"Yeah, let's get the bastards and protect our youngers." The Amplifier girl from the August Batch raised her hand and shouted in response. All Tier 1 and Tier 2 students who were fighting expressed their desire to volunteer.
Most of them were from the August, September, and the October Batch, students that had explored the Labyrinth of Frenzy and had some battle experience. The remainder were students that were at the top of their respective batches, possessing enough strength to be willing to volunteer.
"W-Wait, then who will protect us?" A girl from the April Batch stammered in fright, pointing at the doors of the Red Building that had been blown down, "The Frenzy Beasts will keep on coming out from them. We aren't strong enough to last for long."
"We'll be staying behind to support everyone. Two of us per entrance will be enough. The rest can focus on supporting us." An Area Controller said. In response to his words, 7 students raised their hands, 3 Area Controllers and 4 Amplifiers, volunteering to protect the students.
They swiftly ran and took up positions in their respective positions, one Area Controller and Amplifier per entrance. They shouted in unison, "We'll hold them off. Please start climbing up now."
"We don't have enough time to bringing everyone beyond the academy. This is for the best," Ashten waved his hands, catching hold of a spindle shot at Jyorta. With a swipe, he threw the spindle back at the Spindle Bee, piercing its head.
"Indeed," Jyorta looked at the doors of the Red Building that had been slammed down. It was no longer possible to hold the Frenzy Beasts off. "If only I had acted sooner."
"You already did your best, let us hurry now." Ashten Coorg replied, pointing at the Red Building in the Rhachis Block. Jyorta caught wind of his thought, controlling the River Whale to head there. They watched a tall student walk out of the Orange Building, dragging across a large bag.
"Sorry I was late," The boy smiled, concealing the surprise in his eyes as he saw Jyorta riding the River Whale.
"George!" Jyorta shouted in surprise, seeing the bag George dragged. He hovered the River Whale closer to the ground, motioning for him to board it.
"There are around 30 swords and 40 knives in it. I only grabbed the lightest ones. But, they should last fairly long enough against our foes, I think." George said, exerting strength in his hands as he lifted the bag, boarding the River Whale.
The River Whale grunted in pain under the weight, struggling to move. Under Jyorta's urging, it sped up, disregarding the pain it suffered as a result, swiftly arriving before an entrance of the White Building.
George swiftly threw the weapons to the battling students, prioritising the Amplifiers with the Swords. Once all the people who were willing to exit the academy had been equipped with a weapon, he left the rest for the defending group.
In the time they took to do this, everyone had already climbed up to the terrace. Holding a knife in his hands, Jyorta shouted, "12 per round. I'll swiftly drop you below and return."
Ashten and George jumped down, watching 12 students climb aboard. Jyorta controlled the River Whale, crossing the boundary before descending, soon stopping a couple of metres above the road. The students jumped down, pointing at the directions they were heading in.
When they had been on the terrace, the noted down the directions the Frenzy Beasts were escaping towards, making their own plans of pursuit. Jyorta made almost 15 rounds, with each round consuming around a minute.
Even though he had wasted 15 minutes transporting the students that had volunteered, he felt it was worth it. Just him alone was incapable of tracing down the Frenzy Beasts that had escaped. Now, the others were tracing and pursuing all the Frenzy Beasts in their vicinity before swiftly dispatching them.
"We'll head north. The Frenzy Beasts probably wouldn't have crossed Sector 1. But if there are any, we'll chase after them." Jyorta looked at his friends who stayed behind to be part of the last round, swiftly boarding as the River Whale took flight.
The River Whale sped through the air, going past numerous buildings. Most of them were administrative-related buildings, places bereft of children. Soon, they saw numerous Spindle Bees flying north, heading towards the walls, intending to head into Sector 12, the residential sector.
"There are barriers installed for each Ring that prevents travelling. Only certain channels allow travel between the Rings and they are in the Lower Strata. So, the escaped Frenzy Beasts will mostly head towards Sector 12." Laila spoke, offering her conjecture, "Sector 2 is full of research institutions and the residential sector there is scattered. So, it won't be the primary target of the Frenzy Beasts."
"My thoughts are the same," Esina replied, glaring at the Spindle Bees that were flying past. Two Spindle Bees turned around and shot their spindles at them. Dalna Doppler and George caught them, throwing them back.
