Isabella's blade cut through the Hunters like melted butter. She swung left and right as Hunters crept up on her like pests.
Using the flames along with her blade, used up a lot of her Kishin.
Kishin was the principal power from which everything was created. Without Kishin, the body would cease to function.
Isabella could feel her body start draining, and her movements became sluggish.
How was it possible for that many Hunters to appear? It seemed like for every Hunter she took down, two appeared.
Maybe her best decision was to reunite with Elara. Her powers were perfect for a horde like that.
Isabella was willing to lose the duel between the two of them.
She took off running, trying to find anyone to stick with. Cedar, Rye, Deia, Yamikuro... Even Kaminari.
Any of them would've been fine to fight alongside.
Isabella jumped over bodies while dodging attacks from those who still stood.
However, as she had expected, finding others wouldn't have been that easy.
Taking a right turn, she faced a well over 7-foot-tall Hunter.
The gloves the Hunters typically wear for protection and hiding their fingerprints were ripped. His hands pulsed with greenish-blue, almost like there was no blood in his veins.
The Hunter noticed Isabella and let out a groan, charging up his orb, and aimed at her.
Isabella had no choice but to gamble; running away wasn't really an option.
The Hunter shot out the orb, and Isabella acted.
Isabella brought her hands near her face, gripping her sword that was pointed downwards. She closed her eyes and relied on instinct to cut through it at the perfect time.
Once the presence of that power was strong enough, she let the other hand go and slashed.
Her blade went through the orb backwards, eventually ending up the right way in Isabella's hand.
The orb exploded, but the impact wasn't strong enough to hurt her at that distance.
Isabella tried to think of a way to deal with this quickly.
Unleashing every bit of Kishin in her would've been too dangerous.
Trying to find an opening was impossible.
Running away would only delay his inevitable attacks.
What could she have done?
But the decision was made for her.
Isabella raised her head, and the Hunter had two hands placed on top of each other, charging up an even bigger orb.
The only option was to tank it.
She repeated the same action, pointing the head of the blade downward. That was the easiest way to counterattack an incoming attack, adding her own bodyweight to the grip.
The orb shot out, and Isabella held it back with all her power.
She let out a loud groan while her body was being slightly pushed back.
It was nearly impossible to cut through it with the level of Kishin she had now.
Isabella's power became unstable for a second.
'No—!"
Everything turned bright before her as the orb exploded, her blade slipping past it.
A loud explosion shook the building, dust raining from the cracked ceiling.
Rye, Cedar, and Deia were nearby, feeling the aftermath shake even them.
"What was that?" Cedar asked, having just rested his eyes.
"I think that was an explosion, Cedar," Deia spoke up in her quiet voice.
"Hey—! Come on, I know at least that much!" Cedar shouted, breaking his usually calm character, at the unexpected answer.
Cedar was one of the most intelligent in the whole school, so he felt disgraced.
Rye, however, stood mysteriously with his back turned towards them.
Deia's and Cedar's eyes went to him, questioning what he could've thought of at that moment.
"The fulmination affected Mrs Emberveil alongside us." Rye pointed out.
"I-Isabella...?" Deia became worried.
"Are you sure?" Cedar tried to get confirmation.
He knew Rye was most likely correct, but he didn't want anything to happen to his friends.
"Mrs. Emberveil's Kishin has dropped dangerously low," Rye replied, still standing without moving.
"W-We have to save her...!" Deia hurried next to Rye, trying to figure out how to get to the other side of the gap in the hallway caused by her.
Rye took a step forward, and he was suddenly at the other side of the gap.
For Deia and Cedar, it wasn't that simple.
A shackling sound of chains echoed once again. From Deia's hand fell a chain, casting moonlight.
She threw the chain onto the ceiling, tightly holding onto it, and swung, her hair being thrown around as she went.
Cedar looked the other way as soon as he realized what was going on, trying not to look at Deia, since she was wearing a skirt.
Rye didn't seem to care, but it wasn't like he understood why Cedar looked away. To Rye, lusting over girls was a foreign thing, since he never had any real interest in women or men.
Deia and Rye were now both on the other side, and it was Cedar's turn to figure something out.
Cedar couldn't use Deia's chain, since it had already disappeared.
He thought about it, but since they were in a hurry, he had to take a gamble by jumping over the gap.
Cedar took a few steps back, gathering speed.
He took off, leaping into the air, his hair flowing like Deia's. The edge was so close, and—
Cedar made it, almost breaking his ankle in the process.
Deia smiled quietly, holding her hands together. She wanted to clap, but was too shy to.
All three of them ran to Isabella; however, a Hunter casting a shadow over the entire corridor walked towards her.
Rye didn't seem startled; instead, he disappeared next to Cedar and Deia.
Slash!
The Hunter's head flew off his neck.
Rye stood before the downed Isabella, his left hand covered in blood.
"Incredible..." Cedar noted.
Isabella wasn't unconscious, so Rye helped her up, some of his Kishin flowing into her.
"Thanks..." Isabella smiled slightly, her forehead covered in blood.
The fighting wasn't over just yet; more Hunters ran towards them.
They weren't in an ideal position to fight off a horde. If they tried to run, a gap in the hallway would stop them.
Similarly, Yamikuro and Kaminari tried their hardest to fight off the Hunters down a floor in the cafeteria, but there were too many of them, some breaking through the windows behind them.
The only person who wasn't actively fighting was Elara. She walked, every step freezing an incoming Hunter.
There was something stuck in her mind.
Her hands trembled as she fidgeted with something behind her back.
A phone call she had earlier broke her; whoever she was talking with gave her a task.
And that task would lead her to a path she never wanted to imagine.
Her mind wandered on thoughts of the friends she had made, especially Yamikuro.
But Elara's already complicated situation worsened.
Hunters surrounded her, and she picked up on the presence of hundreds of them.
Even her ice wouldn't be enough.
The Hunters surrounded everyone, the living students dropping fast.
Someone had to step up to save everyone.