Anabelle moved swiftly through the night—as quickly as she could.

Behind her were about a dozen girls, give or take. The darkness served as a good cover for the group, and with the sound elimination Spell they had going, no trouble had spotted them yet.

Two Automatons hung above the group, leaning further and behind them to scour their surroundings. The darkness was thick, and the lights that usually radiated around the campus grounds had been destroyed—most likely by the attackers.

Ana ignored the gnawing fear within her, giving no heed to the hard pounding within her heart. She simply followed Jared’s instructions and made her way to the Middle-Class Boys Dorm.

It all began close to an hour earlier.

Her dorm had been assaulted by shadowy beings, giving off intense pressure and unimaginable bloodlust—the kind no one in the Dorm had ever experienced. Their Dorm aster met a cruel end at the hands of the monsters; Anabelle and the others were to follow suit not long after.

Anabelle, thanks to her rough training from Jared, was able to somehow fend off the Shadows that came after her. While she desperately struggled in her efforts, the rest of the girls were able to safely evacuate to the last floor.

With that, she also retreated there, and they secured a perimeter. Anabelle learned the hard way, how barriers were hardly useful against her opponents, so she focused on offense.

After trying several attacks, she found lightning to be especially effective, so she focused on that.

The young girl, despite the pressure and intense fear that pervaded her, was able to properly devise a means that proved effective.

Using a portion of the abilities of her Familiar, she was able to use Wind Magic to push the Shadows back and also combine Water with Lightning Magic to increase conductivity and damage.

It was difficult to manage on her own, so Ana enlisted the help of others and they followed her lead.

Unfortunately for them, most of them were petrified with fear that they couldn’t move—talk less of casting complex spells.

The few who stood up to the challenge were not as skilled with Magic as Ana, so their combined efforts didn’t even measure up to hers. It was like striking burning flames with a few splashes of water.

Ultimately, she did all the work, and they simply assisted one way or the other.

Still, Anabelle cold sense that she—as well as several others—were at their wits’ end.

Even after struggling for so long, Ana hadn’t been able to put down even one of the ten Shadows that loomed around her and the other girls. She didn’t want to admit it, but the struggling young girl knew it quite well.

It was only a matter of time before…

VWOOOSSSHHH!!!

In a flash, five flying ‘things’ entered the area, sweeping past the stairway like frisbees.

Before Ana could make out what was occurring, two of them approached her—they were shaped like bats, but something about these creatures told her they weren’t alive.

The two bat-thingies by her side hovered there, two more stood in front of her—like garrisons—and the final one…

… plunged into the midst of the Shadow Demons that were bewildered by the appearance of the strange flying bats.

The moment it lodged itself at the center of the crowd of Demons, the bat-like thing exuded a vast amount of Mana… and before anyone could say anything…

BOOOOOMMMM!!!

Light beams gathered, and then dispersed, creating a blinding surge that decimated the area around. It was like a brilliant display of fireworks, but Ana could not take it in since the brightness caused her to shut her eyes—on reflex, of course.

The heat of the light didn’t reach Ana, and when she realized it, the brightness of the explosion didn’t seem as intense as she thought.

That was when she realized it—the barrier that was generated in front of her.

Yes, a seemingly translucent barrier was erected in front of her. Once she took a closer look, Ana found out that the two bat things in front of her were the ones who erected the shield.

Now, she was certain that they weren’t mere bats.

One of them exploded as it collided with the Demons, two secured a barrier in front of her… and the last two—

“Ana, it’s Jared.” A voice rang out.

It was so familiar and comforting that Ana felt relieved beyond description to hear it. She felt like breaking down and giving in to her exhaustion once she heard the sound ring in her ears.

Finally, help had come. Jared was here!

Ana didn’t know where the voice came from, but she was happy all the same. She didn’t have to fight anymore.

A few moments later, she would come to find out that Jared hadn’t actually come to save her. In fact, he wasn’t even nearby. He simply sent the bat things—automatons—to aid her.

She was still tasked with protecting those in her charge

Ana nearly collapsed upon hearing Jared’s recorded voice. How was she, who was hoping for a savior, supposed to handle the enemy all by herself? It contradicted all reason, and the task was far beyond her means.

Jared seemed to have thought about all that, though.

Not only did he tell Ana about the weaknesses of the Shadow Demons, the Automatons he sent also had potions with them. With those, Ana could restore her Mana and also heal her injured self—as well as those who had sustained grave injuries.

The Potions were limited, though, so not everyone got treatment. The rest had to bear with their injuries as they saved the few Potions remaining for emergencies. Since they were all deadweight, none of them could complain.

The Shadows that Ana thought had already been killed weren’t completely vanquished; though she felt they were weaker now.

Now within the safety of a functional barrier that was too dense for the Shadows to traverse, Ana had a fighting chance.

‘I can do this… everyone’s counting on me!’ Her thoughts rang as she prepared for impact.