A gust of unnatural wind howled through the hall, snuffing out half of the floating chandeliers in an instant.
Students shrieked as the golden light dimmed, casting eerie shadows over their faces.
The orchestra stopped playing, and the once-charming waltz dissolved into terrified murmurs.
And then, he appeared.
A lone upperclassman stood at the center of the chaos, his disheveled uniform and wild eyes betraying his intent.
Mana flickered around him, unstable and violent, crackling like a storm barely held together. His breathing was heavy, ragged—filled with resentment.
"Y-you all..." His voice wavered, but the fury beneath it was unmistakable. "You look so... happy. So untouched."
The whispers in the crowd grew louder.
"Wait, isn't that—"
"That fourth-year? The one who—"
"He was supposed to be expelled!"
From the crowd, Alaric narrowed his eyes. He recognized the student. A fourth-year Scholar who had been the target of relentless bullying, mocked for his lack of talent despite his noble lineage.
Once youthful and radiant, his face now showed deep lines, his eyes dull and weary. His hair hung in uneven strands, and his once-pristine clothes were now wrinkled, reflecting a man who no longer cared for the image he once upheld.
The unstable mana around him surged, lashing out in invisible waves.
The wooden floor beneath him cracked, the chandeliers above groaned under unseen pressure, and the very air shimmered.
"Tonight, I make my own mark." His voice trembled, but the twisted smile on his face was full of resolve. "Let's see how perfect your lives remain... after I tear this place apart!"
With a sweep of his arm, a wave of violent wind erupted from his body, shattering glass and sending a forceful gust through the ballroom.
His eyes turned completely black.
Panic erupted.
Students screamed, shoving past one another in a frantic attempt to flee.
Some tried to conjure protective spells, but the erratic energy in the air disrupted their focus.
"What's going on—was he always this strong?" someone asked in disbelief.
A demonic laugh echoed through the grand hall. "Offer your souls to me, mortals! Become my nourishment!"
"Was his voice always this deep?"
"He's possessed by an evil spirit! Stay away and focus on running!" Professor Schafer commanded. "You won't be able to defend yourselves with defensive spells at your current levels. Run!"
The students scrambled to obey, but for some, it was already too late.
Those who attempted to defend themselves fell victim to the poisonous air, choking and suffocating as it enveloped them.
Austin didn't hesitate. His first instinct wasn't to fight—there were capable upperclassmen for that—but to evacuate the students.
He moved swiftly, grabbing dazed first-years and guiding them toward the back exit.
"Keep moving!" he barked, pushing a stunned student forward. "Don't stop! Just run!"
Egbert followed suit, though more aggressively. He shoved the dazed students roughly, his voice rising in anger.
"Stop playing dumb and run for your life!" he screamed at a student who was frozen in place, paralyzed by fear.
The professors were already in motion, their robes billowing as they conjured defensive barriers around the panicked crowd.
Professor Fuchs raised his staff, chanting an incantation that formed shimmering glyphs in the air, attempting to stabilize the rogue wind.
"Secure the perimeter!" another professor commanded. "Don't engage directly."
Meanwhile, a group of upperclassmen sprang into action.
Alaric, a top-ranking duelist, was the first to charge in, his staff glowing with power as he conjured an earth binding spell.
"Vitis Terrae!"
But the unstable mana lashed out unpredictably, shattering his spell before it could take effect.
"Tch!" Aidan clicked his tongue, dodging a sudden surge of cutting wind. "Damn it—he's losing control faster than expected!"
"Venti Laqueus!"
Caelum followed suit, weaving his staff in an attempt to contain the rogue, poisonous wind by summoning a purifying gust of air.
"We need to stop him now! Before this turns into a full-scale disaster!" He said to the other Archons urgently.
A high-pitched scream rang out.
Austin whipped his head around just in time to see a student thrown across the hall, slamming against a pillar with a sickening crack.
Blood splattered against the pristine marble floor as the student crumpled, unmoving.
No one bothered to care, as they were all too focused on trying to save their own lives.
The weight of the moment settled like a cold grip around Austin's chest as he stared at the possessed upperclassman.
His rogue expression is sickening with rage flickeringelse.
The moment passed, and his mana surged once more, spiraling further out of control.
Austin finally decided to step up when—
"Enough!"
A fellow freshman stepped forward, her presence alone was strong with her crackling mana. Her voice resonated with power, an undercurrent of rage laced in her words.
The upperclassman was beyond reasoning as he only smirked mischievously.
Alaric and Caelum didn't wait for permission.
In perfect synchronization, they unleashed their combined art—one sealing spell, one disruption technique—collapsing around the rogue student like a vice.
"Tyhponis Oculus!"
"Celer Harinae!"
The unstable mana crackled violently, resisting the containment.
And then comes the attack.
Ava raised her staff high, chanting an incantation so ancient that the very air seemed to bend to her will.
"Ventus Furoris, Eripio Mundi—"
"How?" Caelum who was a fellow air elemental gasped upon hearing the spell that he himself was still unable to master. "That spell, how did you know that?" he asked Ava, not expecting an answer as she focused in controlling her mana from losing control."
"Everyone, stay away!" Caelum screamed as he stepped back, knowing how powerful the spell was.
Everyone followed him.
A surge of golden energy erupted, wrapping around Ava in a binding light before it settled.
By the time she opened her eyes.
"Tempestus Exilium!"
A violent windstorm forms around the rogue demon, whipping the air into a frenzy. The upperclassman is battered by the intense gales.
The storm grows more chaotic and larger as Ava was visibly trying to contain it in its spot.
Her head formed large beads of sweat as her vision blurred but she faught back the urge to faint from the sudden axhaustion caused by mana drain.
The spell slowly teared the upperclassman apart and scattering its existence into nothingness.
The tempest eventually dissipates, leaving only silence.
Ava finally released a long exhale before collapsing unconscious to the ground.
Everyone stared at her, stunned.
Caelum was the first to speak, still in shock. "Th-that control..." he murmured.
Alaric, listening intently along with everyone else.
"Normally, that spell would have destroyed the whole campus, but she contained it in one spot."
The revelation left everyone as shocked as Caelum had been.
"Do you know how much control it takes to do that?" Caelum continued.
No one could even begin to imagine it.
For such a large-scale spell to be contained so tightly, the level of control required was nothing short of otherworldly.
The ballroom was in ruins—shattered glass, cracked floors, and an unconscious Ava and another student lying in a pool of blood.
The celebration had turned into a nightmare.
Austin stood among the shaken students, his hands clenched into fists.
He had done what he could—he had helped everyone escaped.
At least that was how he tried to justified himself.