Chapter 15: The Gap in Power! Utter Despair!!

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: The Gap in Power! Utter Despair!!

The moment the order was given, the entire gymnasium erupted into chaos.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

More than a hundred black-clad members of the Lion Syndicate moved at once, surrounding the students and cutting off every possible escape route.

They were battle-hardened criminals, most of them between Level 40 and Level 50. Their class combinations were carefully coordinated, allowing them to cover one another’s weaknesses and unleash devastating attacks.

"Wind Blade Storm!"

"Burst Fireball!"

"Shadow Arrow Rain!"

Brilliant flashes of magic illuminated the dark gymnasium. Blades of wind tore through the air, fireballs streaked toward the crowd, and countless shadow arrows descended upon the unarmed students.

The attacks carried enough destructive power to tear through the gymnasium’s defenses.

And their targets were a group of newly awakened students who had barely learned how to use their skills.

"AHHH!"

"Help!"

"Someone, save us!"

Screams erupted throughout the venue.

The students scattered in every direction, stumbling over fallen chairs and one another. Some desperately tried to activate their newly awakened abilities, but their panic made it difficult to concentrate.

They had entered the gymnasium expecting an award ceremony.

None had imagined they would be fighting for their lives moments later.

"Damn it! If we’re going to die, then we’ll die fighting!"

The principal forced himself to his feet, ignoring the blood rising in his throat. He slammed his staff against the floor, his voice cutting through the screams.

"All teachers, follow my command!"

"Hold the line! Protect the students!"

"Whatever the cost, don’t let these bastards reach them!"

His command finally snapped the teachers out of their initial shock.

Most of the instructors at Westmere No. 1 Academy were Professionals who had reached several dozen levels. They couldn’t match the attackers’ combat experience, but they understood their responsibility.

These were their students.

They couldn’t simply stand aside and watch them die.

"Earth Wall!"

"Water Curtain!"

"Holy Light Shield!"

Dozens of teachers rushed forward, activating their defensive skills. Earthen barriers rose from the floor, curtains of water formed in the air, and shields of holy light spread over the fleeing students.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Attacks collided with the hastily assembled defenses. Explosions rocked the gymnasium, sending violent shock waves through the crowd.

Desks and chairs in the front rows shattered into splinters. Fragments of stone scattered across the floor, while the air filled with smoke and the acrid smell of burning wood.

Despite their desperate efforts, the teachers were already struggling to hold the line.

The principal glanced at the battlefield below before turning his attention toward the three leaders hovering in the air.

They still hadn’t joined the attack.

That was the most frightening part.

The hundred or so Syndicate members were already overwhelming the teachers. If the three leaders entered the fight, the entire defensive line would collapse in seconds.

The principal turned toward his vice principal.

A look passed between the two men.

"Old friend," the principal said grimly. "Help me hold back the one on the left."

The vice principal tightened his grip on his enormous battleaxe. He understood what the principal intended to do.

"All right," he replied. "Looks like two old men like us still have one last fight left in them."

The principal nodded.

Then his gaze swept across the chaotic gymnasium and settled on Nathaniel Beaumont.

The young man who had achieved an SSS-Rank clearance.

The student who had accomplished what generations of awakened Professionals could only dream of.

He was more than an extraordinary talent. With enough time to grow, he might become one of humanity’s greatest weapons against the Abyss.

He is the hope of humanity.

The principal’s expression hardened.

"Nathaniel Beaumont must survive this."

His fingers tightened around his staff.

"Even if every teacher in this gymnasium dies, we must protect him!"

The next instant, the holy light surrounding his body erupted.

It was no longer the ordinary radiance of a skill.

The light burned fiercely, consuming his own life force to unleash power far beyond his usual limits.

The principal was burning his life essence.

"Scum of the Lion Syndicate!"

His roar shook the gymnasium.

"If you want to kill my students, you’ll have to step over my corpse first!"

BOOM!

The principal shot into the air like a blazing comet, charging straight toward the bald leader.

The battle in the sky began.

But it was a battle doomed from the start.

The principal raised his staff. Behind him, an enormous phantom of a holy giant materialized, its towering body radiating sacred light.

"Holy Light Judgment!"

The Level 120 priest unleashed his ultimate skill.

A pillar of golden radiance descended from above, flooding the surrounding darkness. For an instant, the entire gymnasium seemed to have regained the light of day.

The bald leader merely sneered.

"Pathetic."

A thick, ink-dark blood mist erupted from his body, spreading through the air like a living cloud.

"Before my Filthy Blood Domain, your holy light is nothing but a joke!"

The bald leader possessed an extremely rare hidden class.

Bloodthirsty Asura.

It was a class notorious for its corruption and destructive nature. Its abilities were especially effective against light-based and healing-based classes, making it a natural counter to priests like the principal.

The blood mist surged forward and swallowed the enormous holy giant.

Sssssss!

