CHAPTER 101: THE HOLLOWED ONES!

The first Hollowed One lunged.

It was once a boy, still wore the shredded remains of a uniform, but his body was distended, ribcage split outward like jagged blades. His jaw had dislocated, snapping open unnaturally wide as a wet howl tore from his throat.

Albedo raised Havoc which was in Infernal Mode and let out two shots.

~BANG~BANG!~

The two shots smashed against the head of the Hollowed One, whose head snapped backward viciously, his skull imploding in a burst of black ichor as flames erupted around the Hollowed One, beginning to burn away its body.

"Blazing Harmony," Albedo said, a Magic Circle appearing as dozens of chains appeared around the Hollowed One and wrapped around it.

Then, the chains ignited, a vast intense flame swarming the Hollowed One and burning it viciously. Ones the flames died down, the monster collapsed in a grotesque heap, its charred body twitching for a few seconds before fading to ash.

Silence lasted for only a heartbeat. Then the café erupted.

"They’re everywhere!" a student screamed before another convulsed and burst, spraying gore over her as she joined the growing ranks of the Hollowed.

"Form up!" Albedo barked, his voice carrying above the hysteria. His presence was an anchor for the various students to rally behind.

He didn’t need to look, he felt Elara shift to his right, her green mana threads snapping into a vast tactical grid that flickered in her eyes alone.

Morgana drifted to his left, shadows swirling at her heels, her obsidian eyes burning with restrained panic and bloodlust.

The three of them moved like a unit.

The Hollowed Ones lunged in droves, their bodies distorting unnaturally as they scrambled over tables, crawling along walls, even cracking the ceiling with their twisted limbs.

~BANG~BANG~BANG!~

Albedo’s pistols roared as each shot precisely hit the mark. Ruin shattered one of the creature’s spine mid leap using a graviton slug, while multiple Infernal shots from Havoc turned the monster’s face into a blossom of gore.

He pivoted smoothly, each movement controlled as he rolled beneath a swipe of clawed hands, rising with a back-step, and firing point-blank into the monster’s chest.

The Hollowed reeled back, but instead of falling, it burst. Black ichor and shards of bone sprayed outward like shrapnel, shredding through nearby chairs and splattering Morgana’s cheek.

Her lips curled into a dark grin as she noticed, wiping the sludge off her cheek, "Blood for blood," she whispered.

Then, her shadows expanded and surged outward venomously, tentacles of living writhing darkness lashed out around the Hollowed Ones, constricting them and breaking their bones with sickening cracks.

"Renegade," Morgana muttered and twisted her wrist violently, the shadows immediately tearing all of the creatures in half as if nothing but wet parchment, blood spraying across the walls, staining them deeper than any paint.

"Left flank!" Elara’s voice immediately echoed sharp and urgent as she senses various Hollowed Rushing from the side using her Battle Map.

Her hands glowed faintly and she gestured with her hands, multiple magic circles appearing as she tripped three Hollowed Ones using roots of Nature magic.

Venomous, spiked vines burst from the floors, skewering their limbs and pinning them in place, and Albedo didn’t miss the opportunity to take them out quickly.

He rolled to the side, dodging another attack and punching his fist wrapped in Crimson Apocalypse Flames through the attacker, puncturing their chest, crushing the corrupted heart and igniting its body from within.

Then, he whirled, guns flashing.

~BANG~BANG~BANG~BANG!~

Shots from Havoc and Ruin banged out towards the Hollowed Ones pinned by Elara, each shot connecting critical hits and burning their bodies until they were charred, the floorboards groaning beneath their collapsing husks.

However, the room was still filling with more of them as Hollowed Ones ran inside from the exterior, and the cafe was a pit of horror.

Elara was using her Nature Magic to continuously create barriers to protect panicking students from attacks, and using vines to pull these panicked students to a safe-zone behind the trio.

"Too many," Morgana hissed, her shadows lashing out again. She slammed her palms together and a massive glyph ignited in crimson, blood-runes spiraling outward. "Dark Wonderland!"

The café shifted instantly as the shadows all around thickened, blotting out light and every Hollowed Inside the Domain and every one of the Abyssal monsters shuddered as if their bodies were dragged down by unseen chains.

Their movements slowed, ichor dripping sluggishly like tar.

Albedo felt the power immediately, Morgana’s Gift was brutal, a field of death that crippled their enemies and boosted every ounce of her magic.

"Nice timing," he said curtly.

"Don’t waste it." Her voice was strained but firm, sweat glistening on her pale skin as she maintained the mini-domain of her power.

Elara’s threads darted across the battlefield, illuminating weak points, marking positions, "Three incoming, above!"

