Volume I. Chapter IV. - Escape

[March 29th, 1215]

One, two, three, four, five. The number of cracks that can be heard as the unholy thing straightens up right before my eyes gradually increases. A real demon. It’s like nothing I’ve imagined. Its strong presence, accompanied by the awful stench and overwhelming dread, turns my stomach upside down.

The crowd stays motionless before it, as though suddenly petrified by the first sight of a demon. Its head bearing a human-like menacing grin and large, empty eye sockets slowly rotates towards us. It almost feels like the creature is staring directly at me.

We are jolted awake as the terrible Demon takes one stride forward, crushing through the back of a body that has already been mangled. Everyone falls victim to panic. The race to get through the academy’s back entrance peaks in intensity. The real pandemonium has barely started.

Without a warning, the remaining students behind us surged through the constrained hallway, separating me from Lena and Himari. Then one of the passing pupils knocks me to the ground, using me as a prop to distract the Demon. I’m left behind.

I hear my two friends reaching out to me as they are being swept away, but it's all in vain. Soon I feel something wet wrapping around my hand. What is that? It’s all tender but also complex and pointy at the very bottom. I’m aware that I have somehow damaged the object beneath my palm. In a strange sense, it already feels unpleasant as it is, but realization occurs only when I run my eyes down my arm, all the way.

Red, purple, yellow, all these colors intertwine as the yellow and purple fragments are drenched in the liquid swirling around my hand. My palm is piercing through the lungs of a dead girl as her chest has been torn open by the debris. Her expressionless face reveals how painful her demise was.

I vomit almost instantly; there is no longer a way to resist the urge. Slowly, tears start to trickle down my cheeks. Before I know it, my breathing becomes unstable and I’m slowly falling into despair. My legs have given out; getting up isn’t an option, and calling for help won’t get me anywhere. My body trembles more and more as the beast moves forward, crushing through the corpses with each stride.

The smell of death grows stronger. A sudden headache deepens me into a sea of visual illusions. The rear of a girl covered in white hair. Buildings engulfed in flames. An unrecognizable boy lying on the ground and smiling as blood pours out of his mouth. It all phases through so fast that I can’t comprehend what is happening, and once it’s over, I find myself gasping for air.

What was that? A hallucination? A vision of some kind? It felt like I wasn’t breathing at all for a moment. The noise in the background is slowly fading away… or is it just my consciousness? Staring at the ground after being startled by an event I can not understand, two dark and rigid feet appear before me. The tough-looking skin makes the twisted bones beneath it appear even tougher, and the odor…

The contents of my stomach are thrown out once more; I can still make lunch out of the image before me, even if just barely. Suddenly I can feel an intense scorching sensation coming from the back of my head as my body is being lifted from the ground.

The Demon grabs hold of me and drags me up by my hair, untying it out of a ponytail. But it doesn’t pull me up to my feet. It continues and leaves me hanging in the air. The pain is overwhelming; I grit my teeth, trying to clutch its thick arm while kicking the air, yet I can't help but cry.

Ignored while still streaming down my mouth, the vomit gradually combines with the tears. The struggle takes away most of my strength, and my arms give out. They are left hanging with the rest of me. All I have left is to pray for a miracle to occur, and as my voice trembles with the last of my strength, I utter my final faint words.

“Help… me.”

At that very moment, one of the walls next to us gets forced open. Pieces of stone and dust shoot our way when a sharp blade and a manly figure just behind it emerge from the artificial smokescreen. The weapon pierces the hellish creature’s side as it gets propelled through the opposing wall, forcing it to release me.

I drop down on my knees and begin to pant heavily. Fear is still controlling my body, but it’s progressively improving as if part of the weight has been lifted. Have I been saved? I’m slowly regaining consciousness and gathering myself. I need to get out of here.

Someone grabs my arm and pulls me towards the back entrance as I get back on my feet. I then inspect the person dragging me out. It’s Enmei; he has come to get me out of here. Soon a blinding shine hits me directly as we escape our academy's crumbling building.

Enmei halts beneath the steps where Lena stands with her two watery eyes. Her face is stained, and her hair is partially covered in dust, but I'm probably the winner when it comes to looking like a mess. She touches me all around, then wipes the fluids off with a tissue. All that while interrogating me.

“How are you feeling? Are you hurt anywhere? Has the thing done anything to you?”

She’s worried sick. My body is still trembling, but seeing her face again brings me great relief. I hug my older sister as I spill tears once more. In response, she hugs me back and sheds tears alongside me. I wasn’t the only one who felt anxious. Lena was terrified for me the entire time, if not more so than I was.

Something explodes inside the building and a big cloud of dust is released. Both of us pause as we look at the same rumbling structure.

“What are you standing there for?! Let’s get a move on, we are still in danger!”