A harsh sizzling sound filled the air.

The golden light began to corrode. Cracks spread across the giant’s radiant body as the blood mist ate away at its power.

The holy giant struggled for a moment before its massive form began to dissolve.

The principal’s expression changed dramatically.

His ultimate skill had been countered almost immediately.

"Pfft!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

The destruction of his skill triggered a violent backlash that shook his body from within. His face turned pale, and his figure wavered in midair.

"Old Zhang!"

The vice principal’s eyes nearly split with fury.

He raised his battleaxe, flames surging along its enormous blade.

"Mountain-Splitting Strike!"

He swung with all his strength, sending a blazing arc toward the bald leader.

But before the attack could reach its target, the slender man hovering to the bald leader’s left finally moved.

He held a pair of pitch-black daggers.

One moment, he was standing in the air.

The next, he vanished.

The vice principal’s pupils contracted.

A chill ran down his spine.

"Too slow."

The slender man’s voice whispered directly behind him.

The vice principal twisted instinctively, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike to his heart.

But he couldn’t evade the second dagger.

Slash!

A deep wound opened across his back, cutting through his armor and biting into the flesh beneath.

Blood sprayed into the air.

The vice principal grunted in pain as his body lurched forward. He barely managed to steady himself before falling from the sky.

The slender man withdrew his daggers and looked at him with contempt.

The third leader, the woman who had remained silent until now, finally raised her hands.

Strange symbols formed between her fingers.

Gray energy spread through the air, transforming into several weakening auras that wrapped around the principal and vice principal.

Their movements slowed.

Their strength diminished.

Even maintaining their balance became increasingly difficult.

She was a Cursed Witch, a class specializing in weakening enemies and disrupting their abilities.

With her supporting the other two leaders, the principal and vice principal had almost no chance of turning the battle around.

In a single exchange, Westmere No. 1 Academy’s two strongest defenders had been pushed to the brink of defeat.

The difference in strength was overwhelming.

Below, a young teacher stared at the scene in disbelief.

"The gap is too big..."

His voice trembled.

If even the principal, a Level 120 Professional, couldn’t stand against the enemy, what chance did teachers several dozen levels lower have?

Before he could think further, a terrible scream rang out nearby.

An Earth Mage responsible for maintaining the defensive line had his barrier shattered by a single slash from a charging Syndicate member.

The attack struck him squarely in the chest.

His body flew backward, crashing into the remains of several desks before disappearing beneath a cloud of dust.

No one knew whether he was still alive.

The breach in the defensive line widened.

And the Lion Syndicate members poured through it.

"Wind Blade!"

"Shadow Slash!"

"Fireburst!"

Their attacks rained down upon the students behind the broken defenses.

"Run!"

"Don’t kill me! Please!"

"I don’t want to die!"

The newly awakened students had never experienced a real battle, much less a massacre carried out by Professionals dozens of levels above them.

The organized gathering disintegrated into chaos.

Students pushed past one another, desperately searching for an exit that no longer existed. Some tried to hide beneath overturned desks. Others stumbled across the floor, their legs too weak to carry them any farther.

A few had already collapsed from terror, curling up and covering their heads as if that could protect them from the storm of attacks.

The Dark Night Canopy still covered the sky.

There would be no rescue from outside.

No reinforcements.

No escape.

Only the Lion Syndicate and the people trapped inside the gymnasium.

"It’s over..."

In a corner near the back of the hall, a bespectacled student watched the unfolding disaster with a face drained of color.

He was usually known for his excellent grades and extensive knowledge of Professional classes. Even now, his mind was desperately trying to make sense of the situation.

"Those men in black... The energy fluctuations from their skills are at least Level 40 or higher."

His teeth chattered.

"And the three leaders..."

He forced himself to look upward.

The principal was struggling to remain airborne. The vice principal was bleeding heavily, while the woman supporting their opponents continued to weaken them with her curses.

The student swallowed hard.

"They can suppress a Level 100-plus principal without even using their full strength..."

His voice dropped to a frightened whisper.

"They must be powerhouses above Level 100. Maybe much higher."

He looked around at the shattered defenses, the wounded teachers, and the students running blindly through the smoke.

"Less than three seconds..."

The realization struck him with brutal clarity.

"From the moment these people appeared, it hasn’t even been three seconds, and we’re already in this state."

He pressed his back against the wall, his hands shaking.

"With a difference in strength like this, we’re no different from ants. We can’t fight them. We can’t escape. There’s no way we can win..."

His words spread to the students nearby.

The little hope they had left began to crumble.

In this world, level differences could determine the outcome of a battle before either side launched its first attack.

A single level could make a difference.

Ten levels could create a chasm that was almost impossible to cross.

But this time, the difference was measured in dozens of levels.

And in the sky above them, three terrifying enemies stood far beyond their reach.

For the students trapped inside the gymnasium, despair had only just begun.