The creature launched itself at Raijin the second he screamed. Raijin reacted quickly and dodged the jumping creature. The creature sailed past his head and landed in the stall that he was in. Raijin felt his heart drop to his stomach and he quickly unlocked the stall door and ran out of the stall. The creature launched itself at him again. Raijin once again reacted quickly and slammed the stall door on the creature when it was about to grab him. The door didn't help one bit. The creature burst through the door, leaving a hole that was shaped like it.
Raijin quickly took a step back when the creature jumped at him again. Raijin turned to his heels and began to run to the bathroom door. He quickly reached it and opened the door before slamming it shut behind him. He didn't waste a single second after that. He instantly began to run through the long hallway.
'What the hell is going on?! Is this a dream?! Is this real?! What the hell was that thing?!', As he ran, he began to think that this was just a dream. This couldn't possibly be real. Monsters weren't real. So... if they aren't real?, 'What the hell did I just escape from?!'
As Raijin sprinted down the hallway, his heart pounded in his chest, matching the frantic rhythm of his footsteps. Panic surged through him as he tried to make sense of the terrifying encounter he had just experienced. Was it possible that he had simply imagined the creature? But the memory of its screeching cry and the chilling sight of it feasting on the dead student were all too vivid to dismiss as a mere hallucination.
His thoughts raced as he searched for a logical explanation. Maybe it was some sort of elaborate prank, orchestrated by Niko or one of his cronies. But even as he entertained this possibility, Raijin couldn't shake the feeling of primal fear that gripped him, a fear that told him this was no ordinary prank. As he kept thinking and running, he heard another screech. This was a different one. He then heard another one. The another. Then he heard multiple screeches together.
The school's hallway had a huge window instead of a wall on one side. It covered the entire hallway. Raijin heard another screech. He turned to the window and,
*SMASH*
Ducked. If he hadn't crouched at that moment, he would undoubtedly be missing his head. A winged creature had just burst through the window. It looked like a phoenix, other than the fact that this thing had a body size of 4 feet and a wingspan of 25 feet. It broke lockers as it landed on it's feet and stood up, spreading it's wings wide open.
Raijin started to quickly crawl away while looking at the winged creature. He then heard multiple more smashes and crashes. He looked around and his blue eyes widened with fear. There were multiple of these things standing in the hallway now. Some of them were even bigger than the first one, breaking more lockers and walls, making debris fly everywhere. Raijin was about to let out another scream. But, before he could do that, someone beat him to it.
A loud girl's scream came from one of the nearest classrooms. Raijin was too scared at his own situation to be worried about that. The winged creatures all turned to look at the classroom. Raijin felt some hope that they would leave him alone. But, that was wishful thinking. The creatures all turned to look back at him. He then heard another scream. Then another. And another. Soon, it felt like the entire school was screaming. Raijin realized what was going on.
'These things are everywhere...'
That's right. The monster's first attack had started.
Raijin's mind raced as he processed the chaos unfolding around him. The appearance of the winged creatures shattered any hope of this being a simple nightmare or prank. This was real, and it was terrifying.
As the creatures turned their attention back to him, Raijin's survival instincts kicked into overdrive. He scrambled to his feet, his muscles burning with exertion as he sprinted down the hallway, dodging debris and wreckage left in the wake of the creatures' rampage.
With each passing moment, the situation grew increasingly dire. The school was under siege, and Raijin was trapped in the midst of it. His heart pounded in his chest, a constant reminder of the imminent danger that lurked around every corner. But amid the chaos, Raijin's thoughts turned to his friends. Were they safe? Were they facing the same horrors he was?
But, Raijin couldn't afford to be caring about anyone else right now. Now, he just had to escape from these flying creatures behind him. Easier said than done, however.
"Argh!"
Raijin let out a pained shout as one of the huge creatures collided with his back, almost breaking his spine and sending him flying to the other end of the hallway. Or, it used to be the other end of the hallway. Now, it was just an open area. Raijin was going to fall to his death. Or, at least he would've, if it was not for one person swooping in and saving him from his impending doom. A girl with long black hair and black eyes wearing a nurse's outfit.
