The heavy wooden doors to the courtyard thundered open, and for the first time since the assault began, order cut through chaos.
Principal Kine stepped forward, his every movement carrying weight. He was not tall in the way some warriors were, nor imposing in muscle, yet the sheer aura around him pressed against every living thing.
His eyes glowed faintly, silver flecks shining with raw mana, and with a simple lift of his hand, the battlefield bent to his will.
He extended his palm. Light burst outward in radiant arcs, slicing across the courtyard like blades of dawn.
Each sweep of his hand unleashed more brilliance, waves of pure energy cascading in crescents that annihilated clusters of monsters at once.
The shadows shrieked, their forms tearing apart under the radiance.
The ground quaked, the very stones trembling beneath the magnitude of his power. Students and teachers alike paused, breaths caught in their throats. This was mastery. This was why he was the principal.
