The Rapid Viper team quickly made entry through the front of the school. Akami moved like a silent ghost in the shadows, the only clue that he was present was the spurting of blood and the rolling of goblin heads as he thread his way through the horde on the first level.
"This is a lot more than a tribe of goblins!" Hansho called out as he slammed a mighty fist into the stone floor. The floor heaved under the force of his blow causing some of the goblins to lose their balance. The ones that fell were quickly smothered by a sudden burst of incredibly strong vines that erupted from the earth beneath them. Their muffled cries were quickly cut off as the vines ended their pitiful lives.
"This is an army, has something like this ever happened before?" Sarata called out as she swung her dark colored wooden staff, smacking a goblin in the forehead and knocking it unconscious.
"Not to my knowledge," Ren answered as he focused on buffing his team. His magic flowed out to the rest of the team which enveloped them in a soft glow of golden light. Their strength was enhanced even further and their durability was increased. Ren also kept a close eye on Hansho who was busy tanking attacks from small axes. None of them had managed to slice through his skin yet but Ren kept a healing spell on standby just in case.
The team was making good progress and almost cleared the entire first level alongside the few remaining teachers who still stood in defiance of the monsters. Most of the staff had either been seriously wounded, killed, or fled. Only a few had been left by the time the Exorcist Guild had arrived.
"Has the second floor been cleared yet?" Ren hollered at the Headmaster who was running out of steam. He was holding onto the wall while trying to catch his breath.
"Not yet, we couldn't make it through the waves down here."
Ren nodded quickly, "second level guys."
The team quickly made their way to a set of large stone steps, they had just started to ascend the stairs when a sudden boom from the second level made them stop. Every member of the team had the same feeling, something powerful and dark was on the second level. Whatever it was, it wasn't a goblin. They practically sprinted the rest of the way, each of them fearing that whatever had breached the wards was up here.
Upon reaching the second level a cloud of thick, acrid black smoke filled their vision. Something was on fire and the smell of burnt goblin flesh pricked at their nostrils along with something else.
"Is that sulphur?" Hansho asked incredulously.
"I really hope it's not a demon," Sarata gripped her staff nervously. Goblins were easy, demons were well beyond level 3 in terms of power.
"Let's find out." Akami wasted no more time as he propelled himself down the hallway, moving with inhuman speed, daggers at the ready.
The team followed behind while Ren kept up the buff spell he had placed on them. The closer they got to the source of the smoke, the stronger the scents became. It was hard to breathe and they could feel an intense wave of heat emanating from a classroom. The door sign said simply, "enchantment room".
Bursting into the room they found a single eighteen year old woman standing her ground. She had placed herself between a group of students and some unlucky goblins that had managed to break in. The woman quickly looked at the team as they entered and snarled at them. Her eyes may have been as black as coal but there was no mistaking the message they were communicating, "back off".
Ren held up his hands as he gently moved closer, "we're not here to hurt anyone. We're here to rescue you. It's okay."
The woman didn't move from her spot and Ren could see another woman with curly red hair huddling behind her.
"I'll start getting the students out of here, they shouldn't be breathing in this much smoke." Hansho strode confidently across the room and grabbed at Mary with the intention to pick her up in his massive muscular arms. Hansho was not prepared for the force of the blow that struck his right side. He felt like a train had struck him as he flew across the room, shattering the stone wall with the force of the impact.
"What the hell?" He gasped out as he cradled his ribs.
Ren quickly stepped back as Akami positioned himself, prepared to rush in if necessary to eliminate the threat.
"Hang on! She's just scared!" Sarata called out to the rest of the team.
"Scared? Of what?" Hansho fired back as he got to his feet, wincing in pain. He was going to have a bruise, he just knew it.
"She didn't mean that. She's just protecting me, that's all." Mary spoke softly, peering from behind Luna's shoulders.
"Yeah we figured that out, thanks for the warning," Hansho growled at her.
"What's your name?" Sarata asked while motioning at Akami to hold his position.
"I'm Mary, Mary Tree. This is Luna Occulta, she's a mage but she hasn't been able to control her powers very well."
