Extra Of The Magus Academy

"Haaa… haaa…"

The battlefield lay still for a heartbeat—a macabre tableau of chaos and exhaustion.

Ash, Seth, and Kellion, their bodies battered and minds raw from the earlier confrontation with Arius, stood amid the remnants of shattered stone and smoldering energy. In the center of the field, Arius lay unconscious, his corrupted form slack and still, a temporary lull in the tide of madness.

The acrid smell of corrupt energy mingled with the metallic tang of spilled blood.

Without warning, the darkness stirred anew.

From the fringes of the devastation, figures emerged with the stealth and precision of predators: Raven Nightshade and his Order of Shadows.

Their dark cloaks billowed like living shadows in the harsh light of the ruined courtyard.

Raven's eyes, cold and calculating, swept over the scene as he stepped forward, his voice low yet authoritative.

"You three," he called, his tone betraying neither triumph nor pity. "We've been tracking his trail—every body, every soul left behind by Arius. It led us here."

Ash's gaze met Raven's, and in that brief, wordless exchange, the weight of their shared burden passed between them.

Raven continued, "You did well, but as you can see from the battle in the distancd… this is not the end. I order you to retreat to your dorms at once. You are not meant to face this horror. Leave it to my subordinates and me."

Seth's jaw tightened in reluctant agreement, while Kellion's eyes narrowed, the fire of defiance still burning despite his exhaustion.

Before any of them could question Raven's command further, a disquieting sound echoed from the distant dormitories—a sound like thousands of anguished wails carried on a rising wind.

Then came the first signs of a new horror: Tainted Spirits, born from the same corruption that had possessed Arius, began to manifest from the darkened windows and broken doorways of the dorms.

One after another, they emerged—gaunt, spectral forms with hollow, ravenous eyes, drifting out as if summoned by an unseen command. Their movements were jerky and unnatural, as if their very existence was a perverse mockery of life. It was a parade of death, a macabre procession of souls twisted into servitude of a malignant power.

Raven's expression hardened.

"So, it seems the contagion is spreading," he murmured, his tone a mix of contempt and resolve. "This has to be a coordinated outbreak."

Before the three students could retreat, the parade of Tainted Spirits surged forward in a relentless wave, converging on the courtyard like a tidal force of malice.

Their spectral forms coalesced into a swirling mass of dark energy, each spirit's moan echoing like a death knell. The ground trembled under the weight of their approach, and the air vibrated with the collective hunger of countless stolen souls.

Ash, Seth, and Kellion exchanged urgent looks, their fatigue momentarily forgotten in the face of this new threat.

"We can't let them touch us," Ash shouted, his voice cutting through the raging noise.

"If one of them gets close—" he began, but his words were drowned out by the rising roar of the spirits.

Raven, already a figure in the center of the chaos, bellowed an order.

"Form up! We must combine our strengths to hold them off and rescue any students trapped inside!"

His subordinates, clad in dark, intimidating armor, moved with lethal efficiency to establish a perimeter around the building's entrance.

Without waiting for further instructions, the trio of students sprang into action. Their earlier battles had honed them into formidable fighters, and now their survival depended on swift cooperation.

Despite being exhausted, they moved.

They circled the courtyard, maintaining a cautious distance from the advancing spirits, who writhed hungrily toward them.

"We attack from a distance—no direct contact. We can't risk them siphoning our souls." Seth was the first to break the silence.

His azure flames flared as he prepared a barrage of lightning-infused spells, aimed not to kill outright but to force the spirits back.

Kellion roared in agreement and launched a series of destructive fireballs, each one exploding against the spectral mass with a shock of heat and light.

The Tainted Spirits recoiled at the impact, their forms flickering as they struggled to maintain cohesion. Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire

They weren't nearly as strong as the ones that Beatrice and the others faced, but they weren't conventionally weak either.

Ash took the lead, orchestrating their movements like a master strategist.

"Seth, hit them with your lightning—force them to scatter. Kellion, keep the pressure with your flames. I'll use my wind to create distractions and openings."

As the trio fought in unison, Ash summoned swirling gusts of wind that whipped around the advancing spirits, drawing them into chaotic eddies.

His spells were precise, designed not to destroy but to confuse and divert the dark creatures. Seth followed, his hands crackling as bolts of azure lightning arced through the air, searing through several Tainted Spirits that dared venture too close.

Kellion's flames roared and surged, each attack a burst of ferocious heat that incinerated the corrupted forms upon impact.

Yet, no matter how fiercely they fought, the Tainted Spirits seemed to regenerate—the dark energy feeding on the residual souls and rising anew.

Their numbers swelled, and with every soul they absorbed, their power grew.

The charge of negative energy was like a tangible force that gnawed at the very fabric of the battlefield.

Raven's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the escalating assault.

"Hold the line!" he commanded, his voice echoing over the din.

His Order of Shadows converged with lethal precision, forming a defensive circle around the building's entrance.

Their combined Spells and martial prowess created a temporary bulwark, but the onslaught was relentless.

