Izart led the group through the magic academy, directing them as they ran.
Due to several injured members, their pace wasn’t very fast.
After scanning the surroundings, Izart called out to those behind him.
“Is this the right way, first-year?”
“Yes, it’s this way!”
“Keep your voice down.”
Colgus, carrying Instructor Garlun who had injured his leg, responded. Izart scolded him for being too loud.
A group of zombie students noticed them.
“Tch. Golem, come forth.”
A golem, much smaller than before, materialized and held back the zombie students.
“With this amount of magic, this is my limit.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry. Let’s hurry.”
Izart dismissed Colgus’ apology, and the group continued to move.
About 15 people had barricaded themselves in the lower-grade students’ dormitory, with Instructor Garlun in charge. Izart and his group joined them, and together, they managed to escape.
Along the way, more uninjured students joined them, and their group grew larger.
The destination was nearby. Since Izart wasn’t familiar with the area, he had Colgus guide them.
With the group’s size increasing, Izart noticed that more zombie students were now moving toward them.
(Is it really safe?)
Izart was leading the group. If he voiced his worries, the anxiety would spread among them. If that happened, the group’s discipline would break, and everyone would panic and scatter in fear.
There was no need to think about what would happen after that.
Izart had asked Instructor Garlun, who was formerly part of the Hell Research Society, about the current situation. However, Garlun hadn’t been deeply involved and couldn’t provide any answers.
Magic was running low. The two people who usually accompanied Izart had been using their low-level magic sparingly. While the lower-grade students possessed unique magic, it wasn’t useful now. When they used standard spells, they ran out of magic faster than Izart’s group.
Instructor Garlun still had some magic left, but not enough to be relied upon. Lulise was encouraging an injured female student, but her legs were trembling as she offered her shoulder for support.
The group’s limit was approaching.
“Over there, it’s over there.”
At Colgus’ voice, Izart turned his gaze forward. Sure enough, there was the entrance to the labyrinth.
This was the labyrinth Ahavain had told Izart would be a safe place.
(Indeed, the labyrinth is a blind spot. There won’t be any students inside, and the monsters that come out shouldn’t be dangerous for us now.)
They allowed the slower and injured members to enter first. Meanwhile, a group of zombie students approached.
How many were there? It wasn’t just students. Some of the academy staff had also turned into zombies.
Seeing what had become of those who were once part of the same academy, Izart felt a wave of nausea. He was relieved, however, not to see any zombie students from noble families.
It seemed that strength was determined by magical power, and even the upper-class zombies among the lower-grade students were quite strong. Had they encountered zombies with abundant magical power, or a mutated monster, they would have surely suffered casualties.
The last person tripped, but Izart caught their hand and pulled them up. Then, they rushed inside.
They closed the entrance and cast a locking spell. Several people combined their remaining magic to reinforce the door.
After that, the door was pounded with great force, but for the time being, it seemed to hold.
However, the enemy was tireless—zombies knew no fatigue. Eventually, the spell would break.
When that happened, all they could do was hold their ground. But unlike other places, at least they didn’t need to worry about enemies behind them. They would have to slowly retreat further into the labyrinth while fighting.
Inside the labyrinth, Noel and Arnella were already there, having made minimal preparations to welcome them. Blankets, water, and a small amount of food were available.
Arnella and Noel handed out warm soup.
Looking at Noel’s face brought back humiliating memories for Izart, but both understood that this wasn’t the time for such thoughts.
They greeted each other briefly and focused on tending to the injured.
“How much magic do you have left?”
“We’ve barely used any.”
Izart felt a sense of relief at their response. These two were exceptional even among the top students, their names known to the upper classes. They also had high magic reserves.
Their talent and skills made them too good to remain commoners. That was one of the reasons for Izart’s earlier misjudgment, leading to a duel.
Shaking his head to dispel memories of past blunders, Izart refocused.
The pressure on the door was increasing.
Izart was exhausted from the constant magic use. He had never cast this many spells, not even in classes or training.
He drank the water Noel had given him and pointed his staff at the door.
However, something caught his eye. There was a sealed room to the left of the corridor.
“Why is that room sealed?”
“Ah, well…”
Just as Noel was about to respond, the door was shattered by a massive creature.
“Damn it!”
Izart shouted, aiming his staff.
The students who could still fight followed his lead. The mutated creature had a high regeneration rate and was so strong that even Izart’s golem couldn’t hold it back.
Izart drank a valuable magic recovery potion and readied himself.
As the mutated creature passed in front of the sealed room, Izart signaled for the other students to hold back.
He wanted to draw the creature in as close as possible to maximize their attack.
In the next instant, the sealed room’s door was blown away, and the mutated creature was crushed by it.
As Izart watched in disbelief, a twisted woman emerged from the room.
Her terrifying appearance caused the other students to instinctively raise their staffs toward her.
“Stop!”
Izart yelled, stopping them. He knew that if the woman’s hostility turned toward them, they would all die.
The twisted woman focused on the mutated creature. As the creature, which had begun regenerating in its crushed state, struggled, its body began to twist like a string, and eventually, it stopped regenerating.
“What is that?”
“Well, um… It doesn’t seem to be an enemy.”
“A former resident, maybe?”
“…What does that even mean?”
Noel, having heard about the woman from Ahavain and Mastema, offered this explanation. Arnella added her thoughts, but it wasn’t much of an explanation.
A detailed description was difficult to provide.
“So, she’s not an enemy… She certainly seems to be protecting us.”
The twisted woman turned her back on the survivors and continued to deal with the approaching zombie students.
Izart, still unable to comprehend what was happening, let out a deep breath and sank to the floor.
“I have no idea what’s going on. For now, let’s just wait for help.”
With that, Izart leaned against the wall to rest.
