What..?
Lilith sat frozen on the ground, unable to even lift a finger, while watching Yoel's rampage.
He only just.. he only just awakened.. How can a Blessed mere moments after awakening.. posses such power?
She was completely dumbfounded at Yoel's strength. He was supposed to have a low chance of awakening.. and even if he did awaken, he would have trouble actually utilizing his abilities.
So why was it so easy for him right now?
Yoel's eyes, when he glanced at Lilith..
They weren't normal. Of course, they weren't.
Instead of the usual purple glint in his eyes, one became an extremely dark purple, while the other was as if it was covered with ink.
The iris had turned into some kind of upside-down cross.
And the feeling Yoel gave off was barely human.
Lilith had watched as Yoel had effortlessly defeated half of the monster horde, and not only that.
He had also done the same with the gigantic ape.
And those words he spoke after it couldn't move any longer..
"Let it be known, beast. I was your Consequence."
It was an unnerving scene, all in all. Lilith had never expected them to come out alive from this and had accepted that she was going to die right there.
It had been confusing for her.
While she was at a loss for words for the situation, with her mind spinning, she finally saw someone approach her.
"Lilith, portal.."
Yoel spoke, visibly strained by something.
In the next moment, Lilith felt warm blood coat her legs, and a low thud was heard right next to her.
Yoel had collapsed.
Portal..?
As she repeated Yoel's words in her head, the purple lightning that had been shimmering and flickering wildly in the bone crown of the ape, flashed brighter.
And then, encompassed the ape's body in its entirety.
So it was imprisoned there..
Maybe that was how the ape had come to possess such terrific abilities?
Whatever the case was, Yoel was knocked out cold and that weird purple lightning flickered a bit too dangerously.
The ape's body disintegrated into green and purple motes of Avon, and then..
The purple lightning's tendrils that whipped around wildly had come to a sudden stop.
Eventually, the purple lightning slowly adopted the shape of an oval.
With barely any thunder whipping out dangerously, the oval-shaped lightning now began to float where the body of the ape used to be.
The oval, which had somehow entrapped space and time itself within it, was now displaying what existed on the other side of it.
It was truly a beautiful sight. They were witnessing a crude portal forming right infront of their eyes.
Even if it had been crude, the creation of something that bent space and time itself was not something one could see every day.
Lilith, who had been so captivated by the beautiful performance, that she had forgotten they were on the battlefield.. finally looked around her.
Each and every single combatant on the field was in as much of a daze as she was.
Amidst the silence that had befallen the teenagers, someone muttered.
"The.. The academy…"
Lilith was confused at that mention, but then she turned to the portal.
A low gasp escaped her mouth as she did.
With widened eyes, she observed the park of the Lannister Academy, which they had arrived at on the very first day upon entering through its hidden passage.
Once again, she had been shocked. She had never expected to come out of this dungeon, even with Yoel's sudden power-up, she expected that they would at least last a few more days.
But what she had never expected was that they would be able to leave this place so easily.. and so fast.
Suddenly, she remembered what Yoel had tried to tell her before he fainted.
She looked at him, with a strange feeling rising within her heart.
Fear, shock, sadness or maybe admiration.. she didn't know.
It was easier to describe it as an amalgamation of emotions.
At that moment, she realized that someone had abandoned what they had been doing and ran to the portal.
"Hey, what are you doing?! The monsters are still running about freely!"
Immediately, Vasil shouted from his position. He was injured, but due to Yoel's timely awakening, the ape didn't manage to completely put him out of commission, like Silenus and Connor.
"Focus on clearing this place first! Who knows if the monsters can follow us out of this dimension, or if it's even safe!"
His attempt at taking control of the field was a valiant one. Instead of being stunned by the formation of the portal, he instead thought about what would happen in the future, and how to face it.
Well… it would have worked if it wasn't for a particular student's retort.
"Well, what if it does lead to the outside? And what if the portal has a timer to it? A chance has appeared right in front of us, why should we not take it?"
A man with auburn hair and neck-length hair spoke out amidst the crowd of dazed and stunned teenagers.
Davis Milligan.
The cocky student they had seen on their first day there.
"Are you serious!? People will die if we suddenly stop fighting back now!"
Vasil tried to retort, but the mass had already chosen a side. Humans, after all, were truly selfish. If there was anything they wanted the most in this situation, it was to save their own necks.
Many followed the random student that had ran into the portal not too long ago.
And with that, many monsters and creatures also followed them, those who stayed were overwhelmed by the sudden increase in enemies…
And so, Lilith couldn't do anything else but follow them.
She also saw Cole, Loki, and Vasil gritting their teeth, picking up Silenus and Connor, and many other downed students, making a run for the portal.
The portal itself was immensely cramped. Many students were struggling to push forward so they could enter themselves.
As it seemed, they would all be killed by the abominations before they could enter the portal.
What Lilith did next, ..caused a few yelps, at least.
She picked up Yoel with both of her hands and…
Threw him above everyone, and into the portal.
No one paid it attention for too long, however.. because their precious spots were being taken with every second.
Eventually, Loki, Vasil, and Cole copied what Lilith did, and focused fully on defending the escaping students.
Lilith, who had mostly exhausted her Avon, simply supported her comrades.
And so did Brandon, who was fighting near the shadow orb at some point, before those monsters all perished.
Thankfully.. the assault wasn't nearly as dire as it had been before, with half of the abominations slain by Yoel's abilities, they were confidently able to clear out all other variables.
At the end of it all, Loki, Cole, Vasil, herself, and surprisingly Brandon, were the last ones remaining.
The portal's lightning, which was originally extremely potent and its pressure was almost palpable.. was now barely shining.
Its shape, which was beginning to crumble, and the presence that it exerted upon the teenagers… was now equal to that of a mouse.
And so, Davis's statements turned out to be ironically true, which in turn angered Vasil and left the others feeling a bit weird.
Lilith's skin was now visibly paler than before, and so was Brandon's.
They had truly and utterly been spent, clearing out the rest of the monsters while covering for the escaping students.
And surely enough, they never heard any words of gratitude while the teenagers escaped.
I guess.. this is humanity's true nature.
Lilith had never been too sure, she wanted to believe otherwise sometimes, but this exchange today had sealed her thoughts completely.
Those people took advantage of Yoel's abilities and the opening he made, and simply made a run for it, abandoning him.
She didn't have enough time to continue this train of thought, however.
"Is everyone alright?"
Vasil spoke, in a louder tone.
Lilith had never expected him to be the leader type, it was quite a surprise for her, as it must've been for the others.
"As good as new."
"Could be better, but I'm alright."
Cole and Brandon answered, while Loki just nodded.
At a close glance, both of them really had suffered a few notable injuries, especially Cole..
With the leg injury he had sustained before, it must've been especially hard fighting.
And Brandon, had a few scratches here and there, on top of his Avon exhaustion.
"Well, we shouldn't waste any more time. The portal's going to disappear from here any second now.."
Said Vasil while he walked towards the portal, a resolute expression on his face.
No one spoke about what happened with Yoel, perhaps, it was something that they would speak about when he was up and running.. and in the mood to talk about it.
Now, they had different matters to tend to.
I really hope I can rest soon…