The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 92

ELIJAH KNIGHT'S POV:

As the ear-splitting sound of the bell tower faded into a dull ring, the owner of the same grating voice, who was most likely the cause of all this, cleared his throat before speaking.

"AHEM! TESTING… AH AH… PERFECT!" The sound was coming from the bell tower near the center of campus. "STUDENTS AND FACULTY MEMBERS OF XYRUS ACADEMY—I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME ALL OF YOU TO JOIN US FOR THE FINAL CEREMONY. I ADVISE EVERY ONE OF YOU TO MAKE YOUR WAY TOWARDS THE BELL TOWER, AS THIS IS SOMETHING YOU GUYS WON'T WANT TO MISS! DON'T WORRY, MY LITTLE PETS WON'T BITE ANYMORE~ I PROMISE."

Curtis and I gave a quick glance and nod at each other. "Get on, quick!" From atop his world lion, Grawder, Curtis beckoned with his left arm stretched out.

Grawder let out a dissatisfied grunt, but otherwise kept to himself as I hopped onto his back behind Curtis, and we immediately headed towards the bell tower. In hope of easing some of my injuries, I used this time to circulate mana towards the deeper wounds.

As we got closer to the bell tower, I could see flashes of spells going off in the vicinity. "What do you think is going on?" Curtis asked. I couldn't see his face, but from just his voice I could imagine the sort of anxious expression he had on his frustratingly handsome face.

"Some of the students and professors are firing spells at the bell tower," I commented with the obvious, not knowing what else to say.

"It looks like there's some sort of barrier surrounding the bell tower," Curtis pointed out as a translucent wall flickered after receiving a spell cast by a professor.

It wasn't long until we came into full view of what was happening for the 'main event.' There was a large stone platform that hadn't been there before, most likely erected by magic. The once flawless marble floor around the bell tower, which marked the center of the academy, was cracked and splintered with pools of wet crimson blood. Various species of discolored mana beasts had gathered around the platform, waiting patiently, almost robotically, ignoring the frightened students just outside the barrier.

[Earthen Javelin Barrage]

[Supernova]

[Thunder Spear]

[Windblade Twister] _{freёwebnoѵel.com}

After a jumbled drone of chanting, several high-leveled spells were cast in the direction of the bell tower, but despite the huge manifestations of elements bombarded onto a single point, the mana shield that closed off the bell tower only fizzed harmlessly before eating up all of the spells. Seeing that leaves of the trees on the inside of the barrier had not the slightest rustle proved how impenetrable this barrier was.

There was a large crowd of both students and faculty members in front of the bell tower, who were both injured and scared, unsure of what to do as the professors made fruitless attempts at breaking through the protective field.

"Stay here while I try to find the rest of the DC members," Curtis instructed before dropping me off near the front of the barrier. Before I could say anything, Grawder raced off with his master riding on his back, leaving me anxiously waiting for something to happen.

The crowd of dishevelled students were all anxiously chatting with their friends and peers about the disaster that fell upon them today. Some were crying, while other red-eyed students had already passed that phase and were waiting with hardened expressions. I could only wait as well. With the cage keeping us from leaving the academy grounds and mana beasts that seemed ready to jump and devour any who disobeyed, I could see the hope in their eyes flickering away. We were prisoners of this massacre, awaiting our sentence.

Although most of the students in the crowd seemed only lightly injured and battered—indicating that they'd caved in rather quickly—there were a few fighters whose injuries were more serious. Fortunately, some of the professors were adept in the field of healing. While they couldn't compare to Emitters, they were able to save a few lives today.

"WELL IT SEEMS THAT EVERYONE ALIVE HAS MADE IT TO THE GRAND FINALE OF TODAY'S SHOW! I THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING!" The high-pitched tenor had a piercing quality that made everyone turn their attention back towards the bell tower.

He appeared... as if manifesting out of the shadows. The source of the jarring voice that sounded like rusted nails scraping against a chalkboard. He wore a gaudy red robe, decorated with an unreasonable amount of jewelry, reminding me of some second son of a king—a figure who was so down the line of power that his only defining aspect was his inherited wealth. The man wore a rather creepy mask that didn't match his attire. It was a simple white mask with two slits for his eyes, and a crudely drawn jagged smile the color of blood. Behind his mask was a head of crimson hair that flowed past his shoulder blades.

While he had his hands behind his back, it looked like he was holding something, but I couldn't make out what it was because of his shadow.

At the sight of the bold figure, the murmuring of everyone ceased, creating a rather eerie atmosphere. A deafening silence descended upon the crowd as all eyes fell on the mysterious masked man, depicting both curiosity and fear of what he would do next.

Drip. Drip. Drip. The sound of small droplets splashing on the ground echoed through the entire space, further adding to the uneasy suspense.

All of a sudden, an earthen spear barrelled directly at the masked culprit. Unfortunately, its trajectory ended as it smashed into the protective shield, shattering into pieces.

Unfazed, he stood there as students began chanting in desperate hopes that somehow, the barrier had weakened enough for us to break through.

Strings of curses were shouted out at the masked figure as everyone realized that it was impossible to break through. I heard familiar voices cry out insults and profanities as they didn't know what else to do at this point.

"Pfft…" The man's shoulders bobbed up and down as he tried to contain his laughter.

"PUAHAHAHAHAHA!" His manic laughter, unaided by mana, echoed throughout the area, somehow drowning out everyone else's voices.

I could see a mixture of emotions in the students' and professors' faces: fear, anger, desperation, confusion, frustration, and helplessness as they were all stunned into silence by the abrupt laughter.

It was then that the masked man tossed the object he was holding behind his back onto the floor.

With a dull thud, the spherical object rolled into view close enough for the people in the front to see.

It was a hea...

It was a real head.

It wasn't the sound of water dripping that I heard, it was blood from the head.

It took my mind a couple of seconds of blank staring to process what was going on before a wave of nausea hit me like a bat.

I threw up.

Over and over again.

The stench of last night's dinner mixed with an acidic twist made me gag more until I was left with only dry heaves and watery eyes.

By the time I composed myself, I could see students and professors alike either looking away, pale-faced, or clutching their stomachs as they continued vomiting on the ground.

I didn't want to look again, but my eyes were itching to look back at the decapitated head. When I saw it again, I noticed it was a dwarf's. I'd seen her before, but hair covered some of her face as a pool of blood expanded from underneath with only the bone of her spine jutting out...it was so white.

I was drawn to the gore. My mind was screaming to turn away, but my eyes stayed fixated on the gruesome sight as everything else blurred out of focus.