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The broadcast in the Magic Academy unleashed pandemonium in its hallways. All emergency doors opened following Charlotte’s instructions, but not everyone was able to take cover before the Rufus arrived.

While Seperion’s advancements in magic had made it grow so much, not all that magic was meant for combat.

That meant that not everyone enrolled in the Academy could fight with magic either.

“Uwahhh!!”
“Ruuuuuunnnn!”

People shouted in desperation amidst the loud flapping sounds, trying to escape. But they were bound to the ground, unable to avoid the Rufus attacking from the air.

“Squeeeeee-!”

A Rufu shrieked as it attacked an unlucky noble, who had no combat experience and had no way to fight against the large monster.

He was overtaken with fear as the large gray eagle closed on him.

But the instant the monstrous talons were about to touch him, a barrage of fire hit the Rufu on the side.

There were many little explosions as the fire hit, tipping the monster to its side and forcing it to land on a different spot. But none of its feathers looked burnt.

“Run, hurry!”
“A-Alright!”

The noble tottered on his feet as he tried to run away.

“I see you still have to work on your power output though, mheheh.”

Saying that, Annabelle instructed her students to unleash a second barrage of fire from their magic devices.

Those magic devices activated the low level fire magic Fire Arrow. Annabelle’s students had built them to show off during the festival, and had now gathered to save the life of that noble.

“Squeeee!”

The Rufu bellowed menacingly, flapping its wings to swat off the incoming arrows of fire.

A low level spell like Fire Arrow was not powerful enough to damage a Rufu. Luckily that was not the only weapon they had.

“Capture them, shackles of the ground, Earth Bite!”

As Christina cast that spell, what appeared like a mouth opened on the ground and took hold of the Rufu’s feet. It was not a spell that dealt a lot of damage, but it stopped the monster from fleeing into the air.

“Now, Plum!”
“Yes.”

After Christina gave the signal, Plum gave a monotone reply and jumped onto the Rufu’s wings.

While Plum was built with simplified materials and mechanisms compared to Natalia, her abilities were still far above those of any regular magic automaton. On top of that she did not have any limiter from her creator like Natalia, or a human subconscious, so Plum effortlessly broke the Rufu’s wings with her bare hands.

The eagle had its feet trapped and wings broken, leaving it with no recourse.

As the Rufu winced in pain, Plum climbed up its neck and held her hands up, locking her fingers together like a mace that she swung down at the head of the monster.

“Squee-!”

Giving one last squeal, the Rufu collapsed down and stopped moving, its skull caved in.

“Mheh, that’s one down. Just remember to not push yourselves too hard.”

All Annabelle’s students nodded carefully hearing that. They were all magicians with small mana pools, which was why they chose to study alchemy instead, since they would not have the mana necessary for powerful spells. They were painfully aware they were not the best with combat.

The desire to help people with the magic devices they made still existed in them though, which was why they stepped forward, also knowing they had the power to make a change in Plum.

“Plum, how much mana do you have left?”
“Enough to keep fighting. What are my orders?”

Christina was still worried about Plum’s Sorcery Core. Luckily physical strength did not consume too much mana, but Christina still wanted her to take care rather than fighting.

“Alright, this is your order then. Fight while being careful about yourself.”

There was another reason why Christina wanted Plum to be safe.

She had no concrete proof yet, but after the previous events, something very faint had taken root in Plum.

“Yes, My Master.”

It was likely not Christina’s imagination that made it seem like Plum had smiled a little as she said that.

While everyone fled wherever they could, there was one person going against the flow.

She was not wading through the crowd though, instead everyone else went around her due to her overwhelming severe aura.

“Such brutish behavior during an important event. We can’t allow this to happen, can we, Ruri?”
“It is as you say, Lady Ryuka.”

Ryuka’s usual gentle expression was gone without trace, while Ruri followed her acting a lot more like a proper servant for a noble.

“Screeeee-!”

