Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 86 - 85- Ambush(2)

"This is chaos..." Allen muttered, standing by the window, eyes fixed on the battlefield beyond.

The barrier was still holding—for now. But the monsters outside were relentless. Some artifacts around the school had awakened, reacting to the growing threat like sleeping beasts stirred from their slumber.

Flying monsters? Blasted out of the sky by flaming projectiles.

Brutes charging in with raw power? Skewered by rising ice spikes or torn apart by sudden, thunderous explosions.

Every trap that triggered was brutal, precise—a perfect blend of magic and mayhem. Whoever had set them up knew exactly what they were doing. It wasn’t just defense. It was a message.

Allen already had a name in mind.

Professor Adrian.

Sylvie’s concerns weren’t unwarranted. She was right that something was about to happen.

And then Allen noticed it—the shimmering barrier surrounding the academy. It glowed with a familiar light.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"So he actually used my Light attribute to shield the school..."

Only Light could form that kind of barrier. And only he had that attribute in the entire academy.

But admiration had to wait.

The shield was weakening. Cracks flickered across its surface like shattered glass. The Acolytes had arrived—organized, powerful—and they were pushing back the traps with pure force.

Allen’s smile faded.

He turned away from the window and looked toward the corner of his room.

His blade waited for him there, silent, cold, and ready.

It was time to stop watching.

And start fighting.

....

Back on the northern side of the academy, Adrian glanced at the cracking barrier and muttered,

"It won’t hold for long."

Ariana stood beside him, eyes fixed on the shimmering wall.

"I can see that," she replied.

The barrier, once invisible and strong, was now glowing brighter—a sign it was failing. Thin fractures danced across its surface like lightning veins, and in places, chunks had already shattered away.

Adrian took a step toward her.

"Can you handle the three at the gate?"

Beyond the crumbling entrance, three figures bombarded the barrier with continuous spells. It pulsed with each hit, growing weaker by the second.

Ariana nodded, but her grip on the axe tightened. She didn’t know exactly how things would go, but she’d make it work.

Adrian’s voice lowered to a whisper, sharp as a dagger:

"Make them scream."

Then, without another word, he crouched beside a small stone near the entrance. His hands moved swiftly, silently.

A beat passed.

Suddenly—

"Oh!" Ariana’s instincts kicked in. She yanked her axe free and dropped into a low stance, ready for battle.

The barrier cracked apart, and with a final surge of power, it gave in.

The division at the academy gate split wide, and blasts of magic flew toward her.

"Guh!"

She braced herself, silver axe absorbing the hits. Sparks flew. Her shoulder trembled from the impact, but she held her ground.

The three Acolytes rushed in, riding the wake of their own attack. Magic beasts snarled behind them.

Adrian was already gone, a blur dashing to the side.

"Roman!" he called out.

From the main building, Instructor Roman leapt forward. His blade swept wide, conjuring a wall of fire that roared to life, halting the incoming blood hounds.

Meanwhile, Ariana dug in.

Her eyes sharpened, and with a sudden twist of her body, she sidestepped another blast and slammed her axe into the earth.

"Mud Prison!"

The ground answered.

From beneath the feet of the Acolytes, thick, wet mud burst upward, violent and fast. It wrapped around their legs, pulling at them, hardening like fast-setting stone.

"Agh—!"

"What the hell is this?!"

The sludge rose past their waists, locking them in place.

"Shit, get us out!"

The third Acolyte, panic in his eyes, raised his arm and hurled a fireball. But he was off-balance, his aim wild.

Too late.

Ariana burst through the flames without hesitation. Fire licked her clothes but didn’t slow her. She flipped the axe mid-swing, the broad blade raised above her head.

And then—

BOOOOOOOM

"ELIAS!!"

Blood sprayed across the mud as the axe came down, crushing the man’s skull like rotten fruit.

The remaining two stared in horror. Their screams tore through the ground.

Every Acolyte nearby heard it.

They had just witnessed the silver-haired warrior turn the battlefield into a slaughterhouse.

Adrian winced from behind as he saw Ariana cladding her axe with stone and hammering the heads of the three Acolytes as if she were breaking pinatas.

’Despite being a man...I can’t do that with a straight face.’ Her emotional meters were broken.

"Damn you, bitch!" Another Acolyte entered the grounds and launched a blow towards the headmistress.

Ariana pushed her armament forward to absorb the shock but never noticed when a hound appeared behind her.

"SHIT!" Ariana cursed as she saw the hound raising its crimson claw and inches away from her back.

She didn’t have the time to react and could only brace for the scratch, but then—

*THWACK*

A sound, as if something blew, resonated, and the hound’s body exploded from near zero distance, painting Ariana’s back. But having her shirt dyed red was better than receiving a few nail marks.

She glanced behind her and found Adrian standing there, holding something she couldn’t identify.

"Look forward!" Adrian barked, his voice sharp and commanding.

With a flick of his thumb, he pulled the release latch, and the cylinder snapped out. Smoke curled from the empty chambers as he shoved a single bullet into place, fingers moving fast despite the chaos around him.

Then—a swift flick of his wrist.

The revolver spun in his hand, the cylinder clicking back in with a cold, mechanical snap. The gun aligned with deadly precision as he brought it up.

The sky darkened.

The dragon came roaring down, wings spread wide, its massive jaws glowing with fire.

Adrian’s coat whipped in the wind as he took a single step forward, eyes locked on the beast.

*THWACK*

The shot tore through the air like thunder.

The bullet, shining like a streak of light, soared toward the dragon’s open mouth, straight and true.

The dragon swallowed the bullet, but it didn’t expect what was to come.

"Oh, damn..." Roman whistled as he saw it.

The dragon’s mouth, followed by his stomach...and slowly his whole body turned frosty white.

"Is it sorcery?! How is he using magic?!"

One of the Acolytes muttered as the dragon kept falling toward the barrier, and that much weight would shatter the barrier completely

"Damn it!" Adrian cursed as he pushed another bullet and aimed for the falling dragon.

But he didn’t need to.

"Scaldfang!" Someone shouted before a huge dragon, made out of flames, soared through the air and coiled around the frozen one.

The flaming dragon completely consumed the creature before shards of ice could be seen falling.

Adrian turned towards the person who intervened just at the right time.

"Told you not to come out," Adrian sighed.

Allen grinned, "Can’t miss the action. "

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.