Extra's Descent

It became apparent to Brandon that there were only four figures present.

That meant…

They were coming from the other side.

Tzz—

Brandon immediately bolted past the assailant, giving the impression of a blue streak.

It was fine to leave Reinhard and Raven to their own devices. Most likely, the ones sent to the entrance were diversions.

The real assailants must be coming from the back-entrance.

Why?

Because it led to the backstage.

And the backstage was the best place to gather their group. There were already intruders amongst the audience.

Which meant that if they had access to the back-stage, then they would be able to cover the entire theater room.

"Ukh…!"

Thankfully, they didn't notice him as their attention was diverted to Raven who had just taken out one of their members.

Tzz– Tzz— Tzz——!

Brandon continued blinking forward as blue sparks left his trail. Just up ahead, he could see several figures being held back by one lone man.

But Brandon knew this wouldn't last for long. Oscar was strong, but not as strong as Amelia.

Brandon and Oscar were more or less almost the same level. Oscar was more on the leader-ship side of the committee. Hence he was Amelia's right hand man in the group.

Kracka!

Three bolts of lightning were about to pierce Oscar.

Cr… Crack!

Brandon quickly intercepted. With his palms faced forward, a wall of ice materialized just in time to save Oscar.

"Brandon?"

"Just in time."

Brandon nodded at Oscar who was shocked by his sudden appearance.

"How many are they?"

"A little over 36."

"That many, huh?"

As expected.

Despite holding them back, Oscar's observation never faltered.

Vooosh—!

A torrent of flames quickly headed their way. The two nodded at each other and instantly dispersed.

Swoosh—!

A gale of wind erupted from Oscar's palms. With that diversion, Brandon bolted like a streak of lightning and appeared in front of the assailants.

"You fucking ki—Akh!"

Spurt!

Waving his hand forward, an ice sword instantly materialized and cleanly sliced the man's arm off.

Blood splattered and marred Brandon's cheek. Thrusting his palms forward, a gust of wind hurled the figure back and collided with the other assailants.

Giving Brandon no time to rest, more figures rushed towards him. Gripping their swords, Brandon swiftly dodged each swing.

[Mana Burst]

Mana started condensing in Brandon's body, and he could feel his strength shoot through the roof.

With heightened reflexes, he swiftly dodged each oncoming strike.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

He twisted his body sideways and his foot landed on one of the assailant's jaws.

Thud. Thud. Thud!

A flurry of fists headed his way and Brandon caught each attack with his palms.

Forcibly pulling one of the figure's arms down, Brandon struck the assailant's face with his elbow.

Woosh!

He crouched down and swiftly dodged another attack.

Lifting his body up, he jumped from his spot and kicked the assailant on the solar plexus.

Another assailant swung his fist down at Brandon. Shifting his body, he paused mid-somersault and his foot landed on the assailant's nose.

"...!"

All of a sudden, five more assailants jumped him from all sides.

However…

Wooosh—!

While they were suspended in mid-air, a wind current hurled them back and they crashed down on the ground.

Crack!

The windows around them shattered as glass shards scattered in the air.

This…

No matter what they did, they couldn't mitigate the damage as well as they had hoped.

Turning his head towards Oscar, Brandon nodded in which Oscar nodded back.

And that was when…

Cr… Crack!

Oscar pressed his fingers together, and the area gradually shifted.

Oscar's domain.

The sky slowly shifted into a bleak gray color. But as Brandon gazed ahead, the far-ends of the hallway were still quite visible.

Though it was still quite far. A seven minute walk.

The domain was quite incomplete. He didn't have full mastery over the skill. Hence, only 90% of the area shifted.

But it was enough.

With this, Oscar had full control over the radius that his domain covered.

The sky was a bleak gray color. But as Brandon gazed ahead, the hallway was still visible.

But still,

…He wasn't limited by the tight space of the hallway around him. The sky was limitless.

And thus it was time to reveal his sixth skill.

[Aeolus Blessing]

∟ Grants the user the ability to harness the power of the wind, allowing them to walk in the air.

∟The skill requires concentration of their mana to maintain the automated wind current in each step the user takes.

It was almost the same as what Belle could do.

Only that, for Brandon's case the effect was automated. In turn, Brandon didn't have to fully focus on his [Wind] affinity just to maintain it.

And due to the fact he had created the skill at the level he currently is, then there were no limiters. The same went for [Mage's Resolve].

It meant, the system acknowledged that his body could handle the skills without breaking his body.

It was a cheat.

And it was well appreciated.

At that moment, wind started to coalesce on Brandon's foot.

