The dining hall was filled with the clatter of trays and low chatter when the first BOOM rolled through the air. Plates rattled, spoons clinked to the floor, and dozens of startled eyes shot upward.
"What was that?" a boy whispered, his fork hovering midair.
"An accident? Construction?" another muttered nervously.
But when no second sound followed, the tension bled away. Conversations resumed. Students bent back over their food, forcing themselves to believe it was nothing.
Then came the second noise.
A deafening CRASH! directly behind the hall — this time so close the walls shook. Cups toppled, soup spilled, and panicked gasps broke out. Before anyone could speak, the back wall of the dining hall exploded inward, bricks and splinters raining down on the terrified first-years.
Out of the rubble crawled monsters.
They were abominations of flesh and eyes — too many eyes, each blinking wetly, staring in every direction at once. Some bore twisted human legs grafted onto their grotesque torsos, while others dragged themselves with long insectoid arms ending in claws sharp enough to gouge stone. One had no arms at all, its pulsating body sprouting dozens of grasping tendrils instead.
A suffocating wave of energy poured off them, black and malignant. Students froze as though their blood had turned to ice.
"What… what are those things?" someone whispered, voice trembling.
No one moved. They couldn't. The monsters watched them, unblinking, waiting. The silence was unbearable, broken only by the wet clicking of the creatures' teeth.
Then—
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL STARING AT? RUN!" Michael's voice bellowed from the entrance.
The first-years turned to see the second and third-years flooding in, weapons drawn, expressions hard.
The spell broke. Panic erupted. Screaming, stumbling, the first-years rushed for the doors. The monsters moved at once, surging forward with horrifying speed, their bodies slamming into tables and crushing benches as though they were paper.
The second and third-years met them in mid-charge. Blades cut, chains lashed, fire and light flared from abilities unleashed in desperation. A monster's arm was severed, but within seconds, the limb bubbled back into existence, sinew knitting with a sickening squelch.
A girl screamed as claws closed around her waist — in one motion she was ripped apart, her torso hurled across the hall. Another boy's heart was plucked clean out of his chest before he even had time to scream. Blood sprayed the walls. The largest of the monsters snatched up a struggling student, jaws unhinging wide enough to crack bone, and swallowed him whole.
The floor became slick with gore.
First-years trampled one another in their desperation to flee, their sobs and shrieks blending into the sound of tearing flesh.
Michael and a group of older students held near the entrance. "What do we do?" he demanded, sweat streaking his temple.
"We fight, damn it! Even if we die—" one classmate shouted back.
Michael cut him off, eyes wide with terror. "No! I'm not dying for this wretched school. I never wanted to be here in the first place!"
"You think any of us like this place?" the boy snapped. His knuckles tightened on his blade. "But right now, it's our home. And if we don't fight, no one will!" His voice cracked with desperation. "Please, Michael—stand your ground!"
Michael sneered, face twisted with disgust. "No. I value my life more than this hellhole." He turned and bolted.
"Michael, wait!"
But already several others followed his lead.
"I won't die here!"
"Forget this—run!"
Within moments, nearly ten students had abandoned the hall, vanishing into the dark corridors.
The boy — Senior Matt — stared after them, disappointment weighing heavy. When he turned back, only seven remained. Among them stood Klein and Betty.
"You're not leaving too?" Matt asked, his voice sharp.
Klein smirked, his knuckles whitening around his sword. "Leave? Do you take me for a coward like them? I'd rather die fighting. If I win, I restore my name. If I fall, at least I'll fall with a blade in hand."
Matt's chest tightened. He knew what Klein meant. Rumors had destroyed him — whispers of betrayal with Betty spread like wildfire, dragging his reputation through filth. Once admired, now mocked and jeered. His pride was shattered, and he saw this battle as his only redemption.
Matt swallowed hard. "…Fine." He turned back to the looming abominations. Their countless eyes gleamed with eerie intelligence, watching, waiting. "Listen well. These aren't ordinary beasts. They're smart. They're patient. If we strike recklessly, we're finished. Their regeneration makes them nearly unstoppable unless we find a weakness."
"I'll search," a quiet voice spoke. Abigail. The girl stepped forward, her presence calm despite the fear in her eyes.
Matt hesitated. "Abigail, your Sight is dangerous. If you push too far—"
"I'll manage," she interrupted softly, raising her hands. She traced sigils in the air, fingers glowing faint purple. Then she drew her fingers across her eyes. Immediately, light flared in her pupils.
She stared into the mass of monsters. Seconds stretched. Her breathing quickened. Her hands trembled.
Then she gasped, staggering back. Matt caught her before she hit the floor.
"Abigail! Are you alright?"
Her glowing eyes dimmed. She swallowed, face pale. "Th-they… they have no weak spots." Her voice cracked. "Nothing. I couldn't find anything."
"What?" Matt whispered. His stomach dropped.
No weaknesses, no vulnerabilities... Nothing at all. They couldn't be killed.
Hopelessness slithered through the group like ice water.
The monsters seemed to sense it. Their countless eyes blinked in eerie unison.
"If we just stand here—nothing will change!" one boy shouted suddenly. Desperation drove him forward. He sprinted straight at the creatures, blade raised.
"James, wait!" Matt screamed.
But it was too late.
James leapt — and in a blur, one monster swung. His head was sheared clean off, his body collapsing mid-stride while his head rolled across the blood-slick floor.
"James!"
Their voices tore through the hall, but it was too late. James's body crumpled forward, headless, a fountain of blood spraying across the polished tiles. His head rolled until it struck the leg of a broken bench and stopped with glassy eyes staring upward.
