The walls surrounding the Hero Academy stood tall and proud. Built in the traditional Imperial style, the ten-meter stone barrier looked more like a piece of architectural art than a defensive structure. At least, that was before it was drenched in blood. Now, it was anything but beautiful.

A chorus of monstrous roars shook the air. Thousands of demonic monsters, a full army of them, charged toward the academy, baring their fangs as they hurled themselves at the wall.

“Graaahhh!”

“Kaaarrrr!”

“Grrroooaaaarrr!”

The horde had appeared without warning, swarming toward the academy like a dark flood. The alarm sirens screamed across the campus, and the first to respond were the professors.

“Damn it! Hold the line!”

“Where the hell did all these demonic monsters come from?”

“Don’t let a single one get inside the academy!”

Lucas swung his massive axe with both hands, letting out a feral roar. “HYAAAH!”

Known as the Bloodthirsty Hound, he dove into the enemy ranks like a wolf let loose among sheep. He brought his axe down with a sickening crunch, caving in the skull of a lunging monster.

“Off with your head!” he yelled.

More came from every direction. Lucas’s eyes glowed red, and a crimson aura flared violently around him. Invoking the Blessing of the Blood Warrior, he howled like a beast himself, swinging his axe in a brutal frenzy.

Crack! Smash! Crunch!

Blood splattered. Bone and brain matter burst into the air like rain.

“RAAAHHH!”

Even as claws tore at his flesh and fangs ripped into him, Lucas didn’t stop. He crushed skulls and cleaved bodies apart, forcing his way forward through sheer will and fury.

“Hard to tell who the real monster is here,” said a cool, familiar voice.

Lucas turned, dripping with blood from head to toe. A blonde woman soared through the air on a broomstick before gracefully leaping off and landing as lightly as if she had had a parachute.

“Bianca?”

Bianca’s wavy golden hair gleamed under the light as she brushed it back with practiced elegance.

“The lower-year cadets have been evacuated to the main auditorium,” she said calmly.

Lucas grunted. “Good, then all that’s left is keeping these bastards out of the academy.”

Bianca nodded and gazed at the oncoming tide of monsters. Her eyes narrowed as she gripped her staff. “There’s no end to them.”

“Not just in number. I’m seeing eight-eyed demonic monsters mixed in among them,” Lucas said.

She sighed. “Just great.”

Aiming her staff forward, she said, “I’ll hit them with a big one. Cover me while I cast.”

Lucas snorted. “And why exactly should I protect you?”

Bianca smirked. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you’d rather not stand there and watch me get torn apart?”

“Hmph. Do whatever you want.”

Despite his words, Lucas stepped forward, placing himself between Bianca and the oncoming demonic monsters. His axe swung again and again, each strike bursting a monster’s head before it could get close.

Bianca murmured with a faint smile, “Honestly, you’re such a liar.”

Blue flames gathered at the tip of her staff, the heat so intense it warped the air around her. As her chanting continued, a whirlwind of blazing energy formed, swirling around her like a living inferno.

Sensing danger, the monsters surged toward her as though they were a tidal wave.

“GRRRAHHH!”

“KEEEEEK!”

Lucas stomped hard, his aura exploding outward in a blood-red shockwave. “Not so fast!”

Crack! Smash! Splatter!

Heads burst under his axe as he roared in battle-frenzy, shouting, “If any of you bastards so much as touch a hair on Bianca, I’ll gut you all!”

His voice thundered like a war drum, so fierce that even the monsters faltered for an instant.

Soon, Bianca completed casting. “Incinerate.”

A colossal wave of blue fire erupted, sweeping across the battlefield and devouring the horde in an instant. The air filled with the stench of burning flesh and the howls of dying beasts.

“Phew!” Bianca wiped sweat from her forehead and smiled faintly. “Heh. So much as touch a hair on me, huh? How touching, Lucas!”

Lucas snapped back. “S-shut up!”

He glared toward the battlefield. Even after that devastating spell, new monsters had already taken the place of the fallen. No, there were even more of them than before. Both professors tightened their grips on their weapons, grim-faced as they stared at the endless tide.

“Damn it.”

“Looks like we don’t have time for banter.”

Glancing sideways, Lucas saw that other professors were being forced back as well. There were too many of them. No matter how many monsters they killed, the numbers didn’t drop; if anything, they grew.

Where are all these things coming from? Lucas wondered.

However, he could figure that out later. Right now, stopping the beasts from breaching the walls was all that mattered.

Grinding his teeth, he raised his axe once more. “Bianca! Hit them with another blast, stronger this time!”

She sighed deeply. “You make it sound so easy. Fine. Just give me a second.”

She was about to chant again when a voice interrupted her. “Drink this before you cast.”

An elderly man with a wrinkled face and a rugged beard held out a small glass vial to her.

Bianca froze, her expression tightening instantly. “Professor Bastion?”

It was Jayden, the Disciple Slayer. Even among the professors, his nickname was infamous.

Jayden said in a calm but cold voice, “I know exactly what people think of me.”

He gave a bitter smile before continuing, “But right now, isn’t it more important to face that army of beasts and protect our students?”

