CHAPTER 264: RUINED THE DATE [1]

The rupture pulsed and its jagged edges flared as each new aberrant forced its way through.

The cobblestones around it warped, buckling under the pressure.

The first wave came quickly and human-sized aberrants rushed out.

Their limbs were too long, torsos were twisted, and skin was filled with a patchwork of dark chitin and raw sinew.

Their eyes glowed in mismatched hues, each pair locked hungrily onto the fighters.

A tall student with crimson hair was the first to meet them.

She dashed forward, her spear wreathed in crackling orange ether, and thrust it through the skull of the nearest creature.

SQUASSSH!!

Another girl to her left swept her arm in a sharp arc, releasing a wave of compressed ether that hurled two aberrants back.

Brandon moved before the third could even adjust its path.

A flash of steel glinted as his twin daggers came free from his storage ring.

He vanished from where he stood as his boots struck the ground with enough force to crack stone and reappeared at the flank of a lunging aberrant.

SLEESH! His right dagger slid cleanly between its ribs, severing whatever passed for a heart, while his left blade swept up and across in one fluid motion, decapitating it.

Thick blood splattered across the street and the corpse hit the ground before the monster even realized it was dead.

Two nearby academy students froze mid-motion, "Did... he just-? Without ether?"

Some students were surprised to see the only male wakener in action.

"He is killing C-rank aberrants easily."

Yverine’s coat fluttered behind her as she met an aberrant head-on.

There was no weapon in her hands... just clenched fists.

Her right arm shot forward in a brutal straight punch that connected with the monster’s chest.

THWACK! The sound was like a tree trunk splitting, and the creature was hurled back into a wall as stone and bone shattered on impact.

SWOOSH! Another came at her from the side.

She pivoted on her heel and brought her leg up in a high arc before driving her foot down into its skull.

THUD!

The cobblestone cratered beneath it as the aberrant’s gore sprayed outward.

Brandon swept past her left side and one aberrant lunged for a student whose barrier skill was faltering.

Brandon was there in an instant and his shoulder slammed into the creature’s midsection, knocking it off balance, and both his blades pierced its neck in a scissor-like strike.

He pulled them free in one smooth motion, blood trailing in thin arcs as he spun away.

"Watch your flank!" he muttered to the girl, who flushed and quickly reinforced her barrier.

The rupture screamed and ore bodies poured through, C-rank aberrants atht were larger and faster than the first wave.

"Front line, brace!" the red-haired spearwoman shouted, but Brandon and Yverine were already stepping forward.

Brandon ducked under the aberrant’s initial strike, slid forward along the ground, and carved the dagger deep into the tendons behind its knee.

As it collapsed, Yverine stepped in, grabbed it by the skull, and slammed it face-first into the street with enough force to rupture its cranium.

Another aberrant tried to leap over them.

SLEESH! Brandon’s dagger whipped upward, catching it mid-air, slicing across its throat in a clean arc.

THUD! It landed in a heap at Yverine’s feet, and she drove her heel down to finish it.

The academy students around them dashed around killing the aberrants at their own pace, but their eyes kept flicking toward the lone man in their midst.

Yverine, for her part ripped an aberrant’s arm clean off and used it as a club against another.

When one of the creatures tried to bite her shoulder, she twisted her body, caught its jaw in both hands, and tore it apart with a wet, splitting sound.

"Brandon!" she called, tossing the bisected corpse aside.

He vaulted off her braced arm, flipping over her, and landed on the back of an aberrant that had slipped past the perimeter.

His daggers plunged deep, severing its spine.

The rupture pulsed again and even more aberrants began to pour out.

Brandon rolled his shoulders, glancing at Yverine "Well, I guess this is also a date."

Yverine’s gaze sharpened "Do you have enough ether?"

Looking at her, he smiled "Did you forget what happened last night?"

Eh? Realizing his words, a deep blush colored his cheeks ’Of course, he took ether from me...’

The rupture gave a sharp crack and then even more aberrants poured out.

SWOOSH! Three C-class aberrants rushed first.

Brandon stepped forward, meeting the lead one head-on.

His daggers flashed in a clean X-arc and the twin blades bit deep into its clavicles before he wrenched them outward.

Bone split with a wet snap, and the creature collapsed mid-stride.

The second swiped at his head with an elongated claw, but Brandon ducked low, pivoting on one foot and driving both blades into the base of its spine.

A quick jerk upward severed the cord, and it went limp instantly.

The third tried to retreat, sensing its disadvantage but Brandon surged forward in a blur, closing the gap in a heartbeat, and opened its throat with a single, efficient stroke.

Around them, the academy students were holding their ground and killing the aberrants.

One woman conjured a curtain of molten ether, forcing aberrants to split and scatter and another one unleashed a barrage of ice shards, pinning a smaller one to the wall before crushing its skull with a hammer of solid frost.

THOOM! A deeper, heavier vibration rolled out from the rupture.

From its depths, B-class aberrants began to emerge.

Its height rivaled a two-story building and its body was a grotesque blend of plated armor-like carapace and muscle that looked like twisted rope.

The students’ line wavered. A few took instinctive steps back.

Brandon exhaled slowly, adjusting his grip on the daggers.

Just as he was about to attack the B-rank aberrant, a crimson rose petal fell down from the sky towards him.

It twirled lazily downward through the haze of dust and ether distortion, catching the faint sunlight as though it had all the time in the world.

Huh? He blinked in confusion and suddenly a rush of crimson rose petals swarmed around the aberrants.

In an instant, the rose petals whirled, and a slash split through the air, killing the B rank immediately.

The nearest C-rank didn’t even have time to scream.

A streak of petals spun around its torso, and a clean *shhk* echoed out.

The monster fell apart in two halves before its blood even hit the ground.

His gaze condensed and he raised his gaze to look at a woman standing above a two-story building with a knight’s sword in her hand, her long white hair fluttering in the air.

Clarisse De Valiene, the Leader of the Council of Seven and the Student Council President of Solvyrn Academy.

’Senior Clarisse.’

The students in the academy were also excited "Lady Clarisse is here."

"Wohooo."

"It’s over now! She’s got this!"

Now that the strongest student in the Academy is here, they are relieved.