He Got Away

On one side stood two formidable guards, wearing imposing armor. On the opposing side stood a figure that could only be described as a monster, though it possessed a human form.

Aaron's countenance was adorned with intricate black and red tattoos, while an ugly and incompletely grown horn jutted out from his forehead.

His fiery, crimson hair underwent a remarkable transformation, gradually lengthening and taking on a rich shade of deep red, while his eyes underwent a similar changes, resembling those of a fierce beast.

As the guards set their eyes upon the menacing creature before them, a sudden fear gripped their hearts, as though something had taken hold of it.

Nevertheless, they didn't lose their composure, their training giving them the ability to remain unfazed. They were well aware that the academy likely sensed the situation, and their main objective would be buying enough time for the academy to take action.

However, Little did they know, the figure standing before them was far from an ordinary 7-Star mage. Simultaneously, both guards lunged towards Aaron, only to find him vanish with a blur, re-emerging right in front of them. Halting their advances, Aaron's hands blurred with lightning speed as he unleashed a attack on their chests.

The guards' eyes widened in disbelief as their armor proved nothing against Aaron's strength. With a forceful blow, he shattered their defenses, thrusting his hands through their chests and pulling out their still-beating hearts.

However, Aaron's face become pale, as though his blood was being drained. In a fleeting moment, his once-fierce red eyes appeared consumed by madness, but just as quickly, they regained their usual composure.

Hastily throwing away the lifeless bodies, he approached the golden-hued box resting upon the stand. Grasping it firmly, he attempted to store it within his spatial ring, yet no matter how much he tried, he couldn't do it.

"Damn it! I don't have time!" Panic surged through him as he sensed the box's resistance against entering his spatial ring. He abandoned the thought of putting it in a space ring as he withdrew two rune papers from his storage space—a vibrant orange one and a golden one.

While he was doing this, out of nowhere, an immense pressure bore down on him, as it almost made him kneel on the spot.

"That b*tch! She is here! How can she possess such strength at such young age?" He cursed, seething with frustration.

Swiftly tearing the golden rune paper apart, a portal materialized behind him. However, before he could step through, a figure rushed out from the entrance of the room with a lightning speed. It was none other than Amber.

Aaron clenched his hand, crushing the vibrant orange rune paper within. In an instant, an orange barrier materialized before him, providing a protective shield. Using the momentum of his legs, he propelled himself backward, leaping into the portal while clutching the box in his hands.

As his eyes noticed the numerous colors within the space portal, a smile of relief adorned his face, he exhaled a breath as he saw the portal was closing. But, somthing he never expected happened, from the closing portal, a hand extended through, seizing hold of his horn.

Amber was angry that she was tricked, she unleashed her fury upon the barrier Aaron had erected, obliterating it into countless pieces within a second.

"Ghhhh, you damn Bastard! You played your game well, but now it's time to face the consequences." She seethed, yanking her hand back quickly. However, due to the spatial fluctuations within the portal, her mana was rendered useless against Aaron.

If it was not for her strength, Amber's hand would have been sliced and the portal would be sealed shut.

"Damned women, let go of me!" Aaron shouted, blood trickling down from his head where his horn was located. The force of the portal's pull rendered him unable to resist, leaving him with only one hand to fight against her.

"You stubborn bastard! Let's see how much pain you can endure!" In an instant, Amber's forehead bulged with pulsating veins, and her slender right hand extended into the depths of the portal. Drawing a deep breath, she exerted her strength, pulling with all her might on whatever she had captured.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh~ You b*tch! I'll end your life! How dare you! Ahhhhhhhh~"

An agonizing scream echoed through the portal as Amber abruptly retracted her arm, causing her to tumble onto her butt. With the portal closing, the strange confrontation came to an end.

"He got away." She sighed, a headache creeping in. "Wait, how did he manage to escape?" Her eyes widened, and she swiftly raised her right hand, analysing what she was still clutching.

In her hand, she noticed a black horn which was twisted grotesquely, continuously oozing out blood and unknown dark energy.

"It's his horn. Could he be a disguised magical beast? No, I've never encountered such a horn before. And this energy... so malicious and bloodthirsty. What in the world is this?" Her brows furrowed, as she felt a tinge of danger coming from it.

"Ah, I'll examine it later. There are more important matters at hand." Deciding to deal with it later, she safely stored the horn within her spatial ring and rose to her feet.

Her eyes lingered on the vacant stand for a moment. "The old man's gonna be pissed." She muttered. Without wasting a moment, she rushed out of the room.

=====================

In the control room, Elina's gaze fell upon the young man who remained bound with ropes, his mouth gagged by a cloth.

"So, you're assistant to Special Instructor Adam, huh?" She spoke with urgency.

Unable to speak, the young man simply nodded, aware that using magic would only tighten the ropes further, as they seems to be observing his mana forcefully.

Elina swiftly weaved her hand, causing the cloth to loosen and slip from the young man's mouth, tumbling to the ground.

Gasping for air, the young man managed to regain his composure. "I-I used to be his assistant. My name is Alex. Can you please explain what's going on? Why am I being treated this way?" He inquired, his breathing gradually steadying.

Elina was sceptical about his innocent questions, but she quickly explained the events that happened in the dungeon, realizing that Alex might hold the key to resolving the problem.

"That's not supposed to happen. Why would Instructor Adam do something like this?" Alex pondered aloud, memories of their shared work in the dungeon's modification chamber flooding back to him.

"That is not important now, We need to focus on finding a solution to save the children and put an end to these detached tunnels. Would it work if we deactivate the dungeon's power system? I recall that doing so would eject all the students out of the dungeon." Elina inquired urgently.

"No, that won't work with a Detached Tunnels. If we deactivate the power system, the tunnels will collapse, risking the lives of the trapped students. We have only one viable solution. That is to dispatch higher-ranked mages into the dungeon to search for the Detached Tunnels and rescue the students. It won't be easy, though. They'll need to reach beyond the 80th floor, and even then, locating that tunnels was a hard challenge."

"Or, We can only hope that students would stick together, overcome the strong monsters, and find a way to the top floor on their own."