In all honesty, they were the real champions of the fight, as compared to the meager efforts of the exhausted children, they were dending off most of the attacks.

Even as Ash, Seth, and Kellion fought valiantly, the Tainted Spirits closed in, driven by an insatiable hunger.

A particularly massive spirit, its form rippling with vile corruption, surged forward and brushed against one of the Shadows—an act that caused the unfortunate soul to instantly collapse, drained of every ounce of life.

A wave of panic swept through the assembled forces as the reality of the threat sank in.

"We need backup!" someone shouted from behind the defensive line.

Raven's gaze swept across the chaos.

"Stand firm—evacuate the students!" he ordered, his tone brooking no argument. "We cannot allow another tragedy on these grounds!"

But before his words could fully register, the Tainted Spirits accelerated their advance. The dark, spectral entities surged with renewed ferocity, as if empowered by the mounting despair of the battle.

Their unholy forms swarmed over the perimeter, forcing Ash and his allies to concentrate their combined efforts on defense.

Seth's eyes burned with determination.

"I'm going to push them back!" he declared, his voice steeled by resolve.

With a deep, measured breath, he gathered every iota of his remaining energy. In a single, explosive moment, he unleashed a spell of unprecedented might—a colossal bolt of azure lightning that tore through the ranks of the Tainted Spirits.

The sky above seemed to split, and the bolt struck the mass of darkness head-on, sending a shockwave that shattered the spirits and left them scattered like shattered glass.

"Huff… huff…"

Seth was running out of steam and he wasn't the only one.

But they had to go on.

The battle raged on, the night alight with magic and the relentless howls of the Tainted Spirits.

Ash, Seth, Kellion, Raven, and the Order of Shadows fought side by side, each spell and strike a desperate attempt to push back the overwhelming tide of corruption.

Ash ducked under a swipe from a lunging spirit, twisting his body in midair as he fired a razor-sharp arc of wind Spell. It cut through the specter's chest, dispersing it into a cloud of dark mist before it could reform. Nearby, Seth's lightning crackled violently, striking down several spirits in rapid succession, while Kellion's blazing infernos burned through the spectral hordes like a wildfire.

Despite their exhaustion, the group refused to falter.

The courtyard was nearly clear, but the dormitories still teemed with imprisoned students, their screams muffled by the monstrous wails of the spirits.

They had to get inside—but the creatures wouldn't let them.

Amidst the chaos, Raven's sharp voice cut through the noise.

"By the way… Ashfelt Zephyr," he called, his tone oddly casual for the battlefield. "Dustan told me everything."

Ash barely spared him a glance as he dodged another attack, his blade slicing through the darkness.

"That so?" he asked, his voice calm but skeptical.

Raven smirked slightly, though his eyes remained unreadable. "You're coming with me for questioning after this."

Seth's head snapped toward Raven at the statement, but Ash remained unimpressed. He shook his head, finishing off another spirit with a precise wind strike before turning to face the older man.

"Liar," he said simply. "Dustan wouldn't betray me."

Raven's smirk didn't falter. "You're confident."

"Because I trust him," Ash replied firmly, stepping forward. "And because if you really wanted to take me in, you'd be doing it right now instead of talking."

He exhaled, brushing a hand through his hair, still poised for battle.

"But let's say this isn't just a distraction. If, at the end of all this, you still want to know the whole truth… You know where to find me."

For a moment, their eyes locked—a silent battle of wills amidst the chaos. Then Raven chuckled, turning away as he lifted a hand.

"Fine. Have it your way. But for now…"

Dark energy gathered around Raven's fingertips, coalescing into a deadly vortex of pure destruction. He turned toward the dormitory, where dozens of Tainted Spirits still prowled hungrily inside.

"Finally… it's ready." With a flick of his wrist, the swirling darkness condensed into a single, concentrated sphere—an abyssal force of obliteration.

"Let's end this."

With a single motion, Raven released the spell.

BOOOOOMMMM!!!

A colossal wave of destruction erupted from his fingertips, consuming every spirit in its path.

The dark energy tore through the dormitory halls, dragging the Tainted Spirits out like a riptide pulling debris from the shore. They shrieked, writhing in agony as the abyss swallowed them whole.

In mere moments, every last one was erased.

A heavy silence followed.

Then—far in the distance—a brilliant golden light erupted into the sky.

All eyes turned toward the battlefield where Beatrice and the other Head of Staff had been locked in their battle against the massive Tainted Spirit.

The light was blinding, a radiant explosion of pure magic that seemed to rend the darkness apart at its very core.

And then—just like that—the monstrous entity was gone.

The rampage was over.

For the first time that night, the battlefield fell eerily quiet.

Ash exhaled deeply, exhaustion settling into his bones.

The fight was finally done.

Raven crossed his arms, watching the golden light fade from the sky. He smirked slightly, then cast a sideways glance at Ash.

"Guess we'll see what happens next."

Ash didn't respond immediately. He simply looked up at the sky, watching as the remnants of the golden light flickered away like embers in the wind.

'You have no idea what happens next…'