LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 7: Glimmer of Hope
The archmage gave the instructions in an urgent manner. As other ways to teleport themselves forcefully to the island waited, he instructed a few 6th-rate instructors to fly at full speed to reach the hidden island. It would take them a day and night to reach it, but they had no choice. With the passing of each hour, the academy waited with bated breath for a miracle.
Just when desperation was creeping in, Zarek destroyed the artifact that produced the barrier which prevented communication from the island to the academy. Communication was restored and all the orbs resumed recording the magical happenings. The holograms suddenly revealed the students' well-being and the whole situation on the island.
What they saw was a scene of unforeseen predicaments: the island was slowly burning, and the students were in life-threatening situations. Demons roamed the island, wreaking havoc. The sight of gravely injured students requiring immediate action to save them or perish was cruel and heart-wrenching. The students at the academy, watching the hologram, were shocked and deeply concerned, urging for immediate rescue.
Seizing the moment, Astrovis instantly teleported to the island, followed by the other instructors. His fury was palpable, his face etched with unstoppable determination to exterminate the demons that had interrupted the examination. Astrovis flew above the volcano, setting up a powerful barrier cube to prevent the demons from fleeing. His remarkable prowess allowed him to cast the wide barrier effortlessly.
From his high position, Astrovis looked out to the whole island, identifying where the demons were. Activating his battle form, "Lightning God," he drew lightning into his body, augmenting his strength and speed. Astrovis merged with the lightning and moved at the speed of light. Like a lightning bolt from the blue, he struck the marked demons, with the thunderous roars that echoed through the sky. Every strike was lethal, and the demons reduced to crisply burned ashes.
Meanwhile, other instructors came in and quickly found the students. They quickly rushed towards them, attending to those with fatal injuries who were on the verge of dying. One female instructor, recognizing the situation, took off her glasses and started praying. She cast her wide-range powerful healing spell, "Goddess Sanctuary," and enveloped the entire island. The lying and injured students, those fleeing and fighting the demons, felt the goddess's grace. Their exhaustion waned, their sores closed, and a renewed vigor revived them to withdraw safely.
With the obstruction removed and its interference with mana eliminated, the students felt the presence of the instructors and the healing sanctuary's energy. Leo, who was barely holding his own against a powerful demon, felt a surge of energy. The demon had a human-like body and at least 7th or 8th-rate magical power. Leo realized he was facing an 8th-rate demon, moving like a human and showing incredible strength.
Despite the protection from the sanctuary, Leo could not easily defeat the demon. The demon's power was that of a fire spread. Leo was dodging fireballs all the time. He may have suffered severe injuries due to the explosive power of each fireball. The floor beneath him became a pit of lava, a 200-meter area around the demon, which is quite precarious. Each time he tried a sudden attack, the lava, seemingly on its own, counteracted his effort.
Both combatants exchanged relentless attacks. Leo's knight armor absorbed the brunt of the damage but was gradually being destroyed. As Leo pondered his next move, he noticed the demon's mana was depleting. She was using magic attacks more frequently than Leo. If he could hold out and let her exhaust her mana, he might find an opening.
The moment came when the demon's attacks slowed, and their explosive impact diminished. With an idea, Leo hurled himself, his knight sword charged with mana, intending to end the fight. However, the demon was mistaken; it feigned being out of breath. At the time that Leo got near, the mouth of the demon projected a fierce fire cannon straight at his head. Reacting at the very last moment, Leo deflected the attack at his head by his sword. The impact blasted his sword off, but deflected the trajectory down to his shoulder. The punch threw him for a distance, smashing through trees, until he was stopped by momentum.
Leo was seriously hurt. He could hardly open his eyes. Save one student, he had; now the limits were reached. The demon was thrilled. She came to him. She looked up and then saw that the fence that had protected her had been shattered and in return had put one she could not get past. She felt excitement instead of fear, ready to complete Leo.
As the demon prepared to strike, a lightning bolt fell upon them. When the smoke cleared, Astrovis stood, his body crackling with lightning as he gripped the demon by her neck. She tried to break free, but Astrovis's power was too great. Trying one last fireball spell, the demon was electrocuted instantly, her body turning to ashes.
Astrovis turned to Leo, concern in his eyes. "Are you alright, Leo?" he asked, helping him to his feet.
"I'll live," Leo replied, wincing in pain. "But we need to save the others. There are still demons out there."
"Don't worry," Astrovis said, his voice firm. "We've got this."
"What a relief," he thought to himself before losing consciousness, his knight armor and sword disappearing.
On top of the volcano, Zarek looked around. "It seems it's already all over," he said to himself. "Inside the island were only three deadly enemies, and they have been eliminated one after another." He thought of how good instructors there were at the academy, of how brilliant everyone was in teaching and handling every kind of fighting.
However, something was bugging him. "How did the dark association and the demons even get to this island, which is monitored by the academy?" he thought. "Was the plan only to massacre the students?" He kept pounding his thoughts, trying to uncover the true goal behind the attack.
Just as the students and instructors were starting to feel relieved, something strange occurred. The body of the person Zarek killed suddenly went flying, compressing into a black ball. A dimensional rift opened in the sky, and a gigantic black hand covered in devouring aura emerged, holding the gate open. An eye peeked through, sending chills down everyone's spines.
Terror and fear gripped the students and instructors alike. "What kind of monster is that?" they whispered in horror. The entity's vengeful cry made their heads feel like they were going to explode. The sane students called out, "It's trying to come out!"
As the entity struggled to break free, a powerful individual appeared in the sky. An old man, radiating an aura that overpowered the entity's evil presence, looked upon the scene with calm authority. With a single word, "Go back," the dimensional rift closed, and the sky returned to normal.
Zarek stood atop the volcano, watching in a mix of awe and curiosity as the spectacle unfolded. "What just happened?" he asked himself. The mystery of the dark association's involvement and the appearance of the entity remained u