was the fact that the academy was located quite far from the city center of the capital, meaning it would take a long time for the military and the large guilds to even realize that something was happening over here.
Though it wasn't hard to figure out that this was some kind of terrorist attack, it didn't make much sense for the first explosion to happen at the training grounds instead of one of the many buildings.
'They want us to go there...'
Fortunately, or unfortunately, it didn't take long until I could see just who 'they' were as I floated above the combat halls, now close enough to fully see the training grounds that spanned several hundred meters.
Standing in a group of what looked like more than a hundred people, wearing brown leather armor and with spears in their hands, I felt my back growing cold as I realized who had managed to infiltrate our academy.
Suddenly, the figure of one of them, who I assumed to be the leader as he was standing in front of the rest blurred. A second later, the green-haired, elderly man was now floating in front of me, scratching his chin, while holding a cane in his other hand.
"Oh, isn't it Ms. Naut?"
Unlike the others, this man was wearing a brown robe, which now flowed in sync with the winds that were holding him in place in the air, showing the immaculate control he had over his element and Manual.
'I have to run...'
I knew who this old man was, and because of where I was brought up, I knew it much better than most people. Alexander Cane, the current leader of the Hurricanes. A man with enough power to rival even my biological father.
However, as I turned myself around in the air and prepared to launch myself forward, an incredibly powerful gust of wind held me in place. It was to the point where I knew that there was nothing I could do. Even if I struggled he would still be able to handle me like someone handles a child throwing a tantrum.
"Ah, please don't do that, Ms. Naut. There is a certain someone that was quite adamant about us keeping you here, after all. Though I have to say, it's quite impressive that he foresaw that you would be the only one to come here instead of gathering up with the other teachers."
"...what?"
"I think it would be for the best if he told you his intentions directly. In the meantime, please do come with me for now. I still have some other business to attend to as well."
****
[Adriana's Pov]
Standing in the large lecture hall, with the principal and a lot of the teachers standing on the stage, it hadn't taken long before I had found the humans that I had now begun to grow very fond of.
Almost all the students in our class were now standing together in a cluster, with most of us trying to make sure everyone was there.
"Aren't we missing some people?"
"Yeah, I can't see Sophie, Arthur, or Anna here."
However, just as the large-bodied, muscle head brothers Brad and Bradley said, there were still three students that hadn't shown up yet.
'Where did they go?'
To some extent, I was relieved that it was Sophie and Arthur that was absent, as they could be said to be the strongest out of all of us, meaning they would have the best chance of taking care of themselves.
Yet, at the same time, I also knew that those two also were the ones to always find themselves in very weird and troublesome situations.
Unfortunately, we didn't get much time to think about them anymore, as the frail-looking principal took a step forward on the large stage, the lights illuminating the gray hair on his head.
"Students of Ainu, I'm sorry to tell you that our academy has gotten infiltrated by foreign forces. So far, no teachers have made contact with them yet, but I have no doubts that we will be able to deal with them swiftly."
It was incredibly confusing to hear that someone had managed to breach the defensive lines of Ainu, which was famous for its magnificent safety measures.
'What is going on...?'
"However, this means that some of us have to go out there to fend them off. Although I want you all to stay here with the teachers that will be left behind, I want you all to be ready in case something happens."