Raijin looked up as the woman set him down safely on the ground. He stared at her in shock. The woman got up and stood in front of him.
"I lied about one thing Raijin. I'm not a nurse. I really didn't have the proper knowledge to help you, I was just trying to not scare you."
"W-w-who really are you?"
The woman looked back at him with a warm smile.
"My name is Shirogane Yoru, as you might know. And," A dark sword appears out of nowhere in her right hand ", I am a member of the Top 10 of the Monster Killer organization"
Raijin wasn't sure that he heard Yoru correctly. Monster Killer Organization? What was that? He had never heard of that sort of thing before. But, there was undeniable proof in front of him that something that looked straight out a fiction novel was standing in front of him. Or, there were more than one. Those phoenix-like massive-winged creatures.
The rational side of his brain kept trying to find some sort of logical explanation to these creatures in front of him, but, there was no logical explanation. Raijin was most definitely about to die. Or, maybe he was hallucinating? Is that what was going on? It would make sense. But, that idea would only explain why there were monsters in front of him. It wouldn't explain the destroyed wall and how he almost fell through it. It also didn't explain how in front of him, was the new nurse, or so she called herself earlier, Shirogane Yoru, holding a black sword that came out of nowhere in her hands.
Raijin's head began to hurt. He was getting a headache. Then, he heard a voice.
"You shouldn't try to deny the truth about what's going on, Raijin. That will only drive you crazy"
Raijin was silent as he looked back up at Yoru. She was still facing those creatures with her back to him. Raijin didn't know what to do. His head was hurting from all the thinking he was doing. Now he understood why Ayuna didn't like to think much. The headache he had now was the worst one he had ever gotten.
Wait...
"AH! SHIT! AYUNA AND SAPENTA!"
Raijin had briefly wondered about them when he was running away from the flying creatures, but now he was fully grasping the situation he was in. No, not only him. He remembered the girl's scream from one of the classes. That probably meant there were more of these creatures. Raijin was stuck. He had to get to Ayuna and Sapenta to see if they were okay.
"You can go check on them, Raijin. But, I'm coming with you. Let me just finish these things up really quickly"
Raijin looked at Yoru. Before he could respond, she was gone. Raijin quickly looked around and his eyes widened in shock.
"W-what..."
All of the winged monsters were dead. They were all lying down on the ground with holes in their chests. They had died so quickly that Raijin wasn't even sure what happened. He got his answer soon after. He turned to look at his left side, and there, he saw Yoru holding the same black sword as before. Raijin looked at her. Yoru looked back at him.
"Well, come on, Raijin. Weren't you going to go look for your friends?"
Yoru had said that in the same warm manner she had used to speak with him in the morning. But, this time, Raijin felt some fear.
Unlike before, she was now covered in blood, her nurse outfit drenched. The black sword in her hand was also giving off a black glow around it. It didn't have any blood on it. This made Raijin think that maybe Yoru had killed those creatures with her hands despite having a sword.
Yoru tilted her head to the side as she saw Raijin hesitating to get up. Yoru then looked down at her dress and sighed, as if recognizing why he might be freaked out.
"Don't worry, Raijin. I'm not going to harm you," She spoke in the same warm tone. It made Raijin a bit calmer for some reason.
He slowly got up to his feet and walked to where Yoru was standing. Before he could react, Yoru had grabbed his hand and in half a second, he was high up in the air. Raijin screamed as they began to fall. Yoru landed perfectly on her feet before throwing Raijin up into the air again and grabbing him once he fell down, before he hit the ground. She slowly put him down on his feet.
Raijin was frozen in shock and fear. He could only turn towards Yoru and wonder,
'Who really is this woman?'
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Raijin and Yoru ran side by side through the hallway. Raijin didn't know where he was going. He only knew that he had one objective:
Find Ayuna and Sapenta.