Our attention is again redirected to Enmei as he stands behind us with the rest of the group. They all waited for me. Lena nods and begins to move down the street. My arm is being held firmly in her grasp. I can feel she doesn’t plan on letting go; it makes me feel at ease.

We are headed for the nearest shelter located about fifty meters away. Running between the damaged buildings, we encounter just a few dead soldiers. It doesn’t appear like much has happened in this direction.

"Are you alright? Your hand is covered in blood!"

Hidiku freaks out at the sight.

"I'm fine, The blood isn’t mine. It's just a few scratches."

"And wet panties."

Enmei tries to crack a joke. Big mistake as he's right before me - I kick him in the back. Charlotte, running behind me, lets out a sigh.

"Man, I wish I was there to witness it."

"I didn't wet myself!”

I wish they’d stop with this!

“All of you shut up! We are almost there!”

Lena startles all of us with her unusually loud voice possessing a slightly hostile tone. She’s right, a bit further up front is a space between two of the houses and in that space peaks out a metal bunker entrance. Safety is within our reach, but just as we approach it Himari suddenly yells out from the very back.

"Everyone heads up!"

The rest of us turn around to see what’s going on, but before we get any time to react, something zooms right past us and hits the ground. It’s a body wrecked beyond recognition, but one thing about it I can identify is the outfit that looks just like what the commander overseeing our exams wore. But I thought he was supposed to be strong. Was the Demon too much even for him? Suddenly, another object rockets past us and strikes a tower right on top of the bunker. Debris explodes out of it and the structure collapses into the street. Everything is up in dust.

———
[Just moments later]

“Ow… my head. What happened? …Did I black out for a moment?”

I sit up and touch my head after being knocked down by the impact. There’s blood coming out of it. My vision is distorted. I’m too busy swaying my blond hair covered in dirt from my field of view when one more blast startles me. A hole has been forced open through the remains of what used to be a tower, and through it passes two people. Though, there’s too much dust to tell who they are.

“What kind of a monster are you?”

That’s Lena’s voice.

“What are you talking about? That much is normal.”

And that’s Himari’s. I’m guessing they have been separated from us by the debris. That would explain the blast too. Himari’s gift is less of a special ability and more of a physical strength enhancement. She probably had no problem making a hole in that wall, she must have cleared the bunker entrance too. I try to get up, but my legs fail, and I fall to my knees. At least by doing so, I make enough noise to get their attention.

“Yuuna! Hang on, I got you!”

Himari is the one to recognize me first and rushes in to support me, leaving Lena to concentrate on searching for the others. As she supports me with her shoulder I can feel just how strength much this petite girl has in her. Soon enough, the smokescreen breaks up just a little bit and reveals two more figures marching toward us. It’s Charlotte supporting Hidiku. She smiles and salutes; Lena rushes to their aid.

We are carried to the bunker and left on the staircase leading down into the depths when Hidiku brings attention to a missing member.

“Where’s big brother?”

He could be injured badly. What’s more, we don’t know anything about the demon’s whereabouts. We need to get him as soon as possible. Everyone is already waiting inside, except for the missing boy’s older sister.

“Yeah, I know. I will go look for him. You guys go hide. We will be back in a second.”

She announces as she’s about to go on a search further in the school’s direction, where dust rules over the street.

“Wait, I’m going with you.”

Hidiku responds as wanting to help out his siblings.

“No Hidiku. It’s too dangerous. Listen to your older sister and go take shelter.”

With no intention of listening to what her younger brother has to say, marches into the slowly resolving mist. But it’s too late as a large silhouette crossing through the smokescreen becomes more visible with each passing second, until it finally steps into our field of clear sight. It has caught up to us. Where’s Enmei? Did it get him? Is he still somewhere hidden in the layers of dust? I can’t tell.

“We need to go.”

Charlotte pronounces as she takes a step back. Her voice trembles with fear.

“Are you saying we should leave my brother behind?!”

I gaze in the direction of the two friends about to get into a fight as Hidiku responds with aggression. He’s right, I feel the same way. Maybe we can fend it off together until we get Enmei back. If we combine all of our gifts then maybe-

However, my brainstorming comes to a fast stop as the beast makes a heavy step. So much so it crushes a large rock beneath its foot. I take another good look at its build containing a crooked bone structure supported by its dense muscle mass. And that creepy smile… it makes my skin crawl. I can yet again feel the heavy pressure it emits. I’m frozen in place.

The bunker’s two trapdoors are right next to us. I could just shut us in and we would be safer, but there’s a feeling stopping me from doing so. What is it? Is it fear? Nevertheless, my sisters grab one of the giant metal plates each as Himari yells.

“Close the bunker! Now!”

What’s going on? I was lost in thought for only a second. The Demon is tossing fragments of the rock it just crushed beneath its foot. The exit is shut before anyone gets to see the outcome and all that can be heard is the banging sounds of a hard downpour.