Extra's Descent

Shortly after finishing their meal, Belle began to prepare for her afternoon lectures.

Brandon didn't want to waste any time, and so he began preparing to embark to the Academy as well.

There was a specific person he wanted to meet.

Someone who might or might not know something about the incursion.

Amelia Constantine, his committee head.

After the festival, the committee had cemented its establishments and were set to resume operations.

This meant that Brandon was now a full fledged Disciplinary Committee member.

Looking at the mirror, Brandon scanned his body for any impurities.

"Nice."

His body was speck and clean as if he had never suffered any injuries a night ago.

He went on to ponder.

Even if Amelia didn't have the relevant information that he needed, surely she could get him in contact with her father, Albert Constantine.

Gathering his thoughts, Brandon neatly fixed up his collar and turned to have one final look in the mirror.

"Nice."

He gave a thumbs up.

Leaving his room, what greeted his sight was Belle--bent down--and tying her shoelace.

Slowly, she raised her head and raised her brows.

"Huh? You're coming to school?"

"Yes."

"But you're supposed to rest."

He gave her a smile.

"I'm all healed up..."

And flexed his muscles.

"See?"

"Haa... alright. Since we're coming to school together, can we use your bike?"

"Sure."

Since Belle would usually leave early, this was one of the few rare moments where the two would come to the academy together.

Belle would usually commute by taxi. While Brandon opted to ride his black motorcycle.

It was a shame.

He would've liked it if Belle were to come to school with him.

After all, commuting was tiring.

But nonetheless, he didn't have the willpower to wake up early.

Soon this would all change in his second year.

Advancing a year level entails advanced lectures.

And with advanced lectures, comes new schedules.

One such schedule was 6:00 AM. Which was the sole reason why Belle had always needed to leave early.

But for today, she had to skip out on such lectures.

The two continued conversing, just until they had reached the complex's parking lot.

There, situated with the other bikes, was Brandon's motorcycle.

Sitting on the front, Belle followed closely and sat behind him.

"Put this on."

At his instructions, Belle donned a similar looking black helmet as his.

And as soon as he turned on the motorcycle, Belle hugged him tightly from behind.

After the amount of people that had ridden his motorcycle, there was finally someone with the brains to hold on before they departed.

Truly, Belle was a genius.

***

The rift had fully manifested.

It's void-like space that transcends human comprehension--had now expanded to the brim.

And that was when...

"Hurrr--"

Wraith beasts emerged.

Spurt!

Wraith beasts were typically ranked from the B to A category. Meaning, it was well on the ranks of a ranker who's ranks were around that level.

However, despite that common knowledge, the soldiers found themselves having a bit of difficulty.

That only meant,

"S- Ranked Wraith Beasts."

And it wasn't just one.

...But all of them.

"Hurrr--"

Its daunting maw opening with a soft growl, the beast nuzzled against the soldier's hand.

The soldier--though--did not struggle, it still took quite the effort to slay the beast.

Sparks of magic continuously flew towards the rift down below.

Whenever a beast emerged, it would immediately be struck down.

But due to the amount of beasts emerging from the rift, it wasn't possible to get them all.

But that was what the strongest was here for.

To turn the tide of the battle.

To make the impossible possible.

Slowly, the sky was turning gray. A dull color. Up above, a man indifferently levitated in the air.

Snowflakes gradually faded in and fell from the clouds.

His hands started contorting into a set of patterns, hand signs.

Whiii--

Slowly, a magic circle materialized below him.

It started out small. But as time passed, and as he continued weaving his fingers into hand signs, it slowly expanded.

Voosh--!

Kracka--!

Sparks of magic continued to hurl down and strike the Wraith Beasts, sending them back into the rift.

"Keep pressuring. Until Sir Lucian finishes his magic skill!"

"Raghh...!"

The soldiers continued their onslaught of attacks. Allowing for Lucian to focus on his skill.

Time slowly passed, but the Wraith Beasts continued emerging from the rift.

It seemed to be endless.

They started crawling out from the pit and lunged themselves at the soldiers.

However, with combined efforts, the situation was manageable.

Kracka!

The soldiers gazed above with visible astonishment etched on their faces.

The magic circle below Lucian had grown large enough to cover the entire pit. The sky--which was once a dull gray color, had dimmed even darker.

Just a bit more.

Then...

Lucian spoke loudly for all to hear.

WOOOOSH----!

Layers upon layers of snow, glacial, and ice condensed and rained down at rapid speed.

All the Wraith Beasts that had tried to crawl up were instantly decimated.

The beasts that had tried to emerge were vanquished as soon as their head peeked out.

The ground shook intensely as all the soldiers watched with widened eyes.

This was,

...What the strongest was capable of.

And apparently, it wasn't even the peak of his power.

The onslaught of ice and snow continued relentlessly, pummeling the rift and the emerging Wraith Beasts.

Lucian's magic skill was a sight to behold--a winter storm contained and focused with deadly precision.

WOOOOSH--!

As the last of the glacial shards rained down, a tentative silence fell over the battlefield.

The soldiers stood in awe, their weapons still raised, ready for any sign of movement from the rift.

Lucian descended slowly, his feet touching the ground with a soft crunch of freshly fallen snow.

"Hoo..."

His breath formed small clouds in the frigid air as he surveyed the damage.

"Sir Lucian,"

One of the soldiers approached and flashed him a salute.

"That was... incredible."

"It's not over yet. Stay alert."

Lucian nodded as he continued gazing onto the rift, not giving the soldier his attention.

However...

Rumble... Rumble...

As if on cue, a low rumble emanated from the depths of the rift.

The ground trembled slightly, causing some of the soldiers to stumble.

This...

There was no end to it.

But all of the soldiers could agree on one thing.

If they wanted this to end,

....Then they had to cut out the root.

Meaning, the incursion must be pushed ahead of schedule.