"Van, Nana, use [Clone] and [101 Shadows] so we can outnumber them and evacuate the students. Victor will rescue those trapped under debris. Arthur and I will distract the enemy in case there are any unknown variables," Lucas said.
"I agree," Van, Arthur, Nana, and Victor said.
"[Clone]!"
"[Roc Bird]! [Frankenstein]!"
Dozens of pink orbs of light emerged from Nana's body and transformed into clones identical to her.
Van's shadow stirred, and from it emerged dozens of giant birds and three-meter-tall undead beings.
Nana's clones and Van's [Shadows] spread out in all directions, while the five of them rushed toward the nearest collapsed building.
[Frankenstein] also carried Master Rock to the underground shelter to be evaluated and treated immediately.
"Hello! Is anyone there?!" Nana shouted, but her voice was drowned out by explosions, screams, and other chaotic sounds.
"Victor!" Lucas called, turning toward him.
Victor nodded and began chanting a spell.
The debris started to float into the air, revealing several students beneath—severely injured.
"[Unicorn]! [Slime]!"
From Van's shadow, a [Unicorn] and several [Slimes] appeared.
The horn on the [Unicorn]'s forehead glowed, and orbs of light shot out, floating toward the injured students.
The orbs enveloped the students, and their wounds began to heal. The [Slimes] then carried them to a safe location.
"Let's move on to the next ruins," Lucas said.
The others nodded in response, and the five of them rushed to the next site.
At the second site, Victor and Van did the same—lifting debris, healing the wounded, and relocating them to safety.
They repeated this at the third, fourth, and fifth ruins. Nana monitored her clones as they helped guide mobile students toward the underground shelter, while Lucas and Arthur cleared the debris that blocked the way.
At the sixth ruin, Victor and Van completed their task, but not as smoothly as before.
Victor had been using gravity magic continuously, and as a result, he had grown exhausted from running out of [Mana].
"Victor, can you still continue? If not, let's take a short break," Lucas suggested.
"I... I'm okay," Victor replied, taking deep breaths and wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Seeing Victor worn out, yet with eyes still burning with determination, Arthur unconsciously gave a faint smile.
'This guy's so thin he looks like a dried twig, but his spirit is no joke,' Arthur thought.
"Alright. Le—"
"Lucas! Nana! Victor!"
Before Lucas could finish his sentence, a voice cut through.
All five turned around to see Silvie limping toward them, carrying an unconscious student on her back.
"Silvie!" Nana cried, both happy and alarmed.
Lucas and Victor also smiled upon seeing her.
"Senior, I need help! This student was injured after being crushed by debris!" Silvie said, gently laying the student down.
Lucas, Nana, and Victor turned to Van with a look that clearly said, "Heal him."
Van nodded, and the [Unicorn] beside him healed the student. A [Slime] then carried the student away to safety.
"Silvie, how's the situation at your area of the Academy?" Lucas asked, his expression serious.
"Fortunately, I was in the open field. Not many students were injured. They've all been evacuated to the underground shelter," Silvie replied.
"That's good," Lucas muttered.
"However, on my way here, I saw lots of collapsed buildings. So I rushed over to find help. Luckily, I found you guys," Silvie said with a worried and sad face.
Hearing her words, the expressions of Lucas, Nana, and Victor quickly shifted from relief to urgency.
"Let's hurry and save them!" Lucas said.
The six of them rushed to the location Silvie had mentioned.
Upon arrival, they saw debris scattered everywhere, and faint cries for help echoed through the air.
"Victor, do you think you can lift all this?" Lucas asked, concerned about Victor's condition.
"I'm sorry. I think I can only lift about half of it," Victor answered, sounding helpless and blaming himself.
"Do what you can. We'll handle the rest," Lucas said.
"Okay!" Victor responded and prepared to chant again.
"Move aside," Van said calmly.
His shadow stirred again, and hundreds of giant slimes, each several meters tall, emerged.
The [Slimes] charged forward and devoured all the building debris in their path.
In the blink of an eye, all the rubble vanished, revealing the barely conscious students beneath.
The [Unicorn] immediately began healing the wounded, and the [Slimes] transported them to safety.
Lucas, Nana, and the others were stunned. The entire process had taken less than a minute.
"Why didn't you just do that earlier?" Lucas asked in confusion.
"[Mana]," Van replied—short, precise, and clear.
Hearing that, they all understood. They, too, had experienced the difficulty of [Mana] shortage. And a legendary skill like Van's surely consumed a tremendous amount of it.
'Just how much [Mana] does he have right now?' Lucas wondered as he looked at Van.
Recalling everything that had happened so far, Lucas realized Van had summoned and maintained a large number of [Shadows], including [Roc Bird], [Frankenstein], [Unicorn], and [Slime].
'A sea of [Mana],' Lucas thought as he stared at Van.
"What should we do now?" Nana asked. "My clones have already evacuated the nearby students."
"We should evacuate as well. Someone needs to protect the students in the underground shelter. I have a feeling that the remaining members of the [Academy Committee] are also heading there," Lucas replied.
"Alright," Van, Arthur, and the others responded.
They then ran from their current location to continue the evacuation.
Every second mattered. Every second could mean life or death for the students, the Masters, and the rest of the staff.
*SLASH
The six of them suddenly felt a sense of danger, and a chill ran down their spines. They immediately turned around and took defensive stances.
They saw dozens of blue sword auras rushing toward them.
"[Wind Magic: Wind Slash]!" Lucas muttered, unleashing his magic without hesitation. Blades of wind shot forward to intercept the incoming sword auras.
Van, Arthur, and Silvie also drew their swords and released their own sword energies.
*BOOM
Dozens of blue sword energies clashed with Lucas' wind blades, Van's dark-purple sword energy, Arthur's pale white energy, and Silvie's golden energy.
The collision produced a powerful gust of wind that sent debris and dust flying everywhere.
"Looks like our opponent this time is a pretty tough swordsman," Arthur said seriously.