As they ran through multiple hallways and passed multiple classrooms however, Raijin had to hold the urge to throw up. There were multiple dead bodies everywhere. Students, teachers, janitors, cooks and even some random animals that had somehow gotten it. Raijin recognized most of them, and he felt sad, but , he knew he couldn't break down crying now. He had to find his friends and together, they had to get out of here.
As they rounded a corner, Raijin saw something that shocked him once more. Raijin had never been surprised this many times in one day before.
His chemistry teacher, Okaro Ren, was fighting against another one of the flying creatures. Okaro Ren had a purple light enveloping both of his fists. Raijin watched in awe as the second Ren's right fist made contact with the monster's chest, where it's heart was, an explosion of purple light erupted from that spot and blew a hole inside the monsters chest, completely destroying it's heart.
Okaro Ren turned around as he felt someone's eyes on him. He saw Raijin and his eyes widened a bit. They then landed on Yoru and he gave her a nod, which Yoru returned.
Before Raijin could ask a question, Ren came up to them and spoke.
"Raijin, I know you must have a lot of questions. We shall answer them later. For now, please go to the nurse's office and hide there. All the other students are already there, including your friends."
Once again, Before Raijin could respond, Yoru gave him a pat on the back. He turned to look at her and she nodded at him, before she disappeared right in front of him. Raijin turned to look at Ren again, but he was gone too.
Raijin turned to his heel and began to run in the direction of the nurse's office. As he did, two thoughts were in his mind. One of them was,
'I hope Ayuna and Sapenta are okay"
The second thought was;
'Who the hell are these people, truly? And, what the hell is going on?'
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As Raijin raced through the corridors towards the nurse's office, his mind buzzed with questions and uncertainty. The sight of his teacher, Okaro Ren, effortlessly dispatching one of the monstrous creatures had only added to the surreal nature of the situation. It was as if his entire world had been turned upside down in a matter of moments, leaving him grasping at straws for any semblance of understanding.
Raijin kept running through the long hallway until he saw a sharp turn. He quickly turned, and stopped dead in his tracks.
There was another one of the flying monsters in front of him. Raijin's heart leaped into his throat as he skidded to a halt, his eyes widening in terror as he beheld the monstrous creature blocking his path. Its enormous wings stretched outwards, casting a dark shadow over the corridor, while its razor-sharp talons glinted menacingly in the dim light.
This was by far the largest one Raijin had seen. He had only just noticed but the monster's wings had broken through the ceiling. It's wingspan was at least 50 feet. It also didn't help that this one looked more like a Pterodactyl than a phoenix and it's body was around 20 feet tall.
For a moment, Raijin's mind went blank with fear, his body frozen in place as adrenaline surged through his veins. He could feel the weight of his own mortality pressing down on him, threatening to crush him beneath its suffocating grip.
But then, instinct kicked in.
Raijin turned around and started running the opposite way. The monster let out a high pitched screech as Raijin quite literally felt the ground shake. He didn't need to turn around and see why. He noticed a massive shadow behind him. The monster was flying towards Raijin.
Raijin's heart pounded in his chest as he sprinted down the hallway, his lungs burning with exertion as he pushed himself to his limits. He could hear the thunderous beating of the monster's wings behind him, its terrifying screeches echoing off the walls as it closed in with alarming speed.
With every step he took, Raijin could feel the monster gaining ground, its shadow looming ever larger over him with each passing second. Panic threatened to overwhelm him as he desperately searched for a way to escape, his mind racing with fear and uncertainty. But then, a glimmer of hope flickered in the darkness.
Ahead, Raijin spotted a set of double doors leading to the stairwell. Without hesitation, he veered towards them, his feet pounding against the hard floor as he pushed himself to go faster, faster, faster.
As he reached the doors, Raijin threw them open with all his strength, diving through just as the monster's massive talons grazed his back. He could already feel blood leaking out. He stumbled into the stairwell, his heart hammering in his chest as he raced down the steps, his only thought to put as much distance between himself and the creature as possible.
With each floor he descended, Raijin could feel the tension in his muscles easing slightly, the adrenaline-fueled rush of fear gradually subsiding as he focused all his energy on one thing: survival.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Raijin burst out of the stairwell and into the relative safety of the outside. He skidded to a halt, his chest heaving with exertion as he surveyed his surroundings, his mind reeling with the intensity of the encounter.
