CHAPTER 118: PRINCIPAL KINE

The heavy wooden doors to the courtyard thundered open, and for the first time since the assault began, order cut through chaos.

Principal Kine stepped forward, his every movement carrying weight. He was not tall in the way some warriors were, nor imposing in muscle, yet the sheer aura around him pressed against every living thing.

His eyes glowed faintly, silver flecks shining with raw mana, and with a simple lift of his hand, the battlefield bent to his will.

He extended his palm. Light burst outward in radiant arcs, slicing across the courtyard like blades of dawn.

Each sweep of his hand unleashed more brilliance, waves of pure energy cascading in crescents that annihilated clusters of monsters at once.

The shadows shrieked, their forms tearing apart under the radiance.

The ground quaked, the very stones trembling beneath the magnitude of his power. Students and teachers alike paused, breaths caught in their throats. This was mastery. This was why he was the principal.

But even brilliance needed balance.

Beside him, Mrs. Lira advanced with measured steps, her expression calm in contrast to the storm around her. Mana swirled around her body in glittering patterns of frost.

With a single gesture, jagged walls of ice erupted from the ground, halting charging beasts mid-stride. They slammed against the frozen barricades, claws screeching uselessly against enchanted frost.

Spikes followed, surging upward with lethal precision, impaling the trapped monsters before they could retreat.

Where Principal Kine’s power burned bright and overwhelming, Mrs. Lira’s magic was cold, steady, and unyielding.

Her defensive walls protected the fleeing students, while her counterstrikes punished anything foolish enough to test her domain.

The teachers rallied at their sides. One unleashed arcs of lightning that ripped across the courtyard, frying shadows in crackling webs.

Another raised gusts of wind, slicing like invisible blades, while yet another slammed his fists into the ground, jagged pillars of earth impaling monsters in brutal bursts.

Their spells interwove seamlessly, a display of trained coordination that reminded the academy why its staff were feared beyond these walls.

Even so, the monsters surged. Dozens, maybe hundreds, poured from the fractures in reality, their red eyes glowing through the smoke.

The battlefield was chaos given form, shadows twisting, claws raking, screeches piercing through spellfire.

And then, cutting through the storm, came more fire.

Tirel arrived first, her boots skidding against the blood-stained stone. Her hands already blazed, mana pouring from her like an inferno unchained.

She thrust her palms forward, torrents of flame roaring out in brilliant arcs. Monsters shrieked as fire swallowed them whole, bodies burning before they had a chance to retaliate.

Her spells tore through the horde with reckless precision, each strike explosive, each wave leaving nothing but charred ash.

Behind her came Jae, his dragonfire blade igniting with a guttural roar. The flames danced along the weapon’s edge, alive, hungry.

He didn’t hesitate. He hurled himself straight into the thickest cluster of beasts, his blade whistling through the air. One strike cut through a shadow-beast’s torso, another spun outward to cleave two more.

The fire on his weapon burned hotter than before, devouring everything it touched.

Three monsters lunged at once, claws raised. Jae pivoted sharply, sweeping his blade in a blazing arc. All three dissolved mid-leap, their bodies shredded by fire and steel.

His momentum carried him forward. Another shadow lunged, not for him, but for Mrs. Lira.

She was focused on holding the defensive line, her ice barriers rising to block another wave. The beast slipped through the cracks, streaking toward her with killing intent. For a heartbeat, she was vulnerable.

Jae’s eyes narrowed.

He moved. His body blurred, faster than most could track.

His blade roared as it split the air, flames carving a burning trail through the night. In one clean strike, the monster was severed, its form obliterated before it could even brush her robes.

The sound of shattering shadow echoed, followed by silence. Mrs. Lira froze, her breath catching.

She hadn’t even sensed him close the gap, hadn’t expected anyone, let alone a student, to move with such speed and power. Her gaze lingered on him, wide, recognition dawning that this was no longer the boy she remembered.

But Jae didn’t linger. He turned away before she could speak, already driving back into the fight with a predator’s focus. His blade danced, fire painting arcs of death as Tirel’s flames roared alongside him.

For a moment, it was chaos made symphony.

Principal Kine’s light rained down in sweeping beams, each flash disintegrating entire packs of monsters. Mrs. Lira’s walls shifted constantly, creating narrow choke points that forced the creatures into kill zones.

The other teachers unleashed their elements in devastating displays, lightning that cracked the sky, wind that howled like knives, earth that shattered underfoot.

And in the midst of these veterans, Jae and Tirel moved like equals, their strikes flowing into the rhythm of the battle as if they had always belonged there.

A monster slipped past the front lines, its claws raised for a group of younger mages too drained to defend themselves. Tirel’s eyes snapped to it.

She spun, flames bursting from her palm in a focused spear that impaled the beast mid-charge, reducing it to nothing but black smoke.

"Focus forward!" Jae barked, already cleaving down another threat. His voice carried authority, firm enough that even some of the younger teachers obeyed without thinking.

And then came the final push.

The monsters howled as if sensing the shift. They poured in greater numbers, desperation fueling their frenzy. But the mages stood united.

Principal Kine raised both arms, the air around him trembling under the sheer concentration of mana.

Light burst skyward, then fell like judgment itself. Dozens of radiant lances rained down, annihilating shadows in searing waves.

Mrs. Lira slammed her staff into the ground. Walls of ice surged outward, forming a great ring that trapped the remaining beasts within the courtyard. Their screeches echoed against the frozen prison, panic evident in their thrashing

"Now!" Kine’s voice thundered.

The teachers unleashed everything. Lightning arced in blinding chains, wind howled in razor bursts, earth pillars crushed, and firestorms roared.

Jae charged at the forefront, dragonfire blade blazing like a star, Tirel close behind, her inferno burning hotter than ever.

The courtyard became a storm of destruction. Shadows screamed, their forms breaking apart under the relentless onslaught. One by one they fell, dissolving into smoke until none remained.

And then, silence.

The battlefield lay in ruins, stone cracked and scorched, ice melting into rivulets that ran red with blood. Smoke drifted lazily into the night sky.

Jae lowered his blade, its flames flickering weakly before extinguishing. Tirel exhaled, fire dimming around her hands. The teachers regrouped, breaths heavy, faces drawn but determined.

The younger students peeked from behind walls and shattered pillars, eyes wide. Awe and disbelief mingled on their faces.

Mrs. Lira glanced again at Jae. Her lips parted as if to speak, but she said nothing. The look in her eyes was enough, recognition of a power that had grown far beyond what anyone had anticipated.

The academy still stood. Battered, scarred, but unbroken.

And for the briefest moment, the warriors who had fought tooth and nail shared something rare in battle. Relief.