It was hard to deny the truth in those words, especially when they were coming from the man known as the Disciple Slayer.

Bianca looked at the glass vial. “What is this?”

“A potion called the Soul Stigmata Amplifier Potion. It has some side effects, but it’ll dramatically increase your mana for a short time.”

“Some side effects? How bad are we talking?”

“Well, since this one’s diluted, you’ll only be unconscious for a few days afterward.”

Only a few days of unconsciousness, and that was the diluted version? she thought.

“If someone drinks the undiluted one, what happens? Death?” Bianca asked.

“Exactly. Their internal organs would melt from the inside, and they’d die instantly,” Jayden replied.

Bianca sighed deeply. “Oh, that’s so reassuring.”

Without hesitation, she uncorked the vial and downed it in one go. Then, her mana surged violently, flaring out of her body as if it had exploded from within.

Bianca managed a small, strained laugh as she fought to control the overflowing energy. “Haha! As expected of the Great Sage’s descendant. Quite a remarkable effect, isn’t it?”

Lucas’s eyes widened as he turned toward her. “Bianca, you...”

She replied, “Lucas, I’m going to cast one more spell. Something big.”

Lucas clenched his jaw, his expression grim. He glared at Jayden sharply. “If anything happens to her, I’ll make you pay for it.”

“Then you may take your axe and strike my head yourself,” Jayden replied calmly.

Lucas exhaled heavily, raising his weapon once more. He roared toward the oncoming horde. “Come on, you bastards!”

Side by side, Lucas and Jayden fought against the relentless tide, buying precious time. No one could tell how long they held out, but it was enough time for Bianca to finish casting.

Fwoooosh!

Dozens of enormous blue fireballs rose into the sky, burning so bright they turned night into day. Then Bianca said, “Inci... nerate!”

The fireballs fell like meteors, smashing into the horde and erupting into blinding waves of flame. Smoke choked the air, and hundreds of beasts were instantly reduced to ash.

Bianca collapsed to her knees, clutching her chest. “Haah! Haah! Haah!”

Lucas rushed over and caught her before she could fall. “Are you alright?”

Her breath came in ragged gasps, each one strained and painful. “No. Not even close.”

Through the smoke, she tried to look ahead. “What about the monsters?”

“They’re...” As the haze cleared, Lucas’s eyes went wide. “What the fucking hell?”

New beasts were trampling over the charred remains of their fallen kin, charging forward once more.

“How many of them are there?”

This wasn’t just hundreds, not even thousands. At least ten thousand demonic monsters were advancing on the Hero Academy. It was an army large enough to wipe out an entire kingdom.

“GRAAAHHH!”

“RRGHHHH!”

The professors were being forced back.

“Damn it! We can’t hold them much longer!”

At that moment, a voice called out.

“EARTHQUAAAAKE!”

The ground split open with a thunderous rumble. Charging forward through the dust was a massive cadet, one even larger than Lucas himself.

The hulking cadet swung a huge sack off his back and hurled it straight into the monster ranks. “HYAAAH!”

The sack burst open, scattering dozens of glass bottles that shattered on impact. Colorful liquid spilled everywhere. The unknown liquid, which looked like magical reagents, shimmered ominously.

Then a loud, clear voice rang out. “Now, Senior Sophia!”

“Explode,” replied another voice.

The flammable reagents ignited in a massive chain reaction, setting off a wave of explosions. Chunks of monster flesh were blown sky-high and rained down like bloody hail.

The voices continued.

“Haha! Wasn’t that a beautiful Hell Player spell, Senior?”

“It’s Hell Flare, you idiot. And where exactly did you get those reagents?”

“From Professor Bastion’s lab!”

Jayden let out a heartbroken scream. “WHAT? Those were reagents I’ve been collecting for ten years!”

A red-haired girl, Sophia, gave the hulk-like cadet a dubious look. “You did borrow them, right?”

The professors were surprised to see the newcomers.

“That cadet...”

“Berald Ryu?”

“Sophia’s with him too.”

And these cadets weren’t alone. Yuren, Iris, Camilla, and Laneige, along with countless other cadets, had arrived at the battlefield.

“We’re here to help!”

“Anyone injured, come this way!”

“Saintess, please don’t go too far forward!”

“H-hiiieek! M-monsters everywhere!”

Lucas’s eyes trembled. “You. Why are you all here?”

One timid-looking cadet stepped forward, legs shaking. “A-as the representative of Class C, I’ve gathered volunteers to support the professors!”

It was Albert, trembling like a leaf, yet taking a firm step forward. “W-we may still be cadets, but we’re heroes too!”

“Albert, you...” Lucas’s voice wavered as he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, eyes glistening. “Thank you.” 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“Professor Kane...”

“I promise, when this is all over, I’ll reward you with my special health juice. Enough to last you a lifetime.”

“Wait! Whaaaaaat?”

What did he just...? Albert thought.

Lucas continued, “Alright, rookies— no, heroes! Don’t let a single monster set foot inside this academy!”

“Yes, sir!”

“HYAAAH! Come on, you bastards!”

Thus, the war between the Hero Academy and the beast legion began in earnest.