Albedo’s gaze flicked upward. Hollowed Ones had scuttled across the ceiling like grotesque spiders, limbs snapping at odd angles as they hung upside-down. Their void-eyes locked onto the group as they dropped for an attack from above.

~BOOM!~

Albedo flipped to the side, dodging their attacks and shooting off his dual pistols.

Havoc tore through one’s skull . Ruin’s shot split another’s chest open, spraying gore across the tables below. But the third twisted unnaturally, spinning like a ragdoll and sending an attack straight to Albedo’s chest.

~NEIGHHH!~

From another Dimension, Ember sprang out just in tine, blocking the attack and using her blazing corrosive flames to burn the Hollowed One from the inside out viciously.

Elara also created more spiked vines that coiled and pinned the various monsters, making it easy for Albedo to kill them using Havoc and Ruin, emptying various rounds into them.

The smoking husks hit the ground.

"Thanks," he muttered toward Elara without breaking stride.

"Don’t mention it," she said, her voice tight.

The battle raged on.

Tables splintered as Hollowed were thrown across the room. Windows shattered under their screeches. Blood painted everything, the once-bright café was a complete battlefield.

The various students who Elara had saved quickly calmed down from their panic, and also began helping in the battle from the safe zone, blasting attack after attack and quickly taking down multiple of the Hollowed Ones.

Morgana had the 2nd most kills after Albedo, carving through them like a dark goddess.

One rushed him with grotesque speed, its arm splitting into three jagged limbs tipped with claws. Albedo sidestepped, firing Ruin through its knee, then pivoted to blast Havoc into its chest. The Hollowed stumbled, ichor spewing. He twirled both guns and crossed them at its temple.

~BOOM!~

Its head vanished in an explosion of gore as more of them swarmed. allowing him to gun each and every one of them that attacked.

The last Hollowed One inside the café staggered forward, its body a twitching silhouette of broken bones and ichor. Its head jerked at impossible angles, jaw hanging loose, as if it were still trying to remember how to be human.

Albedo raised Havoc and Ruin, his arms steady, eyes sharp.

~BANG!~

The first shot cored through its knee, splintering bone and ichor across the broken tiles.

~BANG!~

The second shredded its chest cavity, flames erupting outward as the creature shrieked in a dying chorus.

But still, it crawled. Albedo narrowed his eyes, stepping forward as Ember’s burning hooves cracked the floor. He pressed Havoc’s muzzle directly to its temple.

~BOOM!~

The Hollowed’s skull exploded in a blossom of fire and black mist, its body collapsing into a twitching husk before burning into ash.

For a heartbeat, silence blanketed the café.

The smell of scorched flesh and shattered wood filled the air. The once-cozy shop was now a nightmare, tables overturned and crushed, walls dripping with ichor, light fixtures flickering under the pressure of battle.

Dozens of charred husks and splintered corpses lay scattered, proof of the carnage they’d endured.

Elara was bent slightly forward, sweat beading across her brow, her green threads of mana slowly fading as she let her map unravel. She exhaled shakily, chest heaving.

Morgana’s shadows slithered back into her body like smoke returning to a flame. Her obsidian eyes gleamed faintly crimson in the darkness, her lips curled into a satisfied but weary smile. "That’s all of them... for now."

Albedo holstered Havoc and Ruin, scanning the ruined café. The various students Elara had saved slumped in the corner, trembling but alive.

He gave them a single curt nod, his presence steady enough to keep them from breaking apart completely at the absolutely gruesome sights.

"Stay together," he said simply, "Don’t leave this place until help arrives."

He turned on his heel, Ember’s blazing mane lighting his path, Morgana and Elara flanking him like silent shadows.

The café door creaked open under his hand.

The moment they stepped outside, the world shifted.

The once-bustling street of the Academy Quarter was now drenched in horror. Buildings bore claw marks, their glass shattered and walls smeared with ichor. The cobblestones glistened with blood and black fluids.

And the Hollowed were everywhere.

Dozens of them lurched between the wreckage, their twisted bodies silhouetted against the flickering lamps.

Some were dragging themselves across the ground with broken limbs, others sprinted unnaturally on all fours, howls echoing like knives through the night air.

One of the students who had followed too close behind gasped sharply, and the sound drew every Hollowed head like a beacon.

Void-black eyes locked on the group.

The street erupted in shrieks.

"They’ve noticed us," Elara hissed, mana flaring again, her threads snapping outward as she prepared to cast.

Morgana licked her lips, her shadows writhing hungrily at her feet. "Good. Let them come."

Albedo rolled his shoulders, Havoc and Ruin gleaming in his hands, Ember stamping her burning hooves as flames coiled along her mane. His eyes sharpened as the Hollowed pack surged toward them like an oncoming tide.

"Formation," he said flatly.

The three of them moved without hesitation, carving a way through this horrific battlefield.