Wait....Outside!
He had made it outside. Raijin didn't know if he was supposed to celebrate or panic even more. He had made it outside but his friends were all inside. He couldn't just leave them, He had to at least check if they were alive. He knew they were still inside, trapped amidst the chaos that had engulfed the school. With a determined grimace, he set off towards the nearest entrance, steeling himself for whatever lay ahead.
But, he could never have suspected what would happen next.
The moment he took a step away from the staircase leading back inside, he heard another loud screech. Then, he heard a loud rumbling sound. Raijin was confused at first, but he quickly realized what had happened. The entire left side of the school had collapsed.
Raijin's eyes widened in shock as he beheld the devastation before him. The collapsed section of the school lay in ruins, a tangled mess of debris and twisted metal. Dust and smoke billowed into the air, obscuring his vision and making it difficult to see beyond the chaos.
But, the chaos wasn't the reason Raijin's heart dropped to his stomach. It was because the nurse's office was on the left side of the school. Where everyone was hiding. Where his FRIENDS were hiding. If it had collapsed, and they were still inside...
Raijin shook his head. They had definitely gotten out somehow! Yeah! With how smart Ayuna was, they had definitely found a way out already, right?
But, if what his teacher said was true, and that everyone was really at the nurse's office then...
Raijin sprinted towards the rubble, his mind racing with fear and desperation. He knew he had to find a way to reach Ayuna and Sapenta, no matter what it took. As he approached the collapsed section of the building, Raijin's heart pounded in his chest with each step he took. The air was thick with dust, making it difficult to breathe, but he pushed through, driven by the unwavering determination to save his friends.
Suddenly, he heard a muffled cry for help emanating from beneath the rubble. Raijin's heart leaped with hope as he rushed towards the source of the sound, his hands digging frantically through the debris in search of any sign of life. And then, miraculously, he felt it—a faint movement beneath his fingertips. With renewed urgency, Raijin began to dig faster, his muscles straining with exertion as he cleared away the rubble piece by piece.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Raijin's efforts were rewarded as he uncovered Ayuna and Sapenta, both battered and bruised but miraculously alive. Relief flooded through him as he pulled them free from the wreckage, their grateful cries echoing in his ears.
Or, that's what was supposed to happen. That's what Raijin wanted to happen. But, it wasn't Ayuna and Sapenta he had uncovered from under the rubble. It was--
"Niko?"
Raijin's voice trembled as he uttered the name, his hands shaking as he helped Niko to his feet. The sight of his bully, the strongest person he knew, bloodied and bruised, sent a chill down his spine, his mind struggling to process the grim reality of the situation.
Niko had a massive scar staring from the right cheek and it went all the way down to his chest, cutting his school uniform. Blood stained his entire face and uniform.
Niko grimaced and looked up at Raijin's hand before he... took it.
"Raijin, have you seen my father?"
"Screw your father! The hell are my friends at?!"
Raijin's words cut through the tension like a knife, his frustration and fear boiling over as he confronted Niko. He couldn't afford to waste time searching for someone else's family when his own friends were in danger. Niko's expression hardened at Raijin's response, a mixture of anger and hate flashing in his eyes. Raijin thought for sure Niko would punch him or hurt him again, and he was ready to fight back if it came to that. But before anyone could act, a distant sound caught their attention—a faint cry for help echoing from somewhere nearby.
The urgency of the situation snapped Raijin back to reality, his instincts kicking in as he turned towards the source of the sound.
"I'm gonna go find Ayuna and Sapenta. You can go find your father on your own"
With those words, Raijin started running towards the source of the sound. He heard Niko spit on the ground as he ran. Even in this tense situation, Niko was still the exact same
Finally, after a couple of minutes of running, he reached the source of the cries for help.
Raijin started to remove the rubble from the person. Raijin kept praying that this was one of his friends.
And, for once in his life, it felt as if God had heard his prayers.
"Ayuna!"