Gasps choked the air. Betty clapped her trembling hands over her mouth. One student gagged and fell to his knees.
"Damn it!" Senior Matt roared. He grabbed Abigail, who swayed on her feet, her face pale and lips blue from exhaustion. Without hesitation, he dragged her behind a collapsed table and laid her down in relative safety. Then, jaw clenched, he returned to face the others.
The group's eyes were wild, darting between the shifting abominations and the blood pooling around James's corpse.
"What do we do?" one stammered, voice cracking. "We can't fight these things. We should run, run before it's too late!"
"No!" Matt's voice cracked like a whip. "We can't abandon this hall. If they break through here, the whole school—"
"Then find a solution!" the boy snapped back, panic drowning his reason. "Because if we keep standing still, they'll strike first and we'll all end up like him!"
Matt's throat bobbed. He wanted to answer, but his words faltered. His eyes kept drifting to James's fallen body, the severed head, the glistening red across the floor. His stomach churned.
Before the argument could spiral further, Klein's voice rang out, sharp and defiant.
"Enough! It's pathetic, hearing us argue like frightened children."
They turned to see him stepping forward, shoulders squared, eyes blazing with a desperate determination.
"If no one else has the guts, I'll go first."
Matt's face drained. "Klein—did you not see what happened to James? That monster ripped him apart like paper!"
"Then are you willing to go?" Klein shot back, his voice like a blade. Silence fell, his challenge cutting the air. No one moved. Matt's lips parted, but no words came.
"That's what I thought," Klein spat. His hand clenched, and with a shimmer, a long, pointed sword materialized, gleaming under the hall's flickering lights. "I'll make them regret laughing at me. All of them. Every bastard who mocked me… will choke on their words when I stand victorious."
He strode forward, leaving behind the stench of fear.
Matt closed his eyes briefly, jaw tightening. "…Fine. Do what you want. But don't you dare die on me."
Klein didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on the monsters.
The closest one lunged, dozens of eyes flashing in sync. It leapt into the air, claws outstretched, drool dripping in thick strands.
Klein's grip tightened on his sword. With a feral shout, he leapt to meet it. Steel met flesh. A single clean slash severed the monster's arm mid-air. Black ichor splattered across the floor as the creature crashed down shrieking.
But it wasn't over. The stump writhed, tissue bubbling. A new arm began to regenerate.
"Not this time!" Klein snarled. He landed behind it, spinning his blade, and launched into a flurry of strikes. Each slash was desperate, fueled not by skill but by sheer rage. The monster shrieked as his steel carved it open again and again.
The students watching from afar held their breath.
"Can he… can he actually do it?" Betty whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Don't get your hopes up," another muttered grimly. "Even if he cuts them down, they'll just heal."
"Still…" Matt's eyes stayed fixed on Klein. "…Let's believe in him, just for now. When he signals, we strike together."
---
Meanwhile, across the campus, Alex sat upright in bed, frowning. A deep rumble had shaken the walls, rattling the glass on his desk.
He swung his legs down just as his door creaked open. Raphael stepped out from across the hall, eyes alert.
"Did you hear that?" Alex asked.
"I did. It came from the dining hall."
The two exchanged a glance. No words were needed.
They left together, their footsteps quickening with each echoing boom. Students bolted past them in terror, eyes wide, some streaked with tears, others with blood. Alex grabbed one by the arm.
"What's happening?"
The boy shook violently, eyes darting toward the hall. "Monsters—too many monsters! Hide before they get you!" He wrenched free and vanished down the corridor.
Alex's brows knit. "Monsters, here?"
Raphael's gaze sharpened toward the dining area. "We should see for ourselves." His tone was steady, but inside, eagerness flickered. He wanted to test his new strength — to know what he had become.
"Fine," Alex muttered, a faint grin curling his lips. "But don't die on me."
"Worry about yourself," Raphael shot back.
They shared a quick nod and pressed forward.
---
The dining hall was a slaughterhouse.
The moment they stepped in, the stench of blood hit them — coppery, thick, suffocating. The tiles were slick with crimson, bodies sprawled in grotesque positions across the floor. Students in second and third-year uniforms lay broken, some missing limbs, some missing faces. Others still clung to life, twitching and groaning, but too maimed to move.
And towering above it all… the monsters.
Dozens of them, untouched, their countless eyes glowing faintly as they prowled among the corpses. Not one had fallen. Not one bore more than superficial wounds.
Alex's jaw clenched. "They're not ordinary. I can feel it. These things… they're different."
"Alex!" Raphael's voice cut through. He knelt beside a figure collapsed in blood.
It was Klein.
His sword lay shattered beside him, his chest rising and falling shallowly. His body was mangled, armor shredded, skin torn open. His face was pale, blood seeping from his mouth.
Alex crouched, placing two fingers beneath his nose. A faint breath.
"He's barely alive," Alex muttered, his brow furrowed.
Raphael glanced from Klein to the monsters. "What do we do?"
"We leave, of course," Alex said firmly, rising to his feet. His tone was cold, final. "We're no match for them. If we stay, we die."
"But—" Raphael began.
"Do you want to die?" Alex snapped, his voice low and commanding. Raphael froze. "This isn't our fight," Alex said flatly. "We walk away."
He turned around but something ice-cold latched around his ankle.
Alex stopped dead, gaze snapping down.
Klein's blood-soaked hand gripped him, trembling but unyielding. His eyes cracked open, just barely, pupils cloudy with pain. His lips parted, a rasp escaping.
"Don't… go…"