Ashten Coorg activated his Tier 2 Skill, using his aura to inhibit their movements. When their flight was stalled, the River Whale sped up while Jyorta made them hallucinate, causing them to spin in circles.
The spindles they threw pierced the two Spindle Bees, heavily injuring them. When they neared, Dalna Doppler finished them off with a slash of her sword, gracefully landing back on the River Whale.
They began to chase after the Spindle Bees, using their abilities in sync to kill their foes one after another. But, their efficiency wasn't high, the speed of the River Whale was incomparable to the agile Floating Spiders and the Spindle Bees. Moreover, it had to carry them, further slowing it down.
The Floating Spiders depended on their Trait for flight while the Spindle Bees relied on their wings. The River Whales manipulated the water and swam through them, consuming greater energy while reducing the speed.
"Look there," Haesha suddenly pointed towards a hospital, shouting in alarm. Smoke billowed out of it while there were signs of fire here and there over it. A boy ran out from its entrance, his clothes covered in flames.
The boy was around 15 years of age, possessing a fairly developed physique. Held in his hands was a first aid kit that he held securely, shouting in pain as he tried to put off the fire. The sound of something toppling within the building resounded, causing an expression of terror on his face.
"Dammit!" The boy cursed and ran along the road, noticing something emerge from the tongues of fire within.
Jyorta made the River Whale fly faster, watching a serpentine figure slither out of the hospital, its body partly covered by flames. Its speed was at least twice faster than the boy, quickly closing in on him.
Tier 2 Skill—Leap Burst!
Dalna Doppler jumped from the River Whale's back, her body making a beeline towards the serpentine figure, craning her hand as she threw her sword. The sword flew towards the serpentine figure, accurately aiming for its head.
The serpentine figure curved its body, only displacing its head, watching the sword strike the ground. Reflexively, it coiled its tail around the hilt of the sword, pulling it out of the ground in a single motion and threw it at Dalna Doppler.
Tier 1 Skill—Mental Acuity!
Dalna Doppler changed her centre of gravity, turning her body in the air as she dodged the flying sword. Her eyes widened as she understood the cunning nature of her opponent, watching the sword impale the River Whale behind her.
It had a massive body and couldn't evade on time. Jyorta inspected its wound through his domain, cursing in anger as the sword had cut through many nerves of the River Whale, messing up its sense of direction.
Its senses went haywire while it became mad, thanks to its neural network suffering damage. Jyorta tried his best to control it but failed, watching it wriggle its body and curve in madness, tossing and turning.
Ashten Coorg grabbed hold of Jyorta while the remaining Amplifiers grabbed the area Controllers, jumping from the River Whale's back at the same time. The moment he landed on the ground, he absorbed most of the shock through his legs, rolling on the ground a few times while protecting Jyorta in his hold.
"Run kid!" Dalna Doppler shouted as she landed on the ground and activated her Tier 2 Skill, flashing towards the serpentine figure. The serpentine figure coiled its body, lashing out with its tail. Dalna Doppler barely dodged it but found another impact slam into her, sending her flying.
She flew for three metres and rolled on the ground for a good distance before stopping, coughing out blood. "It's a Shifter's Wisdom Parasite that has become a Frenzy Parasite."
"A Shifter's…" Jyorta sprang up in alarm, watching the serpentine figure chase after the running boy. Its depressed eyes expressed fury, patches of its skin peeling off as it slithered on the rough surface.
"Help!" The boy carried the first aid kit and ran with all his might.
Aura Personification—Hallucination!
Jyorta unleashed all his aura, directing everything at the Frenzy Parasite, making it flinch for a moment. But, the effect wasn't much as it soon resisted him. Concealed within it was a dense aura, resisting and negating his aura personification.
Seeing Dalna Doppler get up, Jyorta threw his knife at her. Dalna Doppler caught hold of it and charged at the Frenzy Parasite once again, her eyes spewing fury. Ashten Coorg, George Eagle, and Esina Hawker followed suit, springing up to battle it, simultaneously activating their Skills.
Haesha and Laekha Walta came to the boy's rescue. Jyorta and Laila made eye contact, simultaneously raising their arms as they unleashed their auras.