One Rufu noticed Ryuka had separated from the crowd, so it took her as an easy isolated target.

Ryuka looked unbothered by that, calmly pulling out a fan from her sleeve. That fan was commonly used for rituals in Reibana, and assisted with channeling mana.

“Onibi Mai.”

As Ryuka chanted that, countless fireballs appeared around her, ready to fly against the Rufu descending on her. The fireballs floated like will-o-wisps, and once they collided with the monster, they burst into flames, engulfing the Rufu in fire in the blink of an eye.

The fire was more powerful than the Rufu’s defenses, so it began flapping its wings trying to put it out.

It was too late, however, as it had already descended within reach. A small shadow fell over the Rufu’s head.

The flames had blinded the monster, allowing Ruri to use her trademark high jumps unseen.

“Urado Mori-ryuu.”

Still in mid-air, Ruri unsheathed her beloved katana, Shisui.

“Rakka Ryuusui.”

Her blade glimmered in the air.

Shortly after she landed with the elegance of a flower petal settling on water, which was followed by the large gray eagle’s head falling in pieces with a disgusting squelch.

“I see your senses haven’t dulled.”
“Of course not. There’s no reason why I’d get rusty just by moving to a different country.”

Ruri had been holding back during the event with Plum, since she only had her dagger and they were trying to acquire information. But now she was facing monsters which were invading the city.

She finally had the opportunity to swing her katana to her heart’s content.

Flinging her blade to shake off the blood stuck to it, she turns her only uncovered eye to the sky, examining the Rufu flock.

“This is going to be fun.”

A ferocious grin appeared on her lips, which looked completely out of place for a rabbit half-beast.

“Icicle Spear!”

Mathias’ magic flies straight at the Rufu swooping down, which makes it flee back to the sky to find a different target.

He quickly cast multiple middle level spells as well, not needing to call their names, and shot them after the fleeing monster. His ability to cast so much powerful magic consecutively showed his position as the best magician of the Academy overall was not just for show.

But there were too many opponents.

“Bahahah! You need to train more. You should be able to knock down monsters like that with just one hit!”

Mathias already excelled at the Academy, but his father Godwin still believed he was not skilled enough.

“Father, this is an emergency, at least help a little! People are going to get hurt if we don’t do anything!”

Godwin grimaced hearing Mathias’ desperate voice and heavily stood up.

“Well, I guess I can do a little. Everyone seems to have gotten far away enough, so I can afford to get serious for a bit.”

Godwin said that as he looked at Damuel, who was running back at them after accompanying the guests to a safe shelter.

“Lord Feullade, we’re done evacuating the premises. I’ll cast a barrier, so wield your power as much as you’d like.”
“Thank you for letting me know.”

Watching his son’s progress was not the only reason why Godwin had been sitting doing nothing until now. If he unleashed his magic without restraint, it would not only affect the Rufus, but also affect everything nearby.

“Be shut in a white night, Rampage Blizzard!!”

After a short chant, a freezing cyclone was unleashed, turning the entire sky white.

Damuel instantly deployed a barrier, protecting all the surroundings.

The many Rufus that were caught up in it were flung around by the powerful wind, and soon enough were frozen solid.

Once the spell ended, the barrier was undone, and the white frozen monsters fell and shattered on the ground.

“That’s more like it.” Godwin placed a hand to his chin and muttered satisfied.

“I expected no less from you, Lord Feullade.”
“Your barrier was magnificent as well, Damuel.”

While Godwin’s magic had been overwhelming, Damuel’s barrier ability to stop it from damaging anything was also commendable.

“I don’t see more birds around here, let’s go somewhere else.”
“I appreciate your help.”
“It’s my duty as marquis, you don’t need to thank me.”

After that exchange, the two headed to another location that was still under attack by Rufus.

“I still have a long way to go, huh. And I only have one year left…”

Mathias muttered to himself in dejection and followed the two.