"No shit."
Sarata shot a look at Hansho that clearly said, "shut up."
"She saved us from them with some sort of fire spell that took them all out."
"Before that she moved with super speed and punched one so hard it's neck broke."
The students that had been huddled together were unharmed although covered in soot. One of them pointed towards a goblin laying a few feet away, the only one that hadn't been consumed by the intense flames. It's neck was at a weird angle which confirmed what the student had told them.
Hansho went silent as he took up a spot close to Ren. Ren laid a single hand on Hansho's right side, releasing a healing spell into him. Hansho felt the tender pain recede as warm energy poured into him.
"Luna, my name is Ren. I'm a member of the Exorcist Guild, so are the people with me. You can relax now, it's over."
Luna said nothing, she had been standing still like a statue with her eyes locked onto Hansho who triggered her only moments ago. Ren felt like he was staring into a dark abyss as he shuddered at her gaze.
"How do we snap her out of this? What is this magic anyway?" Akami asked in a curious tone. He was now examining the small fires that were burning all over the classroom.
"I don't know, I've never seen her like this before. She usually avoids using her magic because she can't control it very well."
Akami simply nodded at that and motioned at the students, "get out, it's safe now. We killed them all."
The students quickly ran out of the room, thanking the Exorcists profusely as they went.
"Well boss, what do we do now?" Hansho asked, cracking his knuckles and stretching his arms. He clearly wanted another round after his pride had been bruised so quickly.
"I don't think we can take her. She isn't a monster but her energy feels… different somehow." Sarata had a point which made Ren frown. They couldn't risk a fight with her, judging by the damage she inflicted and the ease in which she took Hansho down, Ren feared that a conflict would cause too much collateral damage.
"Try to talk to her, see if you can get her to snap out of it." Ren rubbed his chin with his fingers as his sharp golden eyes continued to scan the woman from head to toe.
She was average looking with shoulder length black hair, her black fingernails and wardrobe made it clear to him that she was a fan of modern goth culture. The only thing physically that stood out was those eyes, everything else looked normal enough.
"Luna, it's me, Mary. It's okay, everyone is safe and I'm safe. You did it girl, you defeated the goblins. Time to calm down."
Luna's body finally relaxed as her eyes found Mary's. Luna said nothing but the team could see tension was flooding out of her. They gave a collective sigh of relief, they managed to avoid another fight. Ren counted that as a win.
"We have to take her in. Let the Master examine her."
"Why? She isn't a monster." Sarata fixed Akami with a hard stare at his suggestion.
"Akami is right. Look at the damage she caused, even the stone is melted. This isn't normal fire magic and she isn't a normal mage. Everything about her feels off." Ren didn't mince words, whatever magic this woman possessed, it was beyond their understanding right now.
"How do you propose we even get her to the guild hall?" Hansho tensed up as he readied himself for another fight, round two would be different he thought to himself.
Ren muttered something in a low voice while snapping his fingers. Golden chains of light sprang into existence and wrapped themselves around the woman's body. The woman immediately panicked and turned away from Mary. She fixed Ren with a stare that dripped venom causing him to reflexively step back.
The woman struggled against the chains binding her as smoke rose up from her body.
"Those chains will hold her right?" Sarata was back to nervously gripping her wooden staff as she stared in concern.
Ren muttered something again and snapped his fingers once more. A second set of golden chains formed around the woman, squeezing even tighter than the first pair. The woman screamed in pure rage, her voice a mixture of a human's and something else, something alien with a low tone that made it sound like a growl more than a scream.
"That should do it. Let's get her back to the guild hall."
"You guys won't hurt her right? She didn't do anything wrong!" Mary had stepped between them with a pleading look.
"We aren't going to hurt her. Our Master can help her, I promise."
Mary nodded at Ren while Hansho picked up the struggling woman with one giant hand. The chains were warm and oddly weightless despite their incredible strength. The woman continued to howl in rage as they carried her out.
"Let's hurry back, I can only cast that spell twice a day."