Step—

He took a step forward.

Step– Step—

Each step he took, as if he was walking a flight of stairs, he gradually levitated in the air.

From behind him, Oscar couldn't hide his astonishment from what he was seeing.

From his point of view, it meant that Brandon attained an expert mastery in wind.

"Hehe."

Brandon scoffed at the thought of it.

Mastery? Bullshit.

It was Skill Weaver's magic at work.

And as he turned his gaze to the front, the assailants were wide eyed at the sight of him.

Slowly, he was already high up in the air.

And that was when…

Kracka!

Waving his hand down, blue bolts of lightning rained down and pierced the ground. Due to lightning's nature, his accuracy wasn't fixed. Hence, he missed his target.

But that was enough.

The assailants seemed to shudder at the sight of Brandon—who was high up in the air as if he was some kind of deity.

He extended his arms on each side.

Gradually…

Tz… Tzzz!

A ball of lightning materialized on each side.

Tzz… Tzz….

It gradually grew even larger and larger.

Then…

Tzz…. TZZZZ——!

Brandon thrusted both of his palms forward. The ball of lightning condensed and grew enormously.

But that wasn't all.

Cr… Crackle!

Crackling flames materialized and ignited around the enormous lightning ball. It contoured itself into a ring of inferno and started rotating around the lightning ball.

"Holy fuck, run!"

The assailants started sprinting away.

Swoosh—!

But it was to no avail as a gale of wind faded inside the domain and pushed them back from where they once stood.

With an ominous smile etched on his features, Brandon lifted the giant ball of lightning and flames up in the air.

Then…

VOOOOO—!

Like pitching a baseball, Brandon mercilessly hurled it down towards the assailants.

This was the fruition of his endless training.

Condensing his elements.

All to form…

One giant nuke.

BOOOOOM———!

A blinding light pierced his eyes. An intense heat followed shortly after, and Brandon was forcibly hurled back from the sheer impact akin to a tidal wave.

Crash!

And he crashed down on the ground.

"Hahaha."

He couldn't contain the adrenaline that coursed through him as he stifled a laugh.

As he glanced to the side, Oscar was several meters away from him. He too was blown away.

At that, the domain gradually diminished as the hallway came into view.

Thankfully, it mitigated most of the damage as only…

…All of the windows shattered.

It was a small price to pay.

Brandon slowly got up, and as he gazed ahead there was nothing left. No flesh, no bones, nothing.

He had managed to kill over 36 assailants with one attack.

In the first place, they weren't skilled at all.

By estimation of the guild's ranking, most of them were probably in the C to B rank.

Just a bunch of idiots trying to make a name for themselves within the syndicate.

But Brandon couldn't blame them.

If his conjectures were correct, then they were misled. Someone pulled the strings for them and opened the door to attack the academy.

Brandon was one of them.

And for the other one…

He would soon find out.

All of a sudden…

"Ah…"

He slumped down on both knees.

His mana was drained.

But it was fine.

With [Mage's Resolve], he could fully recover his mana in 17 minutes.

That's if he stops using any magic skills.

Just like that, Brandon managed to stop the academy attack.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

Footsteps echoed and reached his ears. Glancing behind him, Raven and Reinhard were running towards him.

"Everything done on your side?"

"Yeah. Took us a while. We thought there were only four. But suddenly, several others joined in."

"...I see."

Guess not everything was taken into calculation.

But in the end, it all worked out. He trusted their skills. If they couldn't handle that much, then scratch changing the future.

And as he thought about the bleak future that awaits them, Brandon frowned.

'No.'

Shaking his head, he quickly dismissed his thoughts.

As long as he was still in the present, and with the knowledge of the future in hand, then everything was possible.

Hopefully.

He just had to do what he could at the moment.

Slowly, the future will change.

And he was counting on that.

He slowly got back up with the support of his leg.

Retrieving his phone, he opted to check for the time.

"Ah."

He was a little bit late.

Late for what?

His grand performance.

Shortly after, Raven spoke up.

"We still have time to watch that mysterious performer or something. Hope he's great as much as they make him out to be."

"Nah, I bet he couldn't top mine."

Reinhard retorted. Guess there was only one way to find out.

With such thoughts, Brandon walked around the hallways towards the main entrance.

The two followed shortly after, leaving Oscar to stand guard.

Looking at the trio's departing back, he stifled a laugh.

"Hah."

He…

He had an inkling as to who the mysterious performer was.

There was a time when Oscar was roaming around the academy, and the melodious tune of the piano reached his ears.

"Good luck, Brandon."